Random thoughts....

This mess is just a plethora of stuff rolling through my head right now. Thought I'd stick 'em here so I'd quit thinking about them and think of other stuff that's more important...like Cheez Whiz. By the way, don't ever put Cheez Whiz in the microwave. That mess is nasty.

1.) Even though the Sarah McLaughlin commercial about animal cruelty really touches my heart and has me crying like a depressed goat, I want to know WHY that commercial is run every other hour on the Spike Channel. The MAN channel???? C'mon! To all those goobers who placed that ad in the worst possible places, I've got news for you! Whenever that commercial runs on Spike, my husband gets up and grabs another beer. I'm sure he's not the only man to take a break...I mean that commercial is as long as an infomercial anyway. That's bathroom time with a magazine in tow. You're wasting your advertising dollars.
And shame on you for running it in the middle of "1000 Ways to Die." That's wrong on so many levels.

2.) Okay....NO!!!!!!! NO!!!!! No, to the HAIL NO!!!!! The guy in Quincy, Mass. who's selling the Casey Anthony doll on Ebay: WHAT IN THE BLANK IS WRONG WITH YOU?

Fox News Story


On the upside, you didn't get any bids...BUT, didn't you even feel the least bit sleazy for doing that? YOU....BIG....DUMMY!

3. I like crayons.

4. To all those folks making fun of White House Press Secretary Robert Gibb's pink neckties: The man is tough enough to wear pink! Go Robert Gibbs! Now, if he said that he was wearing it to raise breast cancer awareness, then I'd be an even bigger fan!





You da man, Robert! Don't let anybody tell you any different!

5. Charlie's Seafood in Virginia Beach makes the best She-Crab soup on the planet. And I'm gonna get me some for dinner!

Okay, that's it. My brain is empty now. No comments from my friends, or I'll tell everybody how many brain cells you guys operate on. It ain't pretty, I swear.

Still thinking out loud,
Karen

Just call me "Shark Bait."

Where did this month go??? Oh yeah, it's a short one...I plumb forgot.

Anyway, it's time for me to update this. I've had 84,000 things go on this month and I don't feel like getting into any of that. Boooooooooring. Whiney........and downright pathetic. So let me just take this time to delve into other people's bidness.

Octo-Mom. I'm sick of hearing about her. Even bad publicity IS publicity and I think she's enjoying any she can get. So I ain't giving her any NO MORE after this. I'm done. She's crazy. Okay, now I'm done.

The Oscars. Boy were THEY crap. I don't even know if the movies were good or not because I hadn't seen any of them. Not even Batman. I don't like Batman. Why wasn't "Nights In Rodanthe" nominated? Oh, that's right. To borrow a phrase from my brother-in-law Emile, "Horses on a beach." I guess that means it was too "chick-ish." I was probably the only one who loved it. Or the only one who admits it.

The Economy. Dang. I wish the media would try to give us a little inkling of hope. I would love to wake up one morning and not hear the word "economy" in every other sentence. I actually read where beer sales and shark attacks are down because of the economy, LIKE THAT'S A BAD THING. Now I ask...what the hell??? Those stories should have had a more positive tone! People are not drinking themselves to death because of the economy. And about that shark attack story. That thing should not have been written. Shark attacks are down because nobody can afford to take a vacation? OMG...I almost wrote a letter to the editor. PLEASE, try to keep "the economy" out of this one, will ya??? Why couldn't it have been explained that more people are aware of shark attacks after the influx of attacks over the last few years, and they are being more careful? No...of COURSE not! A story like that won't sell papers. HEY, I couldn't afford to take a vacation last year either...but I live at the BEACH! What about those of us who live at the beaches, huh? What about me??? Want I should jump in the water and ring a dinner bell or something? "Karen West stimulates the economy by throwing herself to the sharks." Please.

No, I'm not drinking. I can't afford it. Bad economy, ya know.
I'm just thinking out loud.

Til next time,
Karen

People in the news that I would just love to slap.

Some may not agree with me for what I'm about to rant about, but I have to get it off my chest before I scream.

About the woman in California who just gave birth to Octuplets. Sure, she made news. Thank God all the children were born alive...and I am going to pray every day that these children are taken care of. Why? Because this mother scares the be-heebies out of me. She's making demands? She's charging Oprah 2.2 millions dollars for an interview that Oprah hasn't even asked for yet? She's shopping for book deals, etc.? Yeah, she stands to make a mint for having all of those babies. She is unemployed, single, has other children, and her parents living with her. She had artificial insemination. Where in the Sam Hell did she get the money for that??? Her parents have had to bail her out of financial trouble before. She doesn't sound like she's all together. Those poor babies. :(

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2009/02/03/kaye.octuplet.mom.cnn


Next up on my list of people I would like to slap. Some of the survivors from the United Airlines flight that made the landing in the Hudson River? It's not enough to be grateful to be alive. Some even said that United was too busy patting themselves on the back to do anything for them monetarily.
Let me get this straight. They survived. United started them out with 5000 to replace the baggage they lost, they are working with the insurance companies to pay above and beyond after the investigation is over, and a handful of the passengers are already holding their hands out and complaining??? OH MY GOD!!! COULD YOU GIVE IT SOME TIME??? Find out what's happening with the insurance first! You're looking WAY too greedy! Kiss the family that you almost left behind! Thank God that you were given another chance! Bite your tongue with your complaints and be glad that United is not having to pay for funerals. I agree the passengers deserve fair compensation for what happened, even though the problem was caused by a flock of geese, but these complaints of theirs just make them sound like they are not grateful to be alive. I'm really sick about this. But...we should have known it was going to happen.

http://www.theinsider.com/news/1612675_Hudson_River_crash_survivors_upset_by_US_Airways_treatment

Technical & Customer Support Rant

Today, I think I am fed up with asking for technical or customer support for anything. Either the technicians I deal with think EVERYBODY is a moron, or they just don't want to deal with us. Either way, they'd better starting caring...or get another job.

Case in point, twice now I've had issues with a website I used to publish my latest book. I had used them before...for research and uploading. When I had these issues, I did EVERY possible thing I could do on my end. Clear cache, history, reboot, try another computer on another server, etc. When all of that failed, I emailed customer support to tell them the problem, give them the error messages and tell them what I have done on my end to try to remedy the problem, I got an email explaining that I should clear cache, history, reboot...etc, etc, etc, the same thing that I had already done. It was not a form letter, it was the "solution" to my problem. I sent them another email and told them to read the letter again. Two weeks later, I got an email that said that they were having some website issues at that time. Funny, because the first question I asked them on the original email was, "Are there problems with your site today?"

Today, Snopes.com got on my last nerve. I am neither a customer nor did I need technical support, but I was still treated like an imbecile. I received an email forward that I hadn't seen before. I always go to Snopes.com first to see if it's just another email hoax or what. Found nothing. Used their search and tried every keyword possible. I also Google-searched for more info on the email. Granny LiePie said it was false but didn't say why...it was just their opinion. I had never heard of Granny LiePie, so I kept searching. The rest of the pages were just copies of the email I received. Nothing about whether it was true or false. I submitted it to Snopes.com. I told them that I had tried searching their site and nothing. I received an email an hour later telling me that they covered this on their site...and I should try using their search to find it! Didn't even give me the link to where they covered it! Arrrrrrrrrgh. Are you KIDDING ME?

I ain't even gonna try to call any of these techs. Why should I? So I can go through hours of voice prompts? Or get the same answers when I finally DO get a human?

If these people don't wake up, they're going to be the subject of my next book: "Big Dummies: Volume 2". I ain't playing.

WE ARE NOT STUPID! QUIT TREATING US AS THOUGH WE ARE!

Nuf said.

I need a nap.

Til next time,

Karen

GAH!!!

Know why bears hibernate? Cuz the weather is crap.

Cold and cloudy weather makes me sleeeeeeeeeeeeepy too! I could drink up the Kiln Creek Starbucks store's supply of espresso and this crappy weather would still make me wanna put on my flannels and grab my blankey. I could sleep for 14 hours straight and still have Samsonite baggage under my eyes.

Suckage. :( I want SPRING! Wah.

Coming February!

Buy it online here!

All proceeds sponsor the "Race For Ginni" team at the 2009 Tidewater Affiliate Race For The Cure in October at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront!

Karen, the wannabe author!

Big Dummies - Volume 1 is now finished and awaiting a February release. It's a collection of my favorite and most memorable big dummy stories that were too good not to share. It's a quick read, cute little bathroom reader and ALL of the proceeds will sponsor the "Race For Ginni" team at the 2009 Race For The Cure at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.

Big Dummies - Volume 1 will be available at Eagle roadshows for a mere 10 bucks. For 10 bucks, you can laugh at someone else's expense and save lives at the same time. They will also be available online, (but it'll be more expensive to buy 'em that way. You know, the company who makes 'em and sells 'em online wants their share!) So I encourage you to buy them at roadshows. That way I can sign 'em for ya and meet ya face to face.

Big Dummies - Volume 2: A Dummy a Day for a Year is now in the works! I've been working on it since before the holidays. There are a few fun ideas that my friends have suggested for the book, and they are on the drawing board already! I'm really looking forward to making them work. I will keep you up to date.

I'm also working on a collection of Angel stories. I have been receiving lots of email with personal stories since the "Angels" segment aired on WVEC-TV last November. I have been journaling them in my own words, along with a few of my own, for personal inspiration. Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but if there is interest in the project, I may release it as a special for the holidays to benefit childhood cancer research. I'm mulling that idea around.

Anyway, besides hanging out with you guys, I have planned a very good 2009 for myself and I'm looking forward to every minute!

Look for Big Dummies - Volume 1 at a roadshow near you!

Karen