If anyone reads this, I feel I am remiss in not introducing you to both of my neighbors. One has the demon dog that she refuses to train and then there’s our other neighbor…techno boy. He’s playing it right now at 9pm. Now I’m not an old fart, I don’t get overly irritated unless it’s past 10pm and after 11pm. it’s just not acceptable. Acceptable music levels means I should not have to turn up my tv because you have the need to get your beat on. I often imagine what it is that makes him randomly bust out his rad beats on a Wednesday night at 8:50pm and worse, what he’s doing. Let me first describe him. He’s probably about 5′6″, has the hair fringe that he opted to shave but you can still see the stubble, thin and in his late 30’s, early 40’s. I get this horrific vision of him all oiled up in leather pants, no shirt (kind of like Right Said Fred’s little brother) doing booty shakes and pops while a strobe light flashes. Sometimes it takes a worse turn and I picture him doing lewd things with the windows open because the techno told him to. It usually lasts for 20-30 minutes and then he’s done. One day I should really try to walk past and see if he has the decency to close the windows or maybe I don’t want to do that. It would be bad to see my heinous visions were anywhere near right.
The one good thing about having a blog is when some websites you buy from don’t allow you to review a piece of crap you bought from them, you can do it yourself! So if you are looking for a multi-tiered plant stand like I was and see this beautiful wood one from Improvements Catalog, beware. There’s a decent amount of assembly which is probably best with 2 people. I was hoping this folded up to store away neatly for the winter. Nope. I put a flower box on it and it bowed like there was a person on it. By mid summer the finish had well worn off in spots and it began looking pretty ragged. When we removed the plants at the end of the season, the stand was permanently bowed and isn’t even worth saving. I wouldn’t waste my money on this thing. It looks really pretty in the picture but bottom line is, its poorly made and not worth the effort to assemble unless you plan on putting knick knacks or something light on it.
To go to the product, click here.
I don’t know how many people watch those home shows on HGTV like My First Home or House Hunters and the like but I can say I watch them alot. I don’t know what my (or others) obsession is with it but there’s something weirdly entertaining about watching other people shop for their dream home and yelling at the television as though they can hear you.
In this crappy economy, we’ve heard alot about “predatory lenders” which is essentially when banks give people who can’t afford a mortgage these crazy terms like balloon mortgages or reverse interest mortgages or paying one mortgage at one percentage rate while paying a 2nd mortgage at another interest rate and these people, being desperate, fall for it. Then they wonder why they’re being foreclosed on?? I’m sorry but I don’t really feel sorry for these people. Are the lenders fully responsible for this foreclosure crisis? No, because it’s the person who wants the home so desperately that has the final say. These people should be going over their monthly finances and have some elbow room to save for emergencies, vacations or whatever and not be married to the house with no way to have a life outside of it. (Unless they pay with plastic and pretend they aren’t going to have a crapload of debt until the bill collectors start calling.)
I just watched “My First Home” where this couple had looked at a house after like 40 homes and they had an inspection and there was a laundry list of things wrong with it including the outside wall was going to collapse at some point and would cost $30-40K to repair. They walked away from it and I thought “finally, people with some sense!” Well the seller comes back a few weeks later and lowers the payment by $15K by repairing some of the minor things and they’re like “okay, problem solved!” Not only that, they got one of those 80/20 loans, were $130/mo over their max and now the lady has to get a 2nd job to afford the mortgage. REALLY?? I do not feel sorry for these people who are so blinded by a pretty house (to them, this place was a purple nightmare) that all common sense walks out the window. I say we call it as we see it and admit that 80% of the housing market collapse can be blamed on people like this with unrealistic expectations and are desperate to accept any terms the lender gives rather than buckle down and save up for when they can truly afford it.
You know it amazes me about the whole social networking phenomenon is people’s incessant need to have as many “friends” as possible to prove to others that they’re “popular.” Like I have a family member who has over 1500 friends. Could she really pick these people out of a lineup? I mean if they’re supposed to be friends, then she should know each and every one of their faces in detail, right? What amuses me the most is the whole high school social acceptance thing. People who have been out of school for a decade or more that add people that they genuinely did not like in high school or didn’t hang out with. I know several people on both Facebook and Myspace who add anyone and everyone in high school because they asked. I saw a friend add someone who I distinctly remember she called a “skanky, lying bitch” but now they’re buddies after having not seen nor spoken to each other since high school. How does this make sense?? I mean these people have access to your pictures, your private thoughts, your likes and dislikes and you’re essentially opening yourself up to be judged by these people all over again. Would I want a skanky, lying bitch having access to that stuff? NO! I can’t count how many times I’ve seen people added as friends and then those people never write a word on the person’s wall/page. Yeah, because they don’t KNOW you and they don’t care enough about you to do so! Get the hint. They added you because they were too nice to say no or ignore you.
Maybe the man and I take the whole thing too seriously but we add people that we actually consider friends…gasp! The concept!? I may sound like some uber dweeb that was rejected by all of the social groups and is bitter or something but I’m not. I was a “neutral.” I knew people in every social clique- cheerleaders, jocks, nerds, hoods, drama, goth and of course the neutrals I hung out with. But honestly, I could count on one hand how many people I actually would care to know anything about from high school to catch up with in an email but add them as a friend, no thanks. I just don’t see the point in reconnecting with people who never sought me out up to that point so that they can add to their friend count. So my friend count will remain just under 30 and I’m fine with that. I don’t need to add the cashier from the grocery store, a dude I met at a party, a friend of a friend of a guy I had a crush on in 5th grade or the security guard at the front gate to make myself feel more important. My circle of true friends has always been intimate and my friend count will reflect that on my social networking pages. If that makes me unpopular, so be it but I’d rather be real than trying to fool myself into thinking all 1000 people on my page actually gave a squirt of wee about me. Think about it and if need be, weed your social networking garden.
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