College athletes should not be paid

Everytime someone brings this up, I admit I am a tad disgusted. College athletes are paid. They get free room, board, food. They don't really have bills during college. A free degree isn't payment enough? I know my degree cost me over $60,000 and by the time I pay it off it will have been doubled so about $125,000. So that isn't worth it to them? It's complete bullshit. Not only that but if you think of college sports like a regular business, most regular businesses make a ton of money off of their hardest working employees who don't make nearly enough. So guess what....welcome to the real world. You get a free degree for all your hard work. That is the trade off. You do not deserve to get paid. People have been working for way less than their worth since working began, it is basically just how life is. I don't know why this is so shocking or such relevant now a days. I agree that it should be punished and not considered.

Lesley Ryder of the Huffington Post made a great point, "Depending on the school, a full scholarship can be worth upwards of $200,000. A free degree (especially from a prestigious university) in this economic climate is a godsend. It's hardly slave labor." [article found here:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lesley-ryder/pay-college-athletes-_b_968479.html ]

I really want to know everyone's thoughts on this though. Please share!

Kindness to a stranger

Have you ever considered how a moment of your time and your kindness could mean the world to someone. I never really thought about it on this level before but it's true. You never know when your kindness could help someone desperately in need of perspective and a few positive words. A few words could snap someone out of a negative state and bring them back down to reality.

One day, on the train I was watching the most touching interaction between an older man and a young man. The older man had just gotten off of work and looked so tired. The younger man looked like he just got off a plane with his luggage and he looked down. The older man struck up a conversation with the young man and it led the young man to saying that he had screwed up. His demeanor was even sadder than before. It was like he just revealed a huge secret to this man. The older man told him to hang in there and things get better. He told him that we live in a microwave society and all of the young people want what they want right now. He tried to explain to the young man that life did not always deliver immediate results. I started to see the younger man straighten up his stance and look a little more freed of his stress and frustration.

When the young man got off the train I took his spot standing by the door and I told the older man that what he did was great. The fact that he took his time to share his wisdom really helped that young man out. I also told him that I loved the term microwave society. It is one of the truest things I have ever heard. We all do want what we want immediately. I am very guilty of living a life with little patience. The man and I continued to talk until I got to my stop. He was very genuine and kind. Society is missing that easy, yet very genuine conversation that strangers have when waiting patiently to get somewhere. We no longer wait anywhere patiently and we do not give strangers the time of day.

When I was in my early 20s I would always say hi to passing people and smile to give off warmth and not have such a cold self-involved demeanor. Now that I am in my late 20s I realized not too long ago that I completely stopped doing that years ago. I stopped without giving it a though, probably because most hellos were not returned. But why should that matter if they are returned, who cares. If you make one person smile because you are being nice for no good reason than it is totally worth it. A good friend of mine is great at saying hello to everyone and spreading her positive attitude by simply acknowledging people and saying hi.

Challenge yourself to say hi to at least five people that you don't know everyday. You don't have to go home with them or anything but say hi in passing. See if they say hi back. If they do, you might be surprised at how refreshing it feels to share a positive moment with someone. Even if you may never see them again. We as a society need to regain perspective, we do not have to do everything to get something in return for it. And if you do, think of the return being making someones day.

Oh and by the way....HI!!

New found respect for Khloe K.

Khloe always seems to get the flack because she's the Kardashian the stands out and isn't perfect like the other girls. I love her business savvy and her heart. Also, she will do and say anything. I wish I had that capability...I'm a total wuss lol.

The one thing that bugs me about all the gossip news is when they talk so poorly about this girl, Khloe is not big or fat. Give me a break people. This is why normal women have so many self-esteem issues. If a girl whose like a size 4 or whatever is fat then what are the real women suppose to do with ourselves. Ouch.

The fact that her mother, Kris, is giving her flack about her weight is horrible. I felt so sorry for Khloe when she broke down and just started crying because she isn't happy with herself. I couldn't imagine what it's like in the spotlight and also having perfect sisters. I felt so bad that she was sad.

Also, I heart Lamar. Their reality show has made me love them as a couple. I think my favorite part of the season was when he farted and said that was like dusting I almost spit out my drink. He seems like the biggest dork which is so much fun.

Ahh...I've been neglecting my blog...

Ok seriously...the image I choose is so random how could I not pick it ha!

I have spent way too much time away from my blog. I miss it! I have had so much on my mind I haven't been able to focus my energies on it. No more neglecting though hopefully.

So the last few months as everyone knows I was unemployed...and by FEW I mean EIGHT!! Yes, eight whole months. It was pretty crazy but I made it through, thanks to supportive family and friends. I had some great friends that got me out of the house and didn't let me wallow or think about it too much. I do have to say I miss sleeping in but that's about it. I also am not loving public transportation again but I guess that's just part of life.

So as I started to elude to...I GOT A JOB. Finally!! After my job was eliminated in nonprofit it was the perfect time to really take a look at what I wanted in life. I had grown and climbed the nonprofit ladder until I landed myself into a vice president role. It was not fulfilling to me though and financially I never would have had an opportunity to enjoy life and travel or do anything truly extra. I'd be climbing slowly out of college debt forever if I stayed in nonprofit. So with my job ending I took some time to really think hard about what I wanted. I looked at my friends job and career which I had always admired and really wondered...why can't that be me. Well guess what it can be eventually. So I set out to find a job in the .com industry in sales. Not only did I do that but I did it with the fastest growing internet company EVER. Very cool. I'm sure I'll be sharing a lot of stories about my new company. At this time I've had one week of training and all is good. I have a base salary + commission which is totally new to me. I'm excited to take on the challenge of making commission and really performance based money! I've always performed very high but never ever been rewarded for it financially.

Stay turned for more .com work stories!!

Life in prison for murderer of Gayle's girlfriend

Not too long ago I watched the 20/20 episode with Shaun Gayle (Former Chicago Bears player); the Rhoni Rueter story. This was a really sad story because not only was a woman gunned down by her boyfriends crazy lover; but she was pregnant and the baby died as well. Just this week they sentenced the murderer; Marni Yang to two life sentences back to back with no chance of parole. When someone commits such a calculated heinous crime it's almost relieving to hear that justice took such a major stance and really did away with such a horrible human being. 

Chicago Breaking News: Life in prison for murder of Gayle's girlfriend

Marni Yang was sentenced to life in prison this morning for gunning down the pregnant girlfriend of former Chicago Bear Shaun Gayle, with the judge citing the “methodical, meticulous and maniacal manner in which you committed this crime.”

Judge Christopher Stride handed down two life sentences with no parole, to run concurrently, for the death of Rhoni Reuter and her unborn child in Reuter’s Deerfield condominium on Oct. 4, 2007.

Yang showed no reaction, sitting almost motionless.

I remember when I was watching this story on 20/20 I couldn't help but think how crazy the entire situation was. Shaun Gayle and Rhoni were together for 18 years and they never married. In those 18 years her family said they only met him four times, which just shows how much of a real couple they were. Shaun says the couple had an understanding that they were in an open relationship. I immediately felt sad and confused, wondering how a woman could be in a noncommittal relationship with a man for 18 years and then want to carry his child in her 40s. I felt sorry for her, because Gayle seemed like a total womanizer but on the flip side she let him be. 

When it first happened, Gayle was a suspect in this case not just to the police but to the Reuter family. Gayle immediately offered up several of his ex girlfriends names who hadn't taken it well over the years when he'd broken it off. Throughout his entire thought process not once did he think to mention Marni Yang, the crazy woman behind the plotted murders. When watching the show I couldn't tell if Gayle just like crazy women or if he was really screwing with women's heads to make them fall off the deep end. I think he was a total womanizer. I'm pretty disgusted at Shaun Gayle for sleeping with so many women and equally disgusted at the women for being ok with it. It seems like most of them knew.

Three weeks after the murder the searched Gayle's house and found that Marni Yang had been stalking Shaun's computer for 3 years by recording everything he did on the computer. The tool she used is often used by parents who want to keep track of what their children are doing. I've often wondered if I'd ever do this to a spouse just to see what type of person they were, or even better before they were a spouse. Yang saw every single email and everything Gayle did online. Not just that but Yang would get Gayle's phone bills and call all of the numbers on there. If that sounds crazy, that is only the tip of the iceberg; Yang would cancel flight and hotel reservations so he couldn't go visit other women.

Marni was telling all of her friends that her and Shaun were together in a relationship, which was not true considering he clearly didn't know what a relationship was. He did admit that they had slept together on several occasions. Once I heard this I was convinced that was leading all of these women on to think there was or could be more. Gayle seems like the scum of the earth, time to hang up your player towel....you're almost 50 years old. Eventually it came out that not only did Gayle sleep with Yang but he slept with her the NIGHT before the murder. Disgusting.

Yang was beyond crazy; she planned the murder and sat waiting on Rueter to leave for work. They say that Yang started to plan the murder the moment that she found out the Rueter was pregnant. There was nothing spur of the moment about this. Yang had all the tools she had purchased at a Home Depot and a disguise she had purchased at a local store. Originally some neighbors reported seeing a young black male fleeing the scene, when in actuality it was Yang in dark face paint and a disguise. Without the help of Yang's friend, I don't know if she would have ever been caught because she had it so planned out. The police had Yang's friend go to a meeting wired and Yang spilled all the details. So here is one of my problems; her friend knew Yang was planning this before it happened yet she's not in trouble. Whether or not she thought her friend was just talking out of anger she should have turned her in. This whole story was one of those twisted disgusting stories you hear that just doesn't sound real. From Gayle being a ladies man and sleeping with god knows how many women and then putting his child in danger, to the psycho woman who thought she was in a relationship and planned the murder of a woman and her unborn child.

If today really was the end...what would I do with it?

So every nutty person in the world thought today at 6pm that the world might end. No one knew 6pm what time zone, but to crazies apparently time zones don't matter. Anyhow, it did make me think what would I want to do if I only had a day left. Answer to that would be to go home and spend it with my family. Call all my friends who are important to me and let them know what they meant to me and then just spend it with my family. They are the ones that mean the most to me and I'd want them to be the last people I saw. Oh...I'd also probably eat a ton of food that's horrible for me that I love since I've been eating so healthy lately lol.

What would you do?

BGSU in the lead to host Tosh.0 w/ HILARIOUS video!

I hope BGSU wins. This video is great. Miss my old school....always an alumna though :) Go Falcons!!