No Shufflin’

I took the day off. I needed some rest. Been sick for close to three weeks now and I’m not sleeping well. Between dogs barking and TJ snoring and Micah getting in our bed at all hours and then moving and kicking around, sleep just isn’t happening. But it happened today. After I came unglued over a calendar at work yesterday, it became clear that I needed a down day. An alone day. So I slept until nearly 1pm and I’m laying in bed with my laptop, watching TV.

So, I thought that instead of a musical shuffle, I’d share the next five commercials that I see. Starting now.

1. ITT Tech School of Criminal Justice. My youngest brother works for ITT Tech. He works with high schools and does presentations and stuff like that. I haven’t spoken to him since the day after my birthday. The one he forgot. He’s actually managed to forget or blow off every one of our birthdays this year. He called TJ on her birthday but not to actually wish her a happy one, but to ask her to fix something for him. He decided he and his girlfriend needed to go up north for the weekend of Micah’s birthday. And then when they weren’t able to go away, decided that Micah’s birthday was still not important enough to be a good second option and found something else to do while the rest of our family and friends – including some of TJ’s family from Kansas – celebrated the anniversary of my son’s birth. When he called me the day after my birthday, he just wanted to ask me for some phone numbers or something – no birthday wish. Yeah, I’m a bit hurt and mad.

2. Menards. Oooh new faucets! We need a new one for the kitchen. I actually wouldn’t mind replacing all of them but they’re expensive. There are so many things I’d like to do with the house. I’d really like to get a bar, pool table, and pinball machine for the basement. They don’t sell any of those things at Menards though.

3. Medical Office Specialist – Kaplan College. Sorry to tell ya but folks that work in medical offices don’t make good money. Been there. Unless you’re a nurse, nurse practitioner, or physicians assistant, you’s gonna be po.

4. Empire Carpet. We used them a few months ago to replace our hideous white carpet – and the green carpet in our bedroom. The salesman, Ed, was nice but made sure to let us know that he didn’t approve of our “lifestyle.” He gave us the discounts we rated but you could feel his discomfort. The installers were great. A couple of latino men who didn’t speak much english. They did a great job and we drank beer with them after the job was done.

5. High-Tech Institute. Another “get a good-paying job in the medical field” commercial.

Alright – back to music tomorrow.