For those who are Star Trek (the original episodes!!) fans, you'll remember that line. It's about the way this week has gone for me. I was off Sunday for my oldest son's birthday and when I went back to work on Monday, I discovered I was, once again, being transferred to our sister store across town to be the "fixer" of problems left behind by the one I am replacing. I am apparently this area's "morale booster". I suppose that can be agood thing, but this was not wanted by either me or my coworkers at my former location--we finally had a team that worked well together and caused no problems for our bosses--DM and higher. Now I have to be part of rebuilding such a team at my new location. Sigh.........
Anyway, I have now emailed the complaint dept. at the bank that issues the debit cards for our state's child support program----their website is totally unusable on Mozilla, my chosen browser. So I have to use IE, which I despise. Every virus or bug I have ever gotten has been from using IE.
I only keep it on my desktop shortcuts as a last resort. Even on IE, their site is almost as hard to use. Now granted I am on dial-up, which makes for longer waits, etc. but that doesn't explain why I have to click a link several times before I can reach the sign-on page......
And that leads me to my pet peeve of the day-----English vs. Spanish. I'm sorry for those who believe that business should be conducted in each person's native language, but the main language of this country has always been English, and I have reached the point where if I have to "press 1" to continue in English just one more time, I am going to start lodging formal complaints against the companies with whom I conduct business. And I dare them to shut off my utilities for complaining. I run into this with everything from water to electric to cell phone, to you name it. Provide those who need it a separate number to call toreach someone who speaks that language and let me conduct my business.
Ok, I do have another pet peeve----automated services at every place you call. Or that calls you. I am so tired of calling to report an outage or to question my bill or whatever, and ALWAYS getting the automated line. And it takes for-freaking-ever to reach a human, IF you can. I don;t suppose it would be so bad if the recording would say "to reach billing press 1" and then when you did you got connected with a human in billing. But no, they want you to do all your business by pushing numbers on your keypad. If you are lucky enough to get a human, half the time you can;t understand them, because they are in Bangladesh (has it changed names) or somewhere like that. Which leads me back to the English thing again......
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Calgon take me away.....
Lord have mercy, what has gotten into people the last couple of days? I thought the full moon was last week. We have had nothing but complaints at work--most of them due to the customers' own stupidity. Like not wrapping a sofa to protect against the rain that has threatened all evening and then when it gets soaked, demanding your full refund. NOT. Or buying a recliner and then wanting to bring it back a year later. NOT. Thank God I didn;t have to deal directly with most of the complaints, but the couple I did were enough to blow my mind. You know, the first rule of trying to get what you want is NOT TO SCREAM AT ME the moment I answer the phone/come to the service desk, etc. Simply state the problem and what you feel the appropriate course of action would be. If I disagree or am unable for whatever reason to satisfy you, then I will calmly tell you so. As long as we both remain reasonable, I'm sure that a mutual agreement can be reached 99% of the time. The other 1% is probably never going to be happy no matter what, so.....
Retail is so much fun.
Just for the record, if you scream/curse/or otherwise verbally abuse me or my employees in the attempt to get what you want, especially if it is unreasonable, don't expect to get what you want. When you act that way, I revert to Mommy mode, which is deny the whiners. To heck with you---respect works both ways. I will always respect you as my customer, but believe it or not, and those of you who have worked with the public know this, the customer will not always respect me (as in the retail worker).
And yes, most days I do enjoy my job. I like most of my regular customers and employees, and do have a respect for the others. I enjoy setting out new items and watching people fall over themselves trying to get to them and call others to tell them about the new stuff at the same time.
But then we do have the days when hitting the lottery sounds really really nice......
Retail is so much fun.
Just for the record, if you scream/curse/or otherwise verbally abuse me or my employees in the attempt to get what you want, especially if it is unreasonable, don't expect to get what you want. When you act that way, I revert to Mommy mode, which is deny the whiners. To heck with you---respect works both ways. I will always respect you as my customer, but believe it or not, and those of you who have worked with the public know this, the customer will not always respect me (as in the retail worker).
And yes, most days I do enjoy my job. I like most of my regular customers and employees, and do have a respect for the others. I enjoy setting out new items and watching people fall over themselves trying to get to them and call others to tell them about the new stuff at the same time.
But then we do have the days when hitting the lottery sounds really really nice......
Monday, September 11, 2006
9-11-06
An appropriate song for today: one of my favorites by Darryl Worley from a couple of years or so ago.
Have You Forgotten?
Have you forgotten how it felt that day
To see your homeland under fire and her people blown away
Have you forgotten when those towers fell
We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout BinLaden
Have you forgotten?.....
Have you forgotten all the people killed
Yes some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten 'bout our Pentagon
All the loved ones that we lost and those left to carry on.......
Just a few lines of the chorusses.....
Food for thought.....
I was 7 months pregnant with my last child when the attacks happened. I watched the footage and cried all day long. I had to explain the events as best I could to a 8 yr old and a 7 yr old, as well as to my stepdaughters the next day. My younger stepdaughter's 9th birthday was that day. I had to explain to them at that age that some people just hate because we are not them. I wondered what kind of world I was bringing my baby into. There was no way to know what was going to happen as we watched history in the making. But we cried and mourned and got angry and got completely p****** off and prayed as hard as we could, even when we couldn't find the words to say, for the victims and their loved ones. As far as I know, we had no personal ties to those directly involved in the tragedy, but as American citizens, we felt as though we had ALL been attacked.
You know, I don't really have a problem with those who disagree with Bush and the policies of this administration. We have a right to our opinion. But we also have a right to be responsible about how we express that opinion, and where. You and I both know that what is written here is, as the title says, just my opinion. I'm not out to change the world, but maybe get just one other person to think a little harder about different things. I'm not an evangelist--I have my beliefs, but I'm not going to tell you that you're going to hell if you think differently. Neither am I going to buy any more Dixie Chicks CD's, but that's a personal decision--by the way I'm not real fond of Toby Keith anymore either.
I do firmly believe that we need to support our troops and let them know it. Stop whining about how Gore or Kerry would have done things different. Or how Bush ignored all the signs of imminent attack (Hello--who did nothing after the USS Cole was attacked? Can anyone say Clinton without gagging?). I believe this President inherited a catastrophe waiting to happen in the intelligence field (not his own!!), not to mention in the military, and he is paying the price for it, as are we all. But who keeps voting the same Dummkopfs into office year after year? Anybody ever hear the name Robert C. Byrd, the senator from my state? And no, I have voted for his opponent every time.
I feel that we need to wake up and get involved with what is going on in our country. Start by informing yourselves and VOTE. Geez, it takes a few minutes to read your local paper when they publish who the candidates are and what their viewpoint is. Then it might take a few more minutes of you time to go to your local precinct and actually place your vote. At least you will have done something. And quite honestly, it's your duty as an American citizen. This country was never meant to be run by the same people decade after decade (Kennedy???). Maybe if more of the "average Joe" on the street would take that few minutes and exercise their RIGHT to vote, maybe somewhere along the line, we would start to see a difference made.
Back to the song, NO I don't think we should ever forget the attacks on 9-11-01. Just as I don't think we should forget Pearl Harbor, or the Kent State shootings, or the Iranian hostage crisis. I also don't believe that we should let anger rule our lives 24/7. But I do believe we should learn from history so that the same mistakes are not repeated. And I believe that we fight the fight until it's over---finish what we began, decisively and without apology. We will not get an apology from the terrorists and their backers, so let's do it. And get it over with. It may be difficult, WILL be difficult. But they have left us no other option, other than rolling over and dying.
And I will not give them the satisfaction.
Have You Forgotten?
Have you forgotten how it felt that day
To see your homeland under fire and her people blown away
Have you forgotten when those towers fell
We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout BinLaden
Have you forgotten?.....
Have you forgotten all the people killed
Yes some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten 'bout our Pentagon
All the loved ones that we lost and those left to carry on.......
Just a few lines of the chorusses.....
Food for thought.....
I was 7 months pregnant with my last child when the attacks happened. I watched the footage and cried all day long. I had to explain the events as best I could to a 8 yr old and a 7 yr old, as well as to my stepdaughters the next day. My younger stepdaughter's 9th birthday was that day. I had to explain to them at that age that some people just hate because we are not them. I wondered what kind of world I was bringing my baby into. There was no way to know what was going to happen as we watched history in the making. But we cried and mourned and got angry and got completely p****** off and prayed as hard as we could, even when we couldn't find the words to say, for the victims and their loved ones. As far as I know, we had no personal ties to those directly involved in the tragedy, but as American citizens, we felt as though we had ALL been attacked.
You know, I don't really have a problem with those who disagree with Bush and the policies of this administration. We have a right to our opinion. But we also have a right to be responsible about how we express that opinion, and where. You and I both know that what is written here is, as the title says, just my opinion. I'm not out to change the world, but maybe get just one other person to think a little harder about different things. I'm not an evangelist--I have my beliefs, but I'm not going to tell you that you're going to hell if you think differently. Neither am I going to buy any more Dixie Chicks CD's, but that's a personal decision--by the way I'm not real fond of Toby Keith anymore either.
I do firmly believe that we need to support our troops and let them know it. Stop whining about how Gore or Kerry would have done things different. Or how Bush ignored all the signs of imminent attack (Hello--who did nothing after the USS Cole was attacked? Can anyone say Clinton without gagging?). I believe this President inherited a catastrophe waiting to happen in the intelligence field (not his own!!), not to mention in the military, and he is paying the price for it, as are we all. But who keeps voting the same Dummkopfs into office year after year? Anybody ever hear the name Robert C. Byrd, the senator from my state? And no, I have voted for his opponent every time.
I feel that we need to wake up and get involved with what is going on in our country. Start by informing yourselves and VOTE. Geez, it takes a few minutes to read your local paper when they publish who the candidates are and what their viewpoint is. Then it might take a few more minutes of you time to go to your local precinct and actually place your vote. At least you will have done something. And quite honestly, it's your duty as an American citizen. This country was never meant to be run by the same people decade after decade (Kennedy???). Maybe if more of the "average Joe" on the street would take that few minutes and exercise their RIGHT to vote, maybe somewhere along the line, we would start to see a difference made.
Back to the song, NO I don't think we should ever forget the attacks on 9-11-01. Just as I don't think we should forget Pearl Harbor, or the Kent State shootings, or the Iranian hostage crisis. I also don't believe that we should let anger rule our lives 24/7. But I do believe we should learn from history so that the same mistakes are not repeated. And I believe that we fight the fight until it's over---finish what we began, decisively and without apology. We will not get an apology from the terrorists and their backers, so let's do it. And get it over with. It may be difficult, WILL be difficult. But they have left us no other option, other than rolling over and dying.
And I will not give them the satisfaction.
Friday, September 08, 2006
just another day in paradise....
Wonder of wonders---we have 2 bathrooms in this house and 4 kids to get onto the same school bus at the same time--and my two darling stepdaughters took all the time in them until I had to go tell them to let the boys have a turn. Now they are allowed each 10 minutes to do their thing when we have all 4 teens here. The fun part will be Ron taking "my" 2 and "our" 1 to the shop with him tonight, and me picking up "his" 2 (don't worry--when they act up, they are ALL his!) after I get off work at 10pm tonight--and drive to the other end of the county to get them and go home. WHEW!! Glad I'm off this weekend.
Anyway, quick pet peeve----headlights. Use them. Always. If you just can't bring yourself to have them on all the time--believe it or not people will see you if you do---then at least use them on rainy days, cloudy days, fog conditions. And by the way, those of you with those stupid "fog lights", they blind people at night. Believe it or not. So if you get someone's brights flashed at you, that is why. All these are makers ought to find a way so that they can be disabled when not needed--the lights, that is. Just because it is dark does not necessitate using those lights-your headlights are sufficient. If it is foggy, then no problem, use them. That's why they are called FOG lights. And to those who use those blue or green lights, sorry, I can;t stand those at night either. Same reason, too bright.
Anyway, quick pet peeve----headlights. Use them. Always. If you just can't bring yourself to have them on all the time--believe it or not people will see you if you do---then at least use them on rainy days, cloudy days, fog conditions. And by the way, those of you with those stupid "fog lights", they blind people at night. Believe it or not. So if you get someone's brights flashed at you, that is why. All these are makers ought to find a way so that they can be disabled when not needed--the lights, that is. Just because it is dark does not necessitate using those lights-your headlights are sufficient. If it is foggy, then no problem, use them. That's why they are called FOG lights. And to those who use those blue or green lights, sorry, I can;t stand those at night either. Same reason, too bright.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
sometimes life is good....
Sometimes life is good...and then you watch your college team go down in flames. No anything intended, Dad. Anyway, I got off work in time to race to my folks' house and watch the last 3 quarters of the game--an instate rivalry that rarely has had a chance to be played out, and of course my favorite of the two lost. There could be many reasons for this---the other team was better, our team sucked, our team is rebuilding, our coach had his head up his rear....You get the gist of where that is going.....
The good thing is when you start out the season with a loss, you can only go up from there. At least it wasn't a total shutout--we did get 10 points to their 40+. Oh well, I guess you can't expect to have superstars on your team every year like we had for so long in the late '90's and early 2000's.
Wonder how my alma mater (as opposed to my local team) did today?
Wonder if we can get some ringers from the two local high schools to play in next week's home opener at the university? Considering both of them completely blew their opponents out of the water last night: 57-6 and 50+ to ZERO. Maybe the college coach should start recruiting those players NOW?
Ok I know I've got sour grapes, but my ex brother in law is an alum of the victor in today's game and I would rather rub it in his face (like we still talk) rather than the other way around.
That's ok--next year they play HERE!!!!! Home field advantage, baby!!!
The good thing is when you start out the season with a loss, you can only go up from there. At least it wasn't a total shutout--we did get 10 points to their 40+. Oh well, I guess you can't expect to have superstars on your team every year like we had for so long in the late '90's and early 2000's.
Wonder how my alma mater (as opposed to my local team) did today?
Wonder if we can get some ringers from the two local high schools to play in next week's home opener at the university? Considering both of them completely blew their opponents out of the water last night: 57-6 and 50+ to ZERO. Maybe the college coach should start recruiting those players NOW?
Ok I know I've got sour grapes, but my ex brother in law is an alum of the victor in today's game and I would rather rub it in his face (like we still talk) rather than the other way around.
That's ok--next year they play HERE!!!!! Home field advantage, baby!!!
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