New house on the block

My friend is buying a house.

A house. I can't image looking for a house, much less buying one.

As I sat on an early Saturday morning (3 a.m.), it hit me. I'm getting older. Not that it's a bad thing, but I'm not 17 anymore.

Of all the stuff they teach you in high school and college, none of them prepares you for getting older. Literally. For that moment when you realized you're not a kid anymore and you have responsibilities and choices to make. I wish they taught "GETTING OLDER 101" and "LIFE CHOICES 313." That would have been more useful than Algebra 301.

I can't live like a college student forever. And I probably shouldn't. My friends are getting married, having babies, buying houses, settling down and putting down roots.

Well, some of them are, and then there the people like me.

We rent apartments, we're single or just dating, we're not looking to get married or to settle down anytime soon. We don't want to take care of a yard or mortgage, or think about staying in anyplace for too long. For some that's a year, for others it's five. No matter -- we just don't put down roots.

So back to my friend, he told me out of the blue he's buying a house. (Sorry, even now I'm in a state of shock.) I didn't know what to say. It's not like buying a car or an iPod. It's a freaking house.

I asked him how this happened. He said he liked his job, it is near family and friends, and he likes the people he works with. But most of all that he really wanted to do it. I'm really proud and exited that he's building a life in a place he enjoys.

But at that moment I realized I wasn't in the position to buy a house. I wouldn't even know what to do with a house. Who would work on the yard? I would need to hire a gardener. I can't even keep an apartment clean; if I had a house it would be a complete mess.

So for now, I'm foregoing the gardener, the maid and the house, and sticking to paying rent.

I know at some point I'll put down roots and, who knows, maybe I'll even like working in the yard. OK, I'll end up with a gardener ... who are we kidding?

On the TV: MI-5 (Never watched the show, but I hear it's good.)

Wherefore art thou TIVO?

OK, here's the thing. I was going to write about the anniversary of Katrina or about 9/11 five years later. But saying I was going to write about those and actually being able to is another thing. Give me some time, and I'll tell you about it. But after a long month let's talk about something fun.


I'm currently cheating on someone I really care about.

Yes that's right. I'm cheating on iPod.

With Tivo.

I worked up the courage to get Tivo after months of longingly reading the Web site and studying the features and discounts available.

I wanted to make sure I was ready for the commitment -- to take that next step and build a longterm relationship with a new electronic device.

Then it happened: My VCR started to show signs of wear and tear.

So one sleep deprived night, I ordered Tivo, thus ending my eight-year relationship with the VCR. But the separation would take weeks, until Tivo arrived on my door one Wednesday afternoon.

Now, I'm a tech-savvy person. I become one with most electronics the moment they're out of the box. Not Tivo, oh no. The box said it would be a 20-minuet setup. LIARS!

It ended up taking two people and four hours.

I tried every possible combination, I plugged and re-plugged cables and went though the menus again and again. And I got NOTHING, nothing but an error message! I had to get to work, so I left the BFF and her mom (my house guest at the time) to see if she could get it to work.

Hours later, I called home and she had gotten it up and running. How, you ask? She has no idea. She just plugged and moved cables and changed numbers and kept pressing buttons on the remote. And viola, Tivo.

Now, less than a month later, I question how I lived without it for so long. And like Netflix, the more you tell Tivo your interests, likes and dislikes, the better it knows you. It's almost like it's reading my thoughts.

I just hope it doesn't figure out I'm sneaking around it's back, with digital cable and On Demand.

ON TIVO: "Friends"