Miss Safety

Back when we had cable (which by the way, I really don't miss it too much), Emmy watched a lot of Playhouse Disney. They had a short 5 minute show aired frequently called Lou and Lou Safety Patrol. One of the episodes was about riding in the car, featuring rules to follow to be safe in the car.

Despite the fact that Emmy has not seen the show in months, she still remembers the safety "rules" as demonstrated by Lou and Lou. You would think that this is a good thing - and it sort of is. She always makes sure everyone is buckled up (we always are anyway), and yesterday I overheard her tell Pooky to stop yelling, because it was "distracting the driver" (those were her exact words). But the one that I keep getting caught with is talking on the cell phone while driving.

Don't get me wrong - it's not like I chat on my phone all the time. But, there are times that I do need to use my phone briefly while driving. Like to tell my friend we are running late to meet her at the playground, or to quickly call Ray to ask him something I just remembered. In my opinion, no big deal. But, Emmy is always quick to remind me...

"Mommy! You aren't supposed to talk on a cell phone while driving. It is not safe!"

*sigh*
Of course she is right. So, what am I supposed to do? I put the phone away. Leave it to Emmy to keep us all safe...
And, it really does bug me to see other drivers chatting away on their phones while driving like idiots, so I know that this isn't a bad thing, but it is driving me crazy. She caught me twice this week! What are the chance that she will forget that safety rule any time soon?? ;)

Bumbling and Rambling

I do not enjoy talking on the phone.

Now, I don't mind talking to Ray or my family members, but that's about it. I definitely prefer email, and if there is a way to do something through the Internet versus the phone, then the Internet will always win. And Ray is the same way - we will argue over who has to call the bank or the cable company if there is a problem. We started ordering our pizza online, all catalog orders are placed online, and now even my doctor's office can schedule appointments though email - wonderful!
I am not exactly sure why I don't like the phone. Maybe it is because I don't really know what to say - lots of "ummm" and "uh, yeah, well..." type of phrases come out of my mouth. So I feel like a moron when I have to call my builder to tell him that the countertop in the bathroom is peeling off.

Anyway, my 10-year high school class reunion is this year, and a couple of months ago I somehow got roped into helping with planning. My job right now is to find everyone, and to get home and email addresses. The good thing is that I graduated from a very small high school with just 70 people in my class, and Ray and I are 2 of them.
For the most part, I was able to use the Internet to find everyone. I already had a few email addresses from people I still keep in touch with. And MySpace was wonderful - there are 20-25 people from my graduating class on there, and I was also able to find several others though siblings who happen to be on Myspace (another good thing about a small school - I know everyone's siblings). I also found a few addresses through the white pages online. And then through all of those people, I would find other people, and so on. Over 2 months I have found 58 out of 70 people, which I don't think is too bad considering the fact that I live 14 hours from my home town and have only used the Internet to find these people.
Until today - a few weeks ago I received an email from a former classmate with a list of phone numbers she had - 3 of which were people I was still looking for. I put it off for a while, then this morning I decided to make the phone calls. But I was dreading it.
I made quick note of what I would say, so that I didn't sound like such an idiot, figuring that I would get voice mails, because who actually answers their phone if they don't recognize the number on the caller ID? Surprisingly, 2 of the 3 actually answered the phone, and I got through a quick conversation to get the information I needed for the reunion without too much pain.

Where am I going with this? I have no idea... I really just wanted to complain about having to call these people who I have not seen or spoken to in 10 years. Hopefully I will not have to do much more of that. And I am happy with the fact that I can conduct most business manners though the Internet.