Baby Please Don’t Go

Sayra sings a duet with Amanda Overmyer on American Idol 

 

Phuong Powers

Sake it to me baby!!!

Some Random TV Show Thoughts

This season’s LOST is better than ever. Usually by now there has been at least one boring filler episode, but so far this season every episode has kept me on the edge of my seat.

At first, I thought that the flash forwards would be either too confusing or it would give away too many of the secrets.  It turns out that they not only don’t give away any secrets, but they create all new story lines  and bring up all new questions.  Why are they called The Oceanic 6?  Who was in that coffin?  Where are the rest of the survivors?  What’s up with the wreckage found in the ocean?

Last weeks episode dropped the biggest bomb so far.  Sayid is working for Ben as an assassin?  Who are the people he is killing and why do they all wear the same bracelet as Naomi?  I think they are members of a new Dharma Initiative, out for revenge on Ben.

After Lost, my next favorite show right now has to be Survivor:Fans vs Favorites.  Sayra and I have been hooked on the last 3 or 4 seasons of Survivor and this season seems even better.

I love to see people get blindsided.  Last week’s episode was one of the best blidsidings ever.  That woman (I don’t even remember her name) never saw it coming and her boyfriend was both shocked and pissed.  It was awesome!!!  It’s moments like this that make me still watch reality TV.

Am I the only person watching the new Terminator:The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Fox?  This is a great show and I don’t know why it’s not getting more buzz.  Every episode so far has been really solid and has kept me hooked.

I sure hope that it comes back after this season is over.

After those 3 shows, and of course American Idol, the only other thing I watch is HGTV.  Yep …. HGTV!!!  I am ADDICTED TO HGTV.  I could and have watched HGTV all day long. 

I can watch people flipping houses for hours at a time.  I can not get enough of watching people house hunting or choosing their landscaper.  These shows are so much fun. 

Sayra and I love to guess which house a couple will choose on “House Hunter’s” or which landscaper will win on “Landscaper’s Challenge” or what projects they will come up with on “Hammer Heads”. 

My favorite shows are the ones where the family is trying to sell their house and it’s been on the market for months with no offers.  There are like 3 different shows that all cover this.  Watching these desperate families trying to sell their house and having the designer trash it is great.

Bank of America Spirit Award of Excellence

Every year Bank of America awards the top 1% of their associates the Spirit Award of Excellence.  It is based on the associate’s performance from the preceding year.  This is the one award that I’ve been working toward all year and on Wednesday it was announced that I am one of only 6 associates in my entire site to win it.

As a recipient of the award, you and a guest are treated to a 4 day/3 night all expense paid trip to Miami Beach.  Last year the trip was to San Diego, Ca.  I had the chance to talk with a few of the associates that went to last year’s trip and they told me that everything is first class.

Sayra and I will be leaving on March 30 and returning on April 2.  We will be staying at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in South Beach.

In addition to the trip, I was told that I would also probably recieve some gifts.  There will be two receptions during the time in Miami, as well as different excursions every day.  This is going to be a wonderful opportunity to meet most of the executives from the Bank.

I am literally counting down the days until we leave.  March 30 can not get here soon enough.  Of course I will post stories and pictures as soon as I return.

5 Rocks!!!

I’m a really big gum chewer.  If I’m at work 11 hours, at least 8 of those hours I’m chewing a piece of gum.  I have become quite the connoisseur of different gums.  I ususally buy Orbit or Extra, but I recently discovered a new brand that’s crushed everything else.

  5

 

 This is the coolest gum I have ever seen.  

 

When I picked up the box, I thought it looked strikingly similar to a pack of cigarettes. The gum sticks even stand upright in the pack and slide out the top like cigarettes would. The gum definitely has a ”hip” image to it, as much it is possible for a chewing gum to seem cool.

Available in three flavors—Cobalt (Peppermint), Flare (Cinnamon), and Rain (Spearmint)—each pack contains 15 pieces of gum covered in bright, color-coordinated foil of red, blue, or green.  I have only tried the Cobalt so far.  The flavor is just as intense as any other peppermint gum and it lasts and lasts.

It’s doubtful that chewing a certain type of gum can give you an image boost. But if any gum could make you cool, it would be 5.

Shopping in Lancaster

I have to wear a suit to this reception for work on Tuesday afternoon and I don’t have one that fits.  Sayra and I went to the outlets in Lancaster, PA in search of a nice inexpensive suit.  As you can see, we were very successful.

   

Conversation on the way to dinner

Sayra: Did you know that Nordstrom does not carry anything by Prada?

Me: OMG!!!  Are you serious?  I can’t believe it!!!

Sayra:  Fuck you Keelan. 

Should I buy the iPhone now or wait?

With my birthday tomorrow, I’ve really been thinking about splurging and buying the iPhone.  I’ve already called Verizon and trimmed down my current contract by $60, so the new contract with AT&T wouldn’t even add to my monthly expenses. 

What’s keeping me from pulling the trigger and making the purchase is the fear that a faster & better model will be announced probably the day after I drop $499 on the new phone.  There is a great article on Forbes.com today that basically spelled out all of my fears.

http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/02/08/iphone-att-hsdpa-tech-wire-cx_bc_0208techiphone.html

I’ve also considered the possibility of keeping my current cell phone and getting an iPod touch.  I could actually get one for free by using my spirit points at work.  

 

It just seems like there are too many features not on the iPod touch that the iPhone has: like a camera, external speakers,  and the network that doesn’t require you to be in a hotspot to browse on Safari.

I think I’ll just wait a few more weeks and see if there are any new developments coming out of Apple.  AT&T has already hinted that a new iPhone is on the horizon to run on their new HSDPA network.

I know that waiting will make my wife happy.  She thinks that the iPhone is a complete waste money, since I already have a working cell phone and a video iPod.  I guess she just doesn’t understand the cool factor involved with having the latest and greatest tech stuff.

WARNING …. Super Spicy

I usually get lunch at least once a week from Chick-fil-a.  Last week, when I went there, I tried their new spicy chicken sandwich.  Wow!!!  It was really really spicy.  Actually, it was  a little too spicy for my tastes.

 

Today, when I drove thru again, I figured I’d give the new sandwich another shot.  Maybe I just got an overly spicy breast and not all of them are that spicy.  I was wrong. 

At first it doesn’t seem that spicy, but this sandwich is almost inedible by the time you reach the last bite.  I’m kinda surprised that Chick-fil-a would put out such a spicy sandwich.  I love Popeye’s spicy chicken and have no trouble eating that.

I guess I’ll just stick with the original sandwich from now on.

Red Ring of Death

Two Sundays ago, I popped in Call of Duty 4 into my XBOX 360.  I went straight through the title screen and chose to continue a previous game.   The game started loading and cut right to a cinematic.  After the cut scene, the in-game engine started and right as I was about to start playing, the screen froze up.   

No problem, I thought.  I’ll just shut off the 360 and restart it.  When I turned the machine back on, I saw what every 360 owner fears the most.  We all know it’s coming one day.  It’s not a question of “if”, but a question of “when”.  

What did I see, you may ask?  It was the dreaded Red Ring of Death.   

 

This is the mark of death for any XBOX 360.  When you see this, it is literally “GAME OVER”.  

This is the 3rd time I’ve seen this.  My launch unit lasted about a year, the second one lasted only few months, and this one also only lasted about a few months. 

So I called 1-800-4MYXBOX  and spoke to a repair specialist (in India, I think).  Now, I’m positive that they spend their entire day handling “3 red light” issues because they knew exactly what to ask and what procedures to take.  They had me check the power source, which was fine and to remove all cables and the HDD and reboot, which didn’t work.  After about 10 minutes, they informed me that my unit was not going to work and that I would need to send it back to MS for repair. 

Let me give you a little back story here.  I am far from the only one who has had the “3 red light” issue.  In fact the 360 has an over 60% failure rate!!!  Due to the enormous outcry from 360 owners, MS has extended the warranty on all 360 to 3 years.  The operator on the phone acted like they were doing me some huge favor by repairing the machine.  I wanted to really ream into this lady, but I bit my tongue and remained calm and polite. 

I was given a repair code and was told that they would send me a box (coffin) to send the 360 back to MS for repair.  The whole process, from initial call, to receiving a repaired unit back, should be about 2-3 weeks.  They told me that I would receive a free month of XBOX LIVE for my trouble.  That’s really generous considering that it’s going to take a month to get the machine back to begin with. 

Fast forward to Monday evening.  It’s been 8 days and I’ve yet to even receive the box to send the unit back.  I called MS and you will not believe what they told me.  ”Call back in 4 hours.  They are having computer issues.”  Are you kidding me?  My opinion of MS is going down hill more quickly with each call I make.  After 4 hours I call back and am told that I should receive the coffin sometime today via UPS ground.  Well, that explained it.  I could walk the box to Texas faster than UPS ground.  

Finally around 3:00 today, UPS delivered a DAMAGED cardboard box.  The whole side was crushed in.  

 

I opened up the damaged box and found some foam, tape and a letter.  

 

Here is the packing instructions that came with the box.  The poor quality of the image is not from my scanner.  The quality of print on the page that they sent was really that bad. 

 

So I packed up the box, attached my repair number, filled out the form and sent it back.  I can’t wait to see how long it takes to receive a repaired unit back.  I’m also curious if I will get back my same unit, a “Frankenstein” unit made of spare parts, or a brand new unit.  I also took a pic of my serial number, so I can compare it when I eventually get the unit back.  I’ll keep everyone posted.