New Projects

I am a very bad blogger. Sorry that it's been over a week since my last update. Life tends to get away from me very quickly these days. I swear, my calendar for June has been full for weeks, and now July is beginning to fill up. And yet, I still feel like I'm neglecting dozens of friends. I haven't seen some of my friends who live in town in over a month, and that's just shameful. Maybe I'll invite a few of them over for a pool day ... nope, this weekend is full. Maybe Sunday of next? Possibly. Who knows? Too busy.

In other news, I feel I should defend myself. I HAVE been writing. Obviously I haven't been doing it here, but I have been writing. I've actually been catching up on some of my fiction.

I know, I can hear the gasps from here! "Has she overcome her writers block?" I hear you ask, your voice catching in your throat. To you I say, "Sort of."

No, I haven't been working on the novel I'm supposed to be working on. I am still stuck in the beginning of Chapter 7. I don't know what it is about that chapter, but I have no idea where I'm going right now, and my characters do not seem to want to give me a clue. What I really want is a road map that will just point me toward my destination with that novel, but I'm stuck asking directions from people that think "Take a left where the Old Market used to be" is an adequate direction.

No, I've been working on plotting a few new ideas. This is almost miraculous. It's been well over a year since I've had any new ideas I'm actually excited about enough to plot out. What's even better is as I get to the drafting stages of any of these projects, I can then work on the longer project as a form of procrastination. (Sometimes it takes mind games against myself to get any work done.)

So yay me!

And Now for Something Completely Different

I will admit, in addition to being a fashion junkie, a fiction glutton, and a political addict, I am a ruthless consumer of pop culture. There's no shame here. I read Perez Hilton. I watch American Idol. I know which Kardashian is which.

Currently, I am thrilled at the return of So You Think You Can Dance. I regularly find YouTube videos of my favorite routines to watch over and over again. And I always have an opinion. So for my friends who love it as much as I do, here are my takes on last night's Top 20 performances.

• Jordan and Tadd, Afro Jazz: The judges raved about how this routine was perfection, but I'm not sure what routine they were actually watching. I thought Tadd fumbled most of his lifts, Jordan was not nearly loose enough for the African side of the dance, and their timing was constantly off. There was a lift in the middle when Tadd was supposed to move Jordan from a handstand on one thigh to the other, and I could see how awkward it was for both of them to hold themselves up. Maybe the judges were just trying to keep enthusiasm up, but I thought the routine was painful to watch.
• Sasha and Alexander, Contemporary: Now this was the sort of routine I watch the show for. Sasha and Alexander had the precision, the power, and the passion that Jordan and Tadd lacked. And what do you know, it's a Travis Wall routine. Wall was in season 2 and has regularly delivered some of the most memorable choreography since. When he finds two dancers that can convey a story as these two dancers clearly can, he steps it up. I'll be watching this one again.
• Clarice and Jess, Broadway: Another routine the judges praised that really did nothing to impress me. While Jess is a Broadway dancer and Clarice executed the steps just fine, but my god was this one of the most boring Broadway routines I've seen. The real annoyance is how cute Jess seems to think he is. His pre-dance interview and rehearsal bit put me off of him almost immediately, and his smirk through the dance didn't help. Mostly a forgettable dance.
• Ryan and Ricky, Lyrical Hip Hop: Oh, I love this song! They danced a hip hop number to "Ain't No Sunshine," which is an amazing song. Weird thing was, and the only criticism the judges offered, was that Ryan smiled through the whole thing, which didn't gibe with the story of the song or the dance. The dancing was really strong though, even if the choreography was at times a bit repetitive.
• Caitlynn and Robert, Jazz: Ooh! A Sonya Tayeh routine. Sonya is the weirdest, most original choreographers on the show. The second one of her dances starts, you know exactly who is responsible for it. And because Caitlynn's partner was injured, she got to dance with Robert from season 7. They did a wonderful job, and Robert was able to accomplish the lifts that Tadd could only dream about.
• Miranda and Robert, Jive: Again, everyone else loved this routine, while I thought it came off as a bit weak, forced, and a little sloppy. There was no doubting the energy the couple brought to the stage, but the constant mugging was a bit off-putting. I get that it's a jive, but if some of the energy they put into pulling faces had gone into their footwork, I might have liked it better.
• Missy and Wadi, Jazz: This was a strong performance, but I found the choreography a bit unimaginative. The only thing that was really impressive was Wadi's flying over the box set piece; wow, that boy can move!
• Melanie and Marko, Contemporary: By far my favorite of the night. Another Travis Wall routine, this dance was emotional, beautiful, and memorable. The dance was about two statues that came to life when no one was looking, and as Melanie and Marko came together, they displayed the chemistry I had been waiting for. I think this will be one of the best of the season.
• Ashley and Christopher, Hip Hop: This was a hip hop set to Cee Lo's "Forget You", and had all of the cheese and fun of the song. That said, it wasn't exactly difficult choreography, when there was any choreography at all. The dance was mostly a mime to the lyrics of the song, which was very Junior High. Not quite to the level we've come to expect from SYTYCD.
• Iveta and Nick, Quickstep: Lucky for everyone, the first person to get the "kiss of death" the quickstep was the world champion in quickstep. Iveta, of course, rocked it, and Nick stayed right there with her. I think the two of them have enough of a following already to stick around, and now we won't have to see another quickstep for the rest of the season.

So that's that. Fun blog post for me. Empty reading for you. And I meet my writing goal for the evening, and I can still write some fiction tonight! Woot!

Where are the jobs?

So I came across an article yesterday in the Investor's Business Daily website that discussed an op-ed released by Obama's new Jobs and Competitiveness Council. Obama promises he really is concerned about the massive unemployment in the country, and to prove it, he's put together this council dedicated to finding every potential for job creation. He's vowed to "leave no stone unturned" in his quest to putting America back to work.

Unfortunately, the path he seems to be taking on this is mimicking his approach to everything: top-down, centralized power, and over-reliance on government power.

On the council are some of the biggest heavy hitters from the largest American companies: CEOs from GE, American Express, Time Warner, Kodak, Facebook, and more. Noticeably under-represented are members from the small business community. Granted it might be hard to come to the notice of the President when you employ fewer than 200 people, and yet they deserve a voice, seeing as small and medium-sized businesses employ more than half of U.S. Workers.

So what solutions has the Council come up with?

• More training and education.
• Provide more loans.
• Require more energy efficiency, forcing people to hire construction workers to retrofit buildings.
• Cut red tape by streamlining the permitting process.

Wait! What was that last one?? Really? Big business wants us to allow new businesses to acquire new permits, thus allowing them to legally work? That sounds like a step in the right direction. Granted it's a fairly small step, considering the number of regulations hindering the creation of new companies and even new jobs. Let's see what the op-ed says:

• Streamline permitting. Cut red tape so job-creating construction and infrastructure projects can move forward. The administration can take a few simple steps to streamline the process of obtaining permits, without undercutting the protections that our regulatory system provides.

Um, does anyone know what that really means? Could it possibly mean that government needs to every once in a while get out of the way so businesses can do what they need to do to make money and expand and grow? And is that for all sectors of the economy, or is that inclusion of "construction and infrastructure projects" deliberate? And wait. What exactly is involved in the permitting process that they're willing to cut?

Between the permits construction workers alone must get, they have to get "permission" to work from everyone from the IRS, EPA, HHS, OSHA, NAHB, NHBC, and that's just at the National level, and is in no way exhaustive. For other businesses, the permitting process can be just as long and longer. There are countless impediments to creating and expanding business, let alone conducting the day to day work of the business, that many (like me) shy away from any thought of entrepreneurship.

Perhaps the Jobs Council should take a look at this article published by the Cato Institute, which describes regulation as the hidden tax on job creation. At the very least, the article exhorts the federal government to at least make their regulations clear and concise. As it is, you can spend years in a business and be shut down by a single audit, due to the confusing, arcane, and often contradictory regulations on the books. The contradictions range from one regulation agency contradicting another to a single agency contradicting itself.

It's no wonder job creation has stagnated and then plummeted. If by the regulations alone, it's amazing there are ANY jobs anymore.

I did write, I swear!

I have vowed to write something of substance every day, and I have largely succeeded at that, with the exception of yesterday. You may ask, "Why, then, is today's post so short?"

First, I wrote some fiction, which I will not post here yet. Second, today's short essay was full of spoilers for the latest Doctor Who, and I don't want anyone who is following me here and may not be completely caught up to accidentally spoil the heck out of an awesome Season Six. Thus, if you ARE caught up, or if you don't care about spoilers, you can find a quick essay debating some of the intricacies of Doctor Who and its mysteries in my comment on my friend Catie's website.

That is all. Something of more substance tomorrow.

Unemployment

You know. You've heard the statistics. You've read the reports. You are not unaware that we are "living in the worst economy since the Great Depression" (anyone else getting sick of that phrase?).

But I'm here to tell you, the facts do little to convey the truth, and they offer even less comfort.

At the end of the next month, I will have been officially unemployed for a full year. Considering my last job paid only $2000 for about six weeks of work and before that I was waiting tables, you could say I've been under-employed for much longer.

As I wrote earlier, I do love taking care of my home and being a bit of a housewife. However, at times it can be very, very hard not to contribute to the financial stability of my young family. I want to help pay off debt; I want to increase our savings. I desperately want to improve our credit ratings for when we want to buy a house or a new car.

And there doesn't seem to be a damn thing I can do about that.

I've been applying to jobs for months. I don't mean I've just been searching for the perfect job and lamenting that it doesn't exist, as some people have done. I mean I have applied for EVERY job in the past many months. That means everything from academic and policy jobs for which I am actually trained and qualified; that means mediocre secretary positions that I could do in my sleep; that means retail jobs that are hiring large groups of applicants.

Still nothing.

The jobs I'm over-qualified for are well aware of that fact, and they don't want to take the time to hire and train someone who's going to have at least one foot out the door, looking for something better. The jobs I'm qualified for are inundated with people just like me: over-educated, under-employed, and perfectly willing to accept less than we're worth.

I won't lie to you; it's incredibly frustrating. After a while you start thinking, maybe it's me. And in some ways, it really is. I am a less than ideal candidate as I lack the experience for the jobs I really want (they're all wanting 6-10 years plus the education), and I would be a horrible fit for the jobs I don't (I'd be bored, but happy just to have a job).

Some days are easier than others: I appreciate having the time to do my own thing and learn how to be a better cook and wife, and I love getting a chance to see my friends any time I want. Other days are worse: I feel like a leech on my husband as he works to support us both, and all of the things I use to fill my days feel trivial, silly, and a waste of time and money.

Today was one of the bad days. I was rejected in the first wave for one of the jobs I actually really wanted and spent days on the resume and cover letter. Then I spoke to my mother, who, in her worry and love for me, made me feel even worse. "I don't understand. You are too smart, you have plenty of experience, and you can do almost any job. You're the only person I know who can't get ANY job, lately. I know it may not be what you want, but you should be doing SOMETHING. Stop being so picky. Just get out there and get a job. You're not trying hard enough."

Ouch.

In my busiest application week, I sent out over 40 resumes, signed up at every temp agency in the area, and put up profiles at every networking site I could find. And nothing came of it.

My mother's reaction is understandable, though. I AM the only person in my circle of friends and likely her circle of friends who doesn't have anything. It seems ridiculous that I can find nothing.

It must be me, right?

Like I said, today was one of the bad days.

The World According to GM

Dan Akerson, CEO of GM had many things to say in his interview with Detroit News, published this morning. Naturally, none of them will likely endear him to you as they nearly turned my stomach. A few key points:

• The governments bailout of GM is "beginning to wear" on him and his company. He likens the billions of dollars and oversight the government has "pushed" on his company to a visit from the in-laws that has gone on too long.
• He's worried that government ownership of GM is driving his stock prices down. However he refused to state whether GM would actually buy back that stock from the government, paying the taxpayer back, but not to worry, because "[they] have a lot of cash." Even if they were to buy back that stock, at its current price, the bailout will still have lost over $12 billion.
• Also, don't worry about judging whether the bailout was a good thing or not. He's got you covered. "We are in the midst of transforming an iconic American company so 20 and 30 years from now (taxpayers) will look at this company and they'll say, 'Absolutely it was the right thing to do." We shouldn't evaluate the bailout on economic returns, because this was an "icon" we were saving. "It's a good feel good story."
• He thinks government can still do more for him and his by raising federal gas taxes. That will force consumers to purchase new and more efficient vehicles, providing economic incentive for his company to provide those same cars, without forcing them to with economic penalties. "You know what I'd rather have them do — this will make my Republican friends puke — as gas is going to go down here now, we ought to just slap a 50-cent or a dollar tax on a gallon of gas," Akerson said. "People will start buying more Cruzes and the will start buying less Suburbans."

So there you have it, folks. I kind of just want to throw this guy in the Detroit River and see if anyone would even think of saving him. Anyone with me?

Weinergate? Really?

Ok, just a quick note on this ridiculous political scandal.

Summary: Congressman Anthony Weiner accidentally tweets a crotch shot to all of his followers on Twitter when he meant to send it as a private message to a college coed in Washington whom he had never met before. The message immediately disappears, and Weiner insists that his account has been hacked. He hires a lawyer to "investigate" the matter, and the media grabs hold of the story. For days he insists that he had no knowledge of this message being sent, and he "cannot say with certitude" whether the crotch shot is of his package. Cut to today and Weiner admits he was lying all along. He's been actively sending intimate pictures to young women he meets on the internet.

There's only one real reason this is a scandal at all. He lied about it and tried to hide it.

Who cares about a guy flirting online with girls? Really, only his wife should care about that. But it became a matter of national fascination because he tried to hide it. Seriously, if the guy had just admitted, "Yeah. That was me. I made a mistake of indiscretion. I owe my wife an explanation, but it's of no concern to you" the whole matter would have gone away without much ado.

Instead he insisted he had been hacked, which happens to be a federal crime, and tried to cover the matter up with much blustering. That only instigates investigation by intrepid bloggers and journalists. If they didn't think there was something to discover, if everything had just been laid bare, there wouldn't have been much attention, and there wouldn't be a scandal.

Seriously, who is coaching these politicians? In the age of camera phones, traceable data, and almost no privacy, the worst thing you can do is deny, deny, deny, because chances are, someone's got proof that you're full of it.

Renting Versus Buying

Sadly it's been too long since I've posted anything. I could easily use the excuse that I was out of town for my one year wedding anniversary (woot!), but that is a disingenuous excuse. I didn't go out of town until this last weekend, and I've had plenty of time both before and after that to post anything. I swore I would do better with this attempt at blogging (and husband scolded me for not updating), so mea culpa. Renewed efforts and all that.

So I've been pondering a major debate for all newlyweds and young professionals, and thought I would do so transparently and systematically here. I've been debating the age old question of whether tis better to suffer the slings and arrows ... no wait, wrong venue. Whether to rent or buy. Yeah, that's it.

You see, my husband and I are have been living together for about four years now. (Quick math majors, how many years of living in sin? Riiight.) We've moved from the top two floors of a house to a two story townhouse to a large two bedroom apartment. To some this may seem like we're moving backwards; you're supposed to move from tract housing to condo to townhouse to house, right? But we've maintained roughly the same rent--if anything it's gone up-- and square footage--from 950 square feet in the house to 1,400 square feet in the townhouse. We've lived quite comfortably with progressively nicer amenities and locales. I think we've done quite nicely.

Lately, though, I've been feeling pressure from my family and others to start looking into buying a house. After all, it's the buyer's market! We should be stocking money away so we can buy a cute little home to have our babies in.

I feel the allure. I do love living in a house with land. I want a fireplace and a front porch and a driveway and a backyard. I want the space to live without worrying if my high heels on the floor are bothering my neighbors. I want to be able to blast the music without having to worry about waking up the toddler next door.

My hesitation is whether we need to buy a house to get what we need. I think renting a house provides all of the benefits without the drawbacks of home ownership. Consider this article: Economics 21 Renting v. Buying. The article discusses that while the perception is that, beyond being the "American Dream"-- I thought that was starring in your own reality show or getting a gold medal or becoming president--home ownership actually holds fewer actual benefits than purported. We might get mortgage tax benefits and the like, but in the end, the overall economic benefits of home ownership fail to trump the benefits of renting.

While the common wisdom is that renting is just throwing money away, when you could be "investing" that money in home ownership, the truth is, both schemes involve handing money over. Consider that even if you buy a house, unless you are buying it directly with cash, you are always renting in some capacity: "The choice is between renting the property directly or instead renting the capital necessary to buy the property." The majority of the money you pay off on your mortgage, toward "home equity", is just an "added expense that renters don't have."

And that home equity is not the only added expense that home owners have. They have to pay for all repairs out of pocket, and all services such as gas, water, and trash pickup are added expenses each month. Most rental companies will include these services and repairs in the price of the rental. Home owners also must usually buy all of the appliances in their home, whereas most rentals include these with the house. Further, few homes provide the amenities that apartments or even townhome rentals provide, such as pool and gym access.

So why buy? If you want to live in a house, why not just rent? The costs-benefit analysis on a purely economic scale favors renting, unless you can pay outright or are likely to stay in the home far beyond the length of the mortgage. So why do so many still buy their homes?

For me, I guess it would be the sense of being settled, of finally fully belonging somewhere and having it belong to you. Any changes you make to the property are fully your choice and responsibility. You are less likely to pull up roots and move. You have more of a sense of security (assuming you can make the payments continuously and don't have the threat of foreclosure over your head as so many do these days).

What else? Why do so many of us want our own homes?