The Raging Tech

Grandma’s Getting Married!

A lot of posts today, I know, but lots of important news and things to share, thoughts on my mind. An important couple of things:

• Mom went on a date last Friday night. I was slightly weirded out, but I’m okay. Apparently he was a gentleman and treated her well.
• My grandma (my deceased father’s mom) has been dating as well, and as I think I have stated before, is getting married! I found out this weekend the date has been set for November 15th. I’m taking the day off (Friday) before the wedding, and going home to my mom’s. My grandma has asked me to give her away, so I’m going to do that for her.

It hit me when my mom told me my grandma asked if I’d do it, I’m the oldest living male on my father’s side of the family. She’s lost her brother, husband, and two sons in the last 5 or so years. She’s been so depressed, and then suddenly when this man came into her life, she has pepped right back up and is happy as we’ve never seen her.

So, yeah - I definitely said I’d be honored to give her away. Heck, Mom’s been trying to give her away for years. I kid, I kid.

I’m Freakin’ Nostradamas Over Here

So, a little while ago I posted about how it might be okay if and when my mom started to date again, and lo and behold, she’s going on a date on Friday night. That’s so weird to say. I called her up because I was suspicious based on her Facebook status messages, and this guy (we’ll call him “Chris” for anonymity’s sake) left her some messages on her Facebook wall. They went to high school together, and he recently had the gastric bypass surgery just like my mom did last year. He called her “Good Lookin!” on one of his messages to her on her Facebook wall. I figured something was going on, so I called.

Mom said that she had a date on Friday, and she told me that they had been talking on the phone and chatting online and all that nonsense. I told her he better treat her nice or I’ll cut something off, depending on how much he needed to suffer. I also warned her not to put out on the first date, and to carry some mace or pepper-spray with her.

She was all “but I knew him from high school,” and I said “Yeah, and that was years ago. Plenty of time for someone to become a complete creep or a psycho killer.” But she asked if she had my blessing. I said “Not really, no, but I’ll probably be okay with it. Have fun.” Told her I loved her and then we hung up.

My mom’s going on a date. With some guy. My dad is dead. He’d want her to be happy. It just brings back memories of all the times Dad got mad at her because he was jealous of one of her guy friends talking to her. He swore up and down she was cheating on him, but to my knowledge he was just being crazy. Ah, Dad. I miss him. I hope my mom stays happy, and I hope she doesn’t get hurt. Otherwise I’m going to have to curb-stomp someone, and I really was hoping to make it through life without a criminal record.

Apparently my sister wasn’t okay with all of this at first, but Mom says she’s coming around. I’m not kidding, I swear to everything holy that if something bad happens to her, I’m driving the five hours home to make sure Mom is okay, and then driving the hour and 45 minutes to this guy and hunting him down and torturing him Guantanamo-style before throwing him in my trunk and dumping him in a field. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned………’s son.

The Saddest Facebook News Feed Item… Ever.

This afternoon I logged on to Facebook, and I saw my Mom had made a change to her Facebook Profile. She updated her relationship status. My dad passed away in June, for those of you just tuning in.

I’m not making a comment on my Mom or the fact that she changed it. I have no issue at all. It was just one of those weird moments that when I read it I was like “Aw, I’m going to cry. Mom changed her relationship status on Facebook.” It was one of those rediculously surreal moments - and at the same time snaps you back to that reality that Dad’s really gone on to Heaven.

What if Mom starts dating again? I mean, I’m not against the idea. I just wonder if my protective instinct will allow me to be accepting of her being romantically interested in someone besides my father. Probably will. I’m a pretty understanding guy, and I want Mom to be happy.

Reach Out and Touch Someone [Insert Sexual Harassment Claim Here]

Is it just me, or is the majority of America starting to become more and more disconnected from a place they might consider “home?” Busy business people often pick up and move from one city to another across the continent for a better life, without much regard for the town they live in.

Is this a lack of hometown pride, or is the age of information making the world a smaller and smaller place? With computers, Voice-over-IP phone systems, instant messaging, text messaging, cellular phones, web cams, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and blogs - it’s like you never left home to begin with.

For those of you with relatives who are less technically savvy, you can purchase phone cards and mail them to them so they can call you on your dime. A phone card will let them call a toll-free number, enter an access code, and then commence a call to you or whoever from a balance of minutes usually pre-paid on the calling card account.

Phone Cards avenue sells such phone cards, and can provide them to you at up to 80% less than regular long distance providers like the Bells or AT&T or Sprint. They also sell international phone cards, which is a big deal if, for example, you’re a foreign exchange student attending a university in the United States.

Or maybe if you’re about to go on a trip overseas, you can purchase phone cards that you can use from over there to call home to your family. This comes in handy as most cell phone providers charge a huge premium to call internationally.

Finally, phone cards are a great alternative when computers aren’t available and you can’t use a service like Skype to communicate internationally, or if, like I said before, your call recipient is less technically capable than most.

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, why not send Mom a phone card, so that she can call you without paying for it. I’m sure she’d love the gift of hearing your voice if a visit is something not in the cards this particular holiday.