AZDana

Archive for April 9th, 2007

I heard that some consumers are losing their homes because they can’t afford their mortgage after they refinanced. It’s sad that some mortgage companies put their customers in bad mortgages, but I feel the customers also have a duty to look around before they sign any paper. People need to realize the seriousness of obtaining a mortgage and be diligent about what mortgage products are on the market. How many of them have even bothered to look at a mortgage calculator? Sadly, some consumers seem to spend more time researching what kind of shoe to buy instead of researching mortgage products and information. Does the average home owner know the difference between various types of secured loans versus a home equity line of credit? How many people know when to change mortgage providers to take advantage of lower interest rates?

Personally, I think the situation would be improved if people just did their research on the subject. Read about mortgages, read it again, and just when you think you know what everything means, read it all once more.

When it comes to tricks, she has a limited repertoire. I wouldn’t mind teaching her more, but she’s kind of stubborn and it’s impossible for me to pick her up and move her around. For example, I can’t teach her how to roll over because she is way too big for me to physically roll over, I’d have to wait till she came up with the idea of her own volition.

Anyway, she does have one trick that she loves to do and she usually does it while I’m on the phone. I call it the “worm”, because she lies on her back and writhes, kicking her back legs like she’s pedaling a bike. She also sounds like she’s getting killed, making sounds like a cross between a hyena and a locomotive.

I found this video on YouTube, and the coyote kind of reminded me of the BBD doing her worm, although I think the BBD is about twice as big as a fox (or am I thinking of coyotes?). I would love to tape her and put her online for everyone to see, but she usually quits worming just as soon as she hears the camera case opening.

The BBD and I are having a great afternoon together, which is great, considering that she usually prefers my son and only thinks of me as her (generous) meal ticket. She’s got all sorts of toys scattered around, but she isn’t very interested in them. She almost always likes playing with empty two liter bottles, but she seems bored by them too.

I had an empty pizza box that I was about to throw out, but I decided to see what she thought of it. She LOVED it! She shredded it with her teeth and played with it till she dozed off.

I guess I can save money on her toys from now on by giving her empty pizza boxes. But come to think of it, doesn’t pizza cost more than a plastic pork chop?

Somehow, the doofus remodelers made a mistake and threw away her nearly new garbage disposal. (She had killed the old one with a vegetarian “meat”ball and was pleased when she got the new one six months ago.) This time, she’s not going to have to pay for another disposal because the boss of the doofuses said his workers should’ve set aside her disposal instead of putting it in their trash. So she’ll have another brand new gizmo in her kitchen but for this one, her credit card gets to stay in her purse.

When was the last time you saw a UPS truck in the left turn lane? Not for a long time, right? A-HA! I thought so! It turns out that UPS decided that its drivers would avoid making left handed turns and announced this decision in 2004. Apparently, the time spent idling was costing them millions each year due to fuel costs. They even developed software that maps customized routes for each driver in order to minimize their left turns.

Now, I’m sitting here thinking about how I can save a few drops of gas by cutting down on my left turns. Which reminds me, I need to find a good mechanic this afternoon. Rats!

She didn’t get any Easter candy. Come to think of it, she hasn’t had any candy since she went to the vet. She seems to like her new Royal Canin food and I would definitely recommend that all pet owners try it for their pets. But the BBD tends to wolf it down unless I feed her piece by piece. Which I did today, until she accidentally bit my thumbnail. Not hard enough to break anything, just hard enough to hurt. I wonder if she bit it because she got confused and thought it smelled like a cherry Lifesaver?

Boy, did I have a head full of plans this morning! I was going to dazzle and amaze the blogosphere, right after I got back from making a run for a cup of coffee.

I didn’t make the run, and I don’t think I’ll be making any runs for a couple more days. The van was sputtering, and running very roughly, as if it was trying to scale the peak of Mount Wannahockaloogie. So I guess I need to call my mechanic, or find another one.

So I’m not feeling really cheerful or wacky today and I can’t implement any scheduled wacky unless I’m in the proper mood.

Oh well, at least the BBD is here giving me comfort, joy and gooberized kisses on my knee.