You Don't Want to Piss off the Librarians

Not that this comes as a surprise, but Sarah Palin is, in addition to being a member of the NRA and a fund-cutter to sex ed. programs, a book banner.

"[Former Wasilla mayor] Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. 'She asked the library how she could go about banning books,' he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. 'The librarian was aghast.' That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn't be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving 'full support' to the mayor."

Booo!! As a card-carrying member of the American Library Association (seriously), I would like to direct Mrs. Palin's attention to the ALA's Library Bill of Rights:

I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.

VI. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

Republicans, do you really want someone in office who would fire a person for disagreeing with her beliefs?

Please support challenged and banned books. Civil liberties are one of the founding principles of this country.

Source

Limited Time Only!

My letter was posted on the newspaper's website, and I am supposed to call them tomorrow to give them permission to print it. *Link removed* When/if it's published, I'll scan it with my fancy dancy new printer and post it.

It's Letter to the Editor Time

I read both of York's newspapers every day (I only subscribe to the AM paper, but I don't think the evening newspaper delivery guy realizes that) and I frequently read articles that piss me off, partly because I'm a pissy, irritable bitch, and partly because a lot of stupid things go on in York on a daily basis. I frequently consider writing letters to the editor, but I have only done so once...until today. York is my home and I love it, but it's a hotbed of ignorance and bigotry that I have to overlook in order to love it. If you have access to "Dueling Banjos," I would recommend playing it while you read this article.

The article (edited for length; full text can be found here):

Eastern York School District's board meeting was standing-room only Thursday night after more than two dozen people turned out to protest a diversity assembly held last week at the high school.

Kathy Freeland, who has a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old in the district, said she received no notification of such an assembly and was "disturbed" to learn that her children were addressed by a "gay man, an African-American woman and a Jew."

"I send my children to school to be taught academics," said Freeland. "I'll handle the morals."

*SNIP*

Offended by speaker: Many at the Thursday's board meeting said they were personally offended by the fact that the homosexual man who spoke stated that he was "born gay and did not choose to be gay."

Laurie Lehman, who has a 10th-grade student, said, "This is not what I'm teaching my children. We have a biblical-based belief system" and said she felt that proper notification should have been given to parents about the assembly and the follow-up meeting. "I want to be notified if a speaker is highly controversial."

*SNIP*

The Smiths said they felt that both sides of the story should have been represented. "Why not also include someone who used to be gay but now no longer is, or a Jewish person who has since converted to Christianity?" Laurie Lehman asked.

Trying for dialogue: Cathy Bollinger, diversity director at the York County Jewish Community Center and a facilitator of the assembly, also addressed the board.

"The goal of this assembly was to break down walls and hold a dialogue," said Bollinger. "It was never intended to hurt anyone. Yes, a York College man said he was born gay. He believes this to be true, that doesn't mean you have to believe it."

*SNIP*

Assistant superintendent Rita Becker said the intent of the assembly was to "erase bias and bigotry among our students and to teach that all humans are worthy of value."

*SNIP*

Becker also said the district would be failing if it didn't prepare its students for a diverse and ever-changing world.

"Personal bias can lead to hatred," she said. "We need to create an environment where all students feel safe and welcome."

My letter:

I read the article in Friday's newspaper about the uproar over the diversity assembly at Eastern York High School and I was appalled—appalled, I say!--by the fact that Eastern would have the audacity to teach its students about tolerance. I can think of nothing worse than forcing innocent teenagers to be “addressed by a 'gay man, an African-American woman and a Jew.'” What's next; teaching our children that it is acceptable to speak to a Muslim or a Latino? Not only that, but apparently the homosexual man said he did not choose to be homosexual. Who is he fooling? We all know how easy life is for homosexuals in an open-minded area like York.

I do not have children, but I would be absolutely livid if I spent 15 years trying to teach my child to hate others based on their race, religion, or sexual preference, only to have those ideas obliterated from his mind by a 45-minute assembly. Not only that, but the assistant superintendent had the gall to say that all humans are worthy of value. When I teach my child about morals and values, I will most certainly warn him about that sort of propaganda; otherwise he will be running the streets thinking everyone is equal. It makes my blood boil just thinking about it. I hope the administration of Eastern York School District is duly punished for providing its students a forum to discuss tolerance and diversity; that is something for which the good citizens of York County should not stand.

Strike!

I'm not completely sure how I feel about unions. While I certainly think workers' rights are important, most of us have two choices when faced with undesirable working conditions: quit or suck it up. Because of the writers' strike, 102 people who worked on the set of The Office have been laid off, like hair and make-up people and camera operators. That really fires me up because I don't give a rat's ass what people do unless it affects others, and this is starting to affect others. In this case, writers, who don't make tons of money but make way more than, say, a make-up artist, go on strike. The network heads don't give a shit because they're rolling in money, as are the actors. Who suffers? The "little guys."

Another thing that is pissing the shit out of me is how everyone is licking the actors' feet for joining the picket lines. First of all, according to their SAG contracts, they have to continue to report to work even if the writers are striking, so they're breaking their contracts (unless they also happen to be writers, like Tina Fey). Secondly, actors make scads more money than anyone else working in television. What would your employers say if the teachers in your area were striking and you decided to skip work to go walk on the picket line to support them? Way to be, actors. Breaking your contract and refusing to work when you have multi-million dollar cushions. Here's a fucking cookie; now get back to work. Third, Eva Longoria brought the picketers Domino's Pizza. If that whore brought me nasty-ass Domino's pizza I'd shove it into an orifice where pizza isn't shoved. Well, except for during nights of drunken debauchery, but I'll leave my Saturday nights out of this.

Damn, I'm pissy tonight. End of rant.

Este y Eso

Noooooooo!!! Noah Wyle is coming back to ER for 4 episodes. I hate Dr. Carter!

I wish I had something interesting to talk about. I'm a little tipsy because I was cooking with wine, and when you cook with wine you have to drink some. It's the law. So I drank half the bottle, and I'm a lightweight. Rusty, I'm totally sober! Ask me anything! I had all sorts of things I wanted to write about, but now I forget them. I even perused CNN.com to find something to write about and couldn't find anything to rant about. I do know I wanted to mention how much the Doobie Brothers started to suck when Michael McDonald joined the band. I was listening to their greatest hits CD while I was making dinner and I was rocking out to "China Grove" and "Long Train Running" and then "Takin' it to the Streets" came on. Shut up, Michael McDonald.

I've been in a really good mood lately and I'm not as stressed out. I'm not sure why, but all I know is that my skin has cleared up since I stopped being stressed. I'm also using tea tree oil, which is the best stuff in the world, and clears breakouts up in about a day. I love the fact that I have zits and I'm getting gray hair. My body can't make up its mind.

I hate that that we missed out on good fall weather. It went from 90 degrees to 50 in one day.

I'm not sure how I stumbled upon this, but it's something Oprah wrote about how she took the month of July off when she found out she had hypothyroidism. It must be difficult for you to take a month off from working, fly to Hawaii, eat only fresh foods, and sleep when you want to. My heart is breaking for you. Shut up, Oprah. Guess what? A lot of people have diseases and have to continue going to work, cooking, taking care of their children... I don't know how people can read this shit and not feel condescended towards.

I was cleaning out my filing cabinet today and I came across a "newspaper" we made in Spanish class our senior year called El Gran Flan. Here's a picture of our class. I'm sitting at the table in the middle and Rusty is on my right. We were so young! I would make a pact with Satan to look like that again. The guy on the far right holding the Spanish dictionary died about two years ago of a brain tumor. He was in the popular clique, but he was the sweetest guy you could ever hope to meet, and I know Rusty agrees with me. I don't believe in an afterlife, but if there is one, he's being rewarded.


I leave you with one of my favorite Stephen Crane poems, since my Stephen Crane sampler was in the same folder as El Gran Flan:

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter--bitter," he answered,
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."

RIP VMAs

I didn't watch the VMAs last night, but I did see Britney Spears's performance. Yikes. Although I don't really understand saying she's fat. Sure, she could have been a little more toned, especially since she was on TV in a bikini, but come on! I'd kill to look like that! If she looks like a sumo wrestler, as she was described by one news outlet, what the hell do I look like?

Yes, I know the VMAs have sucked for the past couple years, but I haven't watched them since oh, 1996 or so. Now, I totally understand that I'm pretty well out of MTV's target demographic, but I remember when I used to love the VMAs and they had cool artists back in the day (early to mid 90s). I first heard Depeche Mode on the VMAs and I remember Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Bjork, and other artists that don't massively suck ass. What a mess the popular music industry has become. Everything is so insipid. There was a little flicker of hope with the New-New Wave thing that was going on a few years back, but that fizzled out. I'm sure Dim and March know a million new cool bands that are out now whom I've never heard of, but I'm talking more popular stuff. Not all popular music sucks, although a large portion of it does.

Staying on the topic of the VMAs, I can't stand Sarah Silverman!!! Ohhh, I'm so edgy; I said "vagina" on TV. HAAAAATE.

Also, am I the only one who noticed that the beginning of Rihanna's Shut Up and Drive is exactly the same as Blue Monday by New Order. Actually, it's closer to Orgy's cover with the guitars, but still. Why does Rihanna exist? Why do people like her??

That's all for now; not too much going on here.

Stuff

I'm back on Wellbutrin. The meds that gave me hives were samples, so they were brand name and this is generic, so maybe that will keep me from having a reaction. I'm a little nervous though, because generally if you have an allergic reaction to something and you come in contact with it again, it's worse the second time around, and I really don't feel like going into anaphylactic shock. When I went to pick up my pills the pharmacy person told me there were two scripts for me. I said, "Ummm...nooo..." She said, "Lexapro and Wellbutrin are both here." WTF?! Apparently my insurance does cover Lexapro and when I talked to my doctor last Thursday he said he never head from the pharmacy about it not being covered when the woman specifically told me they called. Another thing that bothers me about this pharmacy is that they blatantly ignore you when you go up to the counter. I don't expect them to stop what they're doing, but they could at least say, "I'll be right with you." Ce-rist! I still have 6 refills left on my birth control, but after that I'm switching to Walgreen's. Grocery stores are local, so I won't be making them lose much business by posting this, but it's Weis Markets. They're affiliated with King's and Mr. Z's if any of those are in your area.

I got my LibraryThing book in the mail today and it's actually Keeping the House by Ellen Baker, not the book they said it was going to be. That's ok with me though, because this book sounds more interesting to me than the one I was supposed to get. The review for this one calls it long and uneven, but then it calls the characters engaging. The awesome thing about this is that I just got a $25 book for free, and that's more than I paid for my LT lifetime membership. My only worry is that the book is around 500 pages, and I'm a pretty slow reader since I generally only read before bed and at work.

I downloaded the new version of Firefox and it randomly closes all of my windows. Not liking this, Mozilla!

Update 8:08 P.M. I'm watching Hell's Kitchen. Gordon Ramsay is so hot!

Potpourri

I've been out of the groove for the past week or so and am now just getting back in. Hopefully I'll be a little better at updating LG&E.

L. and I had tons of fun at Rusty's place. We crammed a lot into our four days in Mooresville! On Saturday we visited Lowe's Motor Speedway and took a tour. While we were checking out the track some people were out doing laps on it, and you really get a rush of adrenaline when they drive by where you're standing. I can see why Rusty likes it! In the evening we went to Rusty's church and then out for dinner. We went back to her place and I crashed since I had been up since 4:30 that morning.

On Sunday we bought tickets for a luxury home tour. Most of the homes were awesome, but one in particular was the most incredible house I've ever been in. It was $3.2 million, although in York it would cost twice that. The first thing you notice when you walk in the door is a big plate of glass (etched with grapes, no less) in the floor that looks down into the wine cellar. That's the point when I knew this wasn't a typical York County McMansion. The house boasted a walk-in beer cave (it's exactly what it sounds like), a hot tub with a lowered edge that allowed water to cascade into the pool below, and a fireplace and big-screen TV in the master bathroom above the jacuzzi tub. I don't know about you all, but I would be afraid that the TV would fall off the wall and into the tub, electrocuting me. The sinks in all the bathrooms were gorgeous and one of the bathrooms had pebbles inlaid in the floor which looked nice but hurt my feet. The kitchen, of course, was awesome and it had one of those faucets on the wall behind the stovetop that you can use to fill pots. The attention to detail in this house was incredible. I must say, however, that the decor was HIDEOUS!! Apparently you can't buy taste.

That night we had dinner at Chili's (no, I didn't get Awesome Blossom with extra awesome) with Rusty's friend Vanessa. She's British and I could listen to her read the phone book. We headed over to Sonic where I got a chocolate malt which is my favorite sweet food after tiramisu. When we got home from that we sat outside and shot the shit for a couple hours and learned that L. is a quarter Jewish, which Rusty and I think is cool, but she doesn't. If I had to belong to a religion, it would be Judaism. I'd want to be a ethnic Jew though, not just a convert. I definitely have the guilt part down and I love the Old Testament God; he was such a bastard.

On Monday we went to a race shop where they work on the cars that are used in NASCAR. It was much cleaner and quieter than my garage, and they probably don't forget to put the oil cap back on when they change the oil like mine did. After checking that out, we drove to Charlotte, which is the cleanest, nicest city I've even visited. It seems like everything is more well cared for south of the Mason-Dixon line. I loved the tree-lined freeways and the flowers planted in the median down there. Up here our median is usually a concrete barrier. If we have grass in the median it's covered in trash. Flowers? Forget about it. I don't know how they would have the manpower to take care of things though, considering we have more roads per square mile than any other state and you can tell because they're crap. If you were driving down I-83 with your eyes closed you'd be able tell when you crossed the Maryland line because the bumpiness stops. Anyway, I digress. Back to Charlotte. We checked out the Panthers' stadium and even though football is probably the last sport I would ever want to watch, even after curling, it was sort of cool to see the field. I was amazed at how small it was (that's what she said!).

On Tuesday we went to Rusty's school and got to meet her class. I would have like to have more time with them, but unfortunately they had a boring-ass orientation for 6th grade. I wish those little bastards luck; 6th grade was the worst year of my life. I couldn't be around 10- and 11-year-olds all day; they would drive me up the wall! Most of them were cute though. After school we headed straight to the airport, where security went through my bag of dirty underwear, and started our less than one hour journey home. It's pretty amazing that sometimes it takes me longer to drive to work than it took us to fly to Charlotte.

I can't forget the most important part of our trip! We ate a lot of good, fattening food, and I ingested more sugar in four days in sweet tea form than I ingest in a year at home. I majorly need to detox!

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I almost got pulled over this morning going more than 90. I was passing some dumbass on the right. Luckily I knew to look for cops in this particular spot and as soon as I saw the top of those lights I slammed on the brakes. The dumbass was in the passing lane going about 75 which should have gotten him pulled over for A. speeding and B. driving in the left lane without intending to pass someone, but of course he didn't. There's no justice in the world.

I should probably be more cognizant of how I drive. I watched Murderball yesterday, and while those men are amazing, I would rather die than be paralyzed. I don't have the strength, physically or mentally, to deal with that. It's really disconcerting that one moment can change the course of your life forever. I almost cried at the end when the rugby team was explaining the game to the wounded vets. Damn PMS!

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Speaking of wounded vets, Laura Bush said on the Today Show that concerning the war in Iraq, no one is suffering more than she and George. What. The. Fuck?!?!?!?! I'm sorry, but haven't 3,300 American soldiers died? Haven't over 20,000 Americans been injured? What about Iraqis who have died? Here's what this source says about total deaths (US and non-US) from the war: "Counting all civilians, military, contractors, insurgents, and non-Iraqi civilians, at least 70,000; to as many as 655,000+ total excess deaths due to the war (second Lancet survey of mortality)." Hey, Mrs. Bush. How about sending your daughters to Iraq, having one of them die and one lose her legs, and then you can tell the American public that your suffering is worse than theirs. Furthermore, there has been little to no outcry about this. I first read it in a little blurb in our paper. When John Kerry "insulted" (one of my feet is in the camp that he was trying to insult Bush but didn't get it out quite right) the troops it was plastered all over every media outlet.

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I'm going back to my psychiatrist this Thursday. I don't think I ever mentioned this, but about a year and a half ago I went and was put on Wellbutrin. I was happy for the first time in ages, had no desire to smoke, and had no appetite (I know that's not a good side effect, but I was fine with it.). Life was good. But life's not allowed to be good, so my body decided to give me hives that made me want to kill myself. I had them in my throat, on the bottom of my feet, my thighs were one big, red welt; it was horrible. My doctor asked me if I wanted to try something else, but at the time I didn't because I was afraid of having another reaction. For some reason I've been in a pretty bad depression since about the beginning of this year, so I decided I should try meds again. I know it's the easy way out, but it's not like I haven't tried therapy and self-talk and all that other stuff. Therapy doesn't help me. My insight is good and I don't need to be told obvious things. I know that if I hate my job I should get a new one or if I'm unhappy about my weight I should eat better and exercise more. I don't need to pay to be told those things. I have a couple minor situational things going on and I'm hoping this will help me deal with them better. I've been in a really dark place for the past couple of months. That sounds a lot more melodramatic than it is, but I'm tired of being on the verge of tears all the time, having no motivation to do even the things I like, and feeling like I want to die.

Only in America

It makes perfect sense to me that a counseling agency would have to make provisions for people who have disabilities such as being blind or deaf. Those are obviously legitimate disabilities that people can't change. According to PA law (and I'm sure all the other states) we also have to provide an interpreter for people who don't speak English. "That's not so bad," you say. But take into consideration that the rate we have to pay an interpreter per hour is more than what Medical Assistance pays us for an hour of counseling, so essentially we're paying to treat these people. Plus, if a client doesn't show up, we still get charged for the hour, but we are legally not allowed to charge Medical Assistance clients a no-show fee.

We could be sued for refusing to treat these people; in fact, we could be sued for telling them that we don't have any Spanish-speaking counselors and referring them somewhere that does. Not speaking English isn't a disability. If you choose to live here and not learn our language, that's your prerogative, but don't expect to receive services that we have to pay for. We're a non-profit and we're in the red. Try going to France and expecting the same treatment.

Noooooo!!!!!!!

This is unacceptable.

*Hurls Disintegration across the room.*

Fucking Winter

Oh my fucking god. I've always hated winter. The cold, the wind, the inconvenience of the snow, the fact that PennDot sucks ass at clearing the roads, the filthiness of my car that isn't worth washing because it'll just get filthy in 3 hours, the ice that makes it hazardous to walk in a normal fashion, the static electricity, the way my skin gets so dry and itchy that it wakes me up at night and keeps me up scratching and not even Gold Bond extra strength AND Eucerin will make it go away, the fact that the grocery stores are always out of bread, milk, and toilet paper whenever they're forecasting the slightest dusting of snow... But now I have a new reason--the worst reason of all. Our fucking pipes froze!

I woke up this morning, used the facilities, and started washing my hands. All of a sudden, the water stops running. Luckily everything in the toilet went down ok, but here I am in the bathroom with soapy hands and no water. Fuck!! I try the shower--nothing. Fuck!! I go downstairs and try the kitchen sink. I get a slight trickle; enough to rinse my hands. I call my neighbors to ask about their water and I hear a gush of water as she checks her faucet. Fuck!! I go outside to see if the spigot is working and the damn thing won't even budge. Fuck!! I'm dirty and stinky and my legs are hairy! I was going to be a nice girlfriend and make pancakes for breakfast! I have two loads of laundry to do! I was going to make chicken pie for dinner next week! I'm having gastro-intestinal issues from the pizza I ate last night and will require the ability to flush the toilet (I know, TMI!)! FUUUUUUUCK!!!!!

*Update* YAY! My dad and I went at the pipe with my hair dryer and the water's working! Crisis averted. But still--fuck you, winter!

^*&#^(*@%

PEOPLE FROM MARYLAND DON'T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE (No offense, Funky. I'm sure you don't drive like a dumbass.)!!!! They're spreading up here like a bad rash. I've come to terms with dealing with their idiocy while driving around York but I'm not ready to have them on my way up to Harrisburg. This morning I'm driving along going about 80 (yes, it's speeding, but I was going along with traffic) in the passing lane when this bitch decides that she NEEDS to be in my lane. So she pulls right in front of me without signaling, of course. I guess crappy, rusted out teal Honda Civics from the 80s don't have turn signals. I'm an asshole when I drive, so I didn't brake, I just rode her ass. Then, for no apparent reason, she slams on her brakes causing me to slam mine so hard that my anti-lock brakes came on. Thank god no one rear-ended me. I thought she was messing with me for riding her ass, but no, she randomly decided she needed to get back in the right lane. Then when I went past her she got back behind me, so I thought she was going to ride my ass for riding hers, but no, she proceeded to drive about 65 in the passing lane, causing backlogs behind her. I continued to watch her weave in and out of lanes in front of people till I got off and took back roads while her bitch ass was stuck in lovely I-83 morning backlogs.

Guess what, Marylanders? When you move up here into your McMansion neighborhoods that are 95% people from Maryland, you force the school districts to build new schools, raising taxes; you force the townships to change the roads to accommodate the additional traffic, raising taxes; and you screw up the housing market, driving the prices through the roof. Doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose of moving up here for cheaper living? Also, 83 in Pennsylvania is only two lanes each direction. That means that when you're in the left lane you drive with traffic, which is usually going ABOVE the speed limit, except for when there is an 18-wheeler inexplicably in the left lane going 45 up a huge hill, but that's a rant for another time. You don't putter along at 5 miles under. On 83 in Maryland, which has 2 billion lanes, the people who aren't idiots can get around you. In PA they can't. Drive fast or stay to the right, bitches.

I should've submitted her to this site.

My Shit List

MBNA: I did a balance transfer with a 0% APR till January 2007. I haven't used the card for any purchases, just my transfer. Last month I received a statement in which I was charged 50 cents interest; this month 63 cents.

Remedy: I hate to quibble over such a small amount of money, but my patience is shot. I call and have the 50 cents credited. I just e-mailed them about the 63 cents. This card will be closed when it's paid off in January.

Verizon: A few months ago I paid my phone bill online. It cleared though my bank. When I checked my account balance Verizon's website, my payment didn't show up.

Remedy: After being on hold for over 20 minutes I was told my payment was credited, it just wasn't showing up online. I don't really have any options since Verizon is the only phone carrier here.

Panera Bread: I went to get a $15 gift card for a Christmas present. The girl accidentally rang it up as $50. The manager tried to do a refund. When I checked my credit card statement online it showed a $50 charge and a $15 charge. When I called and spoke to the general manager, she told me to come in and she would credit both charges. When I went to Panera after work on Friday (which was out of my way) I was told I had to bring my credit card statement.

Remedy: I went in on Saturday morning with my statement and waited about 20 minutes because I apparently I showed up at the exact moment everyone in York decided they needed over-priced hot chocolate and muffins. $65 was credited to my account, but it's too soon to show up on my online statement. Hopefully it went through ok. If it doesn't I'm going to curl up into the fetal position and cry. I'm happy with the way this was handled, but I probably won't go to Panera because I don't like it that much anyway.

Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine: I paid my subscription via check and it cleared. October comes around and I receive no magazine. I'm told that the magazine was returned undeliverable. They had my old address for some strange reason which makes absolutely no sense since I received a whole year's worth with no problem, I've lived at this address for almost 2 years, and I never received this magazine at the old address. October's magazine arrives. December's magazine arrives. Where the hell is November?!

Remedy: I e-mailed customer service requesting November's copy but I haven't heard back yet other than an automated response. I love this magazine but I'm not renewing it next year.

Real Simple magazine: I subscribed to this magazine last year but I decided not to resubscribe because at $30, it's a little pricey. I ignore all renewal requests. I check my credit card account online and, lo and behold, I'm charged around $30 for a new subscription.

Remedy: I called and had my money credited. Was on hold for vast amounts of time. Wasn't planning on renewing anyway, so not a huge deal.

Cingular Wireless/AT&T Wireless: Chris and I got new phones and signed up for a family plan which should have come out to the exact same monthly charge as our two individual plans, which were both in my name. I receive three bills from Cingular totaling around $100 for a $59.99 plan.

Remedy: I pay said bills because I'm not in the mood for fucking around. I call and am on hold for inordinate amounts of time. I'm told I need to call such and such number because two of the bills are actually from AT&T. I'm transferred to a defunct number. I go to the website and call that number, which is also defunct. I e-mailed customer service and was given an explanation as to why I was charged so damn much but it made no sense. I'm waiting to see if I get a credit this month.

Choice Discount Cigarettes: I have a coupon for a buy one, get one free Cash 5 lottery ticket. I go to the store to purchase said ticket. I idiotically do not check the ticket before leaving the store. I get home and realize that I was only given one line of numbers.

Remedy: Nothing. It was only a buck and I never win anyway.

M&T Bank: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeevil bank. A few years ago they lost my $100 deposit and, even though I had the goddamn receipt, took WEEKS to give me my money, which I only received after writing a nasty e-mail. This was after many phone calls and many trips to the branch where I made the deposit, which of course was an extremely inconvenient branch that I just happened to go to that one time. This is about something else though. I bought a gift card for someone for Christmas and I don't remember if I used my check card or one of my credit cards since the transaction isn't showing up anywhere yet. If I did use my check card, I overdrew my account by about $5 since I don't get paid till Wednesday. If this is the case, I'll admit that it's my own idiotic fault, but it's something that could normally easily be remedied by going online and transferring some money from my savings. Unfortunately I can't do that since their online banking isn't working and I can't do it by phone since I only receive online statements so I have no clue what my savings account numbers are. The numbers I have are from my old accounts from before Evil M&T took over. Of course there is nowhere on M&T's website to inform them that online banking isn't working.

Remedy: I think I was able to do the transfer. The website was working, albeit slowly as hell, for about 2 minutes, but then it sort of petered out. I'll be royally pissed if I'm charged $30 for overdrawing $5. It's my own fault if it happens even though I could have fixed it in 2 minutes if online banking were working properly. M&T sucks massive ass, but it's the only bank that has branches in York and Harrisburg, where I work. When I get a different job (hopefully in York this time) I will be switching banks with a quickness.

I think I'm going to drop out of society.

Food Network

Accidental Hedonist had a post the other week about the Food Network being dumbed-down. The good cooks like Sara Moulton and Mario Batali are being replaced by the Sandra Lees and Rachael Rays. Not only that, but their programming schedule is being filled with, well, filler, like Paula's Party and Rachael's 5 million shows. I don't watch the Food Network to learn about the best steakhouse in San Antonio or how to make an appetizer using only Velveeta and marshmallow fluff. I want to know how to make things from scratch using fresh ingredients and how to apply my knowledge of cooking techniques learned from making one dish to dishes I'm making for the first time. The number of people with actual knowledge on that network is really lacking. Don't get me wrong; I don't hate every show except Good Eats, I just wish they would have more of a balance. I love Paula Deen, but I don't feel that she's an expert. I highly doubt she'd do well making traditional French cuisine. Alton, on the other hand, understands the science that goes into cooking as well as the art, so he can be more informative. I don't learn many useful tips when I'm watching Paula or Rachael or Ina.

I suppose I can't really blame the network. They're just providing the public with what they want: fast and easy. No one sits down to home-cooked family meals anymore. Maybe I should be more disappointed in our society. Next thing we know there will be a cooking show featuring someone going through McDonald's drive-thru and then bringing it home and arranging it artfully on a garish tablescape. Uh oh, I better not give Sandra Lee any ideas.