but I think the cross vine over our metal arch thing by the pool deck is blooming. See?

Prior to living in Utah for five years with the military, the only time I had ever been exposed to a front-door solicitation by a person representing any type of church was just after we’d moved to south Texas when I was still in High School.

It was 8:30 in the morning.

They were very persistent.

They rang the doorbell three times.

They knocked loudly on the door.

I thought it was a neighbor in trouble.

Even though I had worked until late at night at Hardee’s, I went to the door.

And there…

stood…

Two church ladies.

On a Saturday morning.

I….was mad.

Not only because it was early and they had made sure to wake up whomever was in the house, but also because even at that young age I thought it was just plain wrong to show up at someone’s door and try and make them question their belief system.

Wrong….wrong….wrong.

Now, I know they’d been told by their church that this was their mission and all they were trying to do was “save” people. I don’t think they were trying to be mean or that anything nefarious was going on.

But….I think if someone was of the mindset to question their beliefs then they would voluntarily look for answers. Missionaries don’t have to chase them down, for crying out loud!!

So anyway…prior to moving to Utah in my late 20’s that was the one and only time someone tried to “save” me from the Catholic church.

Then we moved into a hard-core Mormon neighborhood filled with churches on every other corner. They must have gotten our address from the city and compared it with church lists and found that we had not converted to “The One True Religion”. Needless to say every missionary in the area made visits to the house. I told each and every one of them to please take me off the master list and to not come back and that I was Catholic. But they were relentless. I took to not answering the door unless I was expecting a guest. Seriously, it was at least twice a month, and at very inconvenient times these people would come to the door.

On the upside….every house around us kept two years worth of food storage in preparation for the end of the world, so I knew we would be covered there since they were, after all, very kind, giving people. I just didn’t happen to agree with their religion.

So here a few days ago a couple young missionaries (boys this time) came to the door. I told them that I was Catholic (as I do) and that I had lived in Utah so I knew what they were up to. Of course, then they asked me where, etc. and we had a short chat. Then they asked me what religion everyone else in the neighborhood was and I told them they were mostly Catholic, Methodist, and non-denominational and that as far as I knew they were all very devout so I didn’t think they had any chance of converting anyone. Then of course they asked me if I’d read their “book”. I told them no and that I really didn’t have any interest in reading it. They thanked me politely and left.

Then a day after that I was on the phone with my mom up in Wisconsin…and guess what? Two missionaries came to her door!! They are everywhere!

But you know what happened before that? When we were in Dublin, Ireland in October there was a Mormon missionary who had strategically placed himself in front of a bridge sign I wanted to take a picture of. Of course, he went right into the banter, asking us where we were from, etc. Again I told him I was Catholic, I had lived in Utah, I knew what his gig was, and that all I really wanted to do was take a picture of the bridge sign. He kind of chuckled and graciously stepped aside. Smart move.

If you have been a missionary or are currently a missionary I do apologize if I have offended you. I know either you have been told you were/are doing the right thing or actually truly believe that. I don’t fault you for that. But I do fault the whole premise that just because someone has different beliefs than you they need to be somehow “saved” from themselves.

I believe that if you live your life in a moral way, raise your kids to contribute positively to society, and treat others the way you would like to be treated, then it does not matter what or whom you believe in as long as you believe in something.

To sit in judgment of others and try and lead them to believe they will not be let into whatever your idea of heaven is is just plain wrong. At least…that’s what I think.

In closing, I will say that missionaries and church charity workers do a lot of good in the community and they have helped many people do better for themselves in life. However…that help should not come at the price of their personal beliefs.

Why am I so tired?

Why is it so windy?

Why did I go back to sleep for two and a half hours after taking The Boy to school today?

Why was it so hard to convince myself to go to the gym after getting all that sleep?

Why don’t they sell normal bike shorts that aren’t so short they show your butt cheeks at the store anymore?

Why do they make workout pants called “capris” that look like full length pants on me?

Why am I so short?

Why do I think The Boy’s too cute for words with those orange Cheetoh crumbs all over his lips?

Why do I melt when I see The Boy’s blue eyes with their long dark curly eyelashes?

Why is our airline of choice going to make Tommy go to work when his dad’s in the hospital?

Why can’t it be just a few degrees warmer so we can move into spring already?

Why can’t we decide what we want for dinner?

Why does Waterford crystal cost so much?

Why do we keep buying Waterford crystal even though it costs so much?

Why can’t someone else wash my car?

Why can’t someone else mow my lawn?

Why do I get grumpy when I don’t work out?

Why does it take so long to do the laundry?

Why do people now insist on calling people that are here illegally “undocumented citizens”?

Why is it now considered politically correct to support law-breakers who entered our country illegally?

Why is immigration reform more important than reforming social security?

Why am I so frustrated with politicians on all sides?

Why am I listening to the news while typing this?

Why don’t I instead try and go find The Boy something to eat?

Why does The Boy keep snacking while claiming he is not hungry?

Why does he not know we must not deviate from the schedule?

Why do I have a schedule?

Why does everyone else that lives in this house detest having a schedule?

Why can’t I stop asking why?

Why?

it is true. But I really do think there was something going on in the homes of these two 2nd graders who stabbed a classmate with a dirty needle they found on the street and told her she was going to die that made them think this was acceptable behavior.

And…sorry….for those of you who like to call deeds like this “bad choices”. Nope…this was a violent action taken with malicious intent toward that poor girl. Kids like those two boys need to be removed from the school immediately so they do not harm one more kid. Sound too harsh? What if that had been your little girl. How would you feel then? Still just a bad choice by kids that didn’t know any better? No? Didn’t think so.

And let’s remember that we’re only hearing about this one thing the boys did. It’s my belief there have been plenty of other aggressive acts taken by these kids toward classmates…this was just one time that they were actually caught in the act.

Bad parents breed bad kids which result in bad actions taken by the kids toward others.

Oh…sorry. Were you expecting entertaining drunk ramblings? No, it’s just drunk ramblings about the conversations I’ve had with Comcast today. Gotta be fair and balanced on the whole customer service thing, don’t I?

Anyway…We dissolved our relationship with Comcast at the end of February when we switched to the OH so much better Verizon FIOS for TV, Internet, Phone…everything.

Anyway…we got our final bill and paid it on March 3rd…paying for the entire month of March, mind you even though we were no longer using their services – for anything. Did I mention that Verizon picture quality and DVR is OH so much better for the TV and we now get 36 MBPS on the Internet and we have fiber optic clarity on the phone? Didn’t? Sorry…well, all true. I’m too buzzed to look above to see if I’ve said it.

Anyway…today…(of course while Tommy is away)….we got a bill….for APRIL service on Comcast Internet and cable with HD. What? Yeah…that’s what I said.

So…while I was waiting for The Boy at school I called the number on the bill…and got…what sounded like….a very old, very new person possibly on lots of meds. Although he wasn’t Indian (thank God I could kinda understand him)…his speech was slurred and I had to repeat myself many times. I even had to ask him to read back to me the notes he wrote in the account to indicate that I had called, had already received a final bill, and then had been rebilled for services we had not used for many weeks.

So..needless to say…I did not have total confidence that the issue had been resolved. So I sent an email to Comcast telling them what had happened and asking for written verification we would not have to pay for service we are not getting or using.

I got an email response saying I had to do an online chat with a rep…so off I went for the online chat.

And…I think…I cannot prove…that I got an Indian guy.

When he asked me to tell me the name, I gave the name – and the account number….and he said:

“I will have to terminate this conversation. Chat back when you are professional.”

What?! As an aside, let me just say that I cleaned all day and was not in the best of moods. Anyway, when I asked him what that previous entry meant, he replied:

“I apologize for that….That was a mistaken.”

So right away I knew the guy was not a native.

Long story short (I know…already long)..after going back and forth with the guy I had to escalate (Tommy HATES when I escalate). Here are some phrases you might want to keep in your back pocket for future reference:

1. “Where does it say in the contract that we have to give six weeks notice for termination? We’ve already paid an entire month for March for services which we did not use since we terminated the relationship in February.”

2. “If you can’t help me, can you get a supervisor who can?”

3. “I just want to be clear on what you’re saying so I can cut and paste this entire chat into the attachment I send in with my complaint to the Better Business Bureau and the appropriate State of Texas Agency.”

Yes, make them repeat what they tell you and make sure they know you intend to register a complaint. Guess what? I don’t have to pay the bill they sent and they apologized for the fact that it’s their problem, not mine…that they could not schedule a service rep to disconnect the cable we are not using and have not used since February.

Did I make threats? Yes. Was it kinda belligerent? Yes. Did I feel I had to to get the point across? Yes. But in the end, the supervisor took care of the problem.

But I am left wondering….how many other people do they continue to bill after service has been cut off that don’t know any better and continue to pay for service they are not getting?

Watch your bills, people. Watch your bills closely. And take action when you need to.

I better go drink water now. I’m kinda dizzy….

One of the many things I hate are people not speaking English when their conversation can be heard by those around them.

Like when I was on that 14 hour flight to S. Korea to go see Tommy and the two teen aged girls across the aisle from me chattered away…loudly…in Hongul THE WHOLE FRIGGIN’ FLIGHT. I got not one wink of sleep. Needless to say, I was in a less than cheery mood when we landed in Seoul. Yes, the loudness of their chatter kept me awake..but more than that…it was the annoying sound of the language which I cannot understand. And the fact that it was constant. And that they kept their lights on when everyone was trying to sleep.

Or like my new next door neighbors. Now…..they are from India and I have met them and they seem quite nice although we would never hang out together because we have absolutely nothing in common. These nice Indian people moved in after the last nice Indian people sold the house to them when the husband got a good job in Seattle.

But I digress. The new nice Indian people are nice….however…..they talk rather loudly in the backyard in Hindi or whatever language it is they speak. And of course they have female members of the family which visit quite often (how nice for them). And when they all get together do you know what they do? THEY GO INTO THE BACKYARD AND HAVE LOUD CONVERSATIONS IN WHATEVER THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE IS. And they usually do this while someone is running the vacuum with the windows open so everyone can have the pleasure of listening to the vacuum coupled with the loud, multi-participant chatty conversation in their native tongue.

Now…they are certainly free to speak whatever language they want to. It’s a free country. But…it IS all about me and I can’t tell you how annoying it is to have to listen to a loud conversation which I cannot understand…over a vacuum cleaner…WHILE I’M TRYING TO TAKE A NAP!!!!! I mean…..if they’re gonna talk and keep me up all afternoon, they could at least speak English so I can eavesdrop. Right? Right!

As an aside…if they were speaking Spanish I could at least catch more than half of what they say and that would be better. Yes, that would be much better. So I would be happy if they would speak either English or Spanish…just so we’re clear. Oh, and I would be even happier if they didn’t run the vacuum every day. I mean really….WHO vacuums every day? Even I don’t do that.

I’ve written here before about different things service people do that annoy me. In case you forgot, here’s a partial list to remind you:

1. When they talk on the phone with a friend while ringing me up, not even looking me in the eye once.
2. When they run away from me down the aisle when they can tell I’m approaching them with a question.
3. When they congregate in a group, backs to customers, and chat amongst themselves.
4. When they are on the phone and continue their conversation…in their own good time….until they’re finished – while you’re waiting to pay for gas AFTER you’ve pumped it. In this case, they truly hold you hostage unless you just want to leave without paying and risk arrest.
5. Waitresses that take forever to bring the check….yes I have been tempted on more than one occasion to walk out on a check…but I haven’t…because I waited tables once and I know any number of things can cause such a delay.
6. Any service person who stalks me relentlessly until I am forced to leave the store just to have some peace.

Anyway, I was thinking about the question of service people over the past few days and how I always like to complain about them but rarely acknowledge there are some very good service people out there.

Take the pool service manager, for instance. She went WAY out of her way to make up for the lag in resolving our pool filter issues. She did such a good job that I emailed her a thank you note so she could pass it along to her boss if she wanted to. One good turn deserves another.

Or the dry cleaner I now go to where they happily let me sit in my car while they process my clothes for cleaning or bring me my fresh clean clothes, placing them oh so carefully on the hanger over my back door.

Or the garage repair guy who got to my house in less than 40 minutes yesterday, swept the garage under the door, replaced our broken spring with a brand new high-quality one and changed out all the wheels in the garage door track. He even put in a new light bulb for me. He was very nice and courteous, and he didn’t even charge me an emergency service fee. I shall send a thank you note to Overhead Door in the next couple days.

Or the air conditioner place that helps me out when our unit is on the fritz…they show up the day I call and are honest and friendly as they help us try and get one more year out of our system before we have to replace it.

So what I’m saying is there ARE a lot of really good service people out there. And I try and thank them in ways that will help them along at their jobs. So the question is…when is the last time YOU thanked a service person for a job well done? I know, we shouldn’t have to thank them for competently doing their jobs. But it is so rare that people in the service industry actually ARE competent at their jobs these days I feel we must encourage them however we can when we are satisfied with the results. Don’t you?

Just a quick note to let you know how much I hate unexpected expenses…especially when they all seem to want to happen in the same month of a vacation overseas.

So…let’s review:

1. Cracked tooth on the spouse in London ($500 out of pocket for a crown) – check
2. New pool filter grid ($350) – check
3. Rusted out garage door spring and worn out rollers plus trip charge ($333) – check

All this within the last eight days, mind you. Man, I HATE unexpected expenses….just when you think you’re all caught up. Can’t wait to see what happens next…..there ARE a few days left in the month, after all.

I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about this story. We all know that France is a socialist state and as such they do try and make sure that the needs of everyone are taken care of – including health care, child care, living expenses…and yes….employment for life. From what I’ve read and seen on this subject, the current French law allows for an average 35 hour work week, a very generous minimum wage, and many other benefits…including almost insurmountable roadblocks that make it impossible to fire anyone once you’ve hired them.

Jobs for life….man, that would be sweet wouldn’t it? To know that once you have a job, no matter how incompetent you are, your employer can never fire you? Sweet.

Great idea, right? But what has this system brought with it? Unemployment among young people averages nearly double what it is in the U.S. (up to 40% in some areas). Almost too late, the government has seen what free handouts and guaranteed employment for life have brought to society. Business owners are weary of hiring younger workers because they do not have the ability to fire them if they do not work out. They will be stuck with them for life. So rather, they hire older, more experienced workers – leaving the younger workers unemployed and on the dole with nothing better to do than cause trouble. You can read a really good article on this subject here.

The new measures proposed by the French government make sense to me…but then again I don’t live in France. Here, we are used to a probationary period after gaining employment; we know that in a sense we have to prove our worth to keep the job. It’s expected that you will need to show you can do the work to stay on with the company.

However…if you are French and have been given everything your whole life without ever having to prove yourself and there is no competition….then you react in the ways we’ve seen recently. Any proposed changes to this free handout system will bring large-scale unrest among those who feel their free ride is being threatened.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. In the mean time, I am glad I live in a society where competition keeps the playing field open to as much success as a person strives to achieve rather than a culture where it is acceptable to skate through life without ever having to contribute anything useful to the job or to society as a whole.

That is all.

Possibly taken out of context….

Him: “I don’t know what it is, but I’ve been really tired since we got back from London. Must be because I had that cracked tooth and then had to go back out on a trip.”

Me: “Yeah, I’ve been getting really tired around 3:30 every day.”

Him: “What, so now you take a nap at 3:30 instead of 4:00 every day?”

Me: “So, what exactly are you trying to say?”

Him: “………”

He learned that lesson well in the military…..Never miss an opportunity to keep your mouth shut. This lesson keeps perfect harmony in our house….usually.