I got the book, Sarah's Key, & I'm going to start reading it soon. I'll let y'all know what I think.

Today when I was at Brother & Sister Sober's house (or Harry & Maria), I got a call from Amy, my handler at the employment agency I've been using.

Amy was letting me know she had spoke with the company I interviewed with on Tuesday.  Traci and Janey were impressed with my skill set and how well I interviewed.  They told her I was the front runner for the position!

HOORAY!

They had one more interview today, and they should be making their decision over the weekend, and I should know something on Monday or Tuesday.  Holy crap, it looks like I could have a job by the end of the month!  Holy sweetness!

Note to self: start looking for apartments in the area.

"but I choose to because I know what a psycho you are and you might start prank calling me or sending the cops to my house."

When I got home today from the running I had to do, my little niece, Tiny, came to sit on my lap and tell me about her day.

She related to me how she had Phys Ed today, and they did gymnastics.  They did a log roll, and egg roll (mmm... egg rolls...), and a somersault.  I got a kick out of how excited she was to show me these things.

Ever wanting to engage the kid in conversation, I ask her about a cart wheel.  She was a little reluctant to show me, as she isn't as good at it as a log roll.  I mean, honestly, all you do for that thing is lie down on the floor, put your arms above your head, and roll over.  Along with spending about 10 minutes researching if you should be using the word "lay" or "lie" in your blog.  You know, so you don't look like a tool. 

Then I got a bright idea.  I'll go outside and do a cart wheel for her.  Yeah... not a good idea.  I could blame the current weather or the ground or what not, but I'll man-up and put all of it on me.  I fell.  It wasn't a hard fall, nor embarrassing--but funny.  I am happy I was able to get myself up in the air, I just had some problems with the landing. 

But now my right shoulder is sore.  It's the arm I land on first, so I'm guessing it's complaining from taking all of that pressure.  I mean, if we're going to get technical, we've got my weight times how fast I was going to equate to the pounds of force on it, right?

All of this is to say that 1) my body is older than I feel and 2) I need to work a little bit harder on my Memorial Day Goal. 

I just hope no one got a picture of the middle-aged woman doing a cart wheel and falling on her bum. 

I just got an email from Werf ¹ relating his most recent trip to a Speedway SuperAmerica LLC, which "is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil Corporation." ²

I purchased a medium hot chocolate. After completing the transaction I decided to get a bag of mini crullers, so I stepped aside.  It was then that I looked at my receipt and noticed she had charged me for a large, [which is] 20 cents more.

When I got back to the front of the line, I pointed out the mistake and asked if she, Dani, could just take the difference off the doughnuts. She said she didn't know how and that she would have to ask Chris.

Just then he came around the corner and Dani proceeded to say something like: "This guy says I rung him up wrong and he wants his 10 cents."  I politely said that it was 20 cents and she ignored me. I asked Chris if he could just take the 20 cents off the doughnuts. He told Dani to just manually discount the price of the doughnuts. She said, "What is Mark gonna say?" She was referring to the GM. Then she said in effect, "Just tell him that some butt-head customer wanted his 12 cents back?"

At that point I had had enough of her lip. So I bit mine and left.  She is the one who answered the phone when I called to talk to a super or manager. She was equally belligerent then.

The manager will be in tomorrow morning.

Oh, I forgot that Dani was ragging on a previous customer and the miscommunication they had. She called him a bonehead. That bonehead happens to be my neighbor's boyfriend. He's very nice and polite kid. When he saw me walk in the store he asked me a follow-up question that he and I had just earlier this week. Very genuine kid. Comes into my store from time to time, too. 

At this time, I should point out that Werf shops at Speedway SuperAmerica LLC frequently.  Werf loves to save money, so Werf participates in the Speedy Rewards program, with a balance in excess of 100,000 points.  Werf estimates a normal week results in 1-2 visits to the store located at 7819 US 42 in Florence, KY.

This is frustrating to both Werf and myself, as normally we both have received excellent customer service there.  They have this to say in regard to their service:

At Speedway SuperAmerica, we have a dynamic, diverse work force. Our employees are the difference at Speedway SuperAmerica. Their drive, passion, and commitment to excellence truly make Speedway SuperAmerica a leader in our industry. ³

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by all of this, really.  It is just so bothersome for me that good customer service is becoming the exception rather than the rule.  We, as consumers, expect belligerent, rude people to serve us.  We are, for the most part, conditioned to not speak up for ourselves when it comes to the money we spend on the goods/services we receive.  We do not want to become an inconvenience to those we are paying to serve us.

All I can do is publish this on the various Social Media Outlets I use, and encourage Werf to send a letter to Mr. Tony Kenney, President of Speedway SuperAmerica LLC, and never patronize their location at:

7819 US 42
Florence, KY 41042

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¹   #1, http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=werf
²   Who We Are, http://www.speedway.com/aboutUs/Default.aspx
³   Welcome from the President, http://www.speedway.com/aboutUs/Default.aspx

98 days until Memorial Day.  This is the first goal date I have.  I want to lose 10% of my body weight by this day.

To achieve this goal, I pledge to myself that:

• I will go to the YMCA at least three times a week for the rest of the month of February.
• I will make better choices about the food I eat.
• I will drink more water.
• I will not consume more than 1,400 calories a day.

Hooray!  I feel very excited about this.