Good Guy, Bad Guy

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/032709_Philly_Police_Officer_Arrested_As_Drug_Dealer

I do feel sympathy for the officers families who have died in the line of duty. Just as I do for all of our military men and women and anyone else that takes on a life risking job. But on the other side of the police department we have drug dealers.... I just can't say more than that. Read the story.

Military Pay

Original Post:
I also don't buy the line about people in the military being underpaid. I have seen it come as a rude awakening to people who left the military only to find that they were in fact being OVERpaid based on the kind of wages/salary that their skill set commanded in the civilian world.
Postees reply to above post:
HA! you must be a POG or an officer that doesnt leave the ****ing green zone.COMBAT troops are under paid. My husband brings home 1600 a month. even when he picks up sgt he wont be making much more. So please tell me how hes over paid when a manager at micky d's is making more, or a wife working at the px is making more than he is.And if it wasnt for the BAH we couldnt afford to live on our own.So next time you decide to make a comment like that think about all the e-5's and below who are on the front lines watching their buddies get shot and killed for less than 8 dollars an hour all while wives like me are home trying to make each dollar count, and cutting costs any way they can.And FYI Infantry, mainly 0351 are some of the hardest MOS's to pick up rank in. Well in the Marine Corps anyway.
My reply to postee:

Okay I’m allowed to comment on this because I’m the fiancé of a former Marine and someone going into the Air Force after September. I’m assuming from this post that you’re husband is Cpl from the comment “even when he picks up sgt…” I will agree that your hubby most likely brings home a base pay of 1600 a month, but I will also say that you are receiving BAH as you said in your post, you’re also receiving other allowances that increas his pay. And as you say COMBAT troops are under paid yes fact I won’t argue with this however, if they are out there on the front line they are receiving even more in there pay check. As well as receiving money for you to sit at home miss him. Being over seas he has very little time to spend any of his hard earned money which means he goes busts his butt and trusts you to spend the money where you seem fit. Yes we sit at home making every penny count, but I’m also out working a full time job while raising our son. If you can’t figure out how to manage say an E-3 pay grade of well looks at the chart: E-3 is 1650, but you yourself said he’s a Cpl which brings in what? 1828 a month plus on average 1000 in BAH plus about 200-300 food allowance equals 3028 a month. Then what the heck are you doing with all of his money. Now I’m not posting this as is because I don’t know you I don’t know you’re situation, and therefore don’t want this to come off as a personal attack because it’s not its just annoying that military wives go in thinking oh my Marine or my Soldier or my Airman or my Sailor is going to provide me a fabulous wonderful life while I sit on my ass and do nothing.


Alright folks it’s time for me to explain all of this gibberish at the top. I’ve been reading this forum and the above is something that someone wrote on the topic of our Military Servicemen being underpaid. I feel very strongly about this because David just got of the Marine Corps, which appears to be the branch this “postees” husband is in, and I’m joining the Air Force after the wedding which means that I’ve been doing nothing but research on the topic for the past year+. Above “postees” husband would have to be the same rank as David was when we first got together, and therefore I know what his pay was and a little about managing this amount of money from month to month. The above chart shows that someone at their pay grade of E-4 for someone that’s only been in for LESS than 2 years (which if you go in right out of high school and have no way of receiving advance rank before you enter is pretty unlikely unless you bust your ass, of course if you’re a Marine then this is a hands down no brainer and you should be doing this anyway) None the less, The BASE pay is: 1828 a month. For those that don’t know this is more like your wages that are taxable and so they probably bring home around 1600. So lets divide this out: David was I&I so he worked approximately 60 hours a week (at least) so that’s $6.67 an hour. Extremely underpaid, HOWEVER what people don’t tell you is that he also receives 1675 a month of BAH. (Money given when you have dependents and live off base OR when you’re active duty and stationed at a reserve center that doesn’t have military housing. This amount depends on your zip code) This amount of money is considered an allowance which means it is NOT taxable so that entire amount is divided up into your 2 pay checks. So lets add that on ($1600(base pay)+$1675(housing pay)=$3275 and at 60 hours a week=13.64/hour) $13.64 still underpaid okay I’ll give you that. HOWEVER every military member living off base also receives BAS ((money to offset the cost of food and meals for the military member(not his/her family)) in an amount of $323.87 Lets add (3275+323.87=3598.87/month=$14.99/hr) okay so sure still underpaid, but lets add in the factor of free health care for you and your entire family (3598.87-0=3598.87 still brought home a month), plus free education for your family if you’re willing to do the research (3598.87-0=3598.87 still brought home a month), plus life insurance worth a quarter million dollars, free training, 99% job security in today’s economy, a retirement plan that can’t be compared to ANY other plan, plus the ability to buy a house for little or NO money down and low mortgages, plus if he unfortunately does get deployed and is away from dependents for more than 30 days he receives FSA of 250 a month, he also receives other bonuses for being deployed to certain areas. I’ve known many many many military men and women that have come back from a combat zone after 6 or 7 months with an EXTRA AFTER ALL OF THAT PAY approximately $25,000. AND the BIGGEST reason this gets to me is: NO ONE SAYS YOU HAVE TO JOIN THE SERVICE. It’s a choice!! The pay charts are right in your face before you sign that contract. AND if you’re a wife (or husband) that wants to complain about what your other brings home if you can’t make 3600 dollars a month work then you need A. money management classes and/or B. go get a job!! It’s not that hard of a concept there are hundreds if not thousands of sites out there for jobs for military spouse employment help because businesses know the military travels so often and therefore they’re understanding! Not only that but I’d also like to mention all of the places that offer military discounts to help you save money, some places all you have to do is ask and they’ll hook you up! We went to a Phillies game and “normally they don’t do this” but we paid for 1 ticket and got the other free. AND the above calculations are for a person of an E-4 rank with less than 2 years of service. Each year of service receives an increase of pay, a clothing allowance as well increase of pay with promotion which depends on how hard you bust your ass. AND if you’re into receiving an education many many many schools offer online classes, a military discount to service members as well as spouses and dependents and military leave/deployment option. You put your education on hold while you’re deployed and resume classes when you return. I could go on and on, but I won’t I think I’ve made my point. On the other hand I will say that our military does put there life on line however as I said above it’s a choice in life not a requirement.
If anyone would like my sources on this info I will be more than happy to give you my researched information.

Pics on Myspace

New pictures up on myspace! Mainly of Aiden, and I'm home with him right now so I don't really have the time to put them all up on here! Go check them out.

I'll take it

According to a new study BBW have more *cough cough* than skinnier women.

Okay so I personally think I’m in the middle of this one. I’m not miss size 2, but I also don’t shop in the plus size so I’m gonna say I’m in the middle, but I’m also in a relationship so I’m not sure if I should have an opinion on this. However, I think bigger girls like the attention and may indeed put it out there a little easier than little mini skinny. I can honestly say this because I like sex, I like it a lot and I do it a lot so I’m one to give it up;to my future husband of course. So I don’t know this one is a little out there. It also surprised me that every BBW that called in said it was true because “our confidence is higher, and men like that” where the smaller ladies said “with bigger women you can already see it all, and don’t hide imperfections under clothes like we do.” So there ya go, who’s getting more? All I know is I’m getting it whenever I want it.

Reaaaaly

America’s Most wanted comes to South Philadelphia

Need I say more.
http://www.amw.com/advanced_search/search_results.cfm?StartRow=1&pageNum=1&ad_search=other&keywords=Philadelphia&name=&age=Choose&race=0&region=0&location=Philadelphia&crimetype=0&victim_name=&weapontype=0&vehicletype=0&section=&search.x=50&search.y=10

If you were to call a rose by any other name

Once in awhile I listen to the radio in the morning. Okay actually I listen to the radio about 9-10 hours a day and from 5:30am to 10 my station is locked on 96.5. I love the station and am a VIP P1! If you have no idea what that means go figure it out: www.wired965.com As with any radio station they bring up topics that people are strong opinions about and they open the phone lines for people to vent, talk and discuss. Well, I’m not suppose to call out to places like the radio station and talk to Chio all morning so I’ve decided that when there’s something on that just annoys the shit out of me I’m going to write about. Keep in mind it’s just my opinion and we’re all entitled to one.
Today’s subject:
http://genepartner.com/
If you need a gene partner test to tell if you’re suppose to be with your partner, you are extremely insecure about yourself. I’m not saying that the whole idea is crazy because yes biologically people are attracted to certain people because of there DNA and their chemical makeup. However, as the website says: This is an ONLINE DATING SERVICE. It is supposed to be for people that have dated and are the end of their rope and out of options and are trying to find someone. It’s not meant for a couple that’s been together for 3 years and thinking about marriage. Females take things like this to heart and if your results come back not as you expect or hope it to you’re going to be a mess and cause more drama in your relationship than you need to. You have enough strain on yourself and your partner being in a long distance relationship why would you do this to yourself? I just don’t understand the point of this. It’s like something we did in high school with a compatibility test to see which one of friends would make a best boyfriend or girlfriend. It’s something to do your fun and if that’s all your trying to get out of it go for it, but if you’re going to take it to heart, I’m with him don’t send in your q-tip.

Something’s you should know before coming to Philadelphia before, during or after St Patty’s day:

People are extremely drunk 99% of the time and some people get really angry when they drink green beer. Maybe it’s the color, maybe it’s the company, but either way you should know that strange things have happened. Flattened tires, eggs on widows or even smashed windows, shaving cream on nice cars. Oh and lets not forget the ones that were set on fire and flipped over. Not to mention people being punched in the face for being somewhere they shouldn’t, getting hit by cars, thrown down steps out of bars and into traffic. Then there’s the other half of Philadelphians (or people visiting that shouldn’t be) that just turn into whores and can’t keep their legs closed.
If you’re planning on making a trip to Philly for the upcoming holiday you might want to see if it’s really in your best interest to drive that far just to get drunk, spread your legs and get punched in the face…
For those that are far from here and won’t be able to make it to the City of Brotherly Love … Go to Hell. You shouldn’t be here anyway unless you're invited by those that you think might want to punch you in the face and throw you down the stairs.
Some other advice for well lets just say those addicted to texting... Make sure you know who you're texting when you're having a very "should remain confidental information"
And those of you that just try to make people feel bad for you SHUT THE FUCK UP. I WILL feel bad for you when things out of yourcontrol happen, or if you're trying to better your situation. However, I will NOT feel sorry for you if you sit on your lazy ass and let life happen to you and do nothing about it.... I'm not sayin... I'm just sayin

Well now I feel much better, lets talk about something else much more exciting and make some updates:
Love Life:
I couldn't be happier! Everythings going great and I'm getting married in just over 6 months and I'm so excited. Once all plans are set I will share the website for those that need it! I'm still debating on some things and trying to figure it out so once I got it I'll let you know!
Aiden:
He is so wonderful. He's walking a lot more. Not at a steady pace, but from room to room which is awesome. He just had his first birthday last weekend. That's right Valentines Day for those that don't know, and it was a great birthday! Pictures of course will come later, but the big story is how we lost the little guy.... In our new house we have the living room that leads to a small hallway then into the dining room and the kitchen is off to the right. Then the stairs are on the left of the dining room that goes up to the sitting room and then the bedrooms. So we're sitting there watching tv playing and Aiden gets up and goes into the dining room. Let me point out that this is something normal for us and is not a surprise at all. So we're sitting there and then it gets really quiet. For those that are parents, you know this isn't a good thing. When they're loud and carrying on you know they're fine, but silence is not good. So I start looking behind chairs under the table in the kitchen maybe even the bathroom (if we don't shut the door he tends to shut himself in there) but no. We searched and searched and finally David goes there's no way..... He goes up stairs and there sits Aiden flipping through a book. That's right Aiden learned how to climb the stair all on his own. It was a little scary, but it's a huge accomplishment for him and now we have gate up!! If I figure out how to post it I have a video that I'll post!
Career:
I'm working at my desk doing research, and I love it. It is however just a job and not a life long dream. So after the wedding Air Force here I come!!! I've looked up every possible thing I can think of and the pros definately out weigh the cons!!!
Best Friend:
Suppose to be coming back to the great world of PA pretty soon and I'm so excited to go to Perkins I can't even contain myself!!!
I think that's really all of my news for now! Pictures will come when I get some just mommy time!!!
xoxoxo

Home sweet home

Well after about a month of searching we've found our new place. We narrowed it down to three. A 2 bedroom house, a 3bedroom apartment, and a 2 bedroom apartment. Surprisingly we chose the 2 bedroom. It's really the biggest out of the choices. It's an upstairs aparment in a 4 unit old farmhouse. Theres some work we've already decided we're going to do, but it really looks like a place we can call home, and most importantly Aiden will have his own room and a huge yard to play in. Its a small town similar to "Downtown DuBois" for those of you that know what that means it'll be like home, with a good mall near by. After we make the deposit, sometime this week, we can move in and I will start taking pictures so I can show before and afters of my what my handyman can do. I'll be helping of course, but the actual technical work will be him.

Other news, wedding plans are starting to blossom. Nothing permanant yet, but many most likely plans have been set. We'll know more on Thursday night, and then I will post with information!

Oh and GO STEELERS!!

Thanks, but no thanks

I feel that only noteworthy events qualify for blogging. Therefore as you can tell I have something worth writing down! Recently I’ve been put into a situation I hate. Nine years four months and twenty four days ago I was convinced not to count on anyone, not to ask for anyone’s’ help and to not trust most people. Somehow between then and now I forgot this small bit of knowledge I once had and now I feel stupid. Sure it may not be nearly as dramatic as I’m making it seem, but I had to ask for help. Something I absolutely hate doing, but I swallowed my ego and did it. I actually asked several people to help me, and the funny part is: No one would. I do understand that some people couldn’t and to them I am thankful for just being honest but those that could wouldn’t do it. And I know I shouldn’t complain about it, but it bothers me so much because I honestly never ask for anything. Ever. Ask anyone they’ll tell you. I do not ask for favors, presents or help. It’s just not in my genes. So to those that have listened to me complain for the past… well probably three weeks thank you, and to those that could not or would not help: I did it without you. I didn’t have to embarrass myself and ask after all. I found a way to get around all of it and did it. So thank you for reminding me of lessons learned long ago: When life gives you lemons; make lemonade. By yourself and there is no such thing as too much. The sun always comes out and calls for a nice tall glass.