Amy’s Adventures

Lately, I’ve caught myself saying, “remember when.”  This phrase is frightening , yet unavoidable. So instead of  fighting it I will embrace it.

Remember when:

• You could get a deal on ebay
• E-cards were free
• You talked on the phone instead of Facebook or Twitter
• You could remember telephone numbers because they weren’t listed in your cell phone
• You went to the Dr. instead of self-diagnosing via WebMD or by watching Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil
• There was only 1 remote control (This may only be me b/c I can’t figure out how to combine all 4)
• Starbucks was for drinking coffee, not an office
• Photography was art and not a mantel of candids
• Stores closed on Sunday or opened at 1PM
• You paid cash for groceries and gas

When have you said, remember when?

Anyone that knows me, knows I’d rather be in on a beach in the middle of a hurricane than endure a major snow storm. Apparently, God has my number and is testing me this year. In just the past  8 weeks, He’s thrown 40+ inches on me–a total that exceeds the total amount of snow I’ve seen in my lifetime.  I really try to be a good sport about it by stocking up on wine and taking advantage of the time to catch up on Dr. Phil and The Vampire Diaries. But after three days pre-storm hype, then round the clock storm central news coverage, followed by post-storm messiness, I’m exhausted and ready for those daffodils to pop out of the ground.

My Storm Pet Peeves:

1) Dumb News Casters - It seems winter storms are the prime opportunity for local news casters to see who can be dumber all the name of ratings. Case in point: the stupid news caster from NBC that was driving down Wisconsin Avenue last night doing a live broadcast during the height of the storm.  And I love that they had to emphasize, “don’t try this at home.”

2) Round the clock news coverage -The 2 ft of snow looks the same in DC, Maryland and Virginia.  And how many times do you need to tell me to “hunker down” or “the roads are impassable and treacherous?” Yes, they’re are the idiots who try and pick up their dry cleaning in the mess, but for most of us common sense prevails when we look out our windows. Does this all really demand 24 hour coverage? Can a simple periodic news break or scrolling ticker not solve the same purpose?

3) Stupid drivers -You may have grown up in the midwest and “know” how to drive in the snow, but that doesn’t give you a license to joy ride through the city.  If you don’t have a 4X4 in this mess, it really doesn’t matter where you grew up…you’re not getting far.

4) Toilet Paper, Milk and Bread- Seriously, I don’t understand the rush on these items before every storm. This is not Little House in the Prairie. We live in a major metropolitan area with the resources to clear roads. At the most, you may be inconvienced for a few days, but unless you have irritable bowel syndrome or down to nothing but eggs and diet coke why the mad rush?  The caveat here is of course, booze!

5) Doppler Radar - Yes, this is a great tracking tool, but do we really need to see it every five minutes? Like our friends the news casters, winter storms are  great opportunity for geeky weather dudes to pull out all their fancy toys. It becomes a competition on who’s tool is bigger and better. (Probably a reason majority of weather geeks are men.) Seriously, I don’t care,  just tell me how much and when it’ll stop.

6) Uncleared vehicles - You have 24 inches of snow on top of your car and you decide to drive it without clearing it off, thinking you’ll just let the wind blow it off. Thanks you “SOB”! Now, I have white out conditions while driving behind you.

I write all this after 36 hours of cabin fever and a 1/2 bottle of wine. Give me ’til tomorrow and the remainder supply of my wine and I’m sure I’ll come up with more.  Do you have any storm pet peeves?

The Tweetwaster says I should get a cat, but what do you do if you have already have one? I say, keep tweeting.  There’s no better way to meet new people, share ideas, laugh, socialize and just have fun. It’s a way of life!

Monday’s were made to do all those things you needed to do over the weekend, but decided to watch a Julia Roberts movie marathon on TNT instead. This is at least my theory of why I choose not to “work” or go into an office on Monday’s. However the past few weeks I must admit I’ve been a slacker and watched too much Dr. Phil. Today was different though, I kicked butt and accomplished more on my to do list than the past 24 days combined.

1. Negotiated discount on next oil change because dealer couldn’t deliver on hoilday coupon for free state inspection.
2. Found the number for my hairdresser who had been MIA for 2 months. Spread the joy to other desperate clients via Yelp.com. Feeling very warm and fuzzy for sharing my new diacovery.
3. Made a trip over to Melanie’s office to discuss design of new business cards.
4. Went to 3 grocery stores to find canned pumpkin for new soup recipe and ultimately found it at Target. And managed to make it out of Target spending only $7.00 (a personal record)
5. Called plumber for quote on new toilet. I’m tired of playing Plumber Phil on the current toliet so I may splurge on a new one. Trading a new purse for a toilet really sucks though!
6. Called domain provider to cancel 1 domain and add another. Coming soon: amyeandrews.com.
7. Found a great software program that allows me to edit my Tivo files. Finally, I can edit all my David Cook AI episodes into one. Oh how this makes me happy.
8. Wrote a draft blog post.
9. Finished my laundry.
10. And yes, I still watched Dr. Phil. I’m addicted to the Dr. Phil family.Those people are nuts and is a great reminder that kids, family, etc may be overrated and my life is not so bad.

I never owned a Barbie, but had this 1/2 Barbie cake for my 8th birthday.

It’s tough being a January baby. No pool parties or barbecues for me. Instead, my parties were reserved for McDonald’s and the local movie theater. Not bad, but for one who loves the pool and beach, I envied my brother’s June birthday slot.

And of course, if you’re born within 30 days of Christmas, you’re totally screwed! I can’t remember a Christmas where I didn’t hear,  ”your birthday’s coming up,” if I didn’t get all that was on my Christmas list.

So today, as I was getting ready to head out for a birthday cocktail, I wondered who else shares this day with me?  The list includes:  two Academy Award winners, two national journalists, a Pulitzer Prize winner, a Grammy winner, and one hot guy. Therefore, I’ve concluded that January 14th’s not so shabby after all.

These peeps share my birthday:

1. Jason Bateman

2. Steven Soderbergh

3. L L Cool J

4. Maureen Dowd

5. Shepard Smith

6. Andy Rooney

7. Faye Dunaway

And for good measure, I found some key “monumental” January 14th events:

1914: Henry Ford introduces assembly line for T-Ford

1952 : NBC’s “Today” program debuts on NBC hosted by Dave Garroway. The show was the first of it’s kind and copied not only in the US but worldwide .

1954 - Marilyn Monroe married baseball great, Joe DiMaggio.

1963 -  George Wallace sworn in as Governor of Alabama, his address states “segregation now; segregation tomorrow; segregation forever!” (16 years later on same day, President Carter proposes  Martin Luther King’s birthday be a holiday. This is extra special since MLK now gives me a long birthday weekend)

1972 - Comedian Redd Foxx, whose last name was really Sanford, debuted on NBC-TV in “Sanford & Son”.

1981 : Finally, this date was the end of a hostage crisis that started in the year 1979.

1986 - “Rambo: First Blood, Part II” arrived at video stores this day, breaking the record set by “Ghostbusters” for first day orders.

1993- David Letterman announces his move from NBC to CBS

1990 - “Simpsons” premiered on Fox