Annoyances (aka #firstworldproblems)

Yeah, yeah, I know...#firstworldproblems.  Be that as it may, it's still annoying...

The past few days have been filled with a few of these pesky, irritants.  I'm going to give you a sample of what has been annoying me lately.  You're welcome.

1.  Idiots, who obviously should NOT have EVER been given a driver's license in the first place, that can't figure out the rules of a three way stop.  Why is this annoying?  Because EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. that I come across this particular intersection, I am very nearly killed.  It has reached the point, that I am seriously considering erecting a large sign in the median that states "No, you DO NOT have the right of way, idiot."

2.  The newspaper.  Yes, I know.  HOW can a newspaper annoy me?  To clarify, the newspaper itself is not annoying me (well...to be fair, yes.  It sometimes does annoy me.  But that's another story for another day).  No, it's the staff at this particular newspaper.  As we all know, I prefer to start my mornings quietly.  With a cup of coffee and the paper.  Granted, I usually skim most of it to get to the Life section and the crossword.  Then - out of the blue - it stopped coming.  So I logged on to the website and clicked on the "I didn't get my paper delivered link."  In the past, I usually receive a response fairly quickly.  I got nothing.  The next day?  Same thing.  Finally, on the third day, I received a response.  This one, rather than rectifying the problem told me to call the office.

Well, we all know me.  I made my husband call.

Apparently, the bill hadn't been paid...BUT, this has become an issue for the paper as the bills were now coming from a new payment center and customers were throwing away the bills, thinking they were junk.  But, they promised, they would restore service and send us a new bill.  Well, they fulfilled half their promise.  The paper resumed service.

For about a week or two.  And then it stopped again.  My long suffering husband once again called.  And once again, they promised to re-bill us.  And then nothing.

Today, I sent an email to both the Business Manager and the Circulation Manager.  They have promised that, after calling my husband and accepting payment over the phone, the issue is resolved.  We shall see.

I have the publisher's email address...just in case.  I have no problem escalating this to the very top, if I have to...I NEED my morning routine...just ask my long suffering husband.

3.  I bought a new shirt on Sunday.  Usually, this is a cause for celebration, no?  I was happy with the shirt (something rare these days, as most of the stuff I find in the store is hideous) AND the price.  But, upon returning home, I discovered that the clerk had neglected to remove the security tag.  *sigh*  That, of course, meant a return trip today - on my lunch hour - to have them remove it.

4.  Blogger.  Honestly.  I logged on this morning - since I didn't have my PAPER - only to discover that the only thing I could see on my dashboard was the most recent post from one of the many people I follow.  I fired off a tweet - but, of course, Blogger never responded.  I had hoped that someone at Google would take pity on me and have this issue fixed by the time I got home.  But, of course, they hadn't.  This evening I clicked on the "Send Feedback" button but I really don't think that will help.

So in the meantime, I will have to click on each and every individual blogger to see if anything new has posted. *MAJOR sigh*

(As a side note - is anyone else who utilizes the Blogger dashboard experiencing this problem?  No?  Is it just me?)

As I stated at the beginning - yes, these are #firstworldproblems.  But nonetheless, they ARE fairly annoying.

Maleficent...from my point of view

When I first saw the trailers for Maleficent, I knew this was a movie I wanted to see.

Unfortunately, my usual movie date (my son) was not as interested as I.  Of my back up movie dates, one was out of town and the other not so interested either.

Eventually, I wore Man-Child down (after reminding him of all the mindless, inane movies that were targeted to the tween boy demographic that I had attended with him) and today he agreed to go.

As, I'm sure you've heard by now, this is the story of Sleeping Beauty from a different viewpoint. After watching the movie, I realized I couldn't quite remember WHY Maleficent was so spiteful as to curse an innocent child in an effort to hurt the parents (remember, I had a boy-child; so I didn't re-see all the Disney princess movies/stories.  In this house it was more along the lines of Peter Pan, etc.).  So away to Google I went.

I read a couple of different versions but the premise was pretty much the same...because she wasn't invited to the christening in the first place.  Definitely NOT a good reason to curse a child, but unfortunately, both in fairy tales and real life, there are people who are that spiteful.

In THIS version, I can almost agree with why she cursed the child.  A woman done dirty is one thing.  To strip the very essence of who that woman was is another.  And to do so for power and glory?  Inexcusable.

And, as we all know, hell hath no fury as a woman scorned (and disfigured)....

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.  Man-Child wasn't as enthusiastic about it as I; but has conceded that "it was good."  High praise, indeed.

So, in my opinion, if you are even a little curious about this movie, go see it.  Unless you are a Disney purist.  If you are, then you probably won't like it.  At all.

You guys?! Guess what I found?!

As I was driving through a neighborhood that I pass through once or twice a week, I spotted something new.  And magical!  (At least to me)

This is NOT the one I saw.  I stole  borrowed this from here.

A LITTLE FREE LIBRARY!!

Ever since I've heard about these I've been wanting to stumble across one.  And make one.  Or thirty.

You all know how much I love to read.

I had been to their website and knew that we had a few in town; but didn't seek any of them out, because I wanted to "stumble across one."  And I did.  And It.Made.My.Day!!

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to stop.  But today, I made my way there...on purpose.  I left off some books to be passed on.  I didn't take any, but one day soon, I'm sure I will.

As I said, ever since I've heard about these I've wanted one.  But our last house was on a busy road and it wasn't safe.  Here, we are renting and I don't think the owner would approve.

But I'm wondering if I could slip one past the Homeowner's Association in one of the public areas...if I didn't register it, they'd never know it was me...unless they read my blog (doubtful).

I know, without a doubt, that our next house will be sporting one of these.  And, if I can figure out a way to sprinkle these all over town - I would.  It's a fabulous idea.  Take a book...leave a book.

I've always suspected but now I know....

Our receptionist is one of the nicest people in the world.  Really.  BUT...in the many years that I have been with this company I have always been of the opinion that she sends crazy phone calls to random departments just to screw with us.

Today, I discovered that this, is in fact, the truth.

Every time I see a phone call being transferred from the front desk to either my line or my one of my bosses lines, I know it's going to be a doozy.  See my last post about random phone calls from the front desk...

But, as I mentioned earlier, today I have the proof.

Today, I received a call from the mail room.  Remember that...it's an integral part to this story.

The guy from the mail room started off the conversation with this...

"So-n-So sent this call to me; so I'm sending it to you..."

I headed him off at the pass.  Because with an opening like THAT, I KNEW this was a call I DID NOT want to take - particularly considering that it was almost 4:30 pm.  Everyone knows that after 4:30 pm no real work is getting done, if you can avoid it.

I asked what they wanted.  And he informed me that this was an individual who was NOT HAPPY.  And that if we didn't give him money he was going to sue...  What is it with these people?  Do they think we sit here and write out handsome checks to people just because they utter the word lawsuit?

I informed the mail room guy that he should tell the guy to call his lawyer.  Because, honestly?  It really isn't my job to help some random person sue the company that I currently WORK FOR.

Two minutes later, I received another call from the mail room...this time asking me if I knew John Doe?  Basically, playing the "Don't you know who I am?!" card.  I replied that I damn sure did not and, to be clear, I didn't care.

After that the phone was quiet.  And then, after thinking about the situation, the truth became glaringly obvious.  The receptionist IS screwing with us all.  Because WHY, in God's name, would you send someone who is screaming "lawsuit" to the mail room and not the Legal Department?

No...I don't *want* to tell you (oh-so-young, new employee) what to wear but....obviously, someone needs to...

First and foremost, I am NOT an old, fuddy-duddy but...someone really needs to inform these oh-so-young employees about how to dress properly for this particularly, uber-conservative, corporate office.  And, apparently, this job has fallen to me.  So without further ado....

No.  I am NOT about to tell you that you should wear a suit every day.  Nor am I going to say that nylons are a MUST.  Or that open toed shoes are verboten.

Because, obviously, in this day and age that advice is ridiculous.  But what I AM going to suggest is that you look to your superiors.  Notice what are they wearing and emulate that - no, really.

There is an old adage that goes something along the lines of "Dress for the job you want."  Despite the fact that it is an old adage; it still holds true.

Which means...you should not, under any circumstances, come to work wearing a maxi sundress.  With sandals; which, while technically aren't flip flops they still make that slap, slap noise against your heels.  Basically, the rule of thumb is this, if your outfit is something that would work for a backyard barbecue or for a pool party then it is NOT the outfit for the uber-conservative, corporate office. Period.  Even if your job is "creative."

Remember that despite the whole "don't judge a book by the cover" thing - people do.  They will look at your oh-so-casual look and judge you.  They will deem you to be unprofessional.  And once you are deemed unprofessional, you will not be taken seriously.  And in the uber-conservative, corporate office where you are currently employed, THAT is the kiss of death - something to be avoided at all costs.

And besides, do you really want to be the subject of the whole "Did you see what she was wearing today" conversation that ensued?

Yes.  I agree.  It seems old fashioned.  But remember, you are working for the uber-conservative, corporate office.  All the men are still required to wear suits and ties (I KNOW!).  So if your boss is wearing a suit and tie then that pretty much rules out maxi sundresses and the almost flip flops for the office wardrobe.

From the "Are you freaking kidding me?" files....

You know it's a Monday when, while walking into work, you are pooped on by a bird.

Yes.  Really.

Luckily, it landed on my skirt - and not my head.  HAD it landed on my head, I would have just turned around and went home; never to be seen again.  As it was, it was bad enough.

As I was walking into the building, I glanced down and thought, "What is that?" and automatically reached down to swipe it off.  As I touched the goo, I realized what had happened.  Needless to say I freaked out a little.

I ran to the bathroom to scrub my hands and skirt.  But a phantom stain has remained behind on my hand, skirt and psyche.

I don't think I'll ever get rid of it.