Newfangled Technology

For quite a while now I have been saying that I need a new TV. Now it's not something that I am saying because I WANT a new one, I truly need one. The TV that I have was my Mothers. I bought it for her when she moved into her last residence. It is at least 15 to 16 years old. I remember I was so proud of myself when I bought it. I had a really crappy job at the time and I saved for quite a while. It was/is a magnavox. Do they even still exist anymore? I don't think so. Anyway, it was newfangled at the time. It was a stereo TV. This was when they first became popular. I wanted the best for my Mama. When she died, I inherited it. At the time, it was still a great TV. Over the years it has remained a pretty nice TV. It had a great picture, nice sounds, it was perfectly fine for me. Even though it now makes an odd noise at times and the picture is a bit off once in a while, I never felt like I was missing out on anything. Until now.

My local TV channels are regularly having educational programs with dire warnings about the broadcast Armageddon that will happen on February 19th. Unless a TV is digital or connected to cable it will be obsolete without a converter box. God forbid anyone should be without a TV! Quelle Horreur! To be honest with you, I have not had cable for many years. I decided long ago that I was not going to be a person who lived my life around my favorite shows. I only have one now and I do not need cable to see it. I live in a city where they are many things to do and I don't really need TV to entertain me. That is why I moved to a big city, I get bored sitting in the house watching TV, I need real life action. All that aside, I suddenly felt like I had been asleep for 20 years a la Rip Van Winkle and all this technology was about to leave me behind in the dust. That is when I decided...I MUST GET AN HDTV AND BE DONE WITH IT.

I began my research, immediately going to Cnet which is where I always go when faced with electronic quandaries. I went straight to the TV buying guide and determined that I wanted an LCD TV, not plasma and I located the top models in the size range I was interested in. I began the torture of reading the most boring article on the diff between 720 and 1080 res among other things and I went searching equipped with enough knowledge to appear like I did a little homework while dealing with the dreaded electronic sales guy. You know the type, he rattles off every feature you never use, care about or have ever heard of no matter how much you read and you can only get that glazed over dear in the headlights look while listening to him. The whole experience really made me want to cry. I remembered that the last time I bought a TV, there was really nothing to consider. You went to the store, looked at the TV and price and that was it. Now it is like a second job figuring out what to buy. I ended up calling my electronic savvy friend Kevin about 6 times in one day. He was surely cringing inside when I asked the dumbest questions ever posed relating to the TV situation. But better Kevin than some guy who wants to make a nice commission off of me.

I vowed I was not going to go to any black Friday sales but I do live about a 10 minute walk from a major NYC electronics chain and after doing my online research I decided to go and have a look at the different picture resolutions, sizes etc. My trip was intended just for research purposes because I planned to buy online and have a set delivered. I blasted into that store with the determination of a woman who did not want to be treated like a dummy. Luckily, I met Jonathan, a friendlybutnotinacreepyway ponytailed sales guy . He was a pretty young, no nonsense guy who could tell I had had enough, and that this whole TV thing was just getting on my last nerve. I asked him to tell me the diff between two of the TVs that were drastically on sale. He did. I told him what my needs were and asked which one he recommended for me. Much to my surprise, he actually told me that the cheaper was was a better TV and would be perfect for what I wanted it for. Of course, it sold out at 9 am BUT....he would gladly sell me one today at that price and when the new shipment arrives from the warehouse on Dec 10th I can just drop by and pick it up. Having dealt with this store before and knowing that they are reputable and honest I waved my hand at him and firmly said..."lets do it" and off I tutted behind him to the register.

Thirty minutes in that store and a grand total of $529 later, the Fussbudget SCORED and is now the relieved owner of a Sony 32 inch HDTV! A few tears will more than likely be shed when old Bessie is laid to rest at curbside in two weeks but she had a wonderful life and was loved by two devoted owners who gave her a more than respectable run. RIP Bessie :(

That's all for now!

Gratitude

This week we will be celebrating Thanksgiving and that usually makes me take stock of the things I am grateful for. It's a shame that this holiday has basically become known as a national day of over eating because it was intended to be something so much more. This year has been one of the worst years of my entire life which makes the following exercise particularly therapeutic. Tonight, I am going to try and come up with a top 10 list of sorts. Gratitude is something that is often lacking in me when I become too caught up in the daily grind and the sometimes Herculean effort of just surviving in today's world. It is something that I am consciously making an effort to be more in touch with. I have found that the more in touch I am with what I am grateful for, the less I want or need and that is a beautiful thing! I highly recommend that everyone reading this take your own self survey and focus on the wonderful things in your own life as well.

1.) FRIENDS. My God am I blessed. I never realized how much till a crisis this year that really tested my metal. You know you are truly cared about when you get phone calls at all hours just checking up on you because you are too distraught to make calls or reach out yourself. I never really thought that anyone would care if I was seriously in trouble ,but I was wrong. From the healing gemstones I got in the mail to the cards and long conversations,to the dinners and thoughtful gifts I really don't know what to say so I'll leave it at that. I only hope that I am half as good to those who have been watching over me this year during my difficult times.

2.) My health. Even though I am facing a possible surgery, I am relatively healthy and strong and manage to go out into the world everyday and perform a physically demanding job. I look around on a daily basis at those less fortunate than me, and I am thankful for my physical well being.

3.) A job that I love and the opportunity to make very human connections with a diverse group of people on a daily basis. When I put my head on my pillow every night I rest knowing that I served a purpose and helped make another person's life more comfortable for this day.

4.)A place to live in a neighborhood/city that I love with affordable rent and a very nice landlord.

5.)An abundance of "things". All the perfume and makeup a woman could ever want. I have been concentrating on enjoying what I have and in that, I have stopped searching and buying. I realized that spending money on things I already have is counterproductive to the life I want to live and the goals I want to achieve. I'm still a girl who enjoys girly things but I am a more satisfied person lately

6.)Trader Joe's. You didn't think this was all going to be serious did you? Trader Joe's is heaven on earth! I wish there could be one in every town on earth. If it was down the block from me I would be in there on a daily basis.

7. Fashionable down coats. Gone are the days of those icky,manly Columbia down coats. Now, I have about 4 down coats that are totally high fashion, fitted, super stylish and really flattering. And they keep me really toasty while looking good.

8.)A BFF who works in a high end NYC Dept store who offered me his discount when shopping. This will come in handy with the colder weather coming and my lack of snow boots.

9.)A hairdresser who completely understands me and my mop and has made me look the best I ever have in my entire life with his magic hands. My recent haircut was the best ever, I pray that this man never ever retires or leaves me! I wish this for women everywhere on earth!

10.) The existence of BACON. Seriously. I know it sounds crazy but bacon makes me so deliriously happy that it's just unbelievable. It's like some strange sort of drug for me. I rarely eat meat ever but bacon, well, bacon is just MAGIC. Oh and since I'm thinking of foodstuffs.... Champagne and truffle salt. I am at # 10 so I can't make another number for these but I just had to add them. On Champagne, the bubbles, the scent, the tickling on the back of my throat and the sound of the cork popping. It's a sensory treat in every way! And truffle salt ,well, I realize that this makes me sound like a really out of touch elite snob but really, this stuff is just the most amazing thing I've tasted in a very long time. It is the salt God puts on his food, I am nearly sure of this. I tried it years ago and I guess I was not as open as I am now to different flavors. I was at Zabars a few weeks ago and was overcome with the urge to buy a small 3 ounce jar of it for the whopping sum of $19 (!!!!). FOR SALT. Yes, I questioned my sanity at the time but since cracking it open it has graced vegetables, meat, salad,pasta,risotto, popcorn, eggs....just about everything and it is the most fabulous rich delicious flavor on earth! Highly recommend and actually worth every penny as there is just nothing else like this flavor wise out there and it adds no fat to your food at all!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone reading this! :)

For Shame Ghost Whisperer, FOR SHAME!

OK, I'll admit it, lame as it sounds I run home every Friday night to watch this show. It's a little bit of scary with some touching romance thrown in. I have even lied to my hairdresser and told him I had a date or an important meeting to get out of there in time so I could plant myself in front of my TV to watch this hour long escape from reality. I also have a source who Tivo's it for me just in case I am not home for it. I have taken a lot of mocking and been the butt of a lot of jokes for loving it so, but I stood firmly in my devotion to Melinda Gordon and her ghostly antics. Most people who know me do not understand what I see in this show and laugh at me for watching it. Everyone knows....do not call between 8 and 9 on Friday nights because I will not answer my phone and that is that. Last night may have changed my Friday nights forever. Let me explain.

In case you've been missing out on this show it is basically a fantasy and that is why I love it so. Jennifer Love Hewitt is Melinda Gordon, a young newlywed who has the ability to speak to and see the dead, or "earthbound spirits". The premise of the show is that she meets these spirits who are troubled by something that is preventing them from crossing over into the next life or existence. Along with the help of her wonderfully supportive, hunky husband Jim Clancy, she solves whatever mystery that is causing the spirit to be stuck in the "crossing over" part of dying and she helps them say goodbye to this world and the trappings of it and sends them off into the "light". I realize this sounds lame but you have to understand something. My daily life is so stressful and full of difficult situations and far from ideal. This damned show gave me an escape from all of that.

Jennifer Love Hewitt is gorgeous. I never liked her before this show. She actually irritated me and I never found her even remotely attractive but on this show she is is a very likable character and they really play up her beauty. For the men watching she flashes major cleavage in the bedtime scenes with her adoring hubby Jim. Her wardrobe and makeup is fun to look at for someone who is interested in fashion and beauty. Her husband is eye candy for me. He is featured in various states of undress on each show too. It's subtle, it's usually coming out of the shower or getting ready for bed, nothing purely gratuitous. He is really not my type per se, but he is pretty easy on the eyes.

So why am I so upset and where is this going? Well here it is. Last night, CBS messed up my perfect little Friday nites forever because..............................................THEY KILLED JIM CLANCY OFF THE SHOW!!!! Yes, that's right. JIM IS DEAD. Jim, the yang to Melinda's yin has been murdered by the idiot writers of this show. Now years ago, they murdered Melinda's best friend, killed her off the show too. Last year they killed her father and sent her cohort on a sabbatical. Now her husband. This show has officially jumped the shark for me.

The thing I loved about Jim was that he was always there for Melinda. He was the loving, adoring, perfect hubby that does not exist in real life. I loved the scenes when she would come home from a hard day of ghost whispering and he would be there waiting for her with a glass of wine, cooking her dinner. His character was pretty meh. He pretty much existed to support her. AND WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THAT?? Female characters have been doing this for YEARS!! It's about time a man existed for the purpose of supporting the female character! Not to mention that these two actors have amazing chemistry together. It's totally believable that they are madly in love with each other and that is quite wonderful to see. Please CBS....why can't you let me have my little fantasy that a man like this may actually exist out there? Why must everything be so dark and reality based? This show is a fantasy dammit!! To kill off a beloved main character is just complete insanity. When he told her he was dead and he went code blue in the hospital scene, I cried more than Jennifer Love Hewitt did! This season was supposed to be about them starting a family. Now why the hell could that not have been enough? Why is every show about broken relationships? Everyone is divorced, single, a widow or widower. Everyone is cheating and philandering. There is nothing on TV that represents a happy, stable relationship. This was it! And now they've ruined it! I am not a huge TV watcher to begin with. This was really the only show I watched on a regular basis.

HEAR ME NOW CBS: BRING BACK JIM OR I AM DONE WITH YOU! You did it with Bobby Ewing on Dallas back in the day and it was ridiculous, but it satisfied people who watched for his character and the relationship between him and Pam. If Melinda doesn't wake up and realize that this has been a horrible dream I am officially done with this show as are many others. And don't even think about bringing him back as a ghost and having her have some bizarre relationship with him as a dead guy!! I want a real flesh and blood Jim back or you have lost me!

CBS...YOU SUCKASS!

The Day After....

Seen in Harlem on 125th Street ,this hand painted mural drew a crowd of onlookers still in awe of history being made.

Happy Halloween/Election Day from Harlem!

Obama is so omnipresent here, he even made it into Halloween decorations. This was seen directly across the street from a polling place on election day!