(no subject)

[austin_tycho]

I'm feeling weirdly cut off today. Isolated. I'm sure hub's network being down at work contributed to this- I'm used to chatting with him all day. Our conversations usually go like this:

Hub: How's it going?
Me: Okay, just working. You?
Hub: I wish I was home.
Me: Me too.
(45 minutes later) Me: (funny link)
Hub: tee hee
(30 minutes later) Hub: (news link about something ironic or stupid the government did)
Me: Oh brother.
(an hour or so later) Hub: How's it going?
Me: Okay. I'm bored.
Hub: :-( :-*
Me: Thanks. :-*

et cetera. Well, now I don't have it and I miss it. Waah, woe is me.

I got home from work last night and turned around and went to Tyra and Dennis' place for a one-shot D&D adventure. She neglected to tell him that since I had to work the next day we were only going to be able to stay for about 1.5 hours, and he was pretty irritated. I wasn't too happy myself; Wednesday and Thursday nights are the worst nights for me to do anything. I hate being rushed off to something right when I get home, and then having to watch the clock so I can get back in time to get a good night's sleep.

Now I'm watching an exchange on the Trad list about how great it is to live in England, from a former US citizen. It sounds great, and the socialism aspect sounds pretty nice (yes, the idea of the government taking care of people doesn't make me break out into hives, and I know it does for some). But I still can't get past the idea of a monarchy. She's made a point to mention that in England and any of the 'colonies' if they fuck up their stuff too much, the Queen can waltz in and just fire everyone. I'm told she did this in Australia recently- just dissolved their parliament. And this was apparently a good thing, they were totally deadlocked or something. I dunno. It seems like you take a big chance giving someone that much power. If they're wise it's one thing. But if they go crazy or get selfish or just aren't really careful or good at their job it would sure suck, because you're stuck with them. *shrug* I never developed a big interest in history, so I could easily be talking out of my ass.

Comments

[austingoddess.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but do you see Britain going to war over Australia if they decided they didn't want that system anymore?

Funnily enough, D and I were discussing the possibility of Australia last night. Argentina is still cheaper, but apparently it's a breeze to get a work permit down under.

[the-weeb.livejournal.com]

Sorry you're feeling lonely. I remember when my AIM got turned off for several months because of security concerns here at work. Lucky for me I have a friend in IT who told me how to use their secure client and now I'm back on.

I am BTW one of those that gets hives. Socialized medicine sounds cool - but just think of how much gov't has f-ed up our schools. How much better do you think they'd do running our hospitals? Did you know we have more MRI machines in Austin then in like, ALL of Canada or something? We like their drugs but anyone close to the border (like my Canadian relatives) come HERE for medical care. They say the beaurocracy is ludicrous and makes getting any new machines, testing supplies etc. almost impossible.

I hate how our insurance system works to be sure but I'd rather see a national HMO that one can buy into at a low cost regardless of unemployment than free healthcare that sucks @ss. We could keep costs down also by giving doctors breaks on gov't loans by doing a certain amount of work for Public Clinics or something. I can see lots of ways to get health care to the peeps without cutting into the quality of medicine - and none of them involve the gov't running it. *shudder*

[mielikki.livejournal.com]

I go back and forth. Mediocre care for all, or good care for some and no care for others? I like my good care, but then I know enough people either getting no care or having to pay absurd amounts of money (my parents) or go without, that I wonder how much more fucked up it could get. I'm not sure the gov't can be worse than the corporations. But then, I do have a bit of a Green streak in me.