Amy Currioman

My husband and I usually manage to plan our days around not having to drive during the rush hours, but today we could not avoid it. I had to go have a medical test done in Fairfax, and when it was over rush hour was starting. I suggested that we go to the BJ’s that was only a few blocks away to get my hubby his membership card, and then go visit my brother that lives a couple of miles from that and wait out the rush hour.

Well, we did go to BJ’s and get the membership card, and then we walked around the store for a while. It was the first time my hubby had ever gone to a BJ’s and he wanted to check it out. So we spent about an hour there and then we paid for our purchases, bought a hot salted pretzel to snack on and started our trip home in rush hour. My hubby said he didn’t want to go to my brother’s; he just wanted to head home, even if it was rush hour. Within a few minutes we were in the HOV lane of I-66 headed home. Smack dab in the middle of rush hour. The HOV lane was moving at a whole 30 mph, but at least it was moving. All in all, what would have normally taken 60 minutes to drive home took 90 minutes, so I guess it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Since my hubby was driving I used the time to call friends and relatives on my cell phone while heading home. I was glad my hubby was driving; I don’t like rush hour traffic at all.

One of the great debates that I see almost every day on Facebook is the one around health care. One of my Facebook friends wrote that she had just seen a documentary on television about a group of cancer patients who had lost their jobs, and therefore lost their health insurance benefits. Since there are no affordable health insurance plans available to them, they cannot get the treatments that they need to fight the cancer, and they are going to die.

This is a very sad state of affairs. Most all of the other modern countries have a health insurance plan that ensures that everyone that lives in the country will get life-saving medical care. A lot of people here in the United States feel that if the United States adopts a socialized health plan that the entire foundation of the American way of life will be broken. I think that a lot of people are confusing themselves, not realizing that a democracy is different than a republic (and the USA is a republic) and the difference between capitalism and socialism. There is an old saying that too much of any good thing can kill you. I think in this case too much capitalism is killing Americans. What do you think?

Last week I scarfed up a bargain ring from a community lawnsale that was being held on Facebook (yes, a lawn sale on Facebook!) that was perfect for the index finger for my left hand, except for the size. The lady selling the ring explained that the stones were synthetic, but she had paid $125 for the ring, and I bought it for $20. I took it to the local jewelry store and had them resize the ring – down from size 10 to size 6 3/4. They charged me $36 for the resizing.

The jewelery store told me that it would take one week to get the ring resized, but they called me the next day, telling me it was ready to pick up! The ring fits my finger perfectly now, and it looks great on my hand. I don’t know if I got a true bargain or not, but I’m happy with it, and that’s what matters, right?

I am a bargain hound, plain and simple. I clip coupons. I search for discount codes on the Internet. I keep trying to grab up insanity deals at nomorerack.com because the nomorerack has an amazing selection of products at extremely low prices.

I’m sure that I don’t have to tell you that the world’s economy is changing in leaps and bounds, and the Internet has a lot to do with those changes. No longer is the consumer stuck with only the merchandise in his corner Mom & Pop variety store or ordering from the now extinct Sears & Roebuck mail order catalog. (Did you realize that the Sears & Roebuck mail order catalog used to sell complete house kits?)

Using the Internet to bargain shop is becoming more commonplace than going downtown on a Saturday afternoon to shop. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Well I think that question is moot because good or bad, it is in all likelihood here to stay. Many of today’s consumers don’t have the time on their hands to go into town to shop, and don’t want to have to find a baby sitter to watch their children when they go out to shop. And most parents don’t want to take their kids shopping with them because the children become bored and cranky pretty easily.

Not long ago townsfolk were alarmed at the thought that Wal-Mart, the Super Giant Retailer was going to destroy the commercial centers of their towns. In many cases, that is exactly what happened. Now it is the Internet’s turn to destroy Wal-Mart. More consumers would rather just sit down at their computer and order something to be delivered to their homes (in many cases delivery is free) than drag their families down to the crowded Wal-Mart on a weekend. I know that is what I would rather do! Because the Internet commerce is growing and giving Wal-Mart (and Target, and all of the other big discount stores) a run for their money, the commercial center of town just might enjoy a revival of small, locally owned service-based stores. After all, once the customer buys the product at a bargain rate, there will often be a need to service, clean, or repair the item. Yes, there will be the opportunity to ship the item needing repair to someplace “out there” but for the most I think that people would prefer to get their items repaired locally. What do you think? Is Internet bargain shopping better for the economy, or worse?

Not very long ago I went to my doctor and complained that I was having hypnic jerks while I was trying to perform normal, every day things. Like driving my car. I was afraid that I might be falling asleep as I was driving. I also complained that I was having severe headaches, and asked him to order a MRI of my head. Well, he said an MRI wasn’t necessary and that the headaches were migraines and gave me some prescriptions for the migraines, and told me to go see a neurologist. The neurologist decided to order a sleep study on me. That test showed some abnormalities and so a second one was ordered. This time it was abnormal again, and the sleep center specialist has decided to diagnose me as having narcolepsy.

Thankfully that specialist told me that I should have had an MRI before having any sleep study done (I KNEW it!) and he referred me to a different neurologist who has ordered an MRI done. Hopefully the MRI will prove that I have a brain and hopefully it will show that there are no tumors or lesions. Once that is done we can work towards the rest of my life. In the meantime, I am supposed to avoid driving and working with dangerous machinery because I could, in fact, fall asleep and that would not be a good thing.