Letter to the People Who are Supposed to Be Representing Us

Dear President Obama, Senators Warner and Webb, and Representative Wittman:

This has been a lousy week in our household.  I’m putting the blame squarely on your shoulders.  This week, it was announced that federal employees will not receive a pay raise for the next two years.  And it was announced that federal employee transit benefits will be slashed in half.  Now apparently this is due to the fact that they were raised and were due to come back down.  Unfortunately for us, it comes at a time when our sole breadwinner is now commuting 4 hours a day to get to his job, which he loves might I add, in our nation’s traffic clogged capital, and because he has been unable to find someone to carpool with, he must now take the train and Metro to get to work.  A train which is frequently late.  A Metro that frequently has “issues”.  In October, he was leaving home at 7:15 and getting home between 4 and 5.  Now he leaves our home at 5:15 and gets home at 6:30.  Doesn’t say much for our quality of life when we can’t spend time with our husband/father, who is exhausted when he gets back from those kind of hours, does it!

The pay freeze and benefit reduction news also came at a time this week when I drove by the local gas stations around here and nearly choked on my own teeth to see a sharp spike in gas prices.  In case you didn’t notice, gas here is back to nearly $3 per gallon.  I suppose I should feel fortunate—in many cases it’s back over $3 per gallon.  And you know that manufacturers and retailers are not going to swallow the increase in gas prices on their end.  They tack it onto the price of the goods that we have to buy.  So really, we get to pay for our gas and everyone else’s.

Our health insurance co-pays have increased.  I can only assume this is on account of the fact that those health insurance bastards had to lobby you guys so heavily not to support free health care for everyone.  They must be laughing now that the bill you passed will only make them richer.  I full support free health care for all.  I just wish you had done it right.  You had an amazing opportunity to do so, something that could have been your enduring legacy, but you blew it.  Good work.

We are far from being in financial dire straits.  This year we have taken in an exchange student.  I still do not work so that I can be a stay at home mom to our 20 month old.  If I was working, the majority of my income would be going to pay for day care and commuting costs.  But don’t think I haven’t thought about going back to work.  I even contacted my former boss who said I am a phone call away from being employed.  Do you know how lucky I am?  Because there are literally millions of people out there right now who are either scraping by at jobs they are overqualified for, who are unemployed, or who are in fear that their jobs are going to vanish.

Because of the pinch we’re starting to feel, even just a little bit, our lifestyle will change in the new year.  This year, we’ve already started buying generics on things that don’t especially matter—things like “raw materials” for cooking (flour, sugar, oil, etc)—and medicine.  We will continue to do so.

The last several years, we have re-invested our tax return into the economy.  We adopted our beautiful little girl.  We made major improvements to our home.  We went on vacation.  We discussed what we’re doing this year and my advice to my husband was, “I think we’d better save whatever pittance we get.”  And that’s what we’ve agreed to do.

We will seriously slash the amount of travel that we do, both locally and nationally.  We do hope to travel next summer to see a former exchange student, but other than that, our plans are to stay home or to visit family.  Traveling by air has become such a pain in the butt that we don’t have any plans to do it unless it is absolutely necessary.  Between extra fees for just putting a bag on the plane, the new security measures that we may or may not be subject to, and the prices of actually flying, we’re better off staying home.  Thankfully the Smithsonian is still free and nearly in our backyard.  This past year, we traveled to New York, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia.  Next year, once our exchange daughter has gone back home to Thailand, we won’t probably go anywhere.  We are fortunate to have been able to show her some of our beautiful country, but we won’t be able to show her a whole lot more of it other than visiting our parents. 

I have been running all over town with my younger daughter this year  as well, taking her to story time and a local toddler gym and the mall and playground.  I participate in a local choir and run a book club.  We have a very active group of friends who like to go sightseeing and bowling and out to meals.  Where our schedule or that of a babysitter has permitted, we’ve enjoyed joining them.  No more.  My activities will be restricted to my book club and choir, my daughter’s to the park, toddler gym, and story time at our public library, which has slashed its hours and needs funding.  I loved going to visit former co-workers and going to friends’ parties and meeting for lunch.  But I think the days of wine and roses are coming to a close.

We have agreed that in 2011, we will no longer go out to eat at restaurants.  We went out last night with 4 friends, and on top of quite a pricey bill, we had to tack on a babysitter.  It was a sobering wake up call as to exactly how much we spend on something that ultimately really doesn’t matter that much.  We can stay home and not pay gas to get somewhere, pay higher prices for a meal, and pay extra money for a tip for the waitress and a babysitter.  Oh sure, I know, we should be supporting the American economy.  I’ve heard all those precious little soundbites from all of you.  But let’s face it.  As a card carrying member of the middle class, I can only do so much.  My dollar only goes so far, and it’s not really going anywhere at the moment.

But of course, you don’t seem to much care about that.  You just passed a big tax cut again for the wealthiest Americans.  I know three of the four of you are going to tell me that it was necessary to help out the little guy, but let me ask you this:  since when did doing the right thing have to be tied to doing the wrong thing?  Republicans like you, Rep. Whitman, are screaming that it was necessary in order to help job growth in this country.  Much like Reaganomics, they swear the effect will trickle down into the rest of the population.  These tax cuts have been in effect nearly a decade, and forget a trickle, there hasn’t even been dripping.  When are we supposed to see some positive effect?

Senator Webb, your email this week was the proverbial salt in the wound.  President Obama, when I shook hands with you in 2008, I felt sure I was shaking hands with one of the greatest men of my lifetime.  Representative Wittman, I have even been to your office, only to be told the reasons I’m wrong.  Senator Warner, I hear nothing from you, literally nothing.  I had to go to your website this morning to read up on anything you’ve been doing, only to find out that while you’re “disappointed” in the tax cut deal, you’re going to vote for it anyway.  What!?  When either of my daughters does something that “disappoints” me, I don’t say, “Oh well, let’s just say it’s ok anyway.”  All four of you are about debt reduction, as long as it doesn’t come at a price.

Well, as detailed above, my family’s debt reduction will seriously reduce the amount of money we’re pumping into the American economy, and we are not unique among American families.  And watch our choices and the choices of other families trickle down.

Gentlemen, let me assure you that unless something drastic changes, I will not vote for a single one of you when you are up for re-election.  I’m not switching sides and voting for the other guy.  I’m going to hope someone new comes along with some new ideas, someone whose vote that is supposed to represent me, protect me, and make my family’s life better hasn’t already been bought and paid for by huge corporate donations I cannot hope to match.  Let me remind you that the votes of the people got you into office and that’s who you should answer to.  Every single one of you seems to have forgotten it.  Quit “playing the game” and start making life better for all of us.

An Open Letter to Borders

Dear Borders:

Before I even get into the true purpose of this letter, let me state unequivocally that prior to last night (January 5, 2009), my family was a Borders family. My sister (nee Judy Cherepon) was a Borders keyholder at Reagan Airport for over a year and during that time met one Lucas Szabo, also an employee of the store. Romance blossomed amongst the stacks and they are now married with 2 babies. We love Borders books.

Or I did, until last night. I have never been so aggravated by customer service, or lack thereof, in my life. I went into the Borders in Central Park, Fredericksburg, Virginia to return some DVD’s I’d received as a Christmas present. A certain family member is a bit forgetful and had gotten me these DVD’s no fewer than 3 times, and I wanted to return them. As they were a Christmas gift, I did not have a receipt.

Judy and Lucas had been to Borders in Springfield VA several days before to return some merchandise that they had received duplicates of. They also did not have a receipt. They were told that without a receipt, they could only receive store credit and were issued it via a gift card which they could use later. They both told me it would be no problem to return my DVD’s in a similar fashion, stating that as long as Borders carries a particular item, their policy is to provide store credit.

Ok, so I get to Borders and I take my DVD’s and get in line at the cashier. When I reach the front, there is one person working and she tells me that the store will only do an exchange without a receipt and I will have to go into the store and pick out the equivalent amount in merchandise. I said, “Seriously?” and it was confirmed. So, again, please remember, these DVD’s were a Christmas present, I said, “How much are they worth?” And she wasn’t too happy about having to look it up, but there was no price tag on the set! I was told $59.99. I was like, “So you’re telling me I have to walk around and gather up $59.99 worth of materials?” “Yup. Next in line!” and she hands me back my DVD set.

Ok, I was not really happy about having to use the money immediately, particularly since I was told by two former employees that I should be able to get a gift card, but also it is typically not a problem for me to spend $60 in the book store. I am an avid reader. I run a book club, I have been featured in my local newspaper for nothing more than the fact that I read a LOT of books every year, I volunteer at the library and I blog about what I read on my own blog and at Goodreads.com I am not a casual reader, and I buy a lot of books. I had my book club list roughly in my head, and so I set about finding one of the books, I came up with a DVD I wanted, I snooped around in the bargain bins, I even thought of a book a friend read and picked that up. Doing the math in my head (which admittedly, I’m not a math genius or anything, but I do hold a master’s degree, so I’m no slouch either), I figured I had roughly $59.99 worth of merchandise. I go back and get on line and when I finally reach the front, a new cashier tells me that he is not authorized to do an exchange, I have to wait for a manager and please go to the end of the counter. (I have since found out from my sister that this is also complete nonsense.)

So I go to the end of the counter and wait and Ron, the manager comes up, and says, “What do you want to do?” I had hand him my DVD’s and say, “I received these for Christmas, I already have them and I wanted to return them. However, I was told I could only do an exchange, so these are my exchange books.” At which point, Ron starts examining the package and says, “These didn’t come from Borders, we don’t use this kind of sticker. I don’t think I can accept these, are you sure they’re from here?”

Ok, honestly, no, I don’t seeing as I didn’t buy them, but I do know that Borders policy is to take back DVD’s if Borders sells them, and there was an entire rack of the exact same DVD behind the cashier’s station. At this point, if I hadn’t just wasted an hour of my time finding books and stuff I was willing to take in exchange, I would have walked out, but then I’d have been out the DVD’s and the books and DVD I did want, so I was determined to hang in there. So Ron decides to look the DVD up in the computer, and fortunately the cashier next to him, the first girl I spoke to, says, “We carry these, there’s a whole shelf of them right here.”

So Ron scans it and sure enough! It’s a miracle! It’s in the system! So he scans the merchandise I did choose and damn my eyes, I only picked out $54.78 worth of goods, so Ron says, “Well, I can’t issue you cash without a receipt, you will have to go buy another $4.22 worth of books.” I said, “Do you even sell anything for $4.22 in here?” and he said, “Well, how about this book? It’s the book we’re recommending this month, it’s very good!” I turn the book over and it is FIFTEEN DOLLARS! I said, “That’s fifteen dollars,” and Ron replies, “Well you can just pay the difference.” LIKE HELL I AM GIVING THIS STORE ANY MORE THAN I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO! So I was like, “No thanks” so he tells me that I can go look around and when I’m done come back and he’ll finish the transaction.

So I go to the bargain books section again and pick out a hardcover for $5.99, which was about $2.00 more than I wanted to spend and I take it back to the front, only to discover that there is exactly ONE person working now, Josh, the second clerk I spoke to. He says, “Ok, I think I can ring you up” and we go back down to the end of the counter and guess what!? No he can’t! He needs a manager’s ID! Meanwhile, a lady behind me says, “there is no one at the information desk” (a fact I can confirm because while I was attempting to find one of the books I wanted, there was NO ONE to help me find it—and by the way, the self-help section was a mess. What’s even more confusing is why Jerramy Fine’s Someday My Prince Will Come is shelved as self-help) and Josh says, and I quote, “I’m the only one working at the moment. The manager is out back taking a delivery, but I’ll have him come out as soon as I can.”

Manager? As in the manager I need to see? Right you are! Fortunately, Ron came back and swished his manager’s ID so my transaction could be completed, and I wound up paying $2.07, which didn’t thrill me, but I put it on my credit card, so I can only assume any potential profit you might have seen from that transaction was eaten up in fees to the credit card company. Then I had to sign a damned form and then, finally, mercifully, I was free to go. From the time I walked into the store to the time I left, 1 hour and 45 minutes had elapsed.

I have never been so happy to get out of a store in my life. And between an excellent local bookstore and Amazon.com I will not go back in there again. In fact, to prove my point, please find enclosed my Borders Rewards card. If the rumors are true and Fredericksburg is soon to get a Barnes and Noble, I will conduct most of my book-buying business there and at the other locales mentioned. It’s little wonder to me that Borders is in so much trouble.

Sincerely yours,


Susan C. Kosior, Former Borders Customer

Dear CP BB

Dear Central Park Best Buy:

I want to thank you for the lack of service your team has provided to me over the course of the past year. If I'm not mistaken, to date your team's service procedures have probably cost you somewhere in the realm of $500.

Take this weekend, for instance. Sunday, we got the Best Buy circular in the mail and saw that you were having a nice monitor on sale for $129.00. We thought we'd go buy it, since my husband's monitor has been on the blink for some time now. We arrived an hour after the store opened, found the monitor on display with the advertised price, and waited while the Blue Shirt Cronies of Best Buy assisted a whole pile of other customers. Finally, one guy pawned us off on another guy, who checked his computer, announced that the monitor in question was out of stock, probably due to the fact that it was being discontinued, and that we could possibly get one at the Stafford store or if not, they'd have them in Springfield.

Um, what?

Do you mean to tell me that you are advertising products that aren't even being made, that your stores have no intention of selling? And what's more, you're displaying them on shelves?

To make matters worse, this is the second time in 6 months that we've gone into this particular store to buy a monitor on the day it appeared in the paper, only to be told that the monitor in question was out of stock.

Really? Why do you keep advertising them? Why are you advertising products you have no intention of stocking or selling?

Additionally, I was totally dismissed a mere two months ago when I attempted to find out about the purchase of satellite radio for my husband's Christmas present. The child working the car electronics section of the store literally gave me 30 seconds of his time to basically tell me no information whatsoever about the programming, much less the equipment, and then turned to work with another customer, who I suppose looks more likely to purchase something than I did.

In the past month, I've also been sent on a wild goose chase around the store to find an external card reader for my camera's memory card. No one knew where they were in three different sections of the store, including at the returns/exchange desk where I had turned in the internal card reader to swap for the external.

Let's not even get started on the dude you sent to my house to hook up my new TV a couple of years ago who ripped out a few wires, told me my TV was fixed and disappeared. And it took you another week to get anyone out to fix what he had undone and the first words out of their mouths when they got behind the TV to set it up were, "What the hell did Jesse do here?!" They were the only Best Buy employees I've actually felt didn't treat me like a dumb ass simply because I'm a woman, and apparently not a wealthy-looking one at that.

Well, screw you and your stupid monitors. I came home and bought the exact same monitor on Amazon.com for an amazing $97.00. It came with free shipping and was delivered direct to my front door. And I didn't have to deal with any annoying sales pitch about warranties or any of that crap either. Too bad Circuit City is going out of business. I'll always have Amazon.

Adios from an iPod listenin', plasma TV watchin', computer usin', digital picture takin', cell phone callin', Wii playin' disgruntled customer,
S. C. Kosior

A Petty Annoyance

Today I was thinking about the insignificant things that annoy me. And then I went grocery shopping. And while I was grocery shopping and feeling good about life and using my coupons (saved $24 today, which is a big improvement for me), I went into the next aisle without thinking about it. You all know the next aisle. The aisle where they put the stuff that is "seasonal". And my local Giant is loaded to the rafters with fruitcake and gingerbread houses and Christmas lights and Christmas cards and tinsel and stocking stuffers.

You have GOT to be kidding me. It's November 2. And while I get as excited for Christmas as the next Christian--if not more--we have a perfectly respectable holiday still to come. I've never loved Thanksgiving--all that fuss for what basically amounts to a big meal, and frankly I'm having a lot of trouble finding things to be thankful for (a healthy family and a good job just ain't cuttin' it this year, sorry), so I'll probably enjoy Thanksgiving a whole lot less than normal this year.

But I'm not willing to skip it altogether. And every year I rant about this and every year those bastards in every store put up the Christmas stuff.

And even worse, Overstock.com is already playing Christmas ads on TV! Pre-Halloween--on Wednesday I saw their ad. I know it was Wednesday because Wednesday is the only night of the week I watch television. (Anyone else take as much great delight in Jimmy Olson getting the boot off Top Design Wednesday as I did?)

So attention, attention Overstock.com: I WILL NOT BE BUYING FROM YOU FOR MY HOLIDAY SHOPPING THIS YEAR. I REFUSE.

Thank you.

Oh, and I also hate it when someone tells you that you're going to love something and you just HAVE to watch/read/taste/listen to something and then they tell you the entire plot/flavor/life story/melody of the thing and wonder why you have no interest in watching/reading/tasting/listening to whatever it was they're talking about. Um, why bother? I've been given a full run down. I don't need to.

Thank you.

I also hate having to be firm with people who jerk me around for setting up appointments and crap, and I finally get a little firm with them and they set up something and I go to their house and they turn out to be the nicest little old lady or little old man you ever wanted to meet and you feel like a load of crap.

Thank you.

Finally, I hate that I have such a limited attention span with NaNoWriMo that I have to sit here with a timer on my desk and force myself to write in 10 minute spurts. Because if I don't put that timer on, I sit here playing solitaire for 2 hours and my word count goes nowhere. How I ever got 8000 words done yesterday, I do not know.

Thank you.

The New Toys are Here

Holy man, are the new washer and dryer nice. WOW. I practically flew home today, just wanting to get home and do the laundry.

It is SO NICE that they are up off the floor and we don't have to bend over to get stuff out of the dryer. Nor do we have to half crawl into the washing machine to get stuff out of it.

And quiet? Oh yeah. So quiet that I took the phone in the laundry room tonight and talked on it while the washer was going. And my dad couldn't hear the machines at all.

I'm so glad we got the pedestals--the drawers are deep and hold so much. I cleaned out the little cabinet we had in there and we have room to spare.

We did two loads of laundry tonight--the "work clothes" and the sheets. Both were long overdue. The w/d now have Braille labels on them, a W for "work clothes" and an E for "everything else". The only trouble (if you want to call it that) we ran into was trying to measure detergent so high up on top of the machines. So we've rectified that by measuring near the sink and then walking the detergent over. I think we have the capacity for spillage regardless, so I'm still working on a solution. I was happy that Tide makes the same scent and type of detergent as we were using with the old washer for the new one.

As for the old washer, I suppose it has gone the way of all good things. The dryer was picked up by a dude called Ed, who came last night. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it, but after we got it outside, he literally picked that thing up singlehandedly and lifted it up and over the side of his utility trailer and settled it right in. I was happy he got it--he mentioned that he and his wife have a young one at home who goes through a LOT of clothing and their dryer had gone out on them. Freecycling feels so good. And he swapped us 2 dozen fresh eggs off his farm for it. I don't know what I'll do with them, but I tell you one thing: those eggs are BEAUTIFUL. All different colors. I need to take a picture of them. They're gorgeous.

This weekend should be pretty quiet. I refuse, REFUSE, to think about work. Seriously, the most demanding people have been riding my rear end today. I had one lady call me because every time her magnifier breaks, a teacher has always gone to help her put it back together. So I offered to go tomorrow morning at 9am and she didn't want me to come that early. So I said, "Ok, I can come next Wednesday then." Well that didn't suit her either. so finally, I just had to say "9am tomorrow or Wednesday morning, I don't have any other times available to you." Suddenly tomorrow morning looked real good. Another guy keeps on calling me about his merchandise, when is his merchandise going to arrive? Well, look here, pal, it's not like I'm a dealer. I put the order in, it gets here when it gets here. So I've dug around in my stash and I'm just going to get rid of some stuff and replace it later. And then I had another woman calling me--she got lost taking her mom to the doctor on Tuesday and they missed their appointment. And she only has off on Mondays (which are my office days and I'm not on the road) and so she wants to go on a Monday. I patiently explain that I cannot go on a Monday, but she's insistent, so I'm like "I'll see what I can do." and hang up. I fully intended to call the doctor on Monday to set it up, but she calls back 3 hours later and demands to know why she hasn't heard from me.

Ummmm, let's see here. In addition to opening 2 cases today, I have to finish all the clean-up paperwork from the seminar we had last week. I don't have time right now. I will call on Monday. "Well we need to know" blah blah blah. FINE. So I call the eye doctor's office and lo and behold, the doctor does not see patients on Mondays.

So, I pushed the appointment back a week anyway to give myself a little breathing room and now she's going on June 25th. But that actually works out better for her since she can have more time to rearrange her work schedule. Despite the fact that I offered to drive her mother myself so she wouldn't have to take time off.

My caseload currently stands at 52. My boss has offered to look at the situation yet again. If I just had a couple days to get my paperwork in hand, I could probably deal with it better. Unfortunately this seminar really threw a wrench in the works.

I'm really ready to just throw my hands in the air and say, "Let the chips fall where they may, I'm finished." Unfortunately, we have bills to pay. And I kinda like my house.

So we'll have to see. Hopefully things will ease off a bit.

On the plus side, LOST was frigging AWESOME tonight. Did anyone watch? Anyone want to chat?? Holy cow. I don't know how I'll wait for the next season. Amazing.

Still Alive, But Just Barely Hangin' In!

So, work is kicking my ass, handing it to me to hold, and kicking it again.

We were informed last year that we had to have a conference in the coming fiscal year for senior citizens. The conference, we decided, would be the week before Memorial Day so we could use Memorial Day weekend to relax and recover. Well, this week is the week before Memorial Day. The conference is upon us.

So due to some of the personalities involved, I offered to coordinate the whole thing. I can't really comment publicly on it too much, but let's just say that the entire rehabilitation team is just this side of completely freakin' insane to begin with, and then we look at the component parts and just scratch our heads.

Well, so I figured if we wanted it done right, I should probably do it. Which has left the rest of my team thinking like Alfred E. Neuman.



Yesterday we went and did a lot of the supply shopping we needed to do, and there is still more to do on Monday, but I'm not participating in that, because I don't need groceries, since I am signed up to teach flower arranging. However, we had a marathon run in with WalMart trying to establish our tax exempt status, we had a hell of a time trying to work out the schedule so that everyone was happy, then we discover that the program coordinator for the state has decided to come up for the entire thing, we have to finalize catering, we have to go to the site where we're holding this shindig to get set up, and everyone else is like "Meh, it'll get done."

In the meantime, my new referrals are mounting like the national debit--I am currently 7 behind in openings, and just got 6 new referrals from Richmond. I have about 10 closures to do. And the week after this conference, I will spend every single day driving to Charlottesville for eye doctor appointments. Meanwhile, I have clients breathing down my neck, "Why haven't I seen you?" "where's my equipment?" "What's the hold up?" "Why is this taking so long?"

There are currently 60 of you and there is 1 of me. That's why it is taking so long.

So in short, I have no idea when the hell I'm going to get my paperwork done, when the hell I'm going to get things ordered, which is only going to back me up that much further and life is hell right now at work.

Downtime on the weekends? Hahahahahaha In addition to helping my sister with her wedding, I am busy putting furniture together, meeting with people to do some repairs to our house, attempting to meet up with friends who must think I hate them any more, and of course grocery shopping, car inspection, runs to the dump, cooking, taking care of the rabbit, and trying to coordinate our annual summer getaway plans.

Now throw into the mix that The General and I have just found out that we can't have babies, my sister who never wanted to have kids has found out she is having a baby, every other woman I know is pregnant or has a baby, and as a friend recently suggested to me rather pointedly, no one seems to give a flying f*** about this fact... Add in the fact that the dentist is now calling because there is a foul up with our dental somewhat-insurance and they want to straighten it out or want some money, and I'm just to a point where it's like, here's where we separate the girls from the women and I'm not so sure I want to be a woman any more.

It's all just adding up. I'm not sleeping. Last night, I fell asleep at 1:30 and I was up this morning at 6:00. The night before, I got roughly 4 hours of sleep. I think I am losing my ability to see the forest for the trees here.

The one bright spot in all of this is that I have a phone interview on Monday. I hope it goes well and leads to an in-person interview. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

So hopefully after a couple of weeks, I will be back to running the streets again like always and until then, I will beg patience. I want to wish Russell and Mrs. good luck on Weight Watchers--I'm just catching up on that happening--and Nicole luck on her new house and Lauren luck with her gym schedule and Cindy luck with Alex being under the weather and Jacalyn luck on finding her camera and Annette luck on getting unburied from work too, and everyone else luck with anything they might need. I'm not ignoring you, I promise, I just need to unbury myself for a couple of more weeks... :)

Give 'Em a Brake

I am not happy, never happy, always sad when I see a dead animal on the side of the road. It really breaks my heart to see a raccoon, a rabbit, a deer, or other animal and know it had its life cut short by some asshole motorist who was probably speeding, didn't notice until it was too late that something was in the road, and killed it. I'm not anthropomorphising these animals and crying that its mom and dad don't know whatever happened to it and they're having a little raccoon search party in the woods looking for Rocky, but it makes me sad. I really love animals and especially in this area and with my job driving, I see so many dead animals every day. I mean, it doesn't take but a second to slow down and let a squirrel cross the street-they're pretty speedy--and deer and rabbits are quite fast as well. Slower animals like raccoons still don't take THAT long and you can always swing into another lane if you really don't have three seconds to spare.

But what really got me was that yesterday I was driving home along Route 17, a major road in this area to be sure, and saw a dead beagle on the side of the road. This is not some animal from the woods, this was someone's beloved pet. Now, we can get into a debate about the owner not chaining their pooch up, but we don't really know that either. The dog could have gotten loose. And when that person got home yesterday, they'd be confronted by the sight of their pet dead on the highway.

And this is not the first time. Over the course of the past year, I've seen half a dozen dogs and cats on the side of the road. Common courtesy would suggest that the killer at least stop and try to find the family and inform them of what they'd done, but apparently like many other things, this practice has flown straight out the window. Better to leave the body on the side of the road and get on with your life.

People really suck sometimes, and I suppose that's why I like animals better on occasion. Seeing these dead critters makes me feel really sad. If anyone else out there feels the same, slow down for a second and let the animals pass. And if you are really serious, the Humane Society will send you a FREE bumper sticker for your car. Visit by clicking HERE for yours today.

Just Another Manic Monday

So, I go into work yesterday at 7:15am. I've been going in early on Mondays so I can leave early so I can try to beat some of the rush. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It was a moot point yesterday because I had book club and it was pointless to go in early, except that Judy and Lucas were up at 6:15 and I might as well be too.

So, I no sooner walk in than my co-worker is there. He is absolutely hopeless at the computer, bless his heart, and he had forgotten his laptop at home, so he was working on a reception area computer. I no sooner sit down then he's asking me to come help him find files and stuff on the new computer. Ok, fine.

Then my officemate, Kris, comes in and reminds me that we have to take down the Christmas tree. But we also get an email from our boss that we have to take terrorism awareness training--and I had lost the original emailing detailing exactly how to take terrorism training, to which I got a reply back that the email had been sent in December. Fortunately, I was able to recover my deleted items, find that email, and I figured I'd work on it after I got the tree down.

So, Kris and I take down the tree, while at the same time James is sitting there next to me, asking for computer help. Get done with all that, and Kris and I decide to polish off this terrorism training.

Now, the training requires that you create a log in on some state employees "university" thing, and then you take the modules. Only, we had gotten the handbook for the thing attached to our emails and were under the impression that all we had to do was read it and we'd be done. Surprise!

So, I read part 2 of the email which said about the logging in and crap, and I was like, "Hey, Kris! We have to log in and do the modules." Well, I followed the easy to read instructions about the whole thing--how to get to the website, how to log in, where to go after you log in, and how to take the tests. So I'm sailing merrily along when all of a sudden, a string of curses comes like a blue streak from the other corner of the office. Kris can't figure it out.

So I go to her desk and walk her through it and we're both ready to take the test. So, lo and behold, we start. And it's audio. And we haven't started at the same time, and we can't seem to synch up the sound on each slide, despite a hilarious "1...2...3..." countdown system we try. Finally, I shut down my sound and she plays hers loud and we're sitting there learning about terrorist groups and how to recognize pipe bombs and such. Well, in walks Alex. And he's coming to inform us that he doesn't have to take the class because it's not accessible. "Ok, fine, get the hell out." Then Candace walks by. "Are you guys taking the terrorism test?" "Yes, but it's not accessible to JAWS users, so just send the boss an email and tell him you can't take it and he'll tell you how to get credit for it." Then Shelley comes in. "Susan, are you taking the terrorism test?" Ummm, we're trying to. I'm missing half the slides and I'm going to fail the quizzes if this keeps up... "Because I can't figure out how to log in." So I tell her to read the email from Bob and just follow the directions, it's all laid out very simply, one two three, and come and let me know if she has any problems. Then Debbie the Secretary, who I LOVE, strolls in and asks if I'll help her put a new shelf together. "Yes, as soon as I'm done." Then James walks back in and asks if I can help him find the forms he needs from the intranet.

I'm really losing it at this point. Then Shelley walks back in and asks if I can help her log on, she doesn't know what she's doing.

So, I tell her to hold on till we finish the section we're on and Kris and I shut the door and soldier through, by which point she has to use the bathroom. I go down to Shelley's office and walk her through the log in same as I did Kris. James is straightened around, Debbie's in a holding pattern, so Kris and I go back to taking the modules and quizzes. We JUST finish and it takes us both 20 minutes to figure out how to print out the transcripts and the certificates that we completed the damned things. I take them down to my boss who tells me "I don't need this, you just need to take the classes." AUGH! So, we basically could have just said we took it without all that nonsense.

So I'm settling in, I'm going to listen to my phone messages, when Kris comes strolling back in and says, "You have to go help Debbie now." So I go out and get Debbie and she has a 6 foot tall shelving unit she needs built. And it weighs about 600 pounds.

So we drag that into the back room and Alex, who is still strolling around trying to find things to do that don't involve working, comes running with the tool kit. The file room we are working in is about 8'x8' and already has a copier and 4 shelving units in it. so now there's all that, plus me, Debbie, Alex, and the pieces of the shelving. Finally I tell Alex that if we need him, we'll come get him and he leaves, his place taken by one of the mobility instructors. The three of us women are trying to put these shelves together and one of the VR counselors comes in and starts stepping over us, and it has to be the one who is pregnant and has told us we all have to be very careful around her per her doctor's orders. I'm pounding away with a hammer, there are pieces of shelving all over the place, and she's buzzing in and out. We get the shelving half put together when Debbie and Vijaya decide they don't like the spacing on the shelving, so we take it all apart again. I'm on the floor on my hands and knees hammering the shelving up when Shelley buzzes in and says, "Susan, I know what your'e doing is probably important, but my computer has just frozen up and I really need you to help me RIGHT NOW."

So I say, "Shelley, I'm not really in a good place to help you right now, but if you give me 5 minutes to finish this, I will be happy to help you." So this pisses her off and she turns to Debbie and says, "Debbie, you can help me, right?" So just to keep her quiet, Debbie goes to help her.

We get the shelves back on, and we're turning our attention to the finishing pieces when Kris walks in and announces she HAS TO USE THE COPIER RIGHT THIS MINUTE. So we were using the copier as our kind of workbench--the tools were on it, the instructions. Finally, I say, "Kris, give us two more minutes and we'll be out of here." I just wanted to cry at this point. But now. She insists it has to be done NOW. So I'm like "Fine, give me the papers and I'll copy them."

Well, for some reason, the copier doesn't believe me that there is paper in it, and Kris accuses me of jamming the damned copier. I said, "Kris, it's not jammed, it doesn't think it has paper in it!" So she's yelling, "Turn it off and put it back on." This doesn't help. So I try again and it still doesn't believe me. Finally, she says I'm doing it wrong, so I say, "Fine, go ahead and copy" and take everything off the copier. Well, she has it copying fine, but it's copying the wrong way on the wrong size paper, and she starts cussing a blue streak again. Meanwhile, I'm hammering the final shelf on, and the shelves are metal mind you and it's loud as hell in there, and she starts yelling at me to stop pounding on the shelves.

By the time it was over, it was nearly noon. I finally checked my voice mail, everyone was eating lunch, so I decide I'll go over to BOA, deposit my sister's money, and then get lunch and go eat with everyone. I need to cool down, so I walk. I get to BOA, and guess what!? NO FREAKIN' CASH DEPOSITS! I was so pissed off. So I stormed back over to work, got a salad and sat there and ate.

All this in about 6 hours, mind you.

So, last night was also book club night, and of all nights, the girls chose last night to give me a thank you gift for being the fearless leader of the book club. It was a night I really, really needed a little lovin', and they all chipped in and bought me gas cards since I have so far to travel for book club, and they all signed a beautiful card for me. Ladies, you rock!!

At the end of such a crazy day, it was just what I needed. It took all the fight right out of me... I got home last night and all I was thinkin' about was LOVE. :-)

But my brilliant husband, at one point I asked him yesterday, "is this ever going to stop?!" and he emailed me back and said, "It will when you say 'no.'"

Hello, wake up call!

Next week, I'm going in, shutting the door, and doing MY work. What a concept!

I've Reached My Limit

Honestly.

If I hear Mariah Carey screeching "All I Want for Christmas Is You" one more time, I think I'm going to go home and push the Q-Tips in a little bit too far, if you catch my drift.

It was a good song, like 3 years ago. And every time I scan the dials trying to find a station playing Christmas music, but some weird coincidence that's the song that always seems to be playing.

I get it. All you want for Christmas is me.

Uncle.

Kindle

So, on Cyber Monday, I was doing some Christmas shopping and was on Amazon.com. They are heavily promoting a new device called Kindle. For the price of $400, you can purchase this "revolutionary electronic-paper display" device which "looks and reads like real paper".

It has wireless technology, so if you're laying in bed and the mood strikes, you can say, "Hey! I need to read 'War and Peace'" and download it instantly (for a price, of course) to your Kindle and then read.

You can download free samples, you can download blogs, you can download newspapers and magazines.

You can use it to email word documents and photos.

It holds over 200 titles at a time.

Short of making you dinner, this thing does it all. And it's sold out.

I've been thinking about it. Trying to decide how I feel about it. Here's how I feel:



First of all, there is a wireless, portable reading device with the look and readability of real paper already available and it doesn't cost $400. Let me introduce you to it. It's called A BOOK. You can get them for free at your local library. You can get them for free by trading for them online. You can get them cheap at your local bookstore and read them over and over and over again. And there's no storage limits--you can buy as many as your house can hold if you want to.

But let me get this straight. I should buy a $400 piece of equipment that I will then have to pay $10 or so for each book I want to download? For the price of one Kindle, I can buy 100 used books at a used book store, or I can buy several hundred books at my annual library book sale.

Technology isn't always the better way. This kindle doesn't have the smell of an old, worn, well loved novel. You can't stroke the pages that are smooth with age and a thousand turnings. You can't crack the spine on a Kindle the way some people so satisfyingly do on a new paperback. You can't give your Kindle books to friends and tell them how much you loved the book and hope they'll love it too.

I have been on vacation and seen people spend dinners on their phones connected to work. I have been on vacation and seen people so desperate to check their email or read stuff on line that they can't think straight--they drive to cafes and hook into wireless ports because the world will end if they don't find out if someone emailed them--they turn their back on the ocean, the mountains, the Grand freakin' Canyon, all to be wired up and connected when they should be taking a break.

And now a bunch of them are turning their back on books. What a crying shame.

So, I'm Standing In Line At Border's Last Night...

(Procrastination post #1)

...and I am second in line. The guy in front of me is staring at the tv screen they have playing for their customers. And so I sneak a peek, since I kind of enjoyed when the Fredericksburg Borders would play the DVD of the planet and you could see the little plants and the beautiful shots of earth from space.

Not the Springfield Borders, however. Oh no. I, who hate to see animals get hurt, have to look as a goddamned crocodile takes down a goddamned wildebeest.

I swear, I cannot get the image of this out of my mind. It is haunting me, all day, I have seen those jaws of death wrapped around the poor wildebeest's leg, as it struggles to gain a foothold in the sand and keeps getting dragged to the water.

My sister comes over to find out what I'm doing, and I (more loudly than intended) declare, "Don't I have to be standing here while this goddamned thing is showing the death of a wildebeest by a crocodile? I think I'm going to start bawling."

And to my utter embarrassment, all the men in line start chuckling, and the women turn their faces to stare at the back walls.

What is it with guys and this kind of thing? The guy in front of me was glued to the set. When the Borders guy FINALLY got the lead out and took this guy's order, I moved right up behind him, away from the set. I couldn't stand it.

I know it's the laws of nature and all, but honestly? I find it devastating and gratuitous.

Back to NaNo.

AUGH!

Frustration sets in.

I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated.

OK, got it?

My birthday gift to myself was "Eating Royally", a cookbook written by Princess Diana's personal chef. As you already know, the General bought me a KitchenAid stand mixer. The perfect time to do a little cooking, right?

So I started making plans--invited my cooking buddy Joe on down. Right from the start, I know we're heading for the danger zone. Selecting a random recipe, I gleefully cried, "We can make Lobster Thermidor!" Joe replied, "I'm not eating that."

Between Joe suddenly deciding he's a vegetarian and the General flat out refusing to eat vegetables and my sister's food allergies, it's a miracle we eat.

I am so freakin' frustrated.

So, by God, I'm making Lobster Thermidor, or something else from the cookbook, and Joe and the General can go to McDonald's. Except not, since they have meat in their salads.

Any omnivores out there want to come over and cook? Please? It'll be fun. I promise!

In Case You're Wondering...

...this heat wave sucks balls.

The heat index in Fredericksburg today as 115 degrees. Seriously, I did not sign up for this.

SHAME!

Willfully disregarding all the bad press, and because they have to, Aetna released its earnings statement Thursday. They have made record profits by "higher premiums and reducing health care costs." Translation: Making people pay more and providing them with less. BOO!

If you're on Aetna and have another choice, this may be the time to leave.

Stupid Parents Again

Tal was right. And I swear, Fredericksburg is at the epicenter of a plague of stupid parents.

Last night, Michael and I went out to dinner at a kid friendly place (Pizza Hut). There were two women seated at the table behind us, of whom I had a clear view, and with them, they had 3 children. One of the women was the mother, the other a friend or ?? The two older children were in the 7-10 range and the little guy was maybe 2.

They were seated and no sooner were they, then the two women dug out their cell phones and called people. The two oldest kids were bearing it pretty well, but the little one was not happy. He was squirming between the two of them, and making some noise, till Mom huffed into the phone and said she had to go. Finally the other one hung up as well.

Next thing, the little guy grabs the menu so Mom's friend couldn't read it. Mom was finished with her menu, and Friend was trying to convince him that she needed to see the menu for just one minute, but he refused to give it to her. So she said, "OK, I'll just have to take Mommy's." This sent the little guy into a fury and he starts screaming.

She takes Mom's menu, and this little guy hauls off and smacks her one with the menu, screaming his head off.

Now, internally I was cheering, but I was waiting to see what the discipline would be for such a thing. And all Mom does is turn to him and say, "That's not very nice."

They didn't take the menu away, they didn't yell at him, nothing.

If I had ever hit an adult, be it with a laminated piece of paper or a 2x4, my ass would have been grass. At the very least, my rear would have been put into a high chair and my movements restrained, but most likely in a restaurant, my parents would have picked me up and we would have left without dinner. And once would have been all it would take for me to learn the lesson we didn't hit people, much less Aunt Frannie who's been so nice to us.

I just shook my head as their phones rang all night and Little Jeffrey (or whatever his name was) started eating off the floor and hollering his head off whenever he felt like it. People like that really piss me off.

Are We Getting Stupider, Part Deux

Alright, in our latest attempt to annihilate the human race entirely by our own stupidity, I return to another rant about stupid people.

I have noticed a disturbing trend over the past, oh, I dunno, 10 years, but tonight it really hit home, almost literally.

What the hell is wrong with people letting their kids run around in parking lots!?

Tonight, the General and I went to Target to pick up some supplies for the house and for me to get a nice new kite to take to Myrtle Beach (Hello Kitty kicks ass!). In any event, we get back in the car, and as I am pulling out, a woman WALKS BEHIND US WITH HER TWO CHILDREN! We weren't "maybe" pulling out. We were actually pulling out and they walked behind us.

I wish I could say this were not something I face on a regular basis, but at least 3 times a week, someone walks behind me AFTER I start pulling my car out of my parking space.

One time, there was a woman who let her two year old run all by himself towards their car in a Walmart parking lot, and as I started to pull out, I heard a scream and she ran up to the car in the nick of time. A 2 or 3 foot tall little person cannot be seen in the rearview mirror.

For the love of God. Why do people seem to think that a car going backwards can't hit them!?

AUGH!

Friday the 13th, DC Style

Yesterday was Friday the 13th, and I was skating along thinking it wasn't going to be such a bad day, till I turned on Washington Post radio and got the traffic report. At 6am, some guy rammed his truck into a jersey wall here in Fredericksburg and his truck caught fire and melted I95.

Still, I thought, how bad can it be? They'll repair the road, and I'm not heading down I95 today, I'm heading up it.

Michael and I were heading yesterday evening to see Cal Ripken Jr. at Tyson's Corner.

But the joke was on us. Over by where he works, DDOT had decided to do construction on the bridge on I-295.

So we had plans to meet in Vienna at 6:15pm. I had to go to Charlottesville yesterday, and had already driven almost 300 miles by the time I got up to Vienna (Fredericksburg to Manasssas to Charlottesville to Fredericksburg to Vienna). What makes me sick about that is I could be most of the way to my father's house in that many miles. Hell, I could be most of the way to anywhere in that many miles.

But I digress.

So by then, the traffic from the truck fire had gotten out of control. The road had never cooled off enough to repair and all the Looky Loos had slowed down traffic so badly, and all the locals had jumped on the local roads to avoid the highway, and there was no going anywhere. Traffic at 6pm was backed up THIRTY MILES.

And Michael was stuck on base.

And I was without a cell phone, yet again. Why does this crap happen when I give up the cell phone!?

So I got up to Vienna in plenty of time, ran into my "nephew" while I was sitting in the parking lot waiting, and suddenly it was 6:30. So I was sick of sitting the car, and got out and grabbed some pictures with my new camera. Got back in the car, read for a bit. Then I figured, well, if the General's not here by 7:30, maybe he went home and ditched me. I don't know. Fortunately, I found him at 7pm. (I really expected him to be early--I sat in that freakin' parking lot for almost 2 hours.)

So we decided to give up on Cal Ripken, which also started at 7pm, because the Beltway was a mess. The radio said not to try I95 until at least 8pm, so we went to Joe's, our favorite pizza place, and sat there till almost 9pm. We got a traffic report, which said 95 was heavy but moving, and took a chance.

When we got to Dale City, it was just plain heavy, so I took a chance again and hopped on Route 1, which was crystal clear, and we sailed down that at about 60MPH and made it home in about an hour and 10 minutes. But damn!

As I was driving north, I was mentally composing my, "Honey, we're moving" speech. Even his little scheme that we should move to Alabama doesn't sound half bad about now.

Men, Women, and Cars

What is it about women and motor vehicles that leads men to automatically assume we're a bunch of unknowledgeable idiots? (Of course, my enlightened male readers excepted!)

Wednesday morning, I got in my state car to head up the happy highway to work. I started smelling something funny, and approximately .1 miles down the road, smoke started pouring out the vents. No dummy I, I turned that rig around and headed back to the VDOT lot where I park her. Because I am now cell phone-less, I had to go back home and call the state's vehicle management center.

The conversation went roughly as follows:

Me: Yes, I'm an employee for the Dep't for the Blind and just got out of my state car. There is smoke pouring through the vents.

VMCC Guy: What do you mean?

Me: There's smoke coming in through the vents.

Guy: Did you turn the heat on?

Me: The a/c was on, yes.

Guy: Well, can you drive it to the garage?

Me: I'm not driving it anywhere.

Guy: Well, I can't just authorize a tow for any reason.

Me: This isn't just any reason. THERE IS SMOKE POURING THROUGH THE VENTS OF THE CAR.

Guy: Can you put your driver on the phone? I know you ladies from the department have drivers.

(This really got my dander up)

Me: Listen here, I am fully sighted. I am the sole driver of the car. I saw smoke coming through the vents, and I parked the car and I am calling you. Someone better pick that car up and repair it, because I am not driving it any further. I wouldn't drive it if it were my car, and I'm sure as hell not driving it since it's your car.

(Silence)

Guy: Can you turn the car on and turn the heat off and tell me what happens?

Me: I'm not at the car at this point, I'm at home. I don't have a cell phone. [Doesn't that just freakin' figure?!]

Guy: Well if I'm going to send a tow truck over there, you're going to have to go drop off your key anyway. Go over there and then call me back.

Me: Fine.

I go over to VDOT, and do as he says, and the smoke is gone, but a strange smell of burning or melting plastic or something is now coming into the car. I check all my stuff to make sure nothing is touching the vents or nothing could be melting and find nothing.

So I go into the VDOT facility where I park it, which I should have done in the first place, and ask to use the phone. Where I get guy #2.

Guy: Well, all this sounds rather vague. I'm not sure I can authorize a tow. Can you be more specific about what the problem is?

Me: There was smoke pouring through the vents. It was gray and smoky. There is now a smell of burning or melting plastic. I am not driving the car to a garage. I am not turning the car on again.

Guy: Where did you say you were?

Me: Falmouth VDOT.

Guy: That's S-A-L-M-Y-T-H??

Me: F-A-L-M-O-U-T-H.

Guy: S-A-L-M-O-U...

Me: F! As in Frank. F!

Guy: Oh, F.

(You can say that again)

Guy: Can you hold while I try to get Tony at the garage?

Me: Sure. (What the hell? I know Tony--he'll tell me it's gonna be a while)

Guy: Ok, I'm back.

(Congratulations)

Guy: Ok, Tony says he can't get there for a couple of hours.

Me: Fine. I'll leave the key.

Guy: He says you won't have your car for at least 3 days. (said in the tone of "I'm going to take your favorite toy away since you can't play nice.")

Me: Fine by me. I'm not driving it while it's smoking.

Guy: Ok (as in "Fine, if that's the way you want to be, lady.")

Me: Bye.

Now, all things considered, I held my temper pretty well. But come on, please, who in their right minds is going to drive a smoking vehicle to a garage? Jeez, I particularly don't like those kind of macho men who think I have no brain just because I don't happen to have a Y chromosome.

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen...

...good bye!

Tonight I had the extreme pleasure of saying "Hasta La Vista, Baby" to Cingular Wireless, the world's worst cell phone provider.

I have had problems with Cingular almost from the start. When I first got Cingular, two and a half years ago, I was living in Centreville. Almost from the start, there were problems. I would drive down Interstate 66, and as soon as I hit the Fair Lakes shopping center, the line would go dead. Whenever I drove certain portions of I95, the phone would go dead. The phone would go dead in major portions of Prince William County, Washington DC, Fairfax County, and surrounding counties. I live in the national capitol region. What's wrong with this picture?!

Calls to Cingular were rewarded with, "We don't show any outages in your area."

Then I made the discovery that they were charging me to call and check my voice mail. Um, I don't think so. So I put a recording on my voice mail that stated, "Don't leave me a message, I am not checking my cell phone voice mail any more."

I've heard from countless friends and acquaintances in the DC area that they've hated every moment of their Cingular service. And apparently Cingular has the lowest service rating in Washington DC.

Anyway, our contract finally expired in October, but due to the fact that Judy needed the cell phone for work, I didn't shut it off. When finally she left those cheap ass bastards, the time came when I could call Cingular and tell them to kiss off.

Still, I felt bad about it. Not for me, since I never use my stupid cell phone. But for my sister, who had it practically glued into her ear. We're talking the need for surgical removal was imminent.

So I called to cancel, and I was told we were "due for an upgrade" which would help us, since our old phones were no longer really compatible with the service or something that they had upgraded to. We'd have 30 days to try out the new phones, they'd reimburse us $200 for the overages my sister had managed to accumulate, and we could still cancel if we wanted to.

Ok, fine and dandy. So I decided to a) see if I even needed a cell phone; and b) test out the phone to see if it would work everywhere.

Well b) never happened. In the entire past 25 days we've had the phone, I made exactly 2 phone calls. For the past 3 weeks, the phone has sat with its dead battery in my car. The ONLY time I even charged it was tonight, when I plugged it into the wall, called Cingular, and told them to cancel my account.

The woman on the other end told me that I could go back to the "month-to-month" plan (instead of a new 2 year contract the new phones--which you will recall I was DUE according to the first woman I spoke to weeks ago--required). All I would have to do would be to return the equipment and go back to using the old phones.

"The old phones didn't work. That's why you sent me new phones."

"Well, that's the only way we can get you back on the month-to-month plan."

"Why would I go back on a plan where the phones don't work?"

*cue those chirping crickets*

"Um, ok, then, go ahead and turn them off."

As soon as I hung up with her, I put both phones and their chargers in the box, sealed it, and Michael and I drove to the Fredericksburg post office, used the 24 hour automated postage center, and mailed those babies off. And you know what? I'm not exactly going to miss that bill coming in the mail. I can think of many things to do with an extra $80 per month.

So, Judy, I am truly sorry, I know how much you loved having the phones. But for me? I won't miss a single ringtone, crappy game, or one pixel of that lousy wallpaper.

Yuck.

I'm all for people being able to do what they want in their own homes, but, frankly, I'm just totally grossed out.

I'm the type of person for whom showering is a chore. I get in the shower, I do what I have to do, and I get out. I don't take long, supposedly "luxurious", showers, because to me that's a waste of time. Five minutes tops.

Well, this week my clients have been stymying my system!

Care to take a guess why? There's one thing, and one thing only that can make me shower more than once per day, makes me wash my clothes the minute I get home, and totally grosses me out.

Smoking.

Yes, I am an anti-smoking Nazi. I don't tell people not to smoke, but if I'm in someone's home and they ask if I mind if they light up, I don't lie. "HELL YES I MIND!" Only a bit nicer.

And I've had 3 clients this week, all new, who have either been smokers or who live with smokers.

My state car smells like a freakin' chimney. Last night we had to do the wash and today, I just got home, and I'm going to have to wash these clothes (which were just washed yesterday) and hop into the shower again. Which ticks me off since I showered less than 9 hours ago.

But I can't stand the smell of my own self. Then I'll have to Febreze my car, the state car, and the office chair I'm currently sitting in.

And the sad thing is, these guys are all long term clients, so I'm just going to go through this week after week till I can close them. That really sucks.