Optimize

The other day a message from my internet carrier flashed across the computer screen. It asked me if I wanted to optimize my internet speed. If I said yes, Verizon would run a program to sync my computer with the best speed possible. Since I have an older computer, I decided to let it be optimized. After running the program, my computer now runs slower. Now, I sit and watch a blue circle go round and round waiting to get on to the internet.

72 Hours

Everything takes 72. That's all I have been hearing for the last few weeks. For some reason computers run on a 72 hour update schedule. I needed a new insurance card. That took 72 hours to update. I need to change my prescription number. That took 72 hours to update. Who decided that 72 is the magical number? Why can't it be the moment you hit the "save" button. Why can't it be the next day? Why do things take three days to fix?

Food Feast

There was nothing good on television last night so I tuned into the Travel Channel and binge watched Bizarre Foods. I have been hungry ever since. I saw specialty foods from Shanghai, Memphis and South Carolina. I wanted to jump through the screen and take a bite. I could almost taste the soup dumplings, ribs and fried catfish. Everything seemed delicious. This morning I got up and did not know what to take for lunch. I decided to try Elvis' favorite sandwich of peanut butter and banana. I do not have time to fry it in white bread so I chose to make it on a toasted bialy. It smells great and I cannot wait for lunch.

Virtual Vacation

My boss is out of the country for two weeks. Her vacation gives everyone else a virtual vacation. No annoying phone calls. No messes to mop up. No inane chatter about unimportant things. We can all just go to work, do our job and be at peace knowing that no one will annoy us. A vacation without spending money is the best kind.

Chili's

Last night I ate at the Westbury Chili's and lived to tell the tale. I ordered the ribs and they came out room temperature. I hate to send food back and they looked cooked so I ate them. I had 4 out of six. Within two hours I got violently ill, from both ends of my body. I have never been that sick. Childbirth seemed like a walk in the park compared to the pain of this. After a few hours I called the restaurant to warn them about the ribs. The manager Chris (who will now be referred to as "the Putz") said that it could not be from his food as it takes 24-48 hours to get sick from food. He is wrong. If food has been siting and builds up toxins, the toxins will get you ill within 2 hours. I said that I was not asking him for anything, I just wanted him to check the kitchen and see what is going on. The Putz said that his kitchen is fine. I asked him for the corporate offices number and he said I could look it up online myself. This morning I wrote to Chili's and Monday I will call them. What if a small child got this sick? They would have been hospitalized. Something is definitely wrong in the Westbury Chili's.
 ***Update: I sent an email to the corporate office at about 8am and within 10 minutes a district manager called. He refunded the meal charge, is sending a $50 gift card, but most important, he is going to the restaurant this morning to check the kitchen and see why this happened. This is what a good manager does. I hope he finds out where the quality control went wrong.

You Tube

Years ago we had encyclopedias and instruction books. Nowadays we have You Tube. You can learn to do everything from baking a cake, to installing windows to doing surgery. There have been many times in my family's life when we were at a standstill while doing a project. We run to the computer and pull up a You Tube video. We play it and rerun it a few times and see how the experts to things. We have never been steered wrong from watching You Tube. It is better than going to a trade school.

Morning Talk

Every morning like clockwork, my phone rings. My sister and I have our daily morning talk. We review the previous day and discuss what the new day will bring. I could never imagine starting a day off without hearing her voice. The only exception to the rule is when she is on a cruise. We can repeat the same stories day after day and never get bored. We can solve the world's problems according to what we feel needs to be done. We laugh about nonsense. That is the best laughter. She is better than a cup of morning coffee.