100 dollar toothbrush

For years the question has been asked, "Is there any difference between $20 salon shampoo and $2 Suave?" Personally, I like the $20 shampoo, but can't afford it, so I relish the few days after going to the salon when my hair actual does what it's supposed to. Anyway, I recently purchased one of those cool Sonic toothbrushes from Oral B that was $120 with a $20 mail-in rebate. Sounds crazy. Seriously, how much of a difference can there be? Well, there was a 30 day money back guarantee so I decided to bite the bullet and find out. The truth is, there's a huge difference. I had been using one of those $5 electric toothbrushes and was concerned about it tearing up my gums. After one week of my new tooth brush, my gums feel fuller and healthier than ever, and my teeth actually feel clean, EVERYWHERE! This thing gets in between the spaces better than anything. I love my new toothbrush.

Now the question is, "Is the $100 toothbrush any different than the $60 toothbrush?"

Rhonda

Turbo Tax call center in India

This is just the strangest thing ever. I got a notice from the IRS that I hadn't paid my 2006 taxes. Oh? My credit card was charged when I e-filed at Turbo Tax. So, how can this be? Well, I did end up having to mail my return which makes Turbo Tax believe that you are sending a check. Well, that's nice, I have this printed receipt stating that I paid and it's on my bank statement. So, I tried to contact Intuit. First off, that is a chore in itself. Because truly, they would rather not be bothered.

So, when I got an email back, it was obvious to me that whoever sent it, was not actually living in this country. They used the term, "and I would kindly ask" about 10 times in the email. So, I called. I had no idea what the person said her name was, she seemed nice, but she couldn't grasp what I was trying to explain to her. So, I tried another way. I emailed again saying that I needed a refund. Finally, someone must have understood that word. Of course they replied saying that I must call them.

The girl I talked to was very nice and cordial and of course, by this point, I was completely annoyed and asked, "So where are you located?" "India," she replied. "So do you know anything about our Federal Taxes?" I asked. "Of course." Then it got fuzzy, but I think she was trying to say that they had a lot of training to be able to work there. But that's the point. I had to gleen that from what she actually said, most of which I couldn't really recognize. So, is it just me, or does it seem wrong to have an outsourced call center for something that has to do with our Federal Taxes?

Still waiting on my refund,
Rhonda

This Rocks...

Oh, my gosh, Wednesday night television is sooooo boring so I started searching my HDTV to see if any random channels would pop-up. I found the best reality show ever. I hate reality tv. Seriously. But this ROCKS! Shear Genius on Bravo is my new favorite. For those of you who know me, I like to do goofy things to my hair so I'm cracking up at these stylists with their awful personal styles--but once in a while they do something really cool. The girl who cut with garden shears and the Farrah Fawcett lady who cut with a box cutter, did amazing things. It's really crazy. I saw another episode this morning where they were doing color and this guy was like, "Uh, I don't know what I did, but it's blue." How comforting is that to hear from your stylist? At some point in my life, I'd like to actually learn how to cut hair so I can be able to speak "stylist" so I can stop having to go to Super Cuts to have my hair fixed after I go to the salon. Someday...

don't you just love a good day?

Today I:

1)Got a job with the number one builder in the area
2)Spent time hanging with Mike Taylor and Shiv at WOXY studios
3)Heard a great secret that I can't tell, but it's so exciting!!!!
4)Had a great workout
5)Bought a great new book
6)Stuck to my diet
7)Found .11 while doing the laundry
8)From out of nowhere, actually by accident, someone listened to a new song of mine and actually gave me
the name of someone to contact about it. How strange is that? Plus, this is from someone who hasn't liked
anything I had written previously. Kind of a 2-for-1.

I love having good days! Let's have another one tomorrow.
Rhonda

My Brush with Fame

A few days ago, I went to my favorite club to see one of my all-time favorite artists, Mr. Chris Trapper from the Push Stars. Fortunately, Mike Craft was there with his digital camera to prove that, well, I guess it can't prove that Chris knows me by name, or that we "partied" together in Virginia Beach one year for my birthday, but it does prove that he was at least willing to have his picture taken with me. I honestly haven't been out to see live music for quite some time. I had forgotten how much I enjoy watching folks who are really amazing. How do I decide who is amazing? Well, if I want to write a song in the car on the way home, something amazing happened. Or, on this occassion, while Chris was getting some help from his friends, The Princes of Hollywood, I realized that I wish I could hook-up with someone who is a fabulous writer and musician who would force me to work harder at what I do. If only we could get Emily Strand to come out of hiding to write songs with me...or someone else that is just as good. Know anybody?

The Truth about Super Wal Mart

As I was standing in line at Wal Mart last night waiting for the drunken cashier to ring up the long line of people, I had some interesting thoughts...

1)Why do they have 30 check out lanes when there are only 3 open at any given time?
2)Why did Wal Mart feel the need to open Super Wal Mart? Did they feel that they could destroy more land in more cities if they opened larger stores? I really can't imagine they are planning Kroger's demise. That is just not going to happen. They can battle it out with Meijer all day and I won't lose any sleep, but don't mess with Kroger.

So, while I was waiting there in line for 15 minutes (at 10:20p, I might add) to get my$4.88 Galaxy Quest DVD, dental floss, and toothpaste, I realized that the whole Super Store dealio was really a public service. Because Wal Mart really does need something positive on their side. So, I'm thinking that after walking around one of their stores, the VPs realized that the one thing they could do to help their customers the most, was to seperate the Little Debbies from the Cat Litter. Make the store huge and move everything around so that no one can find it, add more products so folks can buy more pointless crap, but maybe they will lose a few pounds in the process. Myself, I find it aggravating that I can't run in and pick up a Starbucks Frappuccino and some cold medicine in 5 minutes or less, but no one else there seems to be in any hurry. I guess you can walk around all day when all you do is sit home and collect a check. At least, that's my take.

An ode to my crutches

Well, it's just about that time. Time to say goodbye to the crutches. I can't just yet, I need to see what the doctor says in a couple of weeks, but I certainly need them less and less. It's quite refreshing to be able to walk into the gym without them. Or get in the car and not have them get caught on things, be in the way, or smack me when i go around a corner. Yeah, Me! I feel so grown up, though I still walk like I'm about 18 months.

Today, I was trying to write a song about graduation or something not specific, but where you help someone until they can do things on their own. What was funny (well, it amused me) was that I was really struggling to find the words so I thought, "just write a song to your crutches. They've always been there for you and now it's time to seperate from them and go it alone." So, I wrote a couple verses of that and then turned on some music that I put together two days ago and then the words I wanted came out nearly perfect. I still need one line, but I'll find it. It will come to me when I least expect it. I think it's really funny sometimes where inspiration finds us...