Entries from December 2006 ↓

I read some sad news today & suddenly I realized my problem last night wasn’t so bad after all.

Chris wrote something that brought tears to my eyes:

My father was a good and decent man who did the best he could throughout his life.  He wasn’t the perfect father, but what father is.  He loved and cared for my mother, my brothers and me in many ways.  In the end, that is what is important.

The last sentence says it all. Life is precious & often times too short. Thoughts & prayers go out to Chris & his family.

I had a bad night & it sucks [totally].

Props to Joe Diffie.

My friend knows I feel like a “string being unraveled”.

A king & a kindred fool, [I’m one of] those who wait forever… for ships that don’t come in. “At least we had our chances, there are those who never have.”

My friend thinks he’s funny. Really he is [but don’t let him know I said so].

He sent me a weather-related email tonight:

Hey what happened to the snow? The weather girl was wondering where the six inches went. Ha. Ha.

My friend knows how to make me laugh.

 

I’m going to the Sabres’ game on Saturday! Huge props [& hugs ;)] to my boss for giving me the day off. I told you I have the best boss in the world. I was on the schedule to work & we worked something out. This will be my first game of the year [not season, the whole year]. Better late than never, huh? 

Watching the Sabres playing tonight, I can’t wait.

This was in my email inbox when I got up this morning:  

MYTH #1: Raising the minimum wage will not decrease poverty because minimum wage earners are not sole breadwinners.

Wrong. Nearly 15 million workers, 11 percent of the US workforce, would directly or indirectly benefit from a raise in the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour. More than a third of the adults that will receive a raise are their families’ sole breadwinner. [Children’s Defense Fund, “Increasing the Minimum Wage: An Issue of Children’s Well-Being,” 4/7/05]

Nearly 37 million people live below the poverty-line, including 13 million children. Among full-time, year-round workers, poverty has doubled since the late 1970s — from roughly 1.3 million then to more than 2.6 million today. [U.S. Census Bureau, 12/14/05] An unacceptably low minimum wage is a key part of the problem. A full time minimum wage earner takes home just $10,700 — which is at least $6,000 below the poverty line for a family of three. [U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 1/24/06]
 
MYTH #2: Most minimum wage earners are teenagers or part-time workers.

Wrong. Nearly 80 percent of those who would benefit from a raise in the minimum wage are adults, not teenagers. 54 percent are full-time workers, and 30 percent work between 20 and 34 hours per week. [EPI, Minimum Wage Issue Guide, 01/06]
 
MYTH #3: Minimum wage earners are entry level or new workers.

Wrong. It is increasingly difficult for minimum wage earners to move out of low-wage jobs. A recent report from the Center for Economic Policy and Research shows that more than one-third of adult minimum wage earners will still be earning the minimum wage three years later. [WorkingUSA: The Journal of Labor and Society, “No Way Out: How Prime-Age Workers Get Trapped in Minimum-Wage Jobs,” 12/05.]
 
MYTH #4: Raising the minimum wage is bad for the economy and will lead to higher unemployment.

Wrong. Raising the minimum wage has no negative impact on jobs, employment or inflation. In the four years after the last minimum wage increase passed, the economy experienced its strongest growth in decades, as more than 11 million new jobs were added (at a pace of 232,000 per month) and inflation was stable. The low-wage labor market also saw improvements through lower unemployment rates, increased average hourly wages, increased family income, and decreased poverty rates. Further, studies of state-level minimum wage increases show that the increases did not produce unemployment or slow jobs. [EPI, Minimum Wage Issue Guide, 01/06]
 
MYTH #5: Raising the minimum wage will hurt small businesses.

Wrong, again. A recent Gallup Poll revealed that 86 percent of small business owners do not believe that an increase in the minimum wage would hurt their business. Three out of four maintained that a 10 percent increase would have no affect on them, and nearly half of small business people polled thought that the minimum wage should be increased. [Gallup Poll, “Minimum Wage Has No Impact on Small Business,” 5/9/2006] New economic models observe that employers absorb the costs of wage increases with higher productivity, lower turn-over costs, decreased absenteeism and increased worker morale. [EPI, Minimum Wage Issue Guide, 01/06]

Any thoughts?

 Inspired by the Most Notorious Unsolved Murder in California History.

They say this is the best “murder mystery” movie made all year. They were right. It comes out on DVD Tuesday [12/26].

 I think we can call this a holiday headache.

My relative down in Florida sent me a picture of some tornado damage. I have very little details except the Weather Channel said there were no deaths.

I must have been on Santa’s nice list this year. I didn’t get the DVD recorder I had my eye on. I got something just as great!

[But] The best gift I could ever get is spending a great holiday weekend with my family. That’s where the true meaning is. Prayers to the servicemen & women away from their families. Prayers to those without their loved ones.

Even without the snow, today my mood is better than it was last week. I will have fun at work tonight. Maybe I’ll put on some holiday music & sing along. [YIKES! ;)] I’m in a good mood, a cheery mood … a happy, happy mood today.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry & then you’ll tell your spouse how much you love them. The last kiss is a movie about love & life or life & love [no matter your age]. $11,596,143 made at the box office. I think it’s a “guy movie” guys don’t want to admit to.

 

The Last Kiss will be available on DVD 12/26/06.