Jetblue-Here is your opportunity (or any other airline that wants to come to Cleveland)

United Airlines announced that it is removing its hub and downsizing its presence out of Cleveland. Is this good or bad?

For the people, that depend on United Airlines, such as their employees it could be bad, however the upside is that it gives other airlines the opportunity to make Cleveland their market.

Now who wants to come to Cleveland to vacation, you may ask? Well, not sure if Cleveland is the hot spot for vacations, but we do have some pretty sweet spots for a weekend jaunt. And, we do still have an economy with plenty of businesses here that rely on airline transportation. In some ways Cleveland has died, some say it is dying but there is potential here and with the right support, perhaps Cleveland can rise once again. We may never be a Chicago or New York but we can stand as our own entity.

Honestly, I am not sad that United is leaving. I think their merger with Continental was a mistake and I wish Continental would have remained an independent carrier, alas it is too late for regrets and that change cannot be made. When I worked at the mortuary, United Airlines was almost always the priciest airline carrier for cargo and I was never impressed by their customer service, although I have not worked at the mortuary for some time, I am sure their structure has not changed much.

I would love to see Jetblue come to Cleveland and make their presence known. They are a low cost carrier, they already have flights out of Detroit & Pittsburgh (our neighbors), and many people from Ohio travel continually to Florida, as well as other places, so it would make good business sense for them to come here. After 9/11, many airlines decreased their presence in smaller cities, as United is doing in Cleveland now, and it made getting in and out of those cities more difficult but not impossible. Over the past few years, I have seen Jetblue and Southwest Airlines (Southwest does fly out of Cleveland) expand continually. Hopefully, the change United is implementing will make other airlines realize that their presence is needed and wanted here. Although, I do not travel often, I do want the most cost effective options and more options are better than just a few airlines. Overall, I do not think United Airlines decision is necessarily negative for Cleveland, as there are other options besides them and hopefully those options will expand in the future.

A few tidbits and Thanksgiving

I guess I really need to update this thing once in a while. or perhaps shut it down and leave it unfinished, unfinished like much of my life.

Thanksgiving is in a few days, so what will I be doing? Staying home of course. For years, I worked on the holidays but the last few I have been free and have not done anything. There is a price for freedom of course, the shame of telling people I would rather be at home, doing nothing, than celebrating is one of them. I see nothing wrong with it, as Thanksgiving is not a holiday I relish (I really do not like most Thanksgiving food, keep your pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce) or agree should be a national holiday but I cannot say I do not enjoy the time off from work.

Why have I made the choice, to stay at home, you may ask? Well, for one, I am estranged from my family by choice and have not made contact with them in almost three years. It is a rather long story and one I do not care to discuss at this time, however let me just say it is best for my own sanity and selfishness that I am away from them. Yes, I am a selfish being for denying my family access to me but at the same time, I harbor ill feelings toward them and do not feel it is in my best interest to maintain contact at this point in my life. I do have friends, but no one really close and I have a special man in life but again, I cannot depend on others for my own happiness or to entertain me, while they are enjoying time with their families.Truly, I do not mind being along on the holidays, I am at peace with it. I have always felt alone and been self-sufficient. I am sure there are those out there that may pity people that are alone on the holidays but I truly do not mind being alone.

 Our decisions in life should not make us feel that the holidays are entirely about family because the truth is, our first obligation is to ourselves. Our obligation to ourselves is that we must do what is best for us and not follow the mentality, oh I am obligated to do this because it is a holiday. If you want to celebrate Thanksgiving that is fine, however if you truly despise the holiday, then why bother putting yourself through the misery of it? Perhaps, select another day to celebrate or make up your own family holiday. If you love and care about your family, then make it your obligation to do so everyday or whenever you have the time, don't just save that time for the holidays. The point is, the holidays do not bring your family together, you do through your own actions and decisions.

Whether, you are alone or celebrating with family or doing nothing at all, Happy Thanksgiving. May you find peace.

"Get busy living or get busy dying"

In The Shawshank Redemption,Tim Robbins' (Andy) character says, "Get busy living or get busy dying."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tkzc983aE0

First, if you have never seen this movie, then you must. Second, Happy New Year!

On to my original thought, how many of us are just existing, just going through the motions of life, not really caring about what happens next? We go to work, school, eat dinner, sleep and the next day repeat. We are on autopilot. How can we make our lives different? What are you going to do with your life, besides just exist?

Some people are perfectly content, going day to day but is there something missing? What is it that you have always wanted , just for you, not for anyone else? What would your perfect life be like, if such a thing exists?

Live your life, don't let it become so stagnant that you are not living it. We are not put here just to survive, exist, breathe, eat, sleep. There is so much more than what is right in front of you.

I ask the questions, but it does not mean I have the answers.

A New Movement

A new movement has arisen, wait for it...my direction is to be changed, it will be changed, there is no stopping me. For years, I have focused on the negative, and used sarcasm/humor as a way to hide, but no more. I am seeing the light or has the light seen me? No longer will I see the negative, the positive must come first. I can no longer be critical of others, this is not a way to live. Life is really what one makes of it and I have to make the choice that I will not ingrained within the misery of others. Maybe you won't understand why I am writing this but I am really writing this as a reminder to myself, that nothing good can come out of negative thoughts.

What brought about this change? Someone said the other day I do not show empathy, yes he is right but it does not mean I do not feel empathy at times. Instead, I hide behind it as if it is a bad thing to be empathetic, to show the human side. The reasons I am this way are rather simple really, I grew up in a anger filled, depressed household and I worked at a mortuary, both taught me I should not show my real feelings, that I had to hide behind them.

No more, as I am out of those situations. I am human. I breathe and live everyday, just going through this life as if nothing matters. I can no longer live like this. Change must come about and it will. Real empathy. Real feelings. Humanity is suffering and I must suffer along with it. I can no longer hide.

Election Day-US

Today is Election Day in the United States. I am really trying to care about this, honestly, but I can't bring myself to care enough. For those that are voting, realize this, there are more than two candidates on the ballot and you don't have to absolutely vote Republican or Democrat. Life is about making better choices and sometimes we are afraid of change, so don't be afraid to go against the norm. The more people that vote, even for "lesser" party candidates, the more choices we may have in the future. Although, it seems that many of these candidates are bought and paid for by corporate America and other prominent sources, the average American can make a difference in his/her own special way. Don't ever think that you don't have another choice, but remember this, many of our ancestors suffered for our right to vote. It wasn't that long ago that women and "racial minorities" were given the right to vote, so remember your ancestors that were denied their rights and speak for them, as they didn't have the voice that you do today.

On a serious note...

Life is too short... some changes are coming my way. Much peace to everyone on this sorrowful day.

What's going to happen, I do not know...

It's been a while, as usual. I always have so much to say but general laziness prevents me from saying it. Hard to believe where I was at in my life one year ago and where I am at today. Has that much all changed? In some ways, yes, in some ways no.

I thought I would have been done with my thesis by now but life got in the way. Someone came into life, for the reason I do not know, but perhaps to shake it up a bit and make me realize how stagnant my life has become. He has changed me, but have I changed him? And how much have I changed really? I am still working the same job, but I realize I cannot be here much longer and that I must finish what I started. Yet, a job does not define who I am as a person, it really is a means for me to sustain my way of life but what if this job, this life were to go away tomorrow? Then where would I be and who would I be?

Sometimes, I feel as if I am living a "false" life, that this is not the way it is supposed to be. I have made some poor choices and make no excuses for them, however, where do I go from here? This I do know, I have to finish my education because it seems as if I don't, then I will always wonder, what would have happened if I didn't finish it? So no more laziness, no more excuses, no more blaming someone else for I am the only person in control of my destiny. I cannot let someone else dictate to me who I should be and what I should be doing.