Month: May 2011

Growing Old (un)Gracefully

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

Do you mind if I vent for a few minutes about something that has been bothering me?  Of course you don’t mind, I mean, that’s why you’re here right?  To listen to me venting, I mean, that’s what a blog is right?

I don’t know what it is but the older I get, the more of a prick I become.  I don’t know why.  I mean, it could be me or it could be people constantly pushing me to becoming a prick day in and day out.

I’m constantly being pressured to do something I don’t feel comfortable doing and eating foods that I don’t want to eat for one reason or another.  No means no right?  When you say “oh no, that’s not what I want to eat” that means that’s not what the f I want to eat, does it not?  It doesn’t mean, keep pressuring me because I can’t make my own GD decisions.  It means I don’t fricken’ want it so stop GD asking me!

Oh sorry where was I?

Oh yeah, I’m going through some weird stuff with my body right now and I’m just constantly irritable because of the constant pain I’m always in.  I’m only 40, turning 41 and I feel like I’m in my 80’s.  I feel twice as old as I am.

My back is in constant pain because I have degenerative disc disease.  Do you know what that means?  Well, it’s really self-explanatory, my discs are degenerating.  It’s really simple.  Take a marshmallow and flatten it a bit.  Ok that is what the discs look like that are cushioning your spine bones.  Now, press on it and flatten it some more so it’s really thin.  That’s what my discs are doing.  So if my discs are thinning out because they are degenerating what do you think is happening to my bones?  It’s a constant pain from the minute I wake up until the minute I go to sleep at night.

I’m losing my eyesight.  I don’t know if this is normal but all of a sudden it’s like something clouds my eyes, both of them, not at the same time obviously.  I have to rub my eyes to get it out and it’s fine but it’s constantly coming back.  My eyes aren’t that great to begin with, I mean, I’m having to look through the bifocal part of my glasses to read as I type this which isn’t a good thing since I should be able to see with the top part.

Apparently I’m also losing my hearing because every time people talk around me they are talking so low that I can’t hear a word they are saying.  I feel like I’m being left out of nearly every conversation.  I feel like yelling “SPEAK UP” but then I’m afraid of how crazy I must sound so I just ignore people who are talking and think about something else and just nod as they talk.

I have really bad carpal tunnel syndrome too so either one or both of my hands are either numb or pins and needles at any given time, usually all the time.  I can’t open jars anymore on my own, oh no I need help with that.  I have these muscles on my arms and I can’t even open a jar or a can without help.  I have a one-touch can opener because I can’t even open a fricken’ can of tuna on my own anymore.

I have people asking me if there is something wrong and asking me why I’m so irritable, and this from people who are older than I am.  It’s like, you of all people should be more sympathetic knowing how the aging process goes.

I’m only 40!!!  This isn’t supposed to happen to me!!!  I mean gawd, I’m like 15 years old on the inside but 80 on the outside.  I really hate this.

Despite this I try to be in a good mood but I have people constantly irritating me and making me feel like I have no basis for being irritable, like I’m making up the problems or something for attention then they look at me like I’m being a drama queen.  I don’t want that kind of attention, I just want people to back the f up and realize that I’m just trying to live a normal life without all of the complications that life gives me, I don’t need them adding complications by treating me like I’m nuts.

Wow you know I feel so much better now.  Thank you so much for helping me get through this.  Now GET OFF MY LAWN you dirty sonsabitches!  LOL just kidding…

All-New Nook – The Simple Touch Reader

On By Michel McDonaldIn NookLeave a comment

Ok now I’m really jealous.  I bought the 2nd generation of the first Nook with the color display at the bottom.  Then a few months later they came out with the Nook Color and now this.

This Nook seems a lot cooler than my Nook because it is e-ink that is touch screen with a battery life of 2 months.  My nook is supposed to be 2 weeks but I’m lucky if I get 1 week.  This new Nook is cheaper at $139, mine was $150 and the Nook color was a whopping $250 which is also what the first gen of the original Nook was so if you waited this long then good for you, you saved a buttload of money.

Edit: The price went down to $99.  They also have the Simple Touch with GlowLight for $119.

If only I had waited a little bit longer.  But that’s ok, I’m very happy with my Nook so I will just wait for it to burn out and hopefully by that time when they come out with their 10th generation of Nook it will be $25 so I can buy as many as I need lol.

The newer features that this Nook has that mine doesn’t which really makes me jealous are the NOOK Friends and the Borrow Library Books feature.  Although, that really doesn’t affect me anyway because your local library has to have that feature available which ours doesn’t so it doesn’t matter for me anyway.  My Nook doesn’t have the Nook Friends feature which upsets my friend Sue because she is unable to add me to her friends list for some reason.  All I can do is add her as a contact but I have yet to use the lend feature anyway.

Check out the Nook Color and the newer Nook Simple Touch at the Barnes and Noble Nook website for all of the other dimensions and features.

Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 3

On By Michel McDonaldIn TVLeave a comment

I didn’t watch Season 1 of the Real Housewives of New Jersey because I was taking a stand against the real housewives reality shows because I hated the OC housewives.  Once I started watching Season 2 of NJ I loved it and changed my mind about the whole thing.  That’s how good these ladies were, they converted me.

After all of the Danielle drama I decided that season 2 was enough drama for me and that I wouldn’t watch it again.  They have already had a few episodes that I haven’t watched but this morning I got my Hulu email with new shows and episode 1 of the new season of the Real Housewives of New Jersey was in there so I thought what the heck, I’ll check it out.

Edit: In the past it has taken Hulu a few weeks to show the first episode of the Bravo shows so I was wrong, they haven’t had a few episodes already.

I’m not surprised that there would be as much drama as there was but I wasn’t expecting it would come from Teresa’s Brother Joe.  I mean, I don’t know him but I kind of figured that if there was going to be some drama it would have come from his wife, not him.  I mean, the show isn’t about the husbands, it’s about the wives.  It seems like he has hijacked the show on the very first episode and I don’t really care to see the rest of the season because of him.

All he did in the entire episode was bitch and complain like a spoiled little brat about how his sister ignores him.  Oh boo freakin’ hoo, grow up!  He sat at the table at the reception at his baby boys christening whining and complaining about his sister.  It’s your son’s day, not yours or your sisters, give it a rest and enjoy yourself, don’t sit there bitching about your sister when you should be focusing all of your energy on your son.

It’s too bad I won’t be watching it because I really love the Manzo’s and Teresa and Jacqueline and I really would have liked to see them in this new season.  I follow most of them on Twitter, Albie, Chris, Caroline and Teresa, I even follow Danielle lol.  I’ve even tried responding to some of the things that Albie and Chris tweet but have gotten no response which isn’t surprising even though Kyle Richards used to tweet me back all the time but whatever.

So, no more housewives for me, I’m done.  I like some of the people on the show, I just can’t handle the drama emotionally, you know?  It breaks my heart to see these people being verbally and physically abusive with each other.  I know its real life but why does real life have to be so violent?

I think the reason it hurts me so much to watch is because that is how my childhood was and I hated every second of it so I have taken a stand against violence by not inviting it into my life and by watching these violent people on tv, it’s inviting it in and I just have to kick it out.  I still love the people, I just don’t want to see them beat each other up every week.

Freschetta Simply Inspired Pizza

On By Michel McDonaldIn AdLeave a comment

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Freschetta Pizza Simply Inspired - Chicken Bianco

Pizza has been one of my favorite foods since I was a kid.  There are so many toppings to choose from when you are buying for delivery but it doesn’t seem like the frozen section has too many topping combinations.  FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ thin crust pizza comes in 8 distinctive varieties that are all made from fresh ingredients like roasted bell peppers, fresh tomatoes, all real cheese and a thin crust which is better for your diet.

Speaking of diets, when I am dieting, it’s best to buy a pizza with a thinner crust because it has less calories.  Well, these Simply Inspired pizzas from Freschetta are really low cal.  Check it out, this Chicken Bianco pizza is only 360 calories for 1/3rd of the pizza.  That’s so great because normally they say 1 slice is 1 serving.  1/3rd of the pizza is what, 3 slices?  So you’re getting 3x the pizza!

I have bought the regular Freschetta rising crust pizzas and I love them.  The quality and taste of the ingredients is what makes Freschetta the better pizza.  And wouldn’t you know it, they are green, no not the colors of the ingredients, the packaging.  The Fresch-Taste seal locks in the vibrant flavors of the pizza and it uses 30% less packaging.

Better get the Chicken Bianco and Tuscan Farmhouse soon because it’s not going to be around for very long.  Trust me, they are really good.  You won’t want to miss out on them.  My opinion is that Freschetta is the superior frozen pizza that you and your family will love without any of the guilt.

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Acer and Samsung Chrome Netbooks Announced

On By Michel McDonaldIn Computer, CR-48, Google Chrome3 Comments


I saw the news this morning on Twitter from Editor for PC Magazine Lance Ulanoff:

Google: ACER introing netbook-sized ChromeBook #$349. Samsung’s ChromeBook: $429 for Wi-Fi Avail June 15. #io2011

I was way off on the price.  I figured that since the Google Chrome OS is a browser-based only computer that they would sell a Google Chrome OS Netbook for $150-$200.  I never thought they would sell as high as they are.

Chrome OS Site also reports the specs for the Samsung netbook along with other pictures of the netbook from different angles.  The Samsung Chrome OS netbook will sell in WiFi only for $429 and 3G for $499.

I have been using my CR-48 Google Chrome OS netbook since mid December when they first started shipping and I love it.  I still use my desktop computer but only for things that I can’t use my CR-48 for like photo editing with Gimp, balancing my checkbook via Microsoft Money and playing Lord of the Rings Online.  My CR-48 has basically become my default computer for everything else, as it was supposed to be for the pilot program.

I cannot say that I agree with those prices because you can get a netbook for the same price with Windows installed and be able to install software that you want on it to do everything my desktop computer can do.  The Google Chrome OS is internet only.  You can get the internet on a Windows netbook so why pay that much money?

It’s a great operating system, I just don’t think it’s that great that you would pay $500 for it.  I think that they will go down in price eventually so I would wait until they are a more reasonable price.

Uganda’s “Kill The Gays” bill

On By Michel McDonaldIn Anti-GayLeave a comment

Dear Friend,

I just signed a petition demanding that Ugandan President Musevini veto the “Kill The Gays” bill should it be passed in Parliament.

We just learned the “kill the gays” bill – a death sentence for LGBT people in Uganda – could come up for a vote in the next 72 hours if we don’t act now.

Conservative leaders are trying hard to push the bill forward before the millions like us who oppose it have a chance to speak out.  If we can create a massive international outcry, theres a chance to stop this bill from becoming law.

This hateful bill appears to be a political diversion, a way to distract from the legitimate grievances of pro-democracy activists, who have been beaten, teargassed, jailed, and even killed in recent weeks.

There are only days left to make sure your voice is heard.  Will you join me in demanding the Ugandan President Musevini veto the “Kill The Gays” bill should it be passed in Parliament?  Sign and share this urgent petition:

http://www.allout.org/uganda

I Am NOT Big Gay Al!

On By Michel McDonaldIn Anti-GayLeave a comment

You know how a certain minority always get picked on for being that specific minority?  Well, this is one minority who is 40 and is still being picked on.

I haven’t been bothered by anyone in a long time.  The last time anyone bothered me for being… well… alive was when these people were living in the section-8 apartment building in my neighborhood.  They chose us specifically to pick on because they knew we were gay and we were their way, at least I think anyway, to fly under the radar themselves by choosing someone else to pick on.  That’s what bullies do after all, they know they have their own skeletons so they find someone else to put the focus on to take it off of themselves.  Oddly enough, the guy who was constantly picking on us was gay.  Yes, you guessed it, skeletons.

So they moved out because Darrin found out who the building owner was and contacted him and told him all about the troubles that that guy, nay, that family have caused in the neighborhood, so the whole lot of them were evicted.  It wasn’t just because of Darrin, it was also because the cops had been called one too many times to deal with him/them.

Over the last couple of years that apartment building has had many people coming and going.  Recently however there have been some new people who have moved in who have proved to be nothing but trash.  They sit out in front of the apartment building with music blaring inside.  I normally don’t see an issue with that if they aren’t bothering anyone but now they are bothering me.

I rode my bike to a family members house to go bike riding with her.  As we were riding back to her house when we were coming home they shouted something at us.  I didn’t understand what they were saying and decided I didn’t really care.  If you let them know they are upsetting you then they have the power.  They know what buttons to press and will continue to press that button because it excites them.  When I was riding home from her house they shouted at me again but I still didn’t understand what they were saying because I ignored them.

Not too long after that I decided I needed some groceries so I rode my bike to the store.  That time I understood what they were saying.  They were calling me Big Gay Al.  They were saying it so fast before that I just couldn’t understand but I got the message.

Why are they calling me big gay al you ask?  Well, I’m, for the lack of a better word, Big.  Big Gay Al is a character in the Comedy Central show South Park.  His character at the beginning of the series represented all of the gay animals who had been abandoned by their kind because they were gay.  Big Gay Al rescues them and helps them be who they are by supporting them.

Still… what does that have to do with me?  Well, I have a toy chihuahua who I walk outside in the front of the house at least 10-20 times per day.  Toy Chihuahua’s are typically a dog that you see on tv that rich and/or people carry around like accessories these days as are most small dogs.

So these idiots see that I’m fat and they just assume that I’m gay based on I don’t know what because I certainly don’t act gay and I don’t think I look gay, whatever gay looks like.  They see that I have a gay-ish type of dog and they target me to call me Big Gay Al.

So far it is just today that I was called that but tonight, as I write this, they have taken it a step further by banging on our door and running away like little cowards.  I can see how this is going to end.  I have already suggested to Darrin to call the owner of the building and let him know what he has living in that apartment building.

Since they have moved into the neighborhood, a few houses have been robbed.  Our tenant and the house next door to us.  Why did they skip us?  Maybe because they see that I’m home all the time so they don’t bother me.  I have a feeling that these jerks are the people who have been robbing houses and wonder how long before they try to rob us now that they “see” me.

We have lived in this neighborhood for 11 years, I don’t see why I have to put up with this bullcrap.  I used to be able to ride my bike (or walk) to the grocery store on Eye St. and back but now I have to ride out of my way to avoid these jerks.  That’s not right that I should have to change my life to avoid anyone.

I’m waiting for the “it gets better” speech…

My New Bike Wheel

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike1 Comment

Some time last year the back wheel on my bicycle bit the dust.  I don’t know what happened but the axle unscrewed to one side which made the nuts and ball bearings fall out.  I really screwed up that wheel and haven’t been able to afford a new one.

I’ve made it my ultimate priority this month to buy a new wheel because I am just getting too heavy not being able to exercise.  Since I have a bad back I need a low impact cardio exercise and it’s the perfect exercise machine.

Chips cousins life partner just so happened to buy a vintage 10 speed road bicycle today so now we can get out on the bike trail together.  She hasn’t been on a bicycle in 30 years so she is pretty out of shape.  It’s been a year for me and I know I’m out of shape but not as much as her so we’re going to take it real slow for her sake.

I’m really happy and very excited that I can start riding the bike to the store again because walking to the store and carrying groceries was wreaking havoc on my back and my hands/wrists because of my carpal tunnel syndrome and degenerative disc disease.  I hate the aging process lol.

I didn’t get a picture but I’m sure you know what a bicycle wheel looks like lol.

Ice Cream Scoops

On By Michel McDonaldIn Products I LikeLeave a comment

I love ice cream, I love it so much that when I eat it, I don’t just have 1 serving, I usually fill a bowl with it.  I guess you could say that ice cream is my downfall.  Despite my diabetes, I can’t just say I’ll quit eating it because when I quit something then I’ll end up sneaking around and cheating.  So it’s better to continue eating but moderate how much I eat.

It’s like when I quit smoking with the patch, I didn’t toss out all of my cigarette paraphernalia because I knew if I wanted to cheat I’d end up buying another pack so I might as well keep my current pack so if I do cheat then it won’t end up costing me more money.  I did cheat, twice but I still ended up quitting and haven’t looked back, that was in 1996.

I decided to try a little experiment.  I bought some ice cream cones at the grocery store because I figured if I ate an ice cream cone then I would be ok right?  The only thing was, our ice cream scoop sucks ass.  It’s this plastic see through piece of junk that you are supposed to fill with hot water to keep it warm so you can use it but I can’t take the cover off to fill it.  So the only way to use it is to soak it in hot water but as soon as it touches the ice cream, it gets cold and is hard to scoop again.

I wanted this to work but that ice cream scoop just wasn’t working.

I’ve been looking around the internet for an ice cream scoop like the one they have at Thrifty’s drug store which we all now know as Rite Aid.  They still sell Thrifty ice cream and still use the iconical gun that has the flat top making it easy to add more layers.  What I found was the Cuisipro Scoop and Stack Ice Cream Scoop on Amazon.com for $14.99.  It has the free shipping option if you buy something else valued at $10.01 with free shipping available but that means I have to spend $25 and all I want is an ice cream scoop.

Last night I was looking at my options that would cost $10.01 because I wasn’t about to spend $8 for shipping and not get anything except for the ice cream scoop.  I’d rather spend $10 and get something I can use.  But the problem was, everything that I wanted cost either $15 or $20 which made my shopping cart higher than I knew I could afford.  All this for 1 ice cream scoop.

Screw it!  I went to Albertson’s this morning and they had this heavy-duty ice cream scoop made by Good Cook on the 50% off rack and all I paid was like $1.70.

The thing is, I have a problem with scooping ice cream because of my carpal tunnel syndrome.  My hands pinch in the palms and wrists from the stress of scooping ice cream so I have to wait for it to melt and use a spoon.  Well, the Cuisipro was supposed to be easy because I just push it down into the ice cream, pull it back up and viola, ice cream for a cone.

The one I bought from Albertson’s is actually a lot easier to use.  You know that as soon as I came home from the store that I used it to make myself an ice cream cone lol.  It was so easy to use that it made a perfect ice cream ball and my hands didn’t even feel anything.  And what was awesome was that the ice cream didn’t even stick to it like it does with my cheap plastic ice cream scoop.  I was always having to use a spoon that I had to soak in hot water to remove the scoop from the scooper lol.

All this trouble for an ice cream scoop and I end up buying one for way less than I thought I would.  I win!  I’ve already lost 11lbs in the last month because I have cut way back on my ice cream intake by having ice cream cones instead of a huge bowl of ice cream so you tell me if the experiment was worth it or not.  Actually, I also quit drinking soda, coffee and iced tea but towards the end of the month I started drinking coffee and tea again but still lose 11lbs.  I was surprised when I weighed myself this morning that I was no longer 260lbs but 249.

I can’t say that the Cuisipro ice cream scooper would have worked out for me as much as this Good Cook one does but it’s cheaper and I’m glad I didn’t rush myself to buy it from Amazon.  I read a few customer reviews of the Cuisipro one and people were leaving negative reviews so maybe I am better off with the one I ended up with.  Either way I’m happy now with what I have and I hope the weight loss continues.

Why Do Atheists Bother You So Much?

On By Michel McDonaldIn AtheismLeave a comment

I was on TweetDeck one day just looking at my friend/family stream and a friend retweeted something that @GodlessAtheist tweeted. It was something that he retweeted that someone else had said. So I checked out a few of his tweets to see what he tweets and he’s mostly retweeting nasty things that other people say about atheists along with a response.

Like right now I’m looking and I see this:

RT @aleepolat: Dear God, Well, this is awkward. Sincerely, dead atheist.http://lil.as/3VC <–at that point neither exist anymore #atheism

Update: The user aleepolat must have deleted his/her account because the link is no longer valid.  Hmm, I wonder why they deleted the account…

What he does is he responds at the end where it shows the arrow then he hash tags it.  And he isn’t nasty about it either.  He responds with a nice sentence like the one you see above.  People say that atheists are so evil and so mean, well this guy shows that they aren’t because his responses are nice.  He is to the point and he doesn’t lie unlike the people he retweets who lie about atheists.

Why does it make people so upset that there are people who don’t share the same exact religious views as them? I mean, there are people who don’t worship Jesus, they are called Muslims and Jews. And I know that upsets the christians to no end because I went to visit a church in San Diego a couple of years ago and they were talking about how they converted a muslim and a jew into christianity. And they were putting them and their religion down to their faces while bragging about the conversion.

Look, people are going to believe in something different, that is what makes us all unique and individual, because we don’t share the same belief system. We are all like snowflakes if you think about it. No two look alike with the exception of twins and even then they have different opinions and personalities because they are 2 different people.

I’ve only been following GodlessAtheist for a couple of weeks now and it seems that he retweets a lot of people who talk trash about atheists. I just don’t understand why atheists bothers people so much. Atheists have nothing to do with you so don’t let it interrupt your life.  Don’t give them so much thought that you have to tweet about them on twitter so much.

It’s like how people are so upset about gay people and they tweet so many negative things about being gay. Who cares! Gay people don’t have any impact in your way of life so why are you giving them so much thought?

You know, when all of these anti-gay republicans started getting caught in gay scandals, it started to make me think that anyone who is anti-gay must be gay because their whole career ends in a gay scandal. So I’m wondering if all of these anti-atheist people must really be questioning their own religious views, otherwise they wouldn’t be bothered by atheists so much.

So this is my theory, all of those anti-atheists are really in the closet atheists and they just don’t want to admit it so they are taking out their aggression on all the atheists to cover up their own atheism.  Let that one sink in and get back to me, or don’t, who cares, I don’t.