Tracy M

I've been a travel agent for more years than I care to admit. Today is
one of the few times that I slipped and a bit of pettiness slipped
though.

Most people will think this is minor, but for me, it's not.

Here's the scenario: I work for an after-hours emergency travel line
on the weekends. I received a call from a woman whose flight was
delayed from NYC to Knoxville tonight, due to an equipment problem.
There were a total of four travelers. I was attempting to help her,
but she seemed to feel that it was my personal fault that Continental
had the audacity to want their plane to be safe before they allowed it
to fly. Long story short, I got them re-booked for a flight tomorrow,
because they were MUCH too good to sit around the airport tonight with
the common folk and wait for the plane to be fixed. I maintained my
cool and professionalism, and retained control of the conversation
throughout - although it was a struggle.

The unprofessional part?

After I hung up, she and her entire party got sat in center seats,
toward the back of the plane, near the lavatories.

Unprofessional and petty? or karmic and justified?

"I like mine with lettuce and tomato, heinz 57 and french fried
potatos"

Name that song and artist.

And year.

I have one. It's bad.

At first I though it was sinus, because I've always had bad problems
with my sinuses, but it's beyond that and I'm achy and miserable and
cranky.

We had no fall here to speak of, so it can't be my allergies.

Sucks.

I'm done whining now. ;)

Found the following in my email box today, folks:

You seem to have made it your life's goal to supress my writings.

"Lets all rise above it. We don't need to take the bait. See it for
what it is and ignore. For additional information - contact me at
firebrat1229@gmail.com"

You changed your nickname, and make the preceeding announcement....

OK, what is this additional information you are so eager to spread?

Clete

Why? Someone please explain it to me, because I just don't get it.

Deb, Nichole and Renee are WONDERFUL! Not to mention Bobby, Pat and
Cheeto the cat. :)

Deb is the best hostess ever, and ya'll have to give her major shit
for having a drop-dead bod on her. BITCH! LOL - I actually wanted to
kick her a couple of times out of sheer envy! :) - "The hostess with
the mostest"? Indeed! Not to mention she;'s raising the best kid in
the world and has the coolest mom ever! :) Love ya, girl!

Nichole - you're gorgeous and I love you too. And damn if I didn't
feel a BIT of age difference at all. Which probably means that you're
wise beyond your years and I am a big baby. :)

Renee - you're an absolute dollbaby..and FUNNY as hell. Dry, sarcastic
and biting. Renee is one of those people who will say something that
just hangs there for a second, and then everyone bursts out laughing.
You should be a comedian, girl. :)

Anyway, thanks for a great weekend. I love you guys dearly

I'll start!

Here's my word and definition:

HYPOCRISY

hypocrisy 1. a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or
religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really
possess.
2. a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.

3. an act or instance of hypocrisy.


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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source hypocrisy
(hĭ-pŏk'rĭ-s)

The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does
not hold or possess; falseness.
An act or instance of such falseness.




noun
1. an expression of agreement that is not supported by real
conviction
2. insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities or beliefs
that you do not really have

...please exercise caution when using vulgarities.

Apparently the blogs are no longer 'sacred' when it comes to cussing,
since the profiles are now in the top 25.

I learned the hard way when a post of mine got removed from someones
blog earlier today. It was a post in which I was vehemently showing my
support for a person who was upset about a friend of hers being
seriously hurt...NOT because I cussed anyone or anything like that.

It certainly would have been nice if we'd have been told ahead of time
that blogs were no longe considered the free speech area they once
were.

Again, everyone - I loved it and thank you...and feel free to continue
on, but don't use any vulgarities. I don't want anyone to get into
trouble.


T

You guys rock, especially you, Nichole. Thanks for starting the game.
It's very theraputic. :)

Carry on!

I HATE MY EX HUSBAND!!

Odio mi ex marido!!!

Je dteste mon ex-mari!!

Ich hasse meinen ehemaligen Ehemann!!

Ik haat mijn ex echtgenoot!!

!!

Ok - I'm sitting here dealing with people stranded at airports in the
midwest ice storm.

However, my WTF call for today was a guy who is NOT in a city that was
affected by a storm. I answer the phone and he says 'Yeah, I'm at the
Hertz counter and my credit card is declining. Damnit, I KNEW this was
going to happen!'

So I check his reservation and read in the company info that they only
allow direct billing (back to the company) of cars and hotels in
extreme situations. So I get back on the phone and advise him that he
needs to use an alternate credit card.

He says: 'Well, that's the thing. (His company) is behind on my
expense reports. That's why my bill is late and they've turned off my
card. And I didn't bring another one with me.'

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. This seasoned traveler got on a plane,
knowing full well that his Amex card would likely not work, without an
alternate means of paying for his car, hotel or living expenses.

So I place him on hold and call the emergency contact at his company
and explain his predicament. She was as incredulous as I was.
Ultimately, I was given permission to direct bill his car and hotel
(room and tax only) to the company.

This equates to about 1/2 hour of extra work for me, due to HIS poor
planning.

I got back on and advised him that I would take care of everything.
His response: 'Room and tax only at the Hampton? I don't have much
cash on me. How am I going to eat?'

Yes, he apparently brought no cash. Yes, he asked the emergency travel
agent how HE was going to eat throughout the next week.

At this point, I was done. The calls were stacking up with people in
ice-torn cities, stranded...and I'm on the phone with this IDIOT who
carried no cash, and no alternate means of helping himself in a
strange city.

Me: "I strongly suggest that you take whatever cash you have on your
person, and buy yourself a meal tonight. Then I suggest that you call
your home office in the morning to inquire as to how they will handle
your living situation over the next few days. Good luck to you."

Un-freakin-believeable.

I'm working till Midnight tonight. Usually it's SLOW on Sundays, but
there is an icestorm in the midwest. Trust me when I tell you that you
DON'T want to be a travel agent in an emergency call-center when an
ice storm hits. LOL

::Sigh::

Downtown Cincinnati, in the 'hood', where my home office is based.
It's cold, rainy and dark. There are no phone calls and its eerily
silent in here.

I'm bored to death, but can use the money at time and a half, so here
I sit.

In my blog. Even if I have nothing to say.



Busy Busy Busy at work. Most of my travelers are pretty cool but DAMN
can they be helpless and high-maintenance!!! Particularly the males.
(sorry)...and even more particularly, the FOREIGN males (sorry again).


I sometimes feel like a baby-sitter. It goes beyond the telephone and
email. They show up at my desk sometimes, fairly WHINING about some
small thing and 'what should I do?' type of questions. And I'm
partially to blame because it's just easier to grab the passport
application, or whatever it is that's so confusing and
life-threatening, and fill it in myself for them.

I've GOT to stop. I've GOT to start making some of them stand on their
own two feet. I need to stop babying them.

Don't get me wrong, most of them appreciate it and I love them to
death. At Christmas, I came away with a fair amount of swag. Downside:
alot of it was candy. I have no control over myself with Candy - and
it SHOWS right now. LOL

Bottom line: There has to be some limits. And I need to start setting
them.

After a long battle with cancer, my grandmother finally passed away at
hospice on 11/16. She was 4 days short of her 90th birthday. I was
with her when she passed. I'm glad I was, but it was very difficult.
I'm glad that some other members of my family were not there to
witness it, as I don't think they could have handled it. I had hoped
it would be a peaceful passing...a 'sleep away', if you will. Sadly,
it was not.

She loved thanksgiving! As recently as last thanksgiving, she was up
and around - helping cook the meal. She was 89 years old at the time,
God love her! A few weeks later, she rode all the way to Florida with
me, to spend a week at Christmas with my parents (her daughter). Its
hard to believe, looking back.

Many people think that when someone is old, or that when they are sick
and dying slowly, that it's easier to accept it when the inevitable
finally happens. It's not. I'm grieving. I am not one to grieve
openly. But there are little things. Well meaning people say 'you look
tired' or 'are you losing weight?' I'm tired because I cant sleep
well, and I'm losing weight because I don't have much of an appetite
lately. Granted, that last part is a good thing, since I've gained
quite a bit since kicking the smoking habit.

Gram, I miss you terribly. You were my confidante, my mentor and my
best friend. I will miss your ready smile, your unwavering grace and
class, and your love.

Ciao, bella

This site has gone to the dogs!

Everyone is so mean!

Waaaahhhhh!

I swear, I heard less moaning and whining back in the days when people
were TRULY snarky, as opposed to the way they are now.

I *do* bring out the worst in people, don't I?

This latest troll goes by the name of 'Suzi' and obviously has enough
free time on her hands to read all of my previous letters, dating back
nearly a year.

Go check it out - pretty entertaining.

Particularly the 'tampon' one, in which she told me I should read the
package more clearly. Yes, my complaint/compliment was about the inner
wrapper not having a notch. No, this information is *not* available on
the package.

Now here is the truly shocking part:

"Suzi" doesn't have a public profile!!! How completely surprising.

Somehow I have the sneaking suspicion that we have yet another
'multi-account' troll on the loose.

::Sigh:: It could be worse, I suppose.

Nina/Eduardo/Katseyes and company could still be around. LOL

For Chrissakes!

I am fed up with all of these whiney-assed people lately.

One recently jumped Erik for disagreeing with an OP. I (politely)
defended Erik. Then she gets on *me* for 'attacking' her, and decided
to tell me the 'brat' in my name is fitting.

How very witty and clever.

Here's the thing:

The mods still have personalities. The fact that they were chosen
*doesn't* make them unfeeling automations, or 'stepford'.

It *doesn't* mean that they are going to see a patently ridiculous
letter and write 'Oh, you're so great! Wanna be my best friend and
come babysit my dog?'

Get a grip, whiny-ones. You know who you are.

::rant over::

Ok guys...in an effort to squash the apparent (and scary) sensorship
I'm sensing, I've made a myspace profile.

Please come visit me at the above link.

Be kind, I'm old and new to this kind of thing. :)

Amanda - if you're reading this...come help!

Work has been freakin' INSANE lately!!! Just wanted to poke my head
out of the hole I've dug (to hide in), and say hello to everyone. :)

In the Abercrombie letter, a genius named Cheryl called me a
pedophile.

I've been called many, *many* things before, but never that. LOL

I think it's time for someone to up her meds.

In one of the many responses over in the 'Borders' letter, one of the
comments was that there is 'never an okay point (for a clerk) to give
attitude back (to the customer)'.

How do you guys feel about this statement? I'm pretty sure any of you
regulars will not be surprised by my response to this. LOL

Check it out!

...I might have to stay off here for a few days.

In no way, shape or form can I attempt to 'tone down' my responses as
I'm jonesing for nicotine. LOL

Mr Helpful, you can breathe a sigh of relief :)

http://www.channelcincinnati.com/news/9749256/detail.html


This is a local story that has touched all of us in the Cincinnati
area about the disappearance and death of an autistic child.

Please join me in praying for Marcus and his biological family.

Last night I had to place my grandmother in Hospice. It was probably
the most difficult thing I've ever had to do. She is 89 years old and
is in stage-4 of lung cancer. I have power-of-attorney over her, so
the decision, ultimately, was mine. Thankfully, most of my family has
been supportive of my decision and realize that I had no other
option.

Has anyone else been in this position?

Ugh!! I have an AWFUL one right now!

They seem to last twice as long as their winter counterparts! :(

Anyone else have one?

It never fails to amaze me as to how many letters we see on here where
someone is WHINING and CRYING about a stores return policies!

As I said in a recent post, I am an EXTREMELY disorganized person. I
am not proud of this fact, but it's the truth. This said, I either
lose or throw away most of my receipts.

Not ONE SINGLE TIME have I ever thrown a fit, gotten nasty, written a
letter, etc, after a store refuses to do an exchange for me without a
receipt. I will admit that I have TRIED and if it works, great! But if
not, whose fault is it? The store? If you read alot of the entitlement
pigs' letters, one would think so.

How were these people raised? Were they the kids in school who got in
trouble, and whose parents always made excuses for him and INSISTED
they bend the rules for their kid? Heh! Not me! Even if I got into
trouble and I was INNOCENT (rare-lol), my mother held me accountable.
I like to think this has made me into an accountable adult.

Ok - rant over - I feel better.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on the subject?

Well, I have bad news. Snowball delivered one dead kitten on Sunday
night at around 9pm.

Poor little thing, when she delivered it, she did all of the things to
it that mommy cats do, and then cocked her head and looked at it for
awhile. Then she laid her head on it for awhile. It broke my heart
once I realized it wasn't alive. Once she realized it, she moved away
and I called the 24 hr vet for advice. I then removed it and waited
for her to deliver more. She didn't.

I left work early yesterday and went home to her. When I saw she
didn't have any others, I called and they advised me to bring her in.
Apparently it's very bad if there are others in there and she couldn't
get them out.

The vet exrayed her belly and there were no more. As they explained,
this is quite unusual. They advised me to watch her for signs of
infection over the next few days and bring her back if she shows
signs.

I am getting her spayed in 6 weeks.

In the mean time, poor little thing just walks around meowing loudly
and going to the door and looking around. She is also clingy to me,
which is fine, but I feel so bad for her. The vet explained her
hormones are telling her she had a kitten and she is very confused as
to why she isn't nursing. They advised that she will likely act
strangely for a couple of weeks.

*sigh* - I didn't want the kittens, but now I feel oddly let down.

Anyway, I just wanted to update everyone. Not good news, but I figured
everyone wanted to know.

My Snowball is pregnant.

Yep, I'm gonna be a grandma!

*sigh* Where to start? First of all, I want to say I am truly appalled
at myself for allowing this to happen. No, I don't mean that I didn't
sit her down and teach her the finer points of birth control. LOL -
It's just that I'm a very big advocate of spay/neutering animals.

Snowball is just over 2 years old and it's one of those things where
I've been meaning to go get it done, but something always came up and
I couldn't afford it. Since the divorce, and the fact that I get no
child support, money is soo tight. I know thats not an excuse and now
I feel horribly guilty and am beating myself up over it. I tried to be
very careful about never letting her out, but with teenagers in the
house, the inevitable happened. She got out and was out for about 3
days nearly 2 months ago..which means she's getting close to due, I
guess.

I have read up on what I need to do and have put a laundry basket with
clean towels in what used to be her favorite spot. I've tried placing
her in the basket to see if she likes it, but she always jumps out.
I'm not sure what to do. I don't want her to just have them under the
couch or something, which is where she's been 'nosing' around.

Does anyone have any advice for me?

Just kidding.

I would say wait until they're weaned and then post flyers in your
neighborhood for free kittens. I know a lot of people post about
"oooh - how do you know the kittens aren't diseased, they're not
spayed/neutered" etc., but really - I and everyone I know got our
cat(s) by either someone having an accidental litter or someone
getting rid of the accidental litter in a cruel fashion (I got my cat
because my neighbor had found him, literally, discarded, with his eyes
still shut).

To know how many kittens to expect? Hopefully it will just happen and
you will wake up one morning to a bunch of mewling kittens. Cats
usually like dark, quiet areas (I had a stray give birth in my
woodpile) so she will pick the place that gives her the most comfort.

Keep an eye on the kittens to make sure they are thriving. If mama
doesn't produce enough milk you may have to supplement with a bottle
from PetSmart of Petco.

They will need to stay with mama until they are about 8 weeks of age.
If you have a veterinarian with a bulletin board, take some really
cute baby pictures and ask if you can hang it up in case someone is
looking for kittens.

Good luck to you!

Kitties are very good at giving birth, and you've done the absolute
right thing by giving her a nesting place. If she doesn't use it, but
chooses a laundry hamper or a box or underneath your bed, don't be too
surprised. :o)

My mom had a cat when my oldest brother was a baby...mom gave it a
cushioned box for it's kittens (this was the 60's and S&N wasn't as
common), but the cat insisted on giving birth in my brother's
bassinette! No matter how many times she moved her and the kittens
out of there, momma kitty just moved them right back.

So, what are your plans for the kittens? And, if you'd like to get
her spayed, lookin into the Neuter Scooter. I know, silly name...but
it's cheap and safe and it travels!

I could be wrong (it's happened before, I've been told!).

You're right to steer her toward a chosen place for having kittens --
it's such a gross mess and you do have the right to try to make sure
it isn't behind the couch or in your closet of clean clothes!

(1) Choose a low-traffic area where there isn't a lot of comings and
goings.

(2) Try to choose a room that's adequately warm (not tough these days
most places in the U.S.).

(3) Don't worry about her forgetting the cool bed you've made for her
-- she knows it's there. I suggest something lower than a laundry
basket -- a very pregnant cat or a cat giving birth needs a lower
"wall" to deal with. Maybe turn the laundry basket on the side --
those newborn kittens aren't gonna be going anywhere except to find
mom's nipples.

(4) Don't be afraid to lock her in the room you want her to give birth
in -- again, protect your couch, etc.

(5) If she's giving birth, hang around. She'll probably be fine (even
if a kitten is halfway out of her for a while, that should be okay),
but my mom cats seemed to appreciate a reassuring voice or touch. Be
sure to keep food (including a little heavy whipping cream) and water
as nearby as possible.

(I loved ticky's "walmart" suggestion!)

This is exciting! I've helped several mom cats through this process
(like they needed me?) and it is wonderful. if you have kids be
prepared for the icky part, like the mom eating the placenta and
deformed kittens that may be born. It's nature's way. If you have a
male cat, keep him away from the babies.

YAY! Good luck! Take pic and post 'em online if you can! :)

"'ve tried placing her in the basket to see if she likes it, but she
always jumps out."

Typical cat! You can create a comfy bed for 'em and still they manage
to sleep on clean clothes or towels. My youngest one, Rosie, has been
managing to pull open the bathroom cabinet with her paw and then
sleeps in there -- getting hair all over my clean towels! Yuk! I
figure, if I actually set up a cat-friendly nap spot in there for her,
she won't want anything to do with it!

Are the kittens there yet??? Enquiring minds want to know!

Okay - I might get blased for this, but here goes:

Yesterday I was driving home from work on a busy stretch of I-75.
There was an accident about a mile ahead and traffic was crawling. I
was behind a pick up truck that seem to have one middle-aged man
driving, and a kid in his late teens in the passenger seat. Then I saw
this head pop up out of the bed of the truck. It was a kid of about 14
or 15 who had been laying down in the truck-bed, I guess to avoid
being seen, probably at the instruction of the 'adult' driving. Then
he proceeds to STAND UP in the cab, as the truck is moving, and reach
around to the passenger side for a bag of food. Admittedly, we were
only going about 10-15 MPH at that point, but still.

My heart started pounding nervously at this point as I started
visualizing all sorts of awful things happening to this kid.

THEN another head pops up out of the bed of the truck and its a girl
of about 12. SHE then stands up to reach around for a bag of food from
the drivers side.

That did it...I felt horrible doing it, but I dialed 911 and reported
it. If something were to happen to one of those kids, I would have
never forgiven myself for not at least ATTEMPTING to report it.

I called 911 from my cell, gave a location and a license plate number,
and told them what was going on and the suspected ages of the kids.

So, did I do the right thing? Traffic sped up after the accident scene
and was going about 45-50 after that, which is normal for rush hour.
They then got off at the next exit.

I worried all the way home about those kids. I hope I did the right
thing and I hope they made it home safe.