thanks, jake of xfinity!

"Don't you mean 'Jake of State Farm'? The helpful guy in those 'mercials?"

 

No, my dear. I don't have any insurance with them, though those ads are cute. But I said "Jake of Xfinity" and that's exactly what I meant to say.

 

"Hey, did you finally get the new Wifi router up and running??"

 

Yes, I did! Rather, yes, he and I did. I finally found a phone number for Xfinity support. 1-888-966-7602. Yes, I'm recording it right here so I can find it in the future. I spent almost an hour searching through their website before I found an actual phone number to call. They really want folks to use their AI chat or the app. But I found the AI chat to be fairly useless, as it kept trying to get me to install the app - even though I told it I did not have a smart phone.

 

"I bet it tried to sell you a phone then, didn't it?"

 

Yep, it sure did. Going through the FAQ and watching the youTube video were of no help, either, as they kept referring me back to the app. I started to feel like i was in some new-tech version of "Who's On First". I was so elated to find an old-fashioned phone number for technical support!

 

"That didn't try to get you to download the app?"

 

Of course it did! "Would you like me to send you the link to download the app?" was one of the first things it asked. Jeesh. But I knew to say "agent" and it finally acknowledged that the robot just would not be acceptable. And get this: Jake stayed right there on the phone with me for the 46 minutes it took to get the new router installed. Right there on the phone with me, the entire time! I was very happy with his service!

 

"That sounds like a true service technician! Good for him!"

 

Yep! I'll be taking the old black one back to Xfinity at some point. When they sent me the email that my router needed to be replaced, free of charge, I'd gladly accepted the offer. After all, they were going to send me packaging to return the old equipment to them, too. However, that part didn't happen and the old router is too large to fit into the box the new one came in.

 

"That white model is quite sleek, isn't it? And it doesn't have all the lights on the front that make it look 'techie'. It looks more like a room deodorizer than an internet source. I guess that makes most customers feel more comfortable displaying it."

 

I don't know the reason for the design. I'd prefer having some lights to let me know it's working. The little thing has one little light and I have to be standing right over it to see it. Hey, as long as it lets me access the ether, I really don't care how it looks! Thanks, again, Jake, for your help!

 

sitting in the dark, trying to type...

That's because both of the bulbs in the dining room light fixture are out.

Both of them, at the same time.

Honestly, how did they burn out so quickly?

It's only been a little over a year since they were replaced.

I'll have to see if Smitty or Tony can come by to put in new ones.

Well, when I buy the new ones, I'll have to call my brothers.

How aggravating.

At least I can stop by Home Depot after I leave Wednesday Night Supper tomorrow night, so that will be a good errand for me.

Now, I need to stop typing before the computer glare makes me blind.

i wonder how the first part went?

This afternoon, AARP-GA of Savannah had its second volunteer event of the year.

As with the first one, this had an issue, too, that was out of the control of the volunteers who had arranged it.

Today was the four-part Estate Planning Workshop, with Gabrielle Richardson helping out from her Atlanta office.

I had registered to attend the ZOOMs for three of the four sessions. 

Wanda Lloyd was lead dog for this event, and she had arranged for several on her team to take a turn as the emcee for each session.

I had not registered for the fist session, but I was there on time for the ZOOM for the second, which started at noon.

Titled "Putting Your Wishes In Writing: Essential Estate Documents", it was to be about wills, Power of Attorney documents, and Living Wills.

I thought it might be a nice refresher for me, right?

And it was. 

Harry Singleton, over in Pooler, introduced us to Laurie M. Thomas, who was an attorney with a legal firm in Conyers, Georgia.

I made sure to have a question in the chat, mostly to mark my presence.

I wanted to make sure my fellow volunteers knew I supported them!

"Who should have copies of your will, POA, and other documents?"

Wanda Lloyd was the one to read the questions during the post-talk Q&A, so I know she saw my name.

Good! (smile!) 

One good thing I learned during that session: I got a real deal from SmithBarid on my new trust.

Apparently, most people pay $5,000 to $10,000 for those documents, with some paying considerably more.

One thing that was stressed by the attorney today was the need to have the trust funded, so that it could be enacted after death.

At least I've had that done since about 2010. 

At 1 PM, I was there on a different Zoom link, this time to hear about "Trusts 101: Understanding How Trusts Work".

This time, Lillian Sykes was the one who introduced the speaker!

Well, rather, she talked about Lester B. Johnson, who was the attorney selected, but he never showed up.

Lillian tried to buy him some time, chatting about how the folks in the audience could become AARP volunteers, talking up the AARP Fitness Fridays and the various programs available for free on the AARP website.

But time ticked by without the attorney... ten minutes... another ten minutes, when it seemed that Gabrielle could hear him, but no one else could see or hear him. 

I even asked at 1:26 PM, "Are we still waiting for him to connect?"
Finally at 1:32 PM, Wanda announced that the session was cancelled and would have to be rescheduled for another time.

There had been folks in the audience from Oregon, Illinois, and a few other states, according to the chat.

I guess it was good that the attorney in the second session had spoken so much about trusts, even though that wasn't the focus of her talk.

 

Finally, at 2 PM, I tuned in on the final ZOOM link for the session titled "Preparing Those You Love: Creating A Family Plan For Survivors".

I'd almost not registered for this one, as I thought its focus to be for families who would leave behind grown children with special needs, or other family members who would need perpetual care.

Nope, it wasn't about that at all!

Well, there was one point where the topic was broached in terms of the different types of wills that could be used to handle such situations.

Mostly, though, it was about how to talk about death with your family members so they would know your wishes and know what steps you were going to take in light of that assured future event.

Really somber stuff, that.

However, their approach was fabulous!

"Very nice to have it in small steps. Just getting started is somewhat overwhelming, as I found out several years ago. I like the smaller steps."

That's what I wrote for Moya Campbell of Lighthouse Financial Group, who'd been introduced by the event hostess, Wanda Lloyd.

Get this: they're even located in Savannah!

Moreover, she and Wendy Wallace left us with access to a workbook to walk us through the steps we would need!

That was most generous of them, and something the others had not done.

The 12-page "My Family Plan Workbook" reminds me of the Five Wishes Living Will that I'd done with Ronnie a decade ago.

I'll have to pass that link around to others!

I'm so glad I was there for this session!

I do hope Wanda will regard this total event as a 'win', even with the third session being a complete bust.

Technical issues are beyond our control, as I'd learned at my event.

As long as it ends on a good note, that's a 'win', not just for me or her, but for AARP-GA in Savannah and AARP nationally.

Good work! 

'noids do not have sex with doodles

"Wow. Has the chill in the air frozen your brain, dear?"

Oh, ha ha ha. No, that's the one rule that cannot be broken in Ralph Bakshi's movie that combines live action with cartoons, a la "Bedknobs And Broomsticks" or "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". "Cool World" is one that I somehow missed, but, in my defense, 1992 was a bit busy for me. I was finishing my doctoral research, sewing my wedding dress, going off to Michigan for a wedding shower with his mom and friends, getting married, and driving back and forth to Savannah from Tallahassee on a frequent basis. So, going to the cinema was a tad low on my list of things to do. (smile!)

"I remember. Being retired has really amped up your movie-going, that's for sure. So, what was this Bakshi movie? I recall that you discovered his work when you were in Panama."

That's because we had a theatre lounge in an old Army officer's house in Coco Solo. SOmeone would get us a few reels of movies and we'd watch them on the old projector when we were off duty. "Wizards" drew me in with its title, of course, and I fell in love with the story of good versus evil! That was in 1978. "Cool World" was written a good decade later, then rewritten by two other people when the producer didn't like it. My guess is Mancuso wanted a happy ending on this live-action animated fantasy, so that's what he got.

"And that's what you chose for this $1 Movie Night reward from Comcast?"

Yep! I'm glad I've seen it, too, even though it was a far cry from "Wizards" or some of his later works, like "Fire And Ice" or "American Pop". For one thing, the 28-year-old Brad Pitt couldn't seem to get his body language in sync with the cartoons he interacted with, so those scenes came off as awkward. He played 'Frank Harris', a veteran who got transported into the fantasy realm when his motorcycle crashed, killing his mom. That was in 1945, and 47 years later, he's still there, serving as the head of the Police Department. He has a girlfriend there, 'Lonette', but they've never had sex. See, that would violate the one law: Humanoids do not have sex with Doodles.

"Oh, okay. I get the post title now. So, let me guess, someone is going to violate that law and cause mayhem, is that it?"

Absolutely! And that someone is 'Holli Would', a curvy blonde Doodle who wants to follow in the footsteps of the mythical 'Vegas Vinnie', a Doodle that supposedly became human and struck it rich in Las Vegas. To that end, she enlists the aid of 'Jack Deebs', a cartoonist who thinks he created that realm, and her, while he was in prison. As soon as he's released, 'Holli' zaps him into her realm, knowing he will gladly have sex with her and make her "real".

"And of course he does and mayhem does result..."

Oh, you betcha! That Doodle is portrayed by a giggly 39-year-old Kim Basinger, with the ex-con cartoonist played by 41-year-old Gabriel Byrne. They were well-versed in making contact with imaginary folks. (smile!) 

"And there you were, dining on your version of your Mama's Salmon Stew."

Absolutely. That tuna chowder nourished my body and my soul tonight. Who could ask for anything more? Not I. Now, I'm going to wind down and get ready for my nice, warm, bedroom. I'm so glad I set up the space heater earlier!

me watching football???

Yes, yes, I was right there, at Marcia's request, watching the Georgia Bulldogs have their first loss of the season.

Not that the team has anyone but their defensive lineup to blame.

I'd arrived at Midtown Sports Grill during the second quarter and the game was tied up at 14-14 as they headed into half-time.

Marcia had called me in because Elissa was going to be out of town and she wanted some company.

She wound up with me and Sandy both on this chilly Saturday. 

As I'd told Cheri last night, the temperature at 7 AM was going to be the highest we would get all day.

In fact, as the WSAV weather song shows, there's a 20-degree difference between the high on Friday and the one today.

All next week is not going to be much better.

I've already put the blanket on the bed a couple of weeks ago.

Tonight, I'll put a heater in the bedroom, too.

I won't worry about the rest of the house, but that one room is going to be my haven against the autumn chill.

So, what was that about the Bulldog's defense?

The score says it all.

With only two minutes left to play, the Auburn Tigers was still matching the # 1 team on the scoreboard.

That's because both teams only scored when they had the ball, because both teams had poor defensive plays.

At this point in the game, Georgia had put on an offensive drive that was beautiful to watch, getting repeated first downs before scoring a touchdown.

Honestly, it was the best they'd played all day!

Auburn's offense couldn't seem to get down the field, so they ended up kicking the ball back to Georgia.

Everyone else thought the Bulldogs would put on another show for us... but not me.

Sure enough, they fumbled the ball and the Tigers grabbed it!

The Tigers held onto it, too, as they jostled down the field, seeking to get within range of a field goal... and they did get within range... and they scored with that kick, placing them three points in the lead.

The Tigers won, 27 to 24, in a Bulldogs' home game in Sanford Stadium, on the Georgia State University campus in Athens, with thousands of red shirts in the stands.

I wonder what the football equivalent is of baseball's "the mighty Casey has struck out"?

not a luncheon, but a 'bring' and a 'make'!

"Goodness, what is that all about?!"

Well, you know that Sisters In Faith has a luncheon every month, right?

"Right, except during the summer."

Correct. Well, this month, the leader, Linda Combs, has been overwhelmed by medical issues. She suggested instead that we make this a gathering for service to the community. She even listed several activities for us to volunteer our presence - BRING, MAKE, SERVE, DONATE. I chose the first two of those four.

"And what was required of you for those options?"

The first was to BRING nonperishable items for the Asbury Memorial youth group's food campaign, "It's Spooky To Be Hungry". I raided my pantry, selecting five cans of vegetables plus a box of bread dressing. Those went onto the stage in Holliday Hall when I entered this evening.

"I'm sure they will appreciate that donation! And what was the other?"

That was to MAKE rainbow bracelets to be given away at the Asbury Memorial booth for the PRIDE celebration next Saturday. August Alderman also turned that into a "3rd Space" event, something I usually cannot attend as they are always on Fridays at 6 PM. Usually they are held off the church grounds and are a small group. Not tonight! Because it was in Holliday Hall, lots of folks showed up!

"I imagine most are part of the Sisters In Faith group."

Nope! I'm guessing there may have been a handful of us there. All told, there were four tables - of at least eight people - of bracelet makers. I came in right after Rhonda Reed and sat with my SIF for this outing.  

"Are those ones that you made? Only the top right one is a rainbow wristband. Aren't they all supposed to be?"

Well, the thing is, no one expected such a huge turnout! The event leaders had brought beads and elastic string, but not nearly enough in the seven colors of a traditional rainbow to go around for thirty-plus people. Fortunately, the church had plenty of other-colored beads, and some folks brought leftover beads from projects at home, so we had enough to keep folks as busy as they wanted to be.

"These are different from the ones above, and none are rainbows."

Let me tell you what I told all there: my rainbows have all the colors, not just the ones people usually see. August liked that, so it may well show up in a future sermon. (smile!) At the end of the evening, I'd completed nine beaded wristbands. Some were larger, some were smaller, all with six different colors as their pattern, plus one fancy bead. We had little paper cupcake holders to hold our beads for each bracelet, to help us keep on track. I really liked how they turned out!

"They certainly are colorful, my girl. And how long did those take?"

Longer than I had expected, that's for sure. I was there for about 90 minutes. That means each took an average of ten minutes. Honestly, the majority of that time was spent trying to find enough beads of a particular color! The longer bracelets took six sets of six colors, the shorter ones were five sets of six colors. Even when I found enough purple beads, they may not all have the same hue or sheen. I didn't let it deter me! I just tried to space them out so it looked like it was on purpose. One of the other women really liked that random pattern!

"Very nice! I'm glad they met with approval!"

Me, too. And I had a nice chat with Cheri Hester about the musical, "Six"! Someone had asked if she'd seen it and she told them she'd skipped it because it had popular music in it. Oh, no, it didn't!!! I let her know it was not a jukebox musical, that the songs were composed by the writers of the play, and how it came to be, and the fact that it was an entry at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, like JinHi's play had been, but in 2017. She was quite surprised that I knew so much about it!!! I think everyone at the table was!

"Hahahaha! Yes, you did go into research mode on that one!"

I did! That was fun, though, and so was tonight. I missed dinner with my brothers, but this was a nice change of pace. I do like making crafts, it's just not something I do at home. Anyway, I'm going to catch up with "Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators" now. Later, dearie!

watching a dragon make contact

That's what I was doing at 10 AM this morning: watching the Dragon that had blazed off of Earth two days ago as it neared the International Space Station.

 

I had become captivated by its travel on Tuesday.

My first niece had texted a photo of it as it flew past her home in Hinesville.

That photo was sent to me at 7:46 AM.

The Falcon 9 rocket is over on the right, flames still shooting out, as that 'space jellyfish' of hot vapors spread across the early morning sky.

Apparently, it was visible all up the Eastern seaboard of the USA.

According to the NASA site, this was the 35th supply mission to ISS.

This one was carrying 6300 pounds (that's 3 tons) of scientific experiments, cargo with new foodstuffs, and two more solar arrays.

Wow.

As soon as I read that I could watch the Dragon dock, that's what I wanted to see, that's what I wanted to witness.

What great progress has been made in these missions!

This particular Dragon has made this trip back and forth to the ISS three times.

Three times!!!

These are not the one-and-done rockets of the past.

Oh, no.

They are recovered from their landings into the ocean and returned to space, to repeat that successful journey multiple times.

Wow!

I learned that from watching the video of its third docking to ISS.

I advise fast-forwarding to the 1 hour 10 minute mark, as things don't really get interesting until then.

I was absolutely enthralled!

And once it made contact... wow.

That was one of the most interesting, and impressive, actions I've witnessed in a long while.

My many thanks to my first niece for igniting that spark within me...

I do so love you, Christina Ann.

You really do 'get' me. 

 

four nights out in a row... nice!

Sunday, I was out having a double header with my A*List for two movies I doubt I'll ever watch again. 

One was yet another with Anne Hathaway, who has certainly been a busy, vibrant woman herself this year with three movies so far. I liked the first one as it was a worthy sequel to the first and made me notice she was the same age as my first niece. I liked the second one, too, as it was a fine piece of science fiction with a lot of heart, and oak trees. This third one, though, was very creepy and so full of deceit that there was no one for me to root for. "Verity" also had Dakota Fanning in it and she's always a bit creepy anyway, and this movie was just another notch in her bedpost. I wanted to cheer for Josh Hartnett, I really did, but he just may have been a creepazoid, too. Ugh.

The other brought back strong memories of a too-real nightmare from several years ago. I do not understand why the makers of "The Social Reckoning" saw fit to include so much footage of that horrible time. I kept having to look away during the final fifteen minutes of the movie. That's just how much footage was thrown in that was five years old. What laziness. As for the acting, that was very good, especially by Jeremy Allen White - good to see him again. As for the whistle-blower, Mikey Madison was very believable as a woman tormented by her moral need to do the right thing, even though it meant betraying the job she'd loved. I hadn't realized she'd played the escort to the Russian mobster in "Anora". Such a different character!

 

Monday, I was out with my usual group of girlfriends, though not at our usual haunt. Nope, we were at a restaurant I'd never been to... and I loved it! Marcia says she and Amanda go to Cava - the one on Oglethorpe Mall Boulevard - about twice a week! I think Sandy and Elissa and Joel have all been there before, too. I was the only novice. I ordered the chef's special, the Greek Goddess Salmon, taking it as described with pickled onions, fiery broccoli, red pepper hummus, sumac cabbage slaw, tomato + onion, arugula, basmati rice, and Green Goddess dressing as the finishing touch. Wow!!! As I told Amanda, the spices reminded me of the meals I'd received from Blue Apron and Sunbasket several years ago. Those had been oases of calm during the pandemic. Such a nice memory to mingle with this new one!

 

Tuesday found me in Jelks Auditorium for the Savannah Arts Academy's play. In the past these competition pieces had been free, but for the last few years, they've drawn as much of an audience as the two-act plays and musicals do. That's wonderful! I do hope they'll win again, but even if they don't I know the actors are going to enjoy being around like-minded folks from other schools around Georgia. Woohoo!!!

I'd come home to watch "Arsenic And Old Lace". I'd spotted the 1944 movie in the listings on one of the PBS channels and taped it. Nice to see the real Cary Grant and be reminded of my middle brother and how funny he could be!

Wait a minute... that's not quite right... it was Clark Gable that Mister Willie always called Ronnie... another good-looking man! 

 

Today has been my fourth night out, though not the way I'd planned. This was the first of six Wednesday Night Suppers over at Asbury Memorial's Holliday Hall and I'd looked forward to it. They were starting off with barbecued pork sandwiches, along with macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, and dessert. I was able to grab a slice of cherry pie from that first GOB service - hooray! But all of that had been "to go" as I had a call this afternoon from my first niece. She was going to be in Savannah and could we meet for dinner? I did my duty by the church and suggested the WNS spread, but chicken teriyaki is what she craved.

 

So chicken teriyaki is what she got! I met up with them at the Seasons of Japan on Victory Drive, which none of us had known was there. Surprise!!! She was there with Anthony, Miyah, and Chloe, and we all had a nice visit with each other for about two hours. Sweet! If we'd met up at Holliday Hall, we would have had to greatly curtail that visit length to 45 minutes, as the WNS meal is over and cleaned up by 6:15. That's so choir rehearsal can get started on time at 6:30. It was nice for the five of us to have a leisurely time together!

And now I am home again and having dinner with "R.J. Decker" from last night. I must say, I do miss "Will Trent", but I've been enjoying this ex-con private eye who's keeping the streets and girls of Fort Lauderdale safe. How do I know? Because the show included "The Fort Lauderdale Chamber Of Commerce" in one of the episodes. Any show that includes that cut from Elvis Presley is aces with me! Plus I like Scott Speedman. I think it may be the Hawaiian shirts, but it's probably the generous shots of humor in his patter.

I do like a guy that makes me smile! (smile!)

rise of the machines in 1923

In the expressionism play that Savannah Arts Academy chose for their one-act theatre competition performance this year, a man is displaced from his job by a machine.

Here's my query: why was that considered a novel idea?

After all, the mechanical adding machine had already been around for several hundred years.

The model developed in 1887 bears close resemblance to the modern machines used for totaling sums of numbers.

Yet, in "The Adding Machine", the lead character - 'Mr. Zero' - has had the task of being a human calculator for twenty-five years.

That would mean he began his career more than a decade after the invention of the machine that would end his career.

If the machine had been invented in some other country, I could accept that, but it was created here in the USA by Dorr Felt.

Moreover, the playwright, Elmer Rice, was also of American origin.

However, perhaps the disconnect was due to location; the machine was invented in Chicago, but the writer lived in New York City.

Communication was the near-instantaneous phenomenon it currently is.

The first commercial radio broadcast wasn't until 1920.

Television broadcasts would not exist until after that, though that didn't really take hold until after World War II.

So, chances are, the 31-year-old Rice was not privy to the invention of the sum-compiling device until his knowledge of it inspired him to write this play.

That would be quite possible!

As for tonight's production by the high-school thespians, it was amazing!

Mind, this play is a century-old, but all of the costumes on the stage consisted of pieces that would have been right in keeping with that time.

Lots of grays and blacks and whites, save a colorful tree in the cemetery.

But wait, what's that bit of nature doing in an industrial setting?

Well, when 'Mr. Zero' (played very well by Trey Wilner!) lost his job of 25 years to the machine, he also lost his mind, attacking his boss and killing him in front of a lot of witnesses.

To the electric chair he went!

(Yes, that device was invented in the late 1800's and first used in 1890.)

That's how he ended up in the cemetery, eventually making his way to the Elysian Fields where the tree was, and meeting Etaoin Shrdlu (a physical embodiment of a printing mistake, played by Benjamin Odom).

Eventually, his coworker, 'Daisy' (nicely portrayed by Hanna Richmond), joins him; she was the one who read the numbers to him for him to add, and after he was fired, she left the job and killed herself, hoping to find him in the afterlife.

Almost the entire time, an industrial hum and the sound of stamping feet serve as the backdrop for the action.

In other words, it was quite noisy, which I found a bit distracting.

Light show puppetry also had a part, but I admit to only catching a bit of that once, and rather by accident, as there was so much else going on.

That made it a mix of live action and puppets, just as their competition piece from 2024 - "Blood Wedding" - had been. 

 

I do hope they do well on Friday in Columbus, Georgia.

In the photo, next to the woman in the blue dress is Trey Wilner, looking very much grown in this grey suit and tie - wow!

That blue dress is the only bit of non-monochromatic color in the play, and that was worn by Hanna Richmond's character, 'Daisy'.

I'll be looking forward to hearing the outcome of their competition! 

Break legs, y'all!

thanks, fox, for the two janes, intact

Tonight being Monday, I've become accustomed to watching the two Janes when I come in from Music Bingo.

I have them both on auto-record of the new episodes and tonight's were to have a Halloween them, so that was to be great fun!

With MSG having the bingo on hiatus while they straighten out their rights to play those clips, I was actually home at 8 PM for a change.

That meant I could watch the shows live!

Nope.

When I tuned into Fox, I was greeted with a baseball game... what???

However, the recorder still thought it was "Name That Tune" and was taping it, just like it was scheduled to do, with the channel guide still showing "Celebrity Weakest Link" coming up at 9 PM.

Sigh.

I decided to watch "Midsomer Murders" instead, as I'd recorded it last week.

This time, it was "Dead In The Water", s8e2, with Chief Inspector Barnaby at the lake with his wife and daughter for a bit of leisure and to enjoy the rowboat races.

Just like with "Murder She Wrote", I just knew someone was going to die, no matter where he happened to be... and someone did, too, their corpse floating in the path of one of the boats and stopping the race.

His daughter said she felt like her father had arranged that on purpose so he wouldn't have to spend the day with them - hahahaha!

What a lovely way to pass a bit of time, with images from "The Boys In The Boat" flitting into my memory to accompany those on the TV!

By the time that was done, it was after 10 PM, so I checked Fox; yes, the second Jane's show was still in progress, with 5 contestants still up, so it was definitely running late, as it should have already ended.

Dagnabbit!!!

However, the recorder still had it marked as "recording", so I decided to pull up the taped "Name That Tune" and find out just how late it might run.

 

Wonder of wonders, I had all of it in that session!

True, that session ran for 1 hour and 27 minutes, but not a minute of "Name That Tune" was missing - hooray!!!

I fast-forwarded past all the baseball stuff and found that this Jane had members of "90210" and "Melrose Place" squaring off for charity - nice!

Brian Austin Green kept missing the music snippets from shows he was in - and Robin Thicke kept kidding him about it.

Those where supposed to be easy tunes!

Daphne Eurydice Zuniga did pretty well early on, but she couldn't seem to get the titles during the big money riddles in "Bid A Note".

Still, I thought it was so awesome that she had been in a Bob Seger music video once upon a time that I paused to go look it up.

Sure enough, there she was, making eyes at Matt LeBlanc at a drive-in, while "Night Moves" played and windows got steamy - wow!!!

She'll be 64 at the end of this month.

The two non-celebrity players in the second half of the show were treated to Halloween-themed songs in their first round of competition.

"Dracula", "Vampire", "Monster Mash" - very fun, for them and for me!

Afterward, I checked on the recording for the other Jane's show.

Yikes... the first hour of the two-hour block was "Name That Tune" again... but then "Celebrity Weakest Link" started right up!

It's theme was "Fright Night" and it had folks from various horror movies, including Cassandra Peterson (better known as "Elvira"), Kane Hodder ("Jason" in four of the "Friday The 13th" movies), and Linda Blair (who was just 13 years old for "The Exorcist").

Funny story: Linda and I are only a year apart in age and kids in my 9th grade class thought she and I looked like twins.

I've never seen more than a few snippets of that movie.

She didn't end of winning, nor did the other two I mentioned.

Heather M won, but I don't recall her last name or what show she was on.

I only noted the charity she played for: California Together.

Cofounded by Christian Bale and two others, that organization works to keep siblings together in foster care.

How very cool!

That made me think of Dylan and Cooper and Riley, the three siblings adopted by my 'little sister" Susie in San Diego about twenty years ago.

Her wife had a falling out with me some years back, but I still got to see them in a public video about belief systems. 

Maybe I'll see them on fb sometime, as they're all college-age and more now.

So glad this show tonight brought them to mind!

(smile!)

thanks, fortune cookie?

I'm not saying Dawn's fortune cookie got it on the nose, but I have received credits worth over $800 in the last few days. That's more than half of my usual monthly income, so I welcome it!

Those credits are from three different sources.

The first was from the second of those two colon cancer research programs that I enrolled in this summer.

I had given up on receiving anything from Geneoscopy, then they sent me an email last week.

As soon as I sent them the report from my colonoscopy, they sent me the agreed upon payment: $200 of store credit on a website. 

I set up an account on that site and ordered about $65 of items on Friday.

They were to arrive by Wednesday, free shipping.

Instead, one arrived yesterday, and the other just landed on my porch!

Now I have toilet paper and panty liners to get me through the winter! 

Plus, plenty of credit left for anything else I want.

Thanks, Geneoscopy and ColoSense!

 

The next chunk of credit was on my County property tax invoice.

According to it, I only owed $53 for the whole year?!

Because I'd paid the usual first half in the spring, the invoice stated my remaining balance still due was ZERO dollars and ZERO cents.

I called the office on Friday to see if there was an error, some kind of new math that I was not able to figure out.

Nope, the State had passed the Homeowner Tax Relief Grant (to me, an admittance that they had overcharged us), and that credited my County bill with almost $490, enough to literally pay my taxes for me.

The office also told me I'd be getting back a refund of most of the payment I made in the spring, less the $53.

Sure enough, on Saturday, that check arrived!!!

It was accompanied by that odd letter, but that's okay, as I know the check is real and not a scam.

My guess is the generic header of "To Whom It May Concern" allowed them to get the checks out more quickly than having to personalize each one.

Hey, that works for me!

As for the City property tax, I won't be getting a check back for any of that.

The HTRG did pertain to that, too, but only for about $211 worth of credit.

Honestly, that's fine by me!

That covered two-thirds of what I'd still owe at this point in the year.

Yes, I am grateful for that boon!

I'm grateful for all three of those unexpected credits!

Hallelujah!!!

friday fiesta! no politics, please.

It felt like forever since I've been with my brothers!

In truth, it's only been three weeks since I was at Jalapenos with them.

I guess that's a sure sign of how much I value these family and friends dinners on Fridays!

Here, in this shot of the guys' side of the table, we had just gotten our meals.

Tony was down talking with Jimmy and Mark, while Smitty was getting ready to dig in to his special.

And here we are with the gals' side of the table!

Remember, it's the same configuration every time, unless they choose a different restaurant. 

From the far end, that's Becca, Betsy, Mary, and Laura (though she isn't in the frame of this shot).

I must say, Laura and I had a great time talking about a trip she had last week to honor one of her coworkers.

I'm so glad the company that took over Azalealand shows real interest in making things better there!

As for me, I was at the end of the table, positioned between Tony and Laura, as usual.

I even ordered my usual trio of crunchy beef tacos - cRUncH!!!

But here's where it varied: Tony stood.

Instead of sitting like all the others, he pushed aside his chair and STOOD.

He had offered to help me into one of the high-top chairs, as he and Laura had done for me three weeks ago, but I declined.

And that's when he must have decided to stand along with me.

He didn't make a fuss about it, or even mention that he was doing so, he just quietly stayed on his feet the whole time I was on mine... which was the usual two hours we were all together.

Thank you, my youngest brother, for that choice.

That really showed I was special to you.

He and the other guys, plus Laura and Becca, showed that again later after we'd had a visit by Josh Cowart.

His dad, Larry, had been a regular customer when I worked with Smitty, and his wife died a few months ago.

It seems that Larry, now 76 years old, is dating again.

That sparked a conversation about how long someone should after a spouse dies before they get back in the pool again.

I'm glad Josh had already left.

Mary made a comment about Larry using his money to attract women, and, silly me, I saw that as an opening.

"Well, that's what the man in the Oval Office did. There's no reason a woman would be with him except for his money, because he's such an ugly man."

Betsy jumped in with "Who are you talking about?"

Mary said, "She's talking about the President."

Boy howdy, we were off to the races then!

Both of them started spouting rhetoric about Melania not having needed to marry him for his money, that she was rich from being a model when she met him and so I was wrong, wrong, wrong about that.

They were so fired up that I just shut my mouth and let them simmer down.

I was not about to tell them they were wrong.

When Donald and Melania met 26 years ago, she was making the rounds at parties with her agent, as models are required to do for publicity.

Yes, she was a model, newly relocated from Slovenia, and already 26 years old, making about $40,000 a year after ten years in the business, which is hardly rich, even in 2005 dollars.

She likely made more money when he included her in his Trump Modeling Agency in 1999, but that was while they were dating and before she did the nude photo shoots.

They broke up shortly after, but in 2001 got back together after she got her green card to be working in the United States.

They wed in 2005, prenuptial agreement in place, with them having separate residences and him paying her a stipend.

Odd, right?

That seems more like an action one might take with an escort, which is essentially what Melania was for him.

She didn't even have to stay the entire event with him, just be there at the start so all the media could see him in the presence of a model.

A year into the marriage, in 2006, when she was almost 35 and he was almost 60, they had one child, but that was it.

He already had three children from his first wife and one from the second, and he made it clear to Melania that he would not be helping to raise their son.

The addition of that child didn't help her relationship with Donald; in fact, he started dating models again, to escort him to public events.

What a slimy mongrel.

I feel like the others tonight were aware of the sham of that marriage, and that's why they kept silent. 

I have to wonder if Mary and Betsy are aware of how jealous Melania might be of the loving and sharing marriage and family life they have had with their husbands, a marriage with a true partner, not just as head wife of a harem.

I'll just have to remember to not speak of this particular POTUS again for another two years.

By then, the chickens will have come home to roost and his time in the Oval Office will finally be over.

Who knows what will be revealed then?

I'm glad that hiccup in the conversation was only about ten minutes. 

That hardly marred my time at Jalapenos.

Tonight was still wonderful and I look forward to the next time I can share the company of my brothers and others.

(smile!)

end of 1 month, start of another

"That sounds rather cryptic. You talkin' 'bout the weather?"

Nope, just my AMC A*List! 

"But I thought you'd taken care of September already."

Um, no, there was still a solid week left of that month. Not that I saw a bunch of movies, but I did see these two. I'd recommend the love story, but not the Indian movie. "The Paradise" did have some dance scenes, but was terribly gory and violent. Like, most of the time. It was about some troubled section of the country which seemed to be ironically called 'Paradise', when it was actually a region of war prisoners. Yikes. The only reason I stayed was I kept hoping it would get better.

"Yikes, indeed. Not quite the Tollywood you expected."

Not even close. 

"And what about that one named for the gadabout in 'Two And A Half Men'?"

Hahaha! Yes, Charlie Sheen's character was honestly what I was thinking when I saw the title! However, this "Charlie Harper" was a combination of the two characters' names: 'Charlie' and 'Harper'. The first was played by Nick Robinson, the guy from "Voicemails For Isabelle". The girl, 'Harper', was played by Emilia Jones, who'd been the girlfriend in "Tony". In other words, both are recently on my radar. The movie was an excellent look at the anatomy of a  relationship that falls apart, even though the two people still love each other. They just can't live with each other anymore.

"That sounds pretty deep for something that looked shallow."

I know, right? I'll be willing to watch it again sometime.

"Nice to know it was that well done! Now, what else do you have?"

Just these three from this first week, not including the freebie fourth that I had from AARP MFG last Friday. 

"Oh, my, you dared to see another Indian film at AMC?"

Yes, I did, but this one, "Drishyam: The Conclusion", really rocked! I don't know why Carolyn tried to steer me off from it. She said I would need to see the earlier movies to follow along, but I had no problem keeping up with the story. It starts with the father (Rajat Kapoor) of a murdered young woman coming to Investigator 'Tomar' (Jaideep Ahlawat) to get the case reopened. It's been seven years since his daughter disappeared, four years since her bones were found under the new police station, and two years since the case had been closed. And who is the accused killer? A famous actor 'Vijay' (Ajay Devgn), whose family is his alibi, as all were together at a religious function. However, a well-known lawyer (Prakash Raj) is convinced the two witnesses will help solve the case of whose bones were now in the evidence room.

"Wow! A court drama!"

And very suspenseful! Yes, I'm very glad to have caught this one. And it was so very nice to see Jack Skellington and Sally again! I do so love "Nightmare Before Christmas"!!! It was actually a good pairing with "Forgotten Island", as both were about friendship and magic. I hadn't known anything about that one, but the Latina family that shared the screening room with me were very into it! Two girls who'd been best friends since grade school have now graduated from high school... and college is about to separate them. Then they find the sand dollar that serves as a portal to the island the grandmother had once visited! Such an adventure they had!!! Talking animals, time travel, magic potions... really cool. I'll have to recommend it to my great-nieces.

"For sure, though they may know the book."

No, I doubt it. I'd be amazed if any Philippine mythology had filtered into Georgia public school, or even private school, classrooms. I know I said there was a Latina family there, but they could have been from the Philippine Islands just as well, though I could swear I heard Spanish being spoken.

"I see. What an incredible movie to have found it's way to Savannah! And not via Cine Savannah."

I know! I did have one other movie I saw this week, courtesy of my $1 Movie Night Reward. I treated myself to "The Lost Boys". Partly it was because I wanted to hear that half-naked saxophone player wailing out "I Still Believe" - RAWR!!! Tim Cappello absolutely rocks!!! In fact, that whole soundtrack is just fabulous! I have to wonder if the new musical based on the almost 40-year-old movie has any of those songs in the background. So, partly I was drawn into it because Lauri and Lynn Engler had just seen the musical on Broadway. But I found a third reason to see it: a young Dianne Wiest! She was the 39-year-old mother who'd relocated her teen boys to Santa Carla after divorce. Nice to see her in another movie!

"That is nice! So you've seen her in three in less than a month... and she's still alive! That's really nice. In fact, she's the same age as your stepmom, right?"

Yeah, I guess she is. Bonnie was 78 on October 1st, same day that Chloe turned 8. I donated to KIVA in her honor, but I haven't yet told her. Guess I'll call her this weekend! The Georgia Bulldogs will be playing against the Alabama Crimson Tide, so I know she'll be home and awake on Saturday night!

"Hahaha! Yes, I'm sure she'll be tuned in for that football game! I'm glad she and your Daddy liked to watch sports together. Here's hoping the right team wins!"

Hey, that's my line! (smile!)

tfp meeting, at designated time

Can you believe that someone had the nerve to ask me where I was for the Two First Posts meeting two weeks ago?

Yep, and I think it was Kat that asked, in hearing range of her husband Mike, as well as Eric, Sabrina, and John.

I was absolutely truthful: I'm a busy, vibrant woman and I cannot, and will not, keep changing my plans just because TFP doesn't adhere to its calendar.

That had been a meeting changed to a Monday, then canceled that day. 

Had it been rescheduled back to its Tuesday slot?

Nope, it had not, so I had a movie with Ethan Hawke.

Then, all of a sudden, it was on for the Wednesday?!

No, I don't think so, I already had plans with others, as that was not designated as a TFP meeting day on the calendar.

They all got tickled at my response!

That's because they are all well aware that I am a busy, vibrant woman, as Eddie is good about using that phrase every time he sees me.

(smile!)

I like that he listens.

(smile!) 

Well, that he listens sometimes.

The door to protect TFP's tenant at 5509 Montgomery Street from those people who enter at 5511 Montgomery Street has still not been fitted with a lock.

Kat lodged a complaint at the meeting tonight about someone - like we don't all know who - has been going into the bar area and leaving a mess.

 

I suggested going through the camera footage and having the person arrested for trespass into Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

I swear, a pin dropping would have made a huge racket after I said that!

I then added that it was akin to someone breaking into the dry cleaners or the church, noth of which are also tenants of Two First Posts.

Deep silence once again, but the message was definitely heard.

 

Mike and Kat have been busy getting their restaurant stocked with both foodstuffs and cooking utensils.

They don't need other people going in there without their permission.

Period.

Also, with all the televisions and furniture in there, it's too much temptation.

No one else needs a key to that door at 5509 except the building manager.

No one else should be in that space except the tenants, Kat and Mike, plus their staff, so the restaurant can one day open.

That's why it was important tonight that we passed a motion concerning access to the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Barbeque and Grill. 

The motion was made, and unanimously passed, that Post 36 and Post 500 be informed that no one is allowed to use the WTF spaces except WTF. 

Eddie said he will draft a letter at once concerning that.

Yeah, that felt good to get accomplished tonight!

Meanwhile, to take action to prevent further trespass, Mike is going to install a hasp and lock on their side of that pocket door tomorrow.

(Mike will also repair the dishwasher so it works; it's currently missing a part.) 

I hope that will be done.

Trespassers will be something they don't need.

Eric is in charge of calling Home Depot to get that door measured for a more permanent solution to that problem.

He is already working with Home Depot concerning the back door on the church, as that door is swollen and cracked and presents a fire hazard, as it cannot easily be opened at this time.

Eric is a pretty big guy, and it took him and another person to open it.

How had Eric known about that particular problem?

The church had called their landlord - that would be Doug, of course - and he had contacted Eric to get it done.

Doug wasn't at the meeting, except by phone, and that was sporadic.

Billy was there, as he had been replacing various faulty electrical outlets when I had arrived around 5:30 PM.

Kat and Eric where there then, too, then Sabrina arrived and Mike returned with his and Kat's dinner. 

John came in shortly after, followed by Brenda, then Eddie.

The meeting started about 6:20 PM, which was earlier than usual, but still later than the scheduled time of 6 PM.

(Sigh.)

Eddie again said the Brenda should have copies of all leases, as well as all contracts for use of the event hall in 5511. 

The commander of Post 500 has yet to sign the contract for his event held on September 5th, nor has he paid the security deposit for that event.

Moreover, he held it over at 5509, which was the wrong location, especially as he had said it would be an outside event.

Plus, that commander has lied and said that Doug gave him permission to use the canteen for seating for the fish fry.

Seriously?!

Then Eric piped up with some blame having to be with Two First Posts, as TFP has been allowing monthly meetings of other groups to be held in the WTF space!!!

Unfortunately, he's correct, as the event room doesn't currently allow more than one group to meet at any given time, so the smaller groups - like the Navy League and the Marine Corps veterans - have been shuttled into the restaurant.

Admittedly, that was wrong, but it's because the conference room is too full of stuff and nonsense to allow it to be useful.

That needs to be rectified at once, even if it means moving that stuff into the offices designated for Post 36 and Post 500.

Get it done, Eric - you raised the issue and you're the building manager!

Fortunately, the event room doesn't have anything special scheduled.

Kat and Mike have the "Hail And Farewell" for the 68th Cavalry of Fort Stewart scheduled this week, but that will be in WTF.

They had planned to use part of that revenue to pay a portion of their October rent to Two First Posts.

However, a motion was made, initiated by Doug, that their rent for this month be waived and their first rent payment will be made on November 1st.

Believe it or not, that vote only passed by a vote of 4 to 2.

Still, Kat and Mike were so pleased that they have waived the repayment of their insurance costs from the last three months - when they still were not open due to liquor license delays - and also the repayment of the fees for the health inspection, the grease trap inspection, and various other business costs.

I suspect the reason that Sabrina and Brenda voted against that motion had to do with the current finances.

The rent checks from the other tenants, as well as that from the previous bank, are all having holds placed by Navy Federal Credit Union, as standard business practice, especially for such a new account.

Meanwhile, Sabrina is owed for the extra she paid for the alcohol permit; Brenda is owed for money she paid for TFP's electricity bill; Billy is owed for money he paid for the rolling TV cart; and Eric is owed his paychecks for August and September.

Even with the money due from the rent checks, there's not going to be much of a cushion left behind for the next utility bills coming in this month.

No fear, Doug Andrews is here to save the day, yet again!

He will meet with Sabrina at NFCU tomorrow to make the account solvent until we get some paying events in this space.

Sabrina also has permission from the TFP committee to speak with an accountant she knows about setting up recurring payments and debts, including those to come from the Georgia Lottery games as well as Queen of Hearts.

The meeting finally adjourned about 8:20 PM.

I sure look forward to shorter meetings in the near future.

Now, I'm getting some supper to enjoy while I watch "Best Medicine".

Glad I taped it!