Please Stand By!

In the 1970s, on a somewhat regular basis, while engrossed in a favorite television show, the screen would go blank and the following message would appear:

We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please stand by.

And that would be accompanied by a ridiculous watercolor rendering of someone with long hair operating a camera. Since it was the 1970s one would assume it was either a hippie or a testament to the feminist movement and someone had set out to depict a stocky woman doing a predominantly male job. Nonetheless, you had to stare at this image indefinitely until the station got its act together and put your show back on the air. By then you'd usually missed most of it.

In the high tech, digital age, technical difficulties mean something entirely different and usually something server or network related. I actually have no computer problems at the moment, but what I will be experiencing for the next five days is a visit from my mother.

This will mean a pause in all things television and blog related. My mother is actually a fantastic TV watcher, however she doesn't much go for The Search for the Next Doll, Top Model, or Work Out, even though she's a Project Runway fan and recently confessed to having watched all of The Real Housewives of Orange County, reunion included.

But, while I'm sure I'll be tuning into some random television in her hotel room, I am usually a trembling ball of exhaustion when maman (cuz she's French) descends upon Seattle from New York like the Tasmanian Devil, whirling dervishing her way through my days, leaving no time or energy for the likes of careful and considered blog post writing.

I will return to my regularly scheduled programming next week. Please stay tuned!