Vacation Station...
or as I like to call it, Vacation Rip-Off. Ok, so I went to my little appointment yesterday and it wasn't a time-share presentation. It was a presentation on joining this club wherein you would benefit as a member by getting vacation packages, including cruises and the like at cost, instead of the retail mark-up. All in all, it really isn't a bad plan, of course, they ask you to plunk down $6995 as a one time fee, plus another $299 initiation fee and another $180 bucks for some other such nonsense. In the meantime, you would still have to pay a yearly membership fee which was unnamed. If anyone is curious as to what I am speaking about, do a little research on their parent companies--Leisure Path and Bluegreen (BXG--on NYSE). Now the presentation was all well and good, but what bothered me was the part afterward. My new 'partner' and I were intrigued by the savings you could garner when taking package vacations, but we really don't do that very often. So we asked our rep some questions. Turns out, we could get the deal listed above for $2995, minus the $299 fee if we could pay $599 immediately. We then stated that even though we were completely interested, we just couldn't do it at this time and asked for a brochure or some other contact details. It was at this point we were told that we could either do this now or never. Unfortunately for them, we chose never. They wouldn't even let us keep our notes and when we asked why, they said b/c they didn't want us turning potential customers away by giving them misinformation. Well, God forbid that happens--oh wait, isn't that what I am doing now? At least with a pamphlet the people could decide for themselves. Seriously, I am totally concerned that this is a fly by night operation. If they call you or someone you know, take Nancy Reagan's advice and Just Say No!

Ok, so check this out...
I get home from work last night to find a message on my answering machine, stating that I had 'won' a new Ford Explorer and to call a number. Unfortunately my curiousity got the best of me, so I called in. I was greeted after a short wait, by a very enthusiastic gentleman, named Aaron, stating that I had been placed in the finals to win said Explorer, but if I went to listen to a 90 minute presentation on timeshares, I would definitely win one of 5 great prizes...the car, some cash, a Hawaii vacation, a cruise, or a 27in TV, so against my better judgment, I told my new best friend Aaron that I would attend the presentation, with the understanding as per him that I absolutely would win something and not have to pay anything. So, here we are at 3:45 and I am leaving work a bit early to go and check this out. The best part is that I got my friend to accompany me to this presentation with the promise of a free dinner and some drinks. What I didn't realize until a few short minutes ago was that we aren't allowed to bring guests unless they are fiances or significant others. So, I asked about 'non-traditional' significant others, and they said that was ok. I have yet to break this news to my friend, but am certain that with enough free drinks, she might warm up to the idea. The best part of all of this is that I am probably just going to waste my time and hers to get some chinzy 2 dollar prize. Oh what we won't do for the chance to get something for nothing. I will make sure to update tomorrow on how the evening turns out. I wonder if they will ask for proof of our significant othership. I don't think Maddy will go for that...

Coolest TV Movie
Ok, so on Saturday night I saw the most awesome movie on Lifetime--yes, television for women, but it was awesome. It starred Joanna Kerns, Maggie Seaver from Growing Pains as this ritzy snotty mother to Christine Elyse who was on a couple of episodes of 90210 as the chick that made Brandon do X and also burned down the homecoming float everyone else helped build, which is cool in and of itself. So, anyway, Joanna is really overbearing and wants the best for her daughter and stuff, but the daughter falls in love with Grant Show from Melrose Place and JK doesn't think he is good enough for her daughter. She tries a couple of things to get the daughter to stop dating him, including pretending he assaulted her, when really she had just had her eyes done and she also went to the IRS and tried to get him audited. None of this worked, so she ended up talking to her carpet cleaning man who was on parole to see if he knew anyone who could kill her son-in-law. He said ok, so they set it all up. Meanwhile, the daughter got married to Grant Show and they had a baby. So, the hired killers go in and kill Grant Show although the real twist was that the killer was a police officer and they just faked the murder to trick Joanna Kerns. She ended up getting arrested and all was well after that. It was awesome! Especially to see Mrs. Seaver be so outrageously evil. Seriously, great television.

It's Been Awhile
Ok, so last night I went to my friend's house to pick her up to go to dinner and then bowling. When I got there, I realized that something was amiss. She was unable to get her key to go all the way into the lock in her car. I mentioned that her steering wheel must have locked up and we tried to get it to unlock...it didn't work. So, her cousin came by and then we ended up just leaving it there to go to dinner. At dinner, we had what seemed to be a stand-up comedian as our waiter who after checking my ID asked me if I was a dragon because he was supposed to marry a dragon, late in life. So, naturally I asked him if the dragon was supposed to be late in life or if he was. He didn't know. I also informed him, sadly I am sure, that I would not be marrying him.

In any event, we left dinner to go to the bowling alley, which was awesome. This is apparently the Asian bowling alley which was awesome too, because for the first time I felt really tall and I am fairly short. My 5'10 frient really felt like a giant. Anyway, we bowled three games and proceeded to have about 4 pitchers of beverages and then it was decided that we needed to have 4 candy bars, but we didn't buy them all at once...no, we bought them one at a time and then shared them. There was chocolate and wrappers everywhere--maybe not the best decision, but it was quite a lot of fun. We also experimented with some old school fashion styles such as pegging your pants. Too bad none of us had any legwarmers...

Ok, I'm back...
Well, it has been quite a while since my last posting and for that I apologize, although to whom, I am not sure. Myself, maybe? In any event, I am back at work and trying to have a bit of holiday detox from the past two weeks. Food, Family, Friends, and of course, holiday beverages can leave a person feeling a bit less than human. However, it is a brand new year and I am sure there are lots of exciting things coming down the pike. At least, I hope there are. Not a whole lot to report about the holiday, although did get a chance to catch up with the family and some old friends while I was at home. Turns out some of them (the friends) are still the same as when I knew them before--back in high school if you will, and I must say that it is a little scary that after almost 9 years they are still living the same lives and just expecting people to cater to them and that nothing will have changed. I have sometimes been sorry that I moved away from home, but this was certainly not one of those times. I guess when you go home, you really realize how much you can change when you broaden your horizons and are open to new experiences. Oh...ow...that was me, falling off my soap box. Anyway, I hope all had a wonderful holiday. Any good stories to share? Share them here.

Pet Peeve
Well, I am at home for the holidays and so far so good. However, last night, I stopped at a local beveraging establishment while I was on my way home. Just went in to have a beverage and then go home. I was by myself, which I know can leave me open for some random bar commentary, but last night, I got one of my all time favorites that people say to me. Now, I will preface this by saying that I am not an unhappy person and while in groups where I know a lot of people, I can be quite gregarious, when I am in a situation where I am alone or not too familiar with the other people, I tend to be quieter until I feel out the situation...so, I am sitting at the bar enjoying my bud light and this guy leans over and says: "Smile, it can't be that bad." Well, first and foremost, he knows nothing about my life, so does he really in fact know that it can't be that bad? I seriously can't stand when people say that. However, even if I looked as if I was in a bad mood, that is no reason for him to make such a comment. The truth is that I wasn't in a bad mood. I was just hanging out. Just because I don't walk around with a smile plastered on my face does not mean that I am not in a good mood. Sometimes I am just busy thinking about things and apparently seem to be in a sour mood. However, that is not the case. I just hate when people say that. They don't know me, they should just shut their pie-holes. Holiday cheer to all!

Holidays
The holidays are a very interesting time of year. Some people get happier, some more depressed. Some fluctuate from one to another. You have family obligations and work obligations and numerous other things to deal with, so the real question is how do you balance it? Most of the time I really enjoy the holidays. I get to see family that I don't normally get to spend time with, especially since I live a good distance from them. For some reason this year doesn't seem to be as jolly as years past. I know I should just buck up and try to make it happy but I am just not feeling it this year. I know this may be sounding a bit retarded considering that the real meaning of the holidays is to be charitable to others and be thankful for what you do have and the happiness that is currently in your life, but sometimes a person just doesn't feel like doing that. Perhaps that person feels like not dealing with it and possibly just maintaining a good old fashioned slight beer buzz to make it through. I know I am not the only one who considers such an option, even if I don't go through with it. Oh well, the holidays were upon us before we knew it. I am sure they will be over in the same manner. To anyone reading this, I wish you the happiest of holidays and the best of things to come in the new year.

Surprise Party
Ok, so last night we had a surprise party for one of my friends 28th birthday. We got about 10 people to go over to her apt. and get things ready while her boyfriend took her to dinner. We got the call they were on the way back and dimmed the lights. Of course, we forgot to relock the deadbolt, so we hear her starting to get a little scared b/c she knows that she locked it. She comes inside and can sort of see us and thinks someone is robbing her. So, before she really even gets the lights on, we had to jump up and yell the obligatory 'surprise' before she started to freak out. I am not sure if she had any idea that we were going to do this, but it was an awesome time. 5 bottles of wine were purchased and 90 cans of Miller Lite. Again, this was for only 11 people. 90 cans. I do think we put away about 40, though. It was awesome. At the end of the evening, there was some aerobicizing--why, I am still not sure...there was also a bit of breakdancing in the form of the worm which was awesome if I do say so myself. Later!

Las Vegas
I would like to say that this post is about me going to Las Vegas, but alas, it is not. This is a small ode to a show that I have grown quite fond of in the last three weeks, even though it wasn't even on last week.

Anyway, I just had to put it out there that this show is pretty good. It has all the good elements--drama, comedy, romance, action. Who could ask for anything more, really...well, except for a little more shirtless Josh Duhamel, but then that is always a given. Last night was awesome. They had a convention there with collectors of swizzle sticks. There was a whole thing about how they needed extra security and then the president of the association's prize swizzle stick was stolen by the vice-president and they caught it all on tape. It was hilarious. If you aren't checking this show out, you should. Monday's at 9pm. Las Vegas Website

Feeling Better
Well, after my last entry, I am feeling a little bit better. I thought I would share a story of an invitation I received to celebrate the New Year. There is a local establishment where I reside wherein every Saturday night they have karaoke. I partake in this event some Saturdays, but the first time I had ever seen it, the man that was in charge of the karaoke was also dressed as Elvis since not only does he run the show, but he is part of the show as an impersonator. I must admit, he is quite good at his job. So, for the last couple of weeks, I have been in there to partake in such activities and have become friendly with some of staff and the karaoke man. So much so, that he invited the bartender and I to be his guests at his New Year's Eve show at the local Moose's Lodge. Now, I must admit when I was thinking about how I would spend NYE, this was one thought that totally didn't cross my mind. Now that it has though, I have to say that I am a bit intrigued. I think it would be truly fascinating and fun to witness the start of the new year in such a venue. I have not agreed to such a thing as of yet, but I am highly considering it.