Christians and the Cross- Why that Symbol???

This is probably going to be one of those posts that get me in trouble, but I am truly, no sarcasm, perplexed by this.
My boys and I went with our good friend to Lenten services, during this past Lent. And it was the first time for them. Anyway, it was a lovely service and pretty typical of a Lent service, which of course, was pretty spectacular for the boys, having never seen anything like it. So, we sat up front and of course the cross is the first thing they notice and my youngest asked a few questions about it, but then nothing else. It wasn’t until Passover and my oldest was reading some stories about Moses, that this question popped up. He had handed his little brother the bible and he flipped to the Crucifixion story.  Peering over his little brother’s head, he got a very puzzled look and said, ” Why did they use a cross?” so I explained that it was a pretty common method of punishment at time.

All the Romans were doing it. I talked about it being used for torture and probably gave them way more information than they actually wanted or needed, but I have a tendency to do that. Then he asked about the cross necklaces that he sees people wear. What does that mean? I explained that it was a symbol of faith, like the Star of David.
He said that it just doesn’t make sense. Jesus wanted people to get along and love each other, not hurt each other. So why would the his people wear something that shows something so ugly.  If Jesus was the lamb of God, why not wear a cute little lamb instead of something used to kill people. Hmm kids.
Okay, Wow. So, How do I answer that one? Carefully of course.

My Answer? I don’t know why a cross and not a lamb.  As a symbol of faith, it isn’t the symbol itself that holds any power, it is the faith behind the symbol, isn’t it? I do know who I am going to ask though.
But the conversation has stuck in my head.  But, then I am a little bit obsessed with symbols, religion and the way of it all.  But, he does have a point and the more I think  about the more creepy it seems.

I would bet, if you ran around, today with a picture of a mutilated body in your pocket & you showed it to everyone, you would probably get locked up somewhere.  But, yet seeing someone wearing a piece of jewelry that has a man who is being tortured and nailed to a cross, doesn’t even raise an eyebrow.  I like the idea of a cute little lamb.   That makes a whole different statement.  That says, I am innocent and new, open to possibility, gentle…

So, what do you think?  and I do not want to hear, the crucifix is a symbol of what he did for us…. I understand that part of the symbolism.  I just wonder is that appropriate anymore?  Would Jesus, rather have people focused on his death or his life and what he taught???  That is I think where my little man was going with his question.

 

Happy Flippin’ Wednesday

Mornin’ folks.  I am taking a few before I have to run off and get busy  I finally quit a few of the freelancing gigs because I just had to much work.  I seem to have a little trouble saying no, when someone asks me to do something  Oh well, I have 3 different gigs now that I am enjoying, so as long as it continues this way, I’ll keep writing.  These 3 are enough to make the amount of $ that B is looking for, so he is at least happy with that.  I think, It is hard to tell with him though. He doesn’t have much to say about me writing and I get the feeling he isn’t too thrilled with it.  Not sure if it is because he doesn’t see it as a job and I am just goofing off at the computer or maybe he thinks no one would ever read anything I write?  who knows, I know he doesn’t read my stuff.  Anyway

I did actually have a point, so I went down to only 3 jobs at a time, which is still technically 4, since one group has me doing 2 different things both articles, but one goes to Canada & the other Australia & they pay separately.  But I did get an invitation this morning and I am seriously thinking about it.  But I just don’t know if I have time to do it.  If I say yes, then they send me 3 articles they want written in 48 hours.  Normally, I would say no problem.  But now,  I have a draft due , 1 completed article, & I really need to polish up another article today and get another copy of it done and its Wednesday.  It isn’t an early release for the kiddos, but I do have a thing Wednesday mornings.  Oh and did I mention the prepping thing?

I wrote a piece over the summer and someone saw it, and now wants me to ghostwrite a how-to e-book on the subject.  hmmm, see I am actually thinking about it.  I would, ebooks are usually pretty quick- I’ll figure it out

Countdown to a Good Friday

Holy Moly folks, I have been up to ears in work!  That would be why, you have heard much from me lately.  It isn’t that I don’t have a ton to rant about, I am finding more crap everyday, I just have not had time!  Now I do like being busy, don’t get me wrong, but with 5 now 6 jobs going at once, finding time to get those done and still juggle the whole house & kids thing, I am just finding it hard to squeeze my little bit therapy here in .  So here is a condensed version. I am liking the Australian gig, but the time difference is a pain in the ass.  Its tomorrow  there, when its today here.  Makes it a little confusing when you are told your deadline is friday then get a message saying where is your article – Thursday morning.  I did get it in on time, plus the 2 articles that have US- Time deadlines of Friday and Sat.  Those are done.  The the big secret project- I have both drafts done and should be able to finish those off quite easily.  I wanted to get all of these done, so I could goof off this weekend.  But, then I ended up taking another job this afternoon.  This one sounds pretty good, and as an added bonus, the guy is an America!  Not that I have anything against anyone who isn’t American, I just like that I won’t have to really think about how I am wording anything I send to him.  You can’t imagine the issues the word ‘pop’ caused.  They just insisted that I couldn’t use that verb to refer to a drink.  *sign* 

So, this will be better, I just need to make sure I get what he needs done, quickly.  I would much rather dump a couple of the other jobs and keep this one and 2 others I actually enjoy.  Anyway, I should get off here and go get the boys fed so I can get started on this  new thing.  Have a Safe weekend and stop sending me hate mail about Kenya, I am not getting rid of her.  

 

Well, it has been a bit since I have actually had a chance to get on here and  write for myself!  I have been up to my nose in freelance work, no complaints, just glad for a day to myself.  So, if you haven’t kept up on Facebook page,  I started looking for more work after the Info Army fiasco.  Still upset about that, but I am not going to do reports for free.  Anyway,  I signed up with an agency and while it was a little slow at first, because of course, I did need to build up a reputation, now I am turning down work.  Love that.  Sadly, it isn’t because of my mad skills as a writer.  It is probably because I have one special skill that is in high demand.  I read, write and speak fluent American english, just like a native, go figure.  Let’s back up a bit because I have tons to share.

 So, back at the beginning, sort of….

So about  a month ago, I applied for a job with a, let’s just call them a media company.  It is a huge company and they publish everything.  I just won’t say their name, because I am petty and refuse to give them free advertising. Strangely enough, I actually did a report on them for Info Army.  Anyway, they said that while they did enjoy my writing style, (sacasm is a marketable skill)  I was asking for too much money.  Okay fine, moving right along, I did some freelance gigs and took a few longer term contracts.  About 2 weeks ago, I got an email inviting me to bid on a job.  This company contacted me directly after reading my profile.  Well I am assuming they completely read my profile, but we’ll get to that later.  So, I checked out the job, it looked fine and appeared to be what I was looking for.  Steady work & steady pay, really flexible hours because I do have kids and other things I need to.  I put in my bid and promptly forgot about it.  They didn’t contact me until we were heading out the door to go stay at my baby brother’s house for the weekend.  They said they liked my proposal and would like me to write a test article on this subject they gave me and if they liked it, they would give me a contract for $1000 a month with the option of more work.  Oh yeah, I’ll take it, this would be the highest paying contract I have at the moment and would mean I could ditch one that really isn’t paying that well.  Because it really wasn’t a ton of writing.

I wanted to do the article then, but couldn’t so we left.  I ended up writing the article in the car on the way, using an actual pen and paper.  I know, I am just so old school.  We get to my brother’s and I try to use my niece’s laptop.  That didn’t work out.  Her laptop was so small , I am sure it was made for garden gnomes.  I felt like a giant!  My brother let me go to his shop and use his computer.  It was a little weird, because his computer screen was huge and so was his chair.  I felt a bit like Goldilocks.  Anyway, the article finally got written and submitted.  The rest of the weekend was awesome!  I always have so much fun with my baby brother regardless of what we do, but he made a point to get me some time away from the kids, which was really nice.  I do like hanging out with adults:)  Anyway, weekend was awesome and I didn’t hear back from that company till Sunday night after we got home.  I was awarded the contract and was told to expect the details of what articles they needed Monday.  Monday I woke up to an email asking if I could do 2 articles fitting such and such criteria and have them turned in by 4pm.  Now I do have 3 other working contracts now and I have them spaced out so I am not to terribly rushed and I am done with everything for the day by 3pm.  It is really hard to write with the boys home.  I told them I wasn’t sure because of other obligations so, they offered more money.  I said sure, I’ll do it.  I did, it was great, yada yada.  Then they sent the regular work to me.  Turns out, they were hired by a US-based media company to write articles for the US company.  The US company rejected the articles written by the Indians,  because well, my new Indian friends don’t sound like Americans when they write, so they had to turn around and hire someone who does.  Yay me for being born here.

It didn’t take me long to figure out who the US company was.  And I laughed and I laughed.  Then I laughed some more.  You guessed it.  It was the same company that wouldn’t hire me because I charge too much.  I bet they are paying the Indian company more than they would have paid me. I know the Indian company is paying me the amount that US company said was too much.  Idiots- The US company, not the Indians.  I bet they are laughing at how ridiculous this is too.

So, now I just laugh and laugh when  I send my bill out.  But it does make me wonder, why would an American company outsource something that clearing needs to be done by an American.  Well, they could possibly use a Canadian, but people would know it was a Canadian, seeing as how proper their English usually is. How sad is it that we now live in a world, where I can work for anyone in the world.  I can use technology to talk to my employer who is on the other side of world?  But, yet, I don’t  get hired by a company who has an office 50 some miles away?

Moving on, the trip to my brother’s did convince me that I do need to catch up with technology.  I still don’t own a cell phone:) I am usually home.  If I am not & I haven’t told you were I will be, you can just leave a message or just wait till I get home.  Bill does have a cell phone but not many people have that number.   But I am starting to see that I may need one soon.  I could have really used something to type those articles on when I wasn’t home.  It would be nice to be able to check my own email, instead of having to have my sister in law do it on her phone.  Really, she had to do everything, I couldn’t figure out how to work her phone.  If I get a cell phone, it should probably have a rotary dial

Anyway back to the typing issue, I didn’t really want a laptop since I like typing fast and want a full size keyboard. I  finally settled on getting an Alphasmart Dana.  It is a portable word processor with wifi & I flipping love it!  I am typing on it right now.  Remember those palm pilots?  this is a bigger version of those with a great word program.  When I am done with this, I will just send it to my computer and ta-da.  Very handy.  I can now work anywhere.    Love it.    And it is no bigger than a laptop.  

I really should go get started on my articles for next week.  Because of the time difference, I actually have to send the drafts to India, so they can send back here to the states to be approved or not, then back to India and then back to me.  It takes a bit of time.

Enjoy your weekend, we might or might not be expecting snow.    I think I will do a little baking and laundry.  I am thinking some homemade bread and cookies.  I think I have oatmeal and raisins …  we’ll see.

 

Beware of Half Naked Samurai’s with Blind Cats

What do a Samurai sword, a blind cat and Ben Wah balls have in common? I don’t know, but I can imagine some scenarios.  None of which, I can actually share on this blog without changing the rating to adult.

Lawrence police say they have now arrested  31-year-old Blake Robert Hurd,  after two connected and strange crimes. According to Sgt. Trent McKinley, this is what happened.  However, these are not exactly his words.  

Sunday evening, in the picturesque college town of Lawrence, Kansas, a cat burglar was on the prowl.

The first stop Blake made was a mobile home, where he broke in and stole, according to police, a Japanese style sword, a blind cat named Freddie and a pair of Ben Wah balls.

Later in the day, police were called to another residence where the owners said a half naked, sword wielding, blind cat and Ben Wah ball carrying man, broke in and raided their fridge and ate their food.  Apparently, he had worked up an appetite.  Freddie the cat, the sword and the Ben Wah balls have all been returned to their owner, who sounds like a very fascinating fellow.  It was unclear what the condition  of the returned items were.  Mr. Hurd has been charged with four counts.   What he was charged with, exactly, was also unclear.

I really hope this is one of those trials that gets a lot of media attention.  This could really up ratings.  I would certainly watch.  This story just has a little something for everyone.  I do have to wonder, exactly what made Blake take those items?  Did he have master plan?  Did he know to target those mobile homes?  What did he want with a blind cat?

This story just leaves us with many question, few answers and hope that Freddie didn’t suffer any long-term damage.

Our thoughts are with you, Freddie as you struggle to find meaning in all this.  Stay Strong Freddie.

I’ll keep you posted on this one:)

Editor or No Editor??

Now that is a question!  Personally, my answer would be Yes!  Everyone should get an editor.  Why?  Have you actually read my posts?  This blog is a perfect example of why people need editors.  I don’t edit this.  Occasionally, I will re-read what I typed and correct things.  I do usually, use spell-check, but I don’t really don’t care much on this.  I don’t have a ton of followers, or folks who read this, and really, I don’t care.  I am not getting paid to blog here.  Now, when I do get paid, you can bet I edit the crap out of it:) Oh yeah, back to the subject.  I need an editor.  Because, if you haven’t noticed, I tend to ramble and go off topic.  But, I write this blog, like I talk.  So, it the experience for you dear reader, would be much like trying to have a conversation with me.  Hmmm, I wonder if that has anything to do with why I don’t have a lot of friends??  Anyway,  I am lucky enough to have an editor.  She does not read this blog.  It would probably give her heart failure if she did.  But, let me tell you, she loves her virtual red pen.  She rips up my academic writings like my dogs going through a roll of toilet paper!  I usually feel quite offended  But, I still love her and she is probably my closest friend.  When she does the editing thing, she doesn’t really care for me either:) 

Writers don’t typically like editors.  Writing is an intensely personal thing.  It is your thoughts, feelings, ideas just thrown out there to be criticized, analysed and judged by anyone.  Having someone find fault with something you worked so hard on, hurts.  It is like  having someone criticize your children.    But, editors are so necessary.  It is really hard to correct your own work,  or to know when something just doesn’t make sense, or just doesn’t sound right.  I am a really good editor, for other people’s stuff.  Not mine.  That’s why I have one.  She is not a gentle, ‘hey why don’t we change this part’, kinda gal.  She is more like, ‘this is stupid, what the hell are you talking about here?  Fix  it’, kinda gal.   I love her.  Editors bring out the best in writers, so yes, go get one.

Now on to other news.  I am actually, doing quite well with the diet now.  I have figured it out, I am not actually hungry.  One of the main things that was really bothering me, is I used to smoke when I would write.  I didn’t get much written, because we never smoked in the house.  Now, I don’t smoke and I can actually get a lot written, but I still want to smoke.  Oh well, I am not going to start again.  But, for two days now, I haven’t gone over any of the amounts of fat/carbs that I am supposed to stay under.  So, I am pretty proud of myself.  I also, did a little video for a company reading a customer testimonial.  They hired me to condense/cleanup the testimonials/reviews they had received from customers. I didn’t change anything.  I kept their words and made them a little shorter to fit into the space they had allowed on the website.  I didn’t ask why they didn’t have room for the whole reviews, so don’t ask me.  Most of them were pretty rambling and several included actual names of employees, which they wanted taken out, for privacy reasons.  Anyway, it fun!  I had to get a webcam with mic and I think I did 9 versions of video before I sent it off.  I didn’t care for it.  I sound weird.  I didn’t think my voice actually sounded like that.  I also took some photos of myself, so I can use a somewhat decent photo for my profile.  The one I was using was taken by a 4-year-old and I look at little, well  I don’t know what  I look like, but I probably wouldn’t hire me based on that pic.  I had a little video interview as well.  The lady wanted to make sure I wasn’t some 30-year-old man from India before she officially hired me. lol  Nope I am not a man.  So, it seems like I will be writing articles regarding women’s issues too.

Speaking of which, I need to go and get my invoices done and sent off.  The house needs vacuumed and sheets changed too.  I imagine more needs done, but I would have to look at my list.  Yes, I have a list that tells me what I need to do everyday.  I like to make lists.

Enjoy the weekend:)

Happy Dance on a Snow Day

Today is yet another snow day.  It appears all of the weather folks got it wrong when they said we wouldn’t get but 2-4 inches total up here.  It is still snowing.  It is supposed to snow the rest of the day into tomorrow morning.  I got this information from NOAA.  Apparently, only NOAA really knows what is going on with the weather.

Whatever, no worries.  If the wind dies down a little, I’ll  make the boys go out and build us a fort:)  I have plenty of empty coffee can’s I have saving that will work great on this nice wet snow.

In other news, the jobs are really flooding in!  I did get the 150 article contract, and the folks from the Boston job asked if I would be willing do some more work for them.  Ah, yeah!  Like I would say no!  And, I am talking to a lady in Devonshire, England about writing for her magazine!  I am so loving this staying home and writing and getting paid to do it!  It is Perfect for me.

Bill was a little less than enthusiastic about it.  When I told him, he said, ‘yeah’.  That was his entire response.  I know he rarely pays attention to what I say, which is understandable, since I talk all the time.  But, the least he could have done was a ‘that’s great’ to it.:)  Oh well, we can’t have everything.  I am too proud of myself at the moment to be upset that he isn’t.  He might not have been paying attention enough to even register what I said.  I posted it on Facebook, maybe he will read that.  He doesn’t usually read my posts and never my blog, so it’s hard to tell.  Maybe he’ll notice next year at tax time, when I have income to report lol.  As for now, I’ll just do my thing and enjoy it.  I think his problem with the whole writing thing is, I am not getting a check with a set amount every week.  I think that is what he would really like to see, but we can’t do that right now.  The boys are too young to be left alone at home, we only have one vehicle, which limits us to where I can work.  It would have to be within walking distance.  It also has to be extremely flexible with my hours.  I can’t work before 8:15 am, I have to take the boys to the bus stop and have time to walk wherever I was working.  I must be home by 3:30 pm, to get them off the bus.  Except twice a month, when I need to be home by 2:15 pm because of early release. I can’t work nights or weekends.  I also need to have every day the school is out off.  That is a bit much to ask of an employer.  I have, and guess what, they can find someone else, without all the demands I have.

So, for me, staying home and writing freelance, works best.  Yeah, I may not get credit for some of the things I do (ghost writing) but I will get paid and I’ll be here for the boys and Bill when he is home.

That works for me.