Goofs, good food, and electronic upsets

Yesterday, reporting my triumph in public speaking, I forgot to mention my huge goof. After the speaking, Katie and I were signing books and also selling them--it made things frantic and left lots of room for mistakes. I had said cash or checks only because we didn't have a cash box and taking cash is always a problem for TCU Press. One lady had neither checkbook nor credit card with her. I told her she looked honest and to give us her mailing address and we'd bill her. Katie was handling that sale, so I turned to her to tell her to write "Please bill" on the order form. Then I looked back at the book I was signing and wrote, "Please bill." Everyone laughed, and Katie suggested that I think of someone I know named Bill to whom I could say, "Please, Bill, enjoy this book!" The only Bill I know already has a copy!
It reminded me of a story my mom used to tell on herself. She always signed her name Alice P. MacBain. One day a single friend of hers, with no other family or close friends, came by to ask Mom to sign some legal papers that had to do with Mom acting as a responsible party for Rose--I suppose it was in case something happened to her. Mom learned that Rose hadn't yet had breakfast and immediately her nurturing side came out. She put bread in the toaster, wrote Alice P. Mac, and went to check on the toast. Then she came back and wrote Bread instead of Bain. She laughed and laughed about that story. I guess it runs in the family.
Susan suggested we put a sticker on the book I ruined that says "Office copy."
But still on the note of yesterday's ego-boosting speech, I treated myself to a lovely dinner last night. My friend Betty, who explores restaurants with me, and I went a local bistro and had the tapas platter--spinach-stuffed mushrooms, fried smelt (which I don't think I'd ever eaten before but liked very much), bacon-wrapped dates, and spicy edamome (I passed on that) plus a side order of venison pate. Betty said I couldn't have dessert since I had already had a sinfully rich dessert at lunch--but I did. I had chocolate mousse and an extra half-glass of wine. Went home glowingly happy--from food, not wine!
I hate it when my electronics are misbehaving--Dish TV, computer, DSL, whatever. Today I used the remote to change the TV from the news channel to the food channel and it went bananas, told me that it was a subscription only channel and I had to connect to the download system, then told me I couldn't do that because I had no telephone connection. Yikes! I never could get it to go back to straight programming, either using the remote or the manual buttons, and spent a good 45 minutes on the phone with a tech whose English was seriously accented. With my hearing, the problem was worsened, and I spent a lot of time saying, "Pardon me? I didn't understand you." After all that time, she decided my receiver is defective and needs to be replaced. I doubt that--I think it's the remote. But a repairman is to come Monday. Meantime the TV in my office, where I spend most of my time, doesn't work, and I have an old small-screen black-and-white substituting. And on a long holiday weekend of all times!