Baby Back, Baby Back...

*Sorry, now y'all got that annoying commercial jingle stuck in your head don't ya?

I'm happy to report that my laptop (aka: My Precious) is back in my loving arms. I was really annoyed when our local CompUSA closed its doors and I figured the money I'd spent on the service agreement was wasted. But lo and behold, good customer service isn't completely dead! Because they've closed all of their Chicago area stores they have set up a super-cool way to get your covered electronics serviced. All I had to do was call an 800#, get a service request #, and print out a shipping label from their website, take the whole kit and caboodle to my local Kinkos/Fed Ex store and they shipped her off. In less than a week, my lovely laptop was delivered to my front door by my friendly FedEx driver. The best part in my humble opinion, the person I talked to on the phone spoke English as his first language and was right here in the good ol' US of A.

I still have one baby that isn't home and I'm getting increasingly anxious about it. Mini-Me has been on a school trip to NYC this week. She has never been away from us for this long and both she and I are starting to feel the distance. Plus they are keeping these kids moving all the time and she is just exhausted. She calls every evening completely worn out and stressed. Today she called to say that her roommate is sick. They had some free time and the two of them spent it in a Starbuck's and the roommate napped in a chair while Sarah stood watch. Yesterday some bum tried to snatch her purse. Last night while on "free time" again she and two other kids got turned around and ended up blocks away from where they were supposed to meet their group. Thankfully one of the NYPD's finest came along to help them find their way back to the theater. On the plus side she's had some wonderful experiences she will remember for a lifetime. She got to do a mock newscast at NBC news today and sit in the anchor chair and read a teleprompter, drive by the red carpet at the Tony's, see three real Broadway shows (Chicago, Pirate Queen and Hairspray), tour the Met, Ellis Island, the Wax Museum, Rockefeller Center, Central Park and see Ground Zero. If she survives tonight and tomorrow she'll be back home safe and sound tomorrow night.

*She just called again. She now feels sick too. If you are so inclined, say a little prayer and send some strength her way, all she needs is 24 hours. (If Jack Bauer can save the damn world, she can surely survive a school trip!)