Originally Written on March 21, 2008

We allowed a friend to stay with us while he looked for a job. That was eight weeks ago. He went to HS with my husband and despite the fact that they did not speak often, they grew up together and were very good friends. So when he contacted my husband through Facebook to tell us that he was moving back to the area, we were excited.

He moved back without a job though he supposedly had a one lined up. He was living with a friend, but after being out of work for several months, the friend asked him to leave so that his girlfriend could move in and help pay the bills. He called us. With no where to go and limited funds, I agreed to let him come living with us.

He did. And his generosity was unmatched. He allowed us to cook for him, to clean up after him, to provide him with a car and gas, and to buy food, 40s, and cigs. He allowed us to fall behind in our bills and to hope for promised money. And even made sure to leave us a tablespoon of Tanqueray that we had for over 1 year and White Zinfandel that I occasionally had to drink at night. He even finished off our vodka so that we would not get crazy and trashed one night.

We were blessed with eight weeks of his compassion. He passed up a job just so that he could spend more time with our family and he even made sure to be a negative influence on my daughter. He introduced inappropriate TV shows around our 22 month old and even left empty beer bottles around in an attempt to spark her curiosity.

Finally, we could not take anymore of his kindness; it was killing us. We were burnt out and longed for the boring, simple life that we had before his excitement. My husband asked him to leave. We give him a week and a half to make arrangements. He spent that time attempting to make us feel guilty.

Maybe I should have titled this post, “I’m Free” or something like that. Either way, my point is that after 8 weeks of being taken advantage of, we are free. And freedom, well, freedom only cost us approximately $2180. We learned a valuable lesson too.

We learned that there really are two kinds of people: givers and takers. The takers are vampires. They will suck you dry and then move on to others with no care for those they hurt. They are damaged- probably from birth.

After a friend suggested that I start a new blog, I decided that the best way to deal with these people is to help the givers out by sharing our stories.

Dear Oblivious Parent in the Supermarket:

Let’s talk for a minute about what it means to be a Parent- a real one. Parents teach their children morals and values, right? They learn how to say, “please,” and “thank you,” and more from the Parent. Real Parents care about fulfilling a child’s emotional, spiritual, and physical wants and needs, right?

So why the heck aren’t you Parenting? Why are you allowing your child to take things out of my shopping cart and throw them on the ground? Why are you OK with your child running up and down the aisles, pushing anyone who gets in her way? Why do you think it is OK to look at me, smile, and say “Toddlers”? I have a Toddler. She was sitting in the cart, behaving.

You, you are the reason our society is so screwed up. You are the reason that third graders plot to “take out” their teacher. You are the reason that 15 years old think it is alright to throw watermelons off bridges and into rush hour traffic.

And you are the reason that I hate people.

Sincerely,

The mother who almost gave you and your child and open-handed slap to the face.

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Originally posted on my now defunct blog “Wag the Dog”

I am alone. Except for her, and him, and her, and her. We are alone.

Up until 4 years ago, I was living in a false reality. I was under the assumption that human beings were generally good people. We helped each other out because we knew that deep down, it is the right thing to do. But this is not the case.

The reality is that human beings are takers. We are takers and we never give back. We “pave paradise and put up a parking lot” and then we plant a tree to give the illusion of giving back to the world.

This rant comes from a very dark place. It comes from a place of complete disgust. We are helping out a friend. He is living with us because, after moving from Atlanta to NY, he could not find a job and needed a place to live. He was living with another friend, but it did not pan out. And now I know why.

We have allowed him to live with us and he has decided that he was going to screw us over so completely that we actually had to miss a rent payment. I’m not going to go into details; it is not necessary. All that needs to be said is this- friendships are precious to me, but when someone screws me over once and then does it again, I am not too forgiving.

I am at a loss when I try to understand someone who is content with being a leech- a mooch- a loser. The Revenge of Intellect tells me that most good people keep to themselves and don’t ask for help. What sucks is that all the bad people are asking for help and the good people who respond are getting screwed?

I have been dropped into Oz. I’m wearing the ruby-red slippers and I am pouring water over these slimy bastards, one by one. And I am asking that all of you good people- the ones in hiding come out, come out, where ever you are. We need to regroup. There is strength in numbers and we can take back morality.

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Originally posted 3/18 on my now defunct blog, “Wag the Dog”.

If you haven’t noticed, I got a new design as implemented by The Domestic Diva. I am very happy with it and highly recommend her if you are looking for a quick and inexpensive redesign. She takes a template that you like and turns it into a brand that you love. So head on over there; it’s worth it- trust me.

Earlier this week we moved to a new apartment. After almost two years of living in an apartment that was without heat when the temperature dipped below 30 degrees, we moved the the most beautiful apartment in which we have ever lived. To boot, we put SWHS in a toddler bed and that opened a can of worms. I am also having flashbacks to when we put her into the crib. I’m secretly wishing that she would pitch a fit so badly   that we have to get her crib back.

Is it wrong that I have to lovk her in her room in order to get some sleep? I don’t really lock her in, but I did put a child-proofing contraption on her door because she kept opening it and running through the house. I sort of feel like I locked the Princess away in the dark tower. Please don’t call ACS.

Have you read about my Verizon struggles? If not, head over to Kristina Reviews and chime in. I really need to know if anyone else is having problems.

Did I mention that SWHS is TWO? It came and went so quickly and I think in total, I saw her for about 2 hours on her birthday. That’s right, we celebrated her entry into the Terrible Twos by dropping her off at Nanny and Poppy’s. We had a party planned with a beautiful invitation made by your’s truly, but we had to postpone it because we were moving the next day. The party will be rescheduled for no other reason than I want to use the invitations.

So wha’t the new energy? Well, I have decided to take my blog in a whole new direction. I am cutting ties to some organization and I am going to write what I actually feel instead of what will earn me a buck or two. I have a lot to say and I’m tired of being fluffy.