Anita_New_Name

Ok, so I couldn't stay away as long as I said. This place is like a
bad addiction. I can't seem to get enough of it.

So, anyway, I went out today and bought myself a birthday gift. A
brand new, shiney, HP laptop and I LOVE it! Of course, I haven't done
much with it yet but I look forward to being able to bring it with me
when I'm sitting around waiting for the boys to finish up their extra
curricular activities. There is a coffee shop that has wireless
internet available, I think they are going to get quite used to seeing
me in there every week!

So, I'll see you guys around! Thanks for the birthday wishes!

I've come to the overwhelming realization that PFB is turning more
into a place to come for controversy than anything else. I know how
many times PFB has said the Top 20 and the Top 25 Blogs are computer
generated but it is my opinion that we aren't being told the whole
truth at least on the Blog part.

Why, you ask? Because the last time anyone posted anything to Little
Trooper's blog was back in November. She has had no interaction with
anyone on PFB since then yet her blog is in the top 10. Why? They
are going to say because it is getting a lot of hits. From whom did
the hits come to get it on the list to begin with? I understand now
that it is there it may get its fair share of hits but what exactly
pushed it there? The same goes for Icon's blog. She hasn't been here
in forever. She was a well liked member of the community, perhaps
that is why it is up there.

Little Trooper, however, was swimming in controversy. PFB just had to
dig something up to get it going again...but it didn't work seem to
work that way as there are no new posts on there that I can find.

I just don't buy that this site is what it proposes to be anymore.
How does a letter that has had a total of 5 responses make its way to
the #1 slot in a matter of 3 minutes? I know there aren't that many
people on at any given time clicking numerous times on the same
letter.

There are very well written, legitimate letters that have 10 responses
within the first few minutes, most likely the same amount of people
clicking the link to get it, yet it doesn't make it to the top 20.
Why?

Is PFB turning into the site that picks and chooses what they make
easily accessible (i.e. top 20) just to stir the pot? I'm starting to
question this more and more.

So, since I'm becoming somewhat irritated with my thought process
right now, I'm going to step away for a couple of weeks and see if
that helps me have a refreshed view of this site. Take care all!
Thanks so much for your unbelievable support during the difficult time
with Max and Pepe.

What better place than to post this:

In Honor of Stupid People . . . .

In case you needed further proof that the human race is doomed through
stupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods.


On a Sears hairdryer -- Do not use while sleeping.
(That's the only time I have to work on my hair.)

On a bag of Fritos -- You could be a winner! No purchase necessary.
Details inside.
(the shoplifter special? )

On a bar of Dial soap -- "Directions: Use like regular soap."
(and that would be???....)

On some Swanson frozen dinners -- "Serving Suggestion: Defrost."
(but, it's just a suggestion.)

On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom) --"Do not turn upside
down."
(well...duh, a bit late, huh!)

On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding -- "Product will be hot after
heating."
(...and you thought????...)

On packaging for a Rowenta iron -- "Do not iron clothes on body."
(but wouldn't this save me time?)

On Boot's Children Cough Medicine -- "Do not drive a car or operate
machinery after taking this medication."
(We could do a lot to reduce the rate of construction accidents if we
could just get those 5 year-olds with head-colds off those
bulldozers.)

On Nytol Sleep Aid -- "Warning: May cause drowsiness."
(...I'm taking this because???....)

On most brands of Christmas lights --"For indoor or outdoor use only."

(as opposed to what?)

On a Japanese food processor -- "Not to be used for the other use."
(now, somebody out there, help me on this. I'm a bit curious.)

On Sainsbury's peanuts -- "Warning: contains nuts."
(talk about a news flash)

On an American Airlines packet of nuts -- "Instructions: Open packet,
eat nuts."
(Step 3: say what?)
On a child's Superman costume -- "Wearing of this garment does not
enable you to fly."
(I don't blame the company. I blame the parents for this one.)

On a Swedish chainsaw -- "Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands
or genitals."
(Oh my God..was there a lot of this happening somewhere?)

The boys asked me to take Pepe's picture down now so I replaced him
with a picture of my neice, Gracie who will be 1 in February.

Ain't she a cutie!?!?!

Well, it's turning out to be quite the depressing way to start off the
year here in the Pickletoes household. I'll start off with a little
background...

Six months ago I took my yellow lab to the vet to examine a lump that
had formed on his leg. He's 11 years old and lumps and bumps are
pretty common on older large-breed dogs. The vet and I together
decided it would be harder on him to go through the surgery experience
than it would be for him to live with this lump. I told the vet that
I would bring him back if the lump became too cumbersome for him or if
it grew dramatically. Well, three weeks ago this lump began to
rapidly grow. I called the vet but they were unable to schedule an
appointment for a consultation until January 3. Another week goes by
and the lump grows dramatically. Over night one last Thursday night
Max (the dog) licked a hole in this lump which made it bleed and ooze
puss. I called the vet first thing on Friday morning and in we went.
The vet scheduled the removal surgery for next Thursday leaving the
lump intact. Overnight Friday night Max irritated the lump so badly
that the actual tumor exited the skin and is hanging from his leg.
Saturday morning I awoke to a 2' puddle of puss, blood, blood clots
and some other matter on the middle of my dining room floor. It was
GROSS to say the least. I immediately called the vet who said there
was nothing they could do until the scheduled Thursday surgery. She
said I could take him to the emergency vet but that they, too, would
turn me away with nothing more than a bandaid. So, since Saturday
morning I have been dressing this outstandingly large wound and
putting all of my old long-sleeve t-shirts on the dog in order to not
allow him to irritate this thing any more. I have to say, the stench
coming from this wound is unbelievable. It is my opinion that Max may
not survive until Thursday but I will do everything in my power to
make sure he does. If, by the grace of God he does survive, I'm
unsure if he will survive the process of the surgery.

To top everything off, our beloved Pepe (budgie...or more commonly
known as a parakeet) passed away this morning. We do not know the
cause. He was a very young budgie and his death comes as a complete
shock. R.I.P. Pepe. We will miss you.

http://i12.tinypic.com/48no6yq.jpg (This link should take you to a
pic of our lovely Pepe)

Hopefully Max will pull through surgery just fine and 2007 will begin
to go uphill.

Happy New Year all.

Ok, so lately things have gotten a little out of control here at PFB.
While I LOVE the debate that is sparked by the letters here at PFB the
personal jabs just have to stop. We are all part of this community,
like it or not, and while we don't necessarily have to get along we
should do our best to keep the debates civil. Too many people believe
that anyone hurt by words on the internet are simply unstable people.
That's not the case at all. There truly is no difference (other than
intonation) between the written and spoken word. Words meant for
nothing more than to cut like a knife cut no less simply because they
come across the internet. True, this one doesn't truly know that one,
but the fact is a certain level of respect is gained (or lost)
throughout the internet relationship and when sharp words are used
they cut just the same. Perhaps the relationship isn't anything more
than fingers and a keyboard but mentally it may go beyond that.

What are we accomplishing by using sharp words, pointing fingers,
making accusations? It might make me feel better for a moment to
prove someone wrong (such as IAMIRISH) but I can do so without using
hurtful words. Had I used hurtful words my argument would have been
muddied (is that a word?), my point completely lost in the disdain
dripping from the words. Later, looking back, I would have regretted
getting to my point that way and wished I had used better judgement
when posting. This is exactly why, if need be, I take a step back,
wait a little while to respond, think out my approach and take a very
long time composing my response before actually clicking send. I
read, re-read, and re-read again. I make several changes along the
way. Should there be a questionable term within my post I weigh
whether there is a better term out there, one that won't cut as much
as the other. I haven't always been like that here at PFB. I learned
my lesson many months ago from a poster by the name of Lori B (as much
as I hate to admit I learned anything from her) and since that time
I've tried my best to post the same way every time.

Today we lost a valuable member of the site. This kind of thing
shouldn't happen. We really need to be aware, use good judgement when
posting, get our points across without sharp or distinctly hurtful
words. This way we can remain the community we've always been, one
that can respectfully disagree on so many issues, one that allows us
to express ourselves freely, and one that has always been very
accepting.

Ok, so I have a complaint but I'm debating on whether or not I wish to
formally lodge it with the CVS or not. I did not speak to a manager
at the time of this incident but I did speak to the pharmacist so I
don't know if I went up the chain of command correctly.

The problem is that I put a prescription in for my son for very
necessary medication. This is a very controlled substance that must
have an original prescription every month, can not be called in by
anyone, and is only allowed every 30 days by the insurance company.
This makes timing this prescription very difficult. I dropped the
prescrip off at 12:00 on Saturday and told the lady I'd like to wait.
She said no way could they have it before 4:00 p.m. She took my phone
number down and I told her I'd be back. I wasn't able to go back that
day so I went back on Sunday. Keep in mind I've heard nothing from
the pharmacy so I assume everything is fine. I get there on Sunday to
pick it up and am told that they are backordered and that there
wouldn't be any in until Tuesday. The problem is that I need this
before Tuesday as Monday is the last pill. It is my belief that CVS
should have called me on Saturday to tell me so that I could make
different arrangements. They did not. I asked "couldn't you have
told me this on Saturday" and the response I got was "I wish I could
have". Well, they had my phone number, not only on my account but
right there on the prescription as well.

I don't know, it just irritated me that they didn't think it was
important to call me and let me know they were out.

What do you think? Mind you, my son will not die without this
medicine but it is something he truly needs.

I can never find Mr. Helpful's email address when I want to report a
post that contains personal information, sooooo..................

support@planetfeedback.com


HA! Solved that problem, now didn't I?

Hmmm...now I just need to figure out how to remember that I posted it
here!

I've been keeping an eye one the 9/11 post in the top 20. I've been
reading what everyone was doing on that horrible day 5 years ago.
What I'm finding amazing is the fact that absolutely everyone I talk
to knows EXACTLY where they were and what they were doing at the very
moment the planes went into the trade center. I can't remember what
the heck I did yesterday but I'll never forget where I was and what I
was doing on 9/11. I'll never forget the horrible feeling of
hopelessness, helplessness, etc. I'll never forget wanting to jump
through my television and just be at ground zero to help in any way I
could. The only way I knew to help was to give and give and give.

There have been many things happen in my lifetime that should have
marked me enough to remember where I was or what I was doing when it
happened. The fact of the matter is that 9/11 is the only incident
where I believe the entire NATION knows exactly what they were doing
at the time. And even more amazing, we will all be elderly and we
will all remember exactly what we were doing. We'll pass the story
down to our grandchildren and, hopefully, our great grandchildren and
tell them what it was like to watch the events unfold.

I'm totally bored! My kids are outside playing with the neighborhood
kids and my mother is in the family room watching Rachel Ray cook a
30-minute meal. I just finished cooking dinner two hours ago and I
have no desire to watch someone else cook dinner. I do, however, have
the desire to share a very, very good recipe with my PFB friends.

This is a recipe for Flank Steak. I've tried the same marinade on
other cuts of meat and the results never seem the same. So, I
strongly suggest you find a Flank Steak to make this recipe.

Here we go:

1 Cup firmly packed Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Oil
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
2 - 3 Green Onions (the entire stalk, waste not want not)
1 - 2 cloves of garlic (fresh is best but if you don't have it garlic
powder works)
About 1 tablespoon Sesame Seed
A pinch of Ginger

Take all 7 ingredients and place them all in a 2-gallon zip lock bag.
Close the bag and shake, smush, do whatever it takes to disolve the
brown sugar in the mixture. Take a 1+ pound flank steak and place it
in the bag. Zip the bag most of the way closed, press out the air and
close the bag completely. Once the steak is in there make sure to
smush it around a bit to cover all parts of the steak. Place in the
fridge for two days flipping the bag over a few times during that
time.

Now comes the important part. This steak should be cooked on a grill.
It can be a grill that is on your stove or the outside grill but it
DOES NOT work on the George Foreman grill (trust me, I tried it!).
Grill to your desired doneness. Slice against the grain on a sharp
angle.

Yummy!!!! All of your family and friends will love this, we have it
at all of our cookouts!

Well, all of your friends and family will love this if they aren't
vegetarians/vegans and they like beef. :o)

Enjoy!

Ok, so it is Labor Day and I don't have much to do. Did everyone hear
that Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter, died? The poor man was
speared by a Sting Ray. Can you imagine? What I find so ironic is
that a fairly peaceful animal led to his death as opposed to the
multitudes of crocodile's he's wrestled in his lifetime. What a love
for animals this man had. He'll surely be missed in the animal world.

I posted a comment on LadyMac's blog in the hopes that she would come
here to give me a little advice. Originally it was regarding two
issues, one dealing with my neighbors and one dealing with my sister
and her daughter. Since asking for this advice my sister grew some
gonads and has decided to consult an attorney making my need for
LadyMac's advice no longer necessary.

So, on to the question about my neighbors. When I first attempted to
post this I went in to a very long story of how the situation as it is
now came to be. But, in order to save time and space, I'm going to
condense it a bit here. Basically what I have is a separated mother
of 3 living on my direct left. Her soon-to-be ex-husband lives 3
houses to my right. For illustrative purposes...I live at the very
end of a cul-de-sac, if you drove up my court and continued straight
through the end you'd be in my house. So, the neighbor directly to my
left is somewhat turned while the ex-husband's house almost faces her
house. Ok, so this is a very serious divorce/custody battle. The
husband is contesting the divorce every step of the way. None of this
is any of my business and I would have kept it that way except the
ex-husband felt it necessary to place a video camera in his upstairs
window taping everything that goes on at my house and at my neighbor's
house. Apparently the woman called the police regarding this and was
told there was nothing they could do about it. Is that true?

Isn't what this man is doing considered stalking? If not and if there
is nothing this woman can do about this man video taping her, and
indirectly my, every move, is there anything I can do about it? This
man has no right to video tape the goings on at my home. Well, at
least I don't think he does. Heck, even the school my son goes to has
to write a letter to me regarding the use of video and the fact that
my son may be video taped. If the school has to do that what gives
this guy the right to video tape everything. Of course we aren't
doing anything wrong it just feels violating. Is there anything I can
do?

Time for a new avatar. Let's see if this one works. It's cute but if
it doesn't look right once it's posted I'll have to put up another.

I will now be known as Candy Pickletoes, as I am known on most other
websites I visit.

Alright peeps (HA! How do you like that word? I learned it from my
13-year old niece, apparently it is the new word for people or friend)
I'm out of here. I'm on my way to Jamaica. I'll be gone for a week,
keep it real around here for me while I'm gone. I'm sure you will
anyway but I thought it sounded good to say! :0)

I'm going to get me one of those fancy drinks with a paper umbrella!
Have a great week all!

Ok, so every year I take a fairly exotic vacation using my tax
returns. I plan on seeing most of the world before I go on to the
after-life. This year my destination of choice is Jamaica. I'm
leaving exactly one week from today.

With everything that has gone on over the past couple of days I
realize that I have to rethink the way I pack my suitcases. I also
need to decide if I am going to take on my purse and 1 carry-on with 1
change of clothes for me and the boys. The dilemma I'm facing is a
longer time to get through security if I carry on the bag with a
change of clothes. I'm struggling with whether or not to just go
ahead and check all baggage except my purse. The problem I'm having
with that is that airlines sometimes lose luggage. If I check
everything I have no guarantee that it will be there when I arrive in
Jamaica.

The resort I'm staying in is 90 minutes away from the airport. I'm
not renting a car as I plan on getting to Beaches and remaining there
for the full week (I've been told not to leave the resort) so I won't
have the ability to go back to the airport to pick up my missing
baggage. This would mean that my boys and I won't have our bathing
suits, sunscreen, toothpaste, etc. during at least some part of the
stay. This scares me!

While I completely understand the measures being taken to provide for
our safety, I can't say that I understany why the airlines haven't
stepped up and made some kind of statement regarding baggage. I would
have thought by now they would have said "Because we believe you
should check all baggage in order to comply with the new TSA
standards, Delta...United...(insert appropriate airline here) has put
in place a new guarantee regarding lost luggage. If your luggage is
not with you at your destination and is not found and returned to you
within 24 hours, Delta...United (insert..) will entitle you to a fair
market value of your belongings in order to replace your necessities."


I can't see being stuck in Jamaica without my bathing suit, without a
change of clothes, without sunscreen, etc. Sure, all of those things
can be replaced but not without leaving the resort. I've been scared
straight about leaving the resort and have no intention in doing so.

I think I'm getting worked up for nothing. I have a direct flight so
the chances of my luggage getting lost is slim but it still sits in
the back of my mind.

If you are traveling in the near future do you plan on bringing your
personal carry-on plus 1 bag with a change of clothes or do you have
enough faith in the airlines to check everything except your
wallet/purse?

In the course of trying to always look our best, how far are we
willing to go?

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/07/31/basement.lipo.ap/index.html?section=
cnn_topstories

Obviously this isn't the first time this couple has done this.

Sick, absolutely positively disgusting! Can you imagine being so
desperate that you'd allow this couple to even come within 10 feet of
you with the tool used for lipo? I can't!

Ok, 10 miles from my home a mother of 6 children was warned that a man
she was hanging out with was a child molester (not just hanging out
with him, he was the father of one of her children). She was informed
of the fact that he was a child sex offender by her mother. She chose
to continue a relationship with him, allowing him to babysit her
children. He babysat for her while she is in drug rehabilitation.
What a stand-up guy, right? Talk about reformed. In 1990 he served 7
months of a 7 year sentence for sexual child abuse (do WHAT?!?!) In
2002 he was convicted for abusing a 13-year old boy for 18 months. He
pleaded guilty and through the plea deal was sentenced to 2
consecutive 10 year sentences with all but 1 year suspended. (are you
freakin kidding me right now?!?!) This is the kind of person this
woman has allowed to be alone with her children.

Last Friday her 11-year old son (not the son of the man described
above) wanted a snow-ball. He set out to get this snow-ball from a
corner store. He never returned. It wasn't until yesterday (Monday)
that this man called his daughter and told her where this child's body
could be found. He raped and killed him. I can't help but wonder
what the sentence will be this time...life with all but 2 or 3 years
suspended?

Man, the legal system in this country sure has it's downfalls
sometimes. That poor child.

Ok, so I don't know how many of you know what a Dragon Boat is but I
am a member of a Dragon Boat team. A dragon boat is a boat that holds
20 paddlers, 1 drummer, and 1 steerer. I am a paddler. The idea is
that all paddlers paddle in perfect unison while the drum indicates
when the tip of the paddle should be breaking the water's surface and
the steerer keeps us on course. If you'd like to see a dragon boat,
just google it, there are tons of pics out there.

Ok, so we are practicing at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore (back ugly
side) and the water is incredibly choppy. These are not particularly
stable boats as there are so many people and the boat is rather small
comparitively speaking. Anyway, I look over at another team that is
practicing and I notice that they are not bailing the water that is
collecting in their boat as the water pours over the top. The next
thing I know I'm look at 20 paddler's heads bobbing up and down in the
water, the boat is gone except for the drummers seat (drummer still
sitting confidently on top) and all paddlers still in their respective
seats (even though the rest of the boat is no where to be seen).
These paddlers, even though their boat is completely submersed, are
still paddling. Where on earth they thought they were going to go is
beyond me! It looked so funny.

Swamping a boat is pretty common but unfortunately all forces must be
called in for a tipped or swamped boat. So, the marine police, the
Baltimore City Police Helicopter, the Baltimore City Fire Department
(land and water divisions) all had to come out and "rescue" these 22
people. There is no way out of the water other than to be pulled out
(it is not comfortable being pulled onto the dock as your tummy gets
all scraped up because the PFD is up around your head and your tummy
is exposed).

So, they get everyone out of the water and the deal is that they have
to clear the boat of the water and get back in to either continue
practicing or paddle it around to the correct side of the dock. So,
this team does what is expected and gets back in the boat once it is
worthy again. They decide to continue on with practice and within 10
minutes, there they were again...slowly sinking. This time, however,
the water got the best of them and tipped the boat. I kept telling
them to bail before they sunk the second time but no one seemed to
listen. Well, needless to say, the Police Dept towed the boat to the
dock and made the team stop their practice for the night.

Two years ago the boat I was on capsized and it wasn't any fun. But
this year it seems everyone is taking these swampings and tippings
with a grain of salt. We all, including the drenched team, got a
really good laugh out of all of this!

Anyway, Race Day is September 9, Inner Harbor, from 7:30 - 4:30. All
proceeds benefit Catholic Charities. If you are in the area and are
looking for something to do, it really is a good time to come down and
watch the races!

$10 BILLION in profits. This is over and above what they pay their
multitudes of employees, over and above what they pay out of the
business, yet gas prices remain outrageously high. I don't care the
reasons, I don't care if North Korea shot a rocket, I don't care about
any of it. If it isn't hurting Exxon's profit margin, but making it
grow remarkably, there is something incredibly wrong.

It is time for the government to step in here. People are losing
their homes, jobs, livlihoods because they can't afford to get back
and forth to work. Luckily I recently moved closer to my work making
it so I only (get that, I'm saying only) spend $100 per month in gas.
If I hadn't movedmy gas bill would have been $200+ per month. When
people can't afford to drive, they can't afford to spend, this is
going to be like a domino (is there an 'e' at the end of that
word...you know, unlike potato..hee hee) effect and the economy is
going to crash because people can't afford to go out and buy anything
because they are saving their money so they will be able to put gas in
their car.

As it is right now I have to cut down on the amount of sandwiches I
take to the soup kitchen. I can't afford to take them more than once
a week anymore. Not because I can't afford the makings of the
sandwich but because I can't afford to drive down there more than once
per week. This is insane! I don't know how to explain to my children
why we don't go to the kitchen as much anymore. I don't want them to
worry and think we are having difficult times, we are not having
difficult times but if I continue to go to the kitchen I will begin
having difficult times.

It's just too much I say, just too much. I have a Toyota Camry,
certainly not a gas guzzler...$50 every other week is ENTIRELY too
much.

What do you say guys, is it time to revert to horse n' buggy? Do we
all switch to the type of car that runs off whatever it is that comes
from corn (I've been reading a lot about that lately). Perhaps if we
all did that we could make the farmers of the country rich and Mr.
Exxon would have to sell his Mercedes, his mansion, fire his maids,
clean the indoor pool himself, etc.

Ahhh, one can dream, can't one?

My brother and niece (5 months old) are here from Atlanta for a visit.
This is my first time meeting my niece and I'm very excited and
loving her every moment. BUT, my brother is getting on my final
nerve! He must think that he's the only person in the world that has
had a child. He seems to think he knows it all. It's driving me
nutso! The biggest ordeal is that he has the straps on her car seat
entirely too loose. There is a gap of approximately 5 inches between
her and the strap (when pulled outward) and the strap should be snug
against the baby. We told him how dangerous it is that the strap is
so loose and he told us we are wrong! GRRRRRR! He said since she
still faces the rear the straps don't have to be tight, they only have
to be tight when she starts facing forward. Ummmmm, HELLO, if you are
hit from behind the force of the impact is going to thrust the baby
out of the seat and propel her with a ton of force into the straps
(possibly out of the car seat entirely as the gap is big enough for
her to fit through should the impact be strong enough) probably
seriously injuring her or even killing her. He won't listen, he
insists that the straps don't have to be snug.

We told him to take her and the seat to the Fire Department and ask
them if they think she is properly restrained but he won't. He says
he's right and that's it. Well, I tightened them without telling him.
Hopefully he won't notice. There is still a gap but it is only 2" now
instead of 5 which I think is still fairly unsafe. So, as soon as he
heads out the door to the airport tomorrow, we are going to call his
wife (who stayed home with the pets) and tell her how incredibly
unsafe she is in that car seat. She'll listen.

Oh, a little background on my brother and sister-in-law. They are
older first-time parents, my brother is 45 and sister-in-law 44. So,
being older and first-time parents isn't mixing that well (set in
their ways, know it all - at least my brother is that way).

I thought they taught you at the hospital how to hook the baby in
safely. They either weren't taught or didn't listen. I wish they
would just go to the Fire Department, I'm thinking they would have a
wake-up call.

I'd draw a picture of Bo!... haha.

THAT would be fun. He is mighty fine!

Yep, it sure did happen. Someone on this site got the better of me
(or shall I say worst of me). Nic(whateverherstupidnameis) who has a
problem with Home Depot, Walmart, and PFB indicated that she may very
well call her children stupid. I have absolutely no tolerance for
child abuse, zero, zilch, nada, none. She is one sick woman!

I always attempt to be kind (to a degree) in my responses, I try to
lend respect (even to this poster until I was brought out of my
idiotic stupor by ticky) to all of the posters/letter writers here at
PFB but let me tell you, this one released the beast.

Even the infamous Lori B. didn't ruffle my feathers like the simple
comment made by this poster "So what if I do"....OMG, I'm freakin
fumin!

I'll post my email address here. I keep forgetting to include it in
my posts, so here it is, for all the world to admire:

imalisnin@hotmail.com

Ok, so I woke up this morning feeling a bit under the weather. I
thought to myself, ah..no big deal, it's Saturday, I'll take a nap
once the kids go to their father's house. I came on the puter to play
some games and see what was up at PFB. Two hours go by before it
dawns on me that today is FRIDAY, not Saturday and I have to go to
work. I have no clue what made me have my moment of realization but it
came to me no matter! Dang it!! I hate it when my mind plays tricks on
me. I'm thinking it's a good thing I realized it was Friday or I'd be
AWOL from work!

Gee, it's hell getting old! LOL

I don't want to write a letter about this because I really am not sure
it warrants one, but I do feel like getting it off my chest and what
better place to do that than here on my PFB blogger.....

Ok, so I'm in Hershey, PA on vacation with my boys. Five days at
Hershey Park (oh boy!)

I'll start my story a couple months back when my sons saved all of
their money to purchase "Heelys" (sp?). For those of you who don't
know what these are, they are tennis shoes with wheels in the heels
where you can walk normally or shift your weight and roll on the
wheels. They are all the rave with kids everywhere.

In April (before my sons got their Heelys) we visited Hershey Park to
purchase our season passes and enjoy Springtime in the Park.
Everywhere we looked children were riding their Heelys throughout the
park. I believe this is what made my sons fall in love with the
Heelys idea, who wouldn't want to roll down the hills instead of
walking. So, they set on their quest to purchase Heelys.

So, yesterday was Day 1 of our 5-day Hershey Park adventure. We
arrived at the park at 11 a.m. and enjoyed many rides, all the while
my sons using the wheels on their Heelys to travel down the hills, and
all the while I'm asking them to be observant and not to disrupt other
visitors by cutting them off, etc. I don't really like the idea of
any kids riding these Heelys throughout the park and I decide that
they are not allowed to wear them back to the park when we return
later in the day after checking in to the hotel. But, because there
are several other children making use of their wheels, I allow my boys
to make use of theirs while they had the chance. So, it comes time to
leave the park and run to the hotel to check in.

My oldest son chose to use his wheels at the very entrance of the
park. It was then that

I don't want to write a letter about this because I really am not sure
it warrants one, but I do feel like getting it off my chest and what
better place to do that than here on my PFB blogger.....

Ok, so I'm in Hershey, PA on vacation with my boys. Five days at
Hershey Park (oh boy!)

I'll start my story a couple months back when my sons saved all of
their money to purchase "Heelys" (sp?). For those of you who don't
know what these are, they are tennis shoes with wheels in the heels
where you can walk normally or shift your weight and roll on the
wheels. They are all the rave with kids everywhere.

In April (before my sons got their Heelys) we visited Hershey Park to
purchase our season passes and enjoy Springtime in the Park.
Everywhere we looked children were riding their Heelys throughout the
park. I believe this is what made my sons fall in love with the
Heelys idea, who wouldn't want to roll down the hills instead of
walking. So, they set on their quest to purchase Heelys.

So, yesterday was Day 1 of our 5-day Hershey Park adventure. We
arrived at the park at 11 a.m. and enjoyed many rides, all the while
my sons using the wheels on their Heelys to travel down the hills, and
all the while I'm asking them to be observant and not to disrupt other
visitors by cutting them off, etc. I don't really like the idea of
any kids riding these Heelys throughout the park and I decide that
they are not allowed to wear them back to the park when we return
later in the day after checking in to the hotel. But, because there
are several other children making use of their wheels, I allow my boys
to make use of theirs while they had the chance. So, it comes time to
leave the park and run to the hotel to check in.

My oldest son chose to use his wheels at the very entrance of the
park. It was then that

Ok, I hate, hate, hate shrink wrap. I cut my hands up every time I
have to open a package that graces me with shrink wrap. It is near
impossible to penetrate and certainly it is impossible to open the
package enough to comfortably return the package should something be
wrong with the contents. Ok, so what when I don't have scissors
available? How on earth do I get into the package. Certainly there
should be a hidden prize in the package for anyone able to get it open
without the use of a knife or scissors. Harumph!

My suggestion, send all shrink wrap and the inventor to a desert
island to live together in perfect harmony!

Ok, my name really isn't that difficult. Two "Bars" plus an "A",
surely it isn't hard, right? Well, the cop that pulled me over and
gave me a ticket for driving on expired tags (dang man, I had no clue
they had expired, I don't even remember getting the notice from the
DMV) must not think it's too easy.

When I got home after being given the ticket (this was last Saturday)
I was so flustered I just paid the ticket and renewed my tags online.
I printed the temporary registration and immediately taped it in my
back window.

It wasn't until just a few moments ago that I actually looked at the
ticket more carefully. This man, who had my drivers license to copy
from, spelled my name Bararbra. Now, if he was so observant that he
noticed my tag was expired (which I actually thanked him for notifying
me but not for the $60 ticket! LOL) how is it that he couldn't be
observant enough to write my name correctly - 2 bars and an A
Barbara.

Oh well, he was cute so I guess that makes up for it. :o)

Damn me, I'm too dang efficient! Here it is, 11:30 on Friday (5.5
more hours to go) and I've finished all of my projects well before
deadline. I have several projects with deadlines of the end of next
week but can't move forward with them until the information from the
Developer comes in which won't happen until Monday. If there were
anything I could do for the projects now I would but everything
depends on the information from the Developer and their lender. Now I
have nothing more to do than to sit here and watch the seconds tick by
until 5 p.m. ARRGGG I'm going to go crazy!

;o)

I found this at my3cents.com. The piece speaks for itself. If you
find you have time, click the link and actually listen to the
conversation. UNREAL!!!

http://www.nbc10.com/news/9406462/detail.html

I really got to thinking about it and can't help but wonder if we all
have become so accustomed to poor customer service that we've switched
from being consumer advocates to being skeptical about most
complaints. It's almost as if we are excusing these fast food
restaurants for poor customer service, passing it off with a comment
regarding the "under paid, under trained teenagers that work there".
When do we start holding the corporations who employ these teenagers
responsible for training their staff?

I think the letter that brought me to this conclusion was the
Spoonless, Bone-in-the-nugget letter where, in my opinion, the letter
writer had a very valid complaint. I chose to stay off that thread
because I really didn't think there was much I could offer. I
believed the letter was well written and the complaint very valid.
The letter writer didn't ask for compensation, she simply asked for
better customer service in the future. Quite honestly, I wouldn't
have know the chili was for a Taco Salad (but then again, I don't eat
at Wendy's very often).

I am finding that I am so quick to question the validity of complaints
that I'm not giving the letter writer the benefit of the doubt. Of
course there are some serious abusers of the complaint system, such as
the high chair - McDonalds (and every other restaurant out there)
lady, and those are the types of complainers I don't tend to believe.
But because of the skepticism gained from those types of posters, I
can't help but wonder if I'm being fair and impartial to each and
every letter. Certainly it is something to think about.

Now, as far as the ability to write a coherent, intelligent letter,
please see my blog below (two blogs down). In short, I believe there
should be a place where new letter writers can go in order to get
advice (if they so choose) on how to write a great, effective,
answer/resolution-worthy letter. I think grammar and sentence
structure are very important when attempting to resolve issues and
I'll continue to critique the abilities, or lack thereof, of letter
writers. But I'll first sit back and try to decifer whether or not
the actual complaint is valid. I know some are written so poorly that
one can not even figure out what the complaint is, but I'm going to
give it a go and try to put myself into the shoes of the person who is
lodging the complaint. Perhaps, had I been in the same situation, I'd
be upset about whatever the complaint is too.

We shall see how this goes! :o)

Imagine, if you will, being called to duty for something you don't
believe in. Imagine being coaxed into the military by the very nice
offering of free education, serving your country, and doing what's
right. Most young men, especially those seeing themselves on the
wrong path, find military duty quite attractive, signing themselves up
before they truly know what they've gotten themselves into. They go
into the service boys and, in six short weeks, are turned into men.
They feel great about themselves and they are ready to get on with the
task at hand, learning a new trade or going to college.

Then they get the call. They are to go fight for our country whether
they believe in the cause or not. They are to fight for the very
future the country's children are growing into. So, off they go into
the hostile territory that is Iraq. Still wet behind the ears, they
have no idea what to expect and fear starts creeping up their spine.
Wait, they are not allowed to feel fear, they must stand strong. All
the while their childhood comes rushing back and more than anything
they wish they could be in their mother's loving arms once again.
Instead they are set out along the desert to see their comrades shot
down, to see blood and guts strewn about. They know nothing other
than taking commands from their fearless leaders. They do what they
are told when they are told to do it. For to not follow commands
could very well mean their own demise. This may include missions to
apprehend the terrorists that are beheading person after person.
Meanwhile, the captured hostages are shown over the internet and on TV
begging for their lives. The reaction of the armed forces may be to
try to locate the hostage (they never seem able to do so) and rescue
them but we all ultimately know what is on the mind of the U.S.
Government. Why risk our position to save the lives of these
hostages. They know the risks of entering a war zone. Their lives
are expendable. It's very sad, but it's very true. We lose lives to
Iraq every single day. It's is war and that is what happens during
war times.

Is a well known fact that innocent civilians are at risk being in a
war zone. This includes Iraqi civilians. No one stateside knows the
exact circumstances leading up to the deaths of Iraqi civilians; no
one knows the "story" of the military as they are forced to keep
everything quiet. These troops go through extensive training on how
not to talk about intelligence, just in case they are taken captive
and are tortured for information. The same goes in the situations
where our marines are being charged with murder of an Iraqi civilian.
It is the code that they don't speak candidly of these incidents. I
can't imagine that the troops are simply going out and murdering
innocent people. I just don't see it happening. These guys simply
want to come home. They are pretty much done with death and
destruction. So, what is our Government's solution to the problems in
Iraq? Charge our marines with murder. Let's make ourselves look like
the good guys by showing the world we won't stand for innocent lives
lost. This doesn't make sense in times of war. Of course our
military can't just go around shooting people, but they are taught to
defend themselves and I can't imagine that they just kill civilians
for the "fun of it". These civilians had to have done something to
provoke their ultimate demise. Could it be a case of "in the wrong
place at the wrong time" or could this civilian pretended to have some
kind of bomb? We, as the citizens of this country, will never, ever
know the real truth as the armed forces certainly can not be made to
look the fool.

I am not a supporter of war but I am a supporter of our troops. I
hope each and every one of them carries out their missions safely and
return home to their loved ones. I've had enough of hearing of the
death of our young men. It's time to allow them to come home. The
original plan was to establish a government in Iraq. That government
is now established and it is now time to allow them the space to
govern the way they see fit, not the way we see fit. Please let our
troops be safe, please let them be healthy, and please bring them home
now. It is so sad to see our death toll rise on a daily basis but
now we also have to watch the casualties of our troops being
dishonorably discharged from the military and spending years, if not
life, behind bars. All because they did what the government of this
country asked them to do go fight in a war. It's all very, very sad.

I am having such a hard time figuring out why it is so difficult for
people to give companies the whole story when writing a letter to
them. It's almost as if they think the company already knows their
letter is coming and should automatically know about the incident in
which they complain. Who cares if a letter is overly long or wordy?
It doesn't matter how long it is as long as all details are spelled
out in a coherent fashion so that someone can intelligently deal with
the situation instead of walking around dumbfounded by the complaint.
Even though I'm not the intended recipient, I constantly find myself
staring blankly at the computer screen, mouth agape, wondering what
the heck the letter writer is actually trying to say.

How do we get the message that the more coherent and intelligent the
complaint letter the more likely one is to receive an adequate
response? It's almost as if there is some type of message board
needed for this site. That way a new letter writer could easily look
on the message boards to see the advice of different users as far as
letter writing goes.

Hmmm...just thinking out loud here!

Well, I don't know if my new avatar is up yet but I'm replacing the
hyacinth macaw with one of my drawings. I love art, painting,
drawing, and sculpture. I drew this picture of Triple H (a wrestler)
as my sons love wrestling. Art is a large part of my life (when I
have time) and I wanted to share it.

You know, it amazes me how many people walk around this planet with
incredibly huge chips on their shoulder, as if they are the only
person in the world to have suffered a difficult life. I interact
with people who have hit rock bottom, they have no where to live, the
street is their home, yet some of them have better attitudes than I've
seen on some posters here (and in other aspects of my life). Talk
about hard knocks, these people have seen it all.

There is one particular homeless man that I talk to every time I see
him at the kitchen. He had everything he ever wanted in life, a nice
home, nice wife, beautiful children, a great job, and everything that
came along with all of those things. When his children were 9 and 14,
his wife went to pick them up at a school function, literally within 2
miles of his home. It turns out that he had kissed his children
goodbye for the very last time as they went off to their function and
his wife for the last time when she left to pick them up. An
irresponsbile, good-for-nothing drunk wiped out his entire family all
in one foul swoop. His entire world fell apart, he turned to booze to
ease his pain. He lost everything, his family, his job, his home. He
lives on the streets every day, living with people passing judgement
on him, calling him a no-good drunk, etc. Yet, every time I see this
man he has a smile on his face. He beat his depression, overcame his
alcholism and is now working on building his life back up. None of
this could have been done had he been walking around the streets with
the size chip on his shoulder that I have seen on some posters here at
PFB.

I really don't understand people's negative outlook on life and what
it has to offer. I work with one of those types. He has a huge chip,
very little patience, and is always trying to get people to join him
in his "box". I'm an "out-of-the-box" type person and I refuse to let
him drag me in with him. It irritates the crap out of him when I
won't join in his whine session. I get a kick out of watching him
steam!

Anyway, to sum this all up, I just wish people would see the world
through rose colored glasses just one day out of the week. I can go
through life waking up every morning and turning on the negative
attitude or I can go through life waking up every morning and turning
on the positive one. I choose positive.

Ebonics! Lately there has been some debate centered around the
"official" language of the U.S. As we all know, there is no
"official" language, but there is a most commonly used language,
English. In recent years the school systems in some parts of this
country not only wanted to recognize Ebonics as a language all its
own, they also wanted to teach it as a course. So, I'm thinking the
course would go something like this:

Ok, so yo bro, to learn how to speak Ebonics, ya know wha I'm sayin',
you hapta act like you ain't got no lips, man, you know what I'm
sayin. You gotta took your tongue, you know what I'm sayin, and run
it all up around insi yo mout, man, you know what I'm sayin, den you
hapta not finish all your words, you know what I'm sayin? Oh, an you
can't forget, you know what I'm sayin, to add the you know what I'm
sayin at the end of every single thought, you know what I'm sayin. If
you hab questions, you know what I'm sayin, you should just aks.

Boy, that was so very difficult to write. It took me quite some time.


I'm aware that some people may take offense to the above paragraph but
this is just how I feel about the situation. Our schools have always
taught proper English, grammar, spelling, etc. why on earth would we
want our schools to teach our children this way of speaking?

Ok, so I guess you get it. Ebonics are a huge pet peeve of mine!

Well, what can be said about Anita? I'm thinking the best first item
would be to say that my name isn't Anita! My name is Barb but the day
I made my account I was so tired of hearing "Barb, I need this, Barb,
I need that", so I said to myself, I said "self, you need a new name"
and that is where my screen name came from. HA!

Hmmm..so who is Barb. Barb is a 38 year old single mother of two
beautiful young men who I live, eat, breath, sleep, etc. for every day
of my life. I never knew I could love so deeply and so purely without
prejudice. It's the best feeling in the world.

I purchase my very first house recently because I had to get my kids
out of a potentially dangerous area. The area I lived in for 34
years. It made me so sad to watch it go from standard middle-class
suburbia to "the hood" in less than 10 years time. I stuck around as
"the hood" hadn't found its way down my small, dead-end street. But,
approximately one year ago my children's lives were threatened by a
member of a very prominent gang here in Maryland/Virginia area (MS13).
It also didn't help much that my children were enrolled in the worst
school district in the state. It was at that point that I decided that
I would give up the luxuries I allowed myself (you know, hair cuts
every six weeks, nails done once a month, etc.) and put my heart and
soul into getting my children out of there. I worked my tail end off
for 6 months and made my move. I moved them to the top school
district in the state and away from the shootings that were starting
to occur on a weekly basis. For that I am very proud. My wallet
isn't thanking me too much but it's worth every bit of sweat, tears,
and aggravation I may have to go through to make ends meet.

I'm very intent on teaching my boys to be very thankful for what we
have. While I work hard every day to provide what I can for them, it
is by the grace of God that I am physically and mentally able to it.
To help them understand that they are some of the lucky ones in the
world, we make bi-weekly trips to the local soup kitchen to deliver
box lunches that my boys and I work on during the week. In the
beginning my boys really didn't like the idea of taking the time out
of their "play" time to do these things but they have come to love
going to the soup kitchen and interacting with the wonderful array of
people who are there when we drop off.

Included in my list of mouths to feed are my two sons, my mother (who
also contributes through her retirement funds, I don't want to take
that away from her), and my 9 pets (3 dogs, 3 cats, and 2 budgies and
1 cockatiel). Sheesh, NINE pets! You know, I started out with one
dog. Then along came a stray making two dogs. I can't turn down a
stray, I feel too sorry for them which leads to the three cats. One
came from a friend who didn't want him anymore and the other's story
is too good not to tell:

When I was in my old home there was a colony of feral (wild) cats in
my neighborhood. Cats are like rabbits, they multiply faster than one
can count them. Well, one day I was out in my backyard preparing to
mow the lawn and I heard this tiny little squeak coming from the
middle of the yard. I didn't think much of it at the time and I went
about my business. A few moments later, there was the squeak again
only this time it was louder, it almost sounded as if it were coming
from more than one being. So I decided to go investigate. Much to my
amazement and sheer horror there were two newborn (umbilical cords
attached and all) kittens entangled in the grass. The grass was so
wrapped around these two beautiful creatures that their claws were
bleeding and they had to be cut from the grass (the grass growth was
only a week old so that is a good indication of how tiny these kittens
were). I cut them from the grass and I took them to my carport where
I laid them in the hopes that their mother (or one of the other
mothers in the neighborhood) would come back and begin to take care of
them. After a day I realize that no one was going to come for them so
I picked them up, brought them in my house, gave them the names Bonnie
and Clyde and they are just sweethearts! They are 3 years old now and
are doing quite well. I'll tell you though, I felt like I had just
given birth with every two hour feedings, etc! I was exhausted! So
that is the story of my cats.

The birds are a whole other ballgame. My youngest son had a very
difficult time adjusting to the move and asked if he could get a pet
to call his own. I figured a bird would be the best option as they
are fairly easy to care for. So, off we went and he picked out a
budgie (parakeet) but I didn't feel comfortable getting just one as my
son is in school all day, comes home to do homework and extra
curricular activities and would only be able to devote about 1 1.5
hours to the bird. I wanted him to have a buddy. So, we came home
with two budgies. They are adorable and my son couldn't be happier.


The cockatiel came along when I realized my love for birds. They are
so much fun, have such distinctive personalities, and just bring a ton
of joy into my life. I decided that as I grow older I would like to
have a couple of large companion birds (McCaw/African Grey) but in
order to do that one needs a really good understanding of birds and
how to handle and take care of them. I learned through research that
a Cockatiel (one of the smallest of the parrot family) is a good
"starter" bird. So, after learning all about them I called the
breeder and waited anxiously for Apollo's homecoming. Apollo has been
home now for 3 weeks and he is just a joy! He is funny, cute, and boy
does he have attitude. He sure isn't shy about letting you know when
you are doing something he's not particularly fond of! As of yet I
have not been bitten but there is a first time for everything. I'm
getting to know him and his movements really well so I'm fairly good
at reading him. For example, I have a pretty good feeling that Apollo
is ready to attack when he runs from my knees to my face, crest down,
beak open, squawking all the way. I usually think to myself "you'd
better turn your head now if you intend to see your nose tomorrow!"
LOL

In all seriousness, I love my life, I love being with all of my pets
and my family. I have a wonderful job with the most understanding
management team. I'm very happy in life. But, like all others, I
have my little things that irritate the crap out of me. I think I'll
use this blog forum to jot those things down as they come to me.