Once in a blue moon...

Oh HEY, haven't updated in over half a year. I sort of forgot about this blog. Does anyone still read this shit anymore?

Even if nobody does, I'm still probably going to start posting in it again. I'll have to collect my thoughts because there are a few things I want to write about, but my mind has just kind of been in a blur lately. I'm sure the words will come to me.

This Reality Show Has Gone Too Far...

First off, hey, everyone... long time no update.

I went on my cruise - actually went on two cruises in the past few months, whee! - and now I'm back, waiting to start my new job, which I'll talk about later.

Today I want to talk about something that I've just been made aware of that really bugs me - a new ABC reality show called Find My Family.


As most of my friends know, I was adopted. It was a closed adoption, done through an agency - I was adopted at 10 days old. Everyone knows that I love my adoptive parents to death - they are and always will be my "real" parents. They did a wonderful job raising me and I'm so thankful for them. They gave me a wonderful life. I had everything I needed, but I was far from spoiled. They taught me the value of education, they taught me to be kind to others, and they taught me what it means to be selfless. I wouldn't have had things any other way.

As for my birth mother, what I know about her is very little. I know that she was 23 years old when she had me. For a long time, that's pretty much all I had to go on. When I was 13 or 14 years old, I started having some emotional issues and needed to see a counselor. It turns out through the most random string of luck, that the counselor I went to used to be an adoption case worker - and she was MY adoption case worker. Through her, I learned a few more details about my birth mother (that I wasn't ever supposed to know) including her first name, and I saw a picture of what she looked like when she was my age.

My curiosity was piqued, but that was it. I went on with my life. I didn't magically decide that I wanted to meet her.

Now, the premise of this new reality show is that people apply to be on the show, with their sob story about how they want to find their birth mother or father, or their biological child. The producers of the show employ top-notch private investigators to search and search until the biological relative is found.

I think this is TERRIBLE, to the point that it enrages me.

People give their children up for adoption for a reason. Whether that reason is that they care so much about the child that they know they can't take care of them... or they don't want or care about them at all, but didn't have an abortion for whatever reason.

I may be childfree, but statistically, most women end up with children. Therefore, there's a fairly good statistical chance that my biological mother, now 47 years old, has had more children - that she probably has a family now. If that's the case, then this family likely does not know I existed. Imagine the questions that would raise if they did.

I also have two wonderful parents that raised me from birth that I love beyond question.

How selfish would I have to be to intrude on the life of this woman who gave birth to me?

Imagine how her life could come crashing down. If she were married, if she had children, it could literally ruin all of their lives. What kind of selfish person would I be to wish that on the person that gave me life?

That's why I think what this show is doing is wrong. It's one thing if I went to the adoption agency and told them that I wanted to meet my birthmother. They would discreetly contact her and ask if she were willing to meet me. If so, they would arrange a meeting. If not, they would let me know that she was not interested. That's how it SHOULD be. In no way should I be contacting private investigators to dig into the life of someone who may or may not want to be involved with me.

People are living their lives, and the fairytale-movie-style-ending does not always happen!

9 days in paradise are about to begin!

Well, tomorrow begins Andrew and my journey to Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama onboard the Carnival Freedom!

For those who don't know, Andrew is my boyfriend... we've been together about 7 months or so, but known each other and been friends for 3 1/2 years. We met back when we both worked for the hellish company known as Best Buy. He's my best friend and we feel that we go together very well - I bring out the rarely-seen crazy side of him, and he tends to calm me down a bit. At the same time, we have a lot in common and lots to talk about. I couldn't imagine a better boyfriend... or cruise partner!

We went on our first cruise as a couple back in May on the Carnival Sensation. It was his first cruise ever, and my second. We had a blast, although the cruise was only 4 days and it seemed too short. Also, the boat was one of the smallest in the fleet. We decided that on this one, we would go on an 8-day cruise on the Freedom, which is one of the largest ships in the Carnival fleet.

The itinerary is as follows:

Saturday, September 26: Ft. Lauderdale, FL --- Leave at 4:00 P.M.
Sunday, September 27: At sea
Monday, September 28: Cozumel, Mexico
Tuesday, September 29: At sea
Wednesday, September 30: Limon, Costa Rica
Thursday, October 1: Colon, Panama
Friday, October 2: At sea
Saturday, October 3: At sea
Sunday, October 4: Arrive in Ft. Lauderdale at 7:00 A.M.

We will definitely be taking many pictures and will put together a photo diary of the trip when we return!

Have a good week, all... we definitely will!

-The B.

The obligatory beginning.

Well, I had all these plans for my blog and now I don't even know where to start.

To preface things... up until about two weeks ago, I worked for the largest cell phone carrier in the United States. Well, actually I worked for a smaller carrier that was bought out by the larger carrier. To make a long story short, my job was eliminated two weeks ago.

The problem with that has nothing to do with me actually getting laid off - I was practically begging for it anyways - it has to do with the fact that initially, this blog was going to be about... well, basically about CellFail. What is CellFail? It's the garbage that you get and the crap that you hear day after day from these cellphone customers who don't think that we've heard every excuse and every story in the book a million times before. It was going to be about the people who brought in their cellphones that they had CLEANED WITH DETERGENT and wondered why it didn't work. You know, things like that. I had planned to have a few guests that I worked with chip in every now and then. I already had volunteers.

Unfortunately, I can't do that anymore because I no longer work for that cellphone carrier. So, what's a girl to do with an empty blog? I thought and thought, and came up with the most interesting topic for the blog ever: ME!

//crowd backs away//

Really, it's not such a bad thing... I promise. Well, maybe it is. If it is, I'm sure you aren't reading this anymore. But if you're still around, then perhaps you actually are interested in my life... just a little bit!

What I'll be posting in this journal are things I like to refer to as "randomocities." I've always had this knack for being in the right place at the right time when something weird goes down, or when some white-trashy (I can use that word!) incident happens. Anytime something happens that makes people scratch their heads, I just seem to be around. So first of all, those are some of the things you'll be reading about.

...you'll also be reading about my opinions, and things that happen to me, and you'll be looking at pictures and stories from my life. If the random musings and stories and things from a childfree atheist might offend you, I don't suggest that you read this blog. If dirty humor and snarkiness aren't your thing, then you really shouldn't stick around. But if you have an open mind, and you aren't politically correct or easily offended, you may just enjoy what I have to say. My mind IS a bit twisted, I will have to admit. If yours is too, then I'm sure we'll get along.

Also, feel free to leave comments! You can sign up if you want, but for now you can also post anonymously without an account... just please let me know who you are! If anything crazy happens with anonymous posting I'll probably make it so that you have to sign up... and I don't want to do that. So, chill, and don't be an ass. Only I'm allowed to do that. ^_^

I'm sure in the next entry or two you'll get to know me a bit better... also, I need to figure out how the hell to use this blogspot thing. If you have any questions at all, feel free to leave a comment!

Til next time,

~Bethitis~