Do I have sucker stamped on my forehead?

What is about getting work done on your car leads to spending at least twice what you expect? I always think it's because I'm a woman and appear not to know any better to the mechanics. Of course, I recognize my first mistake. I went to the dealer. Yes, I know. You should NEVER go to the dealer!

But let me explain why I did. I went because I thought there might be something wrong with my fuel injector. Less than a year ago I had to have it replaced and had the line flushed. I had it done at the dealer because it was under warantee. So I figured if there was something wrong with it they would fix it.

So as you already guessed, that's not what was wrong. It was actual the battery. So in addition to the $29.95 oil change (yes I know you get that done for under $20 other places), I also got suckered into the upsell. I bought the second most expensive battery because it's under warranty for 60 months. If you're thinking sucker, just wait.

I also paid to have my windshield wipers replaced. Yes, I know they charge you at least double. But to be honest, mine have been shot for about a year now and I can't bring myself to buy and replace them. The last time I tried to do it myself I couldn't get them on right and got all dirty. So I guess it's a matter of convenience really. And pay for that I did.

My first clue I should have just gone to Pep Boys, where I never feel taken just because I'm a woman, was this dealership was the mack daddy of dealerships. There was an internet cafe with free Starbucks (think mochas, cappuccinos, hot chocolate, etc.), two big flat screen TVs, free WiFi, a salon & barbershop, movie theatre and a full gym. The pamphlets on the table touted these ammenities stating "So... Why would you bring your vehicle anywhere else?"

The last time when it was the fuel injector I did got someplace else first, but wound up at a dealer anyway because of the warranty. Today I figured I'd just save myself the trouble of two stops. Plus, it's less gas that way, right?

So I sipped my free Starbucks and watched cable news on the big screen TV and waited. When my car was ready my service agent told me they added in a complimentary car wash. When I told one of my friends she said, "That's not complimentary, you paid $200 for that car wash!" How true! I probably should have taken a second Starbucks to go.

I know I got ripped off. I miss the days when my dad used to change my oil, windshield wipers, etc. And he I'm sure he knows it. I usually call him and tell him everytime I have to get something fixed on my car to make sure I'm not being taken advantage of. In fact, I'm sure he'll laugh at this when he reads it.

Stylishly yours,
Miss Attitude

Now I'm breaking a promise.. sorry but I couldn't resist!

Okay, I know I promised no New Kids on the Block blogs until the Today Show concert. But I just got this e-mail a few minutes ago:

We’ve been hard at work rehearsing and are VERY excited to announce our initial tour dates to our nkotb.com members FIRST!

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK LIVE IN CONCERT!

Check out the below dates for AMERICAN EXPRESS cardholders pre-sale and general public on-sale information!
VIP TICKET PACKAGES will be available starting Friday May 2. Visit nkotb.com for more information.
Don’t forget to tune in to The Today Show on Friday May 16!

Sat9/20/08 Montreal, Quebec Bell Centre
Sun9/21/08 Toronto, ONAir Canada Center
Tue9/23/08 East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center
Wed9/24/08 Uniondale, NY Nassau VETERANS MEMORIAL Coliseum
Fri9/26/08 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden
Sat9/27/08 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Hotel and Casino Event Center
Sat10/4/08 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena

What about Tampa? All right, you don't have to make fun of me! I already know I'm pathetic. Wanting to see a bunch of 30something former boy band members pretend they still have what they had in the late 80s early 90s.



In fact, I was reminded of how pathetic I am for wanting to go at my friend's kickball game last week. One of the teams on her league is called NKOTB and they had a portable radio playing New Kids songs during the game. Even I wouldn't play those songs in public. I don't even have them on my MP3 player for fear of mockery from my friends.

Stylishly yours,
Miss Attitude

P.S. Since I broke my promise and I know tons of you don't care about NKOTB, I will post another blog later today.

I'm cheating.. a little

Instead of a typical blog today, I'm going to share one of my columns. I know a lot of you don't get to read Attitudes magazine since you don't live in Sarasota or Manatee Counties. And unfortunately at this point, the articles are NOT available online. So since May's is about to be published, I figured I'd share April's with you now. Hope you enjoy!

Dear Attitude Readers:

I’ve been so busy since I introduced myself to you last month. After swearing on my favorite pair of Manolos to give you the best advice I can, some of you still seem hesitant to e-mail me your problems. But you’re definitely not shy about what you think is acceptable behavior.
Recently Miss Attitude had a dating disaster of her own, getting dumped before the first date by a man she met on eHarmony. After talking on the phone for several hours and multiple text messages we made plans for a date. But two days later, I didn’t hear anything from him, not a call, not a text message.
Then I finally received an email.
“I have really enjoyed talking with you but some things have come up personally where dating would not be a good idea for me right now. Sorry for not calling you back but I've just been really busy for my own personal reasons. I really wish you luck in looking for someone you seem like a really sweet girl.”
Some of you definitely had something to say about that.
“Not only is it poorly written, it's in poor taste. What a lame-o.”
“This is romantic evolution. This man is not one of the fittest of the species, so clearly he would not make a good mate. And his lame email is just natural selection at work. You are the top of the food chain and he’s just plankton.”
Cheating also came up. What makes people be unfaithful? How do they go home at night with that lie tucked away and not feel guilty?
One reader admitted she knew it was never okay to cheat, but justified the behavior anyway.
“It is wrong, unfair, dishonest and sleazy. In most cases, I presume, the person cheating still loves their significant other with all their heart. But something is missing. Maybe you’ve had conversations with that person, serious conversations. And things change for a day, maybe two. But then, it goes back to nothing. No help, no passion, no romance.”
I know I’m single and try not to judge, but just get a divorce and then do what you want to do. I believe when you’re married Even as a single person, I would never knowingly have an affair with a married man. Period.

Stylishly yours,
Miss Attitude

E-mail your dating dilemma or coworker crisis to miss.attitude7@gmail.com.

Disordered eating

The other day while on the treadmill I was reading through my latest copy of Self magazine and read an interesting article about "disordered eating." I'd never heard this term before, but I couldn't stop reading the article because the more I read the more I thought they were writing about me.

I've struggled with weight most of my adult life. I'm short so when you gain a few pounds people really notice. I'm also an emotional eater, which I've mentioned before. I've had a rough two and a half years and unfortunately used food to comfort the stress. But at the beginning of the year I decided to change that. I wouldn't call it a new year's resolution, but a lifestyle change.

I may have mentioned this before. But here's my biggest confession about that change. I'm obsessed about it. When I'm eating healthy and working out, I feel great. When I cheat and head to Mc Donald's, I feel bad about it. But I know I don't have an eating disorder. I've never starved myself, I like food too much for that. And I've never purged either. I hate throwing up, even when I'm legitimately sick so I can't imagine doing that to yourself either.

So this article says 6 in 10 women are "disordered eaters."
Sixty-five percent of American women who responded to a national survey by SELF are disordered eaters. Eating habits that women think are normal—such as banishing carbs, skipping meals and, in some cases, even dieting itself—may actually be symptoms of the syndrome. Although disordered eating doesn't have the lethal potential of anorexia or bulimia, it can wreck your emotional and physical health, says Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D., director of the eating disorders program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and SELF's partner in the survey. And it's everywhere, afflicting women like your sister, your friend, your coworker—or you.

If you read the article online you can even take the Self quiz to find out if you're at risk.

Stylishly yours,
Miss Attitude

Texting: Dating do or dating don't?

During the past few weeks I've given the use of text messaging a lot of thought when it comes to dating. In a way, I truly believe texting is one of the biggest problems. I know it's an easy way to check in and send messages during the day. Believe me, I use it all the time with my friends. And yes, I even use it to communicate with boys. And before I go any further, I don't mean the term "boys" to be disrespectful, it's what I call men. And yes, I still call women girls.

Anwyay, the past few weeks one of my friends has been texting back and forth with this boy. They've known eachother for a while from a group setting type deal. But even to me, it appears like he's very interested in her. So the texting went from a few hi, how are you? kind of texts to a little more sexy.

The other night we were all out together and in person it just seemed like he didn't have the nerve to ask her out. The next day she and I were texting about how we were confused by his actions. "When did boys lose their balls?" she asked. And I replied, "They've gotten lazy. I think text messaging is part of the problem. They don't have to call anymore."

But we seem to play right into it too. Many of the girls I know, myself included, kept texting them back or in some cases as I've been known to do initiate the text. We never once seem to tell them "Pick up the f'n phone and call!" or "Take us out on a date, damn it!" Instead, we play the games too.

When I decided to write this entry today I googled texting and dating. I found an interesting article "Romancing the Phone: Txt Luv Dos & Don'ts" written a couple years ago. And I found this tip really applies to what I'm writing about:
DO wait until at least the third date before you engage in "textual relations" with a new love interest. Be sure sexy or intimate texts are well-received before firing off note after note.

Now I wonder if the writer thinks anything has changed since 2006. Because I certainly do. "Wait until the third date?" What happens when they aren't even asking you out on the first date? Do boys even ask you out on dates anymore? Isn't it just easier to tell you where they're going to be with their friends so you'll come meet them there? Or what about using it as a way to tell you things they're not confident enough to tell you in person?

Since I'm mentioning my friend and she thinks I always use her for topics in this blog, I have to do some full disclosure. Sadly, I've been much guiltier of using this texting technique during the past few weeks. At first I sort of blamed it on the fact I tend to be interested in younger men and that's how they're used to communicating. But now, I'm doing the same thing with a man who's a few years older than me. A man I have actually known for years, though the flirting just started last week in person. So now what's my excuse? And how can I get annoyed that he won't call me and ask me to go out somewhere when I'm not doing it either?

I want to hear from you. Is texting killing the romance? Is it just a cop out? Is it easier to deal with rejection from a text than on the phone or in person? E-mail me your stories at miss.attitude7@gmail.com.

Stylishly yours,
Miss Attitude

$900 sheets

So last night I was at a bar in South Tampa with two of my friends. At one point I look over and one of my friends is talking to this guy. They seem to be having an interesting conversation almost like he's flirting with her, though I'm convinced he's gay. She leans over and brings us into their conversation.

She wants to know what we think about spending $900 on a set of sheets. Apparently that's what this guy has done. My immediate reaction is this guy freakin' kidding me? He clearly has too much money if he can spend that much on sheets for his bed. And then I think why is he even telling her about it? Who would brag about that? For some of us that's two or three car payments!

He proceeds to go on and on about his 1000 count (or higher since I didn't really pay much attention past the mention of the price tag) sheets and how comfortable they are. My other friend looks at me and says "I'm not getting it. Is he lying?"

Both of us excuse ourselves and head to the bathroom. Yes, we did have to go to the bathroom, but it was also our chance to discuss this guy. We get in there and we're laughing about it. I'm still talking to her while I'm washing my hands and she's in a stall. That's when two other girls walk into the bathroom.

I can't help myself. I tell them about this guy and his ridiculously expensive sheets. The one girl who just walked into one of the stalls opens the door back up just to joke with us about it. The other one looks at me and says, "Only gay men spend $900 on sheets!" See I'm not crazy. My gaydar is usually pretty accurate.

So we head back to the bar and he's moved on to talking about something else, but I can't stop thinking about the sheets. I just don't understand and I tell him that. He then explains "the pillowcases were included." As if that makes it better! Seriously what is this guy's deal?

A few minutes later I overhear him telling her about his Harley. Now, I know those are pretty darn expensive too. And I'm not trying to stereotype, but I don't know too many gay men who drive Harleys. I'm sure some of them do, but none of the ones I know. So maybe I'm wrong and maybe he's straight, which I'm beginning to think since he leans over and tells her he doesn't normally do this, but he's going to give her his phone number.

He gives her a card. He's a pilot for a big shipping company, which maybe explains the money. He tells her he'd like to maybe hang out sometime and with that he leaves. Then, I'm even more confused. Maybe he was bragging about his sheets because he wanted to get her in them. If so, why didn't he even bother to buy her a drink?

Seriously, he kept telling her to order a martini, but then never offered to pay for it. If he has that much money and he's bragging about spending that much cash on sheets, he should have offered to buy her at least one drink. It would have been the gentlemanly thing to do in my humble opinion. Especially if he's not gay and wants to take her out on a date.

As I sat down to write the blog today I told another one of my friends about this guy and she said, "That's just asinine that's just somebody who has more money than they know what to do with?

Stylishly yours with my Ralph Lauren sheets from Marshalls,
Miss Attitude

I'm no model... but I she made me look good

The photo shoot for the magazine was a lot of fun. I knew right away I liked the photographer. Her name is Lisa Wiseman and she's from San Francisco. As soon as I got out of the car she looked at my shoes and said, "Are those Manolos?" Then we both said, "Black, patent leather, Mary Janes!" Her photo assistant looked at us blankly and I clued him in that it's from Sex and the City.

I wore the outfit I bought Wednesday and showed her the others I brought and she picked my second choice. Then we walked over to the first location. She picked this great spot downtown at the public library. I have to admit I wouldn't even thought of shooting there, but I guess that's why she's the photographer.

I was still a little nervous and I knew she could tell. I told her I'm used to being the one behind the scenes, not in front of the camera. I admitted that I hate having my picture taken. And ladies some of you know where I'm coming from on this one, I told her I just didn't want to have a double chin in a photo for a national women's magazine. I felt better just telling her my concerns and she gave me a little tip how to stick my chin out for photos to stop that from happening. BTW, it really works!

I admitted to Lisa I had checked out her website before the shoot and really thought her pictures were beautiful. She told me several of the people on it are "real people" not models. So I thought, well maybe she can make me look that good too.

The one thing I really enjoyed about working with her was she actually showed me some of the shots she was getting to make sure I liked them too. It made me feel much more comfortable with the whole thing. She also told me for someone who doesn't like to have her picture taken, I'm very photogenic and have a beautiful smile.

And I got kudos for being a good model because I followed directions really well. When she said move to the right an inch, I moved an inch. When said move forward a step, I did. She said you'd be surprised how many people don't understand what moving an inch is, they'll take huge steps and not be where she wants them to be. Maybe she was just saying I did well to make me feel good, but it worked.

After an hour, we went to a second location downtown. While most of the shots at the first location where taken from a distance where I was smaller and the building was larger in the background, this time she took a lot more closeups. That's something that made me even more nervous. I told her, I don't normally let anyone with a camera get that close to me. She said she'd take that as a compliment.

And again, she showed me some of the shots as she was getting them. There were actually a few where I though, wow I can look that good?!?! But those shots were tricky to get. I had to put my chin down, stick it out just a little, then relax, then smile. And I'm one of those people who can't just smile naturally, I have to make myself laugh. So every time she was getting ready to take a close up, I had remind myself again chin down, stick it, relax and laugh to get a smile. By the end, I finally felt like I was getting the hang of it. The photo assistant even said I made a "really great model" and I looked really good.

So I guess you'll get to be the judge of how the photo shoot really went when the magazine comes out in July. And after much debate, because I'm supposed to be anonymous, I've decided to tell you anyway it's Marie Claire. I hope you'll remember to buy a copy in July.

Stylishly yours,
Miss Attitude
miss.attitude7@gmail.com