Conversations with my Mother, First-World Gripes Edition

Apparently, I get extremely jealous watching others make great technological advances that I can’t (or, choose not to?) afford.  iPod Touch?  iPhone?  DSLR?  Yes, lovely, I WANT, but I DO NOT HAS.  To wit:

Mum: So we were at home, waiting for the cable guy–

Me: The cable guy?

Mum: Yeah, we switched our phone to the cable service, and he was installing this…DVR…thing, and–

Me: You got a DVR?  A DVR THING?

Mum: Yeah, I guess, and so–

Me: OH MY GOD.  Do you not understand the gravity of this situation?  It’s not a “DVR Thing,” it’s THE GREATEST INVENTION IN THE HISTORY OF TELEVISION AND WHY DO YOU GET TO HAVE A “DVR THING” AND I DON’T?!  Not to mention you have already had a kind of DVR for three years and don’t use it.  And do you know what I have?  NO KIND of DVR.

Mum: Well, now we have to wait until tomorrow for them to put back all of the channels we used to have, and something about the picture doesn’t look right, like, you can zoom, but, it just…it’s just not RIGHT, somehow.

Me: IT’S SO HARD BEING YOU.

A note to Sarah Palin

From CNN on Palin’s resignation:

The governor needed a break after being “on duty now for two and a half years solid,” [Palin's lawyer] said.

I hate to break it to you, Sarah, but presidential terms are four whole years of solid on-duty status!

I’m all for taking breaks, and many politicians have found the need for breaks before: Crawford, Texas!   Kennebunkport, Maine!  Martha’s Vineyard!  Argentina!  But that’s vacation, not resignation.