Well I think it’s time to confess. I am addicted to Facebook. I actually cannot go a day without checking it. I can’t help it, I always seem to get messages and wall posts every day and it would be rude not to check them and reply… well that’s my excuse anyway!

But I no longer feel bad about it as I know I’m not the only one. To be fair, I’ve seen plenty of my friends who can’t go a day without updating their status.  AND I have just heard Jay Sean’s song “Maybe (The Beep Beep Song)” and I think I’m right in saying that he actually sings…

I’m always connected online
Hooked on Facebook all the time
Hoping you’ve checked my profile

Ha! So it’s not just me! Celebs are hooked on Facebook too!

But there are some things I do dislike… for example NO I don’t want to be bitten by your Facebook vampire, I don’t want to be a vampire or a pirate and I don’t want to add every application under the sun just because you think it will improve my Facebook experience! Argggh. (Thank you for asking though)

This post is dedicated to a fan of my blog. She described it as “cute” as she said she could hear my inner voice.. (although right now that would be quite husky as I lost my voice on Saturday night) Hmm now I’m not sure if “cute” is what I was going for when I started this blog but to be fair, I’m just chuffed she thinks it’s good enough to be described in that way!

Anyway, so what do you get if you cross bhangra music and police?

Simple… The West Midlands Police bhangra night at Tally Ho! in Birmingham on Saturday.

I was once told that all police dos in the past used to end up with a bit of a fight but I’m glad to say I witnessed none of the sort after being invited by a friend of the family.

I had a great time with Indian food, dancing, screwing in light bulbs and turning taps.

Normally, I only ever deal with members of the Force who are under direct instruction not to make much conversation with me so it was quite refreshing to hang out with a few, who were able to let their hair down and boogie the night away.

And we had a blast. It was also lovely to see people both Asian and non-Asian mixing and trying out the DJ’s suggested dance moves. I even taught a few dance moves of my own. Ok, well it was nicked from my other half… wash the clothes, rinse the clothes, hang up the clothes on a washing line… Hmm maybe I should try to get a clip of him doing that to put up.. hehe

One slight blip to the merryment however when an over-enthusiastic PC (I think) got carried away with his light bulbs, slipped and tore something in his knee. Ouch. They then had to clear the dance floor to make room for the paramedics. But he soon stood up and hobbled off…what a trooper!

Maybe I could convince the Post & Mail to do something similar?!

Ah the broadband misery has finally ended.

After an hour-and-a-half on the phone to Misery…AKA AOL, I was reconnected and I can now once again enjoy high speed internet.

But I’m not happy. It seems the problem was actually fixed five days earlier – the day they told me to wait a few days longer.

I’ve been told I will not have to pay next month but I’m keeping my eye on them. One more slip and I’m cancelling my account!

I have been contacted three times in a month by makeover companies. You know, the type that asks you to pay £10, puts loads of make up on you and then takes great pictures of you – charging you an arm and a leg because obviously, you’re going to want to keep said pictures… It seems two of my friends had a great experience recently and gave one of these makeover companies my details. As much as I love them for thinking of me, I think it’s only right to warn anyone else who’s considering this to learn from my experiences.

I’ve done this twice. Both times were in London when I was a student. Yes I was pampered and made to feel fabulous for the day. But once you’ve had your pictures taken, you are told you don’t have to keep your photos. But why wouldn’t you if they’re that great? And then they hit you with it. It’s only going to cost £100 per picture. Oh wait? Is that too high for you? Ok, they’ll make it £50 each. How on earth do they expect students to pay that much?

Unfortunately, the second time, my then 19-year-old student self quite liked four of the pictures and spent £200 on them… It was bread and cheese for dinner for quite some time after. Stupid, I know, but they are very persuasive people and say all the right things. They are also very intimidating if you try to leave empty-handed.

So my older, more jaded, self was ready for all three calls this month. Here’s a little insight for those of you considering having one of these “experiences”.

“Hi Rhona, how are you? Oh that’s great. I’m calling from so-and-so and you’ve won…blah blah blah” Me: “Do you get any free pictures?”  Them: “No”.

Me: “How much does it cost to keep the pictures?” Them: “Er, well, actually I don’t have those figures to hand..” Me: “Surely you have a vague idea?” Them: “Well we work with your budget. It’s a great experience. And you’ll LOVE your pictures.”

Me: “So let me get this straight. I have to pay for travel to London and accommodation, and then I’m going to spend an unknown amount for photos, considering you’re telling me the pictures are great. Sorry, what part of this have I won?” Them: “But it’s a great experience.”

Me: “Sorry I’m not interested.” CLICK.

I rest my case. SCAM SCAM SCAM… You can take better pics on your camera phone.

Ofcom has released a report saying far too many children and young people put too much personal information on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5 etc. But it seems they are not alone. Even adults put too much about themselves online.    So here are some guidelines on keeping safe if you do use any of the above. I use Facebook so here’s some especially for FB users. Some do apply to the other sites though.

1) Don’t bother posting something you wouldn’t want a stranger to see.

2) Do NOT put up pictures of children on your page.

3) Be careful with your Facebook networks. If you’ve joined one and haven’t looked at your security settings since, chances are anyone in your network – including people you don’t know – can view your personal information with one click.

4) Embrace the Limited profile. If you’re not the best of buds, don’t give away your whole life.

5) Do you really despise someone who uses Facebook and you have mutual friends? Chances are they can read every wall post you write to that friend. So block them. It will be the same as if you don’t even exist on Facebook and neither will they. You won’t be able to see their posts on walls or display picture and they won’t be able to see yours.

6) Think about your future. Would you really like your potential or current boss to know what you get up to after work?

7 ) Don’t put your home/work address, email address or phone number on your profile. If someone wants to get in contact, they will send you a Facebook message.

8 ) If you reply to a message from someone who is not on your friend list, they will be able to see your profile for at least a month – unless you change your settings.

I promised myself I wouldn’t watch this year’s series of The Apprentice on BBC1. But a certain outburst by Sir Alan Sugar about the girls’ team’s 24 hour helpline was just hilarious.

In response to Brummie Lindi Mngaza’s comments about how clients of their laundry service could call them at any time of the day to find out how the service was going, he questioned whether customers would call to say:

 ”Hello girls, how’s my pants doing? I’m just checking on the progress of my Calvin Kleins.”

Oh that man makes me laugh.

The way the women acted was excruciating to watch! I definitely don’t agree with Shazia Wahab being kicked out and I really hope Jenny Celerier is the next out!

How on earth did Sir Alan miss the fact she was the one that OK’d Shazia’s suggestion to move the project back to the house to iron the rest of the laundry in her role of project manager?

Will I watch it next week? Only if Sir Alan keeps on supplying those one-liners!

It seems Jermaine Jackson was quite the fan of Birmingham!

 Here’s a link to the story I wrote for the Birmingham Post.

Well I haven’t heard from M and I’m not impressed. I’ll give them until the end of the week and if I haven’t got my broadband, I’m cancelling my account!

I’ve just had a heated ”debate” with someone in the technical support department for my broadband provider.

I’m absolutely fuming. My broadband cut out on March 11. I called them two days later - only to be told BT had banned me from using broadband by putting a “seize” (or something like that) on my line.

Yet BT told me nothing was wrong with my line, all my payments were up-to-date and if there was something wrong with the line, I wouldn’t be able to make calls. They advised me to get in touch… again… with my broadband company. I think I’ll call them “Misery” from now on or “M” for short as I can’t possibly name them… yet.

By the time I finally managed to get someone to make sense, (I’d say I spoke to about 15 operators in total for both companies by this stage) I was told that in fact it was M who had stopped my service as there had been a fault for about a minute. Apparently it only takes a minute for something to go wrong and cut you off for a fortnight! Didn’t mention that in the small print.

When I asked why they blamed BT and why they hadn’t even bothered to inform me I’d be without broadband, I was met by some very frosty responses. (no I wasn’t screaming down the phone). But I was told that a) they’d fix it by March 29 and b) I could have free dial-up until then.

Well now it’s the 30th. The free dial-up never worked properly, I have not received a single letter and guess what, I’m still without my broadband. So I called M again. I stayed calm and cool and explained everything. I was told that I was one of many with the same problem and I’d have to wait for even more time.

When I told the guy I wasn’t impressed and said I’d like to cancel my account and get a refund on my subscription for the month, I was told a) he couldn’t organise call backs, and b) the department responsible wasn’t available so I’d have to call again and then he started to blatantly read to me about changes to the structure of the company. Ah. An obvious reason for my problems. Wait a minute, I thought it was because of a minute-long fault? When I asked why I didn’t receive a single letter, I was told that M has more than a million customers and couldn’t possibly write to every single one of them.

At which point I said: “THAT’S FUNNY, ‘CAUSE YOU SURE AS HELL WRITE TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM TO DEMAND YOUR MONEY EVERY MONTH!”

Anyone out there with the same problem?

Oh here we go again. The clocks have gone…forward.

I hesitated there because I always forget which way it changes. In fact I’m only really bothered about whether that means I get an extra hour in bed or not.

I’m afraid I’m not normally a fan of the arrival of British Summer Time (BST) as it means a five hour difference instead of four from my family and friends in Trinidad.

But this year, I thought I’d try and get used to it by changing my clocks early.

Little use that was when a colleague of mine (you know who you are!) sent me a text at 4.30am to say they were drunk and knew I had to get up early for my shift and they hoped it would go well.

Yeah thanks for that!

So what IS the benefit of changing the clocks… anyone know?