Author: Writer guy

Should we ?

Writer guy

The wife and I don’t have a TV. No, we’re not hill people. But thanks for asking. We have all our teeth and an indoor toilet. However, lately we’ve been revisiting that decision.

Back when the wife was just a wee lass, her father hid the remote control so others couldn’t watch the one TV they had in the living room. If you did by some chance find the remote, you wouldn’t have it for long.

Flash to when the wife was just the girlfriend. She said, “You’re not allowed to own a television. That way you won’t turn into my father.” I’d like to say I retorted with something manly, something that conveyed my indignation, but I didn’t.

What follows is the pluses and minuses of TV ownership. Part of this I’m working from memory on, so there may be others.

Reasons to own a TV
1) People look at us dubiously when we say we don’t own one.
2) We could watch it instead of talking with each other.
3) We would know what happened on the show OC.

Reasons not to own a TV
1) It costs money. I hate that.
2) According to every person I talk to, this season is the “worst ever”. They also said that last year.
3) I’d have to move the furniture around again.
4) One want leads to another. TV leads to Cable leads to VCR leads to DVD leads to Tivo leads to Mortgage. That sucks even more than number 1.

Drink Coke

Writer guy

Some weekends are so nice Monday looks it might be a friend, not an expletive. Then it arrives and the mighty hammer of karma drops down all over again. Monday is just one rough hombre no matter how it’s served. Dress it up with garnish or garlic, butter or spice, it will still taste like sour milk.

True some Mondays are better than others. They’re like kittens instead of hungry lions. Like beef jerky instead of gazpacho with anchovies. Some Mondays I don’t even want a complete change of blood so as to vent the toxins.

But at this moment after two days of perfect weather the possibility of Monday is anathema. It’s a joke right? Monday is not going to happen next week at all. Yes, that’s it. The week shall start with Tuesday.

Think of the economy of it. If we extricate Monday, the weekend shall arrive one day earlier! And that’s great for productivity Mr. or Mrs. Boss man. Trust me.

Mean Girls

Writer guy

Remember high school and all the things that were fun or not so fun about it? Remember the good times? Mean Girls isn’t about either and that’s exactly what makes the movie so fun to watch.

It’s a classic fish out of the water scenario; girl who has only been home schooled raised among the tribes of Africa, sent to high school in her junior year among the true jungle of teenagers. Right off the bat we got tension. Initially Caty Heron is at the bottom of the social ladder and happy, but when the Plastics, an elite group of popular girls, wants Caty to join up, the story really get interesting.

While she initially abhors the Plastics and signs on only to conspire to effect their demise, Caty learns all the mean girl tricks and eventually out paces her master, and that’s where things get even funnier, because it’s lonely at the top. It seems everywhere she turns someone is out to get her, yet loves her at the same time.

Three good things about Mean Girls

1) It’s good comedy writing, delivered at a solid pace. The jokes are fresh.

2) The characters and delivery are great. Watch for the principal and his bat.

3) The story arc is solid and holds your interest.

One bad thing about Mean Girls

1) It makes you wish Caty was around when you went to high school. She sure didn’t go to mine. 🙁

DVD it, rent it, matinée or full price it, but if you want some quick laughs, go see Mean Girls.

Slimer-Shyster

Writer guy

NJ has a dicey reputation when it comes to auto repair. This blog is about the role of a certain dealership.

My parents get their car serviced by what I consider the finest mechanic on the East Coast, Jake. Jake’s a great mechanic for many reasons but the most important is that he loves cars.

So usually my parents go to Jake, but there was a recall on a part. It was an unadvertised recall which they only found about the recall through Jake. Here’s what happened at the dealership.

Dealer: Whoever is taking care of your car is making a lot of mistakes. We found serious issues with your transmission. It’s leaking.
Parent: Interesting, since there’s never been a spot under my car in the last four years.
Dealer: Oh, it’s leaking.
Parent: How much will this be?
Dealer: 808 dollars.
Parent: Can i have a copy of the estimate?
Dealer: Certainly.
Parent: And you replaced recall part XYZ?
Dealer: Yep. when do you want to get your car in?
Parent: Just as soon as my personal mechanic looks over your estimate and tells me all this needs to be done. can i have my keys please?
Dealer: Sir these issues are real and if your mechanic is reputable he will concur…

At this point my parent put his ID card on the counter so the Dealer could see it. He works for one big 3 networks, in the news department.

Parent: I do my best work off camera. How about you?
Dealer: Here’s your keys sir. Thank you and have a nice day.

The only thing that turned out to be leaking was the integrity of this dealer.