Retail Therapy

October 2, 2008


Dear Macy’s,

I’ve seen your television commercials that are chock-full of celebrities: Martha Stewart in Home Furnishings, Donald Trump in Men’s Clothing, Jessica Simpson in Perfumes. Wow, that spot must have cost you a fortune.

It’s too bad you wasted so much cash on a television spot when your money could’ve been better spent on improving the shopping experience for your customers. Take your dressing rooms:

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I don’t think your customers should feel like they are under interrogation and about to be strip searched in the cell-blocks you call dressing rooms. And what exactly is that little piece of wood with a hole in it supposed to be? I decided it was where I’d be handcuffed when security arrived for the interrogation.

Dirty, bare and with unflattering light to boot! Perfect for trying on overpriced clothing.

I don’t think Martha would approve.

Signed,

Glad to be outta there

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Filed Under: The Outside World 6 Comments

Cutting the Cord

October 2, 2008


Today, in about 4 hours, I will chop off my right arm.

Or, so it will seem.

What I mean is that I will give up my trusty laptop, the one missing the “eight” key (but will still obey my command to produce an 8 when needed–good boy), the one with the sticky mouse pad and the odd whirring noise. I will give it up for God Knows How Long to the people at Best Buy with whom we have our service agreement for only 30 more days.

Before you feel too badly for me, there is a regular computer upstairs (I think it’s known as a “desktop”, and not “the unmovable” as I call it). But, while I can spend the wee hours of the morning or late hours of night in our office with the unmovable, our daily living takes place on the first floor.

Oh! I just gasped in realization that I will not be able to Twitter tonight in front of the television during the VP debates. The humor I will miss from my Twitter friends and complete strangers. . .

To say I’m an internet addict is a bit mild. I’m not only an addict, I regard anyone who isn’t an addict with a bit of suspicion. When someone tells me they never use the internet, go weeks without checking email, have never shopped online because “someone else will have my credit card number”, I react the same way I would if someone told me they live without electricity or indoor plumbing. Why?

This is not a new condition. Way back in ’94, I had a co-worker who said that my answer to any question that I didn’t know was a cheerful, “Let’s go check the internet!”

There is one condition to me dropping this laptop off, though. They must, absolutely must, promise to have it back to me before I leave for BlogHer Boston next weekend. Because if there is one place where my obsession with all things “dot com” will be understood and welcomed, it will be there.

I can’t wait.

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Filed Under: Blog Love, Fairly Odd Me 8 Comments

Trying To Keep The Peace

September 29, 2008


I think most homeschooling families can empathize with a parent’s complaints about homework. It’s hard enough to get a kid to do “school” work when they are fresh early in the day; tackling it at the end of the day when everyone is tired and cranky must be especially tough.

So, knowing that most kids will naturally chose to do just about anything than a workbook page or book report, I came up with some ways to help parents make homework less of a daily battle. I hope this list of steps that published today on Alpha Mom helps some frustrated parents out. Believe me, I’ve been there.

But, when you homeschool, you can’t really implement the last step, which sometimes really sucks.

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Filed Under: Blog Love, Fairly Odd Me, Homeschooling 4 Comments
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