Something to blog about

I kept waiting for something good to post about and then more time passed and my priorities shifted and then so much time had passed I almost decided to start from scratch with a new blog. This morning I actually saw my little blog on a friend's post and decided I needed to get back ... so here I am.

So much has happened since I was here last. I am super busy at work but I am thrilled to be employed in this economy so I will keep my grousing to a minimum. I have a new grandaughter. I have lost 96 pounds since Christmas. I attended a family reunion and really should have written about that! I went to Florida and Sea World and got lots of great pictures. Yes, I can see that I had plenty I could have shared.

I find I have a limited amount of time to spend on the computer so I shall reprioritize and set aside Facebook and refocus on my little piece of cyberspace. Thanks to those of you who inquired as to my where abouts during my hiatus. It was nice to know I was missed and I will try to do better.

Yes, I am Irish.

Every spring when the weather starts to warm up and I put on shorts I am shocked by my very white legs. Now, they are not just a little pale. They are so white they actually have a glare and people around me require sunglasses.

Years ago when I had more money than sense I would go to a tanning salon. I would start out at a slow, low level and lay there for just a few minutes. My intent was to put just a little color in my otherwise pasty skin. At one point I complained to the technician (what do you call the person who assigns you to a room?) that nothing seemed to be happening so maybe we needed to turn it up a notch. She told me that one of the beds had just had the bulbs changed so that might speed things up. And, she was going to set the timer for a longer period of time.

Huge mistake! The combination of the intense bulbs and the longer duration caused me to end up at the emergency clinic with what they called "solar poisoning." I was in horrific pain and looked like a cooked lobster. That was the last time I subjected myself to a tanning booth.

Spray on tan seemed like a good idea. No risk of pain. I had no idea what I was doing when I used a coupon to get the "look like you have been to the islands." I had a date that evening and as the evening progressed I noticed my arms were getting darker and darker. A little while later I went to the restroom and I laughed when I saw how white my teeth were. My skin continued to get darker and my teeth kept looking brighter and brighter. Again, the need for sunglasses for those around me to cut the glare my smile was emitting. My date and I had a good laugh as we made bets on what would be my final ethnicity.

Then there are the do it yourself self tanning lotions. I tried that, too, but you have to purchase just the right lotion and be very careful how you apply it. It was too much trouble to try and keep things even. I would end up with extra lotion in the crease of my elbow or at the wrist or behind my knees which gave the appearance I needed a bath. How many times did I have to wear long pants in the summer to avoid the inevitable stares?

I have a coworker that must be using a self tanning lotion because he keeps showing up with rusty looking hands. No thanks. I will keep telling myself that my very white skin complements my very white hair. Whatever!

Summer Camp

Did you ever get to go to summer camp? I was very fortunate that each summer from 5th grade through the 9th grade, I was shipped off for two weeks to a very rustic camp in Arkansas. I loved Camp Wyldewood. It lies at the foothills of the Ozarks and it is beautiful! Of course, as an adult I found it to be much more attractive in the spring and the fall when the temperatures do not require ingesting a daily salt tablet. I can remember how hot we campers were during those summer months. There was no electricity in the cabins which meant the only air conditioning was from the random breeze that blew through the screened-in windows on three sides. At the front of the cabin was the only door and on each side of the door were built in closets. With fourteen girls per cabin there was very little room for hanging many clothes. We kept everything else in footlockers that slid under the bunks.

If you hurried through lunch you had a little time to grab a somewhat private shower which was my goal. I was a skinny, flat-chested 11 year old who absolutely dreaded the communal showers even worse than the cold-water-only plumbing. I assume the boys had the same accommodations although their daily swims more than likely constituted the extent of their concern for personal hygiene. As hot as we were you would think we would have been happy for the cold water. Not!

But it was fun and in spite of some mild homesickness each year, those two weeks were the high point of my summers. My family always took vacations as well but those were typically spent in a car with my younger brother and sister arguing over who got to sit next to the window. My time at Wyldewood was a close as I got to freedom and independence until I went off to college. I made some great friends in Session V and each year we left with full autograph books and addresses for pen pals that usually lasted until Christmas.

In addition to daily devotionals and Bible study, there was softball, hiking in some of God's most beautiful country, swimming, canteen and crafts. We had Sadie Hawkins Day, lots of singing and a big night out where we dressed up, paired up and were given a tour of the nearby university which was the alma mater of all the counselors. Years later I would see many of those same campers when I chose to attend that same college.

Those were the days. Before curling irons and blow dryers. Before cell phones and texting. Before the internet and emails. Before Tivo and 500 channel choices. It was a simpler time and brings back a lot of happy memories.

A sense of accomplishment

So many things I have been putting off. I can always come up with very legitimate excuses to not do anything I want to avoid. Mop? No, I need to water my plants. Vacuum? Can't now. I must mail a birthday card. Clean out the refrigerator? I better get gas before it rains. See the pattern? I do things that I actually need to do and procrastinate over the less appealing tasks.

But today I had no plans, no appointments and no company so I got serious about cleaning. Some were routine tasks and others have been waiting patiently for me to address them. I cleaned the kitchen, cleaned my bathroom, changed the sheets, did four loads of laundry, vacuumed, rearranged my pantry to squeeze in the latest groceries, cleaned out the refrigerator and ironed clothes for the coming week. Now I am going to sit a while and pay bills, finish a book, and maybe watch a movie. I feel good but still feel guilty because I have yet to put away my snowman collection. What's up with that??

Six more weeks of this? No problem.

Here in Central Texas we do not have the ongoing winter weather that so many others deal with for months. This year we have had a couple of "ice days" that brought traffic to a halt but overall it has been pleasant. The problem is, once we get past the days when a coat is required, I never know how to dress. It starts out cold or windy or rainy so I end up wearing layers of clothing that are removed through the early part of the day and later replaced, layer by layer, as the sun sets. Lunch time around my place is pretty busy these days. (rim shot)

I have one sister who lives outside Minneapolis and a John Deere horse-powered snow shovel is a necessity for her family. The pile of ice and snow shoveled to one end of her long drive may not melt until July. My other sister lives in southern Florida. I still cannot relate to her blooming citrus trees around Christmas but she loves it there.

So for me, I am pleased to be in the moderate middle. But only when it comes to the weather.

I didn't die but I thought I might

Happy Valentines Day!

The last two months have been challenging to say the least but I am back and, hopefully, my humor is intact. There have been moments - no hours - where there was no humor and I sat on my couch with a vacant expression and no interest in life. What caused the funk? All I did was have gastric bypass surgery but it almost killed me and I am still struggling with life after GP. That's not to say I would not recommend this surgery to anyone. I would. Misery loves company. No, seriously, I had an unfortunate set back with my surgery but I have had several friends over the last ten years that have had RNY and lapband surgery and no one else had complications. It is just the way the cards fell. And everyone of us is glad we had the surgery. The positive aspects far outweigh the negative. But enough of that. I am happily crawling from the abyss and feel human again.

I see that in my absence I lost some readers. I understand. When cleaning out my blog I, too, have eliminated journalers who seemed to have dropped off the map. I hope they will see that I have returned and they will as well. And, thanks to those of you who sent me notes or left messages asking of my whereabouts. I sincerely appreciated it but did not have the energy at the end of the day to respond. That has been my biggest challenge. I should have taken off more time from work after the surgery but I jumped back into the fray after two weeks and that has slowed my recovery.

The company where I worked was sold and the doors closed. The corporation that purchased our little giant hired me as their new call center manager. In these tough economic times I am thrilled to be employed. We are building the Client Service Center from the ground up - policies and procedures, schedules, training materials, scripting, etc. and I am loving the challenge. I still wear the hat of the old company so I have been closing out the billing from there in addition to my new duties. It has been a while since I was responsible for a start-up operation and forgot how much energy is needed. But, with my new attitude, I am sure I can make it all happen.

Now, I am off to read your journals and catch up with you, my friends.

HoHoHo What a Merry Christmas!

Santa came to my house last weekend. I got to enjoy spending time with my parents, my kids and Miss L. My son deep fried a turkey for us and I actually ate solid food for the first time in three weeks. That was a big deal. I gave Miss L the Kissing Elmo among other things and he was a big hit. It did not take her long to figure out how to squeeze one hand for him to talk and put the other hand up to his mouth for kissing sounds. She was so cute hugging him the whole weekend.

Monday I went back to work which was probably too soon but I did it and since it was just a three day work week it was not too bad. The end of the month and end of the year is always a crazy time in a Billing office. And, I have quite a few things to catch up with after taking two weeks off.

My daughter, son in law and the baby have so much family to try and squeeze into the few days they have for the holidays (four additional groups) so I was surprised they wanted to see me again today. They were headed from breakfast with her dad and on their way to East Texas to visit the SIL's side of the family but TenderHeart had to give me one more gift. I decided it was bothering her that I had no specific plans today but I was actually looking forward to sleeping late and not having a schedule to follow. Some friends had even invited me to join them for Christmas dinner but I begged off.

But, I sacrificed and got up and drove out to meet them on the road. I was very pleasantly surprised that my son came out to meet us as well. (He was flying back to Colorado this afternoon and I did not expect to get to see him again.) Sure enough, they had another gift for me. They announced they are having another baby!! It was so funny, all of us standing around and I am hugging the baby and then realized she was wearing a shirt that said "Big Sister". Talk about excited!! Lots of squealing and dancing around in the parking lot.

Yes, it was a very, merry Christmas!

How I know I was in the hospital ...

The following are the Top Ten ways I know I have been in the hospital.


10. I have flower arrangements in various stages of disintegration.

9. My nightstand looks like a full service pharmacy.

8. My bed pillows have become decorative items throughout my home. Wherever I sit, there is at least one extra pillow within arm's reach.

7. I can play connect the dot with the holes left behind when the hospital staff mistook my arms for pincushions.

6. I recognize showers are not for sissies.

5. Velcro is my friend.

4. I do not care what my hair looks like yet.

3. My daily activities revolve around the next pill, elixir, shot, blood test, breathing treatment, walk, liquid intake, liquid output and documentation of the previously mentioned. Yawn!

2. Just when I think I am finally through with the alcohol and cotton balls, I find more adhesive residue in unexpected places. Like spots on the carpet after you have had it cleaned, they just keep rising to the surface.

And, the #1 way I know I have been in the hospital. . .


I did not touch my computer from 12/7 until 12/17.




Yes, I went into the hospital on 12/8 for a relatively simple procedure but my resistance was down and my subsequent symptoms (high fever and low blood pressure) gave everyone a scare. The doctors had to go back in, on 12/9 to make certain everything was okay. It was but instead of getting out on Wednesday, 12/10, I did not get to come home until Saturday and I am just now getting my strength back. I won't dwell on the details in this journal but I am tracking my progress here.



I am glad the rest is behind me and if I can just get the remainder of my Christmas purchases wrapped, I can relax.

A strange twist

The company that bought our pharmacy only wanted three pharmacists and eight technicians to come on board with their new organization. That left quite a few of us updating our resumes and waiting for the doors to close. I was totally okay with this because we were offered a nice severance package and I looked at this as a perfect chance to seek employment closer to my daughter and her family.

Then another opportunity presented itself. The corporation had decided to consolidate its client services and they are starting a new call center several miles closer to my daughter than my current job. I have call center management experience and decided to throw my hat in the ring. At the last minute, my boss, Sheriff decided to interview for the job as well. Her interview lasted over an hour and then it was my turn. The way it went I was very certain I was not being seriously considered for the position. Imagine my shock when the VP returned today and offered me the Manager position. It was a wonderful surprise and I was then able to offer CCR positions to several of the remaining pharmacy staff.

I am thrilled. And, I was able to make several other people happy, including Assistant. Yes, I am taking her with me. Sheriff? She will need to continue to interview.

Can you say, "Karma, boys and girls?"

Starting a new chapter

I feel very energized right now and it is almost 2 AM. I get this way every year when I put up my Christmas decorations. I get so excited and do not want to stop. Last year I had a car accident on November 12 and spent the next six weeks confined to a recliner at my parent's home which had a huge impact on my plans, shopping, decorating, etc. This year I had every intention of starting early and being ready by December 1st. Well, I am close. I am actually enjoying getting out in the middle of things (traffice, malls, etc.) this year and am so grateful for my ability to drive myself, get in and out of the car unaided and walk everywhere I want to go. I took those abilities for granted before and, even now, I have to remind myself how far I have come since last year. I am truly blessed.

I am also taking a huge personal step by adjusting my eating habits and have already lost 16 pounds. I am a grazer and since I am single and live alone I feel little to no pressure to cook anymore. I had an older friend years ago who told me that after her kids were married, she and her husband went out to eat most of the time and she "dusted her stove." Back then I could not imagine that lifestyle but now I can relate.

Life is good and is getting better.

Well, this bundle of energy better call it a night!

What century is this??

If I had not been a witness, I would think someone was making this up. This is unfortunately a very true story. I was in the restroom at work today and was in the handicap stall since the other was occupied when I arrived. (Who am I kidding? I always go for the handicap stall at work if it is available. The other one is so small you practically have to stand on the bowl to open the door to get back out.) A third person came in and when they hit the locked door to the handicap stall I recognized the shoes belonging to my boss. You may remember Sheriff if you follow this journal. Well, she then went into the other stall since it was now vacant but I heard her leave immediately after.

A few seconds later I heard Assistant come in, mumbling under her breath. She went into the other stall and I called out, "Assistant, is that you? Tell me you are not cleaning the toilet for Sheriff?!" Oh, but she was! Sheriff was unhappy with the condition of the stall after the other person had left but she had sent Assistant in to take care of things. I was flabbergasted and strongly expressed my feelings to Assistant!!

Assistant left and as I stepped out of the larger stall Sheriff came in wearing latex surgeon's gloves and began grabbing several paper towels out of the dispenser. She proceeded to tell me how disgusted she had been by the condition of the toilet. I have to assume she was wiping down the commode and I offered her the trash can to dispose of the paper towels. Too late. She had put them in the toilet. I told her I was surprised that she would put all those towels in the toilet, that we were probably going to have plumbing problems now. Sheriff feigned innocence and said she did not realize that. Come on! By the time you are well into your forties you have had enough life experiences to know better, or so I thought. As I turned to leave Sheriff said, "Send Assistant back in here."

I should have ignored the request but I did stop and tell Assistant her presence was once again requested in the ladies room. She had a few choice words regarding actions she was contemplating but she dutifully got up and headed to the bathroom. I have no idea what happened next since I returned to my office.

Shortly, one of the staff came to me to let me know the first stall in the ladies room was not flushing properly. Ya think?? I thanked them and went straight to Sheriff's office. I told her "They just came to me to let me know the toilet is not flushing." (I am the office manager and used to be the facilities point person but remember, Sheriff took over those responsibilities. I no longer have to call the plumber. If there is a potential expense involved, Sheriff is going to handle it. And, certainly this was her issue to resolve!))

When I told her the toilet was stopped up, her response? "Can you get a plunger?"

I said "I don't do plungers. I am just letting you know the toilet is clogged." I turned and left. I heard later she had Assistant use the plunger and unstop the clog. Unbelievable!!

I'm still in a state of shock that (1) she would take advantage of her assistant like that and (2) that the assistant would actually do it!! Does this woman's narcissistic arrogance know no bounds??

Visiting Santa

My daughter, son in law and Miss L.



Waiting to visit with Santa.






After standing in line for over an hour, the camera broke. Santa "worked" the line while they tried to get things going again. You can tell Miss L was a little hesitant but not frightened.

I was able to take my own pictures since the "official" camera was on the fritz. I was so glad to have come prepared!

This is the best shot I got before Miss L decided she did not need to discuss what she wanted for Christmas after all. This was such a great Santa, very authentic.

Little miss was worn out by this time but we still got some good shots.

A tired little angel..

Thanksgiving and then some

I knew this Thanksgiving was going to be quiet. It turned out to be just me and my parents but we still cooked the bird and set out the good dishes, the kind that can't be put in the dishwasher. I did not think that would be a big deal since it was just three of us but we still managed to dirty just about every dish in sight and you would have thought we were expecting a dozen people there was so much food.

One sister and her family were all gathered in Florida. The other sister and her family are in Minnesota and their Turkey Day was postponed because sister and hubby are suffering from Whooping Cough. Yikes! I read on the Internet it was going around but I did not expect it to hit anyone I knew. Of course, you may remember my brother passed away this summer so that left me to do the family thing.

I always tell my kids they can be anywhere they choose at Thanksgiving but at Christmas we all better be gathered in Texas. With all the branches of the family it is difficult to be every where at once so I try to be gracious about sharing. Since Sport was just here last month he stayed in Colorado and actually deep fried a turkey for a group of friends. I'm impressed. TenderHeart was with her husband's father's family. With so many at that gathering all she had to cook was a broccoli rice casserole. Lucky girl.

After we ate, cleaned up and watched the Cowboys win, my folks and I sat down for a game of Phase Ten. Don't know if you have ever played it but it is a lot of fun and you can actually play with several people so it is a great group game. I can't believe it but my "elderly" parents whipped the socks off me. I kept cheering for myself that I had the highest score. Just wish that had been the aim of the game.

In the middle of the night I got a call from Sheriff, my boss. It seems the police called and our office had been broken into and she wanted me to go and assess the situation. Normally that would have worked since I am two miles from home to work but this time I was two hours away so she had to do the honors. In the last three years we have had maybe half a dozen false alarms but this time it was the real thing. And I missed it!!

Two huge glass walls were shattered. One into my office and the other into my boss' office. We work at a closed door pharmacy and naturally you would think they were after the drugs but nope. We have no signage and I do not think these guys even knew what kind of business they broke into or what was in the back. They never walked into the view of the security cameras and all they took was Sheriff's laptop. But what a mess they left behind. Sheriff was there from 2:30 AM until 11:30 AM waiting to get someone out to clean up the mess and secure the place. I learned that the police said the official "method of entry" was BFR. Big F***ing Rock Seriously, that was what was in the report!!

And me? I was diligently avoiding all sales and traffic.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!

How can I think about Christmas already?

I better start thinking about Christmas! It will be here before I know it. November is just flying by and I do not want to be out in the middle of the traffic next month, at the last minute, making rash, illogical purchases.

This morning I went with my daughter, son in law and the baby to have her picture made with Santa at the mall. We went into Macy's just to buy a hair bow and I ended up buying two Christmas dresses for Miss L that I thought were just adorable. Her mother and I have very different taste when it comes to dressing the baby. I always want to go with the classic styles with the cutesy, girlie dresses with smocking, tiny pleats, etc. Daughter wants to go with clothes like trendy jeans or blue jean skirts and bedazzled shirts that read "Born to Shop." But, of the dozen Christmas dress choices we did find a few on which we could agree. If I had had the money I would have bought at least two more. They were just tooo cute.

This particular mall has a really great Santa who looks very authentic and a huge Polar Express set up. After the kids have their pictures made with Santa, you can move over to a porch set where the whole family can pose.

I brought my own camera with me so I positioned myself beyond the picture taking venue and put on the telephoto lens. I was in excellent view of everything going on and I had a lot of fun watching the little ones react. It was probably an hour wait and by the time my kiddos were at the front of the line Miss L was bored, cranky and done with the hair bow! There was one family ahead of them and you would not believe what happened! The camera broke and stopped printing out pictures!!! They waited and waited and waited while the little mall workers tried to troubleshoot the problem.

After a while Santa got up and started walking around talking to the kids in line. This was great for some and terrifying for others. He was very kindly and you could tell he was not trying to cause any drama. He just moved on down the line. Miss L was happy to see him and let him hold her hand and said "Hi, Tanta Claw." By now I had moved up to the perimeter fence and Santa suggested I go ahead and take pictures which I did of daughter, SIL and Miss L with Santa standing there. Great shots.

Then Santa told the mall workers, all gathered around the broken kiosk, he was going to sit down and let everyone take their own pictures. I was so thrilled that I had brought my camera and almost started to take orders from those in line! Tee Hee. But wouldn't you know, the minute Daughter placed Miss L in Santa's lap she began to squawk! She wanted no part of it and I got a very funny shot of her all straight-legged trying to get down.

A few minutes later the camera was fixed but by then there was no line left. Out of some sense of obligation we ended up buying the disk with the rights to the official picture. I just really think we should have gotten a discount for all the hassle but Daughter was too reserved to ask or allow me to do it.

Wished that reserved style applied to baby clothes! Just kidding!

Missing the compassion gene

Last week we had a trainer in our office from out of town. She was conducting several two day sessions with the staff to help us all prepare for the close of our office and the demise of our jobs. She was from a placement service and I participated in the first two-day session.

On day one of the second session she got a call that a close friend had died unexpectedly. She left the conference room and was quite upset in the ladies' room. I heard the crying but actually thought it was someone being silly at the other end of the office. A few minutes later one of the staff came to me and told me I was needed, that the trainer was crying in the bathroom. I went immediately to see how I might help.

Trainer was hysterical and had difficulty getting the words out but enough for me to know there had been a death. When Supervisor (I have told you about her before - see Tissuegate post) came in to see what was going on I instructed her to tell the employees in the training session to go on back to their regular duties, that training was canceled for the day. I then guided Trainer into the conference room for some privacy and to make arrangements for a flight home. For about 20 minutes she was unable to function and I ended up having to take the phone to talk to her boss. I say all that to give you an idea of how dramatic things were for a while and disconcerting for the entire office.

Well, my boss (remember Sheriff?) had gone to the dry cleaner and when she came back it was in the big middle of the drama. One of the employees approached her to tell her what was happening and as she headed for her office the employee said, "They are in the conference room." (in the opposite direction) She did not turn but went straight to her office. In less than five minutes she came out and told her assistant to notify the five employees that were in the training that they were on their own for lunch. She had canceled the boxed sandwich lunches! Can you believe it??? No concern for the distraught guest. No empathy for the staff that had been shaken up by the drama. Nope. Her primary thought was, "If they are not having training then we don't have to provide the lunch." You can imagine how this attitude went over with the entire office.

I ended up driving the trainer back to her hotel and she had a local friend who came to be with her and to take her to the airport. When I got back to the office my boss said, "I am glad you handled that. I just don't have that compassion thing ... I'm missing that gene." Ya think??? My response, "Well, I'm glad I have it."

A little bit later one of the trainees came to me and told me that since she always brought her lunch and she knew lunch was going to be provided for the two days of training she had nothing to eat that day. That is when I learned about the canceled lunches. This employee is in a very tight financial situation and had no money to purchase lunch. I told her that I really did not think it was my place to challenge the decision but that she should go to Sheriff and ask what she suggested. Sheriff's response? "I can give you the $6 to get your lunch but when you go back to training you will not get a lunch provided." Unbelievable!!!!!! The employee declined and went back to her station. I offered to get her lunch when I went out but she declined that as well. I brought back a lunch for her anyway. Glad I have that compassion gene.

I feel special!

It has been a long week and this evening I wearily plopped myself down for a cruise around the internet. Being a creature of habit I have a set computer routine and the first thing I do is read personal emails, then a jog around Facebook, look at the latest pictures of my granddaughter that have been posted, check out the newest tags in my tag group and, last but not least, stop at Blogger to catch up on some overdue reading and maybe, just maybe find time for a post. I was pleasantly surprised to find I have been given the Marie Antoinette Award by Lori at Dusty Pages. It is for real people who blog about real things. I truly am honored that my little piece of cyberspace has been deemed award worthy. Thank you, Lori!! That really perked me up!

I am now supposed to pass this on to seven more bloggers whom I believe are "real" bloggers who write about "real" everyday life. That describes so many of the journals I read, so I'm just going to have to pick a few of the many I could name. Many of those on my reading list have already been honored by someone else, so I'll try not to duplicate. (By the time I finished getting this all together I realize I have a duplicate after all but I don't care. They deserve another shout out!)

Here are the rules and my list of recipients.

The Rules

1. Please put the logo in your blog

2. Place a link from the person, from whom you received the award

3. Nominate at least 7 or more

4. Put the links of those on your blog

5. Leave a message on their blog to let them know

Robin at The Yellow Brick Road

Jody at Dust Bunny Club of North America
Rose at Roses Are Read

Donna at D's Designs and Other Things

Rachel at The Cooke Family

Veronica at Buffalo Squirrels

Jon at Lone Star Concerto

Organ-ization

I named 15 organs in 4 minutes!

Rocket Science at the telephone company

I have been "bonding" with the AT&T call center agents about my screwed up account. I decided to bundle all my services when I added their high speed internet. This means that my television service, my internet and my land line should all be coming on one bill. And, at one point they sent me a check for the over payment on my previous internet service. But now my land line was cut off and in spite of repeated phone calls to get this resolved I still do not have a home phone. This is not a BIG deal to me since I only had that number added to make my family feel better that they have another way to reach me. I have been paying the bill but they cannot seem to wrap their head around getting it all on one statement as they promised six weeks ago.

The kicker was when I called again this evening and because I did not have my latest paperwork with me, I needed to answer a security question. The question: Who was your childhood hero? I could not remember giving an answer before but I responded with what I knew would have been my answer >>> Captain Kangaroo. Wrong. I told the agent, if that is not the answer then I have no idea who I would have listed. The agent then told me that there was no answer but because I had provided a response, it did not match and he could not discuss my account. I laughed out loud at the absurdity of the situation.

"So basically you are telling me that I had not ever picked that security question or given an answer and because I answered your question you cannot discuss my account with me??" Yep, that was it in a nutshell. Crazy, huh? But he did say he would update my answer for future reference.

The agent eventually did ask me for information I could provide which verified my identity and we went from there. And, before I hung up I asked for a new security question. The question: "Who has lame security measures?" Answer: AT&T.

He did not let me use that one.

I wonder when I will get my land line fixed??



Oh, yeah. In case anyone who knows me thinks it would be funny to mess with my AT&T account, Captain Kangaroo was not my childhood hero.

Tissuegate

Since our office is closing in a matter of weeks, I do not think it will hurt to tell some of the more benign stories of what happens at work. There are days when things occur which are so bizarre all I can think about is, "I wish I could post about this!" Such is the story of the Kleenex.

I got a new boss last year and shortly after she came on board I had a car accident. My lengthy absence caused a necessary shift of duties. When I returned, the ordering of supplies was no longer my responsibility. Worked for me but it did not take long to realize there was a new sheriff in town and she was tight, tight, tight!

We are not a big office and I had been very careful to watch the budget, have companies submit bids for our business and keep a tight reign on expenses. Or so I thought. It seems that Sheriff started ordering the cheapest paper towels that tore into pieces as you pulled them from the dispenser, a sub par grade of toilet paper that disintegrated upon contact and she openly requested post it notes be cut into strips to conserve. I kid you not!! She did several other things that will have to wait for the telling since they are worthy of their own post.

But the tissue fiasco was the latest straw. I used to make a bulk purchase of tissues and kept the boxes under lock and key in the closet with the coffee, creamer and other staples. The boxes were placed throughout the office since not everyone had the luxury of a permanent station/office and it was not a big expense. No one took advantage. They were an off brand tissue and some folks, like myself, bought our own boxes if we wanted to express our personal style.

Well, when the last bulk box was gone Sheriff would not order any more. This caused a stir in the office as people came to request a new box. They were particularly peeved when Sheriff said, "I will order more during cold and flu season." What the heck?? One of the pharmacists came to me, asking for a new box since he was suffering from an allergy attack. When I had to tell him he was out of luck and why, he suggested he might just use his sleeve or, better yet, use Sheriff's sleeve. As funny as that sounded I offered my Kleenex to him instead.

Fast forward to last week. Sheriff's assistant, who has been delegated to do the actual ordering, placed a supply order and included a case of 20 boxes of tissue. We had recently had our flu shots and many of the office were suffering from various ailments which seemed to be a good indicator that it was cold and flu season. Not so!!

When the order came in and Sheriff saw the packing slip she was furious and royally reamed her assistant for taking it upon herself to order tissues. The assistant tried to explain her reasoning but Sheriff announced, "I am not paying for them! You are sending them back!!" This all happened in our front office and everyone in the department could hear the fallout. You would have thought this $20 item was the tipping point of our financial success or failure so great was the reaction.

But it gets worse.

The assistant put the case of tissues on her desk in her cubicle to be returned the next day and went off to deliver the rest of the supplies to the various departments. Sheriff went home for the day.

Turns out the lead supervisor came through the front office shortly after this, and seeing the much coveted tissues, opened the case and took three boxes for her staff. Assistant comes back and seeing the opened case had a bit of a meltdown. I heard the commotion and stepped out to see what was causing the latest uproar. It seems my staff was offering suggestions to Assistant on how to undo the deed.

Stuff the case with used tissues? Eewww. Wad up toilet paper to fill the void? Naw. It was too thin and would take too much, thus creating a toilet paper shortfall. There was nothing Assistant could do except face the wrath of Sheriff in the morning.

Sure enough, the next morning Sheriff saw the opened case and pounced on Assistant the minute she walked through the door demanding to know why she had not been obeyed. Sheriff was actually yelling and causing such a commotion we all came out of our offices/cubicles to see what calamity had befallen us. It was absolutely the most bizarre scene with a row of heads sticking out of cubicles all looking in the same direction like drivers on the highway straining to see the accident scene. And I, realizing there was no need to call 9-1-1, returned to my desk.

A few minutes later Sheriff flew into my office and essentially demanded that I help her get to the bottom of this inexcusable breach of security. "I want to know who did this!!! I want you to find whoever did this." She was so enraged I actually thought her next words might be, "Off with their head!!" As the kids would say, she was off the chain.

It was so hard for me to keep a straight face. I had taken a walk through the pharmacy the night before and saw where the kleenex had been placed and had learned from the supervisor that she was the "culprit." It was a harmless deed and we laughed that perhaps we were not far enough into the cold and flu season after all.

I announced to Sheriff, "I know who took them." Who?! The look of elation on her face caused me to think I was well on my way to a Detective of the Year nomination. "It was Supervisor and it was an innocent mistake. She saw them, knew they were needed in the back and helped by passing them out."

Well, I have never seen someone shift gears so quickly in my life and I believe Sheriff may have left skid marks on my carpet. The reason? The lead supervisor reports directly to the Big Boss and I knew there was no way Sheriff was going to take this to Big Boss. Even in her state of frenzy Sheriff knew she was out of options. She had to pay for the tissues.

Last I heard there will be a fund raiser to cover the non-budgeted expense. Anyone want to sign up to sponsor me?

Mmm mmm good

I enjoyed going out to lunch with my daughter, son in law and grandbaby, Miss L, this afternoon. Miss L was in rare form and kept turning around in her high chair to flirt with the other diners. She is 16 months old and does not really understand what she is doing but she was so funny, overtly blinking her big blue eyes and smiling when people looked at her. Then she started staring at the ceiling fan above us. It was bright red and I think she made herself dizzy trying to follow the blades. We just have so much fun with her, she's like a toy and will mimic most anything you ask her to say. When she first saw me today she immediately said, "Hi, Nana!" which melted my heart.

The lunch was at my favorite rib place, Red, Hot, and Blue. I had signed up online for their email notifications thinking that I would get discounts, special offers, coupons, etc. but nothing! It got to where every time they sent out a notification I was getting more ticked at them because it was never about the customer. When they emailed about their 20th Anniversary celebration, once again their were no coupons, no discounts. But, they did ask their customers to send them pictures of when they had enjoyed their dining experience at RHNB.

I ended up sending an email expressing my frustration with their marketing strategy and heard back from them the very next day. A Regional VP sent me a personal reply and expressed his appreciation for my comments and his agreement with my thoughts. The marketing is handled out of a national office and the various franchises, including the Texas RHNB region was at their mercy. He said he was glad to have my email to forward to Corporate in the hope they would make it worthwhile for the customer to be a part of their email campaigns. Then he offered to send me some "Baby, I Done You Wrong" coupons.

So, I hope to see offers on line in the future but I was thrilled to save $20 today. Woo Hoo!!