Love, Everything But the Decorations

While retail stores like to go crazy around the holidays, it seems that this year the shopping frenzy is extending all the way into the middle of February. The exact date can be pinpointed to, that’s right, Sunday February 14th. I should have prepared myself when I started seeing commercials in January for shiny necklaces and bracelets promising to be that perfect gift to show your loved one you really care. Has anyone else noticed that expensive gifts can also be directly linked to colossal mistakes or apologies deeming jeweled items from a catalog? Let me interject with what some of you may be thinking. No, I am not a single twenty-something woman angry about not having a Valentine. I am however, someone who is sick of the commercialization of every single excuse to dress up or buy stuff. First there was Halloween where let’s face it, is reserved for children and women who feel for one night, they are allowed to wear anything that remotely resembles a costume. Before the cobwebs are brushed down, you breeze through a few turkeys and pilgrims and then BOOM you are hit with the phenomenon that comprises Christmas decorations. After the New Year rolls around, I can become exhausted watching commercials in the privacy of my own apartment- never mind going out and actually doing some shopping. I enjoy sending Valentines and going out for a bite to eat but for some, it seems to be a slippery slope into a manic purchasing spree. Let’s just all relax, put down the credit cards and enjoy our loved ones- without decorations- all year round!

There's a Game Tonight?

Let’s be honest, I am only interested in the Superbowl if the Ravens are involved. Since they fell out of the running a while back, I temporarily forgot that the Superbowl was this weekend. Sadly, I was reminded of this when I made the foolish decision to venture out to the local grocery store. My first clue should have been the parking lot. This was a casual trip for me as I was simply stocking up on a few items I had neglected to get while at the store earlier this week. For the other ninety-eight percent of the drivers in that parking lot, this was an extreme mission. Heaven forbid that the meatiest and grossest snacks be purchased less than five hours prior to kickoff! While circling the parking lot and beginning to feel like a cutthroat vulture narrowing in on its prey, I decided to tone it down a notch and park over in the Walgreens parking lot. This did involve a longer, more dangerous path through this pavement-made gauntlet but I finally managed to enter the store in one piece. Once I passed a few weathered looking employees and made my way into the produce section I decided it best to map out my plan of attack. Amidst the occasional sports jersey for one of the two teams playing tonight, I realized that this could perhaps be an even worse scene than the pre-snowfall frenzy mentioned a few posts back. There were some people who had assembled lists and seemed to be splitting off various members of their entourage with assigned tasks and items to gather. There were also a few men who had obviously decided they could handle things without the help of a shopping cart and were dangerously trying to juggle cases of beer with frozen wings and various dipping sauces. Thankfully, the items on my list did not seem to overlap with the general consensus of must have purchases and I managed to swing by the olive bar and gather my Smart Balance vegetable spread unscathed. Note to self, next year do not attempt to do any sort of serious shopping hours before the Superbowl. On second thought, maybe avoiding any grocery establishment the day of this sporting event is best. Maybe next year Ravens?

Welcome to Dell

Some people know how to fix cars, others know a great deal about the wonders of installing cable television. Over the past few weeks, I have learned how to dismantle, and unsuccessfully repair my poor Dell laptop. My beloved Inspiron 1720 was carefully placed into a box yesterday as it awaited its departure to the Dell factory where it would be “fixed.” I used this term lightly as over the past two weeks my veteran computer of oh, a year and four months of life has had a new hard drive, memory and motherboard. That’s right, motherboard. For you unfamiliar, I was told by the Dell technician that came to my apartment Tuesday evening that the motherboard is basically the brain of the computer and that an issue with it was usually the last thing that could go wrong. Well, that was certainly a knee-slapper when after replacing all the parts that go onto the motherboard, my computer decided to grace us with yet another blue screen of death. After what seemed like eight or nine lengthy phone calls to report these latest problems, my new and extremely patient friend explained my options. They could send out all new parts and have me block another two to three hours of my evening off to possibly fix my computer or, I could mail it off to the factory for ten to twelve days. From the start, I was avoiding the factory for several reasons. One, I do not love the idea of having my computer shipped all over the place and manhandled by a million technicians. Secondly, at this point I was quite fond of the idea of accidentally dropping my laptop off the balcony and ending this whole process myself. No more parts, no more technicians, just a million little pieces miraculously protected by my accidental coverage warranty. Let us all hope that when another brown box from Dell arrives, it is my computer working like a brand new machine. Or, I could always go for an actual brand new machine. Those are the only options before things go south and as my sister says, things get “real.” Thank goodness for Paul’s Inspiron 5100 and the good sense to have me back up my files. Day one in the shop everyone, get well wishes encouraged.

That Crazy White Stuff

As someone who grew up in Baltimore, it was understood that I would encounter the occasional snow storm. Moving down to North Carolina, I was shocked and somewhat astonished to find that those in the South do not tend to handle this concept as smoothly. Take for example the gallons of salt that are poured onto the highway three days before a predicated snow storm. Some would consider this a necessary safety precaution but to many of those dwelling in the Raleigh area, this equates to three whole days to prepare for doomsday. The usual trip to the grocery store is met with panicked faces jabbing with elbows and polite smiles as we all make our way over to the bread section- which, at this time is usually almost completely empty. Events for the week after any dreaded snowfall are put on hold “just in case,” and many admit to stocking up like they are preparing for a nuclear meltdown. Personally, I prefer to just sit back with some movies and delicious toasty beverages. My feelings during the snowfall last weekend were that canceling any plans in lieu of an all day pajama lounge-fest ended up being a nice turn of events. Now that we have survived our first 2010 snowfall, I find myself more annoyed than anything when I see those flakes on the pages of weather.com. Sadly, this weekend could be Asheville-free and another point for Mother Nature. Toasty beverages anyone?

Blast From the Past

It’s funny how when you work with a few people around the same age, you look back on certain shows, individuals and songs with a similar nostalgic glow. It is also amusing how that same harbored fondness can quickly turn to sounds of disbelief and exclamations of what were we thinking? It seems that on some days, one can be lucky enough to encounter a combination of both these feelings. Let’s take things back to earlier this afternoon. I am not sure how it all started but eventually, there was talk of Corey and Topanga, the trio of brothers known as Brad, Randy and Mark and the epic music video surrounding the Guns N’ Roses single November Rain. It is true that some things just never get old. After all, some of the same stars who graced the pages of Tiger Beat magazine now have a somewhat odd, grown-up appeal. These characters all had such a relatable familiarity. If I had to deal with the awkwardness of adolescence, so did they. I was learning about some of life’s trials alongside Urkel from Family Matters and Corky from Life Goes On. Now when things get tough, it is nice to know that the beat goes on and that some things, like my secret love for Rick Astley’s dancing just never fade.

LOST

I know, I know...a few days in and I got sidetracked. I do blame the three hours that marked the start of LOST: The Finale Season and DELL. More writing soon!

Asheville, Land of the Free

As a firm believer in always having a string of plans lined up, I have decided that this coming weekend shall mark a retreat to my former mountain home. That’s right, Asheville. For those who have not ventured there, I must tell you that it is hard to find a place as comfortable. I first traveled there for an Interpol concert back in college and it was from that moment that I knew I would eventually become a transplant resident. While it is impossible to avoid any town’s occasional jerky individual, I have to say that the percentage in Asheville seemed to be alarmingly, and might I add pleasantly small. It is not uncommon to start a random conversation on the street or to just see someone really just feeling free and in the moment. In fact, the blistering hot weekend my family helped me move down south will forever house a fond and extremely special memory for my parents and sister. I had gone into a job fair for The Biltmore Estate and as it was really too hot to sit around, my family decided to stroll around Pack Square while waiting for me to finish up. I can only imagine that they saw folks of many different shapes, sizes and attitudes enjoying the toasty summer sun. As the story goes, they were soon greeted by a middle aged woman strolling up the sidewalk in a beautiful flowing skirt. It was also at that time that a strong breeze crept up on her and to avoid vivid detail; my family was thrown into the “free spirited” world that surrounds many of Asheville’s finest. I cannot say that I was extremely upset about missing out on this encounter but you have to love it- never a dull moment. While the weather will be much chillier, I do promise to report back on any visual gems I stumble upon this weekend.