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A light sleeper's lament: six things you shouldn't do in a hotel {Gadling}
Jan 14th 2012 12:05PM I stay at the same hotel every year in January for a quilting convention. I book my room for the next year when I check out...so a year in advance. Our plane usually lands around 11:00 or so, we go straight to the hotel. We can't check in yet, but they hold our luggage for us, and we go over to the show for a couple hours. When we get back to check in, they have given all the decent rooms out, and have put us in the room farthest from the lobby, across from the laundry room. Having just recovered from back surgery last year, it was pretty hard on me to have to walk a mile just to get out of the hotel. And the laundry ladies came at about 6:00 am and started laughing and talking, loud and clear. So annoying! And my one biggest bitch is to try to explain why the people in the room directly above mine must walk back and forth non-stop until well after midnight. Sounds like a herd of elephants. The rooms are small, where could they be going? What on earth would necessitate constantly walking back & forth loudly? This has happened to me in many different hotels in all parts of the US. What on earth are they doing? And I agree with all the other comments here as well. It seems like no one knows the common sense rules of politeness anymore. Just take care of #1 and the hell with the rest of the world!
Olive Garden Gets A Makeover {Slashfood}
Apr 1st 2011 2:07PM If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Olive Garden is my family's favorite restaurant. I love everything about it, and changing the decor isn't necessary. Only thing I'd change is to build more of them. We have to drive about 30 minutes to get to the nearest one, and the wait is usually an hour or so to get in. Very popular restaurant here.
'Miracle Man' Reveals the Lengths One Owner Went To Keep His Dog Alive {Pawnation OLD}
Jan 19th 2011 8:22PM When my 17 year old Himalayan cat was diagnosed with Lymphoma, we decided to put her on prednisone, rather than chemo, mostly because of her age, and chemo wouldn't give her much extended life anyway. She was given about 6 weeks with the prednisone. She lived two more years, good quality years, and when she finally got to the end, she died of a melanoma, not the lymphoma. Our vet called her "Miracle Kitty", and she truly was that. Miracles happen every day, and we were so blessed that we were granted one with her.
Pilot Holds Plane for Grandfather Of Murdered Toddler {AOL Travel News}
Jan 13th 2011 8:21PM I, too, love Southwest Airlines and try to only fly them. Now I have even more reason. Bless that pilot for caring. Wish there were more like that.
A Pregnant Pause: Hypnobirthing Helps Ease the Pain of Childbirth {ParentDish}
Jan 12th 2011 4:01PM 52 years ago I used nearly the same technique to birth my first child. There was a book out, that was old even at that time, called "Childbirth without Fear", by Dr. Grantley Dick Read, which I read and then looked for someone who would do it. I found a wonderful doctor and my childbirth was nearly painless and the most profound and wonderful experience of my life. My other 3 children were born the "normal" way, amid screams and pain and me waking up to be told I had a son on the last birth. Nothing will ever take away that wonderful experience with my first child and the instant bonding I felt. Unfortunately, she died at the age of 3 of leukemia, but her birth was a wonderful miracle, just as childbirth should be.
Octogenarians Fined $12,000 Over Cat {Pawnation OLD}
Jan 8th 2011 12:41PM I hate condo associations and would not buy into one if my life depended on it. But in a case like this, first if the cat is considered a service animal, then it should stay, no questions asked. But how about if the condo association is supposed to "represent" all it's members, put it to a vote among all the owners. I can't imagine not allowing the cat to stay. I can't imagine a no pets rule to begin with. Limiting the size, yes, but no pets in a home you supposedly own? I have 3 cats, and there's no way I'd ever give them up. An indoor cat will do no harm to anything that is communally owned, so what can it hurt?
Can Hypnobirthing Lead to Pain-Free Labor and Delivery? {ParentDish}
Dec 12th 2010 12:24AM 52 years ago I had my first child under hypnosis, after reading a book called "Childbirth without fear" by Dr. Grantly Dick Read. It was the most beautiful birth you could ever imagine, and I was so lucky to have found a practicioner at that time. My next 3 children were all born the "normal" way, and I remember each birth with horror and pain. I've often wondered why hypnosis didn't catch on as a method for childbirth. It was so special, and made moreso because I lost that child to leukemia at the age of 3. I'll never forget that beautiful birth.
My Unemployed Life: The Forgotten Woman, But Now Not Alone {AOL Jobs}
Nov 27th 2010 7:19PM It's quite possible in this economy to have made excellent financial plans and still be screwed. Seven years ago this February, I and everyone in my department lost their jobs to a company takeover. I had 18 years in, and most of my co-workers had longer. I was 61 and the others were mostly in their 50's and 60's and had been with the company their whole lives. We were given severance based on our years of service. Mine was enough to last six months. It just happened that I turned 62 in six months, so at that time I applied for social security and gave up the idea of finding another job at my age. I had accumulated $189,000 in my 401k and both myself and my husband had planned to work to our full social security ages and maximize our 401k contributions. When we retired, we figured we'd take a reverse mortgage on our house and be able to maintain at least a decent standard of living, if not quite what we had while employed. We took out 401k money to pay off all our bills and thought we could live on my social security and hubbies salary. Instead, we found ourselves taking money from my 401k every year to make up the shortfall from my lack of salary. Then a little over a year ago, hubby lost his job. He was in a highly specialized field and there is no other job like his in Northern California. He had just turned 63 when he was laid off. So we've lived on his severance, unemployment, and a monthly withdrawal from my 401k, plus he filed for social security at 63. Our house, which was once appraised for $725k is now valued at about $495k. We still owe $279k on it with a $2,800 monthly mortgage payment. We cannot possibly stay in California, so are preparing our house to sell, and are moving to Texas, where we can pay cash for a house and live on our social security. Hubby's unemployment has two weeks to go if the extension isn't approved, and at the end of January he will no longer have health insurance, as his Cobra help will expire. We can't afford the $800 a month Cobra would be on his own. My 401k is now down to $39k and will be entirely gone by the time we leave the state. My husband was born here, and I've been here over 50 years. We love it here, but we can't stay, and we're having to leave behind a 21 year old grandson who we raised, who doesn't want to move to Texas. I am now 68 and hubby is 64. There arn't a lot of jobs out there for us. We had good plans, we did the right things, we saved our money and lived frugally, and because of that, we at least have an option. But to have to leave the place you love and have lived all your life, where you have many friends, and your doctors and dentist and vet and all your service providers and to have to start completely over at our ages, it's very traumatic for us. We at least have that option. Right now we don't fear homelessness and we don't go hungry. But one bad medical situation and it could wipe us out. So many things could wipe us out. So no matter how smart you play it, how well you plan and save, and what you do, circumstances can change and you have no control over them. Sometimes life just sucks!
Passengers Stage Protest on Ryanair Flight {AOL Travel News}
Nov 18th 2010 6:13PM I don't think it's whining to expect to be treated like paying customers. We have purchased a service and we expect some things for our money. We expect to leave on time, to get to our destination within a reasonable amount of time, to be able to use our own seat for our own butt, to be able to use restrooms when nature calls, etc. We used to expect to be treated like royalty back in the early days of flying, but that will never happen again. I do hold out hope that some day we'll be treated like humans again instead of cargo. Just read about a 3 year old being subjected to a thorough search. Come on people, really? I am all for measures to help prevent terrorist acts, but what did this 3 year old do that caused them to suspect he or she was a terrorist disguised as a child? I would like to see the TSA run by professionals, not minimum wage screw offs who can't use their good judgement. If someone looks suspicious for some reason, then please, pull them out of line and check further. But don't just pick off every 3rd person whether they're a 95 year old woman or a baby just because you can. I have several trips coming up, and I don't intend to have my 68 year old fat body put on display for some perverts to laugh at in a room somewhere else, while subjecting me to radiation I don't want or need. I'll take the patdown, and I'll make it as embarrassing for the person doing it as it will be for me. Let all the other passengers know that these nice TSA agents are sexually violating an old lady for no good reason other than that I was the next "random" person in line.
Passengers Stage Protest on Ryanair Flight {AOL Travel News}
Nov 17th 2010 8:39PM I think more and more we're going to see air passengers who are fed up with being treated like second class citizens, and who decide to take a stand. And it's about time! Things just continue to get worse and worse and the passenger is the one who suffers. We need much more on a passenger bill of rights than just preventing us from spending hours on a tarmac. We need to be protected from being forced into a machine that will radiate us, or chosing instead to be sexually molested by a total stranger. We are forced to give up half our seat to the "person of size" who plunked down next to us and raised the arm rests and asked for a seat belt extension while the stewardess did nothing. And if we are the person of size, we are forced to try and squeeze ourselves into a seat way to small for us because the airlines want to squeeze more and more seats into an ever smaller area, instead of accommodating the size that people are today. We can't take anything onboard with us, we have to subject our checked on luggage to being rummaged through and stolen from by TSA Agents, and I would like to ask just one question.....how many times have they found weapons or explosives on the person of someone they've either x-rayed or patted down? And are they usually 68 year old white women? I was patted down before they began doing it with the palm of the hand, and it was bad enough then. The bad guys are smarter than the good guys. We X-ray and pat down, so they load their explosives into printer ink cartridges......while humans continue to be subjected to humiliating and and invasive so-called safeguards. It hasn't saved anyone so far! Time to call for some common sense from those who are charged with protecting our safety in the air.
