I Need to Find My Christmas Cheer

Probably not a great idea to make a blog entry when I'm cranky, but alas, I got two things to complain about:

1.) I am beyond irked with Brighthouse Networks. OVER them. First, they hijack our DVR a couple of months ago and fill it with software that is crappy at best. Slow. Hard to navigate. Annoying. Those are just a few words I would choose to describe the "upgrade" to our box.

If that weren't enough to put a bee in my bonnet, tonight I get home from work to find that a grand total of about six channels are functioning. All the others are black. I tried to call customer service, but all I get is the obnoxious busy tone. I'm sure they just quit answering the phones after the first dozen or so irate customers. Hey BH, here's a suggestion. If you don't want irate callers, offer decent service!

2.) As I sit her surfing the net since I can only choose between Jeopardy and Dr. Phil at the moment, I run upon a Knoxville News Sentinel article noting that Phil Fulmer has been hired for a three-month stint as "special assistant to the president." OK. I'd be fine with that fact alone. I'm in favor of Fulmer having some official capacity (besides football coach) at UT for years to come.

Herein lies my gripe. This little gig is slated to pay ol' Phil $12,500 per month. ARE YOU SERIOUS?!!! The article alleges that the money is coming from private contributors, but I really don't care. For him to be taking home $12,500 a month when he's already set to collect nearly $7 million to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING after running our football program into the ground is absolute nonsense.

Go look on the job listings at utk.edu right now. You'll see most every position, including those for which they require or prefer a college degree, pays $10 an hour or less. A well-paid staffer at UT is taking home far less in an entire year than money bags Fulmer will make in just three months as a "special assistant."

Folks, I think that's garbage. Absolute garbage. The real workers on campus are scraping by with part of their annual salary going to pay for a campus parking pass, mind you, and the already filthy-rich Fulmer's making $12,500 a month. That's just wrong.

The older I get, the more I see it's true...the rich really do get richer.