The dirtiest of the dirty

Chicago is buzzing today with news that our former Governor, Rod Blagojevich, has been found guilty on one charge of lying to the authorities which could carry a 5-year prison sentence. As I'm sure you know, this stems from accusations he tried to trade the senate seat of then Senator Barack Obama for personal gain.

Blago actually came out pretty well, considering he was charged with 24 counts including bribery, racketeering, conspiracy, wire fraud....well, you get it. Come to find out, there was just one juror holdout, which forced a mistrial on the 23 other counts. Talk about just squeaking by!

Chicago politics truly fascinates me. If sent to prison, Blago can hang out with another former Illinois governor, George Ryan, who's serving a six and a half year sentence for conspiracy and racketeering...but that’s just the beginning. As I've said before, politics in Illinois is dirtier than preschoolers on fudgesicle day. It's dirtier than a baby's diaper after eating split pea soup. It's dirtier than...well, you get it.

Here are some other great moments in Illinois' political history, courtesy of Fox Chicago News...

Illinois has a long history of corrupt governors, tracing back to 1859, when Democrat Joel Matteson was indicted twice for embezzling money.

He was cleared of the charges and now has a suburb named after him.

Republican Len Small was indicted in 1922 for embezzling state funds. He was acquitted, but historians suspect jury tampering in the case since four jurors got state jobs after the trial.

Republican William Stratton was acquitted on tax charges in 1965.

Democrat Otto Kerner was convicted of bribery and fraud and served three years in prison.

Dan Walker was sentenced to seven years in prison for bank fraud, perjury and other crimes in a bank scam that took place after he left office.

So I guess threatening our politicians that if they don't keep their hands clean, they'll go to prison doesn't work. Maybe it’s time they get community service like cleaning out port-a-potties. I saw that done once, and it ain’t pretty. Let’s just say it involves a big vacuum, horrendous smells, and brown shrapnel.

I say that’s perfect.

The Target Trance

What is it about Target that makes you lose all control and spend hundreds more than you intended? Perhaps it has something to do with their signature red color. Maybe the color tricks your brain into thinking you have more money than you really do. Perhaps it's the fact that they make it so easy so you can load up on toilet paper, cute clothes and coffee creamer all in one place. Perhaps they are pumping extra oxygen into the building, so you suddenly feel refreshed and ready to shop. Whatever it is, I know I spent $300 yesterday.

I'm not the only one either...people around this country go to Target meaning to buy hair gel, but they leave with $100 worth of goods. How did that happen?? There's even a Facebook group you can join called, "I went to Target to buy shampoo, and I ended up spending $150." There are 108,065 members of that support group.

One of my girlfriends posted this on her FB account the other day, and it made me chuckle...
"Went to Target for razors, hair ties, and birthday cards. Got there and I realized they have cute swimsuits. And I need a new pair of sandals. I should buy that book. Always need windex. My dog would LOVE this bed....and toy...and new leash. Am I out of soft scrub? I love trail mix. Hmm, this brownie mix looks good. Have I really been here for an hour?"
She checked out and realized she forgot the razors, hair ties and birthday cards.

Ooh, I wonder if Target employees get discounts. If so, I totally need to work there.

Think before you type

When I talk to my friends who still work in television news, I'm reminded that it really is a thankless job. I know you aren't supposed to constantly be told how great you are, but in news, it's just the opposite. Not only are you not getting positive feedback, there's usually some boss, anchor or viewer who's quick to tell you you stink.

I remember a particular instance of putting my heart and soul into a story, and being really excited with how it turned out. But when I got back to the station, the only e-mail in my inbox regarding that show was one from a viewer telling me my blue blazer was ugly. Another time my photographer and I were trying to get video of a murder scene (but hours later, so it wasn't really a "scene" anymore), but we had a shotgun pulled on us, so as you can imagine, we bailed quickly. Later we were yelled at by our boss for not getting video. Apparently getting video of an empty field is worth losing a limb/life for.

Anyway, you get it. What's making the problem even worse for newscasters, politicians, actors and anyone else in the public eye is the anonymity of e-mails, message boards and comment sections on websites. People are quick to judge others while posting a comment because they feel safe under this veil of anonymity. Have you ever seen how ridiculous some of these comments are??

Last night I got on a news website that had a story about a man who died after holding his girlfriend hostage, leading police on a chase and then crashing his car. The comments were just ridiculous. One blamed President Obama for taking a vacation with his family. Yep, they implied it's his fault that the man was a criminal. Another person remarked that you should probably place the blame at a local level, like say, the mayor. Another blamed it on crack cocaine.

Really people?

Why do we even need comments after stories like that? Is someone really going to have great insight as to why the man did this?

To my blog readers: If you feel compelled to start giving your political rants or making snotty remarks in my comment section, please know I'll sic two ill-behaved Chihuahuas on you, and it won't be pretty.

You'll pay what???

So about a month after the crazy fun chaos of a wedding settles down and you still have a smile on your face--you are suddenly thrust back into reality. The reality that you agreed to pay for 150 of your closest friends and family to eat heavily, drink unlimited amounts of alcohol and wipe their mouths on the finest linens. That reality hits you like a freight train when your credit card bills start rolling in. In one day, I got two credit card bills totaling, well, a lot. Let's just say I could pay an 18 year old's college tuition, and that's just the icing on the cupcake (we opted for cupcakes instead of cake because they are about 2/3's cheaper.)

The good news? I've already received one free flight with my Southwest credit card, I'm close to earning another one, and I've earned a ton of free gift cards from Discover.

With all the new federal laws, it seems like credit card companies are being more and more honest with consumers. On my Southwest card, the minimum payment was something like $200. Next to that though, it said if chose to pay the minimum it would take me....get this...32 years to pay it off! That's a whole lifetime! It also said in the end, I would end up paying more than double because of interest rates. Scary, but good information. It certainly makes you think twice about not paying off credit card rates right away.

In other news: Mike and I will not be able to afford kids. Sorry to our parents who really wanted us to have them.

A look back at Hurricane Charley

Wow, I realized today it's been exactly 6 years ago that as a reporter, I covered Hurricane Charley in Fort Myers, Florida. It was a category 4 storm, and the strongest to ever hit that part of Florida. It was also a Friday the 13th, which seemed very fitting.

I was 26, working for WINK-TV, and so scared. With hurricanes, you know for several days they are coming, which in many ways, I think is worse. For 5 or 6 days you prepare, have an upset stomach and can't sleep. I was worried the new condo I just bought would be demolished, or that my dog Bailey would die. Worse yet, I had feelings that it might be the end for me.

Because here's the thing: television news reporters and photographers are asked to do really stupid things in storms. We tell everyone to stay inside, yet we're reporting live from a deserted beach with debris flying around our heads. We tell people it's too unsafe to drive, yet we're driving in 100 mile per hour winds, and driving over power lines. We're telling you to stay away from windows, yet we're sitting in a live truck.

That day I remember thinking I had a sweet gig, because I was first sent to the Emergency Management Headquarters. It's the safest building in SW Florida, and also where every top firefighter, paramedic and police officer was stationed. But then about two hours before landfall, the bosses told my photographer and I to leave there and "hit the streets." We went back to the station first to get some stuff, and we saw the engineers boarding up the doors. That meant as soon as we left, we were locked out. I asked my boss where we should go if it got really bad, and he said a parking garage was probably the safest bet. I sat there and bawled, knowing I was getting kicked out of the building and that I might die.

Was I just being overly dramatic? Nope, 16 people lost their lives that day.

Here's the thing, if you're ever watching TV and think, "Wow, why is the reporter so stupid and standing out in the storm??!!," know that he or she agrees with you, but they have no choice.

And to think, people believe television news is so glamorous! That week I slept on the newsroom floor, used port-a-potties sans toilet paper and bathed in a swimming pool.

Congrats to Chelsea Clinton!

Well, it's official! Chelsea Clinton married boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky over the weekend. I've always felt a connection to Chelsea, perhaps because she and I both looked hideous for several years until we finally grew into ourselves. We also both got married in our 30's, perhaps because we had to wait until our braces were off and the emotional scars healed. I also met Bill Clinton when I was 14, and he totally winked at me. He was probably thinking, "Wow, you're as awkward as my daughter."

The truth is, I hadn't thought of Chelsea in years. Since she's not on Jersey Shore or Real Housewives of New York City, she's not really on my radar. But when I was watching Access Hollywood the other night, they were all over the story of her upcoming nuptials. Billy Bush said, "Now to the real story, who will Chelsea be wearing?" Really Billy? That's the real story? I think the real story is whether or not Bill hit on any of her bridesmaids.

Chelsea was apparently being stalked so much by the Paparazzi, she wore this ridiculous hat to her wedding gown fitting at Vera Wang. Here are my observations...

1. Actually Chelsea, the hat calls attention to you instead of disguising you. My guess is that if you'd worn a baseball cap and no make-up, no one would have known who you were or cared.

2. Plus who really cares if you're seen going into Vera Wang? Oscar De La Renta? I know I'm not buying an US Weekly just because your mug is on the front.

3. There must be WAY too many Paparazzi in the world if there are enough photographers to stalk you, Kate Gosselin, and Justin Bieber.

Already?

Believe it or not, Mike and I have been in our tiny, 660-square foot Chicago apartment for almost one year. It's so hard to believe that one year ago, we were schlepping our crap up 31 flights in what was nearly the end or our relationship. What is it about moving that sucks so bad? It could have something to do with the fact that you don't think you have a lot of stuff until you have to pack it up and move it up/down a flight/or flights of stairs. It could have something to do with the fact that your couch is suddenly 900 pounds and doesn't fit through any standard size doors. It could also do with the fact that after you move all your crap, you realize the hard work has just started, because now you have to find room for all your shoes.

Today we got a notice from our building that our lease is almost up, and we can choose to re-sign if we want. The bad news is that the move-in special we got 10 months ago that created cheaper rent (they called it a move-in special, I call it "recession delight") is now over, so our rent will jump to $1922 a month. What? That's a year people, not what we should be paying for a closet.

Mike and I most likely move to Lincoln Park where the rent is a little cheaper and we might be able to have more than one bedroom. (Holla!) So now the debate is whether or not to hire movers. I say yes to saving our marriage, but Mike says no, saying that we don't have all that much stuff. Need I remind him that moving out of a high-rise with people trying to steal your service elevator puts Jeannie in her unhappy place, and therefore she gets called a "Bitchy White Woman." (See October 5, 2009 post.)