Simple Randomness

International Phone Cards are the Way to Go!

If you’ve ever lived outside of the country and had to call home from time to time, you know that the price of each phone call is expensive! And naturally, the more you call the more it adds up. But you have to keep in touch, so what do you do?

Well, I lived in South America for a couple of years and honestly we wanted to keep it cheap when I would call home. So my parents would send me some prepaid phone cards so I could make the calls. And in the end this was definitely the cheaper way to go!

The nice thing about phone cards is that you can set how much you want to spend, and in the long run the rates are usually a lot cheaper than using a standard long distance service. One place where you can get phone cards online is Phone Cards Avenue. They provide cheap international phone cards and allow customers to save 80% or more over regular long distance providers like AT&T and Sprint.

I know that this whole phone card thing doesn’t apply to everyone, because a lot of us probably don’t know people outside of the US. For those of you that do, it’s well worth it.

But for those of you that only know people here in the US, you can also get really good prices on phone cards that call in the country. And still, they prices/rates are usually much better than just using your standard long distance. It may not always be the case, but if you know you’re going to be making a lengthy long distance call you might want to consider it!

Just make sure you don’t run out of time in the middle of a call! So plan ahead, and use a card that will work for you!

Verbal Dyslexia

My wife and I both suffer from time to time from what we call verbal dyslexia, and I’m wondering if anyone else suffers from this as well. I try to come up with a few examples, but it’s weird because when I try to think of times that it’s happened I can rarely come up with good examples. It’s just such a random thing.

So here’s the idea. You get talking, and you flip either words around or portions of words around. To you it might make perfect sense until you stop and think about it. But sometimes you don’t even notice it. Here’s an example. My wife and I were talking about movies, and she said something like, “Oh, the one with Jolia Ruberts.” So it was fine, but the “o” and “u” were said in the wrong place.

Sometimes it happens with just the first letters of two words become switched. I’m really trying to think of a good example of this, but it would be something like “sooster beat” instead of “booster seat.” Or, another example of verbal dyslexia is when you put the words in the wrong order, like instead of saying “cool car” you say “car cool.” I blame that one on knowing Spanish because sometimes you do that in Spanish.

Are we the only ones that suffer from this? I certainly hope not. Sometimes it’s pretty funny, but whenever it happens and we catch it we always say, “Wow, where did that come from?!”

Anyone else have this problem???

Going on Vacation…Don’t Forget a Car!

One of the nice things about flying somewhere is that you don’t have to make a long drive to your destination…but then what do you do to get around? Well of course that’s where a car rental comes in handy!

Now I have to admit that the last time my wife and I rented a car was for our honeymoon. But it was a lot of fun. We were talking the other day about someday making a trip to Hawaii or some other really cool place then renting a sports car to drive around in. We’d mainly do this cause I know I’ll probably never buy one, but would love the fun of driving one sometime!

So if you’re thinking about making a trip for fun or business sometime, check out Advantage rent a car. They have some really good deals going on right now so it’s worth checking out!

I Like Guitar Hero … But Do I Like DDR Better?

So this last weekend we got together with some old high school friends of mine and played some Guitar Hero. I’ve honestly only ever played this game once before, but I thought it was a lot of fun.

I even got my wife to play it for a bit! And she started to get the hang of it, so maybe…just maybe that’s one game that I could convince her we should get . But the question remains, do I like DDR better?

They both have their qualities. Granted, the music for Guitar Hero is a TON better than anything on DDR, but I like that with DDR you really get more active. I think that in a group setting DDR is a much funner game. But when it comes to just 2-3 people, Guitar Hero can be a lot of fun.

So in the end I guess it depends on what you’re looking for. Both are fun, but I think DDR is a better party game.

It’ll Never Happen to You…

Or at least that’s what we’d all like to think…

About two weeks ago a friend of mine was a victim of identity theft. If I remember right they got a hold of $7000 out of his checking account. Luckily he was able to go through the steps and get it all back, but talk about a mess!

It’s so crazy that this is such a common crime these days. In fact, according to ConsumerAffairs.com, “For the seventh year in a row, identity theft tops the Federal Trade Commission’s complaint list, accounting for 36 percent of the 674,354 complaints received between January 1 and December 31, 2006.” This makes it a serious concern in my book!

I guess that’s why we have companies like LifeLock. If you’re worried about identity theft you should see how they can help. They have a really cool service that can help you protect your good name and identity from all those thieves out there!

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Ok, I couldn’t help it. It’s just such a nice day outside that I had to start this post out that way.

I’ve decided lately that I need to get out and enjoy nature more. I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to do it, I just know that I need to. In fact, last week I needed to go to the bank during work. The nice thing is that a branch of my bank is just down the street. So normally I’m in such a hurry that I’ll drive down there anyway, but last week I decided to walk. I’m glad I did!

So here are some other things I’m going to do this year to get outside more:

• If I have a long break, try to step outside and take even a 5 minute walk (unless of course it’s 100 degrees outside…).
• Go on more walks with my wife and kids.
• Go on a good hike this summer.
• Get rollerblades and go rollerblading with my wife.

Any other ideas?

Mother’s Day Coming Up…

So Mother’s Day is this coming Sunday, and I still have no idea what I’m going to get my wife, my mom, or my mother-in-law! I’m really bad at coming up with ideas for this sort of thing, and I’m always afraid that I’m going to just do something lame.

In fact, I remember one year as a kid when I totally forgot to get my Mom something. So the moment arrived and I reached in my pocket and gave her a string. It has been a running joke in my family for years that I gave my Mom a string rather than a real gift…

So this year I need to come up with some better ideas. It looks like 1800Flowers.com has some really good ideas, and I know that my wife and Mom like flowers, so maybe I’ll just do one of their gifts. If you’re in the same bind as me, check them out. You might get some good ideas!

Has anyone else noticed that Mother’s Day is always a much bigger deal that Father’s Day?

Back to the Gym

Ahh…. I finally made it back to the gym yesterday and had a great workout! With the baby being born, wife going through surgury, and all that other crazy stuff I haven’t been inside a gym since January!

So now I remember what it feels like to do squats and then not feel the pain until the next day. I’ve always wondered about that, but this time I knew that I’d be sore. But it was worth it!

Honestly I really enjoy working out. Currently I’ll probably only be able to go twice a week, but I have to admit that I’ve missed it. I’ve been doing my best to still get in a workout by doing pushups or using resistance bands, but it really just isn’t the same. One thing I’ve learned though is that you can at least still keep getting exercise when you don’t have access to a gym, you just have to make it happen!

April Showers Bring May Snow?!

I can’t think of the last time that this happened, but this morning, May 1st, I woke up and got ready to go to the gym.  I opened the door and lo and behold, there was snow on the ground.  This was really the last thing I expected on the first of May.

I have to admit that it has been a crazy year as far as weather is concerned.  But does that make me a big believer in global warming or anything like that?  Not really.

The big problem that I have with this whole global warming debate is that so many believe that humans are the sole cause of it.  I just don’t believe that.  There is too much evidence to the contrary.  Are we contributing?  Sure!  But when you hear the numbers that show that if we did everything that is being suggested it wouldn’t even make a dent it leaves me doubting.  There are so many things going on in the environment that I feel it’s kinda prideful of us to think that we can always try to control it.  Man was meant to use what nature gave him, not try to manipulate it and keep it the same all the time.

Anyway, there’s my environment rant for today.  I think I’ll go take a walk.  Maybe I’ll come across some leftover snow and make a little snowman just to celebrate Nature’s defiance of man’s desire to control it!