The Occupy Wall St. movement is sweeping the country. People are gathering in hundreds of major cities all around the country to protest....................something.

The problem with these "protests" is that no one can give a truly cohesive answer as to why my city parks are clogged with hippies and dying veterans. I've spent the last week listening to both sides of the argument. I understand the frustration of the American people. I really do, but I don't think that jumping up and down in the streets is going to fix it.





When I was unemployed, the last thing I thought about doing was grabbing some poster board and hitting the streets. I went to the library, booted up a computer and spent the next eight months slinging coffee while applying for jobs around the country. I told people I was willing to move (and I did......twice). I took four part time jobs when full time was not available, and I learned to use public transportation. I know being unemployed sucks. I know being in debt up to your neck is annoying, but guess what guys? Nobody, especially the federal government, is going to fix all that for you. As Americans, we have a responsibility to make it work; to keep trying and working and falling down and trying again.

The words on the statue of Liberty say it best, I think:

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

The point of being an American is not that everything is handed to you simply because you think you need it. The point, my friends, is that here in America, you have the chance to earn it. You have the opportunity to scrape yourself off the pavement and try again. We have the chance to succeed and we have the chance to fail. That is how we learn responsibility. That is how we learn perseverance and determination.

That is how we become better.

On the lighter side of the issue:

If you have no shame and are amused by the idea of thousands of people coming together for no coherent reason, check out this strip. Also, twitter made my week with their own spin on the situation in the big apple.

DC Metro? ...........God help you

Having been married to my husband for less than a month, I still have the inexplicable desire to make him happy. The job generally includes tasks such as packing his lunch, being on time, And decorating his bathroom with colors that would make Lisa Frank do a spit take.

But mostly showing up on time.

Last night, I told my husband I would be home by 11pm after an evening performance of Les Miserable. After a series of random misadventures, I finally maze it home around 12:30, and this why today I hate the metro system.

I'm still not sure how it happened (I've lived here for two years) but after all this time, I still can't find my way from the Kennedy center to Foggy Bottom. Now, anyone who knows DC will tell you that this is not a journey to undertake on less than a full night's sleep and a full belly. Last night, I had neither.

And I was in heels.

Nevertheless, I didn't feel like waiting the 12 hours required for a taxi after a sold out show, so I hoofed it.

After 45 minutes of wandering through GWU 's many picturesque statue gardens, I completed the normally 15 minute commute by collapsing on the nearest train bench and sobbing in relief.

Only to discover that I had jumped on the wrong line in the wrong direction and was halfway to Vienna before realizing the mistake.

So, like any normal human being, I pulled out the iPod and spent the next half hour stuck in the Court House stop, swing dancing with myself and anyone who happened to walk by. I admit, my attitude towards technology in general was not at it's peak, however, I still managed to squeeze in a decent lindy before hitching my way back to the original starting point.

Shortly after midnight, my saint of a husband picked me up two stops early and carted my weary feet to bed.

I may never leave my pillows alone again.