Need to rant for just a second. Tonight we went and saw Spamalot at the Zigfield Theatre, a small community theatre just down the street. For those of you who don't know what Spamalot is about, let's just say it's not rated PG. There is swearing, sex, and other general bits of hilarious naughtiness. At one point in the second act the group in front of us stood up and walked out. Here is why I am mad.
It wasn't:
The Lady of the Lake's boobs spilling out of her dress,
The guy in his underwear with a D over his penis,
The naughty word spelled out with the shields,
The graphic descriptions from the French taunters,
The cursing,
The sexual innuendos,
The jab at the Jews,
or anything else that made them get up and leave.
You know what it was? You guessed it.
The gay one.
The song where Lancelot figures out that he is gay makes the woman in front of me stand up and usher her four kids out of the show. These "kids" are high school age or older. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS WORLD!? I mean seriously!? I don't understand how these people's minds work. These are the type of people that - whether they mean to or not - encourage bullying, encourage judgement, and encourage hate. The LGBT community and their supporters (me included) often blame closed-mindedness for their behavior. But I think it goes deeper than that. Is it their minds that are closed or is it their hearts?
How can anyone see a human being and think that because they are different from you that makes them less of a person. That makes it okay to taunt, torment, and torture them often leading to suicide? How can anyone look at my friend Payden and see anything but a beautiful and talented performer with a huge heart? How can anyone look at my friend Bryan and see anything but a hardworking individual with the biggest smile and the best hugs? How can anyone look at my friend Ryan and see anything other than an ambitious man who never gives up on his dreams and conquers everything he sets his mind to? How can anyone look at one of the most famous LGBT of all time - Ellen Degeneres - and see anything other than the most giving, big-hearted, beautiful, inspirational, and truly kind person in the whole world? Most importantly, how can anyone look at these individuals as anything other than a human being who deserves respect?
I have been wanting to write this post for over a month now and just haven't had the energy to sit down and write it down...until now. I'm sure you all recall a certain furlough that happened about a month which caused quite an uproar on The Facebook. Now, don't get me wrong, I love me a little Facebook time and seeing what all my peeps are posting, but occasionally I just get fed up! Don't you!? I mean, seriously, on one of my friends timelines he had six Obama/government bashing posts in one day. I think we get the point.
Now I'm not saying that the furlough didn't suck, because it totally did! And if I had been directly affected by it, I would have felt like complaining too; however, what good would it do me? When you see all these people posting complaint after complaint and whine after whine on Facebook it's enough to make you go crazy. The only thing they are accomplishing by all that complaining is pissing off half of their Facebook friends. I know during the furlough I hid all post from three different people on my feed because I had just had enough.
I think the difference between me and the people who shared all those anti-government posts is that I always try to spin things in a positive way. You know that saying that someone always has it worse than you do? I take that saying very seriously. So yeah, it sucks that a huge portion of our country was out of the job for a few weeks. They probably had to rework their budget and cut out a few things like movies, or eating out at restaurants, or buying a book they've been wanting to read. But even with all the crap things going on in our country and with our government at least our country doesn't look like this:
Granted, the US has its own poverty problems, but the fact of the matter is that our 16% rate of poverty doesn't even come close to the 77% in countries like Haiti. Or the 60%-70% in nearly every country in Africa. Yeah, America's got it's problems, but I still feel pretty blessed to live here.
Don't you hate it when people judge you, or stereotype you, or assume things about you? I know I do. How do you think President Obama feels, or the members of congress feel, about all the hate that has been hurled toward them recently? Believe or not, those people are human, and they have feelings. I try my very best not to judge anyone. Sometimes it's hard, but I try. Every post that someone put on facebook, or shared, or liked is just perpetuating hate. I'm not okay with that. The God I believe in is a God of love and not hate, so I try to live my life loving others instead of hating and judging them. I have no idea why they have made the decisions they have made, but it's not my place to judge them for those decisions. My place is to accept the decisions and try and make the best of them or to get behind a legitimate cause in the hopes of changing those decisions for the better. Complaining won't do any good, so why bother?
Politics aren't the only thing on Facebook that are causing arguments and un-friending to happen. Another one is the R word. That's right - Religion. GASP! Now, I am a religious person. Everyone who knows me already knows this about me. It is something I am very open about, very vocal about, and very serious about. However, I know that not all of my friends on Facebook feel the same way as I do about religion, so I try not to overload them with too many "spiritual posts" because I don't want them to unfriend me. Some may say that that means I am stifling my opinions or hiding who I really am, but I don't see it that way. I am trying to be considerate of my fellow Facebookers by respecting their opinions. I only wish they would do the same for me.
As I said I have a few friends on Facebook who don't believe in religion which is fine with me, but when they start posting anti-religion posts, that really gets to me. Just like with politics I am overwhelmed by the judgement that these people are perpetuating. Particularly because many of these people left their religion because they were feeling judged. Now they are returning the favor. On one of my friend's posts someone commented, "If anyone posts more than two religious posts, I unfriend them." I like to think that my friends would respect me enough to just block me from their news feed rather than unfriending me like a twelve year old would after an argument.
This hurts more than the political posts because these are directed at me whether they mean them to be or not. They are. Some of the things I see are hard to stomach and even though those people don't believe in God, I do. And believe it or not, I don't pray for the world to believe in God, I just pray that the world would find it's own humanity and stop the madness that is happening all around us. I will probably post a more in depth post about religion and my views on it in the future, but for now, I want to leave you with one thought.
Since my last posting I have been on Vacation, baking for a bake sale, working, seeing Odyssey Dance's Thriller, making posters, attending Disciple class, working, playing bells, reading for Monday Night Book Club, working, reading all six Gallagher Girls books, working, celebrating brother's birthdays, dieting, working, going to the gym, watching the Biggest Loser, watching CSI, watching Ellen, and working.
So...I've kind of been a little busy.
BUT I'M BACK!
I have a post that will be coming out soon that has been rattling around in my brain for about a month now and I am very excited to get it out of my brain and in front of all of you.
STAY TUNED!!!
Also check out the new music and art featured now!
And now please enjoy these cat memes to hold you over until my next post:
I want to apologize for ignoring this blog. Recently I have had a whole lot of life poured all over me and it kind of got in the way of blogging. I want to take this time and explain what has been happening in my life recently.
1. First things first. Since mid-July I have been trying to get a job with Disney. It started off with me sending my resume to the head of Technical Services at Disneyland. He called me back and told me to wait until the fall when the job posting would appear on the Disney Careers website. I checked the site every day. When September came it was about five times a day. Finally on September 13th the job appeared. I sent in the application. The next morning I took a web-based interview and after that I immediately had to set up an in-person interview at Disneyland. Mom and I drove to Las Vegas on the 21st, drove to Anaheim on the 22nd, had my first interview with casting on the 23rd, had my second interview with the head of Technical Services on the 24th, then hopped in the car and made the twelve hour trip home that same day. Never. Again. I was so tired on/after that drive.
I was told that I would hear one way or another whether I got the job by the end of the week. Friday came and went. Saturday came and went. So did Sunday and Monday. Yesterday I finally decided to get some answers and called the casting center and Jerry (head of Technical Services). I got voice mails. Luckily Jerry is pretty good about getting back to you quickly and he called me shortly after I left the voice mail. I didn't get the job, but he encouraged me to keep in contact with him and they have my information on file for the next round of hiring in December. I wouldn't have to fill out another application and I wouldn't have to come back for another interview. Jerry told me to keep him up to date on any changes to my resume. I am going to send him an email today to thank him for the opportunity and to see what I can do in the meantime to beef up my resume and give me a better chance the next round.
When I heard the news these were my initial reactions:
So I am through all those emotions and now I am moving forward. Yeah, it sucks, but it's actually kind of a relief too. Had I gotten the job I would have had to be in California by the end of the month for training. That's extremely fast and I didn't know if I could get me and all my stuff moved and a place to live and a car (more on that coming up) in time. I think Disneyland is still in God's plan for me, it's just his plan for me a little later. Now I can be home for one more Thanksgiving, one more Christmas, one more TSO concert, and one more lots of things. And until the next round of hiring starts you can be sure that I'm going to do everything in my power to make me the top applicant. As my dear friend Jenna reminded me recently that whether or not I got the job I am "mother f****** Holly Pierce!" She's right and I plan to show the world that I do not give up because of one bump in the road!
2. The next reason life has been crazy lately was because the transmission finally died on my car. Mako was a great car and I loved her. I was sad to see her go, with all my bumper stickers for a measly $450, but at least it was something. AND she's going to go to a 16 year old girl for her birthday all fixed up and shined up and I hope she'll lover her as much as I did! This also meant that I had to take out a loan which I swore I would never do after taking Dave Ramsey. Luckily my parents didn't have to co-sign because I have really good credit. I have been spending all of my free time scouring KSL and autotrader and finally found something to go and test drive. It's a 2006 Chevy Malibu and it's black and in amazing condition. I signed for it last night. The dealer has some things he needs to fix and get checked on it and then it's mine and I have plenty of bumper stickers to replace the ones I lost. :)
Saying Goodbye
Saying Hello
3. We are leaving for California and Disneyland AGAIN on Friday, but this time it's for vacation. YAY!!! So needed. I get to see lots of my favorite people like Laney and Ryan and Pluto! It's going to be so much fun, but I am not looking forward to that drive again! Plus with everything going on I haven't had much of a chance to get ready for the trip. Oh well, I've got two more days right?
4. Finally I have been working extra hours to make up for the time I will be missing next week. I realized that I kind of don't mind it. I think since I didn't get the job at DL I'm going to talk to my new boss (3 managers all rotated stores this week) about possibly becoming full time. My old boss is trying to get me a raise because of my amazing related sales (36% last month! Holla!) and if I got full time too I would be in a lot better shape financially. We'll see what happens!
Happy October everyone and I have a few other blogs floating around in my brain I just have to find the time to sit down and get them out of my brain and onto the internet! Stick around!
I'm sorry I've been so inactive for a while. There is so much life happening right now it's absolutely crazy! But today I was on Facebook and ran across something that I knew must be shared.
It's called Project Unbreakable.
Grace Brown, a photographer, started a small project that grew into something unstoppable. She took pictures of sexual assault victims holding posters of what their attackers said to them during the assault. Her project became so much more than what it was originally intended to be. Project Unbreakable is now a place for victims to speak out. It is a place of hope for those who have been attacked and others who will be attacked. The statistics are horrific. The posters are unthinkable. But this is not a dream. It is real and we need to wake up.
Many of the quotes are from family members and friends of the victims saying that it was somehow their fault. Rape is overlooked and commonplace. Project Unbreakable shows people what rape really is. It gives power and a voice to victims everywhere. It gives perspective to those of us who (thankfully) have never had to deal with that kind of abuse. It is a powerful tool that I believe has the power to make a huge change in this world. I plan on donating toward the cause.
I encourage all of you to take a few moments and visit Project Unbreakable and read the stories. These men and women are some of the most courageous people I've ever seen. They refuse to be victims any longer. They are fighting for change and for justice. They are survivors and they are
Twelve years ago today, something happened that would change history.
We were attacked.
Let me make something perfectly clear:
The Twin Towers were not attacked.
The city of New York was not attacked.
The state of New York was not attacked.
The Pentagon was not attacked.
Not even the USA was attacked.
What was attacked was:
HOPE
FAITH
ACCEPTANCE
PEACE
and
HUMANITY
itself.
While it was our great country and the great state of New York (as well as Pennsylvania and Washington D.C.) that was attacked physically - Osama bin Laden and the Al Queda attacked something much bigger than ourselves. That day was a blatant attack on all the values we should be striving for in this world.
They attacked our hope for a better world.
I continue to hope.
They attacked our faith because they thought theirs was right, and ours was wrong.
I still have faith.
They attacked acceptance of other races, religions, and nations.
I still strive for acceptance.
They attacked the idea of "World Peace" with four jet-sized bullets.
I still want World Peace.
They attacked humanity by throwing away human life for their pride.
I still believe humanity will prevail.
On days like 9/11 it's hard to see the good, but good can always be found. Twelve years ago, when tragedy struck, our nation came together like never before. We really were the UNITED States of America on that tragic day. That day will be etched in my memory forever. I was in the sixth grade. I walked to school that morning. When I walked in my homeroom, I was confused because the TV was on. Usually the TV was only on for the school news and that didn't happen till later in the day. I asked the first person I saw what was going on. A boy named Dallas said, "That plane just crashed into that building!" He didn't seem sad or scared. I think he sounded impressed, like it was some cool action movie. I don't blame him. Neither he, nor I, nor many of my classmates (I assume) really understood what was happening. I was more confused than anything. I'm sure the only one in that room who really got it and was horrified by the images flickering across the screen was my homeroom teacher, Ms. Eisler. I don't remember this now, but based on the timing of the attacks, I'm guessing my class watched as the second tower was struck. After that, I don't remember much. I don't remember what we did in each class, but I'm pretty sure the TV's were on in every classroom, all day long. I'm pretty sure I went home and my parents and I sat and watched the news that evening. They probably explained to me what was going on. I probably cried.
I was not directly affected by the events on that day like other were. I didn't know any of the victims and I'd never even been to New York, but that day affected everyone in this country as well as many across the world. The events of that day still bring a lump to my throat twelve years later, as well it should. Many people like to argue about the repercussions of 9/11 and the war and violence that followed. I don't care about any of that. The events of that day were a tragedy regardless of what happened afterward, which is why I choose to never forget. I choose to remember the victims that day and what they must have suffered through before their untimely death. I choose to pray for a better world where there is no hate, only love for every other human being on this planet. Even the terrible ones! I believe love is the one thing that will conquer every bad thing in this world.
On Saturday night we went to a concert up at Weber State University. The concert was "A Night with Audra McDonald" who is a big Broadway star. She sang many beautiful songs that evening, but one in particular really stuck out. It is from a new musical called Ordinary Days and as she sung it our faces began to mirror each other as tear after tear streamed down both of our faces. After the song was over we both had to take a moment to wipe away the evidence of the pain that song caused us as, as well as (I'm assuming) many other audience members. I sat in the front row and I saw every tear she shed. I hope you will take a moment and listen to the song below.
I hope you will take a moment today to remember - to pray for their victims and their families. Because even though twelve years have past. The pain still hurts like it happened yesterday. I hope you choose to never forget.
