Sammy's 7th Annual Holiday Message

I have a cold so I cannot be arsed to write anything but this post needs to be published today because it always is. Hopefully the Year In Review post will be more detailed. Happy hols, all.

Feast of the Virgin, Year VI

 

Yep, had to post this. No action again. Six years now. I truly do not think it is ever going to happen again. But you want to know something weird? I am OK with that. There is so much else to worry about (which I am not posting about because of my “Positive Posts Only!” goal) that finding someone desperate enough to want to do the dance with no pants with me is way down my list of things to do, tucked somewhere between “Research what type of uniform Walmart greeters wear because I am never going to be able to afford to retire” and “Start saving up to buy the Walmart greeters uniform.”

Of course this is about American Idol

I tried not to watch it, I really did. But there is something about this show... It is my Brokeback Mountain, I just cannot quit it. But I decided early on that I was not going to blog about it, despite a desperate need to write about something, because a quick perusal of previous posts would have resulted in way too many Google searches about it - had I used the contestants’ names! But no, previous posts are rife with nicknames! Apparently, I hated some poor girl with bad hair (Uni-Bang) and there was a terrible male singer who had a stutter (Stuttering Stanley) and – oh, how I am cringing at this -  there was a singer of mixed Chinese and Hispanic heritage who earned the unfortunate moniker of Kung Pao Taco (really, I am not racist, I swear).

Yeah, so, no posts, but I had to do a season-end wrap-up because, well, I don’t know how to quit it:

Luke Bryant – most useless judge EVER. On more than one occasion, when he was third to speak, he said there was nothing he could add because Lionel and Katie had said it all. One time, when he was first to go, he said he wasn’t going to comment because “no one wants to hear my voice after they’ve heard yours.” Gawd.

Even though previous seasons went on way too long, I didn’t really like this pared-down format. I think there could have been a happy medium.

And that results-the-same-night deal? Insulting to both the viewers and the contestants because they are basically admitting what everyone has known all along but chose to ignore - that this is a popularity contest and not a singing competition.

What the hell was the deal with Bobby Bones? Where did he come from and how useless was he? And what is the deal with that name? I feel as though he should be in a Saturday Night Live Halloween-themed sketch with Tom Hanks.

And the producers ought to be ashamed of themselves as far as Catie Turner is concerned. Yes, I am all for quirky chicks who do not fit into the societal norms of physical attraction (I wonder why). And haters don’t hate – you know I do not agree with what society considers physically attractive. But they only put her through (and you know 99% of who goes through is decided by the producers and not the judges) because of the publicity it would garner. No, my biggest peeve with this is the fact that she just wasn’t that good of a singer; had she been, then, yeah, I would be her biggest supporter. But she wasn’t and I think it cruel of the producers to do that to her, to give her hope because, to paraphrase The Shawshank Redemption, hope is a terrible thing, maybe even the worst of things. And had she won, would they have changed the name to Amish Idol?

Like if Adam Sanders/Ada Vox would have won would they have changed the name to Drag Queen Idol?  And what would have happened had they already decided to go with separate boy/girl teams like they have done in the past? Or maybe they did and he/she came along and they scrapped that idea.

And then there is Maddie. Oh, how I loved her from the start. So much so, that I would have been OK with her not winning, because that way she could record what she wants. And even though I did not like Carrie Underwood II Gabby Barrett (despite her being from the ‘burgh) I would have been OK with her winning. Caleb too.  But Maddie, I have not liked a contestant so much since Kelly Clarkson. I hope she has a career and doesn’t fade away like Uni-Bang (well, actually, she might be a huge star right now because I don’t remember her name!).

Year in Review – 2017 Edition

Easily the highlight of my year was my California trip. Newbies can check it out here. But the rest of 2017 was not without its moments:

I got to try on a Super Bowl ring (not one of the many thousands the Steelers have, unfortunately, but still):

 

Put 1,395 miles on my car. And I thought the 1,662 I put on last year was sad. This lower number is a direct result of the car troubles I had in the summer and have not been able to afford to fix. And yes, here are actual swear-on-Sammy’s-life pictures of my before and after mileage:

 

 

Lost 5.6 pounds. I really need to do something about my weight. I am going to give Meatless Mondays a try and have vowed to give up paying for red meat and pizza. Originally it was to give up eating those two things but I got a free birthday burger from some place that sends me emails and there’s going to be pizza at work next week, so being the natural lawyer I am (and a cheap ass) the loophole is that I am not going to PURCHASE red meat or pizza. This isn’t going to be that much of a hardship, my red meat consumption is maybe once a week and pizza once a month but baby steps.

But perhaps it is my mental health issues that I should work upon. I truly think I might be getting early onset dementia. Exhibit one:

Went to a concert (Billy Idol). What makes this even more noteworthy, it was at Mandalay Bay not three weeks after the shooting. Yep, still not over - and frankly don't know if I ever will be - all that ensued in my life after that massacre.

Got six pedicures.

Saw no movies in the theater. I think this is the first time in a while I have had a zero movie year. Driving issues, of course.

Spent $223.30 at the post office, $275.72 at Target and $187.94 at the dollar store.

And in a rarity, finally got a picture taken of me that I like and am willing to share: