True Frenemy Series: Part Two- Really, No, Really?!

I get some of the reasons. I do. But you are actually part of the problem. No, you really are.

Random Entertainment Post

So I have seen commercials for a bunch of the new shows coming this fall. I think this summer I have watched mostly four channels: NBC, CBS, Fox, and the CW. Now for the CW, I usually watch Supernatural and Smallville. But I also am watching the usual evening fare of The Simpsons, and How I Met Your Mother. What am I looking forward to for the fall? The Big Bang Theory in syndication on my CW affiliate. I was happy because it's on my CW affiliate and not on the other local stations.

Amazing Kid!

I think I do pretty well taking care of myself. I choose fruit over candy. I choose nuts over chips. I exercise for 45 minutes three times a week. I might not be losing weight, but I'm definitely maintaining and I am not gaining.

When I was ten, I think my focus was on summer, getting some jelly shoes, spending my summer in Mississippi and not Houston, where I was. At ten, I focused on making sure my rival never got better grades than I. I had my crush on an eighth grader. But I most certainly was not thinking about what this boy was doing.

Little C.J. is my hero. He is doing things most kids his age and mine aren't even thinking of. Go kid!

Read more here.

and Happy 93rd birthday to Nelson Mandela. Another of my heroes.

Boyz N The Hood Memories

Earlier this week, I read an article at The Root about the film Boyz N 'The Hood. It basically updated me on what the cast has been up to since the film's release. We all know what Larr, er, Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube, Regina King, Morris Chestnut, Angela Bassett and Cuba Gooding, Jr. have been up to. If you don't might I suggest you check out IMDB? But it covers a few of the others in the cast. I was shocked that two of the cast members had died. Wow. Read up on it here.

It is funny how that time has flown by. My friends and I had an extremely eventful night 20 years ago. We saw the movie at a midnight showing, which we had not planned on seeing so late, but it was out of our hands. In addition to the movie, we encountered guns and chaos. All five of us are very blessed to be alive, and it most definitely was a night three of us will never forget. I sent a text letting them know Boyz N The Hood came out 20 years ago, and the three of us recalled all of our events. All I have to say is McDonald's and Bob Evans, and we are right there again, cracking up.

Do you remember what you did when you saw Boyz N The Hood?

Why, Netflix, Why?!

I ended my Netflix account two weeks ago. I had the unlimited one-dvd mailed a month and the unlimited streaming. As most Netflix users would tell you, the streaming was offered for free along with the mailing. This will not be so come September 1st.

Are Emails and Phone Calls Out-Dated?

I remember when emailing was brand new. I got started in 1997, but it had been around a decent time before then. For the first couple of years, it was pretty quiet. I emailed at work between co-workers and bosses. I remember when learning how to email using MS Outlook, during class, after we set up our accounts, my classmates and I tuned out the teacher and emailed each other. I had also included a co-worker through bcc, and she told me she got over 50 emails in that hour I was in class.

By 1999, old friends had email addresses and current friends were also given work email addresses, and it was on and poppin.' I bombarded people with emails, and I got slammed with forwards. Also in the 1990s, I found out about this place called the Internet, and began to use it for work, too. Funny how most companies won't allow its usage anymore.

About 2001, I basically told everybody I would not forward any forwards, and the amount of email I received dropped by 50%. If you received an email from me, it was personal or work-related. To this day, I still cannot stand forwards. I am getting them now by text; I hate them. I digress. I've read a lot of people feel the same way. According to my local Fox affiliate, it's dead. I figure it is still going strong at companies, but as for personal, no. And I've read conflicting reports, but all reports point to the way people use email has changed. For the younger generation, there is Facebook, Twitter, and text messaging. I find myself still doing both. I text a lot, but with certain friends, I email. And I don't think that is going to change for me.

My hate relationship with the phone goes back to my childhood. One friend was able to get me on the phone talking, but I prefer you send me a text or an email. Otherwise, I did not answer. I screened calls. I don't anymore because no one calls me. Don't pity me. I want it that way. Only my job calls, and that is how I want it. Send me a text. According to the New York Times, people feel the same way. Sometimes you just don't want to be disturbed. I will listen to any messages left. But a lot of people do not leave messages. That says to me, you really did not want anything other than to say hi. Texting makes things easier, especially if you are just meeting up with friends, or want to chat but do not want to have a long conversation. Sometimes you just do not have time for that but you want to feel connected and you don't want the other person to think you are ignoring them. You could be, but they don't need to know that. Quick and to the point is the way to go.

I Love Free Stuff!

Well, what is better than a low price? Free Stuff! I read an article about 18 months ago about cutting back expenses. The writer had decided that she could not bear with not being able to purchase makeup, so she searched for free stuff. And boy, did she find it. I checked out all of the websites she found. I don't remember any of them.

On my own, I found Sample A Day. I began clicking websites and submitting my address. Six to eight weeks later, I had my first sample. So far, I've gotten free Emergen-C packets, Purex, Yogi Tea, lots of hair shampoo and conditioner, Smuckers Snak'n Waffles and a bunch of coupons. Someone in my household got a holiday card that I got for free and it shipped free, thanks to a tip from Mama Cheaps.

Don't get me wrong, there are a bunch of misses. I'm still waiting on a T-shirt from Bacardi. And yo, Ellen, where's my free cat food from Halo? And since I don't have Facebook, I miss out on a lot. But it is still worth it.

Just last week I got two free MP3s thanks to a code for $2. And Amazon has a ton of free music on its website. I don't have a Kindle, but thanks to the e-reader, I have over a dozen free e-books. And I am not talking free chapters, I am talking full-sized books. The minus is my public domain collection is much larger than my new fiction, but I do have a decent amount of still alive authors in my repertoire. Not to be outdone, Sony's e-reader also allows me to read books on the computer, and offers a decent selection of public domain and new authors. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for free books for GRE prep, I would not have been able to impress the Kaplan interviewer with how much I knew about the company. It was not enough for me to get the job, but I think I gave a pretty decent overview.

I have gotten very little free food. And surprisingly enough, Target and Walmart have a free samples section, and that has garnered me several jewels, including Cheetos. And just today I signed up for Panera Bread's new card, and I have to pick up my card and then get a free pastry.

I've joined several websites for free stuff, and what I have learned is they all have basically the same offerings. When I went on a major search for birthday freebies, I found some decent pickings, but few panned out. Cold Stone Creamery used to give away a free creation, but they stopped that this year. A lot of them are now buy one get one free. That's not really a bargain.

I love free stuff, and the two places I've linked above have a a great amount, but again, they usually say the same thing. If you know of any places that offer free stuff, let me know.

7/12/11 UPDATE: Okay, so I was trying to see if Google had added this blog yet, and I hit the motherlode: Hey Its Free!  Yeah, um, they have a different set of samples, it seems. While there is some overlapping, Hey It's Free finds a decent amount that makes them stand out and I am not talking the local deals they find. Check 'em out, yo!