Z-mas Comes Early

A while back I made a major complaint about my most favorite electronic buddy being viciously abducted from my automobile, in the parking lot of my own residence. And it didn't even happen on a night when Perot Theater attendees were illegally using it. Sooooo...what to do??

Around that same time the new Zune HD was about to hit the shelves. But did I really want one of those? It only has 32 gigs.

Just 32? My "vintage" Zune had 30, and I'd only used 17 of those before it was kidnapped. Zune HD has a touch screen and all the latest bells and whistles-games and apps and bears, oh my. Eh....maybe. There's those little ones-the 4, the 8, the Zune HD 16.

Nah.

I wanted lots of storage, like the Zune 120. It comes in red. And it's ON SALE!!!

The Arkansas side Wal-Mart has a passel of them, at $229. Then it went down to $179. Hmm...get it now? No, I'll wait. More important things to buy. Christmas was coming soon. But trying to hook up a CD player to check the PA at shows was getting to be a real pain in the arse. Who still keeps a CD player in their rack these days?? Especially when it's so funny to watch the faces of karaoke "divas" trying to pass themselves off as real singers at festivals and they're told we don't have one.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!!! It's even better when we tell them we don't have a CASSETTE PLAYER!!!!

Sorry...musical snob moment. They're rare. It'll pass.

Anyway, we're walking into Wal-Mart last Friday. Do I want to go ahead and buy my new Zune? Uh, yeah...well, no...maybe. I'll see when we get back to electronics. It's not like 120 gig Zunes are flying off the shelves. They'd had about ten of them locked in the display case since last summer. I knew I'd probably get one at home because DeQueen and Ashdown still had them at full price. (I thought about layaway, but Wal-Mart ditched layaway years ago. I'd heard K-Mart had brought it back because of the bad economy. They only had Zune accessories, not the Zune itself. At least, that was what was on their website. Target didn't have layaway either.)

Well, whadya know. They're marked down to $125. Who needs Thanksgiving dinner? When I can have Christmas now!!!

So I flag down an unsuspecting Wally-World employee, and ask if she actually does work in electronics, and she replies with one of those Inspector Clouseau-inspired answers, "No, I just wander around in here." Or something kinda like it. (Well, you never know. Every time you see someone with a navy blue shirt and khaki pants meandering through the aisles and ask them for help, they will always say, "I don't work in this department." Tell me I'm wrong! I dare you!)

Well, she managed, somehow, to plop herself all the way down onto the floor to unlock the display case, and I wondered if Don and I would need to call 911 to help her get back up. (Wasn't there a commercial about that once??) She rang us up, all the while jabbering about wanting to go home. We declined the yearly replacement plan, then she answered a phone call inquiring about Rolling Stones albums. Forty Licks and...and...she couldn't remember the other one two seconds later, so we tried to help her out. I can't remember myself now. I think she was due for another dose of Aricept, being a little on the batty side. Too bad the purchase of this Zune couldn't have been more like that of my first one, with this particular associate's behavior. I guess luck like that happens once every three years.

So, yippee!!! I have a brand new, bright red 120 gig Zune. I can put even more songs on it that I will probably never listen to. I'll put it on shuffle like I always do and every fifth song will prompt a "What the hell is that?" response. My Zune is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you're gonna get. Maybe I should call it a "Gump." Or a "Gune."

From Blogger Pictures

At home, while waiting for the ravioli to bake, I fired up the laptop and pried open the box while Don turned on DVR'd episodes of "Stargate Universe" and "The Mentalist." It would take a while for the battery to charge, and my software needed updating for the new player. Microsoft finally added a step that says, "If you want to delete something from your computer and keep it on the Zune, please choose "Manual" sync." Finally!! Stuff would not mysteriously disappear anymore!! Yay!!!

That, and the fact that there were times when the damn thing just didn't want to turn on, were usually the two biggest complaints about the Zune. It used to bug the crap out of me. And album information turning up wrong. My Hootie and the Blowfish Greatest Hits CD always showed up as Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. Then it became the Blue Oyster Cult Essential Collection. Weird. But now that you can assign individual tracks (like those from a burned CD) with the correct info, that can easily be remedied.

(Except for last night when the Duets Soundtrack showed up as a Pink Floyd album. Don't know what happened there. I'm ever so anal about these things. You've seen those "Help me, I'm surrounded by nerds!" messages Don's been posting? Yeah, it's kinda like that.)

Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur...

Once the player was charged, I added the playlist that we use between sets, then some other music, and some pictures. I liked how much easier the controls worked, and that there's a clock on the main menu. It didn't some with stupid videos by obscure European artists. There's a longer sync cable and three colors of earbud covers. And you'll never guess the first song I listened to. Song about a fish. Or Sarah Palin.

Chung-chigga-chung, chigga-chung, chigga-chung, chung-daa-daa-daa....weeee-ee-yee-yeeee!!!

I meant to choose "Crazy on You," but I forgot.

Doesn't matter. I'm back to not having to carry around CDs in the car. It was easier to get through my treadmill mile because I could hear music instead of turning up the TV so loud. We were able to check the PA much easier on Saturday at Hopkins. Wonder if I'll be able to fill up all 120 gigs of storage? Granted, that after the last Zune update when HD came out, my entire mp3 purchase history completely disappeared, along with the Zune points I still had. Oh well. I'll still take it over an iPod any day of the week. The funny thing about Zune is that people either love it, or hate it. There's no in-between. I loved my old one and I love this one already. There are times when I am quite easily entertained, even for a nerd.

Thank you, Santa!!

Doctor, Doctor

I used to be afraid to go to the dentist, but I was never afraid to go to the doctor. Back when I was a kid, I had to go often, because I had a cold almost every two weeks. Then I got my tonsils out in the fifth grade and that sorta took care of that.

As I got older, it got to be annoying to go to the doctor. You'd show up at 9:50 for an appointment at 10, then you'd wait 20 minutes in the waiting room, another 20 minutes in the exam room, then you'd see the doctor for about 10 seconds.

That'll be "an exorbitant amount of cash, please."

This last part got to be a real pain in the pocketbook when I was no longer on my parents' insurance. When I finally got benefits with my first teaching job, that wasn't too bad, but Blue Cross-Blue Shield still took a big chunk out of my measly paycheck.

After I got married and got REALLY great health insurance through the VA, going to the doctor got easier. You showed up at 9:50 for an appointment at 10...and you got into your appointment...at 10. You saw the doctor, specialist, or whoever, and they sent you to the pharmacy where you waited 5 minutes or less for your meds, which for me was free. As long as I went to a VA hospital, everything was free.

(I have the Marine Corps to thanks for this, and today is their birthday, by the way. SEMPER FI!!!)

Going to the VA for health care was almost like being cattle-herded. I remember visiting my PCP (primary care physician) at the VA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I had a quick exam, got a cat-scan, and then picked up a prescription, all within an hour. I didn't wait for anything. I thought that was great. Albuquerque had, and I assume still has, one of the best VA hospitals in the country. When we moved back to Arkansas, we chose to use the Shreveport VA, and weren't quite as impressed. The quick service was still there, but somehow it just wasn't the same. However, the VA insurance plan that I have is still one I can't complain about.

Here's what I'm getting at, and I'm not about to rant about the big health care plan that's causing such a stir. (I don't get political, because it's not my thing, but I will say that I think we're all about to get screwed.)

A couple of weeks ago, I had to go in to get "THAT" check-up women are supposed to get on occasion. And here's what happened:

I waited about two minutes in the waiting room. I didn't even get to read a magazine article. I didn't wait too long in the exam room either. I liked the doctor instantly. He reminded me of a friend of ours, like he's the Indian version. (And I mean Indian, not Native American.) He was very personable and friendly and not holier-than-thou.

I had to go back today, and right after I sat down, a nurse came out to tell me they were running behind and it would be about 30 minutes before they could get to me, so if we needed to do something else we could come back. We went to get something to drink and returned. About three more minutes went by, and I got called into the exam room. I happened to see the doctor on my way back and he apologized for the wait.

The nurse took my vitals, went out, then came back to say they were still waiting on a procedure room, and wanted to know if she could bring me something to eat or drink while I waited. I just asked for a Coke, and about five minutes later she brought me one. Then the procedure room was available, and again, the doctor apologized for the wait. The procedure took about seven minutes (I had to sing "Crazy on You" in my head to get through it), and still the doctor and the nurses treated me very well.

It's not often someone has a "pleasant" experience at the doctors' office, (the procedure wasn't pleasant at all), but today was one of those better health care moments. Though I had to wait, they told me about the hold-up, and made me comfortable. The staff was so nice, and they seemed to be getting the other patients in and out quickly. And because of today's experience, I wanted to share.

And it only cost me a small co-pay. All the more reason to smile. :)

Old & Nerdy

(Original Draft: October 30, 2009)

Not am I only a nerd, I'm now officially an old nerd.

From Blogger Pictures

Out at the Hut, my rental house in DeQueen, I can't pick up any radio stations. Except for KDQN, of course, but I'm not waking up in the morning to "Cornpone, Country-fried, Grits & Gravy Breakfast Show." I'm not listening to that first thing in the morning. Loren Hinton, he's a nice guy, but no. I'm not doing that.

For a short while, I was able to pick up 98Rocks out of Shreveport, but after my cat knocked down the antennae wire, I haven't been able to hear it since.

So I decide to fish around one night and find something, ANYTHING, besides country music and that awful stuff they call "popular music" now. I found some classical music and thought, okay, I'll stay here. It was a long, long, long orchestral piece with a chorus. It went on for almost an hour. I didn't recognize but thought, "That's got to be Mahler." And I was right. Symphony No. 4, I think. I was proud of myself because I was able to discern the composer without it being a piece I've taught every semester since 2003, (Beethoven's Fifth, Mozart's 40th, and Bach Cantata 140). It turned out to be the Texarkana College station, which is National Public Radio.

The next morning when the "alarm" came on, I heard some regional news and then the commentary on the death of Chick-Lit. (See previous blog post). Then I decided to turn it on in the car on my way to work that day. Since I don't have my Zune anymore, (See previous, previous blog post), and I don't feel like carting around tons of CDs, I have to have something to listen to. I can pick up my rock stations in the car but they're using the same playlists every day. I can guarantee that at 4:30 every weekday afternoon, 106.3 is going to play "Hell's Bells." 98Rocks will be playing a Skynyrd tune. Sunday night is the only interesting night to listen to 106 because of House of Hair and The Tour Bus, when I can listen to some more variety of the hard rock kind. I hadn't heard Helix on the radio since 1987. And I heard a great new (*gasp!* New rock on the radio? By someone besides a one-hit wonder? Holy Cow!)song by Living Color. I don't remember the title but it was pretty good.

Anyway, 91.5 is now programmed into the radio, and I've found myself listening to it more and more. On the way home from a rescue mission to the Winslow EZ Mart Wednesday night, I heard some Faure string quartets. (Lucky I didn't doze off-Faure's pretty mellow). After that they were doing Bruckner, Grieg, and one of my favorites, Rhapsody in Blue. I listened while I ate my smoked almonds and drank my Red Diamond Sweet Tea. I was trying to snack a little bit healthier and passed up another Coke and peanut butter cups. That's when I realized I wasn't just a nerd anymore, I'm an old nerd.

Only old people listened to NPR or talk radio. I used to think that was most boring thing in the world, to listen to mindless jabbering while you're driving. I always had to have music because I was usually practicing, singing along so I could stay awake. I got a lot of work done, vocal-wise, on those tedious trips to the Nashville campus twice a week. Since I haven't had to do that this semester, which is such a blessing, I haven't been in the car as much. When I was though, I still had music on. When we first moved to Texarkana and I was making the drive to DeQueen on Monday mornings, I would listen to Paul Potts and Abba on the Zune. This must be another sign I'm getting old because Judas Priest first thing in the morning is just too much. I didn't think that at the time, but I guess this day was coming. I usually never knew what I wanted to listen to, so I'd do the "Box of Chocolates" thing-put the Zune on shuffle, never knowing what I was gonna get.

Now I'm listening to NPR. I heard an awful story about an incident in Northern California, then they were discussing great monster movies. They mentioned "The Thing," "Frankenstein," and concluded with an e-mail about a teacher who introduced "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" to her students. Now I've got to put in my Netflix queue, between my marathon of Dark Shadows episodes. This morning they discussed how the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, where Elvis and Cash played, is haunted. Call GhostHunters! Quick!

I feel more informed now. Maybe I should have done this as a podcast and then I'd sound like I was on talk radio, too.

Then again, maybe not.