This is a long story, but I'm so mad and aggravated right now. After
college, I had a degree in elementary education, but I had trouble finding
a job. I applied everywhere, but I wasn't having any luck. My friend (whom
I'll call R) was having a similiar problem. Anyway, I decided to go back to
Mingo County, WV where I had subbed in the past. I applied for some
teaching positions, but wasn't hired. However, one teacher who was hired
decided to switch jobs so I was able to have her position as a long-term
sub until the job was reposted. I was thrilled. I had been staying with my
father, but now I wanted a place of my own. It was difficult for just one
person, so I invited R to come up and look for a job as well. She was
hesitant, but I said that it was almost a given she could work - and it was
easier for two people to pay rent. She agreed and we found a house to
rent.

She wasn't working at first, and was worried about her share of the bills.
Here's where I made mistake #1 - I told her not to worry and that I would
pay everything until she got started working. She thanked me, and her
parents even said how they would pay me back. I said not to worry about it.
Due to circumstances, she wasn't able to start working until late
November/early December. She didn't pay in December, but I didn't say
anything as she had just started working and it was near Christmas. January
came and she still didn't pay. Finally, in February I said something and
she paid part of her bills. She complained about not having enough money,
but I wasn't very sympathetic. She didn't even work every day that she
could. I had heard her turn down jobs. Anyway, the first of March she was
overdrawn at the bank and asked to borrow money. I lent her $300, which she
paid back later, but of course she didn't pay any of the bills.

April there was no payment, so at the end of May I wrote up what she owed
for April and May - which was $726. I was at my Mom's when I talked to her
that weekend. She complained of bills, but still said she would pay. She
gave me $700, and I didn't quibble over the remaining twenty-six. Things
were okay.

The summer came, and I had been riffed, which meant my contract hadn't been
renewed. I had a job the following year, but I wouldn't be paid over the
summer. R got a job at Peebles for money, while I went to my mom's. Mom had
just bought a new house and I was helping her set things up. I came back to
pay my part of the rent, but R refused to pay anything. She said she wasn't
making enough money. I should have moved out then, but I had signed a
year's lease that wasn't up until September. I did tell the landlords of
the trouble though.

I paid what I could during the summer, but fell behind in payments. R did
start paying, but told me I just had to understand she was going to be a
month behind. Even when she did pay, she only wanted part of her half. In
Decemeber, I got $300 electric bill, but she refused to pay half. She said
we should just pay enough to keep it from being cut off. I didn't want to,
but I had to because I couldn't pay all of it on my own. Things were
getting worse.

All this time, I was feeling sicker and sicker. Finally, I went to the
doctor who did some routine blood work. I went back two days later, and
found that I was in kidney failure. I went to a nephrologist who told me I
would be starting dialysis soon. To be honest, I was scared.

R wouldn't talk to me during this time. She would stay on the computer with
her headphones on. If I tried to speak to her, she would dramatically pull
out a headphone and say, "What?" in an annoyed tone. Sometimes, she just
ignore me. My father was there one day and even saw it. After an issue with
my heart at school one day put me in the hospital, I went to my dad's
house. (The kidney problems has caused an irregular heart beat and high
blood pressure.) She IMed me and asked why I was pulling away. I told her
she hadn't wanted to talk with me. She apologized, and then asked if she
needed to move out. I told her I would be moving out, but there was no
rush. I wouldn't try to make her find a new place in the middle of the
school year, so I'd pay my half until school was out.

That wasn't good enough for her. She found a place and moved, but refused
to pay the last of the rent. Her parents blamed me, her mom telling me to
my face that this was all my fault. She left the house a wreck, and it took
me two days with my Mom to clean it up so I'd get the deposit back. I told
her I was doing a walk through on Saturday and needed her keys and such.
She agreed, but never gave me the keys. Now, she won't talk to me. She
won't answer e-mails and didn't give me her new number. She has her keys,
and still owes me for rent, electric, and the cable bill - not to mention
that three months last summer. She also took a bunch of my stuff when she
moved out - pots, towels, etc. I'm so frustrated right now.

Well, it looks like I have more time online now, but it's not the way I
wanted it to be. I'd rather be working than have all this free time.

I was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy when I was sixteen. I was told back
then my kidneys would eventually fail, but I didn't want to dwell on it.
Instead, I just tried to take care of myself.

Now, I'm in final stage renal failure. I'll be starting dialysis later this
month, and to be honest I'm a bit scared. Still, it's got to be better then
beting so tired. I'm on the couch now, sick with a stomach flu. On top of
it all, I'm catching everything coming and going.

I hadn't been around for a long time when I found my way back just the
other day. I read several letters, and two really caught my eye. In both,
someone had left/lost something but seemed to be blaming the business. I
couldn't believe what I was reading.

I am the undisputed queen of leaving things. Literally, I've left at least
one coat or jacket in five different states now. The joke in my family is
that I don't want anyone to forget me, so I leave them something to
remember me by. It's annoying, although I've learned to laugh at it.

Last winter, my mother bought me a beautiful, new coat. I loved it, so I
wore it the first chance I had. Unfortunately, I left it in restuarant and
didn't even notice until I got home. I called immediately, but the coat
hadn't been turned in. Hoping against hope, I even drove back the enxt day
but the coat was simply lost. I felt horrible - especially when I told my
mother. I really felt like a little kid having to admit I lost my coat.

However, it never occurred to me to blame anyone other than me. I left the
coat so it was purely my fault and my problem. A worker could have taken
the coat, but more than likely it was another patron. I was upset, but
going around blaming everyone else sure wasn't going to help anything. It
was my fault.

There is a part of all of us that hopes, I think, that something we left
will be found by a wonderfully, honest person who turns it in. It does
happen sometimes even, but not enough. I wish it would happen more, but the
heart of the issue is that it wouldn't happen at all if the item(s) hadn't
been left in the first place.

I consider myself a smart shopper, and I learned long ago that there's a
considerable number of brand names that are the same as cheaper products.
Oh, there are exceptions of course. I like Dr Pepper, and I have yet to
find a 'cheap' version that I like as much. (Mr Pibb isn't really any
cheaper and I hate the other knock-off Dr Pop.) I also only buy Martha
White flour because my mother and grandmother both swore it was the best to
make soft, fluffy biscuits with. Honestly, I don't even know if that's
necessarily true, but I still only buy that particular brand of flour.

Yet, when I was younger there were certain things I was taught that you
looked for the brand name. My father would never have bought a television
with an unfamiliar brand name, and when we needed a new washer, my mother
insisted we get a Maytag.

However, it seemed to me back then that those products actually were
better. Maybe it's because I was young and I didn't really pay that much
attention, but a part of me still wonders. I know the television we had
back then was sixteen years old before the picture tube finally gave up the
ghost, but the one year old Sony TV I have now keeps losing sound for some
reason.

Is it my imagination or does brand names mean less now then before or did
they ever mean anything? I have to wonder.

As the end of the school year approached, everyone was frantically going
through last minute preparation for the end of the year tests. Different
groups were launched to address the different levels of needs for the third
and fourth graders and the students were honestly almost burnt by the
amount of test preparation. Although nervous, I was actually looking
forward to the test. I know that my class had worked hard for me that year
and I wanted to see the end result.

Then the principal walked into the room one day with 'good news.' He said
that he had learned that all students would be allowed to use calculators
for the math and science portions of the test. He added that it was
important for us to make sure all the students knew how to use the
calculators correctly, but it was no longer important that our students
understood how to add, subtract, multiply, or divide.

The room below me probably heard the sound of my jaw hitting the floor.

Unfortunately, this shed some light on my students deficiencies. A good
number of even my top students didn't know how to subtract if regrouping
was involved. In fact, we had spent the year really working on getting
their math and reading skills on-level.

Teaching to the test is nothing new. Considering how much emphasis is
placed on the tests, it's not even surprising. These tests are used to
evaluate the effectiveness of the teachers and the schools, and there
should means to evaluate. However, teaching solely so a student does well
on a test is really shortchanging the student. All they learn is the
material on the tests, which leaves them sorely lacking for college and
real life.

I don't see system changing anytime soon. Schools want to score well, and
teachers are encouraged to only teach what is on the test. While reading
over student writing, I found one student that had an amazing natural
talent for voice. I asked if I could possibly work with her either before
or after school with her writing, but told that it was a waste of time
since voice was not something over which she would be tested. In fact, I
was told that I had to make sure she used the same format when writing as
every other child in the school so that all of my students' papers read
exactly the same way. The writer in me rebelled, but there was little I
could do.

There needs to be a balance. There should be some way we can make sure our
teachers and schools are effective without putting so much pressure that we
are forced to only teach our kids to pass a particular test. Besides, a
test is limited in how much it can really tell you.

It sure has been a long time since I was last here. So many things have
happened.

First off - I'm now a 4th grade teacher. Yay! Sadly, we haven't had school
for awhile because of flooding. The school wasn't flooded, although we lost
the playground and the fence, but approximately 95% of the students were
affected. Many lost everything. I work in Matewan, West Virginia, and I
think there's pictures online of the damage.

I was rifted, which means my contract is automatically renewed, but that's
normal for new teachers. I just have to bid on my job again, but I'm
bidding for all jobs that are available. There's already nine openings, so
I'll be working in some school next year.

Well, I hope to stick around a bit more this time around. I used to enjoy
this site so much.

Well, it's been awhile and I've been rather busy lately, but I found my way
back here today. It's going to take me days to read through most of the new
letters, but I enjoy doing so. In a weird way, I missed reading the
responses and the letters.

I have my own problem now, but I'm not ready to write a letter just yet.
I'm going to try and take care of it one more time over the phone, but
here's what's going on. About a year ago, I got an HP laptop. Approximately
three months later, I began to have problems where the computer would
freeze and these strange brightly colored lines would fill the screen. I
called the help line many times, but no one could resolve the problem. In
fact, it got worse. Now, the laptop would just turn itself on and off over
and over. Finally, I was told to send it back to them.

It was returned and the work order said they had replaced the graphics card
and the battery pack (Fairly sure the battery was fine, but that's neither
here nor there.) However, it was still turning itself on and off
continuously. I called again and when through a series of calls, but no one
could correct the problem. Finally, I was told to send it in again, which I
did.

It took it longer to come back this time, but it did appear to be working.
However, it now said that my copies of Windows was not authentic. I called,
but the first person told me that it was Microsoft's problem and not HP's
and the second accused me of stealing a copy of windows. If I was going to
still a copy, it sure wouldn't have been Vista! Finally, after about two
weeks of calling, someone did help me and give me the new product key since
no one had put the new sticker on the bottom of laptop. Finally, after
three months of being without my laptop, it was working again.

Last week, I'm typing on a new story when suddenly my computer froze up
with those familiar brightly colored lines again. I didn't call right away
because I was going on vacation. By the time I returned, my computer now
can't even get through the start up screen without freezing. I'm going to
call tomorrow, although I dread it. I know they'll just go a series of
things like 'switch the memory cards' and 'try to access safe mode.' At
this point, I just want a new laptop. I don't care if it's a cheaper model.
I just want one that works.

Now that I vented, I feel much better. I guess I'm ready to dedicate many
hours on a helpline. Let's hope this works out!

The end of the semester has finally arrived and not a moment too soon.
Well, actually tomorrow's the last day and, in a few minutes, I have to get
to writing a final couple of papers to turn in. I've procrastinated too
long already, but I'll get everything finished tonight and turned in.
Honestly, I'm so happy. Next semster - student teaching! I'll also be
living on my dad's houseboat, which I'm really looking forward to despite
the fact I can't swim.

Robin's (my roommate) has already moved out and her side of the room looks
so bare. I miss her - and her TV. I'm kidding. I can live without TV until
Saturday, which is when I'm moving out. I'll miss it, but I'll live.

What I won't miss is the firewall on the computers here. So many sites are
blocked right now, it can be annoying. While some of the things I
understand, other things are blocked for unexplainable reasons. Any site
for geocities is blocked as an online community - and a lot of teacher
resources pages get blocked because of this. Oh well, what can you do
really? I'm leaving so it's not going to affect me after Saturday.

I think I'm really going to miss college though, as well as my friends. I
know some of us will try to keep in touch, but it's not the same. Robin and
I have lived in the same room since last summer. We've had our
disagreements, but our minds are on the exact same train of thought more
often than not. She'll be working in another county to student teach, plus
she's high school social studies. I'm going to be working with
kindergarten.

This is probably the most rambling post I've ever written, but I guess it's
just a good reflection of my state of mind at the moment.

I've posted many times that I love Christmas. I'll be traveling home to
visit my mother and I'll probably be the one to put up our small tree. I
just adore Christmas.

Yet, I don't get all the people complaining about someone in a store not
saying Merry Christmas. To be honest, I hate holiday shopping as much as I
love Christmas. People are rushing to get gifts and some are so rude. I've
been ran into on multiple occasions. I was hired as a cashier for the
Christmas rush at Wal-Mart, and it was not an easy job. Some (certainly not
all) shoppers are just nightmares this time of year. Some are all year
round, but that's another story.

Anyway, what I'm saying is the commercial side to the holidays are two
seperate things. I love Christmas and the time I spend with my family. Just
because some poor, frazzled employee (and trust me, they are probably
frazzled) doesn't wish me a merry Christmas, doesn't change anything for
me.

Holidays really are personal when you get right down to it. Not everyone
celebrates the say way or even the same holidays - but that doesn't have
any impact on me personally. I'll just wish them the happiest holiday
possible and I'll enjoy mine.

With all that said - Happy Holidays to everyone!

One thing I talk about a lot in posts is the way I would have handled
something, but the truth is I don't always handle things as calmly as I
should. I suppose it's all a matter of being human. Overall, I'm very easy
going and I don't get mad easily. However, every so oftne something will
just catch me at the wrong time and in the wrong way.

A perfect example happened some years back at a KFC. I was hungry, and I
love the chicken strips. I decided to order inside.

I walked in and made my way in the counter. No other customers was in the
restaurant at the time. I waited for someone to come to counter because I
could see a couple of workers, but no one came to take my order. No one
even said, "I'll be there in a minute." I suppose that's what annoyed me a
bit - the complete lack of recongition. After awhile, I spoke up. "Excuse
me," I said. One of the workers looked at me, and then went back to what
she was doing. I waited awhile longer and was about to speak up again when
she finally came to the counter.

I have this terrible habit of making small jokes with people so I said to
her, with a small laugh, "I didn't think y'all were going to notice me.
Feels like I've been waiting here for awhile." I was chuckling when I said,
but I think she took it the wrong way. (On a side note, I'm from Kentucky,
so I have the legal right to use y'all evey now and again)

The woman sort of snorted and said, "You couldn't have been waiting for
more than 10 minutes because I saw you come in."

Now, this annoyed me. I probably shouldn't have said anything, but I was
tired and hungry, which meant I no longer thought about being reasonable.
"You saw me come in?" I asked, and she nodded. "Well, then you can watch me
walk out." With those words, I turned and left.

Certainly not my finest moment, to say the least. In retrospect, my little
'joke' was probably to blame because she probably interpreted it far more
hostile than it was intended. Besides, since I was getting annoyed, I
should have spoken up much sooner. Instead, I waited and allowed myself to
get annoyed and to have a shorter fuse than usual.

I guess we all have 'human' moments.

I rather doubt anyone was wondering where I disappeared to, but I'd thought
I'd post an update for anyone that was curious.

As I think I've mentioned before, I'm currently in college and this is my
last semester before I start student teaching. Well, this has turned out to
be one busy semester. It seems like I've been doing more observations,
papers, lesson plans, and such this semster than I have the entire time
I've been in college. I suppose this is always a crazy semester for those
planning on teaching.

Anyway, the semester will be ending in a few weeks. Then, I start student
teaching in January. :) I'm so excited. I've already talked to the school
and they know I prefer the younger children, so I'll hopefully wind up with
kindergarten. After that, I'll finally be a teacher. I swear, I feel like
dancing right now.

You know, it's strange how much that we can let one negative experience
affect us and our view of things. The other day, my mother and I was
driving through a town used to live in, looking for a place to eat. We saw
a KFC, but I said I didn't want to eat there because they were rude. The
moment I said it, however, I realized this analysis was based on one single
event. A worker there had been rude to me - once quite some time ago, but
that still shaped my opinion of the restaurant.

I think that perhaps negative experiences outweigh positive because the
negative is unexpected. When I go to a nice restaurant, I expect got et
what I ordered and to be treated respectfully. When that happens, unless
there was some aspect that was outstanding, I don't really think about it.
I might say I had a nice time or the food was good, but that was really
what I was expecting. The moment that these expectations aren't met is when
the incident becomes memorable. The food was cold, wrong, disgusting or the
waitress was rude, inattentive, etc - those things will stick out in my
mind more.

Sometimes it's so easy to fall below expectations rather then exceed them.
Besides, I know for myself I don't always thing about the times my
expectations were simply met.

Perhaps, we just need to change our focus. I'm not saying to lower our
expectations, but mentally note when the expectations were met. If things
weren't perfect, focus on the positive. Maybe you had to wait too long for
your food, but your waitress was smiling and friendly. I know I'm guilty of
dwelling on the negative, but I've noticed how much better a time I have
when I take time to focus on the little things that went well.

This is an odd little story that almost sounds like some sort of urban
legend. However this didn't happen to the 'friend of a friend', but instead
it's a true story involving my mother. I remember pieces of it, but I was
very young when it actually happened.

My grandmother was very sick at the time, and my mother was trying to take
of her (it was her mother-in-law). She also was trying to raise me, take
care of the house, and other such things. She became ill, with many unusual
symptoms. She lost weight, became very pale, had sores appear on her face,
and would fall asleep suddenly. After falling asleep while driving, with me
in the car, and nearly having an accident - she decided to go to the
daughter.

The heart of her problems, according to the doctor, was exhaustion, and he
told her to get some rest. She explained that she couldn't rest at home, so
he decided to hospitalize her. However, the average hospital room is not
particularly quiet, so they gave her a private room on the psych ward. I'm
not sure how the doctor managed to do that. Maybe it was because she had
had a nervous breakdown a few years prior, but that's not really
important.

The nurses on duty knew the situation and we very nice to my mother. A
young woman showed mom to her room and asked if she needed anything. Mom
said that she wanted to sleep, but the room was a bit cold. The nurse
bought her an extra blanket and turned on the heater in front of the
window. Turning off the light, the nurse left and Mom soon fell asleep.

Mom awoke some time later hearing a strange popping noise. She looked down
and there were flames shooting out of the heater and the curtains (actual
curtains instead of blinds for whatever reason) were catching on fire. She
was disoriented and in a strange room that was now on fire, but Mom managed
to make her way into the hall. "Fire! Fire!" she yelled running to the
nurses' station.

There had been a shift change, and these nurses didn't know that Mom was
there for exhaustion. "That's okay," one of them said, "Just go back to
your room and sleep."

"Didn't you hear me? I said my room is on fire!"

The nurses continued to say everything was okay, and Mom realized they
didn't believe her. Annoyed, she agreed to go back to her room if the nurse
would go with her. They get back to the room and opened the door.

"It is on fire! It is on fire!" the nurse yelled, "What do I do?"

Some of the other patients were now awake, and one of them suggested a fire
extinguisher as one of the other nurses called the fire department. The
nurse got the fire extinguisher, but was too upset to figure out how to use
it, so another patient took and put out the fire as the firemen rushed onto
the floor.

Mom said later that she never knew why a fire alarm had never gone off or
why there were no sprinklers in the room. Maybe it was because it happened
so long ago - but it happened at King Daughter's Hospital in Ashland,
Kentucky.

Turns out the problem with my laptop is the hard drive rather than a virus.
I'm sending it to HP today. Luckily, I've only had it for a few months and
I have a 1 year warrenty.

I went to rent a movie from the local movie rental place the other day,
when I got a bit of a surprise. They said I couldn't rent a movie because I
owed fines - $372.00 in fines to be exact. I knew that it was impossible
because in the few months I've had the account, I was very careful to
return all movies and to return them on time. The girl was polite and said
that she couldn't do anything about it, but would leave a note for the
manager. She added that no doubt it was just a mistake and it should be
taken care of the next day.

I went back the next day, but the manager wasn't there. Another woman was
there, but she had heard about the situation. She said that I hadn't
returned two movies, but I said that I had returned all movies. She went
back to the counter to look for a note the manager had left, which listed
the two movies. Glancing down, I noticed the note written by the girl the
day before, but the names of two movies had also been written on it now. I
assumed this was the manager's doing, as I noticed other things written on
the note. Beside where the girl had written that my account wasn't that
old, the words - "Old enough to have a big bill" appeared beside it. Also,
where the girl had written, "She said she has never turned in a movie
late," I saw, "She doesn't return them late, she just keeps them!" Needless
to say, this upset me.

I showed it to the woman and asked if the two movies at the top was the
ones I supposedly kept. She said it was, so I walked to the shelves, found
both movies, and placed them on the counter. The woman just looked at them
for a moment, then she pulled up my account on the computer. Next, she said
it was all late fees for one movie. I told her it had been returned on
time, but she said she could only go by what was on the computer. However,
my receipt said I had rented it on June 23. For me to have a charge of $372
at $3/day, I would have to be 124 days late. From June 23 until September
20th is only 109 days, plus she had the movie was currently on the shelf.
In fact, according to the computer, I was being charged late fees during
the time that other people had rented and returned the movie.

A guy was also behind the counter and he saw what was going on. He said,
"Hey, that's the movie that glitches in the system all the time!" The woman
then went to the back to call the manager. I heard pieces of the
conversation which basically went, "The movies are the shelf. They're on
the shelf." When she hung up, she came back to the counter. She said that
she couldn't deal with my account right then, but I could rent a movie if I
wanted. I declined.

I called the next day to make sure the charges were off the account. I
spoke to the manager and I asked if it was taken care of. She briskly said,
"I'm sure it's okay." I asked her to check because I want to make sure. She
responded, "I'm sure it's fine. The woman you talked to yesterday was the
owner." Then she hung up.

There's actually a lot more to this as well. The manager didn't want to
even let me have an account to begin with because she said she didn't trust
college students. Now, I'm stuck. I just want a copy of my account saying I
owe them nothing and for my account to be closed, but the only people who
can do that is the manager and the owner. The manager won't speak to me,
and the owner acted as if she can't be bothered with my problems. I want
this account closed - so what would be the best thing to do?

I was just reading through some Wal-Mart stories, when I remembered a
rather embarassing thing I once did as a cashier.

It was near Christmas and the store was very crowded. A woman had just
bought something rather heavy (don't remember what) and asked if I could
get someone to help her put it in her car. Now, we were short on cart
pushers, so we were told to ask for a cart pushers or any available male
associate. I picked up the phone and made this announcemnt instead.

"I need a cart pusher or any available male associate to register 10 for
customer carryout please. I need a cart pusher or a registered male..."

Needless to say, I stopped the moment I realized what I had just said but
everyone around me was already laughing.

Well, my laptop seems to be dead. It starting acting peculiar about 2 weeks
ago, when it locked up suddenly. The screen didn't just freeze, it was a
series of multi-colored lines going across the screen. It happened while I
was playing Sims, so I thought it might be the game. When it happened the
second time (also while playing), I uninstilled Sims. That didn't help, as
the problem became worse. It soon began locking up whenever I tried to do
anything. I scanned it for viruses and other problems, but my comptuer kept
saying it was fine. I gave up and took it to the computer lab on campus
last Friday.

I haven't gotten their final word (probably will today) but they seem to
think it might be a hardware problem rather than a virus. I hope that it
can be fixed or at least I can get some of my stuff off of it. I make
videos, and I have about 5 projects on the computer that I've been working
on for the last month. I would hate to lose them.

My last blog was about an observation I had made during my time on PFB, so
I decided to write another one. Perhaps I think too much about things at
times (my friends say I do), but I like sitting down and considering what I
read and this personal blogger is a great place to write down these
thoughts.

Now, I've read my share of valid complaints while here, but you also run
into people who think they are 'entitled' to get what they want based on
who they are or their lives. In fact, these people seem to fall into two
major categories.

ENTITLED BECAUSE OF THEIR STATUS
These people state that they have money and status. They make X amount each
paycheck and/or their spouse has a good income. Their credit cards are gold
and they always spend a large amount of money when they shop. They have a
degree or a great job, and their cat has graduated Harvard. Okay, so I
exaggerated a bit on that last one.

ENTITLED BECAUSE OF HARDSHIPS

they picked on me because I'm a biker!

You are correct, in most cases there is no motive to assign. It's poor
training, someone having a bad day, bad management or something like that.
It has nothing to do with the person on the receiving end being black,
white, asian, tall, short, male, female, gay, straight, biker, computer
geek, single mom, single dad, senior citizen, christian, jewish, muslim,
pagan, athiest or for that matter, doctor, lawyer or indian chief.

Does discrimination happen? Yes, I will absolutely say it does. I've
experienced it as a woman when the mechanic tries to tell me the problem
with my car is just "too complicated for me to understand" and I've
experienced it as a disabled person, thought not to have the mental
capacity to order my own dinner. I'm sure almost every member of one the
groups above have felt it at some time or another.

The difference is most of us just write it off as someone being ignorant
and not realizing that a woman can understand the workings of an internal
combustion engine and someone in a wheelchair (not all the time) can
actually read and interput a menu.

True malicious discrimination is hard to prove unless someone is blatant
about it. In most cases, it's just ignorance.

I'm a computer person, but there's been more than one time when I was
overlooked in computer stores. Was it because I'm female? Perhaps, but it's
also likely they really didn't see me (I'm only 5'3"), thought I was with
someone else, or just didn't want to deal with any customers regardless of
gender. I've also been accused of discriminating someone when I know that I
certainly was intending to do so.

Discrimination does happen, sadly enough, but things only get worse when
you start looking for it.

I found this interesting story about a McDonald's employee being arrested,
so I decided to share it...

http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/0909saltyburger-ON.html

Last month, I had to meet my mother to pick up some things, so we decided
to meet at a town that was about half-way between her house and the campus.
We choose McDonald's as the meeting place because this particular one has a
large parking lot. I got there quite a bit before her because she got a
call at the last minute (she's a social worker). So, I was just sitting
there waiting in the middle of the parking lot, looking out at a wooded
area.

Then, I saw an McDonald's employee step out from behind this row of hedge
that seperates McDonald's, a bank, and a liquor store. He was carrying a
bottle in a brown paper bag (not hard to guess what was in there). Looking
around, he stepped into the edge of the wooded area. I guess he couldn't
see me because my windows are tinted, but he was basically directly in
front of me. Stepping partly behind a bush, he emptied the contents of a
cup he had gotten from McDonalds. Then, he took several drinks from the
bottle before pouring it into the cup. Then, he finished was was left in
the bottle and burried it underneath some brush. Afterwards, he walked back
to the side of the bank that faces McDonalds, and sat down on the bench to
finish his drink.

The first thing that went through my mind was, "So that's why they can
never get my order right," and, "I guess working at McDonalds can drive you
to drinking." Still, I was more than a little surprised. I mean, drinking
on the job right in front of people was a little unusual.

While I'm still thinking about all this, two more employees drive up,
parking nearby, and this first guy greets them with another bottle in a
paper bag. They all proceed to drink this one.

About that time, my mother arrived and I suggested we go somewhere else to
eat. I didn't have much confidence in the staff at that point.

I'm sorry that I've been away for a bit. I've been very busy with classes,
and last Wednesday I took a hard fall in the dorm and managed to injure
both my arms. I have a ligament disease which makes me more prone to such
injuries. I just fell in the hallway and manage to sprain both wrists and
my left elbow. I dislocated my right elbow, but that popped back into place
when it was straightened out to x-ray. That hurt, but it helped my right
arm. I'm doing some better. I can use my right hand and move that arm in
any usual manner except behind me. My left arm is still very sore and weak.
I can use it though, as I have it by the keyboard to hit the shift key, All
other typing is done by my right hand.

Because of this my posts may be few and far between for awhile.

To me, this is a valid complaint, but I'm not going to send off a letter to
McDonald's. This happened a long time ago, and I never spoke to management
about it, so I'm not going to write a letter. Besides, this did only happen
once.

On the first cold day of winter, I always find myself wanting ice cream or
at least a milkshake. My mom's the same way, so we have a habit of buying a
milkshake the first really cold day. We've done this for years. I think
it's turned into more like a habit or a ritual, but I digress.

This particular day we stopped at a local McDonald's and ordered two
vanilla milkshakes. After getting the milkshakes, I helped Mom get back out
on the busy road. Then, I took my first big long slurp of the milkshake -
and I almost spit it out.

I yelled something like "Eww!" and Mom asked what was wrong. I told her
that my milkshake tasted awful. It was as if was slightly spoiled and there
was a hint of a banana taste (I hate bananas!). She took a drink of hers, I
guess because she didn't think it could be that bad, but found out I wasn't
kidding.

I removed the lid to look at the milkshake. Instead of the creamy white
that most vanilla milkshakes, this concoction was a greyish-yellow. There
was also pieces of something in it. One was red, and I think it was a piece
of a cherry. There was also a piece of bannan. The entire thing smelled
slightly soured, as if our extra fruit wasn't exactly fresh. Mom's
milkshake was the same.

We thought about going back and complaining, but we were heading somewhere
and didn't want to be late. That's why I'm just talking about it here. I
never spoke to the manager or anything. I'm not sure what happened. They
were offering the yogurt with fruit at the time (do they still have
those?). I don't know if the ice cream and yogurt are in any of the same
machines or if they use the same mixers, but that's the only thing I can
think of that happened.

I never persued the matter. I've been to that same McDonald's later, but
I've never ordered a milkshake. In fact, it was a good while before I
wanted any milkshakes after that.

I moved into my dorm room for the upcoming semester last Saturday. It was a
tough day because the temperature was in the upper 90's and I wasn't
feeling well. Still, there's something about moving that is as exciting as
it can be tiring. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I decided to make a
list about all the good things about moving.

1) You find that item you've been looking for for three months or forgot
you even had. Sometimes, moving almost feels like a treasure hunt for
burried loot, or at least that CD you couldn't seem to find before.

2) Moving all your stuff around allows you to realize just how much you
actually own. That's about the time I swear I'm never going to buy another
pair of shoes.

3) As a sidenote to #2, once you move everything in and get it's situated,
it seems like you really don't own much again. Shoe store here I come!

4) It's a time of new beginnings. You resolve to never fall into the same
sloppy habits of just hiding the mess under the bed or sticking it in a
drawer. This time, you are going to remain neat and organized - for about 2
days.

In all seriousness, the move went fairly well.

Before I begin, I want to apologize. My blogs don't follow any particular
theme, but I usually don't just vent like this. It's not really in my
nature, but there's just something that's bothering me. I just want to get
it out of my system.

I'm a summer worker at a small college, and I have no complaints about
that. During the summer, I've lived in a four person room with four friend
who are also summer workers. Soon, tomorrow in fact, it will be time to
move into a rooms for next semester. Honestly, I can hardly wait.

Moving into your dorm room can be exiciting, but there's something that's
been happening lately that really is beginning to annoy me - and it's
because of one bed. I'm actually a little embarassed about complaining.

When we moved into a summer room, we found there was only 3 bunks and we
had four people. We talked to the dean and found it was supposed to be a
four person room. Maintanence would move another bunk in. For the first
night, we took the mattress from an unsused bed on the third floor to make
a place for my fourth friend to sleep.

The RA (resident advisor) who was going to room in the room this upcoming
semester stopped in the next day to tell us that the mirrors on the walls
had been left for her and we weren't to take them. I thought she was being
a bit rude, but I just said that I wouldn't. After all, I had no intention
of taking the mirrors. Then, she noticed the mattress on the floor and
asked about it. We told her about our friend and I added that another bunk
was going to be moved in. The RA frowned and said that she didn't want
another bunk in there because the college might try to give her another
roommate. She asked if our friend just couldn't sleep on the floor, but I
didn't think that was fair.

Afterwards, we grew tired of waiting for the boys to move it, so my friends
and I went up and took down a bunk from another floor and brought it down.
It wasn't easy, but we did it. Finally, the boys showed up and helped up to
lift the bed until the other bunk. Now, we all had bunk beds.

I was talking to the manager of that dorm later, and I was laughing about
how much trouble that bed was. She was surprised, however, because that
room was supposed to be a four person room and should have had four beds.
When I asked if we should move the bed back, she said that we shouldn't.
For one, the college didn't want us to for fear we might break the beds or
ourselves. Secondly, the room was supposed to have 4 beds.

Fast forward now until last week. I was reading on my bunk, when the girls
who are going to room there knocked. They came in and asked if we were
moving. I told them we were going to be moving out Saturday morning. That
was okay with them, but then they asked when we were moving the bed. I told
them what the manager had said and one girl responded that the director of
housing told them we were to move the bed.

I work in an office just down the hall for housing (I don't think the girl
knows that), so I asked him the next day. There was general surprise
because the girl hadn't been told that and that room is supposed to have
four beds. If the girls asked about it again, I was told to him them call
the director.

They didn't ask us again, directly. Instead, they started leaving messages
on our door or asking other friends when we're moving the bed. I can't wait
until this is all over!

I feel a bit better now. If I do talk to the girls, I want to do so calmly.
If I get angry, it will only cause things to escalate. Again, I feel rather
embarassed because this is all over one silly bunk bed.

This post is about the grossest thing that ever happened to me in a
restaurant. Don't read if you have a weak stomach. I'm completely serious
about this.

There was a restaurant near where I lived that I used to go to a lot. Being
the creature of habit that I am, I always ordered the daily special.
Normally, I would eat inside, but on this day I decided to get it to go.

I was in my apartment, along with my mom and my step-father enjoying the
delicious food. I had eaten the fried potatoes that came with the meal and
had just started the soup beans. After eating several bites, I noticed a
darker bean. Having prepared beans before, I knew a darker bean was no big
deal and even considered eating it. Thankfully, I decided to pick it up by
a piece of skin hanging from the bean.

The piece of skin was hard to the touch and, as I picked it up, I slowly
realized what I was looking it. I was holding the hind leg of a half-cooked
roach. The front have of the roach was gone, with it's guts spilling down
into the beans I had been eating.

I cried out as I threw the roach down. "Don't eat the food!" I shouted. Mom
and Grant (my step-father) looked at me strangely, so I added, "I found a
roach in my beans!" Grant ran outside just in time to lose his dinner and
Mom rushed to the bathroom. The worst part was we all had the same meals.

We immediately called the restaurant and they were both shocked and
apologetic. I knew they were a clean establishment because Grant had built
a new back room to the place and I had been in their kitchen. They said the
roach must have been in the to-go bowl itself. After all, had it been in
the actual beans, it would cooked up completely. That didn't really help
my stomach.

They gave us a refund and a free desert - which I couldn't eat. They begged
us to never mention the roach to anyone (which I didn't as long as they
were in business), but I couldn't eat there again. I couldn't eat beans at
all for over a year.

The restaurant is long gone, although I still never mention the name of the
business or it's location.

I was working in Wal-Mart near Christmas, when one day our 'Santa' didn't
show up to the photo place. Everyone was in a panic because people has
scheduled to take pictures with Santa. So, they found an old costume and
dressed up one of the female employees. Sadly, she really didn't look much
like a Santa.

Anyway, I was checking out a family, when their young daughter noticed our
Santa, waving to customers from outside of the photo place. "Santa!" she
yells running toward him, or rather her. The photoshop wasn't too far away,
so the mother just kept an eye on her daughter rather than following.

A few minutes later the young girl came back, but she was dragging her feet
and looking at the floor. "What's wrong?" the mother asked.

The little girl looked up, the disbelief obvious on her face as she leaned
forward to announce, "Santa's a girl!"

I managed not to laugh aloud through extreme effort.

In the town of Paintsville, Kentucky there sets a tiny restaurant by the
side of the road that most would drive past without so much as a glance -
if it weren't for the parking lot filled to capacity with happy customers.
Right there on that steep curve, this tiny Dairy Queen is always active
even when the rest of the town is peaceful and quiet. So, what secret does
this simple looking building hold? Why do people drive out of their way for
its food?

The secret is quiet simple. It's an original, privately owned Dairy Queen.
When the chain decided to change their recipies and their name to DQ, the
owner's paid to keep everything the same, and you can really taste the
difference. Yes, that's real chilli on those hot dogs and your french fries
are actually real strips of hand sliced potatoes. Even the onion rings were
sliced off the onion right there before being fried.

The Dairy Queen itself looks so non-assuming. You can't go inside to eat.
You just order at the window and wait for your food, which you can eat in
your car, take home, or sit on the benches in the nearby shelter. Kids
laugh in the sunshine as they drink their real milkshakes.

So, why was this blog called "Wishful Thinking," rather than "I'm Going to
Try and Make You Hungry?" Well, I wish that more Dairy Queens were like
this one. I would love to write some astounding letter to the powers that
be over DQ that would make them see them revert to way things used to be.
However, I live in the real world.

It's really about dollars and keeping up with the other fast food places
that populate our towns. You do have to wait a bit longer at this Dairy
Queen, and we're living in a microwave society. We want everything hot and
fast. Besides, the new chilli and such is cheaper to make. Although, I
still have to wonder if you actually compared figures, is the chain really
making any more money with the changes.

For now, I'll be happy with this little jewel of a restaurant that's older
than I am. I may have to drive a bit out of my way, but it's worth it.

One final thought though - a new Sonic just opened up in town but it's
already struggling. It seems the locals just don't like its hot dogs.

I've read over many of the letters here and many are examples of bad
customer service, which I'm sure everyone has experienced from time to
time. Yet, some individuals just seem to be out to get as many freebies as
they can get, which is disheartening. I suppose it could be seen as a
reflection of society.

While I've experienced bad customer service, I've also seen bad customers.
I've worked as a cashier at both IGA and Wal-Mart, and I certainly have my
share of stories from the other perspective. While I was a cashier, I tried
to be the nicest, friendliest, and most helpful employee that I could. Of
course, trying and being successful are two different things entirely, but
I did try. Yet, despite my efforts, I ran into my share of nightmare
customers.

IGA - It was my first day on the register alone, so I was very nervous. A
man gave me a check to pay for his groceries, and I checked to make sure it
had all the necessary information. Then, as I had been trained, I asked to
see his drivers's licence.

"No," he simply stated.

I honestly think I just blinked a few times at that, which was when this
man started to rant. I abbreviated his more colorful words.

"I've been shopping at this GD store for GD 40 years and they never ask for
my GD license! I am one of the biggest GD customers here, but I can just
take my GD money somewhere else!"

There was more of it, but you get the idea. I'm stunned and my boss, who
happened to be standing behind this guy, had turned around to watch this. I
knew I couldn't break store policy with my boss watching, so I politely
explained that I was new and I was told I had to ask to see a license.

The man grabs up his check, rips it up, and throws down $100 bill (his
total was less than $20). I take the money, and count back his change. He
then stops the line to loudly count his change saying, "These GD people
will rob you every chance they get." Sadly, this happened everytime someone
dared to ask for ID when he came into the store.

Wal-Mart - I was working the express line, which meant I had a counter and
not a moving belt. This one guy was talking to a woman behind him so
intently, he didn't notice it was his turn. I waited a few minutes before
finally saying, "Sir?"

He seemed a bit upset that I had interrupted him as he threw his items (2
large bags of bird seed) on the counter and a blank check. I rang up the
bags, and picked up the check. It had all of his information, however we
always have to ask if it's for the amount since you can write checks for up
to $20 more.

"For the amount, sir?" I asked.

He sighed loudly and replied, "Of course it's for the amount, stupid. Now
shut up! I'm talking."

I just smiled sweetly at him. After all, if he's got nothing better to do
then to harass a Wal-Mart cashier, his life's worse than mine!

I have more stories of course, but this post is already quite long.

I found this place today and I've written a few things and I've been
reading what others have written. Something came to mind however as I was
reading - especially when I notice how many people want free meals or
complete refunds.

I was at Ponderosa one day. Now, overall I like their food but occasionally
everyone makes a mistake. I've gotten used to asking for burnt steak
because I like mine very well done. But, I digress from what I was really
thinking about.

There was this couple that was sitting behind me once that were total
scammers. The man had ordered this endless sirloin steak special while the
woman had gotten steak and shrimp. The man then claimed to not like their
steak,(after he had eaten one) so he wanted the steak and shrimp - which is
more than his dinner. However, they gave it to him. Then, he got upset
because the steak on the steak and shrimp wasn't endless. So, he started
complaining until they gave him endless steak and shrimp. Then, they
claimed the shrimp on his wife's plate wasn't cooked right (even though
they are just about 2 left) so he got her endless steak and shrimp. They
did this all the way through the meal. There were 2 other people with them
and this couple got them extra meals too - and then they all refused to
pay. I felt so sorry for the waitress at that point.