Random Reps

It has been over a month since I posted, so here is an update:

1. I got a cold a week before Thanksgiving and it has taken almost 4 weeks for me to feel better. Weeks 1 and 2 were sinus congestion. Week 3 was a cough. Week 4 was an asthma like cough. I am not 100% yet. I need to get back into my exercise routine and build up my lung capacity.

2. Can you believe the Tiger Woods fiasco? I think the mistress count is up to 14 now.

3. I wrapped all of the Christmas gifts today. Hooray!

4. I was shocked to learn today that actress Brittany Murphy died today at the age of 32 from cardiac arrest. I liked several movies that she appeared in: 8 Mile, Just Married, and Sin City. She was also the voice of Luanne Platter on the animated series "King of the Hill". She made several appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. You can see her filmography on Wikipedia.

Sarah Palin "Going Rogue" Book Tour Dates

UPDATE, 11/20/2009, 7:50PM - see updated info at end of this post for details about the book signing on 11/21/2009. You better go to sleep soon so you can wake up early.

I was able to find information on Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue" Book Tour Dates. How?, well, a Political News Website linked to a blog, which linked to Sarah Palin's Facebook page. So there really was no scoop on this, it was information that was already available on the internet. So, go to Sarah Palin's Facebook page and look for the Note with the Subject Line "Going Rogue Book Tour Dates Through Thanksgiving". For those of you in the Pittsburgh area, she will be at the Sam's Club in Washington, PA on Saturday, November 21st, from 11:00AM to 2:00PM.

NOVEMBER 21

WASHINGTON, PA
Sam’s Club
80 Trinity Point Drive
Washington, PA 15301
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

ROCHESTER, NY
Borders Books and Music
1000 Hylan Drive
Rochester, NY 14623
6:00 – 9:00 PM

She is scheduled to be in Rochester, NY the same day, 4 hours later at 6:00PM. This puzzles me because I used to travel from Monroeville to Buffalo, NY and it took me about 4 hours. Rochester is a good one hour away from Buffalo, so her bus driver will really have to drive fast to get there on time. Sarah Palin also stated on her Facebook page that she will start using Twitter once the Book Tour starts. Check her Facebook page for any updates or changes to the schedule.

UPDATE, 11/20/2009, 7:25 PM:
1. I read this from the Observer-Reporter with more specific info about the book signing.

2. This morning around 10:30AM, I called the Sam's Club at Washington, PA and was told the following: 1000 wristbands will be handed out starting at 6:00AM on 11/21. People are allowed to start gathering at 9:00PM on 11/20 near the Tire Entrance. You must have a Sam's Club membership or sign up for a membership. One wristband allows an autograph for two books. If you bring your own books, you must bring a receipt showing they were purchased at WalMart or Sam's Club. Only "Going Rogue" books will be signed. Sorry, no Terrible Towels. The autographs will not be personalized, so no to "Steely McBeam". Sarah Palin will be signing a specific page in her book.

3. I found this out from Channel 10 TV in Columbus, OH which is the second stop today (the first stop was Cincinnati): For the Columbus Book Signing, only 500 wristbands will be handed out.

I really want to go, but I have to consider my health. I am recovering from a cold and can not stand outside too long or my sinuses, throat, and nose will start acting up. I also have plantar fascitis, so I can not stand too long on my feet. If her book tour was in the spring or summer, I would definitely show up. I hope to meet her another time.

My Two Babies

On the left, 2010 Pontiac Vibe, AWD (All Wheel Drive), Liquid Platinum Metallic, 1100 Miles.

On the right, 2003 Pontiac Vibe, AWD (All Wheel Drive), Red Hot Metallic, 101800 Miles.

Sarah Palin Going Rogue in Washington, PA

UPDATE, 11/20/2009, 7:50PM - see updated info at end of this post for details about the book signing on 11/21/2009. You better go to sleep soon so you can wake up early.

In case you have not heard, Sarah Palin's book tour will bring her to Washington, PA on November 21. She will be at the Sam's Club at Trinity Point Drive. So mark your calendars and find your Sharpie!

UPDATE: Go to Sarah Palin's Facebook page and look for the Note with the Subject Line "Going Rogue Book Tour Dates Through Thanksgiving". For those of you in the Pittsburgh area, she will be at the Sam's Club in Washington, PA on Saturday, November 21st, from 11:00AM to 2:00PM.

NOVEMBER 21

WASHINGTON, PA
Sam’s Club
80 Trinity Point Drive
Washington, PA 15301
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

UPDATE, 11/20/2009, 7:25 PM:
1. I read this from the Observer-Reporter with more specific info about the book signing.

2. This morning around 10:30AM, I called the Sam's Club at Washington, PA and was told the following: 1000 wristbands will be handed out starting at 6:00AM on 11/21. People are allowed to start gathering at 9:00PM on 11/20 near the Tire Entrance. You must have a Sam's Club membership or sign up for a membership. One wristband allows an autograph for two books. If you bring your own books, you must bring a receipt showing they were purchased at WalMart or Sam's Club. Only "Going Rogue" books will be signed. Sorry, no Terrible Towels. The autographs will not be personalized, so no to "Steely McBeam". Sarah Palin will be signing a specific page in her book.

3. I found this out from Channel 10 TV in Columbus, OH which is the second stop today (the first stop was Cincinnati): For the Columbus Book Signing, only 500 wristbands will be handed out.

I really want to go, but I have to consider my health. I am recovering from a cold and can not stand outside too long or my sinuses, throat, and nose will start acting up. I also have plantar fascitis, so I can not stand too long on my feet. If her book tour was in the spring or summer, I would definitely show up. I hope to meet her another time.

Random Reps

Just some random thoughts:

1. Fall is almost gone, and Winter is knocking on the door. The leaves have all fallen off the trees in my yard and with Daylight Savings, I drive home from work in the dark now.

2. I have some extra bills due this month like my AAA membership, car insurance, PA vehicle registration fee, PA vehicle state inspection, and a couple of magazine subscriptions.

3. So far, my new car gets about one less mile per gallon than my old car. I have only had 3 or 4 fill ups, so not enough data to be conclusive yet.

4. With the merger happening at work, I report to a different out of state manager now. My job responsibilities are the same for now. I was told I will have different responsibilities in the future, but the combined company has been slow to make decisions.

5. I bought almost all of my Christmas presents throughout the year already, so I really should not have to buy anything for this Christmas.

Thats all for now.

Great Customer Service Does Exist

When most people contact a company's Customer Service Department, they usually want to complain. I had a completely delightful shopping trip the other evening. GNC recently opened a new concept store at the Ross Park Mall. I was there a few weekends ago when they had some grand opening activities and decided to go back there because I noticed they had a broader range of products on the store shelves.

When I entered the store, I was greeted by a very cute and personable sales girl. The GNC Girl walked me directly to the sections of the store that had the products I wanted. She also explained the current sales promotions. She even offered to carry my planned purchases to the register for me. The GNC Girl did all of this with a smile and pleasant personality. I was so WOW'd by how she treated me that I e-mailed GNC Customer Service to compliment her. GNC Customer Service was so pleased with my comments that they are going to inform the Divisional Vice President of GNC Girl's efforts. It has been such a long time since anyone has WOW'd with such great customer service. Thank You GNC Girl !

Stan Savran - Get Well Soon

Stan Savran, considered the most respectful sports broadcaster in Pittsburgh, underwent quadruple bypass surgery today. Stan, Get Well Soon !!!

New Wheels, Epilogue

I took delivery of my new car, a 2010 Pontiac Vibe (All Wheel Drive), two weeks ago. I could have waited one more year to buy a new car, but this is the last model year for the Pontiac Vibe, and I really like the 2003 Vibe that I currently own. GM is killing the Pontiac brand as part of their restructuring/bankruptcy. The Vibe is essentially a Toyota Corolla with different body styling. 2003 was the first year the Vibe's were produced, and 2010 is the last year. I have one of each.

New Wheels?

Yeah, I have been AWOL, MIA for a while. So, what is new? Well, I am seriously considering buying a new car. I completed a written paper loan application at my credit union on Saturday. Unfortunately, the employees who work on the loans do not work on Saturdays. I thought that submitting an application in person would be faster than on-line, but maybe I was wrong. I did not hear anything today about the status of my application, so I am worried that the paperwork may have been literally lost. I can run my own credit report in less than 10 minutes from www.annualcreditreport.com, so I am concerned because the credit union has not contacted me. I am going to call them tomorrow morning. To be continued...

Janelle Hall Has Baby Boy

My favorite female TV anchor, WTAE's Janelle Hall, had a baby boy last weekend. Click here for the news story, click here for a short video. Congratulations Janelle !

ILLs and Spills

2009 has been the year of Ills and Spills for me. I have had various lingering health issues this year, and it has been frustrating. Here is a quick breakdown:

December 2008 - sprained right ankle. I found out in June that I have arthritis in my right ankle, hence the feeling that it gets better then feels like it re-sprains. I tweaked it again about two weeks ago in almost the exact same spot in my house. I am still rehab'ing on my own.

May 2009 - Hallus Rigidus, Arthritis in left big toe. I just got my custom made orthotics last week. Yes, my feet feel better, but it will take time.

June 2009 - Poison Ivy. I had to get a cortisone shot, take oral steroids, and a topical steroid. I have scars/discolored skin on my arms from the poison ivy. It took about 3 to 4 weeks for the scabs to fall off. I also have a few spots/scabs on my thighs that have not fully healed yet. Stop picking! I still pick up a few spots of poison ivy after I dump grass clippings at the end of my lot.

July 2009 - Summer cold. It lasted about 3 weeks. I am trying to build up my aerobic capacity again. My exercise induced asthma is a problem now, but should calm down after I get back into my regular workouts.

I can not believe it, over half of the year I have been battling health problems. I am hoping for a better second half of the year.

Sonni Abatta Leaving KDKA

Yesterday, I was listening to Mark Madden on 105.9, WXDX, on my way home after work when I heard a caller state that Sonni Abatta was leaving KDKA TV. When I got home, I did a quick Google, and found two articles on the Pittsburgh Post Gazette which confirmed this. Yes, It's True, It's Damn True, Sonni Abatta's last day on KDKA TV is Friday, July 10th, 2009.

Everyone had a feeling that her talent and looks would lead her out of the Burgh and into a bigger TV market. She was without a doubt the favorite Eye Candy for the male viewers in the Burgh. Good Luck Sonni!

Update 7/8/2009, Rob Owen from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Sonni Abatta will join WOFL, Fox 53 News in Orlando, FL. Mr. Owen states he will have more info from Sonni on why she decided to make this move.

Update 7/10/2009, Rob Owen provides some details from Sonni Abatta about her decision to leave the Burgh for Orlando, FL.

Good News

Good News Today, I still have a job. I spent the weekend sweating bullets, looking up how to file for unemployment, and thinking about what home projects I could work on over the summer. My job responsibilities will be changing, but it will be a while. My director estimated things will start changing 60 days after the other company has joined our Microsoft Active Directory domain. I am relieved, but also know my employment status could change in 3, 6, 9, 12, etc. months. I need to update my resume so I am prepared just in case.

MIA Update

I have been Missing In Action from blogging for almost two months. So, what has been happening? Well, I have been dealing with some health problems since the beginning of May. After attending a Cinco De May party at a neighbor's house, I started having pain in the ball of my foot under my left foot. A lot of standing in old basketball shoes was what triggered the pain. At first, I thought it was Metatarsalgia. I saw a podiatrist last week, and it turns out I actually have a condition called Hallux Rigidus, which is arthritis of the big toe. It can be treated by getting some custom foot orthotics, and luckily my insurance covers it 100%. I sprained my right ankle last November, and it still bothers me, so the podiatrist looked at it also. He believes I had a Level 2 sprain, and I just need to continue with my stretching and strengthening exercises that I have been doing.

On top of all of this, while cutting down a dead tree in my yard three weeks ago, I unknowingly brushed up against a lot of poison ivy plants. It was so bad that I had to get a steroid shot, take Prednisone steroid pills for six days, and now I am on my fourth day of using a topical steroid.

At work today, I was one of about 25 people asked to attend a conference call on Monday at 9:00AM. Problem is there are 75 people across the country with my same position who were not invited to the 9:00AM conference call. All 100 people were asked to attend a conference call at 10:30AM. My company is merging with another company and the feds finally approved the merger. July 1 will be the first day the merged companies will operate as one company. It looks like I am going to be laid off, downsized. The two companies had paychecks on opposite bi-weekly cycles, and are planning to change this to sync the paycheck cycles. I am guessing that my last day will be either July 18 or 25. Considering my years of service and vacation not taken yet, I am estimating 48 weeks of severance pay. It has been a bad Spring for me this year. I am not looking forward to Monday's conference call.

The Real "ThePensblog"

The other morning when my alarm clock radio went off, I was surprised to hear two bloggers from ThePensblog on 102.5 WDVE. Since I was groggy, I could not quite understand everything that was being said. It turns out ThePensblog is a victim of Cybersquatting. Here is the definition of Cybersquatting from Wikipedia:

Cybersquatting (also known as domain squatting), according to the United States federal law known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The cybersquatter then offers to sell the domain to the person or company who owns a trademark contained within the name at an inflated price.

ThePensblog details how this all came about in this blog post.

They refer to the bogus ThePensblog site as Bizzaro Pens Blog, a tribute to an episode of Seinfeld. Out of curiosity, I went to the Bizzaro Pens Blog website, and quite frankly it is so lame. Remember, the site only exists to receive false hits and make a few pennies each time from Google AdSense.

My blog is so, so tiny, I do not think I will ever have to worry about Cybersquatting. I feel bad for the authors of ThePensblog and all of their readers.

Vote Zelienople for X-Men Wolverine Premiere with Hugh Jackman

The Marvel Comics movie “X-Men Origins:Wolverine” is having a contest where the American ZIP code with the most votes before April 17 will host the movie premiere on May 1. Hugh Jackman will attend the premiere.

According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Zelienople was 10 th on the list as of yesterday. The last day to vote is tomorrow, 4/17, and the winning city will be announced Monday.

To vote for Zelienople and the Strand Theater, go to www.x-menorigins.com, enter the site and under navigation on the main page, go to "hometown premiere." Follow the prompts and type in the ZIP code 16063.

PG's Rob Owen Praises Janelle Hall's Shooting Coverage

Rob Owen, TV editor for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, praised WTAE TV weekend morning anchor Janelle Hall for her live coverage of the Stanton Heights shooting last Saturday. "Janelle Hall made the best impression. She handled the live ongoing coverage with a calm, steady tone and managed to avoid repeating herself too often, one of the easiest traps for a news anchor to stumble into in this sort of situation."

Mr. Owen reviewed Saturday's TV coverage of the 3 local TV stations in his Post Gazette Blog, "Tuned In Journal". "Hall was particularly skilled at narrating to fill gaps -- so necessary in breaking news coverage -- with an empathetic but professional demeanor that did not strike me as overly repetitous."

As you know, Janelle Hall is my favorite local TV news anchor. She is not just attractive, but a skilled and talented news anchor.

Thank You Pittsburgh Police

Ashley DiParlo Leaves WTAE and the Burgh

I just found out that last Friday, 3/27/2009, was Ashley DiParlo's last day on WTAE-TV 4. Ashley was WTAE-TV's first "Web Reporter". She hosted the "Plugged In" report and co-hosted the "Links N At" videos. Ashley posted a farewell post on her blog, "The Plugged In" Blog on WTAE and Wordpress. What exactly is a "Web Reporter"? Ashley reported on just about anything that you could find on the web - entertainment, finance, sports, shopping, etc. She did not just report about technology, which was a good strategy to attract and kept viewers. It also helped that Ashley was very cute and had a very pleasant, upbeat, personality. She is best described as a "Sweetheart" - you will see her pic in Websters next to Sweetheart. Why is she leaving? Well, she is getting married, and moving out of the Burgh. Sorry to all the single guys who thought they had a chance. I am hoping the "Boomerang Effect" takes place - a Burgher leaves our great city, then returns a few years later. Yes, I was a Boomerang. I left in my mid 20's and returned to the Burgh in my late 30's. Anyway, Best Wishes to Ashley DiParlo.

Welcome Spring 2009

For the first day of Spring 2009, the high temperature is forecast to be 41 degrees. Lovely. Where have I been the last month? Hibernating of course. More posts to follow. I just upgraded to Internet Explorer version 8, and it will not allow me to log on to www.blogger.com. So, I log on OK to www.blogger.com with Firefox, and it takes me about 3 attempts before I can add an image to this post. Anyway, Happy Spring 2K9 to everyone!

PittGirl Jane Pitt Guest Blogged for SB43

I have been MIA from the blogosphere for the past 2 weeks, and learned today that PittGirl, retired blogger from TheBurghBlog, guest blogged on Have A Good Sandwich during the week preceding SuperBowl 43. I always wondered "What Would PittGirl Say?" about the Steelers and SB43, and now I know. Even though she only made a guest blogger appearance, I was so happy to read her posts. Thank You Jane Pitt!

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year to the Asian community. 2009 is the Year of the Ox.

Goodbye Gil Grissom

Last night was William Peterson's last episode portraying Gil Grissom on CBS's TV show CSI. I have been a fan of CSI for a long time. I started out as a dedicated viewer, and the last few seasons became an occasional viewer. It is sad to see the main character leave, but with Laurence Fishburne taking his place, it should be interesting to see how the show evolves.

2K9

Happy New Year to everyone! I have not posted in about 3 weeks, and this will be my first post of 2009. I am feeling a little stressed out right now. Why? Here are a few reasons:

• I did not have the entire week off between Christmas and New Years, so I spent time traveling back and forth from my house in the North Hills to my mother's house in the South Hills. I am trying to get back into my regular sleep pattern.
  
• I gained a few pounds over the holidays, not too much, but not too little.
• I sprained my right ankle before Thanksgiving and I am still rehabilitating it on my own. It is getting better, but it is a slow process. With the sprained ankle, I have been a little reluctant and lazy to work out.
• I am worried about the economy and the stability of my job. My company downsized at the end of last year and almost every week you hear about another local company announcing job cuts. I am going to work hard on updating my resume this month just in case.

So, are there any positives with the New Year? Sure, it is a good time to reflect on the past year and look forward to improving myself. In a roundabout way, I have "resolutions" to make, but I will not list them here.