Archive for July 24th, 2010

Have you heard of the TransUnion Class Action Lawsuit?

Apparently, TransUnion, a credit reporting company, illegally sold confidential credit information to target marketing companies in the United States between the years 1987 and 2000. Disclosure of such personal information is a direct violation of the Federal Credit Reporting Act. A large segment of the American population was effected by this illegal action is entitled to monetary damages from a pre-established $75 million fund.

I hope you are not one of those affected (maybe that is the reason why we have so many telemarketing calls!), but if you applied for credit in the United States between 1987 and 2000 it is likely you have a claim against TransUnion. The O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath Law Office can help you. Contact them for a free consultation.

Plot Summary:

Milo Boyd, a down-on-his-luck bounty hunter, gets his dream job when he is assigned to track down his bail-jumping ex-wife, reporter Nicole Hurly. He thinks all that’s ahead is an easy payday, but when Nicole gives him the slip so she can chase a lead on a murder cover-up, Milo realizes that nothing ever goes simply with him and Nicole. The exes continually one-up each other – until they find themselves on the run for their lives. They thought their promise to love, honor and obey was tough – staying alive is going to be a whole lot tougher.

What I Thought About It:

1. First, I seriously think Jennifer Aniston’s look is getting old – same gorgeous hair, same type of neutral colored clothes, same everything. No doubt, she LOOKS great but – any change m’dear? It wont hurt.

2. I honestly dont think they have chemistry. Too rough-house for Butler and too understatedly sophisticated Aniston.

3. The story works but if it wasnt the big stars playing the roles, it would have been a flop. Wait – wasn’t it?

Knowing how much I love drama and grey situations where there is no good nor bad, just a lot of “life’s just like that” situations, I loooooooved this book. Actually I have a lot of mantras that were repeated towards the end, like how everything boils down to choice and that love, the true and kind one, has commitment and choice and responsibility.

I won’t spoil everything for you but I just cannot resist sharing this teaser:

How do you know if you’ve found the one? Can you really love the one you’re with when you can’t forget the one who got away?

Emily Giffin, author of the New York Times bestselling novels Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Baby Proof, poses these questions-and many more-with her highly anticipated, thought-provoking new novel Love the One You’re With.

Ellen and Andy’s first year of marriage doesn’t just seem perfect, it is perfect. There is no question how deep their devotion is, and how naturally they bring out the best in each other. But one fateful afternoon, Ellen runs into Leo for the first time in eight years. Leo, the one who brought out the worst in her. Leo, the one who left her heartbroken with no explanation. Leo, the one she could never quite forget. When his reappearance ignites long-dormant emotions, Ellen begins to question whether the life she’s living is the one she’s meant to live. At once heartbreaking and funny, Love the One You’re With is a tale of lost loves and found fortunes-and will resonate with anyone who has ever wondered what if.

Some excerpts I loved:

"Love is the sum of our choices, the strength of our commitments, the ties that bind us together."

"How different this moment feels, for so many reasons. I tell myself that no two loves are identical – but that I don’t have to compare anymore."

"Love as a verb. Love as a commitment."

"Maybe that’s what it all comes down to. love, not as a surge of passion, but as a choice to commit to something, someone, no matter what obstacles or temptations stand in the way. And maybe making that choice, again and again, day in and day out, year after year, says more about love than never having a choice to make at all."

"What every girl dreams of when she’s dumped is – that the guy will someday feel regret and come back and tell her all about it. And the beauty of it is you have no regrets whatsoever."

"Did she ever regret her choices? Were her decisions more clear-cut than mine – or are there always shades of gray when it comes to matters of the heart?"

"True love is supposed to make you into a better person-uplift you."

"Instead of relief or gratitude, more guilt washes over me. Andy’s certainly not faultless – no one ever is in a marriage"

"Change can be good but its always tough to let go of the past"

"He threw in the towel before we were tested. Maybe because he didn’t want to be tested. Maybe because he assumed we would fail. Maybe because, at the time, he just didn’t love me enough."

I received news from a friend that she finally got in the Florida cosmetology School of Regency Institute. Founded more than 50 years ago in Minneapolis, Regency is the fastest growing beauty school in the country. Regency has expanded from two Minnesota schools in 2002 to almost 30 campuses across nine states, with continued growth underway for next year. She has been interested in hair styling and applying make-up for years and I really thought she had the talent for it even back then. She just knew how to instinctively enhance one’s features and downplay the not so good features. I can’t wait to hear from her!

If you have plans to read one of the books, be prepared to read both, because you can’t help it.

Both of these books tell the same story: two best friends, gorgeous bitchy Darcy and smart plain Rachel, get in a fight because Rachel steals Darcy’s fiance. Something Borrowed is from Rachel’s perspective, Something Blue from Darcy’s.

Something Borrowed

Something Borrowed is the story of Rachel White and Darcy Rhone, best friends since childhood. Rachel is used to being the good girl, the hard-worker who exists in the shadow of flashy—often selfish—Darcy. Until her thirtieth birthday that is, when a drink too many results in Rachel sleeping with Darcy’s fiance, Dexter. The fling turns into an affair, and Rachel is forced to decide which is more important, friendship or true love.

Something Blue

Something Blue is the sequel to Something Borrowed, where it tells the story of Darcy Rhone, who thought she had it all figured out: the more beautiful the girl, the more charmed her life. Never mind substance. Never mind playing by the rules. Never mind karma. But Darcy’s neat, perfect world turns upside down when her best friend, Rachel White, the plain-Jane "good girl," steals her fiance, while Darcy finds herself completely alone for the first time in her life…with a baby on the way. Darcy tries to recover, fleeing to her childhood friend living in London and resorting to her tried-and-true methods for getting what she wants. But as she attempts to recreate her glamorous life on a new continent, Darcy finds that her rules no longer apply. It is only then that Darcy can begin her journey toward self-awareness, forgiveness, and motherhood.

———————

Among the two I loved Something Blue more, perhaps because in Something Borrowed I just couldn’t get (in real life) how Rachel and Dex could have kept it a secret for so long. Plus Dex is too perfect he hardly seems real – and how he managed to keep his feelings for Rachel for 7 yrs under control is beyond me. But this is what Griffin does best. She paints real life as not only black and white but with shades of grey. And that is life. People change, love happens. Life sucks sometimes.

Something Blue was different. She illustrates that people can really change and you can really find love in the most unexpected places. Ethan is someone I wouldn’t mind falling in love with myself.