Pets

Me -When I was  born,  my  family already  had a cat. She  wanted  me to get the hell out  of  her  house. For  two  whole  months,  she  would  not  go  near  my  mom. As  I  grew  older, and  started   feeding  her and  giving  her  attention, she  thought 'Hey might as well give this person a try.'

A  while  back, I had a bird. She was named Frances. She  was  selfish. All  she  ever did  was eat. In  fact, I  don't  think  she  even  slept. Every time  I  went  to  feed  her,  I  was  afraid she'd  bite  me. After  only two weeks,  we got  rid of  her because I was  afraid  of  her,  and  she  was  messy.  I was sad  but moved on quickly.

Around that same time we  got  a  guinea  pig. We called her Daisy May. Her  cage was by the  window. A  few weeks  afterwards,  she died  from the cold.

We got a new guinea pig named  Olivia   She is now three years old and  will  hopefully live a long  happy  life. For a while,  I was going  to get a  fish because  I couldn't  get  a cat.   One day my dad  was talking to someone who  happened  to be  giving  away cats so my  dad  got  me one.  He  always chased our first cat.  Also, even  though  he ate the same kind of food as her he only wanted  her food.

I  have always wanted a chimpanzee. My  sister and I both  want  one. Probably, she just wants one just because she always copies me. I  have always  wanted a dog too. Everyone I  know has one. I  want a dog more then anything  in the world! Aurella  (my sister) and  I always like to pretend that one of  us is a dog and the other one is the owner.

Mom - Over the years, I have had many different kinds of pets. When I was a  child, we had fish, both tropical fish and goldfish at different times. The fish were boring. We had turtles. We got rid of the turtles when we found out you can get diseases from them.

We also had dogs. The first dog chewed up the furniture. He didn't last too long in our house. The second dog we had for about 6 years. He was more my dog than anyone else in the family's. However, the problem with dogs is that it is a pain in the neck having to walk them all the time. Dogs always seem to get into things too, and they are more interested in people food than their own. Our dog was always running away too even though he always came back.

When I was older, I had a couple of rabbits. My first rabbit was the most amazing animal I have ever known. He was friendly like a dog, but not over the top friendly. He was also self sufficient like a cat. I mean we still had to feed him and all, but he bathed himself and didn't need attention all the time. He also didn't eat our food (except the occasional carrots and other vegetables that we gave him). My other rabbit was afraid of her own shadow. She spend most of her time hiding.

As an adult, I have had guinea pigs. Despite, what people say about guinea pigs being gentle and being good pets for little kids, we have not ever had a guinea pig that you can be sure would never bite anybody (and we have had six of them at different times over the years). Also, they have been known to try to eat our clothing and other things, and they are messy.

We have also had a couple of cats. My first cat is going to be 15 in April. I have had her since she was a baby. She is not over over the top friendly, but she loves her family. Unlike a dog though, she wants to be friendly and have attention only when she wants to. We used to have another cat that was over the top friendly, but he was actually a bit overly friendly and wouldn't leave us alone for a minute. Also, he was always attacking our other cat, and when he got mad at us he would dig his claws right into us on purpose, which was one of the more painful experiences I have had in my life.

When I was a kid, I always wanted a chimpanzee, but of course, I never had one. After I heard about that chimpanzee that ripped off that lady's face, I think maybe it is good that I never had a chimpanzee.

Overall, it might seems like I am focusing a lot on the downside of having pets and maybe I am, but I don't mean it that way. I have loved every single one of the pets I have had over the years (except maybe the fish), I wouldn't have traded the experience of having any of them. I can't even remember back to a time in my life when I didn't have any pets, and I can't conceive of a time in the future when I won't have any.

And that's our view. Tune in again for another topic.

Video Games Then and Now

Me- I  have  a DS.  There  are  lots  of  games  for  it. It  is  portable. I  want  a wii.  They  are   not   portable.

Mom - When I was young there were no video games. They had arcades but nobody had video games at home. When I was older, video games were just starting to get popular. Of course, then people only had games that connected to a TV. There were no portable games. The games were very primitive. Nothing really resembled what it was supposed to be. Most of the games available were sports games or games like Space Invaders or Pong. None of them really interested me that much.

I can't get over how much games have changed. These days the graphics on some of these games are amazing, and they get better all the time. Even more so, the variety of games has changed, there are so many more different types of games available now. Some of them are a lot worse than the games they had when I was young. I mean they should not have games where the object is to kill people. Even if these games are rated M, and children should not be able to get and play them; that doesn't not mean they don't. Besides, frankly, nobody should be playing games where the object is to hurt and kill other people even if they are not real people.

There are also many games that are lot better than the games they had when I was a kid. Both my daughters, for instance, love games where the object is to take care of baby or a pet or whatever or to be a doctor or a stylist or whatever. I feel like they are learning something about life and/or the future choices available to them by playing these games. Even though I still try to limit their video time as well as TV and computer time because I do not want them staring at a screen all day,  I do not have a problem with them playing video games in general. In fact, if those type of games were available when I was a kid, maybe I would have had more interest in video games myself.

And that's our view. Tune in again for another Talking Topic.

Photo credit:
photo credit 1: Great Beyond Day 218/366 - My Nintendo DS via photopin (license)
photo credit 2: Renato Gizzi Nintendo Wii via photopin (license)
photo credit 3: footycomimages Gamer Playing Fifa Ultimate Team on Playstation 4 via photopin (license)

Girl Scout Cookie Selling

Me-When selling  girl scout cookies, you have to be careful. Some people are beyond nice. But, some, people slam the door in your face. This year, I sold 240 boxes including 101 boxes to be donated to the food bank. I  am proud to be a Girl Scout.

Mom- I have always hated participating in fundraising efforts because I hate having to ask people to buy things. I usually only ask my mom and my best friend (the one other than my husband) to contribute. The only fundraiser we really make a serious effort with every year is Girl Scout cookie selling.

Every year it gets harder and harder though. Every year when my daughter is finished with cookie selling, I feel happy at what she has accomplished, at what we have helped her to accomplish, but also a sense of relieve that it is all over. The next year when it is time to start selling again, my first thought is 'Oh no! Not again! I just can't go through this again!', but somehow we always do.

A lot of the girls in my daughter's troop only sell cookies to their families (although some of them have very large families). My daughter sells to our family including the extended family, but we also go around our whole neighborhood too. It was particularly difficult this year with the freezing cold and ice and snow. A lot of people in our neighborhood don't even shovel their walks. Still, my daughter was able to sell 240 boxes of cookies.

Over the past several years, my daughter has been interested in not only selling as many boxes of cookies as she can, but selling as many boxes to be donated to our local food bank as she can as well. Last year, she set a goal of selling 100 boxes of cookies for the food bank. She was able to sell 70 boxes but did not quite meet her goal. This year she again set a goal of selling 100 boxes of cookies for the food bank. Not only was she was able to meet her goal, she actually sold 101 boxes. I think she was more excited about that than she was about selling the 240 total boxes of cookies. I am really proud of her for that.

And that's our view. Tune in again for another Talking Topic.

Photo credits:
photo credit: 1 amanky sales. via photopin (license)
photo credit 2:photo credit: Amy Loves Yah 294/365 via photopin (license)
photo credit 3: acousticgirl 59/365 - Samoas! via photopin (license)

Best Friends

Me-My best friend, Aurella is also my sister. We have a love-hate relationship. My former best
friend, Dora is mean. She only comes around when she has nothing better to do. Even then, she  is  not that nice. When I  come to her house to play and another friend  is already there,  she does not  even care.   I  end  up wasting  my  time going there even though she  only lives five  houses  away.

Mom - In TV, movies and books, it seems like people always have the same best friend for a lifetime. In life, it doesn't always work out that way. In my life, for instance, when I was very young I didn't have a best friend. From ages four  to eleven, I lived in one place and had one best friend. When I moved, I had another best friend for a year. When she moved, I didn't have any best friends for a few years.

I had other best friends over the years, but either they moved or I moved or we just drifted a part. Since I've been older, I've had the same best friends. First and foremost, my husband is my best friend, and really what more can you ask for in life then to be married to your best friend. To me one of the greatest pleasures in life is to actually be friends with your spouse. I think the problem with a lot of marriages is the spouses stop being friends or never really were friends to begin with. I always thought the most romantic thing in the world is  when two friends suddenly realize they are in love with each other. I have always thought that even before it happened that way to me in real life. My husband and I have been best friends now for 13 years and married for over 11, but we have known each other even longer.

My other best friend I have known as long as my husband. Even though I am happy to have a spouse who is also my best friend,  it is a good to have another best friend too. My other best friend is the one I can talk to about and participate in things that my husband has no interest in like chick flicks and jewelry parties and stuff. She is the one I can talk to about things that I cannot talk to my husband about because I don't want to put more stress on him or because it is something he would not understand or whatever. I don't expect her to solve my problems just to listen. I do the same for her. Unfortunately, my other best friend has not been in very good health over the past several years, although we are still there for each other to talk to we have not been able to hang out together and go places like we used to. I really miss that.

And that's our view. Tune in again for another Talking Topic

Photo credits: 
photo credit: Rod Waddington Boys in Mahweet, Yemen via photopin (license)
photo credit: Sociales El Heraldo de Saltillo Baby Shower para Laura via photopin (license)
photo credit 3: marfis75 friends ( #cc ) via photopin (license)

DVRs

Me-  My family has a DVR, but not just any DVR one that is crappy! When we record things,  we  never get the whole show. The ending of  every show is cut off so we never know how things end. With  Glee, we  had   to  tape  the beginning of  Raising  Hope. We  ended  up like that show too so that was a win-win. Every single time my mom and  I watch Disney Channel,  we never see  the end  of  any episode  that  we record. I  am not even exaggerating. Every time  we finish watching a show, I  think to myself  'I  would   just  like   like  to  see  the  ending  of  at  least  one  episode.' Is that too much to ask for?

 Mom- I thought the VHS was one the of the greatest inventions ever. Being able to record TV shows and watch them when you want as well as being able to rent and buy movies and watch them at home whenever you want that was just amazing. The DVR is truly one of the greatest inventions ever. It took every thing that was great about the VHS and made it even more so. Being able to set a show once and record an entire season instead of having to record one episode at a time, being able to pause and rewind live TV,  those things were incredible to me.  I am not one of those people who always needs to have the TV on whether I am watching it or not.  I only want to watch what I want to watch when I want to watch it. Therefore,  the DVR was a miracle to me. True, you can watch shows any time you want on the computer. However, at least for me, sometimes it is hard to find exactly the show and/or the episode you are looking for especially if you are not willing to pay for it.  I mean why should I pay again for shows I am already paying for through my cable subscription. For me, it is the DVR all the way.

However, not all DVRs are created equal. The one we have through our cable company is probably the worst DVR in the world. A good DVR will easily let you search for shows. Ours does not. As a matter of fact, our DVR does not even let you search more than a week in advance. A good DVR makes it easy to skip recording a program one time. Our DVR does not. A good DVR knows when a program is on at a different time or on a different day and ends when it is supposed to not before a program is over. Our DVR does not. It will not record a program on a different day or at different time unless you specifically set it for that date and time. It ends a recording when it thinks the show should be over not always when it actually is over. I cannot tell you how many times the ends of our shows have gotten cut off particularly shows that are on after sporting events or that are on certain channels like Fox and Disney.

A good DVR makes it easy to prioritize your recordings. Our DVR does not. In fact, the way it prioritizes recordings is a big secret  that it obviously handles itself because I cannot seem to find any way for me to do it manually. A good DVR records what you want when you want. Our DVR has been known to record shows that we never set to record or wanted to record. Other times, it won't record shows that we do want to record and did set to record. We prefer to set most of our shows to record first run only. However, when we do that sometimes when one of our shows is a rerun it doesn't record that episode, which is fine, but then when the next new episode is on it still doesn't record the new episode. If we set it to tape all episodes of a show regardless of whether they are new or not we end up with too many episodes (especially of my children's shows) and too many conflicts regarding  which shows are going to record at all, which as I said before is something that the machine decides for itself. A good DVR is a wonderful thing. Our DVR is not. I don't celebrate Christmas, and I am long past believing in the tooth fairy  but I hope next year one of them or the good fairy or somebody or anybody brings me a TIVO.

And that's our view. Tune in again for another  Talking Topic.

photo credits
photo credit 1: willspot DirectvDVR via photopin (license)>
photo credit 2: stevegarfield Will Record: Comcast TiVo via photopin (license)
photo credit 3: Jamie McCaffrey TiVo is in the house  (5/100) via photopin (license)

Justin Bieber

Me - Justin Bieiber? BLECH! I  hate him!. You know his song Baby Baby? Well,  I  made a up a new  version  "Baby baby,  I hate you.  Oh, Justin Bieber stinks!" He sings like a girl, and he is a big baby. He even looks like a girl. The first time I heard him sing I thought he was a girl.

When my family first heard him, my mom joked that we would  put a video of  us singing on YouTube and call it  The Family  Glee Club because we are into The  Partridge  Family and Glee, but even if  we did, I don't think we would become famous. That  is  not  how life works. So, how did  it  happen to Justin Bieber since he can not even sing well? I  like to call him Justin Bibler. Even out of my teenage friends, only two of them like him,  and one of those friends is kind of weird just like him anyway which makes sense.

Mom- Justin Bieber, I just don't get it. What is it about him? Although I have heard worse singers, there is nothing special about his voice. It is just kind of average. He is not ugly, but his looks are just kind of average too. There must be tons of videos of people singing posted on YouTube every day, and a number of them must be better singers and/or at least better looking than Justin Bieber. Yet, he is the that one gets noticed and becomes famous?  How in the world did that happen? 

Who are all these young girls who love him? I have two daughters and neither one of them can stand him. In fact, one of the few things my two girls and their 17 year old brother agree on is that they all hate Justin Bieber. In fact, I don't personally know anyone of any age or gender who admits to being a fan of his. Still, I know he has plenty of fans because his records and concerts sell so well. He seems to show up in so many places too like on a recent episode of CSI. So again, I have to wonder what is it about Justin Bieber?

Do all these kids really love him because they really think he is so wonderful or do they love him because of his fame? I mean he was kind of famous before he became famous. Do kids look at him and think if it happened like that for him, being discovered on You Tube, maybe it could for me too? Or maybe, it's even that he seems more approachable to them because he was allegedly just a regular kid whose mother put videos of him singing on You Tube, and the rest, as they say, is history. He was not just some Hollywood or Broadway kid who has been acting and singing professionally since he was a baby. So maybe, he seems more like them to these kids and that's why they love him. Anyway, whatever it is I just don't get it.

And that's our view. Tune in again for another Talking Topic.

photo credit: NRK P3 Justin Bieber, Oslo 2015 via photopin (license)

TV Then and Now

Me- When I was young, my favorite show was Jo-Jo's Circus. I  watched  all  those little kid shows  except Dora the Explorer.  I never especially liked that show but my sister loves it. My parents  always joke that it is Dora's world, and we all just live in it.

Now all,  I watch is Disney channel  Glee, and Full House. Every time my mom tells me that she has news, I ask "Is it about Full  House? Is it about Glee?"

Full House is my  favorite show every time someone says something it  reminds me of  something that happened in Full House. I also like to pretend that I am the  characters.

Glee is a show that my mom, my dad, my sister, and  I all like.  I  hope  that  Finn  and  Rachel get back together and  he  and  Quinn  have no part of  each  other. I  also hope that Sam stays with Quinn and not Santana. They can't  put a bad  girl  with a good boy!

As for,  Disney,  I don't  know how it  happened  but  somehow I got hooked. The only shows I  do  not  like on Disney Channel are Fish Hooks, I'm in The band, and Kick Buttowski.

Mom- When I was very young, we had about seven different TV channels and not everyone had color TV. There were no specialized channels like sports channels or movie channels or kids channels or whatever. If you missed a show, maybe you could catch the rerun, but there was no such thing as DVR or even a VHS nor could you go online to watch an episode of  a show that you missed. A show would have to run a certain number of episodes before it would go into syndication, and you could see old episodes every day of the week. Late at night, there was actually a time when there was nothing on TV but old movies and infomercials and stuff like that.

When I got a little older, our town was about the last one to get cable. There were a lot more channels and a lot more options but not necessarily more good options for what to watch. I mean, I am not a snob who says I don't watch anything but educational TV or anything like that  (although I am not too fond of reality shows), but  I am sure I never even watch more than half of the channels we receive in our house. In fact, there are four of us in the house, and each of us watches about two or three channels regularly. Even if you assume that there is no overlap in the channels each of us watches (which actually is not the case), that would still only be 12 channels we normally watch out of hundreds available to us. So more choice doesn't necessarily mean more good choices.

And that's our view. Tune in again for another Talking Topic..

photo credit1: wuestenigel Remote control  (Fernbedienung) via photo
photo credit 2: x-ray delta one 1960 ... down under TV! via photopin (license)
photo credit 3: Robert Couse-Baker this is the video of affliction via photopin (license)