Allison's Little Corner of Creativity

While I've never had any trash treasure finds, my parents had a garage sale when I was in 11th grade (approximately 9 1/2 years ago), and some of the sale stuff was my parents and grandparents' old LPs.  Among the finds was "Frampton Comes Alive."  Well, being the "Saturday Night Live" buff I am, and having heard the "Frampton comes alive" joke in the umpteenth viewings of "Wayne's World 2" over the years, I pulled the record out and said to my dad, in a smartass tone I've managed to refine in the time since, "Dad, Frampton Comes Alive?  Everyone had Frampton Comes Alive.  If you lived in the suburbs, it was issued to you.  It came in the mail with samples of Tide."

My parents still have the box of LPs in the basement of the house we live in now - I'll need to go through them before our townhouse community holds its next yard sale, just to see what I may not have noticed (nor appreciated) as a 17-year old.

Hershey's Cookies and Cream candy bar, but since I'm watching what I eat, I find crackers and 100 calorie packs help just as well!

It certainly isn't beginning work @ 6:30 am, I'll say that much.

I work at a golf course (I was just laid off for the next two months - its a seasonal thing - no biggie to me - I'm used to it), and my boss had us starting at 6:30 am Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  My co-worker did Friday and Saturdays (I started at 8 am), and I did Sundays at 6:30 am, but only worked till 12.  I think my boss believed we could corner the "Asian Golfer/Early Riser/Insomniacs/All-Night Casino Crowd," since the only nutbars would actually would golf at 7 am (our first tee time) were Korean (Asians love to golf early, and would at 5 am if they could), 4 am risers, people who are in a constant state of "rise" (pillow and bed = enemy), and people who spent the whole night on the casino floor (the golf course is owned by a casino operating company, and is strategically located outside of "picturesque" Atlantic City).  It's so exciting to see these Bright-Eyed and Bushy Tailed Annoyances camped out in the Pro Shop greeting you, while you greet them back with a big yawn.  I actually got in trouble for that once - Word to the Wise - don't greet your boss that way, because it winds up being typed into your performance review. 

My idea of a great Sunday morning is when I don't have to work, which was every Sunday in December.  I deserved that time off after the description above, but we went to 8 am in November.

Lose weight - I can keep this plan, as I go to dance school (Hip Hop) and also just invested in Hip Hop Abs, which could also help me with my Hip Hop training.  Fly Girl I'm not, but I'm certainly working hard!

Awesome
Brainy
Curious (I ask alot of questions)
Dancer
Excited
Funny
Gracious
Happy
Inquisitive
Jovial
K ?????
Left-Handed
Mighty
Noble
Outstanding
Pretty
Queen
Right Brain Dominant
Smart
Talented
Unusual (I have a penchant for irrelevancy)
Vocal
Writer
X ????
Youthful
Z ????

"Wings," which I loved as a kid (premiered when I was 7, flew off into the sunset when I was 14), and "Quantum Leap," which I began watching in syndication in 2001.  I have the complete series of QL on DVD, and I'm almost finished with "Wings" (up to season7 has been released on DVD so far, now all we need is Season 8, but I was heartbroken when I got Season 5 of QL, so I know I'll be depressed when "Wings is completely released).

MST3K was a classic show - I caught it on Sci-Fi on Saturday mornings for a few years.

Thankfully, my all time favorite TV show, Saturday Night Live, is still very much with us, and still does surprise.  However, if I'm feeling truly sentimental, I'll watch one of my (many) retrospective VHS tapes or DVDs.

This actually happened at a video rental store in September 2004...

I had a customer with a late fee of $11 and change, and she paid it, no dispute.  Well, about 2 hours later, she returned, and protested the late fee.  She told me that when they left the campground they stay at on weekends, they gave the VHS to someone else to watch and told them to return it.  Apparently, they returned it late.  The woman didn't fight it earlier, but I bet she went back to the campground and told her husband, who got mad at her for her irresponsibility.

Best part - the assistant manager working that night sneaked a call on a cordless store phone to our boss, and just whispered to listen, and put the phone done indescreetly.  The boss heard the entire ranting and raving, and my assistant manager (who I began getting along with early in the summer) was there for the original conversation, so I had an alibi.  The woman claimed she was coming back the next day to report me and the assistant...but she never did.  She knew she was wrong, and came back because her husband probably bitched her out!!

The customer is WRONG!!!!!! 

Volleyball - I just hated playing volleyball in gym class growing up - the kids in my class in 8th grade wouldn't even let me be on their team - they used to pass me to another team every day, and the unlucky team didn't want me either!  Gym class was a traumatizing experience, and it's bad when you're not very athletic, like I prove to be.  I have been dancing since I was little, but gyn....it's for the birds...and jocks!

Now, the "Good Stuff..."

We used to play Rock, Paper, Scissors (well, it was the French Translation, which I couldn't tell you I know how to spell!) in elementary school, which was always the GREATEST game for gym class.  And, in Intermediate School (3-6 grades) we did obstacle courses, which were always the most fun, especially when my gym teacher in 3rd and 4th grades set up one of those huge mats underneath the ropes, and one of the obstacles was the "Tarzan swing" - swing across the "moat" on the climbing rope!!!!  He used to turn on the scoreboard that day as well - every "mistake" was worth a point - the goal was to walk away with the lowest amount of points - this game was as much fun for the unathletic kids as it was for the born athletic.

In 2nd grade, I got an "Unsatisfactory" in PE (which is what it was called in the early 1990s at my elementary school), so I had to do this activity class every Tuesday during recess.  Instead of going to recess, me and the other kids who got "unsatisfactory" on their report cards for PE went to this activity class with the one of the gym teachers, who did fun activities with us (like indoor golf).  I was the only girl in it (with four other boys!), and the smallest one of the bunch (the boys were heavier kids).  IT  was a confidence booster for gym class, and was supplemental to get our grades to the satisfactory mark.  Needless to say, it worked being in this small "gym class," and I got a satisfactory during the term I was in this class.  I stayed in it until the end of the year (which I didn't mind too much!), and began getting "Satisfactory" on my report cards.

As featured on the Commercial of the Week last year, Tom the Turkey of Carvel Ice Cream fame makes any Thanksgiving Day celebration complete!

To revisit this great relic from Thanksgiving 1988 in all of its low-budget (well, the commercial looked unbelievably low-budget, but that could have been the tape I found it on!) glory, click the link below:

www.youtube.com/watch

Although I love this song, "Sweet Freedom" by Michael McDonald gets stuck in my head on a fairly regular basis, which would be fine...if it didn't always happen when I'm at work, when I'm tempted to walk around singing it!  "I'm Still Standing" by Elton John has the same effect, but probably because I took it on as "my song" when I broke up with my boyfriend early in the summer.

County General or Chicago Hope.  George Clooney ("ER") or Mark Harmon ("Chicago Hope")  would be my dream doctors.

And, for my post-hospital follow-up care, I'd look no further than the staff at Oceanside Wellness ("Private Practive") where alternative medicine doctor Pete Wilder (Tim Daly) could make sure I'm ok after my hospital stay.  Except I'd want to tell him one thing - "I loved you on WINGS!"

"Zippergate!" 

The Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky Oval Office dirty deed was my generation's presidential scandal.  I was 15 in January 1998, a ninth grader in high school, and was doing my homework when the news was on and it was being discussed (I remember correctly that I was watching WABC 7 New York's 5 o'clock news).  The first thing I said to myself, given my early fandom of "Saturday Night Live" (which was quickly becoming my favorite TV show at the time - I am now a full-fledged Saturday Night Live fanatic - mainly older seasons), was "You know 'SNL' is gonna have to show this!"

Sure enough, it consumed the next year of airtime for SNL.

It varies when I start, but for the last five years, it's been the weekend after Thanksgiving.  This year, for the first time since 2004, I am single, so it cuts down on the amount of gifts I have to buy (especially for my unappreciative ex-boyfriend, who didn't always utilize the gifts I gave him!).

I have not found disadvantages to buying when I do, as I'm usually finished at least five days before Christmas, and do all of my purchasing in the stores.  I find that whatever I plan on buying is usually readily available, and that I don't have to buy high-demand items for anyone (translation: No Nintendo Wiis or Tickle Me Elmo/Tickle Me Elmo equivalents to buy).

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long - I had school tonight (I go to a county technical school).  It was in an elementary school in town.

I'll admit now that I voted for John McCain, and was getting pissy with the returns, so I watched two episodes on my "Wings: The Complete Fifth Season" DVD boxed set.  At least the Hackett brothers could keep my aggravation in check!

As the month of October draws to a close, it's important to remember that fire safety and prevention is not something that should only be practiced during the month of pumpkins, witches, and Frankenstein – it should be practiced every month.

Television has a way of throwing the “Very Special Episode” into a mix of regular episodes, usually as a way of dealing with a relevant real life issue. In the 1980s, every sitcom had at least one “Very Special Episode” thrown into a mix of funnier episodes. Usually, the episodes were well-done, but others were Shark Bait.

In 1987, Valerie Harper was fired from the sitcom that bore her first name when she wanted a pay raise. So, to get rid of her character, the writers did what any show would do in a situation of the lead actress wanting more money...they kill her in a car accident. Talk about your bad days. So, in the fall of 1987, her family, the Hogans, were left to pick up the pieces after losing their matriarch. And if you think that's bad enough, the writers had yet another “Very Special Episode” in store. How much could one sitcom family take? You're about to find out.

Ladies and gentleman, I proudly present the other “Very Special Episode” of Valerie's Family to air during the 1987-1988 season...the fire safety and prevention episode!

 

Valerie's Family: The Hogans
Episode Title – Burned Out (Season 3, Episode 3)
Original Air Date: October 5, 1987



I should also note that the fire scene was paid for by McDonald's, which aired commercials on fire safety and prevention during the course of the episode. Unfortunately, my ex-boyfriend's mom cut those commercials out. If anyone has a good set of archives and possesses the commercials that aired during the October 5, 1987 episode of Valerie's Family, please let me know!

The following was taped from KYW-3/NBC-TV (as of 1995, this is now a CBS station – the NBC station is now WCAU-10) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the episode's original air date, October 5, 1987. Thanks to my ex-boyfriend for allowing me to borrow the tape when we were still dating...and to his mom for taping the episode. Be sure to read the crawl on the bottom of the screen, reminding Philadelphia residents to practice their escape route when they hear sirens – how fun! At least they weren't running this “fire drill” during this “Very Special Episode.”

Enjoy!

Click on the following screen caps to see each part.

 

Opening Credits – Valerie's Family: The Hogans (Song: “Through the Years,” by Roberta Flack)
One of those “great” family sitcom themes of the 1980s – they don't make them like they used to, and this theme song is a true testament to that long-held belief!

Part 1 – Sentimental Value/Fire in the Attic

Part 2 – Staying with the Pooles/Picking Up the Pieces

Part 3 – We Still Have Each Other

Closing Credits - “Through the Years” Instrumental (Incomplete – tape cut off before closing logos)
Listen to who will be guest-hosting and visiting this guest host "tonight"!!!!!

Please enjoy videos. Registered users of You Tube are welcome to leave comments. All input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for watching!

The ones where someone unexpectedly grabs you and screams "YOU DID IT!" Works every time!!!!

I however, prefer horror movies to ghost stories any day of the week, specifically Halloween.  I love Halloween 4 & 5, and plan on watching at least one (or both) movies tomorrow night...with the lights out.

BOOOOOOOOOOO!

the internet has bought us new ways to make our existence known (You Tube, where people can post their videos, but has become the source of much copyright violation - though I still think of it as "good publicity").  Websites like Live Journal let writers like me express myself in words.  Writing is one of my favorite hobbies, and I love being able to share it with the world.  Once again - "good publicity" - I always figure I just never know who might be reading my work. :-)  I have gotten some great deals on one specific shopping website (and even found some harder-to-obtain DVDs that way).

However, there have been some big problems - not for me, but for the world.  The internet has way too many sources for pornography that extends beyond the magazines 18-year old boys keep under their beds.  Identity theft has also become more prevalent beyond "dumpster diving." 

But, overall, the internet's vast sources of information and entertainment prove there is something for everyone.  And the positives definitely outweigh the negatives.

Al Gore may or may not have invented the Internet, but there are many great and creative people who have kept it going into the wonderful madness it is now!!!!!

 

Yes!  The first time I saw Sarah Palin, when it was announced she would be John McCain's running mate, I thought that it was really Tina Fey, and said so at work, where we were watching the announcement.

I have only seen 30 Rock once or twice early on, but I would definitely watch it this season if this could be worked into the storyline.  Tina Fey is a smart woman - I know she'll think of something creative!!!!!!!!

My fifteenth dance recital, from June 6th and 7th.

Click on the picture of my Jazz class starting our routine to see both routines and the famous pictures!  Enjoy!!