Disconnected

Earlier this week I read my son Trent's blog about the problems he was having getting a satellite dish installed. All those phone calls & so much frustration made me really feel his pain!

Well, I may not be able to top Trent's story, but I certainly can add my own tale of woe. Several weeks ago I placed a call to Time Warner to see what it would cost to have phone service. I pay an average of $60 a month to Verizon so I was thrilled when I was told that Time Warner phone service was only $25 a month with unlimited long distance. Sensing immediately that I would be saving $35 per month, I then inquired about adding DVR & high def to my current "bundle." All together my monthly bill would be $129 for all these services. Since I currently pay $103 for cable in addition to my $60 phone bill, I jumped on this with both feet. I was told, however, that I would have to wait 3 weeks for a service call to install. I scheduled an appointment for April 11. The gave me a "window" of 10-12 for installation.

The day before my scheduled installation I called Time Warner to confirm the appointment & to be sure they had my office & cell phone numbers. I explained that I worked 10-15 minutes from my home & asked if the technician would call when he was starting for my house. The CSR I spoke with told me we were all set. On the day of the appointment no one had called me by 11:20 so I decided to go home to wait for the technician. When I got home I found a phone message from the man who was to do the installation stating that he was on my front porch, & no one was home. I then called the company & was told that they do not call ahead & that I must be home for the entire 2 hour window to let the technician in. I explained that I had called the day before to give my phone numbers & was not told that calling would not be an option. Although the CSR apologized he explained that he was in Denver & could do nothing but reschedule. I got an appointment for 2 days later (Friday) with a window of 8-10.

Thursday morning my brother asked me if I could take my dad to the doctor for a 9 am appointment. I told him I would call Time Warner & see if I could change my installation time. Upon calling the company I was told that they need 72 hours notice to change to another time on the same day. The best they could do was to cancel & reschedule for the following week. Of course my dad's appointment took precedence over my cable/phone installation, so I cancelled & rescheduled for Monday.

Later on Thursday I was driving home from work & stuck in a large line of traffic. I decided to call my house & retrieve my messages. I got a message that my phone had been disconnected! I then called my brother to confirm my dad's appointment time & to tell him that if he needed to reach me he would have to call my cell phone. He did call my cell later to tell me that Dad had been confused & his appointment was actually for 12:30--I could actually have kept my cable appointment! So, I am disconnected for the weekend. Hopefully, my service can & will resume on Monday.

Quick Update

Ok, I admit it. I have been shamelessly lurking on both the Rivals & Scout message boards for news on Coach Beilein for the past few days. Yes, it had become an addiction. I could hardly tear myself away for fear of missing late-breaking news. I have my favorite sources on the Scout boards--Mexman & Eerhole. They seem to be spot on with inside information--none of which during the past few days has been positive. I realized that I had become rather obsessed when I began quoting them to the Progressive rep who was in our office today. Although the Beilein drama is now over, I now find myself enmeshed in the questions/theories on the coaching search, potential loss of players & recruits, etc. I really do have too much going on to be so involved, but it's irresistible to me right now.

I know my son, Adam, does not care for Joakim Noah of Florida basketball fame; however, I always kind of liked him for staying in school out of loyalty to his teammates. I loved him, however, on Monday night when Florida won the national championship, & he went climbing up through the crowd to hug his mom & share the moment with her.

The Burger King near my office now has 2 large new signs with their refill policy for drinks. I'll just call them the Starrett/Zundell memorial posters & let it go at that. The new manager there is reminiscent of the "Soup Nazi" from Seinfield.

Miscellaneous

Is it me or do you need to be an interpreter to work with the public? In our insurance agency, we could compile a hilarious list of mispronunciations of car names. For example, a customer called to delete his "Tota" & add a Mercury "Stable." He was indeed the second customer to call this car a "Stable" rather than a "Sable;" however, the "Tota" for "Toyota" was a definite first. Another customer called about her Ford "Expire" which is certainly an unflatering version of "Aspire." One of our insureds had several conversations about her Mercury "Mesquite" (Mystique) which was also called "Mystic" by another customer. We have had a number of versions of Hyundai with my favorite being hy-YOOON-die. References to having an insurance policy "shut off" as if it were a utility is also amusing. Then, of course, there is the ever popular plural reference to a driver's license, i.e., "I have to get 'them' renewed or 'they've' expired." And I always enjoy someone calling for a "quota" (quote) for insurance.

Iced Tea Recap: Well, I am going to write or call corporate headquarters at BK about our iced tea. Really, if drive-thru customers may not refill, shouldn't the price be lower? Are we expected to subsidize all the dine-in patrons with their multiple refills?

Bring on Nancy & Jill--At the NIT quarterfinals Nancy & I got caught inadvertently behind he Mountaineer basketball team huddle. When the rifle was fired, the band struck up the fight song, & the team was announced . . . "Let's bring on the Mountaineers" . . . Nancy & I were practically on the court behind the players & coaching staff! A WVU staffer was working diligently to roll out the carpet stopping & starting between us as we tried to find the aisle on the floor to get back to our seats.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Sometimes it's hard to be good or do good. I seldom spend a whole day trying to be good or do good things, so when I do try I guess I expect the universe to recognize this attempt & support me. This Sunday after braving the ice & snow to go to choir & church, I delivered some homemade cookies & brownies to my nephew Jay who was driving back to school. Since I had offered to drive another nephew, Brooks, to the airport in Pittsburgh, I hurriedly went to fill my car up with gas. I stepped right out of my car into a huge mud puddle that totally covered both of my suede (& only) boots. Frustrated I proceeded to pump my gas & accidentally touched my car with my cream colored corduroy pants & got a huge black mark on them. I went home to change my pants & hopefully dry my boots. I threw my boots in the clothes dryer & my pants in the washer, then got a quick bite to eat. I did manage to get my boots fairly dry & put them on & prepared to leave. I was going to visit my parents & write checks for their bills before we needed to leave for Pittsburgh. Grabbing my coat I (fortunately) noticed that one of the cats had thrown up on it. GEEZ! So I quickly throw my coat in the washer, my pants in the dryer, grab another coat & leave for my parents house to pay their bills before picking up Brooks.

Brooks & I leave a little early for Pittsburgh due to weather concerns & have a nice chance to visit during our trip. On the way I find that I have exhausted my windshield wiper fluid so we stop near the airport so that I can buy some. Brooks puts it in for me & fills it to the gills: however, it won't come out to wash my windshield. After dropping him off at the airport I decide to run my windshield defrost hoping that my frozen fluid will begin working, but that doesn't help. I have to stop several times to wash off my windshield. It is now dark, snowy, icy, & it would be difficult to see even with a clean windshield.

Finally I arrived home safe & relatively sound but feeling I deserved an easier time in a day I was just trying to be helpful!

Real Life

The recent news is giving credibility to the shows of both Jerry Springer & Maury Povich. There was a time when their guests & topics seemed absurd; however, our news is currently filled with such absurdity.

Anna Nicole Smith's recent death has brought forth at least three additional men who claim they are/could be the father of her baby. I have to believe that if her companion, Howard K. Stern, were actually the father, he would have already taken a DNA test. Not only are there several claiming paternity, but also, there is a fight over her burial.

Last week we had the astronaut who drove cross country in Depends to confront & possibly kill her rival. This seemed to captivate the attention of many since it is believed that astronauts are among the best & brightest in this country.

Of course the antics of Brittney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan are always front & center news. Understandably, Paris needs this kind of press since she is famous only for these types of activities. Brittney & Lindsey, however, did have careers which, in my opinion, are not served well by this kind of publicity.

Today we have the father who assaulted his son's wrestling opponent on the mat after his son was pinned. Whoa! He is making the soccer moms look really good.

Jerry, Maury, you have only to turn on CNN to line up your next guests!

Car Escapades

Yesterday I decided it had finally become warm enough to rinse my filthy car off. I had applied Windex to all my windows in an effort to be able to see while driving, but my car has had to be parked on the street at work several times lately & became disgustingly dirty. Well, I went to the touchless automatic car wash & paid for the basic wash. After fighting to get each of my dollars inserted & accepted, at long last I received the message to drive into the carwash. The door was down so I assumed someone else was in there. After waiting several minutes I realized that no one was inside & the door was not going to open. So I pushed the "refund" button; however no refund came out of the machine. I pushed this button several times to no avail. Amazingly, the door suddenly came up, & I started to drive in. It dawned on me while I was driving forward that no instructional lights were on, such as "DRIVE FORWARD." I became rather panicked at the thought of driving in & having the door close permantly behind me--a claustrophobic's worst nightmare! So I left after taking down a phone number on the building to call & attempt to get my money back.

On my way to work this morning I went to the drive-thru at my bank. After exiting & before I could get my window up, a huge truck zipped by me splashing water in through my window. No only did I have mud spattered on my car & my jacket, but also I had several huge spots of mud on my face. I continue driving to work trying to dab at the mud on my face with my gloves. By the time I got to work I had only succeeded in spreading the mud out & looking like I had just returned from a round in the mud wrestling pit. Before I went into my office, I sat in the back parking lot with tissues & hand sanitizer & removed the mud from my face. What a way to start the day!

The Green Eyed Monster

Most of my friends are teachers, & I am sooooo jealous of them as they spend weeks on end in the summer enjoying travel & fun. However, I have never been more jealous than I am today as I prepare to go to work in 4 degree weather. In the past two weeks we have had school cancelled for a dusting of snow, for water problems, and now due to extremely cold weather. Oh, I know teachers work hard when they have school, but having so much time off certainly would make the hard work worth it for me! I'll think of my teacher friends as I don my longjohns & brave the elements to get to my job.

Partners in Crime

My son, Trent, was informed by the man who rents his townhouse that two trees had been damaged in a storm & needed to be removed. He offered to cut the trees down himself if Trent could get someone to remove them. Since Trent lives in Baltimore & the townhouse is in Morgantown, he called me to see if I could arrange for the trees to be hauled away. I in turn asked my son, Adam, who lives in Morgantown, to drive by to assess the scope of the job. After driving to the townhouse & emailing me a picture, we both agreed that we could handle the job ourselves. So a couple of Saturdays ago in 19 degree weather, Adam & I borrowed a pickup from my dad, bundled up, & drove to the townhouse.

We had planned to fill the truck with the trees & drive to Fairmont to dump it all on my dad's compost pile or in the woods on my property. Somehow the small pile of trees loomed much larger when we actually got up close. We realized that it would be at least two full loads of the pickup. Not wanting to make two round trips to Fairmont, we filled the truck & began to scout around for a place to unload the chopped down trees. Fortunately, we did not have to look far; there was a wooded area in Trent's development that appeared to already contain a couple of discarded Christmas trees. Adam parked the truck, & we quickly unloaded while glancing around to be sure no one would see us. (We did remember the dumpster incident from a few years ago when Trent was nearly arrested for illegally dumping trash in a dumpster . . . who knew putting trash in a trash container was illegal!)

Adam suggested that we scout out another location to dump the second load. This time we feared we might be pushing our luck to stay in the neighborhood to get rid of the trees. After driving through Suncrest we decided that the woods around a college apartment complex would be a suitable spot. (We had seen "no dumping" signs in Suncrest & rationalized that we could then dump where these signs were not posted.) Our assumption was that college students would be sleeping at 9 am on a Saturday & that we could go unobserved, just in case. We returned to the townhouse & loaded the truck back up. We drove back to the apartment complex & moving with lightning speed, we were stealth in getting rid of the remaining tree branches. Mission accomplished!

ground hog day

I've always found ground hog day confusing. Yes, I know that if a certain ground hog in PA ("Phil") sees his shadow on February 2, it means six more weeks of winter. What I don't know is which scenario do we hope for. Is six weeeks a good thing, as in we ONLY have six weeks of winter left. Or is it a bad thing? I wish someone who enlighten me.

Son of a Bich

A man came into my office last week to get a quote for insurance. He handed me his current policy, & I told him I would quote it while he waited. I went to my desk & began to put the information into my rating system. Suddenly, my eyes were riveted to the name of the man's wife "BICH!" Nervously, I wondered if it could be a typo or if her name really is BICH? How, I wondered, do I ask? Assuming the pronunciation of bich would be the same as rich with a "B," I speculated about asking the birthdate & social security number for what seemed to be "bitch." Tactfully, I asked the man if his wife's name was spelled "B-I-C-H." He assured me that it was. Then, I proceeded to ask for "his wife's" information without using her name. He never did say her name, nor did I, but I still wonder if she really is referred to as "Bitch." I can only imagine the scenarios that would result from this name . . . "I need to get home now or "Bitch" will be furious" or "I would like you to meet my wife, "Bitch" or their son, who could actually be a "son of a bitch!"

Phone Rage

I work in an insurance office with two other agents. We all answer the phone, and at least 25% of our calls are stupid!

Our number is similar to a local car dealership, Urse Dodge, & we get a number of calls for them. However, it's odd that by answering the phone "Smith-Carpenter Agency," one would think it would be clue that they have the wrong number.

Me: "Smith-Carpenter Agency"
Caller: "Is this Urse Dodge?"
Me: "No, it's Smith-Carpenter Agency."
Caller: "Is this 366-9200?"
Me: "No, this is 363-9200."
Caller: "I'm calling Urse Dodge." (Duh!)

Me: "Smith-Carpenter Agency"
Caller: "Service Department, please."
Me: "Did you mean to call Urse Dodge?"

Me: "Smith-Carpenter Agency"
Caller: "Is my car ready?"

Me: "Smith-Carpenter Agency"
Caller: "Could I speak to someone in parts?"

The ever popular conversation starters from callers who do not identify themselves:

Me: "Smith-Carpenter Agency"
Caller: "You called me."
Me: "May I have your name?"
Caller: "John Watson"
Me: "I'm afraid I did not call you today, Mr. Watson. Did you receive a message to call me?"
Caller: "No, your number was on my caller ID."

Me: "Smith-Carpenter Agency"
Caller: "You sent me some papers.
Me: "May I have your name?"
Caller: "Marlene Jackson"

Me: "Smith-Carpenter Agency"
Caller: "How much is my bill?"
Me: "May I have your name?"

Me: "Smith-Carpenter Agency"
Caller: "How much would it cost to add a 2003 Honda to my policy?"
Me: "May I have your name . . .

What's in a name:
Me: "Smith-Carpenter Agency"
Caller: "Could I speak with Mary?
Me: "No one with that name works in this office."
Caller: "Is there a Cathy?"
Me: "No, we don't have a Cathy either."
Caller: "Nancy?"
Me: "Yes, we do have a Nancy."
Caller: "Ok. I'll talk to her."

And those who are seeking information of any kind:
"Could you tell me the name of the store next door?"
"Could you tell me the number of the store next door?"
"Could you give me the number for State Farm (a competitor)?"
"How much does it cost to license a vehicle?"
"Do you have the number for Urse Dodge?"

And so it goes . . . .

Who Knew?

I have never believed I was sexist. In fact I had always believed I had no gender bias at all. Until recently, that is.

Several days ago my daughter-in-law, Renea, called me with some suggestions for my three year old grandson, Owen, for Christmas. Most were the typical things I know he likes . . . books, trains, racecars. However she did mention he would like a "Dora the Explorer" kitchen. "It's rather pink," Renea said.

Well, I have no problem with a boy playing with a kitchen, (if fact, there's nothing much better than a guy who can cook!) but when I checked out this particular kitchen set, it was definitely "girly." I couldn't bring myself to buy something so feminine for Owen. I did an exhaustive search on the internet to see if I could find something in red, blue, yellow, or anything non-pink. I did find a couple, but they were extremely expensive. I decided that Owen didn't really need a kitchen, and even convinced myself that my son & daughter-in-law didn't have the space for such a large item.

Well today I came upon a kitchen set while walking through Target. It is red & blue & even has a photo of both a boy & a girl playing on the box. It is more expensive than the Dora one, but it's not embarrassingly girly. I bought it and have to admit I would rather pay a higher price than to get the pink one. So I guess I am sexist after all.

That's Entertainment--Part II

How do you spend the day after Thanksgiving . . . relaxing, watching football, eating leftovers? Well, in my house my son, Trent, who has spent the past several months moving, dismantling, & assembling furniture for his brother and sister-in-law, and I spent most of the day on my new entertainment center. Yes, the one I primed and painted several weeks before.

I had brought all the pieces to the entertainment center into the house after thoroughly drying them in the garage. When I was having weekend company I stacked the pieces up against the wall to get them out of the way. On the Friday after Thanksgiving Trent & I were ready to assemble it. When I went to hand him the support boards, they stuck to each other causing a big chuck of paint to come off one of the boards. With my usual impatience I pulled a large strip of paint off and told my son that I was done with the eggplant paint . . . we would just pull off the paint and take the entertainment center back to silver. He had no choice but to agree (I was already peeling!) and began to help me remove the paint. It all went pretty well until we came to the two base pieces and the paint would not come off. We were attempting to scrape it with our fingernails to no avail. Trent suggested a razor scraper, so I made a quick trip to Big Lots to purchase one. After several hours, we had FINALLY removed the paint, but not without putting a few scratches and scrapes on the pieces. Another hour and the easy-to-assemble center was good to go. Although it actually looks pretty good, I do lament the waste of time and energy that went into the project!

Take a Bite

Biting off more than I can chew . . . .

This week I purchased an entertainment center for my new tv. The one I wanted cost $275 so I kept looking. I finally found one that was perfect for $99 except that it was painted a garish silver. No problem, I thought. I'll just paint it.

It took two guys at Rex plus a dolly to load it into my car. "Are you sure I'll be able to get it out by myself?" I asked. "Oh, it will be a piece of cake," they responded. They also told me it was very easy to assemble.

Yesterday I purchased paint & thought I would quickly paint the wood before assembling; then put it together later in the day. When I got home from buying the paint, I attempted to get the entertainment unit out of my car . . . the box would not budge as it was wedged into my backseat. Eventually I was able to pry open the box & get the pieces out one by one. I spread a drop cloth on my deck & carried all the pieces outside. Suddenly the beautiful sunny day became very dark & windy. Undaunted, I opened the paint & proceeded to paint a piece of wood only to discover that it would not adhere. Perservering, I remembered that I had a can of primer left over from painting my hearth & mantle. I located the primer & began to prime all the wood. After applying several coats of primer, the rains came.

I backed my car out of the garage & spread out another drop cloth on the garage floor. Then I moved the pieces to the garage to finish the priming. Every couple of hours I would go the the garage to apply another coat as most of the pieces needed to be primed front & back, & each side needed at least two & sometimes three coats of primer. As of this morning I have yet to finish the priming & am beginning to wonder exactly how many days this project might take. Hopefully when the painting is finished, it will be as easy to assemble as the salesmen said it would be, but from the looks of all the pieces & bags of screws, I doubt it!

Reality bites . . . .

Oddly enough my sons encouraged me to play in their fantasy football league. I was uncertain since I had never played before, but they convinced me that I could do it.

After the first two weeks, I was sitting pretty atop the league undefeated. At that point I would say "I know my football," but I'm sure my sons were thinking "dumb luck." Since that time I have lost every game even though I have scored a lot of points each week. This week I dumped my so-called premier receiver, Randy Moss, since he had done absolutely nothing so far this season with the hapless Raiders. Unfortunately for me I happened to mention this to my son, Adam, who quickly snatched him up. Yesterday, the Raiders won & Randy had a great day. My fantasy is quickly becoming a nightmare!

Tea for Two

Ever since I blogged about our smooth little system of daily drive-thru iced teas plus free refills later, I have had nothing but trouble getting the tea.

First, Nancy announced that she no longer liked sweetener & now wanted sweetened tea. I drove up to the BK drive-thru . . . voice: "Can I have your order? me: "One medium unsweetened iced & one sweetened iced tea." voice: "That will be $2.42 at the next window." me: "I said MEDIUM teas." voice: "That's what I'm charging you for." me: "Has the price gone up since yesterday?" voice: "No. Drive thru please." So I discovered that Nancy's medium tea with sugar cost an extra 11 cents. So when I went to refill later, I of course got the two cups mixed up & had to pitch them & order new drinks. Then when I got back to the office, I got them mixed up again & put my sweetener in Nancy's already sweetened tea making it disgustingly sweet.

Undaunted, however, I went the following day to the BK drive thru & was told they were unable to make tea due to a broken part on the machine. I then was trapped in the drive-thru while those ahead of me reeived their orders. I proceeded to McDonalds next to get tea. me: "One medium sweetened tea & I medium unsweetened tea please." voice: "We don't sell sweetened tea. It doesn't make sense to sell sweetened tea when we have sugar." me: "Two medium unsweetened teas, please, plus sugar packets." Okay, so I get the teas & can immediately tell it's not going to be good since there is virtually no ice in either one of them. Additionally, I discovered Nancy doesn't like to put sugar into unsweetened tea since she thinks it does not disolve well. Not to mention all this took me at least 20 minutes . . . I think it's time to switch to coffee.

Fill Er Up

My friend Nancy & I get a daily iced tea from the Burger King drive-thru for $1.15 each. Later in the day one of us returns to Burger King to refill our cups. We have been questioned about getting our free refills hours later; however, we feel that since we pay the same price in the drive-thru as we would if we ate inside, we are entitled to a refill. If restaurants don't want drive-thru customers to participate in the free refill policy, then the price for a drive-thru drink should be less than one purchased inside.

I have been a perpetual loser at gauging whether gas prices will go up or down. When gas prices are exceedingly high, I will get a partial tank of gas hoping to fill up later when the price comes down. Unfortunately for me, the price inevitably then gets higher. Conversely, when the prices are relatively low, I will fill my car to the gills only to find the price will drop another 5 cents on the gallon the next day.

Owenisms . . . out of the mouth my three year old grandson who was my houseguest for the weekend:

"Nina, you smell really good." "Do I, Owen?" "Yes, you smell just like Rachel Ray!"

When he found a stray piece of mushroom on his piece of pizza, he exclaimed, "That's just disgusting!"

Upon discovering that his great grandparents (ages 86 & 84) had a golf cart at their house, he asked "Do Timer & Jack wear helmets when the ride on their golf cart?"

After attending our church Sunday, he was meeting & greeting outside & felt the need to introduce not himself, but his uncle. He told people, "Hi. This is Uncle Adam."

Living in a fantasy world

Last weekend I make my first foray into the realm of fantasy football. I had really never intended to get involved with this since it just seemed way too complicated. Also, I have my hands full with my college & pro football pools. However, at the urging of my sons, I became a player or should I say team. Of course I have now set myself up for abuse as everything from my team name (Dirty Dancing) to my selections (ok, so I didn't know Deion Branch was holding out) is being mocked by the family. The draft was fun though, & I'm still picking my way through the rules. I did dump Deion for a personal fav of mine, Jerry Porter. Now I guess I will just have to wait & see how it goes. Apparently I can trade & pick starters every week. Yes, it is as complicated as I imagined, but a new experience can also be challenging. Unfortunately, my competitive nature has kicked in, &, of course, I now want to WIN!!! Speaking of competitive, Kelly, my daughter-in-law who usually could care less about football, calls during the Steeler/Miami game last night all excited about the points she is accumulating during the game. I believe she is in it to win it as well. At best it will be fun & exciting . . . at worst I have given my sons another venue for laughs at my expense. Only time will tell.

Quick Hits

How did Maurice Clarett & Marcus Vick become such egomaniacs that they feel they can continuously break the law without consequences? It's bad enough that some professional athletes have adopted this behavior, but at least they've "made it," & we have some idea why they think they're so great that they're above the law.

My new ATM machine gives you an option of two languages. Not so unusual, as we often must choose between English & Spanish; however, my options are now ENGLISH or FRENCH! I know not a single person in Fairmont, WV, for whom French is their language of origin.

Is there any better way to start the day than by receiving a smile from three month old Drew?

I wonder why it was necessary for Lance Bass to "announce" that he is gay? (To no one's surprise, I might add.)

Just when I think my television viewing couldn't get much worse, I discover a show called "Bridzillas!" Need I say more . . .

Who knew my sons' new hobby, a podcast, would become so popular? The Brothers in 3-Z is now nominated for a national people's choice award. It certainly is fun seeing them get all of this attention! I have done my part encouraging friends & family to vote as well as voting myself.

Where has the summer gone? We had no summer weather in June, July became a scorcher, & now we are one week into August. My favorite season has just flown by!

Mindless

Summer tv viewing can usually not be more boring. I seldom have the tv on in the summer preferring to spend my evenings & weekends doing something outside at least until dark. This summer, however, I have been riveted by some real reality tv. First we have the infamous Britney Spears interview with Matt Lauer. Where do I start with this? She looked like white trash. I know she's pregnant, but she's also fat in places that have nothing to do with pregnancy & chose to show as much chubby skin as possible. In addition, most of her remarks were inane & certainly did nothing to enhance her image. Secondly, the feud between Barbara Walters & Star Jones has made must-see tv for me. It's hard to predict what either will say or do next! I found myself watching Star for an entire hour on "Larry King Live." You just can't conjure up more drama than has unfolded with the two of them.

My son & daughter-in-law (Adam & Kelly) introduced me to two shows on MTV that I have found hilarious . . . "My Sweet Sixteen" & "Tiara Girls." These shows follow the ultra spoiled teens & their parents as they either prepare for a 16th birthday party (that usually costs more that an elegant wedding reception) or the pageant circuit (no amount of money is too much when attempting to win a beauty contest). I did hear Anderson Cooper say (seriously) that these two shows were his favorites. In addition I will add two MTV shows that I have found on my own . . . "Parental Consent" & "Next." I won't try to explain these shows but will only say they are also so ridiculous, they are addictive.

Needless to say, a little mindless tv viewing never hurt anybody. Bring on "Making the Band!"

Pay attention

During a recent trip to the beach with my friends two of us decided to purchase some flip flops. One night on our way to dinner we went into a store that specialized in beach shoes. We perused the flip flops & found that they were $25. After a lengthy deliberation on whether to spend that much as well as trying on numerous pairs, both my friend, Penny, & I each decided on a pair to buy. We were laughing & talking as I handed my credit card to the clerk. Obviously I was not paying much attention because as we were leaving the store, I noticed that my flip flops were $42! I checked with Penny, & hers were $42 also. I then asked the clerk who told me MOST of the flip flops were $25, however, we had each selected a pair that was $40 plus tax. So now I am wearing my flip flops everywhere--even to work occasionally! They are now more expensive than the fancy heels I bought on sale for my son's wedding last year.

Before going on vacation I returned a movie "Antz" that I had rented for Owen. This morning I found that movie in my family room. I wondered what I could possibly have returned to the video store in its place. After work I walked into the store & straight to the movie. Upon opening it I found Owen's "Neighborhood Animals" video that I keep for him at my house. He absolutely loves that video & would have been distraught if I had lost it. I can only imagine how much time we would have spent turning the house upside down trying to find it!