Remember the Furbabies too . . .

Now, I don't know how many people actually read this blog; but if you just happen upon this, I want to do a very small part to help those who were horribly affected by the storm we all know as Katrina. And although I know that people really need help down there and I plan to make a donation, I would like to speak for those who can't speak for themselves: our pets, dogs, cats, kitties, puppies, birds, ferrets, hamsters, fish, babies, and all those animals who are having it just as rough, if not worse than people, because they don't know what's going on.

So, if you are in a giving mood, I hope you'll give to one of the following:

1. Donations to www.bestfriends.com a responsible charitable organization devoted to animal care and welfare.

2. www.noahswish.org - Noah's Wish has some very creative ways for us to contribute, aside from the much needed cash donations.

3. The United Animal Nations - you can direct where your money is to go - state "Emergency Animal Response System - Katrina" at https://secure.ga3.org/01/UANdonate

4. The United States Humane Society at https://secure.hsus.org/01/disaster_relief_fund_2005

I'm sure there are others as well - I would welcome them in my comment section.

My Favorite Time of Year . . .

Yes, ladies and gentleman, it is my absolutely favorite time of year - new fall shows season! Drum roll please . . . . I can't wait until the new shows start, the premieres of the old shows tell me what I wanted to know all summer, I can smell it in the air. I missed you Smallville, Lost, Gilmore Girls, Alias, Arrested Development, Survivor, Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives, Charmed, Veronica Mars, House, Boston Legal, Medium, Grey's Anatomy, etc. I can't wait to get to know you Reunion, Bones, Surface, Supernatural, Invasion, Everybody Hates Chris, Threshold . . . .

Well, I did try one new show last night - Prison Break - YUK! Believe me, as a TV and movie junkie, I know how to suspend with belief with the best of them. But this show was WAY too much. Just a few things that bugged me: (1) a body tattoo that intricate that takes only one day to put on? (2) the court system, judge, da's office, his own attorney didn't figure out that a guy who never got in trouble before until his bro is on death row, asks for AND GETS the same prison his bro is in and which he just happened to help design; and (3) he's lucky enough to get a retarded warden who needs some engineering help? This show was AWFUL! I can't believe it got such good reviews! Bean gives it two thumbs down.

What kind of Sick Joke is this?

So, we are all waiting with bated breath, crossed fingers, and prayers for some that New Orleans and all other affected areas do not have much in the way of damage, injuries, death, etc. because of the storm Katrina. Good luck to all.

So, when I get my Southwest "Ding!" this morning, I check the rates to see which flights are for sale. So the ONLY fare for my town is to where? Why New Orleans of course! For only $92 each way, I can travel to New Orleans! I understand the need for profit, etc., but couldn't Southwest wait ONE DAY at least before putting up such a fare? How tacky is that? When a town is waiting to see if there will be anything left, historically speaking as well as just for people's lives and homes, did we really need to see that Southwest is blessing us with a discounted fare there? Good job on the PR Southwest!

On another note, I have a cousin Katrina; and I must say that this storm was very aptly named. That's all I'll say on that subject.

"We'll Be Back, Right After This Very Important Message"

Yes, this is about TV pet peeves. And yes, the title of this post is my very first pet peeve when it comes to TV. Why do they need to say this? Unless you are telling me that an earthquake is coming, aliens are here, or I just won a million dollars between the time of this phrase and when I get my show back, it is NOT a very important message and just a lame attempt to sell me more junk I don't need.

Another TV pet peeves, shows that say "next on ____, after the break" and then they proceed to foreshadow what I'll see after the commercial. I see it most with reality shows like the Bachelor, the Apprentice and now with Battle of the Network Reality Stars. Why do I need to see a preview of what I'm going to see five minutes from then (or in my case 2 seconds from then as I have TiVo)? Why can't you just give me more show? It seems like a waste of space and just ticks me off.

A third pet peeve? The cancellation of shows I like before the season's end when they only have a few episodes left. Now, maybe I wouldn't mind so much if they put in "quality" tv shows that are remotely interesting, but the trend instead appears to be that they put in repeats that have repeated forever.

And a fourth and final peeve (for now anyway)? Shows that run a few minutes over the time. What happened to shows from 8 to 9 or 9 to 10? Oh no, it is VERY important for Alias to be on from 9 to 10:01 pm or the 4400 to be on from 9 to 10:02 pm. Or every show on MTV just being a tad bit off. So what happens? My TiVo cuts the end of my show off! I know they do it just to tick me off.

So fix my TV please!

"Can't Win For Losing!"

Well, last night I was talking with Mr. Bean about something we were disappointed on and I said "Can't win for Losing!" Well, Mr. Bean proceeded to tease me relentlessly about making up a phrase that made no sense, in spite of the fact I was vehement it was real. So, to prove me wrong - he went and looked it up on the internet. Lo and behold, there it was - all over the place. "Kerry can't win for losing"; "Mutual tax funds - can't win for losing"; and my personal fave - a detailed definition of the phrase:

"You can't win," as a catchphrase, originated in the United States and was in use by 1950 (according to Eric Partridge, "A Dictionary of Catch Phrases American and British"). It expresses a sense of futility about hoping to succeed or, generally, to get something --anything--done. The elaboration "You can't win for losing," with its added play on logic, was around in the 1960s. It means that losing keeps you from winning; you can't win because things keep going wrong. People would say it when something unexpected or a bit of bad luck spoiled their plans. Actually, the word 'for' may be taken out of context here. It is not used as in "the flower was for her." For also means, because of or as a result of. i.e. "He could not think for jeaslousy." Which would translate "you cannot win as a result of losing."

So, needless to say, I felt vindicated. But then I was thinking of other phrases I say that really sound stupid but I use them a lot: "six or one half dozen of the other"; "all good things come to those who wait"; "when the going get tough, the tough get going" etc.

So why do I say these stupid things? Who knows. As you know, you can't win for losing!

Mind Your Bi'ness!

So Mr. Bean and I have a puppy that we love dearly - Jefferson Kennedy Dog. Currently, she is on "vacation" with my in-laws for awhile. It's funny, I knew I would miss her - but I didn't know I would miss her THIS MUCH. So much that it hurts.

I'm good at not thinking of things that tend to hurt me - a good defense mechanism. Mr. Bean on the other hand, deals with his unhappiness by talking about what bothers him. I sometimes tease him that I'm the "boy" in the relationship and he's the "girl" - but don't worry - he is VERY manly!

Back to JBJ - or Jefferson which is her official name and no I don't know why I call her JBJ - I just do. Anyway, Mr. Bean and I do something I can only hope other mommies and daddies of furbabies do - we think she's talking to us. Just you get a look or the eyes or something that makes you POSITIVE they are saying something to you - and you make them "talk". For example, JBJ is a very private puppy dog - so her favorite phrase is "mind your bi'ness!". Other fun ones include "mind the gap", "fine then", "grrr" and so one. So, JBJ, know your mommy and daddy miss you; and you are always in our thoughts!

Why do Criminals get Paid Vacations?

So, recently our local bishop decided that he was not going to request that the Vatican defrock priests in his diocese who sexually abused children. Instead, he was simply not going to let them "work" by disallowing them to say mass, etc. But they will get their pension and paychecks. For the rest of their lives.

Sounds like a paid vacation to me.

I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but shouldn't only those who do good deeds and do their job morally and accurately be rewarded with paid time off? How is someone going to learn their lesson that something is wrong when their "punishment" is to have all this free time to do what they want, including travel, etc., on the dime of their employer? They're lucky they aren't in jail; and now they get a free pass. But, as the Bishop said, I'm sure they've been through enough. Do the victims get vacation paid by the Church too? While I have to work every year for the next 30 or so years with about 2 weeks off a year for vacation, they can take a trip to the Caribbean - laughing all of the way. Justice at its finest. Well, hopefully their final trip will be somewhere I really don't want to go.

Do you think if I steal a stapler here at work I can get lucky with such a "punishment"?

Don't Try to Cheat Me to My Face

So, I'm big into sales. And I won't buy anything unless it is on sale. And this includes shopping for my favorite thing to do in the world - travel. I always get a deal on hotels (priceline rocks!), travel, food, etc. So, I'm very careful in what I buy.

And a part of that usually is Southwest Airlines. Southwest and Jet Blue are my favorite airlines in the world not only because they are usually the cheapest, but because they have good service and actually seem to care about you too.

Well, today, I was a little disheartened with Southwest. You see, I'm traveling to WDW in a couple of months (yeah!) and was waiting for lower prices. They were costing about $115 each way which is WAY more than I had been paying. So I joined SW's "Ding!" fare which is supposed to notify you IMMEDIATELY of the cheapest rates they are ever going to have on a particular flight pattern. Well, yesterday, the Ding! finally Danged (?) and I got a rate of $94 each way. I was still bummed because it was more than I ever paid, but I knew oil rates were going up so I figured that was life. And what do I find today? The normal email rates went down to $49 each way! That's almost cut in half!

Thankfully, I was able to convince SW to give me a refund (which was $176 - a lot of money in my world) because the change was made less than 24 hours from each other. It seems dishonest to me, however, to advertise a program that is supposed to be so amazing with its low rates to only find out that's not true.

So while I'll still travel SW because I'm a cheap son of a gun, I will do it with a scowl on my face. (until I reach Disney!)

"Notorious" Hometowns

Why do the hometowns I live in only get on the National news for bad things and never for anything good?

Currently, my hometown has the distinct honor of being on the national news because a local private school has a female teacher who just happens to (a) be good looking; and (b) like sleeping with male students. Nice right? Don't even get me started on my thoughts about that. Also, my hometown has been lucky enough to have the national distinction for (1) hosting the number one party school (colleges); (2) a student at this same school went into a classroom with a gun and shot up many students and teacher; (3) an islamic guy trying to sell a rocket launcher; (4) another islamic group busted for starting a branch of Al Quaida; (5) a murder of a judge's clerk (chopped up in fact) probably by his son and (6) a bridge collapse.

My old hometown was notorious for (1) Perot announcing his candicacy for President: (2) a heterosexual male whose last name was Gay beating up and I believe killing a gay at a local gay bar; and (3) being in Falwell land - which brings up way too many stories to explain.

When will my hometown be known nationally for sugar and spice and everything nice?

"Rowdy Teenagers" - I'll take them over an old fogey anyday.

So yesterday, car broke down again (dead battery). I forgot my cell phone that day, of course. So I had to beg people to use theirs. This led to an interesting conclusion - younger people are nicer than older. Now, I'm in my early 30's, so I'm not going to sound like an old fuddy duddy - or maybe I am - but I really thought I would get help from someone I qualified as an "adult". Now, I didn't look like the dregs of society - I was on my way home from work so I was dressed in a suit - and I think I'm a pretty nice and happy-go-lucky person - no mean faces here. But every time I asked some "adult" to borrow a phone for a couple of minutes, I was met with a weird look and an excuse "oh my phone just died" (then why were you using it a couple of minutes ago - I saw you!), or "uh, I left my phone in the car" (oh? then what is that attached to your belt?). You know who helped me? A couple of "rowdy" teenage boys who had no problem letting me use their phone as long as I wanted and even waited with me for awhile. And when they left I had other "rasculy kids" ask me if I needed help. How many "adults" asked if I needed help? A big fat ZERO. So I think I'll stick with the "young 'uns" for now and the old fogeys can just help themselves.

And I'll never forget my cell phone again - Promise.

Blatherings of a Wedding Crasher Cursed Woman

So, the other night, I went to see Wedding Crashers. About halfway in, the movie projector died. It stopped right at the scene where VV and OW were going hunting. Then, as I started driving home at about 9 pm, the car died. Either I was cursed or an alien implanted a computer chip in me so that I can unknowingly let technical machines die.

Thankfully, a kind County Sheriff's Deputy stopped to wait with me. Thank you kind policeman officer! Come to find out I ran out of gas - and no not because I wasn't paying attention - something is wrong with the gas gauge.

Take My TV, PLEASE!

Hello, my name is Bean; and I'm a TV addict. Boy do I love tv. And I totally blame my parents for it.

Follow my reasoning. As a child, I only watched VERY little tv; and it was only what my parents wanted. So, growing up, I was always behind all of the other kids and teens with the popular shows, but also had no clue about movies either. No, I didn't see the Church lady skit on SNL. No, I'm not watching CHIPS, Three's Company or MASH because my parents think it's too provocative. And, as my mother always says: "your father and I do not like situational comedies." Who the heck says that? "Situational Comedies"?

So I know nothing of the "popular" television or movies from about 1972-1990. Bubbe was shocked and still doesn't believe me when I tell him I only first saw "Footloose", "Flashdance", "Fame", etc. at about 1992 or later. But if you have any questions about Matlock, 60 Minutes, Murder She Wrote, the Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, Mayberry, Star Trek (thank goodness dad was a trekkie), "Annie", "I Love Lucy", "Brady Bunch" or Disney, I can totally answer them for you.

So as a result, I will watch anything on TV because of my inability to watch anything as a kid. And now with DVR, I can tape anything I want and then watch it without commercials.

So, I'm a TV addict. Thanks mom.

Christmas in July

Well alright, it really is August. But as of August 7, I have gotten a little over half of my Christmas shopping done. And why do I have my Christmas shopping more than half done 4 and a 1/2 months before Christmas? Because if I don't, around Thanksgiving, I have a heart attack from the stress of having to buy 28 Christmas gifts (and this doesn't even count Mr. Bean, but does include parents, siblings, cousins, friends, nieces, nephews, work staff, etc.) and 5 birthday presents (the birthdays are all within a week of Christmas).

So to avoid the undue stress, I start now when I see sales. The kids are almost done except for one and the adults are about 1/2 way there.

You may be shaking your head now; but while the rest of you start getting traumatized on Black Friday, I'll be sleeping in.

This blog is dedicated to the one I love - Mr. Bean. Know I'll miss you, but you better have fun!

Hidden Mickeys

So I never thought I would have a blog. I just didn't think I had anything interesting enough to say. Mr. Bean (aka Bubbe) had a blog; but I always thought he should have one because he is such a gifted writer and a very intelligent person. My areas of expertise though were just candy items like tv, movies and books. Entertainmentweekly.com and tvguide.com did a great job on those areas so why should I write something.

Then, I found out a friend from cyberspace (hi NL!) had a blog and went to look at it. She did a great job. And while looking at it, I realized I could do a blog for free. What the heck, I'll take a look.

So then I saw how I could set it up and looked at the available templates. And I saw the one up above. Da, da DA!!!! It was fate - there was a template that made me think of my other total love - Disney and Walt Disney World. And why do you ask? Because there is a hidden Mickey of course! What is a hidden Mickey? A hidden Mickey is any place where you see three circles, preferably one larger and two smaller, that are put together to look like Mickey. It can be anywhere in life, your house, work, etc. Walt Disney World even has special ones all over specifically made for this purpose. And then I find one in the top left corner. And to top it all off, the border is a lime green - the theme/mascot color for my fave disney community board - disboards.com (hi dis friends!).

So, because I didn't want to mess with the threads of fate, I created this board and started writing my blather. So if you don't enjoy it - blame fate. But don't blame Disney or Mickey.

Parents always Protecting the Kids . . .

So, I found out this afternoon that my dad passed out on a plane yesterday, was watched over for the rest of the flight by a doctor, and emt's had to check him upon landing. The emt's wanted him to go to the hospital, but he refused and didn't see his doctor until today. They conducted some tests and found nothing wrong but want to run some more on Monday. He is not allowed to drive until then.

And the question you ask is - why am I just finding this out now? Well, he didn't want to tell my sister and I until he knew he was fine. And no, my sister and I aren't children we are married adults in our 30's. I asked a coworker if she would do that to her kids and she said a resounding yes. She has children my age. Now, I don't know if it's a generational thing, but if my child was an adult, I would NEVER do that. What if something worse had happened to him and he, god forbid, passed away? My poor mother would be stuck telling us, yes, we knew something was up for a couple of days, but we didn't want to worry you. Sorry you missed out on talking to him one last time before he croaked. Now, believe me, I know I'm being drastic, but it doesn't seem fair to my sister and I and it really doesn't seem fair to my mom who would be stuck with the bad news.

What are your thoughts?

Why am I called Bean?

Well, on a long, dark night, far far away . . . .

Well truly, it is a sad story. My boyfriend (now dear hubby) and I went out to a festival and I imbibed a bit more than I should have. Needless to say, I was sick as a dog and he had to take care of me. So he kept saying, "are you ok jellybean?" to which I would just groan. Well, over the years, the name was shortened and he calls me Bean. In fact, it sounds weird when he calls me by my real name.

This was also the same night I got a black eye by banging my head on the toilet. Fun times. Makes me glad I'm an adult (haha) who doesn't do that anymore. Good times.