Oy with the Poodles Already

2010-03-05T16:23:00.001-08:00

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

Job News

2010-03-04T17:25:00.000-08:00

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.

I Don't Have to Hide Behind Internet Anonymity

2010-03-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

"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."

30 IS NOT the New 20

2010-03-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

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.

...

2010-03-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

Speedway SuperAmerica LLC Employee Gives Customer Dis-Service

2010-02-24T20:59:00.000-08:00

I just got an email from Werf¹ 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

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

Memorial Day Goal

2010-02-22T09:22:00.000-08:00

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.

Go Away, Little Girl

2010-02-21T21:30:00.000-08:00

A quote from one of my favorite movies, Grosse Pointe Blank:

Do you really believe that there's some stored up conflict that exists between us? There is no us. We don't exist. So who do you wanna hit, man?

To whomever is Mr./Ms. M: I hope that hiding behind Internet anonymity while belittling others makes you feel better about whatever drama it is you are currently having in your life.

Small Business Merchant Solutions

2010-02-11T16:50:00.000-08:00

I am doing some research into banks/companies which offer merchant solutions for small businesses. I need something which deals with ACH, Credit Cards, Checks, E-Checks, etc.

Does anyone have any personal experiences with certain banks or companies which have been good to you/your firm in this area?

Any information you have would be great, even if it is someone to stay away from.

Job Interview

2010-02-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

Had the job interview today, here's the low-down:

I went in today and met with two people. Gal 1 was very nice, but she was HR, you know? She was cordial but reserved. When I got her talking about the family & service aspect of the company, she really opened up. She spoke a lot about the right fit for the company, and that they could teach anyone how to do the job, but that they were looking for a particular kind of person. She seemed to give me the indication that I was a good fit for the company, but not for this particular position.

She then passed me off to Gal 2. Gal 2 was much more personable. She and I had the chance to talk more about what skills I have and how they'd be beneficial to the company. She told me that I had beat all of the other applicants out so far, and asked me about my availability.

My only complaint was waiting for 40 minutes after my set meeting time to meet with HR. I understand that meetings are never over when they are supposed to be, but wow... 40 minutes.

As with other jobs I've had since I've been blogging, I'm not going to name the name of the company, and ask you to do the same. I actually know people who've had their careers negatively impacted by the things they have said in a blog, Twitter, etc. They are great, well-meaning people, but I'm learning from their mistakes.

Now, to get the job and find a place close by where I can live and stay in my Ward...

Snowpocalypse!

2010-02-05T07:07:00.001-08:00

Was the snowpocalypse canceled? Because, I didn't get the memo.

Also, I should so totally become a meteorologist. Check me out: Today there is a 15% chance of vagueness with a 25% chance of inciting panic.

I wonder how much these folks pay for their schooling?

What the French, Toast?

2010-02-03T18:56:00.001-08:00

There are some shenanigans going on in my family right now. We could all use some prayers/mojo/good thoughts.

Dairy/Lactose is of the DEVIL!

2010-01-27T07:46:00.000-08:00

I'm at Melissa's house watching her kids (or currently ignoring her kids, as the case may be) while she's at the eye doctor with her eldest.

She just found out that said oldest kid has to now go on a dairy-free/lactose-free diet. For six months. To make life easier on herself, everyone in the family is going dairy free.

Do any of you out there have any suggestions, tips, tricks, websites, books, witch doctors that might help make this a little bit easier on her?

Any and all recomendations will help. Especially those witch doctors.

From My Cell Phone

2010-01-25T11:23:00.001-08:00

Now this is what I love about the state of technology... I can blog from my cell phone.

Sicker Still

2010-01-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

I was going about my day yesterday and I noticed I started coughing for what appeared to be no reason. This is not the sort of thing which fills my heart with songs of happiness and love. It fills my heart with a dread similar to IRS audits and and wrecking someone else's car.

I've been invited to a party tonight, and I'm on the fence as to if I go or not. I mean, I feel perfectly fine, but I'm starting to have more productive coughs (see how I kept that nice and free of grossness?), and I don't want to be hacking and spewing over everyone and all of the deserts.

Which then begs the question "Do I go to Church tomorrow?" I want to go to Church, but I don't want to get people sick, you know? Presenteeism causes so many more problems than people think. There are too many people in my Ward who I do NOT want to get sick. Ugh. Decisions!

Other than that, I've got a job lead from the Employment Agency I have decided to use. The lead is for a company here in my area, and hopefully I'll have an interview soon. I had to take all of the usual tests for Excel, Word, typing speed, and data entry skills. I got a 97% on my Excel, and 100% on my Word. Hopefully this will land me a job. I want a job!

Come On, Get Down With The Sickness

2010-01-22T04:31:00.000-08:00

I've got some sort of nasal congestion going on in my head. Normally I wouldn't be too worried with a cold, but I have a job interview (hopefully soon) and I'll be singing in about a month, so I need to be in tip-top shape! Ugh, stupid cold.

In other news, I'm going back to bed to sleep the cold away. Adieu.

And We're Back!

2010-01-20T17:43:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we're up and running. I finally got rid of doing things over at godaddy.com and use the domain I bought there to use with the Blogger. The big reason I like it here is because there are so many more templates. I love that. Love love love it.

Next on my list is to do the same thing for the funny blog for Abby and I. I haven't been able to find a template that I super-duper love, so we're going to do this one, which is the same one that Abby and I use on the blog we keep together. So, that's four blogs between two people. Yeah, I know.

The last week of my life has been very emotional, and I've been in a deep funk. Here's to pulling out of it, right?