CoveringtheBases

Is It Getting Too Expensive To Live?!

Once again to keep the anonymity, but to get as personal as I can, we both work a “low-wage” job. Making under $100k between the two of us.

Now, at first glance that sounds like a decent amount of money and I’m sure some readers are screaming “woe is me” at their screen right now, but hear me out. I’m on the same side as you.

Every year we see a rise in the cost of living, typically at a steady rate but in recent years we are seeing upwards of 10%+ increases in just the food markets alone. That is not including the cost of gas, etc. rising as well.

The most common argument to this statement is to “stay within your means”. Ok captain obvious, staying in my means is fine BUT “the means” hasn’t changed and yet the lifestyle must.

Same wages and same lifestyle, but still, we cannot live. Something is not adding up here.

People are living with their parents, partners and friends just to be able to get by. Young adults and couples are forced to live with someone and rely on them to survive. This can be detrimental to the growth needed to become an adult.

Save money? Good luck.

The American dream of buying a house, pushing out several kids and having a dog in the yard? This will be a thing of the past unless something changes. It’s more beneficial to rent with a partner or friend so that you can have some inkling of a life outside of work and bills.

Working to survive is not what this country was built on but it is most definitely the country we have become. Our citizens are tired and wary. It’s time for a change.

Handheld Social Life

How do you manage screen time for yourself?

Simple. I don’t.

I work in an office that requires me to utilize my phone and a computer.

I go home and there are TVs running in the background from kids watching and playing. I get on my phone to keep track of timers and events needing to be attended too.

Everyone’s social life is wrapped up in their little hand held device. How can you not pick it up to check on a loved one or a close friend? Check in on social media? Do research for an assignment or to end an argument. Etc.

So there is no “managing” screen time in that sense. At least not to me.

But what I do is as follows:

If I’m with someone else and we aren’t currently “just enjoying each others company” but are actively engaging and talking, I will not pick up my phone at all.

Or before bed I would rather lie in the dark and talk with my significant other vs playing on the phones next to each other.

If those two things aren’t in play, there is not screen time limitation because we live on a world where our world is in the palm of our hand.

Teaching is a Dying Art

Bear with me here…

Teaching in this day and age has become more of a “follow the curriculum” than teaching children and teaching them life lessons amongst the super crammed information they are already learning.

THE PARENTS:

There are multiple things at play here that prevent teachers from achieving their higher calling. Teachers were always looked at with admiration and could have a sense of accomplishment. Todays world only shuns them and puts the pressures of home life on their doorstep to be fixed with very little to no help from any direction.

THE EXPECTATIONS

Teachers are expected to provide their own classrooms with materials, even materials for the children in their class, with pay that they can barely survive on. God forbid you have to print something on paper. That might as well be a hit on a government official. Also, teachers are expected to teach from bell to bell, use their preps for meetings and take home anything that needs to be graded and grade it on your own time. (See post “I absolutely do need time” to understand why that is never going to happen.

THE ADMINISTRATION and UP

It seems as if administration is there for show and to cater to parents. Gone are the days that principals and school boards support the teachers. If parents knew how much power they actually had, then the world would be in ruins. Administration is supposed to be a barrier between the outside world and the classroom. That is non existent these days.

THE CHILDREN

On top of all of that, it’s now a fad to be lazy. Now, this isn’t every child but a generalized consensus. In school, in sports and in life it is not only socially acceptable to do as little as possible but actually encouraged. The icing on the cake is that, for whatever reason that cannot be explained, these kids feel ENTITLED TO EVERYTHING, and are willing to do nothing to get it.

Something for the Struggling – SMILE TODAY!

Some days are awful and sad days come like a

Monday, expected but unexpected simultaneously

In some way, shape or form things will go wrong

Life moves on and we figure it out

Every thing will be right in the world

Tomorrow or the next, the world will right itself

On the evening of the darkest

Days, the morning shall shine brighter

Always remember your worth

You’re unique and you’re worth so much to so many

Fake it until you make it. Smile and more smiles will come. Be happy and happiness will follow. Use the frequency illusion for good and speak it into existence.

The hard days will come but they will eventually leave. Better days are always near. Stay strong and SMILE TODAY!

I Absolutely Do Need Time

Do you need time?

Such a loaded question, do I need time…

Daily, I need time.

I have to make money to survive, so I work as much as I can but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Laundry needs to be done, children need to be fed and cared for, messes need to be cleaned up, maintenance and upkeep needs to be done just to make ends meet. When the showers are done, our bellies are full, and little heads are on the pillow for the night, we have an hour to be ourselves and indulge in our hobbies.

Weekly, I need time.

Every weekday is the same, copy and pasted back to back until the weekend hits. We work, we clean, we feed, we sleep. It’s the same cycle of survival every middle class family goes through. And then the weekend rolls around and we have an extra 10 hours to do whatever we want to do on the weekend. Since we don’t have time during the week to do everything we need to do from Monday to Friday, we use this time to do everything we can to make up for what we can’t do on the weekdays.

Yearly, I need time.

365 days sounds like a long time, and to some extent, it is. But the problem is that once you get caught up in the “Continuous daily cycle of survival” that we talked about earlier, everything passes in an instant. Family members rarely get seen and, in some cases, even spoken about, because our daily survival takes precedence. The vacations we plan and the people we aspire to be fade into the nothingness.

So of course I need time, we all need time, it’s the most precious non-renewable resource in the universe BECAUSE no matter how hard we try, time waits for no man.

At the end of every life, no matter the length, everyone would happily agree to one more year.

She Fkin Hates Me

This one hits home a little harder than most of the topics I have/will cover. This is not just a post to vent, to converse but also for some advice. So this one may be a tad more desperate than anything else.

Without delving into the personal too much, the essence of this post is about one of our children.

We are a separated/divorced couple who have each others kids half time. For the most part all of the kids enjoy their time being with us and never really complain about or begrudgingly come over.

Except for one child. No matter what is done or said, she refuses to come over UNLESS bribed or coerced by her mother to come stay with us.

We have game nights, movie nights, arts and crafts, etc. nothing works. The children never lack attention or affection when they’re here. They are our absolute focus.

This breaks my heart to no end. People give advice, such as “don’t let it get to you”, oh yea? Great help there Karen. How can your heart not break when, one of the only things in the world that you love unconditionally, you get put on the back burner for everyone else.

I feel like I’m out of options and I’m running out of time before the connection between us dwindles into nothingness.

Help. Please.

2027

What will your life be like in three years?

3 years… a lot can happen in over 1000 days.

If I had to take a shot in the dark I’d say life will be about the same. Let me further explain.

I’d likely still live in the same house and drive the same car. I’ll have the same significant other and the same children, albeit a tad older. BUT…

The differences will be a new job and a lot more freedom financially and leisurely.

My goal in the next 3-5 years is to have a job that I can travel and spend my life doing the things I love to do.

It’s always been a goal of mine to have a career that I enjoy doing and that allows me to still have the freedom to enjoy life the way it is supposed to be enjoyed. Not working to survive.

Audio/Electronic Book vs Physical/Paper Copy

Good evening! I’m here to strike a debate!!

I’m going to spin my story and hopefully everyone gives me their opinions in the topics

Physical/Paper Copies:

Personally, nothing beats a physical book in my hands. The feel of the book while I’m turning the pages and the anticipation of what’s to come on the next page? As well as, having a physical collection to display to everyone else. Immaculate.

The only issue here, again in my opinion, is that the physical copies can get a little pricey. Especially when you read a book a day.

*reading at night can complicate things*

Audio/electronic copies:

In terms of convenience, there is nothing better. To have an entire world in the palm of my hand with the capabilities of stopping and starting exactly where I left off AND being able to read at night with no issues is a major plus.

The price of the electronic books is a nice thing, even though you’re paying for data and cannot show off the collection.

All in all, I am a firm believer in buying the actual book. Not necessarily because it’s the “right” choice but because it’s the choice that gives my brain the most serotonin lol

Lazy Day

Invent a holiday! Explain how and why everyone should celebrate.

On the first Monday of every quarter, all businesses should be shut down for that day. All employees are required to stay home and DO NOTHING.

This holiday would be a great way to start the quarters for every business. Employees would have something to look forward too and the extra breaks would likely increase productivity at the start of each quarter.

The how is simple: stay at home in your pjs and do not leave the house.

The greatest holiday in existence.

What’s a Meal a Deceased Love One Made That’ll Never Be Recreated?

There’s always a recipe that’s passed down through the generations but what’s one recipe that you nor anyone else will ever eat again?

Personally, I will never get to enjoy the home made rabbit spaghetti that my grandfather used to make. It was deboned, tender and absolutely delicious.

The only person to even come close to his recipe is my grandmother and for all she is worth, even she could not replicate the tender rabbit that my grandfather mustered.