The Fix

I began, and I don't know when, receiving these text messages from 6245 telling me about expired bank accounts and credit cards I do not have. How irritating - text scamming. Not only are these communications unwanted, they are eating into my text message allotment. I called Sprint today and they gave me instructions on how to block the number. And this only works on a Sprint cell phone account. Text 9999 help and then you get a text message back from Sprint saying how to use their text messaging services. Problem solved in a little over three minutes talking to Josh. Why would I want to change my cellular carrier with customer service like that?

Yelpity Good Bacon Fun!

Bacon? Did I hear bacon? I love bacon. I'm German so when anyone talks about cured meat, my ears perk up. And the folks at Yelp put together a fine VIP bacon themed event at the OC Fair the day before the fair opened to the public on Thursday, July 9th. Our group was at the bar/restaurant in the corner... Blue Bayou. It was located right next to the tent/trailer I don't remember which of the Weird Al Yankovic VIP party for the world preview of his OC Fair exhibition of "Al's Brain" going on at the same time. Being an "Elite" member of Yelp (no lie - it took me 4 years to get to that stage), I was able to bring two invited guests to our little party and I choose my son who's 22 and my co-worker who is new to Yelp. I couldn't give you an official headcount, but it felt like 200 people enjoying all these bacon tinged goodies like chocolate covered bacon, bacon wrapped meatballs covered in bbq sauce, bacon wrapped cocktail weenies (oh, just shove one directly into my heart already), Slaters 50/50 burgers that are made with half bacon (talk about flavor) and the premiere to California of Bakon Vodka. I know, you're thinking "gross", but I'm telling you this stuff makes the best bloody mary's ever. When our community manager Hazel told me in advance about it, we were talking about all of the food pairings... like Bakon Vodka and melon balls, fried green tomatoes, fried green beans, etc. There was more food than I could eat, but you can imagine. It was a biggest and best Yelp event yet.

ref: www.yelp.com or annazzz.yelp.com

A Cautionary Tale

I have a love/hate relationship with my job. I love what I do, but I hate the fact that I have to commute to do it. And because of the commute, any type of social life that I once had has pretty much ceased. I used to be able to go out with my friends in LA after work, but now all I want to do is go home since the drive home is that tedious.

So knowing that there are all of these things to do at any some odd day of the week since I live in Southern California, I decided to eek out a social life once more however tiny it may be. I decided to do that with the help of Yelp!. Yelp! helps get me out of the house because what it is is a website made up of peoples opinions about stuff to do, see and experience and these generally cannot be done at home. And that makes me be more social and have something to write about.

So... this week was the first time I attended an officially sponsored Yelp! event. It was a house err hotel warming of sorts in Huntington Beach. And it was held at about the same time I landed back in OC, which meant I could go! Yippee! So dressed in my work garb, I traipsed over to the hotel and found my way up the stairs to the restaurant's balcony where all the people were. I was there for maybe over two hours talking to all these amazing people who participate on Yelp! just like I do. It was a very cool evening and I was encouraged to go to next weeks event.

So, I got to work the next day and I told my co-worker about what a good time I had out last night with my fellow Yelpers. And he tells me this story. He told me that one of his friends is into Disneyana and joined a group and befriended a man in his 60's. At first, he was fine because he was into the group, but more and more he wanted to hang out and do other stuff to fill up the void his day. The old man had recently retired and basically had no one to socialize with so he placed that burdeon upon my friend's friend. And as time went on, his friend decided that the old man was just plain mean and disgruntled with the world in general and had no friends. So my friend's friend decided he was going to take him on a bus run to Palm Springs or Las Vegas, I don't remember which one, and force this old guy to socialize with other people his age to get him some friends.

And a light bulb went off in my head. AHHH! I don't want that to be me. I don't want to end up a mean old lady alone because people can't tolerate me and/or don't like me. I want to have something to say. I want to get out in the world. I need Yelp! and these outings to get me to be more extroverted and less introverted. And maybe that will lead to other good things in my life.

Oh, now what?

On Monday morning, the traffic signal went out on the street corner next to my house. At work, I filed most of the day. Hundreds of files. In a vault that holds almost 400,000 of them.

I woke up on Tuesday to the worst pain in my legs I've had in a long time. My co-worker called in sick. Then when I got to work, I found that some of the office lights were out. I toggled the switch and then even more lights went out. I had to make a call for service to get a commercial electrical contractor to come to the office and check the problem out. The lights are still not fixed. The office was 67 degrees and I wore a sweater all day. Outside it was 92.

My thighs still hurt so bad from filing on Monday its to the point where I am having a hard time getting up and sitting down or even walking. Shit, I am out of shape. Damn sedentary job. I weighed myself for the first time in awhile and the scale said 123. I got to loose 15 pounds. I typically gain some extra weight during summer, but this is ridiculous.

I got a blister on my heel from wearing my nice brown leather shoes.

At work, I had to fill out a compliance questionnaire for the new agency I will be contracting through. The base screen told me I was attached to the Los Angeles office. I live almost an hour away from it. I'm not happy about that.

Now I have a damn cat hair in my right eye that I cannot seem to get out.

I recognize these are all minor annoyances, but it's weird. No shit storms, please or I'm going to begin to talk about judgment day and the second coming.

About Last Night

I went to Long Beach for a few hours last night to get some air and clear my head. The only time I left the house over the weekend was to buy more groceries on Saturday night. How boring. I barely made it out into the patio to harass the cats. I did however remember to water the tomato plant. I think I have to move it to another location because it's not getting enough sun where it is now. Sunday was entirely too hot which reminded me I really should buy an A/C unit this year and install it. Maybe the whole ordeal would be easier if I just had it shipped to my house. If I could get free shipping that would be good. Anyway, developing 'The Pike' has changed the face of this area so much, it doesn't match to the faint memories of my childhood anymore. There are parking structures, a million restaurants, hotels, bars and clubs now. I walked around Shoreline Village to the end where the Parker's Lighthouse Restaurant is. Walked on Pine Street pier. Walked around the Ferris wheel that made strange groaning noises. My friend decided he wanted to explore what that BBQ smell was, so we walked over to Famous Dave's and he ordered - fish. It's a rubbed pork rib BBQ joint and he orders grilled fish. Whatever. I ordered a strawberry margarita because I was still full from lunch (a half of a homemade pepperoni pizza and a banana shake) but it was more like a slushie than anything and had no taste of alcohol. $6.95 for strawberry flavored ice in a goblet. I got home late and quickly found myself asleep.

So Not "The One"

Sadomasochistic. I dated a man recently who exhibited this trait but was in denial it was what it was and I had to stop because his style of sexual talk creeped me out to the point where it left me feeling paranoid instead of an object of his love and affection. I thought that there wasn't enough trust and too much risk involved to my personal safety that I could bear and I couldn't allow that line to be crossed. After numerous sessions of hours of verbal foreplay and continual miscommunication about meeting up over a two month period, my hope for any type of healthy relationship with him died. His choice of verbiage was frequently repulsive and violent.

The three dates we had in the beginning were normal, nice and fine. But after that, I felt an increasing amount of pressure from him to hide the fact that we were involved and I won't be put into that situation. I'm a 43 year old grown woman and I see no need to "sneak around." I just don't feel the need to be devious. Life is too short. But now knowing what he has to hide, if I were him, I wouldn't want my kids to know either. Treating women like he wants to is not a lesson I'd be proud to pass down from father to son.

I feel sorry for any woman who gets into a dominating relationship such as he desires. Sadly, I wouldn't be surprised to hear his name on the evening news one day as a rape suspect. And he picked 'me' from am online dating website. Knowing that these kinds of men would maybe target me has shaken my confidence in dating....and he called *me* quirky.

Immigration Reform

Read: Obama wants immigration reform passed by this Congress

I read today that President Obama wants legislation to deal with immigration reform by the end of this year or early next year. I say one thing at a time. I say universal health care comes first. I can't afford it and I need, so something positive has got to be done. I'm a NIMBY when it comes to immigration, but if it can do something to alleviate the parking situation in my neighborhood, I'll be all for it.

Immigration reform can start by defining what an immigrant is. An immigrant is someone who is living and working in a country where they are not a citizen. They have civil rights but most of all, they pay taxes. After a predetermined period of time, you have to become a citizen or you have to be a registered alien worker. Either of these choices will come with the requirement of paying taxes. If you choose neither of these options, you will have to leave. There is no such thing as anchor babies. Only a citizens can bare citizens. One citizen and one illegal cannot bare a citizen. Two illegals cannot bare a citizen. This has got to stop. If I so happen to have a baby in a foreign country, I shouldn't have rights to stay there because of it. Babies have no ability to choose where they are born; they are babies. Adults make these decisions. And adults need to fix the illegal immigration problem.

And that's my 2 cents on the matter.

Germs

I started to write about the deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson, but it just depresses me to think about all the turmoil that will ensue after the deaths of these people, so I decided not to.

Instead, I'm going to write about germs. I don't consider myself to be a germaphobe, but I do pay attention to them sometimes. Like in public restrooms. I try not to touch the doors of public restrooms, if I can help it. I will ball my hand up into a fist and open the door by pushing on it's middle instead of using the rectangle stainless steel push trim on the door. I think the door to the restroom is the #3 germiest thing you can touch. #1 is the handle on the inside of the restroom stall. #2 is the handle on the sink. But I only really freak out on the door. Some people use toilet seat covers as if their very lives depended on it. Not me. My ass is covered and the only thing it touches is the clothes I wear and the seat, so I'm not worried about that sort of thing. And I don't hover either if that's what you're thinking.

I think washing machines and dryers need to be revised for the 21st century. I don't think they should be appliances that sit in their own room for you to clean your clothes. I think they should be an integrated part of your closet. I think the closet should come with a washer and dryer installed. A built-in similar to what the kitchen has. I think you should be able to put your dirty clothes into one machine and have them wash and dried and then you can put them away immediately and not haul them through the house to do so. I think this because I don't think I've washed my clothes in over two weeks and the dirty ones are now becoming a mountain in my room. With smell comes germs and I don't like germs. I shouldn't have to live so close to all those germs. Incentive to wash my clothes more often.

They already make those types of machines and they used them in Europe. They are usually located in the kitchen so that people can use thier dining room table to fluff and fold. it's practical and I like that.

And yet, I'm not one to use hand sanitizer. I don't care how nice it smells. I don't feel that rubbing gellated alcohol onto my skin washes away the germs like warm water and soap can. I think it's a bad habit to use that kind of stuff. Like ChapStik. You use it once and you're hooked because it seems like your hands keep on getting dirty just like your lips continue to become chapped.

U.S. Health Care My Way: 3-2-1

Since the Senate is working on a health care plan, I thought I'd develop a plan, too. Why not. I can't screw it up any worse than it already is.

Universal Premise: Everyone deserves a healthy life.
Problem: Nothing worth anything in life is free.
Solution: Instead of taxing everyone in order to provide health care, stop the insurance system entirely and make everyone pay fees as described in my 3-2-1 system.

Babies: We hope babies start out healthy. Some do not. Some do not because of the actions or neglect of their parents, while others do not because of genetics. If you are a baby, you parents pick up the fees for your health care in my 3-2-1 system.

Anyone giving birth pays $3. Medication utilized for the mothers comfort during the birth is $1. Any other equipment used is $2. C-Section is $3. circumcision is an outpatient surgical event and is $2.

New Mothers: Prior to birth, new mothers are required to take nutrition and parenting classes. They are taught how to manage stress, encouraged and taught how to breastfeed. New mother's are encouraged to breastfeed for at least 6 months. After that, the baby starts to eat solid foods. New mothers are then required to take nutrition classes in regards to infants and children.

Children: All will take P.E. in school without exception. All teens will pick a sport after school for participation. All will have nutrition classes every year they are in school and health classes focusing on hygiene, grooming, and sex.

Immunizations are required and $1 each.

If you're lucky enough to get through childhood without a health incident, you become an adult with the ability to pay.

Adults: here is how my 3-2-1 health care system works. The most important health events happen to you are those that are in the hospital or take you to one for emergency care. Anytime you go to the hospital for a planned health care event or a life threatening emergency, you pay $3.

Anytime you have an urgent care situation, a non-life threatening emergency, you go to see any doctor you choose, general or speciality doctor or an urgent care facility and you pay $2.

When you are prescribed medications, however they are delivered, each 30 day prescription is $1. It doesn't matter if you're getting aspirin to thin your blood or the most expensive cutting edge treatments while you are laid up in a hospital bed. It's 30 days = $1.

So let's take, for example, when I had my three wisdom teeth taken out. I planned this event $2 for the consultation and $2 for the day of surgery (special dr visit = oral surgeon) and it was an out patent surgery = $2. Medication was administered to put me into a twilight sleep = $1. I had pain killers prescribed to me = $1. My oral surgery would of cost how much? $8.

Now think of how many people put off health care because they can't pay for it or can't pay for the insurance alone. If oral surgery was as cheap as a fast food meal, which, by the way, you would be discouraged from eating because they are unhealthy and you'd learn that in your health education classes for 13 years, do you think American's would have healthier teeth, mouths, better digestion, a better overall health?

Or here's another example. Say, I'm not feeling so good today. I think I'm coming down with a cold. I go to the urgent health $2, they give me fever reducer $1,
and send me home with a note to go back to work when I'm well. I much rather be monitored by a health care professional than suffer in silence and alone while I'm feeling icky. Not only that, but I'm tired of people dragging their sickly selves to work and infecting the rest of the workforce. It's disrespectful and it's disgusting.

On top of it all: smoking would be discouraged... packs would be $10 each. Alcohol would only come in small qualities because no one needs a magnum bottle or a 40 oz, please. Illegal drugs would be legalized, regulated, and expensive as hell to discourage their use, too. Habitual users would have mandatory treatment.

And the mental health profession would play an active role in health care and not just when things go awry.

Seniors would be on my 3-2-1 plan, too.

The only people who wouldn't have to pay in my 3-2-1 plan are the permanently disabled, the mentally ill, and anyone on unemployment or welfare. These people got it bad enough, so hey need a break. But if you're able bodied? Pay up. And anyone who makes $1M or more can pay market rate full price and not 3-2-1.

This is all I've got so far. It's not supposed to be a solution, but just an idea.

The Handbag Fiasco

Why can't I find a handbag that I like? One that's all leather, black, spacious, but also has pockets inside to keep my things organized and tidy? A zipper on top and a shoulder strap that is, again, leather? I'm really starting to hate all of these cheap 'made in china' bags constructed of materials that wear out so quickly, you are almost forced to replace them year after year. I don't have an annual budget for a $100+ bag. I hate the idea. And if I'm going to spend anymore on a handbag, it better last. I'm not into designer names, I'm in to function and quality. I'm scouring over http://www.ebags.com today since they have a "Wild Wednesdays" sale with selected items 20% off with the hopes of finding something I like.