AT&T

I’m writing this on my iPhone, sitting out in the van with the kids while Kile is in the DMV here in Elko trying to take care of a situation that has been brewing for the better part of a year. I’m also hoping that there’s enough of an Edge network signal to post this once I finish.

Cell phone service is criminal out here. Edge is as best you can hope for and I don’t think I’ve had more than three bars worth of signal since we got here. I tried to talk to my parents this morning and the call was dropped no less than 10 times. Whatup, AT&T?? To be fair, the Internet is little better. Though my in laws have wireless DSL, the signal and performance are… spotty. Very frustrating. Don’t get me wrong though. I’m rather glad to gave any signal at all. Having Edge is even better than I expected. But this would definitely be a deal-breaker should we ever consider moving here.

It’s Harry’s birthday today. Nine years old. I don’t think I feel nearly old enough to have a nine year old. We did up a family party last night and he is beyond thrilled with his new iPod Shuffle (which he is now listening to in the “way back” seat). He got some other great gifts too. Only I didn’t take any pictures because I totally forgot and I fail as a mother. Sounds about right.

I saw the big BlogHer announcement this morning. I’m a little sad that the conference is going to be in Chicago this year. Since it is, I don’t think I’ll be able to go. The combined costs of traveling and hotel and conference itself are just too much. We’re going on a big cruise in August and though my parents are pretty much paying for it all, we’ll still need spending money. That doesn’t leave much room for BlogHer. I’m sad because it’ll be the first conference I’ll miss since 2006. And I’ll miss seeing friends and all sorts of other awesome people. So… boo.

Anyhow, we’ll be cooling our heels here for another day and are heading back to Reno tomorrow. And then I’ll have my decrepit laptop back. Yay.

I hate Sunday evenings. I really, really do. Because I sit here and I KNOW that the daily grind will be starting in just a few short hours (minus a couple hours of sleep, mind you) and there ain’t nothing I can do about it. That just sucks, as far as I’m concerned. I do NOT feel ready for the week. I want at least a couple more days of weekend first. And who came up with the whole “two day weekend” thing anyhow? I mean, do we REALLY need to work on Fridays and Mondays? When you stop and think about it, Friday is pretty much just a lost cause for longing for the weekend and then Mondays are a mess of weekend recovery and hangovers and exhaustion. So why not just have a four day weekend and be done with it? Shoot, you could even tack an hour or two onto Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I doubt many people would complain because they would know that after working 9 to 10 hour days that they would have four days off. Win-win!

***

We went and saw “The Dark Knight” at the drive-in last night. Yeah, we were probably the last people in America who DID NOT see this movie yet. But we took care of that. And you know? This movie was awesome (and awesomely LONG). I hate to call it art because it IS a blockbuster, but dang… it was ART. And Heath Ledger… what can I say about him? I got very wrapped up in his character, The Joker and by the time the movie wrapped up, it suddenly hit me that he was GONE. There would be no more Heath Ledger as The Joker or Heath Ledger as ANYTHING and that just depressed the heck out of me. I know everyone has gone on and on about how good he was but he really WAS. Christian Bale was no slouch either. Really, the whole movie was just cool and the whole motorcycle that came out of (my beloved) Batmobile was just about the most AWESOME thing my geek eyes have seen in weeks. I think I might have peed my pants a little when I saw that.

Then Kile almost hit some weirdo that was jogging (at midnight? wtf??) on our way home, but that’s another story altogether.

***

It’s official. I cannot get my iPhone until August 31st. I should be thanking my lucky stars that I can get it that soon, actually. That my contract expiration date is that soon. Because unless I want to pay full price (and I don’t because I am The Cheap), that’s the soonest I can get the subsidized price. BOO. Nevermind that we’ve been AT&T customers since the DAWN OF TIME (seriously, even the gal on the phone from customer support was surprised at how old of customers we were). No, we still have to wait a piddling few weeks or pay an extra $200. Pshaw. I was pretty disappointed, of course. I want my iPhone to play with, dangit! But… a couple weeks isn’t going to kill me and, like I said before, I should just be glad that I don’t have to wait any longer.

Still, one cannot help but think AT&T has a bunch of people over a barrel on these danged iPhones. They must be making a MINT off this whole deal.

***

I got new shoes this weekend! I got some Chuck Taylor knock-offs from Payless, along with some ballet-style flats. I am very excited. I’m using my last BlogHerAds check to pay for them so I feel as if I’m doing something for myself from my own money and that is just awesome.

Now, of course, I feel as if I should get rid of at least two pairs of old shoes that I don’t/can’t wear anymore to make room for the new. Shouldn’t be hard, as I have a nice little collection of shoes that don’t really fit me cluttering up my closet. Thank goodness they’re picking up clothes for charity curbside this week. I have about 20 tons of stuff to give them this time around!

***

I’m feeling a better, little by little. Part of it is being aware and making sure that I drink a decent amount of caffeine in the mornings (and afternoons… and evenings). Watching my stress level. And, of course, taking those thyroid pills. It’s not overnight. But it’s better, little by little. My appetiete also seems to be coming under control, little by little. Part of it is being aware. I think I was just eating without really even THINKING about it. But now that I’m paying attention, the same heavy, greasy foods I was longing for last week and the week before (and the week before…) are less attractive to me. That’s gotta help, right? Because I would love to be LESS of a fat cow, thankyouverymuch.

***

Okay, I forgot about this post about two hours ago and then realized that I never finished or posted it and now feel like a total doofus. So while I’m sure there other stuff I’d like to mention here, I think I should just go ahead and post it before my head just rolls off my shoulders completely. There you have it, folks, I just about AM too stupid to live! Ahem. So what did you all do this weekend? Anyone else contemplating a Self-Imposed Three Day Weekend?