Protected: Up and Down
Protected: A Blog Interview
Family Day
Sunday, we had family day. Simon was visiting, Em and Chad brought Arionna over, I dragged my butt out of the house (I did not shower or get dressed, come to think of it, I’m pretty sure I didn’t brush my hair) and we all hung out for the afternoon.
The kids were in terrific moods, playing and laughing like maniacs. Zack and I played “monkey in the middle” with Simon and he was running so hard he was panting, but loving every second.
Crazy Grandma gave the kids a pound of M&Ms–before dinner–and Arionna had a little meltdown when she was told she couldn’t have any more. That girl loves her chocolate. Of course, Grandma wanted to give in and just give her some, but Emily (and me) said that was ridiculous and she doesn’t get them because she has a tantrum.
After a while, it was clear the little ones were slowing down and Grandma put on videos on the computer. Arionna is a little obsessed with Bruno Mars, apparently they watch him all day at daycare. Of course, when she visited Auntie Livi last, she wanted her Bruno, but I found other things and so she came over to me and asked me to play her “stomp your feet” which is the children’s classic “If You’re Happy and You Know It”. I pulled out my phone, which is how I watch YouTube and Arionna climbed up on my lap and cuddled up next to me. 
She had her head on my shoulder and I told her mother she was clearly sleepy. Emily said she just woke up two hours earlier from a nap…but apparently, she was already tired. She did play pretty hard.
As I was looking at this picture, I thought about how kids used to cuddle on our laps for books. Not anymore. Now we’re cuddled around the iPhone, watching videos. The times, they have a-changed. 
(It ain’t the 60s anymore…)
Soon enough, it was time for Arionna to go home. She gave hugs and kisses all around..except to Uncle Zack. She’s back to being scared of him. This time, we’re pretty sure it’s because of his beard. Since he’s been off work (since February 1st because of a tonsillectomy and a small setback/cauterization) he’s grown a beard and he looks very different. Arionna is leery of him. I get it–he looks like a thug with a beard!
After they were gone, we all went out to the garage. Simon immediate asked me if we could play “that game with the numbers and the spinner” which is evidently how we describe Bingo. I got Zack Bingo for Christmas and we played with Simon. We’ve not touched the game since then, but it must have made an impression.
We set up and started to play. 
(That is, btw, the best shot of Zack with his beard) Simon really only liked spinning the spinner, he did call the numbers and very well, but he got frustrated finding them on his sheet and covering with dots.
Mid-spin. You can see grandma and grandpa…both very in to this scintillating game.
Of course, Simon, who had been on a plane that morning and was somehow still at my parents’ house by 9 am, was extremely overtired by this point and it wasn’t too long before he had a meltdown. I told him he didn’t have to play anymore, but the rest of us were going to finish our game. He didn’t like that and wiped his hand across the table, scattering my board and the chips covering my numbers.
After last time, when we had a solid talking-to over his behavior, I wasn’t taking crap from him. I took him by both hands and looked right in his face and said, “that was not good behavior, I was playing that game and you should not have done that. You owe me an apology.”
He got a mulish look on his face, but he choke out a “sorry” which was said with no meaning behind it at all, but I still count it as a victory. Especially because that ended the game and he automatically started helping us clean up, without being asked.
Not long after that, he was down for the night, but after giving Grandma some grief. My buddy clearly does not do well without enough sleep.
The rest of us sat around until far too late and played trivia…just the norm!
All in all, it was a highly successful and fun family day. Definitely don’t do those often enough.
Tidbits
I received one valentine from a coworker.
I treated myself to lunch on Valentine’s Day. Pei-Wei. My fortune that day?
I thought it very apropos for the day. And then I got my valentine. So…it came true?
This article made me irrationally angry at how idiotic people can be.
Peevish is the word of the day. What a terrific word.
Remember synchronicity? Lately, everywhere I turn I see or hear references to the tv series Downton Abbey. People rave about this show. Maybe I should give it a try?
Likewise, in the realm of synchronicity, it seems like every recipe I’ve stumbled across lately has a reference to coconut milk. I don’t really even know what that is, or where in the grocery store one can purchase it, but I finally found one I want to try. Unfortunately, I went to the grocery store…yesterday. I found the recipe…today. Damn. I hate the grocery store. But I have every single ingredient at home, except coconut milk. I might have to make a special stop.
But, my monthly grocery budget is $150. I only go once a month. (Have I mentioned I hate the grocery store?) and I am almost always over budget. Not by much, but $10 a month adds up pretty quick. Yesterday, after careful meal planning and grocery planning, my final total? $150.61 Doesn’t get much closer than that!
I am having a date this weekend with Elena. We haven’t had a date night in a long time. I’m very excited.
I dreamed about Donnie Wahlberg the other night, where we were friends and he came to my birthday party and sang Cover Girl to me and got several of my male friends (Justin, Tom, Frodo, and Mark) to be the rest of NKOTB and taught them the moves to Dirty Dancing and they all performed it for me. It was a weird, but happy dream.
Book club is reading The Hunger Games which I have already read and did not like. (One of the few, I know).
Vince Flynn’s new book came out this weekend, Kill Shot. I’m pretty excited about it. I’ve been anticipating it for over a year, it was supposed to come out in October, but he was diagnosed with cancer and had to-understandably-push back the deadline, thus the February release.
My mom made burritos blanco yesterday and reports that they were wildly successful. She, dad, and Zack all loved them. So, you no longer have only my word to count on.
Scramble with Friends is my very favoritest thing in the world right now. (Apologies to all who were playing Words with Friends with me…it just got to be too much, I need a break.) If you have a compatible phone…sign up and invite me to play. I’m obsessed.
Also, I’ve maxed out two games on my phone. As in, “no more levels” not possible to keep playing. TWO. Think I might spend too much time playing on my phone? Nope, me neither.
I’ve had a hankering for beer lately, so it’s good that our family beer festival is coming up. March 10, I can’t wait!
Okay, that’s possibly enough randomness for one day. Have a good weekend!
Things I Love
(in no particular order)
the johnny dance
that my mom always hugs and kisses me goodbye
the anticipation of starting a new book – especially one i’ve been waiting for
that my mom sends me home with leftovers when i visit
trivia
chocolate – really any kind, but dove is my favorite
christian kane
date night with laney
my birthday
that the friend i most enjoy talking on the phone with is…justin
that yesterday my college friend jason heard a song on the radio that reminded me of him and he text me the chorus. i text back the artist and we were both happy
that when he was three years old clayton was playing on the computer and drew this
and said it was a valentine for olivia. it still makes me smile
bunny cakes
that certain songs remind me of certain people and then when i hear the song, i think of the people i love
summit pale ale
and that kelly has known me since I was ten years old
christmas lights
pasta and mexican
corvettes
card catalogs
singing – i’m better than carrie underwood…when no one is around
cupcakes
books
teaching children about books
librarians
josie the big brown dog
and the fact that every time i visit she always seems happy to see me
corey koskie
purple
the fact that so many items on this list start with a “c”
sunsets
taking pictures
simon
arionna
halloween
my pool
embarrassing photos of my parents
(it was their 25th wedding anniversary….not the 52nd)
childhood photos
that my love of old cars came from my dad
and that he always knows the make/model/year when we see one
that i’m smart enough to appreciate the people i know, the places i’ve been, the things that i do, and to acknowledge that i’m very fortunate. life is good. i love my family. i love my friends. i’ve done many exciting things. and there is always tomorrow.
i hope your day is filled with love and you take a moment to count the people and things that mean the most to you.
♥♥♥happy valentines day♥♥♥
Dear Woodbury Wal-Mart,
My friend Kelly was having issues with the Wal-Mart near her home. Due to those issues, she had to send her photo order to you, Woodbury Wal-Mart. As I am visiting her today, she called me and asked if I could stop, yesterday, and pick up her already-paid-for pictures. I was happy to do it.
When I arrived at your store, I found that evidently, the entire populous of Woodbury shops at 5:15 on a Thursday. I parked approximately 17 miles away and hoofed it up to the store. Upon entering, I was surprised to learn that you’ve added an entire grocery store since my last visit. I guess it’s been a while, sorry about that.
When I got to the photo department, a woman was already in line, she was dealing with the photo associate, who might have been alive when photographs were invented. He simply could not find her pictures. He looked and checked the computer and…nada. She was very upset and, while he was pleasant, he did nothing to alleviate her distress. She couldn’t find her confirmation number, even though he was still able to look her up online. Her concern was that her pictures were already paid for. As the associate did not one thing to help her, he offered no advice or solutions, I finally stepped in. I told her if she ordered her pictures online (she had mentioned that she did) she would have had to use an email address and Wal-Mart.com would have sent her a confirmation number to her email, so she can go home and print it off. That relaxed her enough she was able to step away. My turn.
I asked the associate for pictures, using Kelly’s name. He looked in the H’s. Nothing. He asked if there were 8x10s, of course, I didn’t know, as they aren’t my pictures, so I said, thinking quickly, “actually, my husband printed them, so I’m not sure, could you just check?” I don’t know why I felt the need to lie, but I did. I didn’t want there to be any hassle, since the pictures weren’t in my name…and I somehow felt hassle headed my way.
The associate, let’s call him Don, looked again and couldn’t find them. He then checked the computer–I think he might have called it “that darn-tootin’ newfangled machine” or something. He told me the computer said the pictures were printed. Well, of course, that’s great. But he couldn’t find them.
Again, Don offered no solutions. So, I stepped up and said, “why don’t you check under other letters in case they were misfiled?” Don checked the letters immediately preceding and succeeding Kelly’s last name, but no others. I suggested Don call the associate that was working when the pictures were printed, to see if they could help. He did not seem inclined to follow that suggestion. Finally, I asked Don what he could do to help me.
“I can reprint them.”
Now, you’re talking! It’ll mean another trip back to the store, but to actually get the pictures, I’m willing. “When will they be done?”
“About a day.”
Okay, we’re back to no good. I needed them absolutely no later than noon on Friday (today). So I asked Don if a day meant actually 24 hours, or just Friday.
He said, “well, it’s hard to say, my printer’s broken”. Which means, I suppose, that he couldn’t actually do the one solution he offered me. Eventually, I settled the matter by trading numbers with Don. I gave him “Kelly’s” number (mine, but he thinks I’m her) and got the store number from him. He promised to call if he could get the printer fixed and print them last night.
No call came.
When I woke up this morning, I called you, Woodbury Wal-Mart. The very unpleasant woman who answered the phone responded to my request of “photo department, please” with…nothing. There was a click and then deafening silence. No elevator music, no ringing, just nothing. I checked and I was not disconnected. I waited 90 seconds before hanging up and calling back. Same woman, same reaction. I, again, requested “photo department, please” and received that same silence. Who has no sound when someone is on hold? It’s worse than the terrible music.
After about 90 more seconds, the unpleasant woman came back on the line and said, “no one seems to be answering, what can I do for you?” but though the words read courteously enough, they were said in what can only be described as a snide tone.
I politely (though I am not at my best in the mornings and I was quickly losing my patience) told her my story and said I just wanted to know if the pictures were done. Her response?
“Oh, you said PHOTO department. I thought you said SODA department and I didn’t know what to do.”
Um, so you just set the phone down and did nothing? That’s why I was getting silence? Why not just ask me to repeat myself? When did, “I’m sorry I didn’t get that, could you repeat it?” stop being acceptable?
I took a bracing breath because this was already the most frustrating phone call I’ve endured in 2012 and I had yet to get to the heart of things. I was transferred and this time, the phone rang. And rang and rang and rang and rang.
Eventually, the idiot/snide woman picked up again and said, “what do you want?” No kidding, that is what she said. This time, I snapped, “I want the photo department, do you think you can manage that?”
Deep breath.
She said she’d page overhead.
Finally, someone picked up the phone. I explained my issue and asked her to check for the photos. She came back and said she couldn’t find them. I asked if the printer was fixed. She didn’t know. I was ready to kill someone when she saved herself by admitting that she didn’t work in that department, she worked in hardware (I don’t know why she felt that was pertinent), and she was just trying to help out.
Then she ruined it by adding that there was not an associate in the photo department that morning, they don’t start until 9am.
Perhaps, Woodbury Wal-Mart, you could explain why the woman who answers the main phone and directs calls is unaware that no associate will be in the department I am calling for at least another HOUR. That seems like information she should have and should share with the customer. Had she said, “no one in that department will be available until 9am, I would have just called back.”
Now, back to the hardware associate I was currently dealing with.
She said she didn’t know how to help me, but she could clearly tell my annoyance level was off.the.charts.
I asked her to please find someone who could. I was polite, but very firm. I was done with this. This is terrible customer service, Woodbury Wal-Mart, and I wanted satisfaction.
She said “I’m going to put you down for a second.” And she did. Why she chose not to put me on hold is beyond me, but I could hear every little sound of your store as I waited. I lifted the phone away from my ear to check the timer. When she came back, I checked again, she left me like that for two full minutes.
Her answer?
She said her XYZ (I don’t remember what she called him, some acronym) which she explained is the boss above the store manager (Yowza!) was there and he was going to help. They were going to look again for the pictures and could she “put me down again?”
I gritted my teeth and said “of course.” I figured after all this hassle, if they came back and said they couldn’t find them I was going to lose it and argue until I got Kelly her pictures for free AND a compensation of some kind, like a gift card. This was beyond ridiculous (as you can probably tell by the 1,500 word essay, that is still not complete).
I checked the timer again.
I waited.
And waited.
And
W
A
I
T
E
D
I kept checking the timer.
Finally, after SEVEN solid minutes of waiting, not on hold, a man picked up the phone.
“Ma’am?” (FYI, Woodbury Wal-Mart, I detest being called ma’am, you might want to advise your above-the-store-managers of this. There are other greetings)
I braced myself to hear bad news when he said, “your greeting cards are finished and they are here waiting for you.”
I didn’t know they were greeting cards, but it seems like Kelly, so I assumed we’re on the right page….finally.
I thanked him and hung up the phone. When I checked, my total time on that call?
Would you like to guess?
No?
Fine. 17 minutes. SEVENTEEN minutes. Does it seem necessary for that to have taken 17 minutes, for something that should have been done the day before?
And, that should have been the end of it, it really should have, but when I got to work, I was doing some things and I was just going to let this go.
Then, at 9:55am, my phone rang. I answered and the voice on the other end said, “Kelly?”
It was Don. Remember him, from the beginning of this novel?
He was calling to tell me that my photos were done. Really? He said he’d finally gotten his printer fixed and just printed them this morning.
Wait. What?
Don claimed the pictures were just printed this morning. I know from the previous marathon call that Don did not start until 9am, but my pictures were done by 8:23 am, so, they were either printed last night and Don was LYING to me or a fairy came in and printed a copy this morning and Don printed a second set, unaware of the fairy’s work.
Which one do you think is the more likely scenario, Woodbury Wal-Mart?
I’m guessing this was just the final straw in one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever had, with any company. Of course, as I haven’t yet picked them up, it is possible that this saga is not yet over. I’ll have to let you know. But for now, Woodbury Wal-Mart, I hope it is clear that this is unacceptable.
Get your shit together. It ain’t rocket science.
Sincerely,
Liv “A for Effort” Life
***UPDATE***
Here’s the end to this very long story. When I arrived to pick up the photos. Don couldn’t find them! <gasp> I know, it’s shocking. He looked and looked. Finally, a guy from another department (perhaps the mystery manager, I don’t know) came over and said, “oh, they’re in here” and pulled out the small box of photos. Don then said to me, “sorry, guess I was looking in the wrong place this whole time.”
So, I guess Don lied to me…again. Clearly, he never reprinted them or he would have known where they were when I arrived. Someone else found them, right where they were supposed to be, and had been the entire time. Awesome. All this hassle and the pictures were there all along. Good work, Woodbury Wal-Mart. {sarcasm font needed}
Protected: Blogging
GCOP
Have you seen blogs posted GCCP? GCBP? Gratuitous Cute _____ Photos? (Couple, Baby, etc.)
Well, today is Gratuitous Cute Olivia Photos!
I know, it’s weird to post pictures of yourself. Still, I have a somewhat rational reason. On Monday, it was beyond gorgeous outside. 49° in February! I went out in the middle of the day just to wander around and soak up all the vitamin D goodness I could get.
When I was out there, I didn’t know what to do with myself, just walking around, I was trying to avoid thinking about work, because I was on a break, so I decided to take a picture. First, my thought was just to capture the gorgeous day, but the expanse of endless blue sky, with nary a cloud in sight, needed something to break it up. Enter Olivia.
Yep, that is one blue sky! And you can see my skin soaking up all that vitamin D goodness.
Then, I kind of got in the spirit.
How about a backlit photo, showing those beautiful rays of sunshine?
This one made me laugh because that one ray of sunshine is slanting across my mouth, giving me that oh-so-classy gold tooth look.
I managed to track down what remains of our illustrious snowfall this season…
Impressive, right?
Full on sunshine, and a great shot of my shadow taking a picture of me. What I like about this is…how happy do I look in that photo?
But then, but then… I thought…shadow!
And wouldn’t it be weird if my legs were really that long? But kind of cool. I’d be a WNBA star for sure! (Okay, maybe not, having long legs and being tall do not guarantee exemplary hand/eye coordination–and in that department, I am soundly lacking).
Then I saw this bare tree. It seemed odd that trees should be that bare when it felt like spring (even though it is still resoundingly winter) so I posed.
And I thought that was particularly cute.
After my wonderful walk, laughing like a loon at myself for taking all these pictures of myself, I headed back to reality and indoors to finish my work. When I stepped inside, I passed a coworker and she said, “oh, your cheeks are so rosy”, and so, natch, I had to take a photo of myself (after she’d left, of course) to capture the rosiness that was my cheeks.
It’s a little hard to tell, because the lighting was wonky…in the stairwell…but I definitely look all shiny, happy, healthy in that picture.
That was going to be it, the sum total of this blog (lots of brain food here), but when I left work that night and it was still 40° outside, the moon was just rising in a twilight sky and it was so beautiful I stopped to capture it. I figured it would make a nice ending to this beautiful day.
Sigh. Of course, that was the highlight of the week. Right now, it is currently 19° headed for a high of 30°, which is still fairly warm, but nothing like Monday. And Friday we are headed for a high of a whopping 14°. I might have to dig out my coat for that one.
Happy February!
