Does Email Run Your Life?? How I Broke My Email Addiction... lol!

So I just came back from a little 'Internet Vacation', and by internet vacation, I mean, I was harshly, brutally, removed from my precious internet connection, and all the joys and woes that brings me, when my modem went out, and could not be reconnected to the internet, no matter how hard I tried to make it connect.  Ugh.  I know, I felt sorry for me, too!  It was awful, at first, like coming off crack, or something (I'm kidding ... who can afford crack cocaine, these days?? hahahaha!)... I thought I was gonna lose my mind, I was so frantic about trying to make the modem work, again.  Also, I wasn't completely sure which box was the modem -- hahahaha!  Everyone makes the happy assumption that since I have these giant websites online, that surely I must know at least the bottom line basics of the computer, but, nope!  I don't.  Sometimes I think I do, but I always like to have a whole lot of clarification to make sure what I think is right, is in fact in any way correct... is a slight problem for me, as you might well imagine! haha!


The first two days were definitely the worst... I was going back and forth to my local Time Warner office, to get a new modem, but I have all three things set up through Time Warner.. my phone, my TV cable (which I did not want to jeopardize, fer sures, since it turns out I'm waaay more addicted to my favourite Cable TV shows (and I NEED every one of my 1,000 channels -- they're important to me, I need to see what all is on that I don't want to watch... but I also loove DVR, so when I finally do find my favourite programs, I can tape them all for later....right now, I'm on an I Dream of Jeannie kick, since it's on TVLAND, and is even funnier than I remember it to be... plus, it reminds me of one of my favourite machines in Vegas, the I Dream of Jeannie Slot Machine -- sooo much fun!  Next time you're in Vegas, search it out, you'll laugh yourself silly, while singing along to the theme song... I assume you'll be drunk by the time you've been at the casino for the amount of time it'll take you to find the I Dream of Jeannie machine... I know I always am! hahaha! I'm just amusing myself, now! lol!) 

But I digress... now that's never happened, before... haha! So the deal was that I have an 'extra' black box that the modem connects to, AND the main phone line connects through the black box, too.  I kept telling them that down at the Time Warner office, but it turned out they kept giving me the wrong modem box, so I would happily take the new modem, bring it home, connect it all up, and be frustrated out of my mind when it wouldn't connect to the internet.  I have a big serious problem with high blood pressure, these days (thanks to a terrible job situation, but more on that when I am completely away from that...), and I thought, okay, this is really bad for my stress levels, so after trying FIVE of the wrong modem boxes from Time Warner, I took a little break.  I just couldn't do it anymore -- I thought I would lose my mind, trying to force the modem to work... aaarrrgh!  And it turns out, praying didn't do me a whole lot of good, either... I'm not sure God is connected to the internet (although, He probably is, what with being Omnicient 'n all...! lol!).

Long story slightly shorter, after being offline for the first 5 days, all of a sudden my life felt simpler.  Easier.  I kind of felt like we were back in pioneer days (and, no, I am not prone to exagerate, which I have said for at least the millionth time...), but with all the lovely electricity and indoor plumbing, and whatnot... but it was bizarre how disconnected I felt from the whole world.  It was good and bad at the same time.  Like a regular vacation! hahaha!  (Have you ever been on the vacation, and afterwards, your favourite part was coming home?? haha!  Happens to me all the time!) 

It's funny, I didn't really realize, before, when the internet worked without question, that I think I might have been completely addicted to the internet.  How crazy does that sound?  But it was routine for me to check my emails all day long, and after I was disconnected for a while, I realized that I didn't have all the ups and downs that are sooo common with checking your emaill, see who you got an email from, how good was the email (or more importantly, how hot was it?? hahahaha!), and on the down side, who didn't you get an email from, and how disappointing was that?  I was on an emotional roller coaster ride, and all because of email!!  Aaaand, I had a slight obsession with how many visitors did I have to my sites, and how much money had I made over the course of each day (not much! Boooo!!  But one day I believe they will produce a nice income for me, God Willing! lol!).

Well, I kept going back and forth, back and forth, to the Time Warner offices (luckily, they're really close to where I live), trying to solve my internet computer connection problem, and most of the employees were really nice (albeit, they kept giving me the wrong modem, even when I begged them to pleeease just give me back the originl one that I had brought in when the problems first started), until we got the biggest beeeyotch of them all -- she was hooorrible to me.  (Funny thought... wouldn't it be hilarious to think in your head, when you are secretly thinking someone is being horrible to you, that they are being 'whore-able'?? hahahahaha!  Okay, now I like that... that will be my new thought to lighten things up for myself when some mean woman is being horrible (ne: 'whore-able' hahahaha!  That just makes me laugh! haha!) to me... and why are women more likely to be mean to other women, then all lovely to any man who approaches the counter?  What ever happened to female solidarity?  Sadly, (and luckily for me) it took a man to fix my problems (uh, I think that's happened before in me life! hahaha!)...

Time Warner eventually sent out some technicians (THREE weeks later.. can you imagine being offline for 3 whole weeks?? I should get a T-Shirt with "I Survivied My Broken Modem"... well, maybe not....) , and it took them over an hour to finally get my computer connected to the internet, again -- Thank God!!  Was like the skies parted and the sun came out! They were great technicians, and there was no way I would've been able to fix the problem myself.  So I guess the motto of this story is: You can't always fix things yourself.... or, take a little break from the computer, in case you, too, have become a slave to it, constantly checking your email (or whatever it is you looove so much on the internet!! hahahahaha!)

Well, the important thing is, I'm baaack!!  Yippee!  And I didn't miss nearly as much as  had imagined I had... is that pathetic?? haha!  whatever.  Now I am much better at staying away from the computer a bit more, and managing my time online a whole lot better...  I am no longer a slave to the computer, and I learned that the world was perhaps a simpler, and maybe a tad bit happier, when we weren't connected to each other, literally, 24/7.  Really, that's a fairly new phenomenon, so I'm guessing I'm not the only one out there in Computerland who was addicted to the internet... not in a weird way, but a way that definitely had a hold on my everyday emotions and activities... who knew?  Now I do!  Yippee, I've broken out of the Internet yoke!  Okay, I've gotta go check my email, see who's written to me since I started writing this... no, I kidding... I'll check it tomorrow... or the next day... we'll see how I feel! Now who's in control, Computer?  I think it might be me!! haha!  Maybe soon it will be you, too!! lol!  See you soon, Ailsa xox! (Those are distant hugs and kisses, just so we're both on the same page with that! hahahahaha!)

Oh, and if you would like to donate to the Redcross to help all the poor folks who are living real disasters, not just mere internet meltdowns, all those folks in the mid-west dealing with the aftermath of all those terrible tornadoes, you can Text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a quick $10 donation.  You know how I feel about raising a lot of money -- ask for a little bit from a lot of people, and you'll get a great response, ask for a huge amount form a few people, you'll hardly get any... works every time!

House Hunters International on HGTV - My New Favorite Show! #LookingForaHouse #HouseHunting #BuyaHouse #Mortgage #Lenders

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Omg, have you seen House Hunters International on HGTV, yet??  It's my favorite 'new-to-me' show on TV... I looove it.  I just can't get enough of it!  Thank God for DVR (like TiVo), because I DVR all the House Hunters International I can find (and they seem to have a marathon every Friday night, so that gives you tons of International House Hunters to watch over the weekend, and into the following week -- yippee!!).

So here's what I love about it, soo much... they take you all around the world, Italy, Scotland (you know I love the Scottish bit! lol!), Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Uruguay, Canada (another 'yippee'!!), Mexico, Honduras, Belize, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Poland, Germany, Malta ... man, they go everywhere you might like to own a vacation home -- or maybe even relocate entirely to one of these lovely locations!

A local realtor takes the people who are typically looking for a holiday home, a nice vacation home that may also be used as a rental property, but sometimes they are couples or families looking to relocate entirely to a new country... which is what I love to do!  Well, I'd like to do both, really!! But the Realtor takes the people around to three different places, in their price range (which actually went from $20,000 US and can go well into the millions... so lots of variety, so plenty of dreams to fulfil! lol!)  We were particularly interested in the properties you could buy in the Under $200,000 range -- who knew??  And the fellow from Los Angeles, California, who bought the fixer-upper in Italy for $20,000 -- wow, that was amazing.  Made me instantly want to go buy a $20,000 house in Italy, fix it up!!  I would loove to see a follow-up show on how the renovations are done, and the final products, for these particular fixer-upper sales... now that's right up my alley! haha!



What I find amazing is what houses look like around the world.  Little things that are soo different from North America (we've lived for a long time in the US, and I was raised in Canada, but born in Scotland, so we've seen our share of properties...), but, man, I did NOT know that a kitchen... yes, the whole kitchen, is not necessarily included in many European homes!  For real!  You have to go to the 'kitchen shop', and buy your own kitchen! lol!  BYOK... Bring Your Own Kitchen! How crazy is that?  And something I would never have known or even guessed if we hadn't watched sooo many of these House Hunters Internationals. 

When people are looking for property for a vacation home, usually they are looking for property right on the beach, or with a great view to the beach, and, wow, do they deliver.  It is incredible what you can buy for not all that much, right on the beach in many countries you might not have thought of, before watching this show.  You get to go in and see what the houses, apartments and condos look like, how much they cost, and the square footage. 

I would like to know more about whether people can obtain mortgages for any of these foreign owned properties, because, usually, you would have to pay cash for a property outside of your own country.  Or if you already own a home in your own country, you might choose to put a Second Mortgage on your first home, to cover the cost of the new vacation home... or just buy that $20,000 fixer-upper in Italy, forget all about a mortgage! lol!  (Can you tell that was one of my favorites?? haha!)

We get HGTV on Channel 74, and we're with Direct TV, but check your local guide, see what channel HGTV is for you in your area, and start having some fun dreaming about where your next home could be!!

Survivor, Redemption Island: Phillip Plays The Race Card

Omg, is Phillip completely losin' it out there on Survivor??  He's got that crazy feather on his forehead (not a good start, and often a dead giveaway of further problems... lol!), he's communing with his Grandfather and somehow he's connected that to Rob (super-weird).  Poor guy.  He's been going downhill steadily since those girls wouldn't pay him the attention they readily gave to Rob, and it really looked like he was going to be voted off very quickly, at the beginning, with his crazy antics, and now Phillip's at a whole new level of Crazy, with a capital 'C'... but man, using the Race Card, and using the 'n' word, the most reprehensible of all the words... but you never know someone's history, personal and being African American in America (a very different experience from being black and living elsewhere in the world, where the colour of someone's skin is not the issue it is in the US... a sad state of affairs, in 2011, to be sure... ).  Hard to watch.  And I felt for Steve, too, because he is clearly not a racist, and in no way implied anything like that... but very interesting that Jeff Probst talked openly at the Tribal Council -- too often, people are afraid to bring up the issue, but there it is, alive and well, still sitting there.

I've been reading The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, this week, and man, is it a powerful book.  I happened upon it in an article by Stephen King, where he gave a list of his favorite new books... so lucky, becasue I hadn't heard of The Help before that, and I'll tell you, I can't put it down.  It's one of those great reads you're always looking for, and it deals with the Civil Rights Movement, a subject matter near and dear to my heart. I am horrified by the racism I see in California... it's shocking.


So back to Survivor... what's the deal on Redemption Island, now?  If three people were there, and two survive the contest (Mike and Matt), then Julie is sent over to Redemption Island, tonight, and two people always remain after the 'dual', does that mean that eventually two people will come back onto Survivor??  Would be sooo cool, and a real twist to the usual Survivor Strategy... interesting, right?  Would change everything up, and would definitely knock Rob off his Kingly pedestal.  I am always surprised when any Survivor refers to themselves as the king of anything, or even as the leader, since they are usually the next to go, but Rob is covered in Immunity Idols, lucky dog! 

Well, we'll see what happens to Phillip, next week.  He seems to be unravelling in front of our eyes.. going stir-crazy, perhaps? Happens to the best of us, in confined spaces.  Will be interesting to see how many feathers he has in his 'cap', next week... oh, and that whole Rice deal was ludicrous... why would anyone even ask if they could put their maggot-infested, sandy rice in with someone else's rice, people they have openly ostracized, then be shocked when they said, uh, nooo...?  That is crazy.  Full on crazy. And from my own experience, crazy has no colour... it's open for anyone...

Okay, 'til next week... or the next show that catches my attention enough to write! lol!  Ailsa xox