I didn't have any trouble deciding this past Saturday night which station to listen to like I sometimes have in the past - was not in the mood for the 80's on WPLJ so I went back to the 70's on WCBS. I did put PLJ on for about 2 minutes during a commercial just in time to hear Duran Duran - A View to a Kill. I used to like that one alot but it really wasn't doing anything for me this time. Oh well, I guess my tastes have changed lately
1. Best of My Love - Eagles
2. Reminiscing - Little River Band
3. Then Came You - Dionne Warwicke and the Spinners
4. She's A Lady - Tom Jones
5. Wildfire - Michael Martin Murphy
6. Amie - Pure Prarie League
7. Summer Breeze - Seals and Croft
8. Dust in the Wind - Kansas
9. This is It - Kenny Loggins
10. Crusin' - Smokey Robinson
11. The Things We Do For Love -10cc
12. Cruel To Be Kind - Nick Lowe
13. You Can't Change That - Raydio
14. Biggest Part of Me - Ambrosia
15. The Most Beautiful Girl - Charlie Rich
16. After The Lovin' - Englebert Humperdinck
17. This Masquerade - George Benson
18. You Are The Woman - Firefall
19. Always and Forever - Heatwave
20. Where Is The Love - Roberta Flack and Donnie Hathaway
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
My mom fell down the stairs today
I took my mom to her doctor today and she fell down 9 steps in that building. I couldn't help letting out a scream. Maybe people were thinking that I was over reacting. I was so worried that she might've hurt herself. The doctor came out of the office and asked her if she was okay and mom said that she hit her head on the wall but felt fine. She was able to walk into the office which was a good sign but I was and still am worried that she has some sort of internal damage.
She did do damage to her eyeglasses. I can't afford to buy her a new pair. I feel so guilty that part of my thinking besides being worried about her health was that I can't afford any more medical bills of hers. She already has many of them. She is on Medicare but this doesn't cover everything and because she gets an alimony check from Dad each month she can't qualify for Medicaid. It's only 187.oo. Then there's the expense of all her meds. Maybe God is displeased with me for these thoughts.
The pathetic thing is that both my brother and I get disability checks too. We have not worked in years - I'm too embarrased to admit how many. And when I did work the longest job that I had was 15 months. I had so many jobs in only 8 years - I think it was about 10, maybe more. I'm sure that many people would not be understanding of our mental issues and I don't even know why I'm mentioning all this on a blog- I usually just vent it out to my therapist and in my journal.
I do have a few hundred dollars saved but that is for my US Open tickets. Maybe I'm being kind of selfish but I really don't want to have to sacrafice going to this event to buy mom new frames and possibly lenses. I also need to get new glasses but I am putting that off because I need to have some fun in my life. I don't get much of this because of all the expenses that I have to worry about. I had to take charge of the bill paying because mom let things fall way behind 4 years ago.
I did help mom fill out charity care forms for the 2 hospitals but we haven't heard anything about this yet. I'm just praying that she's accepted otherwise that's another 750.00 that I have to worry about. If she had applied for this at the one hospital 4 years ago we wouldn't have to be doing monthly payments of 25.00 for that bill. I was ignoring it for months foolishly thinking that it would go away but the bill collector took us to court over this. What's done is done, I know, but it's sometimes hard not to beat myself up over that.
I will return to my usual type of topics next time. Possibly a music one. I am trying to get out of this negative frame of mind now - Buffy is looking at me so I'll go sit with her and pet her which always cheers me up.
She did do damage to her eyeglasses. I can't afford to buy her a new pair. I feel so guilty that part of my thinking besides being worried about her health was that I can't afford any more medical bills of hers. She already has many of them. She is on Medicare but this doesn't cover everything and because she gets an alimony check from Dad each month she can't qualify for Medicaid. It's only 187.oo. Then there's the expense of all her meds. Maybe God is displeased with me for these thoughts.
The pathetic thing is that both my brother and I get disability checks too. We have not worked in years - I'm too embarrased to admit how many. And when I did work the longest job that I had was 15 months. I had so many jobs in only 8 years - I think it was about 10, maybe more. I'm sure that many people would not be understanding of our mental issues and I don't even know why I'm mentioning all this on a blog- I usually just vent it out to my therapist and in my journal.
I do have a few hundred dollars saved but that is for my US Open tickets. Maybe I'm being kind of selfish but I really don't want to have to sacrafice going to this event to buy mom new frames and possibly lenses. I also need to get new glasses but I am putting that off because I need to have some fun in my life. I don't get much of this because of all the expenses that I have to worry about. I had to take charge of the bill paying because mom let things fall way behind 4 years ago.
I did help mom fill out charity care forms for the 2 hospitals but we haven't heard anything about this yet. I'm just praying that she's accepted otherwise that's another 750.00 that I have to worry about. If she had applied for this at the one hospital 4 years ago we wouldn't have to be doing monthly payments of 25.00 for that bill. I was ignoring it for months foolishly thinking that it would go away but the bill collector took us to court over this. What's done is done, I know, but it's sometimes hard not to beat myself up over that.
I will return to my usual type of topics next time. Possibly a music one. I am trying to get out of this negative frame of mind now - Buffy is looking at me so I'll go sit with her and pet her which always cheers me up.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
My Hometown
I live in a pretty small town. According to my brother there are between 1,800 and 2,000 people here. He is good at remembering numbers and stuff like that. We have lived here our whole lives. Our mother has lived here since the mid 40's. The town has only been around since 1941. She has told me the history of it many times yet I can't remember it for sure - something about it being built during the war because of the shipyard workers in the area.
There are only about 7 streets. 2 of them are the main ones - Wavecrest and Seafoam. We lived on the former for the first 23 years of my life. My mom married the boy next door. Her mom moved to the farm with her brothers and my parents took over the apartment. When I was younger and we drove around town once we got to Seafoam I kind of saw it as the dark, scary side of town. Now we live here. I can't help thinking that I liked our old apartment better than this one.
Sure, it is a little bigger, not that any of the apartments here are that big. There are these type of units- single 2 floor, bachelor type which are really small, one floor 3 attached which we used to live in, 2 floor 4 attached which we currently reside in and some one floor 2 attached.
I loved the decor in our old apartment. Paneling and carpet in every room except the kitchen and bathroom. At first I had the bigger room as my bedroom and Mark had the small one. My parents slept on a hide-a-bed in the living room. Then my brother and I shared the big room and my parents took the small one. By the 1982 they built Mark a room in the basement and I got the small one and they took the big one. By 1985 they built me a bigger one in the basement. We had our own living room area down there too which was cool.
Most of the time my old apartment is in my dreams. I wonder why - maybe because that felt more like home than this one. I wish that we had money to fix up this place, it is in great need of it, especially the kitchen. It definitely needs a paint job downstairs. Such things are not in the budget though because of mom's many medical bills and meds and Buffy's meds.
This side of town is quieter because we are by the county road where the woods are. It's pretty looking out back and seeing them. Our town is close to the Parkway, a road that I try to avoid using. I remember how when I was a kid and we were coming home on that road from the malls , down the shore or elsewhere that once I saw the big sign for the Coachman Inn Hotel I was so happy that we were almost home even though we had a good time at those places. That hotel is no longer there. It's still partly a hotel but I can never remember which one.
There are only about 7 streets. 2 of them are the main ones - Wavecrest and Seafoam. We lived on the former for the first 23 years of my life. My mom married the boy next door. Her mom moved to the farm with her brothers and my parents took over the apartment. When I was younger and we drove around town once we got to Seafoam I kind of saw it as the dark, scary side of town. Now we live here. I can't help thinking that I liked our old apartment better than this one.
Sure, it is a little bigger, not that any of the apartments here are that big. There are these type of units- single 2 floor, bachelor type which are really small, one floor 3 attached which we used to live in, 2 floor 4 attached which we currently reside in and some one floor 2 attached.
I loved the decor in our old apartment. Paneling and carpet in every room except the kitchen and bathroom. At first I had the bigger room as my bedroom and Mark had the small one. My parents slept on a hide-a-bed in the living room. Then my brother and I shared the big room and my parents took the small one. By the 1982 they built Mark a room in the basement and I got the small one and they took the big one. By 1985 they built me a bigger one in the basement. We had our own living room area down there too which was cool.
Most of the time my old apartment is in my dreams. I wonder why - maybe because that felt more like home than this one. I wish that we had money to fix up this place, it is in great need of it, especially the kitchen. It definitely needs a paint job downstairs. Such things are not in the budget though because of mom's many medical bills and meds and Buffy's meds.
This side of town is quieter because we are by the county road where the woods are. It's pretty looking out back and seeing them. Our town is close to the Parkway, a road that I try to avoid using. I remember how when I was a kid and we were coming home on that road from the malls , down the shore or elsewhere that once I saw the big sign for the Coachman Inn Hotel I was so happy that we were almost home even though we had a good time at those places. That hotel is no longer there. It's still partly a hotel but I can never remember which one.
Friday, May 7, 2010
At the mall
I have not been to a mall since about November of 2008. I used to like going there but because of my driving anxiety plus my lack of funds, I have stayed away from there. Both of our malls are about 20 - 25 minutes away. I like Woodbridge Center better than Menlo Mall because the latter is too upscale ever since they did the remodle in the early 90's.
Menlo used to have many shoe stores, JC Penney, Alexanders, Bambergers which then became Macy's, Nathan's which we liked eating at sometimes and an art store which we bought a few paintings from. JC Penney moved to Woodbridge Center when they built the fourth long wing there.
My Dad bought me the Yankees team set of Topp's baseball cards in 1984 at a collectibles show at Menlo. A couple of my Swatch watches came from Macy's. Even though it was kind of a cheesy mall I have good memories of it.
I was never really a mall rat. I did go there and to Kohl's way too much for a few years in the 2000's because I was using shopping as therapy for my anxiety and depression which was not good. I got into credit card debt because of this. Should've stuck to reading books and going to Barnes and Nobel to read magazines to escape my problems.
Mom, grandma at the farm, Aunt Al, Mary, Mark and I used to go to Woodbridge sometime in either October or November each year in the late 70's to mid 80's to do our Christmas shopping which was fun. We usually ate at the Ponderosa.
Mom and I usually go to the calender store there in November for presents- I always get Mark the Star Trek one and she gets me a cocker spaniel one and I get her Golden Retriever pups. We didn't do this last year but I probably should try to get over my fear of driving there and do so this one. We also need batteries for our Swatches.
Maybe I'll just order the calenders from Amazon.com and try to find a local jewler who has these batteries. Just the thought of going to the mall is overwhelming. I'd be saving money on gas too.
My favourite stores at the mall are Macy's, JC Penney, Gertrude Hawke candy, Mandees, Wet Seal, Sears and Claire's. They haven't had Sam Goody in a while now and I forget the name of the music store that's there presently. They had a couple of bookstores - B. Dalton and Waldenbooks. I think that the former is still there.
Menlo used to have many shoe stores, JC Penney, Alexanders, Bambergers which then became Macy's, Nathan's which we liked eating at sometimes and an art store which we bought a few paintings from. JC Penney moved to Woodbridge Center when they built the fourth long wing there.
My Dad bought me the Yankees team set of Topp's baseball cards in 1984 at a collectibles show at Menlo. A couple of my Swatch watches came from Macy's. Even though it was kind of a cheesy mall I have good memories of it.
I was never really a mall rat. I did go there and to Kohl's way too much for a few years in the 2000's because I was using shopping as therapy for my anxiety and depression which was not good. I got into credit card debt because of this. Should've stuck to reading books and going to Barnes and Nobel to read magazines to escape my problems.
Mom, grandma at the farm, Aunt Al, Mary, Mark and I used to go to Woodbridge sometime in either October or November each year in the late 70's to mid 80's to do our Christmas shopping which was fun. We usually ate at the Ponderosa.
Mom and I usually go to the calender store there in November for presents- I always get Mark the Star Trek one and she gets me a cocker spaniel one and I get her Golden Retriever pups. We didn't do this last year but I probably should try to get over my fear of driving there and do so this one. We also need batteries for our Swatches.
Maybe I'll just order the calenders from Amazon.com and try to find a local jewler who has these batteries. Just the thought of going to the mall is overwhelming. I'd be saving money on gas too.
My favourite stores at the mall are Macy's, JC Penney, Gertrude Hawke candy, Mandees, Wet Seal, Sears and Claire's. They haven't had Sam Goody in a while now and I forget the name of the music store that's there presently. They had a couple of bookstores - B. Dalton and Waldenbooks. I think that the former is still there.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Commercials - Part 2
I was looking through my marble notebook of memories that I wrote in the mid 90's and saw a whole section with commercials. I should go onto You Tube and see if any of them are on it. These are some with celebrities.
- Colt 45 beer- Billy Dee Williams. Don't let the smooth taste fool you.
- American Express - Karl Malden. Don't leave home without it.
- FTD Florist - Merlin Olsen
- Polaroid- James Garner and Mariette Hartley
- Super Polident Denture Cream - Martha Raye. For big mouths like me.
- Maxwell House coffee- Margaret Hamilton- the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz
- Coronet paper towels and napkins- Rosemary Clooney. Extra value is what you get when you buy Coronet.
- Kodak - Michael Landon
- Mauna Lau Macadamia nuts - John Hillerman
- The Money Store - Phil Rizzuto
- Mr. Coffee - Joe DiMaggio
- Coke - Mean Joe Green
- Wesson Oil - Florence Henderson
- Post Grape Nuts Cereal - John Denver
- Ritz crackers- Andy Griffith
- Crystal Light drink mix- Linda Evans. I believe in Crystal Light because I believe in me.
- Playtex Cross Your Heart Bras - Jane Russell
- Glad Cinch Sack trash bags - Tom Bosley
- Wheat Thins - Sandy Duncan
- Ace Hardware - John Madden. Ace is the place
- Jello - Bill Cosby
- Hertz - O. J. Simpson
- Lipton tea - Don Meredith
- Alpo dog food - Lorne Green
- Mrs. Butterworth syrup - Kim Fields
- Fabrege Organic shampoo - Heather Locklear
- Calvin Klein jeans - Brooke Sheilds
I have some more but I'll save them for next time. Sometimes I don't trust my memory though but I think I'm right about all these.
- Colt 45 beer- Billy Dee Williams. Don't let the smooth taste fool you.
- American Express - Karl Malden. Don't leave home without it.
- FTD Florist - Merlin Olsen
- Polaroid- James Garner and Mariette Hartley
- Super Polident Denture Cream - Martha Raye. For big mouths like me.
- Maxwell House coffee- Margaret Hamilton- the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz
- Coronet paper towels and napkins- Rosemary Clooney. Extra value is what you get when you buy Coronet.
- Kodak - Michael Landon
- Mauna Lau Macadamia nuts - John Hillerman
- The Money Store - Phil Rizzuto
- Mr. Coffee - Joe DiMaggio
- Coke - Mean Joe Green
- Wesson Oil - Florence Henderson
- Post Grape Nuts Cereal - John Denver
- Ritz crackers- Andy Griffith
- Crystal Light drink mix- Linda Evans. I believe in Crystal Light because I believe in me.
- Playtex Cross Your Heart Bras - Jane Russell
- Glad Cinch Sack trash bags - Tom Bosley
- Wheat Thins - Sandy Duncan
- Ace Hardware - John Madden. Ace is the place
- Jello - Bill Cosby
- Hertz - O. J. Simpson
- Lipton tea - Don Meredith
- Alpo dog food - Lorne Green
- Mrs. Butterworth syrup - Kim Fields
- Fabrege Organic shampoo - Heather Locklear
- Calvin Klein jeans - Brooke Sheilds
I have some more but I'll save them for next time. Sometimes I don't trust my memory though but I think I'm right about all these.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Favourite 70's songs
I was listening to Saturday night 70's last night and really enjoying this. It got me to thinking about other songs that I like from that decade. They are mostly mellow and some country crossovers. This list is in no order of preference.
1. Knock Three Times - Tony Orlando & Dawn
2. Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) - The Temptations
3. Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver
4. Let's Stay Together - Al Green
5. I'll Be Around - The Spinners
6. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right - Luther Ingram
7. Before The Next Teardrop Falls- Freddie Fender
8. Lonesome Loser - Little River Band
9. Let Your Love Flow - Bellamy Brothers
10. I'd Really Love To See You Tonight - England Dan and John Ford Coley
11. You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine - Lou Rawls
12. Use Ta Be My Girl - The O' Jays
13. Here You Come Again - Dolly Parton
14. Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes
15. Fire - Pointer Sisters
16. After The Love Has Gone - Earth, Wind & Fire
17. Reunited - Peacher & Herb
18. The Devil Went Down To Georgia - The Charlie Daniels Band
19. The Gambler - Kenny Rogers
20. You Are The Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
21. My Life - Billy Joel
22. Sail On - The Commodores
23. How Much I Feel - Ambrosia
24. Nobody Does It Better - Carly Simon
25. I Love A Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbit
26. Smokey Mountain Rain - Ronnie Milsap
27. Do You Know the Way to San Jose - Dionne Warwicke
28. Back In Love Again - LTD
29. Midnight Train to Georgia - Gladys Knight & The Pips
30. Rhinestone Cowboy - Glenn Campbell
I'm pretty sure that 19, 25 and 26 are the 70's. I should look this up in my Billboard book but I don't feel like going into the basement for it.
1. Knock Three Times - Tony Orlando & Dawn
2. Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) - The Temptations
3. Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver
4. Let's Stay Together - Al Green
5. I'll Be Around - The Spinners
6. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right - Luther Ingram
7. Before The Next Teardrop Falls- Freddie Fender
8. Lonesome Loser - Little River Band
9. Let Your Love Flow - Bellamy Brothers
10. I'd Really Love To See You Tonight - England Dan and John Ford Coley
11. You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine - Lou Rawls
12. Use Ta Be My Girl - The O' Jays
13. Here You Come Again - Dolly Parton
14. Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes
15. Fire - Pointer Sisters
16. After The Love Has Gone - Earth, Wind & Fire
17. Reunited - Peacher & Herb
18. The Devil Went Down To Georgia - The Charlie Daniels Band
19. The Gambler - Kenny Rogers
20. You Are The Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
21. My Life - Billy Joel
22. Sail On - The Commodores
23. How Much I Feel - Ambrosia
24. Nobody Does It Better - Carly Simon
25. I Love A Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbit
26. Smokey Mountain Rain - Ronnie Milsap
27. Do You Know the Way to San Jose - Dionne Warwicke
28. Back In Love Again - LTD
29. Midnight Train to Georgia - Gladys Knight & The Pips
30. Rhinestone Cowboy - Glenn Campbell
I'm pretty sure that 19, 25 and 26 are the 70's. I should look this up in my Billboard book but I don't feel like going into the basement for it.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Bon Jovi and US Open tickets
I had not intended on going to any concerts this year because I've mostly been saving for US Open tickets but this past Wednesday my brother informed me that he had been at the TicketMaster site looking into the ticket prices for both events. I was suprised that Mark changed his mind about not fitting Bon Jovi tickets into his budget. He seemed pretty excited about wanting to go which got me feeling the same way so I went to the site and ordered them for us.
It's my fault that he is into Bon Jovi now. He seems even more into them than I am. We have been to 2 concerts together. One was the Bounce tour- was that 2003? We were at Giants Stadium for that. It was the Prudential Center in Newark in 2007 for the Lost Highway tour. Crappy seats for both and likewise for the upcoming show in July. The tickets went on sale a few weeks ago so we are just glad that we were able to still get some.
This is only the second event that I've ordered tickets online for. Last time it was for the US Open in 2009. We did that like only a few days before so I had to print them out which was kind of frustating because our printer gives us problems often. This year I plan on ordering them early and having them sent by mail. We get the grounds pass and will be going for 5 days instead of 4 this time.
I always worry that tickets will get lost in the mail or sent to the wrong place. Until I have the tickets in my hand I will be anxious about this. I have always said my address twice to the person on the phone but I still worry that he or she misunderstood me. The tickets always get here, thank goodness. I worry too much about many things anyhow, I can't help it.
I heard You Give Love a Bad Name on the radio today and was feeling both anxious and excited about the concert. There are 4 shows in May but 3 of them are sold out and the 4th one had even crappier seats left. The opening act will be Kid Rock. I know a few songs by him. I am definitely not driving to the Meadowlands- it's too stressful. Luckily now they have a bus link from the Secaucus train station that will take you there so we'll be going to Linden station for the train. They only started doing this recently. They should've had that for many years- we would've went to more events there. I have driven there about 6 times and am glad that I don't have to again.
We aren't sure when the tennis tickets go on sale, maybe next month. If you are a member of the USTA you can order them now. The weather during the US Open had been nearly perfect the past 3 years. I have this bad feeling that this time it won't be and am praying that I'm wrong. Watch, it'll rain sometime during the first week but be perfect for the 2nd. I haven't gotten rained on for any outdoor concerts yet, I hope that this fortune continues for this one. It'll be interesting seeing the new Giants Stadium.
It's my fault that he is into Bon Jovi now. He seems even more into them than I am. We have been to 2 concerts together. One was the Bounce tour- was that 2003? We were at Giants Stadium for that. It was the Prudential Center in Newark in 2007 for the Lost Highway tour. Crappy seats for both and likewise for the upcoming show in July. The tickets went on sale a few weeks ago so we are just glad that we were able to still get some.
This is only the second event that I've ordered tickets online for. Last time it was for the US Open in 2009. We did that like only a few days before so I had to print them out which was kind of frustating because our printer gives us problems often. This year I plan on ordering them early and having them sent by mail. We get the grounds pass and will be going for 5 days instead of 4 this time.
I always worry that tickets will get lost in the mail or sent to the wrong place. Until I have the tickets in my hand I will be anxious about this. I have always said my address twice to the person on the phone but I still worry that he or she misunderstood me. The tickets always get here, thank goodness. I worry too much about many things anyhow, I can't help it.
I heard You Give Love a Bad Name on the radio today and was feeling both anxious and excited about the concert. There are 4 shows in May but 3 of them are sold out and the 4th one had even crappier seats left. The opening act will be Kid Rock. I know a few songs by him. I am definitely not driving to the Meadowlands- it's too stressful. Luckily now they have a bus link from the Secaucus train station that will take you there so we'll be going to Linden station for the train. They only started doing this recently. They should've had that for many years- we would've went to more events there. I have driven there about 6 times and am glad that I don't have to again.
We aren't sure when the tennis tickets go on sale, maybe next month. If you are a member of the USTA you can order them now. The weather during the US Open had been nearly perfect the past 3 years. I have this bad feeling that this time it won't be and am praying that I'm wrong. Watch, it'll rain sometime during the first week but be perfect for the 2nd. I haven't gotten rained on for any outdoor concerts yet, I hope that this fortune continues for this one. It'll be interesting seeing the new Giants Stadium.
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