If you’re ever feeling like you’re in a dead-end job, or you’re tired of doing all the grunt work for your boss, watch Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe on the Discovery Channel. I’ve only recently become a fan (this is what happens when you are on maternity leave and have some time to kill) but I’m completely hooked. Rowe takes on jobs that most of us are fortunate to not do day-in and day-out. Granted, many of these folks like their jobs, but really, how often can a Roadkill Collector start the day saying, “I just can’t wait to get to work”? Sure, the work is gross, but the show is really interesting.

My favorite episode so far is when Rowe becomes a Casino Food Recycler in Las Vegas. A pig farmer there collects in dumpsters the leftover food from the casino buffets, sorts out the non-edible items, cooks it all up in a giant vat, and then feeds the slop to his pigs. It may not sound like a great show, but between the dry humor of the pig farmer and watching Rowe trying to corral escaped pigs, it’s “a hoot,” as some would say.

Rowe’s voice is wonderful. It should be — he used to sing baritone with the Baltimore Opera. I was first introduced to his sonorous oration when he was the host of The Most on the History Channel, a show Randy would watch over breakfast when we lived in Kentucky. You might recognize is voice from Ford F-Series truck commercials or from when you secretly watch American Chopper as Rowe is the narrator. If you’re really brave, you may admit that you recognize his voice from the early days of QVC (which has since become the best home shopping television channel, thank you very much) when Rowe was a host (here are some embarrassing video from his tenure for your enjoyment).

Even if you don’t think you’d be interested in learning how to catch bloodworms, work in a salt mine, or sex chicks (that’s sorting baby chickens by gender), try to tune into an episode or two (Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT or check the Discovery Channel’s schedule for other showtimes). The show is funny and interesting and sure makes you appreciate the luxury of working in a cubicle maze.

We’re watching the first season of “Lost” although Randy would probably say that I’m subjecting him to watching “Lost” with me. I’ve owned the DVDs since last year but just haven’t taken the time to get through very many of the episodes.
I really do enjoy the show as does Randy (except when monsters and polar bears jump out) but I’ve been wondering why. The mysteries of the island are interesting but more intriguing are the back stories of the characters that are slowly revealed every episode. It seems that everyone on the island is struggling with regret. Will they live differently on the island now that their slates have been wiped clean in a way? Will they succumb to the ghosts that haunt them?
I once knew two people who had an ongoing almost daily discussion about what each would take if stranded on an island: which 10 books, which 10 CDs, what flavors of ice cream, etc. It was as if the questions helped to define them, what they liked and what and who was important. Would being stranded on a desert island really be freeing?
What I’ve seen so far from watching “Lost” is that the writers believe that we can’t ever really escape ourselves much like the wise words of Buckaroo Banzai “… remember, no matter where you go, there you are. ” You can never leave your self. Perhaps the characters of “Lost” will gain a better understanding of themselves as they are not distracted by the busyness of normal life in a first-world country. Granted, they do have to fear being eaten by a monster or being kidnapped by the seemingly evil “Others” on the island, but overall, their lives are simplified.
I like learning the possible reasons people are the way they are and what made them the people they are today. I truly believe that everyone has a story and everyone has experienced pain. Although the characters of “Lost” are not real people, finding out some of what makes each one tick is fascinating. After all, who we are is a sum of the stories that we replay in our minds.

I’ve got a new secret passion: “Project Runway” on Bravo. I sort of stumbled upon this show, flipping through channels and I got sucked in. Yeah, I like the lighter side of reality television, like “Dancing with the Stars” or “Skating with Celebrities” but I’m not sure that “Project Runway” fits that category as the participants are inherently interesting and they are aspiring to something real.

The premise for the show is that aspiring clothing designers are pitted against each other via various challenges (e.g., design and make a party dress for Nicky Hilton) and are judged by fashion industry insiders. Each week, one or more of the designers may be sent packing if their design or quality of the garment doesn’t make the grade. In the end, the designer who wins gets some nifty prizes including a spread of his/her designs in Elle magazine.

What fascinates me about this show is the sheer volume of knowledge that these designers must posses to be successful, skills and gifts that I don’t posses. In addition to being creative and visionary, a designer needs to know about fabric, sewing, pattern-making, and be able to put their ideas on paper via sketches and drawings. Often the designers are only given 30 minutes to design, 30 minutes to shop at the fabric store and 10 hours to make the pattern and sew the outfit. How is that possible?

I suppose If I were on a television program like this I would do better on a show like “Iron Chef” where I’m in my element of cooking. Give me a quality ingredient and a well-stocked pantry and I can usually put together something pretty tasty. That seems straight-forward to me but I guess not everyone has the same love of food and cooking.

The small peek into the world of fashion design via “Project Runway” has been eye-opening for me as there is so much about clothing industry that I’ve never known. I am impressed by these designers who have a passion for what they do and possess the self-confidence to reach for that goal, in front of millions of people nonetheless. Most reality TV stars become famous for just being on television, but I believe that whoever wins this competition will eventually be famous for more admirable qualities: talent, skill, ability to work with others, and vision.

I’ve been incommunicado for some time not just because of my recent trip to Arizona, but since I’ve been home, I can’t stop playing “Lego™ Star Wars.” I’m addicted. I do find time to do normal stuff like clean our place, make meals for my husband and run errands. But as soon as Randy gets home from work, I’m practically begging him to play “Lego™ Star Wars.” I haven’t been surfing the ‘net, I haven’t been uploading to flickr, and I haven’t been keeping up on my favorite shows saved to our DVR. Obviously, something is amiss.
Last night, I barely let Randy watch a recorded episode of “Boston Legal” because I wanted to play my game. I think “Boston Legal” won out because it does star my beloved Bill Shatner (”William” to you who love him a little less than I) who is brilliant, and Emmy Award winning, as the rodomont Denny Crane. Besides, watching those characters duke it out is almost as fun as duking it out myslef with General Grievous.
Lego™ Star Wars has it all. The game play is challenging even though it is rated for ages 6 and up. The scenes from the movies recreated in the Lego™ universe are eerily accurate. The cuteness factor is off the scale especially when one “kills” another character and its Lego™ pieces fly apart — no bloodshed in this world. I especially enjoy looking for the mini-kit pieces and the problem solving involved in that search.
Perhaps when we complete this game, I will be able to return to “normal” life, look for a job (Randy would appreciate that!), and the hopping Wookies will finally leave my dreams at night. One can only hope. Of course, Randy also bought me “X-Men™ Legends II: Rise of the Apocolypse” for Christmas. So many games to play, so little time.

Randy has been called to be the worship minister at another church and so we are moving to Virginia in a few weeks. Depending on how I count, this is approximately move #9 since we’ve been married and #22 for my lifetime count. Several of these moves have been “local” moves, but one still has to pack up everything and move it to someplace else. We’re really excited, but we’re also faced with the daunting task of packing all of our possessions.

My favorite TV show right now is “The Life Laundry” on BBC America and it’s one of those decluttering makeover shows that seem to be en vogue. What sets this show apart for me is that Dawna Walter on “The Life Laundry” tries to address the reasons that people live with clutter and help them see the emotional reasons behind the piles of stuff. It’s much less about the makeover than the process of releasing the past. There are many reasons people hang on to stuff. Oftentimes the subjects have experienced a change in their lives like a death in the family or a change in job and never deal with the stuff associated with these changes. The feeling of guilt about the items often plays a part in not being able to part with them: stacks of undone projects, the amount of money paid for things, gifts that were received but not liked. Reasons for hoarding vary.

What has been an epiphany for me is the realization that I don’t need cool things to prove how cool I am. Having moved so much all my life, it’s as if I’ve put a lot of stock in the things that I own to be an outward manifestation of myself. My stuff helped me to prove my identity. Having a few things that reflect one’s interest is fine, but after watching a bzillion episodes of “The Life Laundry,” I began to realize that I was using many of my things as some sort of badges to prove how interesting and eclectic I am.

This hit home for me when there was an episode about a woman who was a very successful professional but then was diagnosed with MS and had to give up her business. She had closets and rooms full of old stock of her products, professional clothes, industry journals, etc. that she’d kept for years. Part of her unspoken reluctance to get rid of this stuff was that without it, she had nothing to prove that she was once a successful businesswoman. If she gave up this junk it was as if she was giving up her past accomplishments and thus part of her identity.

For me, some of the problem items have been my growing collection of movie memorabilia and my “skinny clothes.” I still love movies but I don’t need lots of toys sitting around taking up valuable space. I’ll still keep the pieces that mean the most to me but a lot of it will end up on eBay. I’ve paired down my “skinny clothes” to just a handful of items. (I admit that I still can’t part with the plaid, cuffed shorts from my preppy days in the 80s and an old pair of Levi’s from high school.) It dawned on me that the rest of those clothes were dated, didn’t adhere to the “What Not to Wear” rules (the original BBC version of the show, of course) and when I do lose more weight, I’ll want new clothes anyhow. It seems so simple on one hand, but I’ve heard some of these ideas for years and making that emotional change, that paradigm shift, has been much harder than I ever thought it would be. I think I was afraid that if I threw away stuff, I had to throw away everything, sort of an all-or-nothing approach.

We’re working our way towards a garage sale and listing more collectible items on eBay. Saying goodbye to these items won’t be hard now. Hopefully as time goes on, the feeling that my things define me will diminish and the peace that comes with having less things to tend will flourish. It’s a new chapter in our life and by unloading some of our unwanted or unloved things, I believe I’m making room for all sorts of new adventures.

Sunday night, Randy and I got to watch the Emmys with my best friend Leslie and her husband Paul and their two boxers, Sam and Maggie. Well, actually, we girls (including the dogs) watched the Emmys and the boys secluded themselves upstairs with the PlayStation®2 as for some reason they just weren’t interested in the awards show or our commentary. Yeah, that’s not much of a shock.

It was great to see so much of William Shatner. He’s made quite a comeback from “has been” status and although some people can only picture him over-enunciating every word of every line and lunging about like a sophomoric Shakespearean actor, it was encouraging to see that he is finally getting some of the accolades he deserves.

As far as awards shows go, it was not the best, not even in the top ten. Still, we girls enjoyed prattling about the fashions and acceptance speeches as there was little excitement happening in the award show itself. (As you can see from the picture, Maggie was less than enthralled by the Emmy inaction.)

Hopefully the Oscars(R) will be more interesting. Maybe I’ll register to get bleacher seats on the red carpet. Now that’s the way to watch an award show.

I guess I won’t have to wait until September 20th to see John O’Hurley again. O’Hurley will be hosting the Mrs. America competition on September 7th which will shown on WE on September 14th. I think he’ll be a great host and we already know he looks good in a tuxedo.

I hadn’t realized that he’s had such a long and varied career. I think my favorite part of his resume is that he hosts the National Dog Show which will air after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. (Although I’m more of a cat-person, I do like dog shows, having even been to a small one in Tennessee once.)

Hopefully his popularity from “Dancing with the Stars” means we’ll get to see more of O’Hurley in the future.

A special edition Star Trek themed phone from Sona Mobile and Viacom is set to be available to the pubic on September 30th. No news on if it will look like the original communicator but that would be very very nifty. The folks at endgadget.com think it’ll probably be just a regular mobile phone with Star Trek logos on it although it’s reported that users will have access to online games, special ring tones, etc. Someone who claims to work at Sona says that it will be a modified Motorola MPx220.

Many of the new mobile phones now available are so close to looking like communicators from the original series anyways, why doesn’t someone get a license from Paramount to manufacture them to really look like a communicator? Now that Trekkers are without a series or movie to look forward to, you’d think Paramount would milk its cash cow with a little more forethought.

I guess the recent Creation’s Star Trek convention in Seattle went well (in Bellevue really, for those of you who are Seattle-savvy). As a fan of “Star Trek: Deep Space 9″ I would have loved to have seen Avery Brooks who was in attendance. When I lived in Seattle, I went to a convention once and had the privilege to see Leonard Nimoy.

For now, I will just count the days until Randy and I are in Las Vegas next month and get to go to “Star Trek: The Experience” at the Las Vegas Hilton. I’m tempted to have us renew our vows on the bridge of the USS Enterprise 1701-D (packages start at $500!), but that might put us into the category of “Trekkies” as opposed to “Trekkers.” I suppose the fact that I know that there’s a difference between the two terms may have already sealed my fate. Yeah, yeah, live long and prosper and all that.

It’s football season again. I’m trying to prepare myself. I try not to act like a classic “football widow” and Randy does his best to make sure he spends time with me. When the pre-season game between the Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers wasn’t televised on Saturday, it was such a disappointment to Randy, I actually would have preferred he get to see the game. I’m not sure why none of the pre-season games were being televised that day but perhaps prospective advertisers don’t think there’s enough going on to keep people tuned-in. How bizarre.

I’m trying to learn a little about football, enough to follow the action when Randy calls me from wherever I’m hiding in order to show me a replay. I have made some improvement as once I called “illegal motion” before the officials did. My favorite player is probably Jerome Bettis a.k.a. “The Bus” as he gets things done in a very no-nonsense-move-or-get-trounced kind of way and he helps underprivileged kids — what a guy!

So, bring on that leather prolate spheroid. I can take it.

Well, it doesn’t surprise me that ABC is milking the “Dancing with the Stars” controversy.

On September 20, ABC will air a 90-minute “dance off” which will include dancing demonstrations by some of the former “Dancing with the Stars” competitors. The American public will be able to vote again and the results, based solely on these votes will be announced in a 30-minute show on September 22. All of this is in response to die-hard fans of John O’Hurley and Charlotte Jorgensen who have made quite a ruckus over a conspiracy theory that ABC fixed the contest so that a current star of one of their soap operas daytime dramas would win (yes, I’m still feeling petty enough not to mention her name).

The trouble is that I’m not sure that the American public should be judging a ballroom dance contest. Certainly, very very few people know anything about the intricacies of the rules of ballroom dancing. On the other hand, many of us have lost faith in the judges that were on the show as in the final episode, we felt that they went against everything they had been saying in all of the previous shows: all of a sudden, “most improved” was equal to “best execution” which was ridiculous.

Either way, I’ll be glad to see O’Hurley and Jorgensen back on the dance floor as well as several of the couples who were eliminated during the competition. Who can resist watching Evander Holyfield cavorting around a stage and not a boxing ring? My hope is that O’Hurley and Jorgensen will “win” what has sadly completely detiorated into a popularity contest, but more importantly that they will show the consistent quality of their dancing and good humor.

And yes, I will be voting for O’Hurley.