Feeling like an exotic dancer today. Life is good, although it could always be better, and I don't have to go to work, talk to customers, play the game or kiss butt ever again.
This may sound rather snotty, but I doubt anyone will read it anyway. I worked hard for over 30 years in an industry I do not respect, but I never felt I betrayed or defrauded a single customer. Nevertheless, I am so glad to be out of the game. I recently viewed the movie The Office with Jennifer Anniston(?). I will always now think of this actress as the "Flair" girl rather than the X-wife of Brad Pitt. This flick was hilarious and should be viewed by anyone who has worked for a large, service oriented corporation ala Starbucks. I was actually in banking, retired at 55, had to cancel my health insurance because it was approaching $1,000 per month (and would definitely be beyond that before I reach 66 and enter Club MEDicare). I now will receive $62.98 for the rest of my life, and I took a lower monthly pension so that my dear husband, Jim, could continue receiving this grand sum after my death.
Recently, my six year old MAYTAG energy star rated refrigerator died. We paid $55 to hear that it would be too expensive to repair, since it was the compressor, costing over $700 in parts and labor. Consequently, we bought a Hotpoint online from Home Depot for less than the Maytag, but it's not an energy star. I figure, if it only lasts 5 or 6 years, what difference does the energy rating make?
What irritates most is the fact that our clean, showroom perfect appliance will probably be scrapped, although someone may refurbish and sell it in Mexico. This equipment we are buying as a nation is designed to die rather than be repaired, as we used to do in the ancient 50s and 60s, maybe even the 70s. "Throw away" major appliances are an insult! We should be able to repair what's broken, rather than toss it on the landfill. This disregard for our planet is disgusting.
Corporate greed is an outrage. The way we manipulate and suck the blood of our workers is reprehensible. I am not a socialist or a communist, but I am a realist who denies that our nation seeks to fulfill each citizen's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These inalienable rights have gone the way of the dodo and the typewriter.
Enough ranting for today. 
