It’s 2010, yep, a new decade, new life. I’ll be the first to admit it, I hate Andy Rooney. There are two people who I hate more than anything one of them is Andy Rooney (no, I won’t tell you the other). The ancient man is 91 and I think it’s about time for him to retire, say goodbye to journalism, and just get a house on the beach in Mexico where no one can find him again. The old guy should just resign.

Anyone in PR should be watching “60 Minutes” every week. The show is a league apart from any other news program out there, and it gets tainted by ending each week with that man that just complains about life. Andy Rooney is the perfect example of why there are such misunderstandings between generations — because they refuse to adapt to the times. It has been my experience that the older someone is, the less they are willing to accept and adapt to new technology and new ideas. A lot of older PR pros are holding onto the same ideas that they have been using since the 90s, and they wonder why they can’t keep clients, business, or get publicity. Some people still use the huge books from Cision/Bacons, rely on the Fax machine — actually call them facsimile — and need everything in hard copies, copied three times over. Why do you need three copies of the same thing? You don’t. It’s time to wake up, advance, and throw the stuff you think is good away.

Now I typically change the channel when “60 Minutes” decides to say, “and now, Andy Rooney,” but on January 10th, I wasn’t quick enough with the remote. Andy was talking about his “Hoarding” habit. In this episode Andy was complaining that everything he owns is obsolete, but that he won’t get rid of anything. Still having a black and white television in his basement, four laptop computers, and eight electric razors, Andy emphasized the fact that his stuff is too good for the “dump.” Could this mentality really be the reason that we hoard stuff? Because our stuff is to good to be thrown away? I don’t think so, but it actually made me ponder a bit.

Turns out, I suffer from “hoarding” syndrome. I hold onto everything and everything, because you never know when you’ll need that extra game of Bananagrams, the jackets from 1999, or that empty bottle of Jack Daniels that you drank in one night freshman year. I have about 47 shirts, 12 pairs of pants, and 11 pairs of shoes, I honestly never realized how much stuff I hold onto until I moved to New York City, a month ago. I need help in getting rid of stuff, but I just don’t know what to get rid of. After this was brought to my attention by the dreadful, Andy Rooney, I now can’t stop throwing stuff away.

Thank you Andy, for putting a foul taste in my mouth every Sunday night before I go to bed. Thank you Andy, for pointing out my flaw that I can not stop thinking about. Thank you Andy, for making me have to buy a bunch of new things because I threw most of my life away when I actually did need things. You rock.

*I don’t care for Katie Couric either, but honey, if that’s what you have to look forward to when you’re in your 90s, god help us all.*

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