Pretty in Pink / Boston Legal

What does the movie Pretty in Pink and Boston Legal have in common. The answer James Spader. I have just completed viewing the DVD 1st season of Boston Legal and have ordered two more seasons on amazon.com. Maybe the writers strike has a bright spot. It has forced me to revisit the earlier years of Boston Legal. I have watched the show from time to time and enjoyed it but have really enjoyed watching the first season to see how the characters have developed. My husband will not watch the series due to his love of William Shatner as Captain Kirk in the Star Treck series. I loved Candice Bergen in Murphy Brown and am pleased to see that a boomer age female can play a sexy smart lawyer on TV. I saat at lunch with a group of female lawyers and Boston Legal was the talk of the table.

Cloverfield

The new Cloverfield movie is filmed in the "shakey" camera mode. I am surrounded by film critics in my family and they have loved the film. My husband can't stand the hand held camera mode. He gets totally disoriented and sightly nauseated when watching movies shot in this manner. See the trailer. Is this type of filming going to be the division between the young and the old film viewers.

Are You An Obnoxious Patient?

Being in medicine for all of my adult life this article posted on cnn.com intrigued me.
Don't demand medications over the telephone. This may sound pretty basic, but patients do this all the time. If the patient has been seen recently this can be an acceptable practice. If the person has not been seen recently the physician will most likely ask to see you.
Don't come in loaded with Internet articles. I saw this all the time in the pediatric population. Not the kids but the parents. Anytime there was new information on line or an article in the LA Times Health section I would be prepared for parents to ask about the information presented in the article.
Organize your questions. Sometimes I feel like I am on an archaeological dig trying to find out exactly while the patient has come in to be see. If you are a first time patient you may actually request more time. The last suggestion: please be kind to the health care provider - we are people to and are doing the best to give each client the time and attention required.

Bloomer Blogger

Is the younger generation intimidated by the "boomer" plus generation use of technology. My family loves it. It is raining in Southern California. The freeways are at an absolute standstill, but do to text messaging. I know my husband is waiting out the freeway standstill at my daughters condo and my daughter is spending the night at her brother and sister-in-laws house a few minutes from her work. My college age students love the fact that I text. I suspect they are happy that they can reach me anytime, anywhere. My ability to text message and use the computer is directly related to my ability to type. I keep on having flash backs to my high school days when my high school teacher encouraged me to take typing in my senior year. The goal at that time was to be able to type 70 words a minute to I could work as a secretary. Boy did I fool them: a college degree and two graduate degrees later. According to an article on CNN some youngsters feel that the "older" generation is invading their private space. Move over youngsters....we are not ready to give up our toys.

Stock Market Worries

As a Boomer what is one to do with the rapid stock market decline. I am nervous about looking at my retirement plan. I am beginning to sound like part of the "older" generation. I am not particularly worried about the housing market, even if the "value" of my house has declined a bit. The market has been totally overpriced in Southern California anyway. My husband and I have been discussing what to do with money we would put in savings monthy. Maybe putting it under the mattress is not such a bad idea.

Text Messaging

Just before Christmas I decided I needed to learn to text message. My husband and 3 adult kids (plus daughter-in-law) all keep in touch with each other by text messaging. I went to my local Verizon dealer and asked a young salesperson for a phone that had a separate key board so I could type in a message and send it. It seconds she picked out the perfect phone. One side is a telephone and when flipped open becomes a keyboard. The next day I announced to my college students that I was entering the 21st century with my ability to text. Sure enough the next morning a student had texted me an inquiry about a grade. While on a trip to Kauai over the Christmas break I was able to keep in touch with my kids via little messages. I assisted by daughter in buying gifts for her sibling via photos sent to me on my new device. I LOVE it. If I can adapt to the new technology any one can.

2008 Resolutions

I know I have not posted in a bit but today seems as good a day as any. I have done a few new things in the past few weeks:

1. I text message
2. I started a new "body sculpting" and "step" class
3. I made a photo calendar thanks to I-photo on the Mac computer

Quite a list of accomplishments for the reluctant bloomer.