What's Up With That, Anyway...

To steal a line from a famous sitcom - What's Up With That??

What's up with customer service? Or, should I say - lack of customer service? The other day, I am at the local 'very expensive organic market' whose brand I am careful not to besmirch as I might ask for cashier position there someday (if the economy keeps this way) and after buying delicious fresh fruits and veggies - I head over to my favorite place ...the cheese and wine department! I could spend hours there...tasting and comparing. So- in the midst of my lactose coma brought upon by my 'would you mind if i have a taste of this?'-ness - I found 6 bottles of yummy wine to pair nicely with the cheeses, and some hors d'houevres that my Chef Du Jour friend Debby was fixing for the evening (more on that later) - I wended my way to the checkout lane.

$195.00 later ( no 2 buck chuck for me!) and I asked for a 6 bottle cardboard carrier for the wine. The response was, "Uh, I think you have to buy those now." I am all -'you're kidding me' and the kid shouts across the checkout lanes to the most tatoo-ed and pierced one (which seems to be a prerequisite to work there) who confirms my disbelief. She (at least I think it was a she as androgyny is the other prerequisite) says "Yeah - I'll give it to you today, but next time you have to buy it." Sheepishly, I accept the offer of the cardboard and leave the store; all the while accepting the stares and glares of other shoppers who, unlike me, have their re-usable thermo shopping bags and bamboo baby slings strung about them.

Now, I might be making a big deal out of nothing...here I am spending $4.99 on organic milk, $5.99 for organic strawberry's, and some serious wine and I am complaining about having to buy a cardboard box. But- what is up with that? The friggin' tree is already dead. I shouldn't have to buy the container I am going to carry home with me and re-use for future purchases. (snarky grin)

So this morning - I went to my local 'large box grocery store' whose name shall also be withheld in case I chicken out on the tatoo and cartlidge piercing , and I need job there- because as much as I like to buy organic and locally grown...there are just 'nationally known' brands of things that I can't do without (Welch's, Skippy and Charmin to name but a few). The music they play may not be as good, but I do weekly shopping there for things like plastic baggies and laundry detergent. Today, Rachel and I are at the store, and the little 'club' key tag thingy that I has been dangling off my keychain is gnarled and doesn't scan. The cashier promptly shouts 'Why don't you get a new one, this one stinks' To that I reply "I have tried 3 times to get a new one (and I have) and nothing has been sent to me yet." She is relentless and tells me how easy it is to do. I say I know and have filled out the transfer request 3 times. She goes on to tell me (or yell me as the case may be) that all I have to do is fill out the request form and she'll give me a new key tag right away. "You just fill out the thing check off transfer and they'll send you a new one you probably will lose your points and stuff blah, blah,blah" She lost me at 'fill out'.

On and on she goes-with each plea her voice getting louder and louder. On and on I say how I have already sent 3 requests...yada,yada,yada. She is still going on as I pack my own groceries (in plastic, not paper , shame on me), pack up my kid, pay for the load and head out the door. Granted cashiers at 'large box grocery store' are not awful people, but some of their people skills are just awful. Was she on commission for card replacement or auditioning for carnival barker or to be the one who calls over the loudspeaker...Irv, cleanup on aisle 5! What is up with that?

I have to get a blood test today. Or, should I say - another blood test. Since the D.A.C. (dumb ass cancer for those who are either new to my postings or need a refresher in swirlgirlese) I have to go every 3-4 weeks to check TSH levels so I can get my new dose of Synthroid. And, as I am still having problems with this 'pins and needles' feeling and my lips are still burning and my hands , neck, stomach and other various muscles keep cramping - this time around the Doc is checking calcium and a few other things. So, last week I went in for my routine blood test at the lab where I always go. We have new insurance, so they have to photocopy everything all over again. I should have recognized that 20 minute process as an omen. I get a call from my Doc's office that the lab called and said that it will take up to 10 days to run the test. 10 friggin' days? It used to be overnight! Maybe it's the new insurance- I don't know. But I do know that I am out of Synthroid and now I have to get a few pills to tide me over. So, as ridiculous as this sounds (synthroid is a $4 prescription), I go to the pharmacy and beg the guy for a few pills to tide me over. Friggin' insurance. He says - "If I fill this, insurance will not let another fill for another 30 days". We're not talking narcotics ...this is synthroid. So, the pharmacy guy 'sells' me 3 pills for $1 each. I am so frustrated, I just take it and leave. Remember, I just spent $6.00 on a pint of strawberries...what's another couple o' bucks?

Now, I get a call from Doc's office that lab did not have sufficient sample to run the tests. Is that code for 'oops, we screwed up and lost it? Is this because new insurance will only pay for blood tested at the same crappy lab that also makes those crappy key tags that can't be scanned? I have to go back to have more blood taken. This time I have to go to the hospital. What a freakin' pain in the neck. Find a parking spot in the garage, go to information desk, wait for 1 hour in registration, go to lab, wait there for 20 minutes...get the stick for 30 seconds. Now, I have to do this each time I need to give blood, which is every month by the way. I hate hospitals. And, this one I hate the most as it brings up a couple of uncontrollable waves (tsunami's) of emotion. I had my gall bladder removed here on Xmas eve '06 with Familla Godzilla , the nurse that would scare the crap out of Nurse Ratchit (a la Cuckoo's Nest) on the ward that night. And, on January 10th of this year, I was here to have my Fine Needle Aspiration to find out I have D.A.C. at the very moment that I got the call my wonderful dad had passed away. I couldn't walk out the door of the building without the wave (tsunami) hitting me. Needless to say, I don't look forward to my monthly visits there. I need to find another entrance and egress route if I am going to do this regularly. The emotional toll is too much for me.

Then, to top it all off, I stepped in some friggin' gum that some cow spit out on the ground. Gum. That crap should be banned. Gum - and discount key tag cards and gummi anything's and D.A.C., and......

What's up with all that, anyway?

Ps- check out my other site http://www.swirlgirlevents.com/ to find out more about my new business venture. I am revisiting SWIRL, Simple Wine Information for Real Life, at the behest of Debby of Chef Du Jour ...she cooks, I swirl - we all have a good time!!

Pss- I am becoming quite the blog-her...click on the link for The Secret is in the Sauce to the right for some Best Of blog entries...I am trying to win a contest here! Humor Me! http://www.thesecretisinthesauce.blogspot.com/

We Are Family

So today, as I do every Wednesday - I haul Emily and Rachel off to Hip Hop dance class. I usually so enjoy this hour. No really, I do. Not only to see Emily really excel at this genre of dance, but Rachel bops about and is a crack up. (see video clip a few posts ago for proof of that) Rachel is all tongue, lip syncing and really has a rhythm all her own. I am so proud of my girls - and...and I know you might find it hard to believe - but I am ashamadly, a stage mom to the Nth power. "Smile, Emily. Turn on the sauce, girls. Stay in formation!" And, all of this is done on a group exercise dance 'studio' at our gym...The show is not glitzy, no costumes or makeup. Just a bunch of kids who love to dance. I, on the other hand, will wear makeup and maybe a costume as at last session's show - there was a special guest. Kurt Russel (of Kurt and Goldie) , Forest's uncle came to his niece's ensemble.

Well, today - as part of preparation for the show in a few weeks, as part of the finale - Forest , the instructor (yes, as in Gump) turns on We Are Family by Sister Sledge. Within seconds of hearing the first few notes...I start bawling. Like a baby. Eyes and nose full of fluid. And, I cry ugly....no hiding it.

This was one of my wonderful dad's favorite songs. This one, and Kool and The Gang's Celebrate . I had quick flashes of my dad - -his white man's overbite, two fists up, arms swaying, feet sashaying , hip swiveling dance style and - freakin' lost it!!

In fact, the last time I think he heard the song was at my niece's Bat Mitzvah - and he wasn't up to dancing on the dance floor. So we sat in our chairs -facing each other - doing the arm thing and mouthing the words to the song. Holding hands and pretending to twirl and dip. Whee! A gentle tear rolling down his face.

I think I bawled that night, too. And, I cry ugly.
We Are Family so now I know where Rachel gets her 'pirate face' cry .
Aargh.

Remember, Reflect and Respond

As this was Memorial Day Weekend...the official start of summer, eat lots of BBQ, hit the beach, watch war movies (thank god for DVR, hubby)...it wouldn't be fitting the holiday unless we actually reflect upon things worth remembering.



-We called our favorite veterans on this weekend. Hubby's Uncle Don is a not only the creator of GI Joe action figure (for real!) but also a real live Korean war hero. Ironically, as we watched The Longest Day last night, and commented that just about everyone who starred in the film has moved on to the 'other side' - we think of Uncle Don and how he is still kicking ass and what a great representative of what is good about our heros. How being a war hero used to an heroic thing. Not just a post traumatic stress disorder waiting to happen.



- We think of all the men and women who have given their lives in recent years to the latest 'war' for us. War used to be seemingly for a good reason. This one, without going on and on about my own personal belief, just isn't. But, for whatever reason our soldiers have entered into it, what they are doing, risking, and giving is something to be appreciated and applauded. Some joined up to actually fight for a cause they believe in (not for other not so noble reasons as I am usually ready to recite)- so I owe it to them to respect their decisions and support their efforts however I can. I also think about their families - and how hard it must be for them to adjust to the separation and unfortuneately, sometimes the loss.



- We think of our own personal battles. We all have them. And no matter how big they may seem to some, or how trivial they may seem to others, they are real. And the truth of the matter is that the lessons we learn from these battles are there to be learned so that we may somehow alleviate the suffering for someone else. To pass that learning on - in some way, shape or form - in hopes that others may be spared , even just a tiny bit of pain and suffering.



So, while you were tossin' back a cold one, or sleeping in, or slathering on the sun tan lotion, or diggin' in to that rack of ribs this past weekend - I hope you took a moment to do what the holiday asks you to do - and remember something. Remember, reflect and respond.