30 Days

This weekend I watched the TV show "30 Days" with Morgan Spurlock and his lovely wife as they struggled to make it on minimum wage. Morgan Spurlock is the guy who made the 2004 Oscar-nominated documentary "Super Size Me" the expose that took on McDonald's and other fast food chains. Unfortunately, he was up against "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Born Into Brothels," which took the award for documentary about Calcutta's red-light district brothels and the children of the prostitutes.

Spurlock is very entertaining but to see this young, likable couple struggle like millions of Americans do all their lives is heart-breaking. When I think back, this is how I grew up until eventually my father established himself in his career. But if my mother had not been a penny-pincher and if I had not been the family servant (cooking, cleaning, you know, everything I am reluctant to do these days!) we never would have made it. And they were never rich. My mother continues to struggle now that my father is deceased.

For me, "30 Days" is more entertaining and enlightening than "the Simple Life" with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie and the non-acting is genuine, no staging involved. Although I like to hear the girls call the people whose homes they destroy "gorgeous."

I stayed home today because I have a time-off award and I was just worried about my cat so I stayed home with him. He is 15 years old and shows signs of nausea as he has lost his appetite. He also threw up in the kitchen a couple of days ago. My boss told me to do something fun today so I am writing in my blog and listenning to headphones, Plantronics to be exact, the first ones on the moon. I also went out to lunch at a Mexican restaurant across the street from where Video Town used to be. Video Town was my favorite Video/DVD rental place until they closed just about the time I started my blog, about two months ago. It was a win-win type of place. The people who worked there were so low-key nice and the selection of movies was outstanding while the prices were dirt cheap. You can't beat that but sadly, they went out of business. No more cute red-haired guy, with the motorscooter and the interesting T-shirts like Ren and Stimpy, talking on the cell phone to his girlfriend he still had it together to comment on your rental. Wednesdays were discount day with new releases only $1.50. Unheard-of! No wonder they went out of business when Blockbuster and Hollywood Video are charging roughly $4.60 per movie. Going out to pick out your movie was half the fun. It's another example of globalization with conglomerates such as say, Starbucks moving in and squeezing out the little guy even though I do appreciate their coffee. Now, I gaze at the empty building where they had a going out of business sale. I really don't buy videos much but I went in just to say good-bye and bought "The Motorcyle Diaries" and "The Weatherman." I told the red-haired cutie-pie guy that I was going to miss the place and he said that he was, too. I said "It's too bad." He agreed. He was so cool, he commented that I had picked two good movies. I thanked him wishing I could do something.