KEEP BELIEVING

In two days time this week, I have witnessed a couple of instances of fairy-talish happily ever after via mainstream media - the season finale of the Bachelor and the Tooth Fairy movie. And both of them set the wrong way with me.



Let me start by telling you I LOATHE the Bachelor. I detest every single solitary second of the pining away over the ever-so-difficult decision of being in love with two different girls at the same time. DUDE! IF YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH TWO GIRLS AT THE SAME TIME, THEN YOU ARE NOT REALLY IN LOVE WITH EITHER OF THEM!!!! And by the way, what got you there was NOT REAL. It was in front of a camera. It was in a tropical or other paradise. It was all expenses paid. It is NOT REAL LIFE!!! So, how can you know whether or not you love this person when you come home from work each day? How can you know if you love this person after they look like crap and were lying on the couch sick all day? How can you know if you love this person when you have to cancel plans because something else came up and you totally let them down? YOU CAN’T!! I hate the freaking show. Because it is about as UNREALISTIC as it gets regarding love and relationships today.



Yet millions flock to watch this show and make judgments on the girls’ character, values, etc. based on what a few biased producers/editors want to show them based on the fact that THEY are looking to make money with the show. So, YES, they are going to make a couple girls look like total Bee’s with itches in order to boost some ratings. Because February? Is a SWEEPS month for television. And high ratings in SWEEPS months equals big bucks for advertising on that station next year.



Some of the millions that flock to this show are my girlfriends. So, for the last two years, we have had BACHELOR parties to watch the season finale. Last year, I wore my wedding veil and shoes and pearls to mock my friends. This year, I hosted the party. I’ve lost about 10 pounds since last year. So, this is how I hosted:

As promised, I have decided to bequeath you with some Angie wisdom and wit.

I was going to start with my evaluation of The Bachelor, ABC's ridiculous reality show. I can think of nothing more UNrealistic than this reality show. A man speed dates several women, makes out with most of them and in 6 weeks' time falls in love with several, proposes to one and usually breaks up a few months thereafter. I refuse to watch this show as I believe it exemplifies perfectly what is wrong with our relationships and marriages today - a lack of commitment and earnest effort towards making things work. Anyway, I did attend a bachelor party - or a Bachelor VIEWING party. I went to make fun of my friends who actually DO watch this show - for reals. I dressed in all white, carried my lace clutch, donned my pearls and wore my hair in an up do with my wedding veil - all in the spirit of total mockery. (and I would post a photo, but I didn't remember my camera and my friend that took the photo STILL has not sent it to me.) I also gave a running cynical commentary during the entire airing. That'll teach my friends to invite me to their earnest partyn for the sake of "some color."

What upset me most about this particular season was that this man, who subjected himself to a public breakup and on-screen heartache in a previous season of the Bachelorette, thus bestowing the same humiliation and pain to several women this season, is a single father. And he exposed his 3 year old boy to this confusion and unrealistic view of relationships and morals ON SCREEN. ABC, you have sunk to new ratings lows allowing this child to be brought into this mockery of courtship.

On Saturday night, I saw this perfect summary of this season of the Bachelor and how Jason will explain it to his son some day:


I figure why go through all the effort to be witty and wise when someone else has done it for you.

My second snippet of wit and wisdom is in regards to the child's haven, Chuck E Cheese's, which I am renaming Future Gamblers of America. I am convinced that Chuck E Cheese's is owned by Harrah's Casino and is grooming the next generation of Riverboat Regulars. Whatever happened to the Showbiz Pizza of yesteryear - the place where we played Pole Position and MsPacman, etc. - games that took our token and we actually PLAYED? My children now go through 20 tokens every 12.7 minutes mindlessly dumping them into random games of chance - games in which you watch the mesmerizing wheel go round pushing a blinking button 1.4 seconds later hoping it lands on the jackpot of 25 tickets so you can get a sub-standard dollar store piece of junk that will be destroyed before you reach the car to go home - causing a melt down of epic proportions. And I pay money for this - lots of money. Honestly, Chuck E Cheese's has morphed into slots for youth. Unfortunately, it is one of the only places to go in this town on a cold winter day and still get out of the house with kids.

You're welcome for walking away a little more bitter insightful today after reading this.

KEEP BELIEVING

School is cancelled for Thursday. It is a snow day, but in reality, it is being cancelled due to COLD? What the..? With many other modern inventions came these things called HEAT and GLOVES and BOOTS and HATS. Heaven forbid the children wait 8 freaking minutes in a windchill approaching -30. Did I mention that we lived in Canada for 2 years? We saw people jogging when the temperature was -20 (without windchill). My kids played outdoor hockey when it was -10. Mothers would walk their babies when it was 0. School kids go outside and play for recess until the windchill reaches -5. We waited for the bus many a time with temperatures WITHOUT WINDCHILL at -40 (fun fact -40F=-40C) We CANCEL school here because of a windchill??? Our school district is a rather affluent one. There are not many walkers. I would venture to guess there are no children who cannot afford or do not own adequate cold weather protection. Get on the bus. Go in the building. Learn. Stay inside for recess, make up for Wednesday's LEGITIMATE snow day.

You wouldn't believe how nearly this entire city is shut down for Thursday. We act like we are incapable of functioning because what? it's COLD outside? Geez Louise. Something tells me Chuck E Cheese's will be open Thursday. Something else tells me it will be a packed madhouse. If we are capable of getting out to the movies or Chuck E Cheese's, WHY are we not capable of having school????


Maybe I am just mad because my style is being cramped a bit. I still have errands to run. My CVS Extracare bucks expire tomorrow.

KEEP BELIEVING

We had our appointment with the surgeon yesterday. He was pleased with how Brian looked and was speaking. We explained about Brian's vomiting episodes. He had two theories. One being that Brian could have something viral going on that manifested in his inner ear as can happen with sinus viruses causing some sort of vertigo issue. If this is the case, it should clear up on its own. His second theory was that the Keppra (anti seizure drug) Brian takes which recently switched from manufacturer to generic may be causing this. So we are going to start taking the non-generic formula again for the additional cost.

The CT scan Monday looked fine - the ventricles are not enlarged or smaller showing the shunt is working fine. In addition, the tumor has not grown. However, it is showing increased enhancement meaning the areas in question are still considerably in question and probably "hot."

We told him we were leaning to chemo instead of surgery at this point in time. He has no issue either way with our decision.

We are still having issues with the insurance approving the chemo for Brian's condition. Latest we heard was that it could be A MONTH before they have a decision. So, today I have to make that unpleasant phone call myself to implore on the insurance company's good nature to rush this as my husband has not had any treatment for his illness in 3 months and this is our last option. Tentatively, though, we have scheduled for Monday, January 12.

Today we received a phone call from Brian's employer who is offering the company voluntary separation packages. The package makes incredible sense for us if we think Brian is not going to survive for the next 6 months. If he survives the next 6 months, it becomes riskier. After 18 months, it becomes disastrous unless I am back to work at am employer with good medical benefits at that point in time. I did our budget yesterday assuming Brian would be on his short term disability until October and start long term reduced salary in November. With this, it is most likely that I will need to go back to work sometime this fall anyway to make ends meet. This is stressful given the current job market. The major employer in this town is trying to get its employee's to separate in order to avoid layoffs. There is little available right now. I have an engineering degree, but have always worked in accounting/finance. Accounting/finance has changed drastically in the last few years since I quit with the implementation of Sarbanes Oxley rules and more and more companies wanting CPA's. I am not going back to school to become a CPA. Also, I don't want to be at a new job if Brian is getting sicker. I want to be with him taking care of him and taking care of my boys. I want to give my boys stability and love and assurance - not day-care and mommy gone a lot, etc.

I am stressed. I knew this would be the year of making big decisions, but I didn't expect them all to come upon us so fast. I am a mess. Also, I wasn't going to say this because I don't want to do this with any attention on myself, but I am trying a 3 week fast. I am not doing a full fledged fast, but fasting from a few things in my life that I know I can go without. I am replacing them with prayers for Brian's healing and for our financial provision. So, when opportunities like this voluntary package come along, I don't know if it is God's way of saying "here is my provision for the next year" or if it Satan attacking our faith for Brian's recovery. Also, we have to make our decision on this by MONDAY.

Here is what I am stressed about:
Insurance issues with chemo next week (waiting another month is just not an option in my mind)
Making the phone calls for the insurance issues.
Decisions about chemo/surgery.
Making a decision about the separation package.
Going back to work/making ends meet.
Sticking to the fast for renewal spiritually.
Finding a new pediatrician for the boys.

Please pray for us.

KEEP BELIEVING

According to our laws and society, Kevin is not considered a human being with any rights at this stage. No, Kevin is an extension of his mother’s body and is her right and her choice, not her child. Kevin’s parents were 19 and 21 when he was conceived and unmarried. Kevin’s parents did not choose to view him as a choice, but as the life he was. They also chose to marry and parent. This is Kevin today at 38.

Does this look like a choice to you or a person? At what point in time from 6-8 weeks in-utero when Kevin could have been terminated to the point at which he was birthed, did he become a person and not an extension of his mother’s body – a choice? If Kevin’s parents had not chosen to give him life, Kevin would never be. Kevin’s 3 kids would never be.

Meet Andrew at 8 weeks in-utero.
Once again, according to our laws and our society, Andrew is not a human being with any basic rights yet, but rather an extension of his mother’s body with which she has any right to handle. Andrew’s parents were both 19 and unmarried when he was conceived. His father was an engineering student and his mother was working full time. Termination of the pregnancy was probably very tempting, however, his parents did not view the above as a choice or a right, but as life. Meet Andrew today at 19:

Andrew is studying Engineering at University of Kentucky. He graduated from high school with a 4.0 and was Valedectorian.

The mother and father that chose life for Kevin, happen to be my mom and dad. Kevin is my brother. The mother and father that chose life for Andrew happen to be Lisa and Kevin, my brother. Andrew is my nephew. If my parents had not chosen life, I would not have the brother I have. If Kevin and Lisa had not chosen life, I would not have my nephew, Andrew. If choice is the voice of reason, shouldn’t Kevin and Andrew have gotten a vote, too? I am going to go out on a limb and venture to guess that there are almost NO in utero babies that would vote for death over a chance for life. Once again this does not mean I hate anyone who has ever had an abortion, nor do I think I am any better. I sin DAILY. I believe abortion is a sin from which we can seek repentance and healing. But, God created every breathing human being differently and the Bible says he knew us when we were in the womb. That life in the womb should have the same basic human rights as those of us out of the womb.

So that about sums up my stand on some very hot topics of today. The reason this came about was because someone named Linda left a comment on Bossy’s post (which I admit grossed me out a bit) the other day stating she was not going to read anymore, she was finished, it just wasn’t worth it anymore. I have no idea what her reasons were. If they were because of a difference of beliefs, then what is so wrong with that? Something tells me if the shoe were dropped differently and Bossy wrote something ultra-conservative and upset some liberals and they said they would stop reading, it wouldn’t have been so controversial and would be considered open-minded and logical. I find a huge double standard in this type of logic and with a lot of liberal beliefs. If you tell me to get the corncob out of my ass from my conservatism, then I will laugh first, toast you with my red wine and tell you to put a band-aid on your bleeding heart from liberalism. I do not consider myself better than you and I hope you don’t consider yourself better than me. We are all equals in the playing field of life.

That being said, many if not most, of the blogs I read regularly are uber-liberal. These people have become my friends and my acquaintances. I find them witty, insightful and hilarious. I find them encouraging and inspirational as well. I love reading Bossy. I love reading Mrs. G, and KatyDidNot and Jenn and Meg, just to name a few, even though I know their political and spiritual beliefs are about as far to the left as I am to the right. I could stop reading them based on this, just as I am sure there will be many that stop reading me based on this today. However, I don’t choose to live in a bubble. I am firm enough in my beliefs to be able to look past and keep reading for the parts that entertain me and inspire me. There are many that are not, though. Either way, is that so wrong?

Anyone left?

*cue crickets chirping*

I'm off the soapbox now. I promise to update on Brian again soon - this weekend as he has some upcoming events.

KEEP BELIEVING

On , Feb 21, I wrote this post about our cable company merge with Comcast, which is supposed to be 'Comcastic' for us. Well, apparently when you vent about Comcast and other service giants on your blog, you sometimes get comments from the actual corporation like the one I got that day from Comcastcares. Thanks for you kind words, Mr. Comcastcares. Your response to my blog when I am not actually trying to reach your company is impressive. Maybe you could trickle down your human resource clout to the people who answer your phones.



When we signed up with Insight in July, I bundled our new package to include phone, Internet and HD TV with DVR service. I got an introductory rate for a year and was told after the year, each service would increase by $5 ot $15/month. I figured by the time the year rolled around, it would be more like $6-7 with the rate at which service providers increase their rates for a total increase of more like $18-20/month.



We got our first bill from Comcast the other day that was surprisingly $10 lower than our regular Insight monthly bill, but had some alarming adjustments on it. Numbers like this: (28.75) for cable service (4.95) for Internet and (10.00) for unlimited long distance and (10.00) for phone service. I didn't think anything of it. Well, I did, but thought not to worry, they are just trying to make it look like they adjust prices for bundles that make it worth your while. Then I got a notice in the mail today stating that in order to give us the incredible service only Comcast can give, they have to raise rates. The numbers on the paper coincide with the adjustments on our last bill. I am under a contract agreement until June, so I should not be affected by this rate hike effective in April, but I wanted to understand what this may mean to us after our contract. Do we get a discount for our bundled services? When will this rate hike affect us exactly? Are we going to get like 500 new channels and some shares of stock to make this rate hike worth our while? etc?



After 30 minutes and 18 seconds of being on hold and never actually talking to a live person, which is an eternity when you are feeling like dung and want to be curled up in bed but can't because you are responsible for two other human being who can't pour their own milk without spilling, I hung up the phone and now I have some advice for Mr. Comcastcares.

• On days when you send out a notice about rate hikes taking effect in 4 weeks, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH COMMON SENSE TO STAFF YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES TO COVER THE LARGE INFLUX OF CALLS YOU WILL UNDOUBTEDLY RECEIVE ON SUCH A DAY!!! Freaking technology geniuses that you are!

• Secondly, since you specialize in the phone, TV and Internet industries, do you think it possible someone in your brain tank of human resources could figure out a way to convert old email addresses with a different ending than comcast dot com so the little people of the world (like me) don't have to change our email addresses? FREAKING TECHNOLOGY GENIUSES THAT YOU ARE!

• If you are going to attempt to make my half hour of phone wait time tolerable by playing smooth jazz and new age zen music, please not not interrupt it EVERY 27.8 seconds to REMIND ME THAT ALL OF YOUR AGENTS ARE STILL BUSY WITH OTHER CUSTOMERS BUT MY PHONE CALL IS IMPORTANT TO YOU AND WILL BE ANSWERED IN THE ORDER IT WAS RECEIVED!!!!!!!!!!

• Please tell me that I am unjustified in this worry and trouble and that my bill is NOT going to increase by $53.70 up to nearly $200/month for Internet, phone, and cable service with no premium channels and only 10 HD channels, and I will write a full retraction. Pretty Please. I don't want to switch to satellite, but I will.

• Lastly, at the very least, please answer your PHONES.

Our cable provider, which is also our telephone (VOIP) and internet provider, has been bought out by Comcast. Since all corporate merges in the service industry are about providing the customer better service, *insert bull&#!% cough here* this is supposed to be good for us (actually ‘Comcastic for us’ if the brainwashing would have been successful) with a seamless transition. The last time a service provider in our area merged/was bought out by a giant, our utility rates skyrocketed by around 50%. So far with this merger, I have discovered in the next week I have to re-establish my voice mail, set up a new email account and notify everyone of my third email address change in less than a year. A new email address also means that every login website/online shopping site/etc I frequent has to be re-established or updated with a new email address.
I love seamless transitions.
Bring on the rate hike!
KEEP BELIEVING

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming highlighting dirty, disgusting little boys.

When I was a very young girl, one of my very favorite books and accompanying records (yes, records) was Free to Be … You and Me by Marlo Thomas and Friends. This came to me courtesy of my ever-educating Aunt Jane (English teacher and the first of her family of 11 children to graduate from college) I loved the stories, the quick poems, the hilarious songs, the upbeat, funky rhythms. I played this OVER and OVER until I wore out the LP and had to get another one. I even bought the Book and CD as an adult because I thought my kids might like it. When I listened again in my more mature state, it brought back amazing memories of getting called in from neighborhood galavanting for Campbell’s soup lunches, wetting my pants because I didn’t want to stop playing for 15 seconds, straight-haired pig-tails, denim jumpsuits and Dad bad-mouthing Jimmy Carter. As I reflect on the stories as a parent today, I think it should be renamed GIRL POWER! Yeah, Feminism! and How to Emasculate Young Boys. I don’t want to further emasculate my boys in a society that already teaches them they are hateful and bad if they are strong and manly, but that is not why I don’t listen to it with them. I don’t listen to it with my boys because, well, frankly, they don’t get it - just like they don’t get original Scooby Doo and SuperFriends episodes. They want a computer-animated farting Scooby-Doo and japanimation Justice League Generation 4,317.

But, I digress...

There is one particular song on the album that I truly did not comprehend until I was a parent – “Helping” by Shel Silverstein. (That link will take you to Amazon.com and you can click on 'samples' to hear most of the very short song.) I unsuccessfully tried to find a link to the entire song performed because it really is cute, but here are the words (with guitar chords for those of you musically adept)

Helping Chords by Shel Silverstein,

Agatha Fry, she made a pie
And Christopher John helped bake it
Christopher John, he mowed the lawn
And Agatha Fry helped rake it
/ G - / - D7 / - - / - G /

Now, Zachary Zugg took out the rug
And Jennifer Joy helped shake it
Then Jennifer Joy, she made a toy
And Zachary Zugg helped break it

And some kind of help is the kind of help
That helping's all about
And some kind of help is the kind of help
We all can do without
/ CG CG / G7 C / - GEm / AmD G /

Today’s example of the “kind of help we all can do without:”