The Redzone

Here are my goals. They may seem simple but, thus far, I can only achieve two out of three at any given time:

Make enough money to cover the expense of bills, food and shelter.

See my wife and kids for more than two hours a day while maintaining over five hours of sleep per night.

Not put my kids in daycare. Perhaps YOU like pink-eye, bitemarks and disconnected toddlers, but I don't. "Ex-Con Playcare" is just a funny name, right?

In an effort to keep things realistic, I kept the following conditions off the list. I mean, I don't want to be greedy. These would be luxuries:

Not have to work two jobs.

Not have to be a gape-mouthed blow-up doll for a corporate beauracracy.

Not have to accrue debt in amounts of money that I will never physically see in my lifetime to accommodate daily needs.

Come up with several hours of freetime and thousands more dollars per year to study and finish my degree.

Have time to enjoy hobbies and friends or even just read a book.

You would think a society would be more supportive of those of us who are couragous enough to extend the human race into the future, but no. We're third class. In recent news, there has been a focus on the "Destruction of the Middle Class." Meaning some people are being elevated to upperclass while many more are being taken down a peg. They don't seem to say much about the poor, who suffer from the cuts to financial aid, the welfare program, the new bancruptcy laws (Got medical bills and no insurance? Please hand us the shirt on your back) and new credit standards and punishments authored by investor lobbiests (Late paying your utility bills? Your credit card interest has just gone up to 12% above prime rate, which has also just gone up). But hey, maybe I'll win the lottery (after a drive to Idaho). This IS the land of opportunity.