The Main Thing is not to Panic...

Are you as sick as I am of hearing about the swine flu? I usually watch the news every day, but I'm getting tired of H1N1 being headline news every night! I want to hear about something else people! I would even rather start hearing about America's health care reform again! Wow...I must be desperate - I never thought I wanted to hear about that again!

Although, some of the news about H1N1 is starting to make me laugh. A couple of days ago I was watching CTV News, and they reported that clinics were giving numbered bracelets to the people in line for the vaccine that needed to have the shot the most - the ones who are more at risk of contracting H1N1. The part that made me laugh was that people are actually scalping their bracelets! So panic has given way to money...isn't that always the way. Don't get any ideas though - health care workers say they will personally put the bracelet on for you if you are at risk of the virus, especially if you have brought your children to get the vaccine.

Does anyone remember SARS? It was only a few years ago, and everyone was in a panic over it, then it all died down, and now no one ever talks about it anymore. I can't help but think that the swine flu will eventually go away, then we will forget about it, just like SARS.

Why do we work ourselves into a panic over things like this? Does no one understand that worrying and being anxious doesn't help? Does this sound familiar to anyone - "Who among you can add a single day to his life by worrying?" Can worrying stop your child from getting sick? If you panic, will it make the line up at the clinic move faster? If you develop an ulcer will you and your family live longer? Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? Yet, this is how we live. Not worrying doesn't mean that you don't care or aren't concerned about things - it just means that you know worrying is not going to help the situation. It means that you are rational.

I can't believe I missed so many days of blogging last month. I had forgotten how great it is to be able to voice my opinions about stuff like this without having anyone to argue with me. Although, sometimes I would welcome an opposing opinion...it adds spice to life! Get a blog people! It feels great!

I guess the Honeymoon is Over!

You can make some of the people happy some of the time, but you can't make all of the people happy all of the time. Everyone who has ever been elected President of the United States must know this truth better than anyone else!

Everyone loves you on the campaign trail, on Inauguration Day and up to the first couple of months after election. After that, approval ratings start going down and you become the prime target of Letterman, O'Brien and Fallon. The worse the President's ratings are, the better theirs are!

Why can't we be happy with the person that we elected into office? Why do we assume that they are perfect and can do no wrong? We must assume that, because we get so upset when they make a mistake! Now, I agree that when someone is leading the country, they should do their very best to be a good role model, and we are sadly lacking this with many politicians these days. Barack Obama appears to be a pretty good role model however, and I think we should stop complaining and get behind the man that we elected into office a few months ago! (Would you rather have George W back?) :P

Come on Americans, Barack Obama won the Presidency by a landslide - and you made that happen! The honeymoon period is over, and his approval ratings are falling steadily. Do you think you made a mistake? If you are not happy with some of his decisions, contact your congressman and be the change you want to see. If all you do is sit at home complaining about what is happening in your country, you will never see the change you want. If all you do is complain no matter who you vote for, then keep your complaints to yourself!

We need to get a better attitude about our leadership in America; remember, no one is perfect, and no matter how much you like a person, they will let you down at some point. You can't control the actions of anyone else, but you can control your reaction!

What's Up With the Foonie?

I've been hearing little snippets every now and again for the last couple of years about Canada getting rid of the five dollar at bill. Now, this alone wouldn't be that bad, although I would miss the pretty blue color... However, I keep hearing that they are going to replace it with a five dollar coin!

Really? Do they think we need more change weighing our pockets and purses down? Who makes these decisions? We have the Loonie - classic Canadian dollar, then they surprised us with the Toonie, which has worked out well. However, the only name I am hearing for this supposed five dollar coin is the "Foonie." Now this is just taking things too far in my opinion! America already thinks we're geeky enough without adding this to the mix... (not that I really care what they think of us, but still!)

Since I've been hearing about this for quite some time now, I don't actually think they are going to do it - at least I hope not! But who knows? Maybe it's all part of the plan to "go green." I don't know how many trees will be saved by replacing thousands of bills that have already been made, and I think that minting coins is more expensive than printing bills, but I'm sure they will make only good and wise decisions when it comes to how to spend our money.

So here's to the Foonie - our tax dollars, hard at work!