Week in Review

27-year old former child star Frankie Muniz has suffered a mini-stroke. He says he isn't a drug user and takes decent care of his body. (Although...lotta drama.)

I recently confessed to suffering a mini-stroke, as well.  Like Muniz, I'm not a druggie, and I generally eat pretty wisely. (Except for my foodie attack as of late.)  And, like Munez, stress seemed to be the culprit. For me, some was work-related. Most of my stress was family/quake-related. Before that, I'd experienced a bout of Bells Palsy (the one where the side of your face goes all slack), also stress-induced.

Mini-strokes are more common than you think among members of our age group (30-45). We have all sorts of new responsibilities and concerns, and we handle them so differently than our parents did when they were our age. No one in my parents' families have ever divorced. Marriages today last what...5 years tops? We're like new fiberglass cars vs. the old big boat steel cars.  We just aren't made the same.

If you do visit the link posted above, please check out the links provided at the bottom.  You really could save someone's life just by paying attention to the signs.

On the Holiday...Really? Was I the ONLY person in The States working the day after Thanksgiving??

I spent some of the holiday visiting friends in Ontario, Canada.

Remember the pink lemonade cookies?  YES. I bought more.

I saw a commercial for an app called Credit Karma and decided to try it. Credit Karma is a free phone app that monitors your credit and gives you status updates.  Given the sensitive/confidential nature of the program, I wanted to try it for a while before giving it a recommend. 

The app keeps you updated on your credit score - and all its gory details  - and gives you real time "credit report cards" and your credit history. It also free (good) advice and tips on improving your credit. 

Thumbs up from me. You'll need to enter your personal information after the install, but you won't be asked to enter it again. And the app will never ask for your credit card or financial info.

The Swedes have created a radical new drug program.  Clinics in Switzerland now give actual doses of heroin to heroin addicts. The reasoning is that an addict can learn to control his impulse to use if he uses in a controlled environment.

The decriminalization of drugs in other countries has been linked to a significant drop in new reported cases of HIV.

Latin Americans are considering adopting a similar program to stamp out drug-related murders, kidnappings and overcrowded prisons.

Not sure what I think about that. I suppose that, if I knew when and where I'd get my next dose, it would stop me from doing something horrible to get the money to buy it.  But then, if I knew when and where I'd get my next dose, I'd never gain the will to break the habit.

  

On Paying it Forward... PIF means that you perform an act of kindness without accepting anything in return. The person you've assisted then pays it "forward" by helping the next person instead of paying you for what you've done. 

Pretty cheesy, huh?  Yeah, I thought so, too.  Until I actually acted upon it.  Turns out, its an exceptionally rewarding act.  And now I can't get enough. I'm addicted.

It goes like this. A while ago, my old boss gave me something of value that she no longer wanted, because she knew I would appreciate having it.  I practically begged her to let me pay her for it, but she instructed me to "pay it forward" instead.  I sort of rolled my eyes and agreed to do it.

I didn't think much more about it until an opportunity to carry it out presented itself a few weeks later. In a Laundromat of all places, back when my grandmother was still around. I was tired of carting all my stuff back to my car. I gave my bag of change (about $13, I think) and the rest of the box of laundry detergent to an older man walking in.  He hugged me and cried a little and told me that he really needed it.

And that, folks, is how it works. You do something of worth for someone. If they're human, they'll ask if they can repay you. You tell them to "pay it forward".  It's the greatest high.

I pay the bill for the person behind me at the Starbuck's drive-thru. That would be an easy way to get started.

My favorite pink sheets have turned sort of "pastel-y" after a few too many washes.  Speaking of that, I recently purchased an electric blanket, and oh...mah...gah.  On a cold night? Slide your feeties under the blanket, and you'll probably pass out from sheer pleasure. ("Pleasure" said in your best Pinhead voice.)

You can probably catch electric blankets on sale. This one has an automatic shut-off function, but I turn it off and unplug it in the morning, anyway.  You won't need to go any higher than 5 (or whatever the middle is), and you won't need to bundle up with clothes or additional blankets. 

The Boys in IT continue to do horrible things to my robot.  After the last ransom note with a photo of Robot stuck in my coworker's headband, I stormed up to the IT office, punched Brad in the arm and snatched my robot from his shirt pocket thing. 

Btw, it takes 2 Help Desk calls and a drive-by to get you to reset my password, but you've already decorated the IT office?

REALLY?

I caught Mike Epps' performance at the Fox Theater last week. I went alone. I sat between two couples on dates, in the front row up top. The woman on my right had the greatest laugh ever.

The section in front of my row was a high-traffic area, and it was literally like watching a fashion runway marathon. Beautiful women with perfect hair and nails and dresses and shoes...and they knew it! It was a show within a show.  Mike Epps is insanely funny. I cried my makeup off from laughing so hard. He loves Detroit, partly because we treat him pretty frickin well. (I know stuff because he stayed at our hotel. :)

I wanted to meet him after the show, but I was too cheap to shell out another $50 for a photo. I wanted to ask him why he decided to come to town on the same night as the Star Trek marathon. 

I transfer to a new department/ position on Monday. I didn't write much about it here. After my last class, I pulled up Selena Gomez and danced. No one caught me, except the surveillance cameras in the room. Which, now that I think about it, probably explains surveillance operators' snickers today.

I signed my offer letter a couple of weeks ago. The only people who knew before today were people that a huge gossiper in HR told. Just what feels like a natural career progression for me. I've pretty much been doing the new job for a while now already. The title change just gives me the acknowledgement. :)  Otherwise, not a huge deal. Although I'm already bragging about getting two computer monitors in place of one.  Count'em..TWO! I'm ballin'.

Here's more from Mike Epps show. Part of a long bit about sex & marriage.   NSFW.