Remembering Chandra Levy

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . January 1, 2011 . 11:04PM

It’s been a while since I’ve focused upon an actual news story here, but every now and then my mind wanders back to a true crime story because of the media and I feel that compelling urge to throw my two pennies onto the table. In 2001, Chandra Levy went missing. This became more than a general missing persons case because Chandra Levy was not only an intern at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington D.C., but also she was having an affair with United States Representative, Gary Condit.

At the time, I remember watching the news and feeling sickened and repulsed. I’d watch Gary Condit on television and felt like he knew more than he was telling. He was cleared of all involvement and that should make me feel better about the situation, but recently, the case was tied up in a neat little bow and something still feels too neat. In fact, when Condit was cleared of charges, you could almost predict that an illegal immigrant would be found to have been at fault and Condit wouldn’t have anything to do with it, right?

Strange how that worked out. Levy’s remains were found in 2002 and a cellmate stated that Ingmar Guandique, in prison for something else, admitted to Condit paying him to kill Levy. He was recently convicted…however, the charges against Condit were ruled out.

Because no man has ever paid to have his mistress offed…especially a man in high power who was up for re-election. Condit even refused to admit his affair with Levy though his sperm DNA were found on her undergarments in her apartment.

I don’t know if Condit had anything to do with Levy’s murder, but the bottom line is that he’s kept mum for almost 10 years and I suspect he’ll continue to do so. It’s very Clinton-esque to deny, deny, deny, right? Either he truly had nothing to do with her murder and he’s innocent or he’s paid off the right people. The one thing I know about this is that it’s a stereotypical ending and when things are this open and shut, it’s rarely that easy.

We may never know what happened to Chandra Levy or why. Was it really just a robbery gone wrong? Did she get involved with the wrong man? Both? The only thing I know is that I’m still not buying what Gary Condit is selling and I don’t know why I can’t get over it. The prosecutors in this case “overcame a lack of any scientific evidence.” Why doesn’t that reassure me? This man could face life in prison with no parole. If he’s guilty, he deserves far worse. If he’s innocent? And if he’s guilty and was hired? Does the man who hired him deserve nothing?

This holiday season may her family have some peace that someone is paying for her death. I hope that it is the right person.

Dear Walmart

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . October 25, 2010 . 12:14AM

Dear Walmart,

Honestly, I rarely go to your store for a cornucopia of delightful reasons. The main reason being that when I go into the store I come out feeling musty and dusty and like I need to take a shower. While you may have a more varied selection than my preferred store, Target, I’ve noticed that some products look like someone has run them over with a Hummer and that they have been opened, sampled and then put back like I won’t notice that someone else has taken a huge bite out of the Doritos I plan to purchase. Consequently, I no longer purchase Doritos, but I will talk about that in a later post.

In any case, I frequent your store in two circumstances: when I’m in a city, like my hometown, that does not have a Target, or when the item I need is not one that Target, Best Buy or any other store in the whole world (the whole world being a 15-20 mile driving distance) sells. In this case, I was looking for a 16G Zune player. This was necessary being that I was overly zealous on the treadmill the other day and whacked my rhapsody player off the treadmill deck and sent it spiraling to the belt where it promptly went zinging to the back of the treadmill and skidded 5-feet across the gym floor. It inadvertently almost knocked a boy off the elliptical behind me because he was laughing so hard he couldn’t stay upright. I realized it was unusable when it popped open in my hand. After trying other rhapsody players from my beloved Target, I gave up.

Wal-mart online showed me a Zune player that was $30 less than Best Buy. By this time, I’m already crabby because I haven’t worked out in 24 hours and I am kind of wishing I’d pushed the boy off of the elliptical machine. I got to Wal-Mart and, lo and behold, they have the Zune in stock. For $30 more than they advertised online. This isn’t new. Wal-Mart frequently discounts their items on their online store and charges more for their items in-store. So, to get something that is IN STOCK, I get to pay $30? Pass. I’ll go to Best Buy where I get a clean store, great customer service, a Best Buy rewards system and can use my $5 certificate for my rewards and where that same player will count towards MORE rewards. Oh, and hey, where BEST BUY won’t UNDERCUT ITSELF online. I’ve heard stories about Wal-Mart doing this with various products and refusing to honor the prices in their stores. If I wanted to wait five days, I could get Amazon free shipping. Or, better yet, use Amazon.com and get prime shipping or one day shipping and pay $30 less than both Wal-Mart & Best Buy.

What I know is this: I won’t be using Wal-Mart. And their policy of not meeting their own prices? Bull. This isn’t a franchise. This is a corporation. All the money goes to the same place. Enough is enough. I walked out today even though I really wanted that player and I had spent time, gas and money going there.

Places that continue to give me good service, Target, Best Buy, Amazon, the little stores around here? They’ll continue to get my cash. Keep up the good work, Wal-Mart. You make it easy not to give you my money.

Sincerely,

Heartbroken but not lost

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . June 7, 2010 . 10:53PM

The premise of this blog is that life moves on even though circumstance will try to take you down. The last several months have been a challenge, to say the least, and this weekend, in particular, was trying. I’m surrounded by good people, though, and I continue to remind myself that life will continue on even though it feels like everything ends at each particular point in time that I struggle.

I spent some time this evening reflecting and pushing myself out of my comfort zone and letting myself talk to others and be myself again and what I realized is that my struggle is not singular. If I’m having a bad weekend, someone else reading this is struggling as well. I want you to know that even if your heart is breaking, your body is aching, your mind feels lost and you feel fragile…you are not alone and someone cares deeply for you. The things that happen are hard and heart-breaking and stunning, but they are not the end for you.

Continue to grow and love and move forward. I’m going to try to do the same along with you.