Christine the Curmudgeon

Christine the Curmudgeon does not approve of condoning or rewarding bad behavior.  But the folks at The Today Show did just that.

You probably saw the news story about the 7-year-old kid in Utah who stole the family car and went on a joyride.  He told the cops that he was trying to get out of going to church.

Yeah, so he got grounded for four days, had his TV and video games taken away.  But shame on The Today Show for rewarding him, and treating him like some sort of celebrity.  The show flew the family out to New York, all expenses paid, and had the whole family on.  See it here.

I don’t care how old this kid is…HE IS A CRIMINAL.  Seven is old enough to know better.  Taking a car without the owner’s permission is called STEALING, and the last time I checked, that is a crime.  So is driving a motor vehicle without a valid license.  Running a stop sign is illegal, as well.  Let’s not forget fleeing from the police.  And some people actually think that this whole thing was “cute”.

I also don’t care that the kid turned out to be a halfway decent driver.  He still broke the law.  He should not have been put on TV and treated like a celebrity.  Little kids are supposed to be playing with swing sets, stuff like that…not stealing cars.

Now I wonder how many other little kids will try to pull something like this, with the hope that they, too, can get a trip to New York City to be on TV.

If I had done anything like that when I was a kid, I would have gotten my butt whooped into the next galaxy.

The University of Chicago is annoying the crap out of Christine the Curmudgeon.  And they’d better stop or else!

We here at the House of Curmudgeonry have caller ID for a reason, so we don’t have to talk to annoying people.  So, if someone blocks caller ID, we don’t answer.  If we don’t recognize the name and/or number on the caller ID, we don’t answer.  Simple as that.

Anyhoo, we started getting calls from 312-201-4623, the caller ID had the number and simply ILLINOIS in the display.  Since I didn’t know who it was, I let the machine take it.  It was someone who was doing a survey about childhood vaccinations.

I thought that if I ignored them, they will go away.  WRONG!  In the case of these people, ignoring them makes them annoy people even more.

The last time they called was last night.  This especially pissed me off, because I was listening to the Jim Rice number retirement ceremony.

So I Googled the number to try to find out exactly who these people are.  That’s how I found out that it was NORC at the University of Chicago, doing a survey for the Centers for Diease Control.

The Curmudgeon-phone number is nonpublished and unlisted.  According to the site I just linked to, they randomly generated phone numbers with a computer to decide who to harass.  So that explains how they got our number.  These people don’t even know who the hell they are calling!

Many of the sites in the Google search had posts from people who are just as annoyed by these endless calls as I am.  A rep from this NORC place actually went on some of those sites and said that they were going to keep calling the numbers until someone answered the phone.  They said that if the household didn’t qualify for the survey, or didn’t wish to participate, the calls would stop.

However, many people claim that this was not true, they asked to be taken off the list, but still received the calls.  Many also said that the callers were very rude.  Some people have even reported getting more than one call from these people in one day!  So I guess I’m in for being harassed for the long haul!

The Curmudgeon household probably would not qualify for the survey, since there are no little Curmudgeonlets here.  I don’t think they’d want to know about tuxedo cat vaccinations.  So the next time they call, if I’m not doing anything more important, I’ll pick up and demand that they quit calling me, there are no children here.  The only reason I didn’t pick up and go off on them last night was because I was more interested in listening to the Jim Rice thing.

WHY are these survey people exempt from the DO NOT CALL list?  I think that charities, churches and politicians shouldn’t be exempt either.  I don’t think anyone should be allowed to pick up a phone and dial your number unless they are your friends, or people that you are doing legitimate business with.

Oh, if only I ruled the world!

Christine the Curmudgeon hated it from the minute it first came out, way back in high school. I found it disgusting because it was about cheating on a partner who went away for a while.  It’s *Sad Eyes* by Robert John.  It was on the radio a few minutes ago.

Looks like it’s over, you knew I couldn’t stay
She’s comin’ home today
We had a good thing, I’ll miss your sweet love
Why must you look at me that way
It’s over

Sad eyes, turn the other way
I don’t wanna see you cry
Sad eyes, you knew there’d come a day
When we would have to say ‘goodbye’

Try to remember the magic that we shared
In time your broken heart will mend
I never used you, you knew I really cared
I hate to see it have to end
But it’s over

Sad eyes, turn the other way
I don’t wanna see you cry
Sad eyes, you knew there’d come a day
When we would have to say ‘goodbye’

[Instrumental Interlude]

Sad eyes, you knew there’d come a day
When we would have to say ‘goodbye’
Sad eyes, turn the other way (turn the other way)
I don’t wanna see you cry (cry, cry, cry)
Sad eyes, you knew there’d come a day (he-e-e-ey)
When we would have to say ‘goodbye’
Sad eyes

I mean, this asshole is cheating on his SO, who was out of town for some reason, and then broke the heart of the woman he was cheating on her with? How effin’ skeevy can you get?

Of course, if the woman with whom he was cheating with KNEW that he was married or previously committed, she’s just as bad.  According to the song, she knew…but she was probably hoping that he’d leave his wife for her.  Sorry, bimbo, didn’t happen!

Cheating is WRONG.  If people in a marriage or other committed relationship can’t trust each other, what is there?  I’ve gone out of town on my own a few times, without Mr. C., including a trip to Las Vegas.  I never cheated on him when I was away, and I don’t believe he cheated on me, either.  I called him a lot all the times I was away, and he was always there to answer the phone.

If he did cheat, and I found out, I’d boot his ass to the curb.  I can deal with lots of things, but lying and cheating are two things I will NEVER tolerate.

I say that if someone is unhappy and wants to be with someone else, they need to break off the relationship they are in first, before going at it with the new partner.  It’s the right thing to do.

But, sheesh, I HATE that damned *Sad Eyes* song.  With a passion.

Christine the Curmudgeon gets very annoyed by *convenience* products, especially those that make things more expensive than they need to be.  Also, The Curmudgeon doesn’t quite get why so many people have so much difficulty with rice cookery.

We’ve seen Minute Rice and Success Rice (nasty, tasteless boil-in-bag crap).  Now Uncle Ben’s has jumped into the fray with their new line of Ready Rice.  90 minutes in the microwave, they say, and you have rice that supposedly tastes as good as regular cooked rice.

Sorry, but I can’t believe that.  When they do cruel and unusual stuff to rice to make to cook faster, much flavor and nutrients are removed.

In these tough economic times, who can afford the extra cost of a product like this?  When the cashier is running your groceries through the Honeywell Barcode Scanner, you will see that a ginormous bag of regular rice will come up as WAY cheaper than a couple of much smaller bags of Ready Rice.

I buy a ginormous bag of long-grain white rice for about five bucks, and it lasts for MONTHS until I have to buy a new one.  It’s really simple to cook, the general recipe is two parts water to one part rice.  Combine in a pot, add salt to taste if desired, bring to a boil.  Lower heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and let it cook for 15-20 minutes.  When you see little *pinholes* on the surface of the rice, it’s done.

For a more flavorful rice side dish, try my rice pilaf.  In a pot, melt some butter and add some olive oil, an equal amount of each, the amount depends on your taste and the amount of rice you are cooking.  Chop up an onion, and saute it in the butter/oil for several minutes, don’t let it brown too much.    Then add the rice, mix it around so it gets coated with the butter/oil, and saute for a few minutes.  Stir often so the rice does not burn.

Finally, add the water…if you put in two cups of uncooked rice, you will need four cups of water.  Cold water.  Give it a stir, add some salt if desired, and let this come to the boil.  Then, lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and let it cook for 15-20 minutes or so.

It takes longer, but this is much tastier and certainly less pricey than these pre-fab rice packets.  Try it!  It’s NOT as hard as some people make it out to be!

How many times do I have to say this?  MOMMA’S BOYS ARE BAD NEWS!

This letter to John Gray’s Mars & Venus column is over a year old, but I just saw it now.  For some reason, it showed up on the front page of the Creators.com advice section, I have no idea why.

Dear John: I have recently met the most caring, handsome and special man. Whenever I phone him, he has this excited thrill in his voice, and I think he cares for me. But at this point, I do not know how I feel. Why? Because of his mother. She is overly possessive of him. Recently we were supposed to go out, but she grounded him. He is 32 years old! Although I think I’m in love with him, I don’t know how to deal with this. What should I do? — Second to Mom, in Cheyenne, Wyo.

Dear Second to Mom: Run, far and fast. If, at 32, if he cannot make up his mind as to whom his friends and lovers should be, there is no guarantee he’ll be able to do it at 39, or even 49. I’m sure he has a lot of great qualities, but life’s too short to wait for him to grow up, so move on.

John’s advice is spot-on here.  This guy sounds a zillion times worse that the momma’s boy I was once married to.  Grounding a 32 year old man?  What’s the deal with this guy?  Does he even have a job?  Even if he did, what woman would want a 32-year old man who still lives with mommy, and lets her GROUND him?

I suppose that next thing you know, mommy will take away his phone privileges, as well as his laptop computer, because DOG forbid he be allowed to contact this dirty hussy who wants to defile her baby boy.

This guy is going to be under his mommy’s thumb until she dies.  And then he’ll be so lost without her, he won’t be good husband or boyfriend material for anyone.  As John says, RUN, FAR & FAST!