Just a quick update, in case you haven't heard...Jen is on the road today. She's driving 12 hours to Missouri where she has a furnished home to live in for several months, thanks to a generous offer by a friend!
She plans to return to work on Tuesday. I'm glad she has a stable place to stay and a job to go back to so she can begin rebuilding her life. Working will help her keep her mind from going to that "dark place" and and the free rent will help her save those paychecks for much needed purchases when she gets her own place.
Remember, she has not much more than her car, dog and laptop! Her packing for the move consisted of filling a Hefty bag with her newly acquired clothes! So, if you would like to donate the link is still good.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Big Five-OH!
My birthday is just around the bend...I'll be turning 50! I'm not fretting about that number, even though, as Treklet pointed out, it is half a century. Instead, I'm celebrating surviving this long!
I'm incredibly blessed with many material things. I'm also greatly blessed with amazing friends, both online and "real life." You know what I'd like my pals to get me for my birthday? Nothing! I'd rather they help me feed those less fortunate.
Our family is participating in a huge food-packing event on March 26/27. Our goal is to pack 500,000 meals! Those meals will be distributed to hungry people in Tanzania, Haiti and right here in San Diego. We are partnering with Friends and Family Community Connection in this project.
You know what? All that food costs money! Each rice and protein food packet contains 6 servings and costs about a quarter. That means we need about $125,000 to reach our goal.
Instead of a birthday present, I'd like you to donate towards this wonderful project. Any amount will do, and it's tax deductible. Just click this Donate link. When you are on the Preview Donation page (just before confirming your donation) you need to click on "Add special instructions to the seller." Please add FP-3/2011 as the special instruction so that your donation goes to our event.
Of course, if you'd like to join us for the actual packing, that would be fun, too! Register to volunteer in one-hour shifts beginning Feb 19 at http://www.i‐volunteeronline.com/ffccsd.asp
My Tweeps love people, and I know you're heart breaks for those in need. Thanks for helping me make a difference!
I'm incredibly blessed with many material things. I'm also greatly blessed with amazing friends, both online and "real life." You know what I'd like my pals to get me for my birthday? Nothing! I'd rather they help me feed those less fortunate.
Our family is participating in a huge food-packing event on March 26/27. Our goal is to pack 500,000 meals! Those meals will be distributed to hungry people in Tanzania, Haiti and right here in San Diego. We are partnering with Friends and Family Community Connection in this project.
You know what? All that food costs money! Each rice and protein food packet contains 6 servings and costs about a quarter. That means we need about $125,000 to reach our goal.
Instead of a birthday present, I'd like you to donate towards this wonderful project. Any amount will do, and it's tax deductible. Just click this Donate link. When you are on the Preview Donation page (just before confirming your donation) you need to click on "Add special instructions to the seller." Please add FP-3/2011 as the special instruction so that your donation goes to our event.
Of course, if you'd like to join us for the actual packing, that would be fun, too! Register to volunteer in one-hour shifts beginning Feb 19 at http://www.i‐volunteeronline.com/ffccsd.asp
My Tweeps love people, and I know you're heart breaks for those in need. Thanks for helping me make a difference!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Not much left to do...
Jen's having a rough go of it. She's been to the house site several times, and thought she found a few items more, but once she got them washed it was clear that they were ruined. Even the video games, which we saw in her video, are wilted and scratched. The tubs we saw in the video had some winter sweaters in one and some books in the other.
She's got a few pictures, some books, the ring, Mr. Potato Head, Ken and Barbie, and 4 soggy hard drives. Not much else. A few random things, shown below. As of the time of this writing, the remains of the house are being trucked away to the dump.
There is not much left to do in New Mexico. Jen is making plans to leave for Missouri, hopefully by week's end. Once she's settled in there she can get back to work. I'm sure being alone in a motel is only feeding the depression she must be feeling.
Please keep Jen in your thoughts and prayers and if you can help out with a donation here's the link:
I'd also like to share a couple of links of bloggers that have been helping to spread the word about Jen's fire and just say Thanks to them.
Grim Tidings
Genius Strength Cunning
Terilynn's Trek on Airlock Alpha
She's got a few pictures, some books, the ring, Mr. Potato Head, Ken and Barbie, and 4 soggy hard drives. Not much else. A few random things, shown below. As of the time of this writing, the remains of the house are being trucked away to the dump.
 |
| Jen's baby blanket. A coal got into the bag and burned one spot in it. She will see if someone can repair it. |
 | |
| the box has severe water damage, but the figures seem OK |
 | |
| Kirk is OK, but the chair got wet and the sound effects no longer work. |
 | |
| Misc stuff in this box includes some Star Trek keychains. |
Please keep Jen in your thoughts and prayers and if you can help out with a donation here's the link:
I'd also like to share a couple of links of bloggers that have been helping to spread the word about Jen's fire and just say Thanks to them.
Grim Tidings
Genius Strength Cunning
Terilynn's Trek on Airlock Alpha
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Video from the ruins
Jen uploaded an iPhone video today of the one room of her house that had any hope of salvage. I can't even figure out what to say about it. It's so personal, so tragic.
Jen has been very brave through all of this. She has not felt able to say much on Twitter, but is texting with a few of us, and I have spoken to her on the phone. Her friend, Laurie, had to leave today. I feel just horrible that she is now all alone. Hopefully she can leave New Mexico soon and begin rebuilding her life and get back to work.
The video is here.
Please, if you haven't already, consider sending a donation to help Jen rebuild her life. Just click the "Chip In" button on the widget. Feel free to leave comments here or at the ChipIn site, and please share this link.
Jen has been very brave through all of this. She has not felt able to say much on Twitter, but is texting with a few of us, and I have spoken to her on the phone. Her friend, Laurie, had to leave today. I feel just horrible that she is now all alone. Hopefully she can leave New Mexico soon and begin rebuilding her life and get back to work.
The video is here.
Please, if you haven't already, consider sending a donation to help Jen rebuild her life. Just click the "Chip In" button on the widget. Feel free to leave comments here or at the ChipIn site, and please share this link.
I'm listed
Just wanted to thank Angela over at Blog Mommas for linking my blogs in her directory. Check out some of the blogs there.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
I Splurged
Been needing to upgrade our TV for a long while now. I was going to do it last Christmas, and it didn't happen. I was going to do it this Christmas, and it didn't happen. Our 9 year old plasma TV has had a couple of lines in the display for at least 2 years now. There aren't enough HDMI ports to add a Blu-Ray player. We actually have Blu-ray movies that we can't watch!
I got together with a geeky friend who is very handy with the electronics and such and we went went shopping. He knows what all those abbreviations and acronyms stand for! We met at Fry's this morning. There is one word to describe walking through the big screen TV department at Fry's: overwhelming. The TVs are all lined up playing movie clips and demo reels. The problem is, a Samsung demo might be playing on an LG TV and that is confuzzling to me. The signs in front of the TVs tell you very little, mostly just the size and price and whether the TV is LCD, LED or plasma. It's impossible to compare without a sales clerk, and I don't trust them. After all, they're trying to sell me something!
One thing I was adamant about is the screen. I hate the shiny glass. I hate seeing reflections on the screen. It distracts me from the picture. My family room has a lot of windows, and the overhead kitchen lights are also directly behind us when we are watching. That helped me narrow the choices of TVs that I would consider, but then it was time to compare the features, which, like I said, we couldn't do without assistance.
That assistance came in the form of a 400 pound schmoozy clerk that simply rubbed me the wrong way. He even tried talking Trek Theme Songs with me when he heard my ringtone when my phone rang. Ugh. Then when I asked a few questions about processor speed and features I got some lame analogy about Mustang V-6 vs. V-8. I wanted to kick him.
I was looking at 2 TVs, side-by-side, one $500 more than the other. I asked him what $500 got me on one that the other didn't have. The answer was, "The sign in front of that TV is wrong. That's not the real price." WTH? "Well, what is the price? What does this TV have?" I inquired. Turns out, this was THE TV for me! Then Mr. Salesman tells me I can't have it! "We don't have that one in stock." Obvious reply, "Can you get one?" was followed by the inevitable, "No, the only store that has one is in Arizona." "Can they ship it to me?" "No it's too far to ship it." "Can you sell me this one?" "No, I don't have authorization for that. We might get more from the manufacturer, but we don't know that yet.""Can you find me a similar TV?" "There isn't any." I'm now tiring of this volley, so my final response turned out to be, "I'm going to Costco." One hour wasted.
Our beloved Costco is closed. They are tearing the whole thing down and rebuilding it, bigger and better and with a gas station. For the next year we have to suffer shopping in an unfamiliar Costco. There's another story there...the kosher pickle story...but we'll skip it for now. We trekked to a Costco that I had been to only once before. It's far from my house, and everything is in a different place, and I don't recognize the cashiers, and it's like shopping in a foreign country!! (Breathe, mom) OK...I breathed... I'm OK, now....
There are few choices compared to Fry's but one HUGE difference. There are boxes of TVs just under the displayed ones. One the boxes you can see everything you need to know to compare one TV to the next: dimensions, screen size, processor speed, special features, etc. We spent another hour trying to find MY TV. Evidently, it really doesn't exist. I finally conceded on the shiny screen part. I asked my pal, "Do I just need to get over it?" and he said, "I think you do." First compromise made. I'm obviously getting tired of shopping for something I know nothing about. I may as well be buying a helicopter.
Long story, made only slightly shorter, I got a humongous TV with a speedy processor, WiFi, Bluetooth, HD internet apps...yada yada...and a frakking shiny screen. It's not LED, which is what I thought I wanted, it's fully array LCD HDTV, whatever that is. All I know is the picture quality was gorgeous in the store. One more thing...it's has 3D. I know, I know, that's so lame. I really was not going to buy this TV because I did not want to pay for a feature that I thought was stupid and I really didn't want, but you know what? You don't have to use the feature, and almost all the TVs there had 3D! The ones that didn't were missing other features I really did want.
I was sick of shopping for this crazy electronic tech, so I pretty much just rolled over and let Costco win. I told my pal to load it up, find me Blu-ray and get me out of there.
If you know me, you know I shop by Ferengi Rule of Acquision #141 (Only fools pay retail). Even though this TV is a bit of overkill, and pretty pricey, I still managed to come out OK. Here's how:
1st: The Blu-ray player I chose had a $90 instant rebate which gave me more bang for my buck than a cheaper player with less features.
2nd: By buying at Costco, my warranty is automatically doubled and I get free technical support if needed, and I have 90 days to return it if I decide this isn't the TV for me. (I also had no annoying sales person pressuring me)
3rd: I earn 1% rebate on my Costco membership and 1% on my Costco American Express card.
4th: This one is big: I just received my Costco American Express rebate voucher in the mail last week. It was HUGE--$615!! I mulled over in my mind at least 6 ways I could spend that money, including putting it in my convention fund and buying an iPad (decided to wait for the next generation). I turned it over to the cashier and saw $615 come off my TV. I think that made it a damn good deal.
My geek pal is going to come over next Saturday and install this monster. I'll be happy when it's all over. I love my Treknology, but I just want it to materialize and WORK. I don't like researching, self-educating, shopping and installing it. I'm hoping the shiny screen won't bother me as much as I think it will, but if it does, I know I can return it for the full amount, including my rebate money. I'll probably just make myself love it though, because the thought of TV shopping again gives me a rash.
I got together with a geeky friend who is very handy with the electronics and such and we went went shopping. He knows what all those abbreviations and acronyms stand for! We met at Fry's this morning. There is one word to describe walking through the big screen TV department at Fry's: overwhelming. The TVs are all lined up playing movie clips and demo reels. The problem is, a Samsung demo might be playing on an LG TV and that is confuzzling to me. The signs in front of the TVs tell you very little, mostly just the size and price and whether the TV is LCD, LED or plasma. It's impossible to compare without a sales clerk, and I don't trust them. After all, they're trying to sell me something!
One thing I was adamant about is the screen. I hate the shiny glass. I hate seeing reflections on the screen. It distracts me from the picture. My family room has a lot of windows, and the overhead kitchen lights are also directly behind us when we are watching. That helped me narrow the choices of TVs that I would consider, but then it was time to compare the features, which, like I said, we couldn't do without assistance.
That assistance came in the form of a 400 pound schmoozy clerk that simply rubbed me the wrong way. He even tried talking Trek Theme Songs with me when he heard my ringtone when my phone rang. Ugh. Then when I asked a few questions about processor speed and features I got some lame analogy about Mustang V-6 vs. V-8. I wanted to kick him.
I was looking at 2 TVs, side-by-side, one $500 more than the other. I asked him what $500 got me on one that the other didn't have. The answer was, "The sign in front of that TV is wrong. That's not the real price." WTH? "Well, what is the price? What does this TV have?" I inquired. Turns out, this was THE TV for me! Then Mr. Salesman tells me I can't have it! "We don't have that one in stock." Obvious reply, "Can you get one?" was followed by the inevitable, "No, the only store that has one is in Arizona." "Can they ship it to me?" "No it's too far to ship it." "Can you sell me this one?" "No, I don't have authorization for that. We might get more from the manufacturer, but we don't know that yet.""Can you find me a similar TV?" "There isn't any." I'm now tiring of this volley, so my final response turned out to be, "I'm going to Costco." One hour wasted.
Our beloved Costco is closed. They are tearing the whole thing down and rebuilding it, bigger and better and with a gas station. For the next year we have to suffer shopping in an unfamiliar Costco. There's another story there...the kosher pickle story...but we'll skip it for now. We trekked to a Costco that I had been to only once before. It's far from my house, and everything is in a different place, and I don't recognize the cashiers, and it's like shopping in a foreign country!! (Breathe, mom) OK...I breathed... I'm OK, now....
There are few choices compared to Fry's but one HUGE difference. There are boxes of TVs just under the displayed ones. One the boxes you can see everything you need to know to compare one TV to the next: dimensions, screen size, processor speed, special features, etc. We spent another hour trying to find MY TV. Evidently, it really doesn't exist. I finally conceded on the shiny screen part. I asked my pal, "Do I just need to get over it?" and he said, "I think you do." First compromise made. I'm obviously getting tired of shopping for something I know nothing about. I may as well be buying a helicopter.
Long story, made only slightly shorter, I got a humongous TV with a speedy processor, WiFi, Bluetooth, HD internet apps...yada yada...and a frakking shiny screen. It's not LED, which is what I thought I wanted, it's fully array LCD HDTV, whatever that is. All I know is the picture quality was gorgeous in the store. One more thing...it's has 3D. I know, I know, that's so lame. I really was not going to buy this TV because I did not want to pay for a feature that I thought was stupid and I really didn't want, but you know what? You don't have to use the feature, and almost all the TVs there had 3D! The ones that didn't were missing other features I really did want.
I was sick of shopping for this crazy electronic tech, so I pretty much just rolled over and let Costco win. I told my pal to load it up, find me Blu-ray and get me out of there.
If you know me, you know I shop by Ferengi Rule of Acquision #141 (Only fools pay retail). Even though this TV is a bit of overkill, and pretty pricey, I still managed to come out OK. Here's how:
1st: The Blu-ray player I chose had a $90 instant rebate which gave me more bang for my buck than a cheaper player with less features.
2nd: By buying at Costco, my warranty is automatically doubled and I get free technical support if needed, and I have 90 days to return it if I decide this isn't the TV for me. (I also had no annoying sales person pressuring me)
3rd: I earn 1% rebate on my Costco membership and 1% on my Costco American Express card.
4th: This one is big: I just received my Costco American Express rebate voucher in the mail last week. It was HUGE--$615!! I mulled over in my mind at least 6 ways I could spend that money, including putting it in my convention fund and buying an iPad (decided to wait for the next generation). I turned it over to the cashier and saw $615 come off my TV. I think that made it a damn good deal.
 |
| i get to look at this ridiculously huge box for a week |
Friday, February 11, 2011
Widget is Working...Debris Clearing is Not
Jen texted me this morning. The bad news was that the workers were not going to be clearing debris at the house to day, so she wasn't going anywhere. The good news was that she wasn't going anywhere, so she got to catch up on sleep today. Yay!
I know she was looking forward to having the large pieces moved with machinery so she could search for buried treasure, but I think she really needed the sleep.
I think the widget is finally working accurately. If it doesn't show at least $2576 you need to clear your cache and reload the page.
Please click the Chip In button to donate.
Also, if you haven't already, vote for my picture in the Hipstamic Contest by clicking HERE. If i get first place the winnings go to Jen. You can vote once on Twitter and also on Facebook. If you already voted, thanks...now please spread the word! I'm only at #16! Voting ends Sunday.
I know she was looking forward to having the large pieces moved with machinery so she could search for buried treasure, but I think she really needed the sleep.
I think the widget is finally working accurately. If it doesn't show at least $2576 you need to clear your cache and reload the page.
Please click the Chip In button to donate.
Also, if you haven't already, vote for my picture in the Hipstamic Contest by clicking HERE. If i get first place the winnings go to Jen. You can vote once on Twitter and also on Facebook. If you already voted, thanks...now please spread the word! I'm only at #16! Voting ends Sunday.
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