I cancelled our cable TV yesterday. As you can imagine, I had to justify this decision to the cable TV minion on the other end of the phone.

“No, we have not decided to go with a different service. Yes, I want NO CABLE TV. Trying to cut expenses. No, I do not want your super -low, please-please-please stay with us rate (and why wasn’t I getting that anyway??). Look, there are a lot of reasons I don’t want cable!”

Yes, I lost my temper a bit at the end there. I mean, I understand it is their job to try to talk me out of this kind of decision, but at a certain point it is just NONE OF THEIR FREAKIN’ BUSINESS, know what I mean?

For years now, I’ve been whining about my kids watching too much TV, but what have I really done about it? Stomped around a bit? Unplugged it once or twice and shooed them outside, only to find them right back at it 20 minutes later? Enough.

Now I don’t have to constantly be on “ICarly” patrol (a forbidden show for the younger set), or tangle with the pre-teen about whether or not “House” is appropriate for a 12 year old (HELLO IT’S NOT). We’ll still have broadcast TV, eventually, but for at least a while, goodbye “Sportscenter”. Goodbye “Girls Next Door” and the nine million other trashy, lowest-common-denominator, ohmygodwhatisthiscountrycomingto CRAP programs that my husband finds with eerie precision. Goodbye Food Network and The History Channel (sniff).

We’ll see how it goes.

When I was in high school, I wrote proposals for experiments to go on the space shuttle as part of my chemistry and physics coursework. With ENTHUSIASM.

I have actually seen the space shuttle launch, from a distance, which still goes down as one of the most thrilling experiences of my life.

I’ve been interested in NASA’s work for a long time, but did anyone else look at their most recent venture and think WTF? We just spent $79 MILLION DOLLARS to find out if there is ice on the moon.

Why, you ask? I know I did. Here is the rationale touted in an article on MSNBC.com: “In the long term, ice reservoirs could be used to provide water for lunar settlements, as well as oxygen for breathing and hydrogen fuel for spacecraft. In the shorter term, learning about lunar water could help scientists reconstruct the ancient past of the Earth-moon system.” Click here to read the full text of the article.

Call me silly. Call me short-sighted. Call me PISSED OFF that we just spent $79 MILLION DOLLARS on this.

The state of Michigan is in such dire straits that we are contemplating cutting the Michigan Promise scholarship, which is financial aid promised to approximately 96,000 promising young students in the state of Michigan. Two of those students are mine, and I get physically ill when I think about what we will have to do to come up with that money if this goes the way I think it will. Can we get some federal aid for that? Don’t think so…

Is it just me, or do the reasons given for conducting this research seem too incredibly lame to be true? “…water for lunar settlements”?? REALLY?

There is no more humbling experience than job hunting. I fully believe it is because you have to cram the pertinent parts of your life into those tiny little spaces on applications. It is, quite literally, diminishing.

Words to remember, as the resume count mounts and the phone remains silent:

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.”

–Confucius

Courage!