Music Mondays

No matter how corny people think this song is, I absolutely love it. 

My Take on: Orange is the New Black TV Series

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I just finished watching the series on Netflix this weekend. It is an interesting show, and keeps you captivated and waiting to see what happens next. For those of you that don't know, Orange is the New Black is based on a book of the same name by Piper Kerman. The book is her memoir and chronicles her short time in prison. I haven't read it yet, but as soon as I get my hands on it I will. I did read this really great breakdown of the book vs the show here that makes me really want to read it. There have been a lot of negative comments about Piper and her experiences, as well as her portrayal of things while she was on the inside. Personally I was a little skeptical about the show in the beginning, but once I saw the angle they were going for, I liked it. I did a little more research and realized that the book and TV show are very different. A lot of comments I saw on other blogs and articles were talking about how she didn't really go to prison, she doesn't know what she's talking about.. etc. While that may be true (she went to Danbury in CT, the same prison Martha Stewart went to, and where Lauryn Hill currently is serving her time) she did not write the book to talk about her hard life on the inside. And her audience that she wanted to educate is not necessarily the everyday person. She was writing about her experiences coming from a wealthy 'yuppie' perspective, and for people like her. She understood that she was privileged in and out of prison. She gets that it is a lot harder for minorities and those that aren't wealthy. She brought awareness to the conditions of women's prisons, and the treatment of the inmates. Isn't that the bigger picture? Sure she didn't go to a max security facility or have to deal with fights everyday and being jumped. But she saw how little people care about or help inmates, even those who get out. There is a lack of programs for inmate education or rehabilitation. She saw how the system is prejudiced. She brought awareness to medical care of the women, and transgenders. That in itself is a whole 'nother topic that I'm not even going to touch. The point I'm trying to make is that yeah she didn't have it tough, but she got people to notice and start talking about women's prisons. I mean if you were in the system, or know/knew someone in the system, wouldn't you want people to talk about it? If the right people talk about it and take an interest, things could change.

Anyway, that was my 2 cents on this. Anyone else read the book or watch the show?

- L

No Buy Round 2

So my friend and I decided to do another month of 'No Buy' which basically means no shopping/purchasing unnecessary things for the entire month. So aside from groceries and household items, I will not be buying beauty items, clothes, shoes, accessories, etc. That means a lot of restraint on my part as you all know. But I need to cut it out and focus on paying my bills. I definitely want to be done with my credit cards by the end of the year. And from the calculations I did, if I play it smart, I can be done by December with all my credit cards and store cards. I will absolutely be able to pocket that 'extra' money and use it for savings and all the other things I've been meaning to do. I've learned my lesson and I am done with the devil and his promises. Its times like this I really wish my mother would have had a real conversation about this with me and educated me rather than just telling me not to use credit cards. Though sometimes I know that even with all the right knowledge and tools, it is hard to make the right decisions.

Well here's to nothing new for an entire month. So far its 2 days in and I'm good, haven't bought anything. Let's hope I stay strong.

- L

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