Random 5 for October 14 – Radio, music, holidays, ads, friends

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Image result for radio announcer clipartDead spots or not – I listen to a local station during my very short commute to the gym. The past week or so the static has been so bad I can’t always hear. Convinced it was the stupid entertainment center in my car (formerly known as a radio), I started fiddling around. Hmm. Other stations were not static-y, nor was Sirius (who is always offering me a free trial). On the station’s Facebook page I found that they are doing upgrades on their tower and in the interim they are broadcasting at a lower power. Hopefully I’ll be back to belting my songs in the car in a week or so.

In the meantime – I was forced to listen to another station. My preferred is an oldies station. This other one is contemporary music. Very disappointing. I like some contemporary songs but they all sounded alike to me. (Yes, I’ve turned into my mother! Next thing you’ll tell me the Beatles are elevator music!)

Obliviousness – This past Monday I went to the library. It was closed for Columbus Day. *bangs head on table* I never thought to check a calendar. Columbus Day wasn’t a holiday for me when I went to school or worked. When was it promoted?

It’s a sad day – When you miss the drug commercials. We are sick of the political attacks. One month until the election. Then we get to catch up on all the new drugs (and their outrageous side effects) and car deals.

Ready to hang out a shingle – I had lunch with my former gym friends. I only see them every couple of months. I am the youngest. Every time we meet there are new spots on lungs, liver, etc. People graduate from canes to walkers as if it’s a rite of passage. It’s become scary to ask how anyone is but I am becoming an expert in all sorts of medical issues. Fortunately, I also had lunch with another group of friends. All healthy. It’s a balancing act.

So how was your week?

 

 

56 thoughts on “Random 5 for October 14 – Radio, music, holidays, ads, friends”

  1. Two places I tried to get into were closed for Columbus Day and neither was a government office or bank. Go figure.
    I’m so tired of political commercials and I DVR almost everything I watch. The mail is crazy along with people ringing my doorbell at all hours. Can’t wait for the Presidential. That should be a treat.

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  2. Sirius is always having free trials here. We do feel sorry for them as their limited band width means the music coming out is lacking half of the notes/sounds. Drives me nuts. On long car trips it is useful to keep you awake – all sorts of crazy talk shows out there – always looking for a laugh.
    (Tired of going “Laaa-laaa-laaa” all the time plugging ears these days – so ready for political commercials to stop. Actually I wish they’d ban drug and political ads…they may start having to list prices of the drugs on tv ads…they should have to do the same showing political bank accounts on the political ads? Both addressing terminal illnesses?)

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  3. Yes, California changed to Indigenous People Day this year. That was the stated holiday, but of course people haven’t grown accustomed to that yet, so it wasn’t widely adopted. I wouldn’t have thought the library was closed either. We don’t have that many political ads either, at least I don’t see them! I watch more cable than network, so perhaps that’s why? You must have a lot of them to be missing the pharmaceutical ads! LOL!

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  4. I would NEVER tell you the Beatles are elevator music! My hubby likes to listen to an oldies station too. I like NPR, but when my grandkids are in the car, they like a station that plays pop – all the new stuff. I have to admit, it’s kind of fun to listen to! 🙂

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  6. Oh, I know what you are talking about with changing the radio station. I miss the old dial days! Although of course we didn’t used to have Pandora, so it balances out, I guess. Also can’t wait until the election is over. The political ads are killing me!

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  8. Last year I remember hearing quite a bit of talk about changing Columbus day to Indigenous People’s Day. I haven’t heard anything about it this year. It’s probably still around.

    We got our voter’s pamphlet last week. We have four initiatives this time. They’re always tricky to understand–not the kind of thing you can vote on without some study. And of course the commercials are usually misleading. Do you have citizens’ initiatives?

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    • Another commenter said that California has Indigenous People’s Day. We don’t have any initiatives and you are right about them being tricky. We had one extending the age judges could work until from 70 to 75 a few years back. I didn’t think that was a good idea but the question was worded in such a way that I accidentally voted for it.

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  9. We never had Columbus Day off either – I feel cheated, and I have said over the years, that I worked in a law office with no legal holidays off – ever. The courts get all the government holidays off. For years the banks would get two days off in February within a week – Lincoln’s birthday, then Washington’s birthday. They didn’t get it off on the 12th and 22nd respectively, for the actual birthdays, but two long weekends in a row. That would grind me as we never got either one off. Then with the MLK holiday in place, they had to cut out one of the February holidays as employers started to balk. We never got the MLK holiday off either.

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      • Yes, and when we first moved here from Canada, we were surprised having the Thanksgiving holiday so late in the year. It would be nicer to give everyone a long-holiday weekend in the Fall … how many times bad weather spoils Thanksgiving holiday with a freak ice or snow storm delaying flights, etc.? Thanksgiving so late in the year, just makes it a maniacal shopping frenzy most of the time, taking away from the actual holiday. I’ve never thought it was fair that everyone didn’t get off government holidays – I realize first responders, hospital personnel and restaurants are exempt, but it should be implemented. It is a long time to go from Labor Day to Thanksgiving weekend without a long holiday. Likewise in Summer we go from July 4th to Labor Day, two whole months. A fellow blogger, a young Norwegian guy (early 30s), was on three weeks’ vacation and upon his return remarked how fast the time flew and he was was looking forward to his next two-week vacation later in the year. I thought he could not have accumulated 5 weeks’ vacation at such an early age, and he is a chef-in-training at a local restaurant. I asked if his workplace was generous with vacation time – “no” he says … all Norwegians get 5 weeks vacation when they begin working.

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  10. Oh, that explains why we didn’t get any mail last Monday. I don’t pay too much attention to holidays (real or imagined) so they often catch me by surprise. I seem to remember having Columbus Day off from school but I thought it was kind of an anachronism now. I was just thinking that we haven’t seen as many political ads as I would have expected (except print ads… they are clogging up my mailbox… except last Monday 🙂 ) but then I remembered that we usually watch taped shows or stream so we self-censor. Yay technically!

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  11. I had a friend who used to say the key is to always have friends who are younger than you.
    I used to think that was crazy until my grandmother remarked that she might not have any contemporaries at her funeral. It felt like she was going to be the last to survive and it was not a tag she relished. It struck me as strange in my 30s and 30s but now in my 50s, as more of my actual contemporaries have died, I’m starting to see her perspective. I can’t imagine being in my 80s and searching about for a contemporary who might recognize my death.

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  12. I stopped my Sirius subscription last year, but they send me email offers on a weekly basis. The deals are always good, but I’ve decided that I’m not going to be snookered in anymore. If I had extra money, I’d call them and barter for a three or four year deal. But I don’t have that kind of cash lying around, so I end up just deleting the email.

    Last Monday I was enroute to my part-time job, and had a bit of a panic wondering if I would go all that way to find out they were closed for Columbus Day. But no, they were open. I was relieved since it’s a 40 minute drive!

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    • At least you remembered. I didn’t know why they were closed until I got home. I haven’t subscribed to Sirius in years but the stations are still on my radio and if I tune in to them, there are ads about renewing my subscription. For the few miles I drive, I don’t need it and I actually prefer to hear local traffic reports.

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  13. In Los Angeles we no longer celebrate Columbus Day, it’s morphed into Indigenous Peoples Day… fine with me!
    Re: Beatles elevator music… Don Henley (of the Eagles) said there’s nothing like going to the supermarket at midnight and hearing your own songs over the PA system turned into Musak!
    At my time of life (early 70s) I wish the talk was about spots on livers, etc… my friends seem to be dropping all around me… impossible to realize I will never see them again…
    But life goes on and I intend to enjoy it… even if it means listening to the Rolling Stones at the car wash!

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  14. Why, why ,why is there nothing celebrating JFK????

    My library was open on Columbus Day. But, no mail and no banks. And my local school district was closed. When I was a child schools were closed for Veterans Day. In my opinion, a far more worthy day to observe then Columbus Day. Now they are open.

    I HATE the drug commercials. The government stepped in and put an end to the tobacco industry advertising on TV…hmmm to protect us??? I think those drug commercials are just as harmful. Perhaps the drug industry could more wisely spend it’s money to educate Drs. on their products. And furthermore reduce the price of drugs…so everyone could actually afford them.

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  15. Columbus Day wasn’t a holiday when I was in school, either, so it always takes me unaware. I doubt the Native Americans appreciate that celebration any more than a lot of other holidays we have.

    I’m one of the youngest people living in this senior building. There’s a lot of talk about bodies falling apart. Sadly I can fit right in to those conversations.

    I don’t even have cable or broadcast TV but even on YouTube there are constant political advertisements. Won’t be too long now. Already filling out my mail-in ballot. 🙂

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  16. I have 6 radio stations programmed in the car. If I don’t have a DVD with me, I bounce around from one to the other until a song resonates. If they play something that “brings me down” I switch stations. Several of them are 70’s stations with favorite groups from college and high school. A few are more contemporary. It’s a crap shoot! 😆

    From Wikipedia (edited):

    Since 1971, the [Columbus Day] holiday has been fixed to the second Monday in October, the same day as Thanksgiving in neighboring Canada fixed. It is generally observed by banks, the bond market, the U.S. Postal Service, other federal agencies, most state government offices, many businesses, and most school districts. Some businesses and some stock exchanges remain open, and some states and municipalities abstain from observing the holiday.

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    • With my fancy dancy entertainment system, it’s not easy to change stations unless I look at the display screen so I never change stations while driving. I long for the days of push buttons. I must live in a mostly Columbus Day-free zone, except for libraries. PS: It did open later in the day which made no sense to me.

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    • Glad you made it through Michael. One of my brother’s neighbors like in Panama City. We are praying for them although I heard they were ok. We don’t have a landline yet we get the phone calls. Sigh! We have caller ID and don’t answer unless we know who it is. Still annoying.

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  20. Pays to hang out with young’uns which is why you’ll often find me playing next door with two little girls ages 4 and 5. They want to read when I want to play with their dollhouse.
    Not making light of what you wrote, since I too experience a lot of that. It reminds me to be grateful for my body that is still in proper play..

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  21. I only get local radio stations in my old car because no Sirius for me. I agree that most of the music sounds the same, but at least I can get NPR so I try to use my drive time to learn something. Oddly enough we’re not getting too many political TV commercials this year. I can’t explain why, but I’m liking it. In their place, however, are commercials for mattresses + cars + drugs, of course.

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    • No Sirius here either but their stations still transmit advertising. I don’t spend enough time in the car to justify and I hate their pricing model. They make you call and beg for discounts every 6 months. You are lucky with the political commercials. We have a senatorial, gubernatorial and congressmen up for election and it’s heated here. It will be interesting. I try to keep my head in the sand because it all makes me nuts. There is one person running (not in my area) that for sure I wouldn’t vote for him just on the basis of his brutal attacks on his opponent. I haven’t heard what he would do, just how bad the other guy is. That don’t work for me.

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