Make New Friends, But Keep The Old. One Is Silver And The Other Is Gold.

Does anyone recognize my blog title as a Girl Scout song they sang as a child?? I do!! It just popped in my head as I was thinking of what to call this post about meeting new friends! HA!

OK, anyway...this blog post is going to be very candid and pensive - beware, the 'Overanalyzer' is in full force today.....

Lately I have been thinking, brainstorming, and trying to figure out why it is so hard to meet friends down here. I have been here since mid-March of last year, so about 10 months. The last year has been a complete whirlwind of 'firsts': home buying, home improvement, going back to Accounting, learning the area, traveling, doing touristy stuff, holding a baby goat, etc - ya know, the usual stuff. :)

However, in the midst of all of that excitement, I find that I haven't met more than a few close friends yet. Everyone at work is nice, friendly, and fun to be around.....however, once the end of the work day comes, they all disappear to their spouses and kids. The company I work for has a great workplace culture, but unfortunately for me, it is a culture of 'family' people. I don't mean to say that in a negative way, because after all, that's what I want the most - a family of my own! But for a single person without children moving to a new area and not knowing a soul, it has ended up being a barren place to meet friends beyond the confines of the work day and building walls. Mayce has been my friend from work that I spend a lot of free time with (reference - the baby goat holding extravaganza!!) and that has been a wonderful blessing and we have lots of fun together. But other than that, I have had to do my friend-searching elsewhere. I guess I took for granted the fact that I met some lifelong good friends at my first job out of college at BI when I moved back to Minneapolis from Wisconsin (Lindsay, Shooter, Abby, etc.), as well as my job in Toledo at the SeaGate Centre (Colleen, Danielle, Janis, Jeff, Kate, Colby, Steve, etc.) when I was starting over in Ohio. Those were pivotal times of change and God put those amazing friends right in front of me. I was spoiled and I didn't even know it! It is proving to be much more difficult here in Texas and I'm not sure why.

Where would a 31-year-old divorced, professional woman with no kids find new friends? My first stop was a small group at church, since I wanted to get involved in one anyway (for the content) and also because that's how I met most of my super fabulous friends in Ohio (under much worse and more stressful circumstances, no less). So it took me months and months to even find a church I liked and now I have found a co-ed small group in Arlington that I really like. I am developing friendships with those people and I am looking forward to more fun with them in the future.

I have also joined several "Meetup" groups (http://www.meetup.com/) and gotten involved in some great activities that way (the museum day in Fort Worth, Dallas Stars games, walking tour of downtown Dallas, etc.).

But yet.....I feel tremendous loneliness sometimes. As I talk to people on the phone (people who read this blog), it became apparent to me recently that I keep almost all of my loneliness out of this blog. Some of that is conscious and some of it is apparently unconscious.

If I'm really struggling with feeling lonely, I try to take a break from blogging for a number of reasons:

1. I don't want to spread my negativity on that particular day - why be a downer?

2. This is a public forum and is out on the internet, so I keep some things off of here and save it for private conversations with people on the phone or email.

3. I have been whining, lamenting and dying to be here, so it seems ridiculous to complain now that I achieved my dream.

4. I don't want to get in the habit of having pity parties now that I'm experiencing a great new time in my life, so I do not allow myself to expand the pity party to my blog.

But some days, I just have a bad day and there's no one to give me a hug and tell me that it's not the end of the world and that it's going to be fine. That was one aspect of being married that I miss terribly - having someone at home that can hug you, comfort you, encourage you, console you, celebrate with you, etc. - no matter what 'the world' may dish at you all day. I'm a high-strung person, so I need reassurance sometimes and many times in the last year that need has gone unmet...and most of those times are because I didn't reach out and make my needs known (however, that whole hug part has to be virtual because of the geographical distance!).

I miss my Wednesday night home group from Toledo SOOO very much - especially on a bad day. They can always make me laugh, cheer me up, listen, offer advice, call me out on things when my thoughts are going in the wrong direction, etc. I guess I am just incredibly IMPATIENT (wow - imagine that, me....impatient??? NO - never lol) and I want to have a network of good friends already set up here and trust built, but that takes time.

This past year has been incredibly rewarding, but at the same time, terrifying. I was scared to death to come down here and start a life by myself, but I knew I just had to do it. I think I was going to explode if I didn't! I don't regret it - I absolutely love Texas and I feel like I belong here, but I am just lacking companionship. Can someone out there reassure me that it's in the works and that I just need to be patient and it will happen???

And for all of you that are reading from far-away places - I miss you so much and I think about you often. I wish you were all my next door neighbors and I could see you every day. :) I'm so very fortunate and blessed to have the friends that God has put in my path. I know it wasn't an accident that I met all of you.

(**Note to self: Blog like this more often - man, does it feel good to get those thoughts and feelings out.)

In a Pickle

My friend Colleen sent me this link and I think it's FABULOUS! A whole website dedicated to PICKLES! I have been a pickle fanatic since I was a little kid.....basically I cannot remember a time when I wasn't in love with dill pickles. I used to cut them up in little pieces and eat them as a snack. They are also my favorite food at amusement parks & fairs - PICKLE ON A STICK for me!!

I'm not sure how or why I started to love them so much, but they are my favorite food....but only the DILL kind. I think bread & butter pickles and sweet pickles are nasty - yuck. I think that if I had to pick my 'last meal', it would definitely include a jar of wonderful dill pickles. :)

Check it out!

http://www.ilovepickles.org./

PS - It might sound neurotic, but when I went on Google image search to find pictures of pickles to illustrate this blog post.....I actually felt my mouth salivating just looking at pictures of the pickles!! HA!

Coyote Ugly - UPDATE

The other day (two Sundays ago), I was minding my own business and watching the Vikings lose to Philadelphia in the playoffs (but I didn't know they were going to lose at the time, so I wasn't in a bad mood yet). My doorbell rings and my next door neighbor is standing there. I invite him in and he proceeds to tell me about a storage shed that he wants to build in his backyard that will protrude above our fence line, so he wants my approval that he can build it to take to the Board of our homeowners association to get final approval. OK, whatever, build your shed, whatever. Just let me get back to my game! Well, he was a chatty cathy and pretty much talked for an entire quarter of the game - ugh. I thought it would be rude to run over to my remote control and 'pause live TV', so I just endured the small talk (which I hate).

However, all of this isn't the point of this blog post......the reason I'm blogging about this visit is about the coyotes that are in the field next to my neighborhood. I was mentioning said coyotes to him and he perked right up and said "Oh, I love those coyotes - can you hear them at night?? We feed them!" I nearly fell over... you WHAT?! Are you kidding me?! Have you lost your mind?! What is wrong with people?!

Missin' You, Snard!

OK, back in 2008 I learned a new work - SNARD. It is in the Urban Dictionary, so I'm not making this up. Snard is the snow/ice/dirt conglomerate that hangs from cars in hard clumps in the winter. I just have this overwhelming compulsion to kick those off - the bigger the chunk, the better! I know I'm not alone in this simple pleasure!

Iris' Jeep used to taunt me when I worked at the SeaGate Centre in Toledo - it usually had some fabulous snard on it, but since we have security cameras down there, I felt a little weird about walking up to cars and 'kicking' them! But I know that Iris would understand that I NEEDED to kick the snard off her car. :)

This is one of the things I REALLY miss about living in the north during the winter months......one of the FEW things. But if I'm being honest, I would have to admit that I miss the snow a little bit - just a really good hard snowfall......but then again, a 'really good hard snowfall' up in Toledo 2 years ago caused me to have to cancel a vacation to see my Mom and I also had to SHOVEL MY YARD so that Maggie would have a cleared out area in the grass to go potty. SICK!!!

To-Do List

HAPPY NEW YEAR

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'
5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2008.
7. Make time to practice meditation and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured IN plants.
11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds, & walnuts.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk, and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, OR issues of the past, negative thoughts, or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the NEGATIVE BLUES away.
18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
26. Forgive everyone for everything.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.
32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
33. The best is yet to come.
34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
35. Do the right thing!
36. Call your family often. (Or e-mail them to death!)
37. Each night before you go to bed, complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.
38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life, so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
40. Share this with those you care about. I just did. May your troubles be less, May your blessings be more, May nothing but happiness come through your door! Happppy 2009!

Vet Update

I took Maggie to the vet to have him look at a little bump on her back. He called her "Little Red", which I thought was really cute. She seemed to like him and wasn't nervous at all (but she was VERY curious about the meowing she heard through the exam room door!). He looked at and felt the little bump and didn't seem too concerned about it. He said that we're just going to keep an eye on it and that I should check it about every week to see if it gets any bigger. If it does, then I need to take her back in to see him. Otherwise, we are going to re-evaluate it in May when she's due for her annual shots....So basically I don't have any definitive answers, but I'm just going to stay calm and monitor it.....

PS - They weighed her at the vet and she weighs 12.1 pounds. All of the documentation on mini dachshunds indicates that the mini's are between 10-12 pounds. So Maggie is a freak? No, she is just extra long for a mini. Most mini's are a little less stretched out and lengthy. hahaha The vet says she looks great.

I'm proud of "Little Red" for being such a good girl at the vet!

Crouching Dog, Hidden Wiener

OK, the cutest thing just happened - I knew Maggie was hiding in my bed under the covers to take a nap, so I just went in there and said "Where's Maggie??" and I just saw the lump under the covers which was her body, but then at the end of it, I saw her tail start wagging under the blanket when she heard her name. Agh - I LOVE it!

It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times

Can you believe this article about a lottery ticket?? How's that for leaving an inheritance?!

Conn. man's last lotto ticket wins $10M for widow

DANBURY, Conn. – On the day that Donald Peters died, he unknowingly provided financial security for his wife of 59 years and their family.

Peters bought two Connecticut Lottery tickets at a local 7-Eleven store on Nov. 1 as part of a 20-year tradition he shared with his wife Charlotte. Later that day, the 79-year-old retired hat factory worker suffered a fatal heart attack while working in his yard in Danbury.

On Friday, his widow cashed in one of the tickets: a $10 million winner which, in her grief over her husband's death, she had put aside and almost discarded before recently checking the numbers.

"I'm numb," Charlotte Peters, 78, said at Connecticut Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill.
Donald Peters usually bought the tickets for 10 weeks at a stretch, so the winning ticket he bought Nov. 1 for the Dec. 2 drawing was among several that Charlotte Peters put aside as she, their three children and two grandchildren coped with his sudden death.

"I was in the grocery store and I had it checked and they told me I was a winner," she said. "I had no idea how much it was."

She said she thought she had won $6 million but was surprised to learn from lottery officials she'd won $10 million.

Charlotte Peters has 60 days to decide whether to take a $6 million pre-tax lump sum payment or stretch the winnings into 21 yearly payments of almost $477,300 each.

She does not yet know what she will do with the money.

"I've always wanted a Corvette, but I don't think I'll buy one. I'll stick to a small car. I might go to Mohegan Sun," she said, referring to the casino in Connecticut. "I'm going to go home and sit and think."

The Peters children think their father would have appreciated the irony.

"He'd be very mad, he just passed away and she won a lot of money," said Brian Peters, one of the couple's three children. "He'd say, 'Figures!'"

Scoring a GOAL

OK, so the Vikings didn't score enough 'goals' in the playoffs, but those aren't the type of goals that I'm talking about anyway....I'm talking about new goals for the New Year - 2009! For the last five years, I have sat down on New Year's Day and made a list of goals for the coming year. I try to make them specific, measurable, and realistic so I'm more likely to work toward achieving them.

(Sidenote: One of the goals that appeared year after year at the top of my list was "Move to Texas" and each year it went unfulfilled. This year I was able to cross that one off with a big fat Sharpie!!)

I would highly recommend taking the time to set goals for yourself and putting them on paper. I print copies of my goals and keep them in my planner, at my desk at home, on the wall in my bathroom, etc. The more I look at them, the more likely I am to work harder to achieve them!

Here is an article about the Top 10 Goals people set for 2009 (the only thing I don't like about this article/list of goals is that they are very vague - goals need to be more measurable. For instance..instead of "Lose Weight" it should be "Fit into size X jeans" or something like that):

The Top Ten New Years Resolutions For 2009 - Trying to Improve

By Richard McDuff

Every year it seems to be the same 10 top resolutions. Why? Because they are just so hard to keep! The only two resolutions listed below that I was able to keep were the quit smoking and get more exercise. I hope that you have better luck than I did. My list includes many of the items listed below, but this article is not about Richard's New Years Resolutions, but the top 10 Resolutions.

Here is the list:

1. Get Out of Debt
This is going to be a hard one to keep, with the economy going the way it is going. People are using their credit cards for basic purchases, like gas, food, etc. With the fear of losing their jobs or even their homes. This will be the number one fear of many Americans.

2. Stop smoking
This one should be fairly easy to keep. With governments taxing customers, and the legislation that makes smokers feel so uncomfortable, it should be the one anybody can keep.

3. Get Fit
This is an excellent habit to get into. Once you start it, you will want to continue until you can not.

4. Lose Weight
It is amazing how many overweight people there are in America. I was a physically fit person until I moved to the North East. Than I ballooned up to 286 lbs and had high blood pressure. It has been a long battle, but the weight is coming down.

5. Enjoy Life More
The key here is to find something you love, and do it until you are an expert. You can than teach other people what to do and hopefully start a business doing what you love. With a good grounding in marketing you can always find customers.

6. Quit Drinking
If drinking is a problem for you than you should seek medical advice and attention. Alcholol is an addictive drug, and you will need some serious attention.

7. Get Organized
With the help of a PDA (many cell phones now have these), getting organized is so much simpler. In the old days we had to use index cards and brick tablets. These PDAs help with the mundane stuff, in order that you can get on with the serious things in live.

8.. Learn Something New
If you love to learn this is so exciting. Why should the young be the only ones to learn? In the past year or so, I have taken up art. I love it, it is so relaxing.

9. Spend more time with the Family
This is where you have to think of quality time, and how you should spend it with your family. What can you and your family do together. Hold a little family council, and see what they like to do together.

10. Help Others
This can be an rewarding endeavor. It does necessarily mean doing things for the low income and the needy. It also can mean helping young kids learn a sport, or recreational activity, etc.

Katie Does Dallas!

I'm so excited - my friend Katie from Ohio is going to be visiting Dallas for a work meeting later this month and I will get to hang out with her for an evening! It's a morning meeting, so she's flying in the day before and we get to have dinner and hang out. WOO HOO!!

Since she'll only have one night in Texas, I'll have to think of something very unique and authentic for us to do...hmmm......

I *heart* fun visitors!!! Can't wait to see you, Katie!!

On This Day, I Wished I Lived in Miami..........

OK, when I saw this picture/article, I nearly had a heart attack - what a dream come true for Miami motorists (except the whole stuck-in-traffic part)!!


Discarded shoes mysteriously appear on Miami freeway
By JOSE PAGLIERY
McClatchy Newspapers

MIAMI — Flying shoes are back in the news.

This time, the story is about thousands of used shoes that mysteriously ended up on a Miami freeway early Friday.

The culprit: the Florida Highway Patrol wants to know.

Police said thousands of work boots, bath slippers, sneakers, beach sandals, even pairs of roller blades, all inexplicably materialized on the Palmetto Expressway, disrupting traffic for hours.

A private contractor had to be hired to pick up the sea of soles and deposit them at an empty field.

Nashville, Tenn.-based nonprofit Soles4Souls, which has distributed about 3.9 million pairs of shoes around the world in the past four years, is planning to pick them up Monday.

Its founder, Wayne Elsey, said they will ship the massive batch of mystery shoes by truck to a processing facility in Alabama, where they’ll decide where to distribute the shoes.

"We throw nothing away. Right now, they’ll probably go to Haiti," Elsey said.

News of the discarded shoes in Miami traveled fast over the Internet as Web sites all over the world got wind of the story.

Some people e-mailed The Miami Herald with what they believe was the most obvious explanation: It was a protest against President Bush, a reference to his recent shoe-dodging experience in Iraq.

The mystery, however, remains.

Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Pat Santangelo said that no witnesses had come forward, but that those responsible would be charged to clean up the mess.

"It’s not cheap," he said.

Wiener Alarm!

I need prayers for my wiener, Maggie!

The other day when I was petting her, I felt a little bump on her back (her loooooong back). Of course, being Extreme Lauri, I panicked and came to the instant conclusion that she has a cancerous tumor and she's going to die tomorrow. I'm sure this is NOT the case, but as anyone who has ever talked to me for longer than 5 minutes knows.....I'm obsessed with my dog, Maggie, and would be absolutely devastated if anything happened to her.

Against my better judgement, I went on the Internet to "self-diagnose," but was happy to find a lot of message boards that talked about these harmless little cysts on dogs and that a lot of times vets won't even operate on them unless they are bothering the dog because they aren't dangerous. I still made a vet appointment for Saturday morning to have her checked out - safety first, right???

And even though I'm worrying about it, Maggie couldn't care less about any of this. She's just as happy as a clam with her toys and doesn't have a care in the world. Ahhhh, to be a dog......

Gangsta Mall

OK, I know I got on my soapbox a few days ago about some pet peeves, but I can't not write this one. I went to the mall on New Year's Day (against my better judgement) to get one specific item for my hair. I got it in the first 10 minutes of being in the mall, but I STUPIDLY thought I would just wander around the mall a little bit to see what was there (I rarely go to indoor malls anymore - I just feel like I'm in a claustrophobic zoo).

First of all, it was sad to see that a bunch of units in the mall have become vacant and some other ones are having "going out of business" sales. But that didn't bother me as much as the following:

1. Since when did the rule of "stay to your right" go away?? The majority of the people at the mall DROVE there and they certainly got the concept on the road with their car....but it just left their brain when they walked in the mall doors!

2. Why are all malls getting very 'gansta'? Half the stores sell slutty or gangster attire and it's annoying.

3. Please make Dippin' Dots go away. They are gross and I'm not entirely sure how they stay in business, because it's a creepy concept. I tried them once at Cedar Point in Ohio and was very disappointed - not sure what the allure is supposed to be.......Anyone??

4. Upon leaving the mall in my car.....oh man, don't get me started.....OK, when there is a line of cars in the access road that makes a loop around the perimeter of the mall, and then there are cars that come to the ends of the 'rows' and want to enter onto that 'loop' road, there are certain unwritten rules a good driver should follow. I like to think I'm a fairly courtious driver, and when I'm on the 'loop' road with the right of way and it's slow or stopped traffic, I will let a person from one of the 'rows' turn onto the 'loop' in front of me so they aren't stranded there waiting all night.

Here's my issue: When I'm being a nice driver and letting a car in (when I clearly didn't HAVE to if I didn't want to)...isnt' it common decency for that person to give me a little wave to say 'thanks for letting me in - I appreciate it'???? When I left the mall today, I let two different 'row' drivers in from two different rows and neither gave me a wave! They just plowed into the gap that I had left for them and then went on their merry little way. HOW RUDE!! If someone does you a favor, the least you could do is raise your hand to say thanks. UGH.

Remind me not to go to the mall again for a LONG time (although that whole rude driver thing could happen anywhere at any time......)!

Oh, and don't even get me started on the driver who thinks that just because you were kind enough to let one car in front of you in line, that you were going to let the 15 cars behind them in as well. Hey - I don't need to get home tonight - I'll just sit here and let every single person at the mall in front of me and hopefully make it home by morning - ??? You give people an inch and they take a mile!!

PS - How would you like to be in THIS traffic jam?!?!

The Curse of the North

BLESSED MINNESOTA

On the sixth day God turned to the Archangel Gabriel and said: 'Today, I am going to create a land called Minnesota. It will be a land of outstanding natural beauty; a land of 10,000 beautiful lakes, each one full of fish. It shall have tall majestic pines, peacefully flowing rivers, landscapes full of buffalo, tall grass, and eagles, beautiful blue skies, forests full of bear, elk and moose, rich farmland and fair skinned people.'

God continued, 'I shall make the land rich in resources so as to make the inhabitants prosper and they shall be known as a most friendly people, people who practice being Minnesota Nice every day.'

But Lord,' asked Gabriel, 'don't you think you are being too generous to these Minnesotans?'

'Not really,' replied God 'just wait and see the winters I am going to give them.'

AND NOW YOU KNOW

Companionship/Gentle Heart

So lately, I have been thinking that maybe Maggie should get out into the world and 'earn her keep', so to speak. She is a very active dog and gets very excited when we have guests over, but overall, she is a very calm dog when it's just the two of us at home. I think as she gets a little older, she could be a "Pet Partner" in a nursing home.

Studies have shown that having a pet lowers blood pressure and helps with loneliness, comforts you when you are sad, shows unconditional love, etc. I've heard of them living in hospital wings, nursing homes, etc. to comfort patients and serve as a friendly companion. I think it would be so fun to have Maggie get certified as a Pet Partner to make visits to a nursing home to cheer up some of the residents. She has never bitten anyone and has a heart of gold, so I would love it if she could help someone else.

Oh, and she already knows how to 'shake' - how more friendly can you get?? :)

Blowin' In The Wind

The other day, I felt like my Mom was closer to me than she really was (we are 11 hours apart by car, even though we're both in Texas!). In the past week, we have had several days where the wind was blowing so hard and fast that I woke up multiple times during each night because it was SO noisy. I live in north Texas (about an hour or two from the Oklahoma border), so we get some very fierce wind from time to time (reference - the Oklahoma dust bowls in the 20's - Woody Guthrie songs). But the wind can mean different things depending on where it's coming from.

I never paid much attention to it until I walked out my back door the other day and the air smelled JUST LIKE the air down where my Mom lives - very tropical. It made me smile and get excited for my annual trip down to see her every February. Then later in the day I was talking to her on the phone and telling her that it smelled like south Texas in my backyard - and she said she was watching the Weather Channel and they said that there were huge gusts of wind from the southeast (the coast is southeast of Dallas) blowing up my way.

It's so weird that wind can travel that far and still smell like the ocean!

I'm SO done with.....

I found this article on Yahoo - what a cool idea! I'm all about getting closure.

Had a Bad Year? '08 Memories Get Shredded in NYC

By KAREN MATTHEWS, Associated Press Writer Karen Matthews, NEW YORK

Should auld acquaintance be forgot? Or maybe shredded?

In an event that organizers hope will become a New Year's tradition, New Yorkers and tourists were invited to bring bad memories from 2008 to Times Square on Sunday and feed them to an industrial-strength shredder.

"This is the perfect way to move on from a bad year, from a bad experience," said Kathryn Bonn, of New York City, who shredded a printout of her boyfriend's e-mail breaking up with her.
The event, the second annual "Good Riddance Day," was sponsored by the Times Square Alliance, organizers of the New Year's Eve ball-dropping celebration.
Some participants wrote "the stock market" or "cancer" on a piece of paper and shredded it, while others shredded bags of bank statements and check stubs.
Kate Anello, a Yankees fan from New York City, destroyed a poster of the city's longtime rival, the Boston Red Sox.

"I hate them," she said. "It felt good."

City resident Jay Ballesteros won a $250 prize for the most creative object to be shredded: a sock representing all the socks that emerge from the laundry without their mates.

"I'm hoping to use the prize to buy some brand new socks," he said.

JACK IS BACK!!!

OK, this one is dedicated to you, Iris (and #2 is the MOST important!):

Five Reasons the New Season of 24 Rocks

1. The "Good Old" 24 Is Back! Any of you who were disappointed in season six (and yes, we are with you) will be pleased to know that the high-stakes, high-drama and fully engrossing storylines and action of the earlier seasons of 24 have most assuredly returned for season seven.

In the first four hours alone, there are enough twists to turn your stomach into a pretzel (who's working for whom, where Jack is heading, etc.), and yet the plotlines are handled smartly and delicately enough to avoid Heroes syndrome (way too much happening way too fast to too many people). These guys know what they're doing.

2. Tony Almeda Is Freaking Back! No, it's not a dream, a shower sequence or a Francinator-like clone. Tony Almeda (Carlos Bernard) is among the living. And where he's been and what he's been up to will most assuredly leave your jaw hanging—as well as Jack's.

3. The New Cast Does Not Suck: You Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) devotees might be turned off by the idea of what appears very much to be a new Chloe—Janine Garafalo as an FBI computer whiz helping out Team Jack. But rest assured, there's a reason they've brought in a Chloe clone: The two geekalicious girls will be going head-to-head in no time, and the smackdown is thoroughly entertaining.
Also worth noting: The new femme fatale in Jack's life, Renee Walker (Annie Wersching) is instantly respectable, likeable and ultimately more badass than she might first appear.

4. Jack Is Sorta, Um, Bad: Forget CTU. Forget glossy, glamorous offices, big budgets and endless high-tech help of yesterseason. Ultimately this season of 24 will show Jack (who begins his day in a Senate hearing as a wanted man) in a much more rebellious and renegade light than we've seen him before. And that's because he'll be working with...
Crap! Jack Doll has awoken. Gotta go.

5. See For Yourself...Season premiere is on January 11th!