Monday, March 30, 2009

The digital saga...

I have known about this trip to Europe for quite a while. One of the little things bothering me in the back of my head has been that our cell phones will be useless there. This bugs me because... my DH disappears. He'll be beside me, and will then be gone. So I pretty much use my cell phone as an electronic leash.

So I'll be with my toddler in a country where I have a modest handle on the language (I can ask for a bathroom or a coffee, and can declare my hunger or thirst). My husband is not fluent, but has a good handle on the language, and once again-- he disappears.

Therefore, I wanted a Europe-friendly electronic leash. We looked at cell phones. I can't really justify switching cell carriers for an iphone. (Cool, yes. Practical for me, no.) I thought about buying a low-end GSM phone, but why should the phone that I will carry for the next two years be decided by an 11-day trip?

I then thought about a touch for wi-fi capability. After all, DH had just sent my 10-month-old-last-year's-birthday-present nano through the wash cycle. (It's not dead yet, but the end of that story is pretty inevitable.)

Then I really put things together and thought-- since I've been lusting after a new laptop for roughly 18 months or so, isn't it time to get a new one? After all, the touch I considered buying was $399, and new laptops could be had for the $650 range. I looked at a Vaio after school today, which I liked. DH and I returned to look at it more closely (with the tasmanian toddler) and we looked at other models.

And then it was shown to me. And I really lusted. It was the HP TouchSmart tx2 notebook, or tablet pc. (Follow the link and click on the pictures to see how cool it looks.) I thought these things were $3-$4K. But this one was $900. (My mental justification was, I can play with a touch for $400, or pay $900 for something that I can use at work.) I looked and liked, and played and fell in love. The case was stylin', the touch screen was practical, and the rotating screen and folding capability made my mouth water.

I. wanted. that. laptop.

DH made it clear that he would not hand over the store credit card (with the 18 month free financing) until we went home and researched it online. Grudgingly, poutingly, snottily, snappily, and snarkily, I went home.

And discovered that people fall in love with it in the store and then hate it. They have to send it back multiple times, they have to exchange it for a new one that will then also quit working, the fan whirrs so loudly that it becomes unpleasant to listen to music. I wanted to cry as I read the reviews.

I'm now hoping that I can find a cheap pay-as-you-go cell phone in Germany. That I can activate in English. I'm not holding my breath.

Facebook Conundrum...

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law make me crazy. He means well, but ends up being one of those trying-to-hard-to-impress-for-approval types. She's just... weird.

I'm a public school teacher, and they homeschool. It's cool with me-- but they get very defensive and threatened whenever I expertise in the educational arena. (Their third/fourth grade child didn't know his address when I asked. They didn't respond well.)

I could go on about the religious conservatism, the lack of bra-wearing, the sending of an email that contains with--oh surprise-- a picture of an aborted fetus. But I won't go there.

I recieved emails last night, showing that they had put in friend requests for my facebook page. They are among the last people that I'd want on my facebook page. Truly.

Right away, DH said ignore and do not friend them. I feel the same, but there's some guilt there, too. Oh well, I guess I'll be the beotch at the next holiday gathering.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

I Can Make It 11 Days...

Until Germany, that is.

I have the standard whines-- I won't bore you with the details. Same poo, different day.

Therefore, I have random thoughts tonight...
  • I'm loving Numi's Dry Desert Lime tea. It tastes like Key Lime pie would taste, if it were a tea. Not quite as satisfying as the pie, but yummy all the same.
  • I have reserved tables for my friend and me to sell stuff at a yard/craft sale. Have I marked anything to sell? Nope. Have I even located my price stickers? Nope.
  • My toddler is actually becoming... agreeable. And he's starting to respond to logic and humor. Now if I can just get him 'across the pond' without a temper tantrum, I will be a happy mommy.
  • My friend's pictures with green beer are so flippin' hilarious. The perfect end to a St. Patrick's Day.
  • Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, the patron saint of the church from childhood was St. Patrick. We had a huge potluck dinner that at which the entire town turned out-- the annual St. Patrick's Day dinner at the Moose Lodge. (Yes, there was an actual moose head inside that freaked me out.) I miss that.
  • One of my life goals is to see The Chieftains in concert.
  • The Last Snake in Ireland is one of my favorite children's books. You'll see the end coming, but your kids might not!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Freakin' Economy

My Mom lost her job.

She's saying that she got fired, but I'm calling it downsizing. (When they RIF roughly half of the staff of the business, I think that qualifies as downsizing.)

I'm really, really disappointed.