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August 12, 2009

"Cheery" front page of today's CoCo Times: Can I go back to bed now...


. . . for about five years?

Oh, not that I'm one to ever deny or postpone reality. . .

So, I didn't sleep much last night. Psst, ladies, that time of the month. Plus, I had this not massive but still annoying, frustrating, lingering work project that I've been struggling to complete. The annoyance and frustration over that prompted me to wake up extra early, after going to bed late, to finish it.

I pulled myself out of bed, made super strong coffee, and perused the, yes, actual print versions of today's San Francisco Chronicle and Contra Costa Times. And here's the cheery headlines that greeted me, and other home subscribers, of the Times this morning. They were enough to add to my already sleep-deprived, hormonal, emotionally frazzled state--and to make me wonder, will there ever be a silver lining, that light at the end of this tunnel? Will the sun ever really come out tomorrow?

Contra Costa's plight deepens: County forced to slah more than $50 million, leading to lay offs and cuts in health social services.

BART strike threat returns: Agency "ready to impose a contract" after words mine train operators, station agents reject no-raise proposals.

If that work project was frustrating and annoying me, this news was about to send me through the roof. Idiot, self-centered train operators and station agents, everyone of whom probably earns much more than me, especially after my pay cut, and far more generous health and pension benefits. Talk about people who deny reality, or the reality that many of the rest of us are living with. Or who don't care.

"Wave of bad news hits East Bay homeowners: Plummeting prices push more houses in region under water.

Negative equity in Contra Costa County, in the second quarter, is at 49 percent, meaning that this is the percentage of mortgaged homes for which homeowners owe more on their property than what its worth.

Even more cheery online headline for this story: "East Bay homes with negative equity could pull down economy"

And, finally:

"Woman's life thrown into reverse after layoff."
Apparently, this 1990s college grad was enjoying a lucrative career in online wine sales. Now, after getting laid off, she's back to living like a college student, renting a room in someone's house after giving up her apartment, selling most of her furniture, and burning through her savings.

The big story on the homepage of the online Times was of course:
Police seek suspect in Richmond-San Rafael Bridge shooting

The only upside to this story, if you could call it that, given that two people were slain, one in front of lots of shocked and horrified Richmond-San Rafael Bridge commuters is this:
Man connected to Richmond-San Rafael Bridge shootings arrested


Yeah, I know, I know, I shouldn't read the newspapers, or watch TV news, or listening to news headlines on the radio, or worst yet, read online news websites, or check my Twitter. But what can I do? I'm a bit of a news junkie. I can't stay away for long.

12 comments:

Masterlock said...

I hear you SM, and it seems like it has been this way for months. Have you made it to boot camp lately? That will help with the work anxiety and lack of sleep.

Martha Ross said...

HI Masterlock,
No, I was so f$%&*))@ tired this morning. Yeah, I know some exercise would have woken me up, but not sure I could have made it through a boot camp class. I did go to a heavy-duty boot-camp-like class on Monday. So, I made it once this week. I also feel better about finishing that stupid project. Or my end for now. On to other projects.

Anonymous said...

The BART thing is to avoid people from losing their jobs, not raises. Also short contract that should not really be a big deal to see how the economy goes. Don't follow media, they only get the stories BART feeds them, there is always much more to the story.

Anonymous said...

Soccer Mom,
Yes, I feel that way too. Speaking of f$%&*))@ tired and pissed at some of the crap that goes on in the world.

A poacher stole my donated goods I was collecting for chairity. And the "poacher" is a familiar face in the neighborhood. I turned my cheek and bit my tongue. Not happy with someone stepping on my toes, it was rude an unprofessional! Just venting this morning.

-signed anonymous

Martha Ross said...

Seems like a good day to vent. Not sure why, but I think we all need days like that!

Anonymous said...

Mom, what a lot of people forget is that unions represent working people supporting families-just like you. Between my spouse and I, we belong to three separate unions, I have to work a F/T & P/T job to make ends meet. It's no cakewalk. And believe me, I wish there were no need for unions. But at my F/T gig, I have heard management call us all 'replaceable'-this was during good economic times-and in November they did just that to many of our members. We have medical, dental and retirement only because of collective bargaining.

Anonymous said...

Just plain old folks who belong to a union to put a little food on the table and rent a VHS (not DVD) once a month?

How about union firefighters in CCC who make $148,000 or a sheriff's deputy who makes $213,000? Go look at the salary info on the CC Times website if you want to be really upset.

Just good ol boys and girls?

Anonymous said...

Those cops and firefighters are working overtime to make that kind of money. The cities and county never staff properly and cover the staff shortages with OT. Don't blame your public servants. Blame the system.

Anonymous said...

BTW, I think the train ops and station agents are being greedy. The other unions that work with BART had a clue and took on their share of hurt. Apparently they can face reality...

MC said...

anon 11:45,

the main reason the other workers (like the custodians) agreed to the contracts, because if the economy gets better within the next four years, they can just quit and find a better paying job.

train operators and station agents don't really as many options, which is why they want a one year contract, not a 4 year contract.

there are lots of places that will hire custodians. other than BART, who is gonna hire a BART train operator?

Anonymous said...

SM,

Hope your sleep and overall health improve.

I totally agree about BART. Those people make way to much in wages and benefits for what they do. Yet, whenever it comes to a contract, this is how it is, even in this horrid economy.

We ought to fire them all, shut BART down for 6 months, and hire new employees at half the total compensation. Sure, they'd eventually unionize, etc, but at least we'd be starting at a much lower base.

And I'm a Democrat, pro-labor in most cases. The BART union just always takes it way too far.

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