Memories

No, no this post is not about the sad case of Susan Boyle, belting her heart out to sing the saddest song in musical theater history and then having to go to the hospital for exhaustion. (Although the poor woman needs to go back to Scotland, sit down in a comfy chair, put a cat on her lap, drink a strong pot of tea and be happy to sing to an audience not consisting of emaciated blonde women and men with overly gelled hair.)

No, this post is about my own little song of memories.

Since I'm almost 30 in bodily years and at least 75 in personality years, I feel like it is appropriate for me to wax poetic about the 1980's. And how I miss them, or at least what I remember of them.

I grew up in an incredibly Republican household, so in the 80's we were flying high, or at least I think we were, (minus the parental divorce and subsequent aftermath- maybe I'm waxing poetic about the 90's? who knows? but a different post, nonetheless)

Anyway- I was thinking today about how sad it is that children now have to have cell phones and texting and tweeting and facebook. Which brings me to the dentist chair my friends and I found sometime in 1988, sitting alone in the back woods behind our subdivision.

Who knows if I remember the creepy chair correctly (no iPhone photos)- I do remember long days of that summer where each of us would sit in the chair while we concocted elaborate, gruesome stories of why it was here. We were heavily into Unsolved Mysteries so to us the chair was part Indian Burial Ground, part Ghostly Murder Site. (In reality some redneck dentist had probably had his brother haul it out there to avoid a dump fee- woo boy!).

And no matter if I remember it correctly the dentist chair became our club house were we played MASH and talked boys, and made things out of wildflowers, and imagined. Sounds idyllic doesn't it? Now imagine a cell phone bleating out and my mother on the other end reminding me I hadn't cleaned my room. All pretend independence and imagination out the door. If the kids even make it out the door. If I had had a Wii I sure as hell wouldn't have.

And although I love iPhones and wish I had my very own, I sometimes really long for a tape player, wall mounted phones in the kitchen to call your grandmother, credit card machines that you have to physically slide, answering machines, checks, a pharmacist who knows who you are, a firm notion of right and wrong, a U.S.A. of Ralph Lauren American flag sweatshirts.

I don't long for them because these notions are sweet and pretty in a false looking back at the 50's kind of way- but because nothing fostered creativity like the time it took to make a mix-tape, especially from the radio. Or that if you had a wall-mounted phone in the kitchen you couldn't do three things at once while talking to your friend who is in crisis (guilty as charged).

Sometimes I wish I lived in a time when I wasn't constantly looking to see who texted me, or checking facebook so I can make sure i haven't fallen too far behind the milestones of my friends, or reading about how companies I used to love are trying to lie to consumers about the BPA in their products, or how the Taliban threatens to kill little girls, or the melting glaciers, drowning polar bears, children in slum dog millionaire starving, oh I could go on.

Maybe sometimes I wish I was just 8 years old and had no clue what was going on.

Yeah, that was pretty sweet.

Cats was pretty awesome too. Especially Mr. Mistoffelees.

It's called Supermax

It's where we keep our big, bad prisoners...And there are only 47 or more terrorists already there. Unless terrorists have become telepathic superheroes who can walk through walls- I don't see what the big deal is.

Boring Post where I tell everyone a horrible tale about NYSC

Once upon a time I lived in New York, and during that time I decided to be healthy and join a gym. New York Sports Club seemed to be a good club and it was right around my house. Since leaving NYC last August- I have been consistently harassed about paying a past due account, an account that was supposed to have been closed many months previous due to my moving about 500 or so miles away from the corner of 14th and 5th Avenue.

This horrific experience hit new heights when on Saturday around 9AM I was called by a woman who proceeded to yell and scream at me about being past due, and owing money. When I asked for a phone number for someone to call so I can resolve this she never answered. When I told her that I had already paid my bill she told me Amex had reversed the charges (a blatant lie)- all the while yelling at me about how they were going to ruin my credit. She was so loud and unhelpful that my boyfriend could hear her end of the phone across the room. I eventually had to hang up.

So I am currently drafting a letter to NYSC about this situation. I'm also going to write the attorney general of New York about the woman who called me from NARS Call Center Solutions who could only demand my credit card # without giving me any other information.

Here in its boring detail is what transpired since last August:

"Signed up on 01/07/2008. Paid my initiation fee, plus first month. Set up automatic billing on BHK account VISA (# has never changed). For February and March I was charged $79.99....then from April-August I was charged $88.99 a month, which, thanks to them sending me my contract, proves they were overcharging me the whole time anyway.

I planned on canceling my account once I got settled into VA (lazy, I know). But they apparently stopped charging me for September and October, although I received no notice of this and my account # never changed.

Then a man called me from the corporate office around October 23rd and said that I was behind in payment. I said that I wanted to cancel my membership because I had moved. He said I owed $225.71- which now that I'm crunching the #'s I don't see how they arrived at that figure. I paid with my Amex and he assured me that my account had been canceled due to non-payment. I remember asking him multiple times and asking him if I needed to send a letter to confirm. He said no.

According to the "bill" they sent me (first time today, through a collection agency!) my account was not canceled- although I never once received one e-mail, phone call, or letter about non-payment and I was having my mail forwarded from NYC.

A woman called me from NARS collection agency, I guess two months ago. I thought she was talking about the earlier non-payment because I had still never received one single bill from NYSC indicating I was still a member. She was very nice and I faxed her the copy of my Amex statement showing I had paid in October.

Then on Saturday I was yelled at and threatened for non-payment from Nars Call Center Solutions.


So there friends and neighbors who still live in New York. Boycott New York Sports Club. They run a horrible business and are only out to get every last dime possible.

Back to the Original

Back to the boring ole colors.

Oh well.

Grrrr... Daisy takes her shiv to New Zealand

Hello faithful readers,

As I was pondering my switch to word press- I found out that some little jerk had already set up a Let's Blog it Out on wordpress. They live in New Zealand. Who cares that they were set up there before Let's Blog it Out entered the blogosphere. Daisy says Attack! (not really, but give them a mental grrr...)

Now I need new ideas on blog design. Bummer.

Spring Cleaning

Hi dwindling crew!

Time for spring cleaning over here at Let's Blog it Out. I'm currently playing around with some different color schemes...you may be asking yourself, "Isn't she a graphic designer? Shouldn't it look better than this?" And the answer is Yes and Yes.

But until then! Please enjoy some new happier colors, if your eyes burn from reading the text let me know, and await for a possible move to WordPress.

Hearts and Puppies,
Daisy

They Shoot Birds, Don't They?

So thankfully I've moved out of NYC where Mayor Bloomberg has had the gall to try to ban assault weapons (and he's a Republican!)

You at home may wonder- how will your all-American hunter shoot 96 rounds into his deer in 15 seconds? 15 seconds you say? Yes, 15 seconds, 96 rounds.

I guess the deer could have gotten away if you actually had to aim and fire one shot at a time?

("Well Gawleeee," to quote Gomer Pyle )

Anyway I've moved from the land of the gun banning liberal and into the heart of true patriotism: Gun country, Virginia.

I'm thankful for this because I'd like to purchase an assault weapon to shoot very dead the obnoxious little twitter of a happy Spring bird that has the nerve to wake me up at 5:30 in the morning. I don't care how cute he is, how happy his little sing-song twits are, how much more "pleasant" his chirps are compared to the horde of cooing pigeons outside my NYC ledge..lemme tell you buddy, it's over.

And this is how I'm going to do it:

I'm going to dress up like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty and go outside around 4 AM and start singing my own happy little tune. Once he lands on my shoulder to fix my hair ribbon or sew me a new apron I'm going to reach under the skirt and pull out my completely legal assault rifle and poof!..no more chirpy wake up calls.

And don't give me no lip all you bleeding heart, gun banning liberals...I've got a right to my patriotic assault weapons. I've got a right to own a gun that can kill animals for food, socialists hiding in my bushes, and oh yes this, or this, or this.

But MY assault weapon is just for this one tiny bird outside my window. Promise. And once I'm done with that I'll sell it at a garage sale, no background checks needed.

http://www.bradycampaign.org/