SouthernBreeze

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

As I read through many of the complaints here, I notice many concern
bad customer service. Yet, some people are content with just saying
something was just a customer service issue, instead it has to do with
discrimination due to race, gender, etc. Now I know such
discrimination occurs, but sometimes the problem is an employee who's
just a jerk in general.

I think it's almost human to try to figure out 'why' when something
happens. You just received horrible treatment in this store, so you
try to figure out why. However, that's not really important. The
employee's motives aren't really an issue in the complaint itself.
Besides, unless a person just said something discriminatory or out and
out admitted why they were treating another person a certain way, no
one really can know their motives.

In letters to companies, the moment that someone tries to 'assign' a
motive, the complaint really loses some validity. It's amazing how
many letters I see that I'm in agreement with, until they get the
final paragraph where they say that this event occurred because of
their race, gender, etc. Let's face it - many jerks are
non-discriminating and provide equally bad service to all.

Now, there are people who do discriminate and sometimes that may be
the heart of the issue. When it's used as the reasoning every time
though, it begins to look like perhaps the writer is the one with the
issue. We shouldn't guess or assume. Bad things happen to all of us.
If we issue a complaint, stating just the known facts is enough.

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 used to work retail, too. It's been five years since I got out, and
I'm just starting to like people again. There's a feeling out there
that if you work retail, you are somehow stupid and deserve to be
treated like crap. I've encountered this attitude more times than I
care to remember.

I don't see what the big deal is about showing ID for a check. A check
is not "money"; it is an I.O.U. for payment, and a retail store has
every right to see ID for using one. I once asked a woman for ID on a
check, and she lectured me on the "illegality" of asking for ID.

"No," I said. "It is not illegal to ask for ID on a check. It is
illegal, however, to write a credit card number on a check, or to
write address information on a credit card receipt."

She just stared at me for a few seconds then huffed out of the store.

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.