28 years and still working the bugs out.

Feb
01

YES, I did it again. Thursday morning I jumped on a plane to Erie. Thankfully I got out of Nashville right before a big storm and into Erie in between the major snowfall. Talk about luck!

The downside: I spent my whole trip miserable with a sinus infection/tonsillitis, taking giant horse-pills (some kick-butt antibiotics and Mucinex DM). Needless to say, that prevented me from visiting with my grandmother (who has emphysema and can’t risk that kind of illness). I was very disappointed about that.

I did get to visit other friends and family though. Ate at a few of my favorite restaurants.

I gave in and got my iPhone. I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner.

I love this thing.

I have barely put it down since I got it. Can’t believe I didn’t give in and get one sooner. I haven’t had any problems so far with the service in Erie, Nashville, or on the drive in between. I’ve been busy tweeting, FourSquare-ing, and Gowalla-ing from my phone. (‘Cause I’m a geek like that.) If you’re on either/any of those sites, connect with me.

This week my mother is staying with me (actually for a week or two, not sure yet…) to work on cleaning and organizing the house so that we can put it up for sale.

I’m telling myself that it is time to downsize immensely. I really long to have simplicity in my life, but I’m a major failure at that. There’s a huge part of me that wants to just go through my stuff like a whirlwind and throw out about 80-90% of it. One area I’m planning on paring down hugely is my arts and crafts supplies. Any more, I mostly just knit; I haven’t done much sewing, painting, scrapbooking, etc. in a long, long time. I’m thinking I can give away/donate/throw out almost everything from that genre of stuff. I’m also getting rid of my aquarium (my friend Cyndi said she’d take it) and some other stuff like that.

I’m just hoping I can keep that attitude and momentum and not get sucked in my sentimental stuff. I need the Clean House gang to come kick my ass–where the heck is Niecy Nash when you need her!?

Tags: cleaning, erie, house, iphone, organization

2 comments

Jan
26

The Universe Wants Me To Have an iPhone

Gadgets and Tech

by Mandi

I’ve been with Verizon Wireless since … oh, the beginning of time practically. My current phone is the Blackberry Curve 8330. It’s cute. It’s pink. It is also discontinued. Verizon has moved on to the Blackberry Curve 8530, which is a lovely shade of lavender and quite a lot smaller than this one.

This wouldn’t be an issue, except my much-loved little 8330 has decided to give me problems (again). A few months ago, it was the screen that screwed up. Because they no longer have my phone in the store, they had to FedEx me a new phone from corporate and then I had to activate it at home and FedEx my old (broken) phone back to them.

Now it’s the trackball. It will scroll every direction except UP. Left, right, and down, I’m good. Heck, I can even do diagonals. But UP? No way.

I took it in to my local Verizon store last night and they told me that sometimes they have extra trackballs laying around and they could pop it out and replace it but that right now they didn’t have any extras and to call or stop in again later. (UGH.) They also told me that as of February 12th, I’ll be down to 1 year left on my previous 2-year contract, which means I could get a new phone at the new 2-year activation discount. (Of course, making my contract period 3 years by doing so.)

So, I’m weighing out the options …

Go back in and see if they (a) have gotten any extra trackballs and can fix it, or (b) if they can do the FedEx replacement thing again. (Can I tell you how much I don’t want to do this, especially being that I’m going out of town Thursday and would like to have a functional phone?)
Make do with my broken phone till February 12th and trade it in on the Motorola Droid. I’m not a huge fan of the Droid, but I have a few friends and coworkers who seem to love theirs. I am a fan of the Android operating system, I just don’t care much for the Motorola Droid itself. It feels cheaply-made to me (compared to an iPhone, for instance), and it also feels clunky and unpolished. The squared off edges and QWERTY keyboard on it just make me think of my original LG “enV” from 5 or 6 years back.
Take option 1 above, then hold out till the Nexus One comes to Verizon (rumored “spring 2010″). Again, the Android operating system, which is great, but a much more slick piece of hardware. I know there have been some complaints about Google not offering support for the phone, but by the time it comes to Verizon, I anticipate that will have been resolved.
Take option 1 above, then hold out till the iPhone comes to Verizon. It’s been rumored off and on and off and on again. It may never happen. But have I mentioned how much I want a freakin’ iPhone!? (HELLO, Apple-fangirl here!)
Buy out my Verizon contract (currently waiting to hear back from customer service on the exact fee to do this) and move my number to AT&T and get an iPhone. I’ve been wanting to do this for quite some time. I even talked about doing it as a birthday present to myself next month … maybe I ought to just DO IT. (Only problem being, my whole family is on the Verizon network and will be peeved at me for screwing up their “in-calling” … hmph.) The one other bummer being that there’s pretty strong rumors that there will be a new iPhone coming out this summer, though whether it will be on AT&T or Verizon remains to be seen.

So what do I do? I’ve been lusting over an iPhone for … well, since they came out. I’m with Kevin Rose in his assessment that Palm and Blackberry are pretty much dead and that Android and iPhone are going to rule the smartphone marketplace. I’ve been waiting for the little nudge to bite the bullet and get the iPhone. Maybe I’ll just go for it…

Tags: android, at&t, cell phones, droid, iphone, nexus one, verizon

5 comments

Jan
25

On the Topic of Divorce

Life

by Mandi

I haven’t known quite how to approach this topic and I’ve been avoiding it for quite some time. I’ve probably danced around it, referring to my (soon-to-be) ex-husband as everything but “my ex”. (What do you say when you still live together, still get along for the most part, but are in the end-stages of divorce and finding new living arrangements?)

Perhaps it would be easier if there was hatred in my heart toward him? Then I could have referred to him as “that big jerk that lives with me” or something. But that’s just not the case; I’ll always care about him and consider him a friend.

Sometimes things just don’t work out and you find that it’s better if you both go your separate ways. Such was the case for us. We dated for over seven years and were married for just over two, thus spending the better part of ten years of our lives together. However, we also sadly grew apart in those ten years, and became very different people with very different beliefs, priorities, and interests. Neither he nor I were “right” or “wrong” in those things — just entirely different and completely incompatible.

I never believed at the age of (almost) 28 that I’d have been married and divorced. I didn’t “believe” in divorce, having grown up with parents who have been married almost 30 years now and have stuck through it in thick and thin. I somehow always thought I was “better” than all the couples who couldn’t make it work and that they just didn’t try hard enough.

I’ve come to find out that really is only a small part of the equation.

Divorce is hard. That’s one thing that I never realized. Even after you decide it’s over and that it’s best to part ways, it still hurts. Even when you’re angry and feel like throwing things and screaming, it’s still painful. There’s guilt and tears and fighting and entire families have their hearts broken. Guilt and shame threaten to pull you under.

But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I was lucky to have a lot of strong, fantastic women (both friends and family) in my life who reminded me of that. They listened to me cry and listened to my rages. They offered support and love. I don’t know what I’d have done without them — you all know who you are.

So, very soon I’ll be finding myself single again with huge life changes ahead of me. It’s both extremely exciting and a little bit scary. However, I’m eager to get started on this next chapter of life. I learned a lot in my early- and mid-twenties and I’m really happy with the direction my life is going when it comes to friends, family and career. My life from this moment becomes an adventure and I have nothing to hold me back. I’m off to start the trek.

If you have it in your hearts, please send good thoughts and prayers to my ex. He truly deserves the best, better than what I could give him, and I wish him well too. I’ll always love him and always treasure the memories of the good times we had together.

Tags: changes, divorce, family, marriage

6 comments

Jan
22

Obscure Kids TV Shows from the 80s

Life

by Mandi

Yesterday my friend Erica and I were talking about television programs that we watched as children in the 80s. There are the obvious ones: Smurfs, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, He-Man and She-Ra, etc.

But Erica brought this one up — do you all remember The Letter People? To be fair, it was a 70s show, but those Letter People taught us our ABCs and long/short-vowel sounds well into the 1980s in our elementary school classrooms.

That show got me thinking about some others that I remember from my childhood, that are sort of “forgotten” these days. Strangely enough, it appears most of them were produced in Canada for TVOntario. (Apparently I had a love for Canadians even back then, without knowing it…)

Hariet’s Magic Hats (1980-1986)

This used to come on our local PBS station (WQLN in Erie, PA) at some strange hour of the day because I remember I rarely managed to catch it, but I loved it. I was a super-imaginative child and the idea that a trunk full of old hats could take you all different places … heck ya, sign me up! I remember the puppet-parrot on the show very distinctly too.

The Polka Dot Door (1971-1993)

I don’t remember too much about this show except that I really, really liked it. (Um, WHY, I don’t know. Because it seems kind of lame now…)

Today’s Special (1982-1987)

I loved-loved-LOVED this show. I distinctly remember one episode where they were going to tear down the department store but Muffy (the little puppet-mouse) found a block in one of the walls that showed the date the building was erected, and it was declared a historical landmark so they couldn’t tear it down. (Strange the things that you remember…)

Sharon, Lois & Bram’s Elephant Show (1984-1988)

Again, I adored this show. I remember that Sharon, Lois and Bram would always go out on tours with a stage version of “The Elephant Show” and I always wanted to go to it. Never did though. Hmph. But dude, I can still do the “Skinnamarink-a-dinky-dink, skinnamarink-a-doo, I love YOU!” song (complete with hand gestures). But I’ll refrain.

So… what obscure (or not-so-obscure) shows do you recall fondly from your childhood?? Comment-away!

Tags: 1980s, 80s, cartoons, pbs, television, tv, tv shows, tvontario

11 comments

Jan
19

On Being M.I.A.

Life

by Mandi

Sorry ya’ll! I didn’t mean to go missing like that. I had quite an eventful weekend.

I haven’t felt like “myself” since I returned to Nashville after Christmas. I was in a funk that I just couldn’t shake, no matter what I did. I didn’t want to go out, I didn’t see any of my friends. I mostly just slept.

So Friday at work, I got a bug and decided I was going to just get in the car and drive. I left work, got in the car, and left town with nothing but the clothes on my back. I did stop at one point to grab a sweatshirt and some snacks for the road, but otherwise, I just went.

I’ve never done something so impulsive in my life. It felt so good. Ten hours in a car by yourself is also a good way to clear your head and get your thoughts in order too.

My amazing friend Erica stayed up with me all night checking in to make sure I was safe all along the way. (How lucky am I to have friends like that!?)

I got to Erie around 3 a.m. I’ve never been so happy to see that town in my entire life.

I spent the weekend with friends and family. I got to celebrate my grandfather’s 73rd birthday with him. Most importantly, my batteries feel entirely recharged and suddenly I feel like I can tackle the world again. It was just what the doctor ordered.

Tags: erie, home

5 comments