Monday, February 8, 2010

Life is Good Here in the Future

I have 94 followers on Twitter - and I've actually received direct messages from several people! It seems Twitter is an opportunity to get to know new folks. I'm still figuring it all out. Any one out there have any Twitter experience? Let me know what you think of Twitter.

A shout out to my S.O. (significant other)! "His team" won the Super Bowl last night - the Saint's first victory!
I'm not much for football or TV these days. I was in love with Joe Namath and the Jets 40 years ago. Those dreamy eyes, that winning smile . . . I even had his number 70 (if I remember correctly!) jersey among my otherwise-conservative & limited wardrobe.
Remember the days when kids weren't consumers/fashion devotees? The days before Nickelodeon (which I blame in large part for the "unchilding" of children - in the early 90s, I watched unaware as my sweet little babies were transformed from cartoon-gazing innocents to full blown consumers!) and "Kid's Choice."
The days before kids knew they had rights, before little Johnny & Suzie (now Sophie & Tyler) had their attorneys and therapists on speed dial?
We were just little kids, hoping not to be obliterated by a nuclear bomb (remember huddling under our desks, or out in the hallway covered by a coat? All that would have saved us from was the horror of seeing each other flash-seared to ash!). We were little kids dreaming of the future, calculating how old we'd be when the 21st Century dawned, imagining being space-age adults with home computers & flying cars, living on Mars - free from being told what to do and when to do it in a thoroughly modern world of endless possibilities!
OK, back on track ! I sometimes stray, but there's usually a method to my madness!
After Broadway Joe & the Jets, it was on to Terry Bradshaw & the Steelers, courtesy of my first boyfriend. Then, as my sister resided in Buffalo and went on a sweatshirt gifting spree, it was on to the Bills. I remember, though not clearly, a few Bills' Super Bowls.
My late, former husband was a gambling man. He loved the big-money football pools.
It didn't really matter who won, it mattered who scored and it mattered if your box on a chart, numbered randomly from a deck of cards, matched the game -scores at the quarter, the half, and the final. The fate of the pool-participant was tied to every field goal, every play, every touch-down. It was nerve racking, but profitable! The late, former Mr. Lizzie won thousands of dollars - before and after our marriage - via football pools.
He even wanted to get married on Superbowl Sunday. Although at 22 I was, looking back, ridiculously sweet and accommodating (Do you suppose that's why I had 3 lovely babies by 26? Ya think?) I had to hold my ground against that one - but I do still get a little misty (for about 10 seconds!) every Superbowl Sunday! Ahhh - sweet, young, foolish love!
And as for TV, well, I simply can't abide that racket any more!
Quick back story: An October 2008 snowstorm here in NEPA knocked out our cable - TV/phone/ Internet. I called & called & called, but a service person didn't show up at our door for more than three months!
By that time, we had lived without TV during the Christmas special season - beginning with my very favorite Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, the one during which THE Santa comes to town riding in his Supreme Swan Sled. We found the New Year's Eve Times Square ball drop on the Internet, as well as President Obama's inauguration.
We bought a couple of (in addition to the one we had) used laptops, and turned to the Web for our news, our weather, and for our day-after-broadcast favorite TV shows. We joined Netflix for $18 a month, which includes direct streaming to our TV.
Back to the fellow who came to the door to reconnect our cable. Getting tired of being ignored or lost in the system or whatever we were by cable, I had very recently called another carrier to secure much-less-expensive-than-cable phone & Internet service.
I told the Cable Guy about the three-month lapse, and about my defection-out-of-frustration to another carrier.
In turn, he presented me with a $500 bill for the months when WE DIDN'T HAVE SERVICE. Without mincing further words, I told Mr. Cable Guy to hit the road.
These days, we're happily saving about $100 a month as citizens of the World Wide Web!
My son & I agree that there are MUCH better things to do with $100 a month than paying for TV, which once upon a time in MY LIFETIME was free!
In order to watch last night's Super Bowl, my little guy headed to a friend's house (dear folks still enslaved by the miserly cable company!) with a box of ice cream to share.
My boy is learning a lot about the history of cinema courtesy of Netflix, and he's learning the social niceties, such as one never shows up at another person's door to watch the Super Bowl empty-handed!
My boy has also learned that one needn't be a slave to the machine, one of the sheep following the shepherd. He's learned to think outside the box (pun intended!)!
The S.O. and I could have downloaded a link to watch the big game, but as I mentioned earlier, I'm not really into football these days, and I'm no longer a sweet, accommodating young woman, either. I know what I want and I will speak up to get it.
I've got the respect of my S.O., to the point that I can say "I don't want to watch a football game. I want to watch a movie," and not be second-guessed.
Wonderful S.O. even searches for the movie, while I get comfortably settled in my jammies!
Life is good here in the free-thinking, out-spoken 21st Century!
Be well. Be happy. Leave a comment!

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