Hello World!
I was just wondering...why do woman wear skimpy bikinis while playing professional volleyball, but men wear tank tops and shorts?
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Wal Mart Story #1
Hello World!
Okay, so here is the story. I do not like Wal Mart. I believe I started boycotting Wal Mart several years ago when I was into politics and I had good, solid, educated reasons. Now, I must admit, my reasons are more like: the stores are too damn big, they are dirty, the quality of the merchandise is sub par, etc. I have held onto my one "political" reason as "I will not patronize an establishment that treats its employees poorly" - low wages, forced unpaid overtime, no health care benefits.
So I decide to go to Wal Mart and purchase a bat bag for my nephew. I walk in and the "Greeter" doesn't greet me. I don't really care, but come on, your one job is to welcome the customers and you can't do that? So I start the hunt for sporting goods. I find it relatively quickly and I begin looking for bat bags. I am not having any luck, but I can't really figure out the logic in the department. There are baseballs and helmets with the golf equipment. Then I find bats with the soccer equipment. I think it's possibe that I am just unable to locate the bat bags. I begin seeking assistance and I hear a page, "Customer needs assistance in sporting goods". I'm thinking, "Wow! They are watching me and are sending help. Maybe they really have changed since the last time I was here." I see another customer walk up to the counter and wait. I realize that is who the page is for, but who cares? I can get some help, too.
We begin to wait. Eleven minutes. Eleven freakin' minutes?! I am beginning to get irritated. I walk down an isle and see an employee walking toward me. I gesture to him to see if he is the one on the way to sporting goods to assist a customer. He makes no response. I keep walking toward him and make another gesture. No response. He is looking right at me! He is too far away for me shout to him. I keep walking - another gesture. NO RESPONSE! I finally call out, "Are you coming to help us in sporting goods?" NO RESPONSE!!! Are you kidding me? This man is not only not responding to me, but he is taking his good ole time getting to me.
He finally saunters up and tells me he can page someone to help us. I explain that we have already been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes. I further explain that I just want to know if you carry bat bags. He says he can look around for me. He begins to move (honestly, I have never seen a human being move this slow) and I realize he is about to wander through the department looking for my product. At this pace, this could take hours!
He also has a bit of a smirk on his face. I ask him if he is moving that slow on purpose? He is a little surprised by my boldness - as is the other customer. Hell, I even surprised myself, but what the hell, it slipped out so I'm going for it. He explains that he is a rather large man and this is how he moves. I acknowledge his size, but insist that he can move a little better than that. He smirks and shrugs. I then explain that I feel that he is just being plain disrespectful. I think on some level he actually respected my honesty, so he began to search for my product. FINALLY, the paged employee comes to assist. I ask her if they carry bat bags - she doesn't know either. I am just done at this point. I have been in the store for nearly a half hour and I don't even know if they have the product! I say thank you and begin to leave. Two other employees walk up and begin to search for bat bags. No one knows whether or not they carry them. The large man rounds the corner with another employee and they have a bat bag! I am appreciative that he put forth such tremendous effort in finding the item, but I am so pissed off that it has taken this much effort on MY part just to shop there that I don't want to make the purchase. I go back and forth on this a few times, but I decide to make the purchase. (Please note I had to return the freakin' thing anyway because it wasn't what my nephew wanted afterall!)
So here is where I am. This is not by any means a horrible story about Wal Mart. However, I find that I am boycotting a business mostly because of its poor treatment of its employees and the employees suck. Really. I am happy the large man found my item, but it took a total of four employees to accomplish that goal. And more than 45 minutes of my time. Yes, 45 minutes because I was in line FOREVER in the express lane with only one person in front of me who was already in the process of checking out! There was absolutely no sense of urgency from any of the employees and whogivesashit was their battle cry - I should say "battle sigh" because "battle cry" implies effort.
I am no longer boycotting Wal Mart because of poor employee treatment. Now, I just don't shop there because of crappy customer service.
Okay, so here is the story. I do not like Wal Mart. I believe I started boycotting Wal Mart several years ago when I was into politics and I had good, solid, educated reasons. Now, I must admit, my reasons are more like: the stores are too damn big, they are dirty, the quality of the merchandise is sub par, etc. I have held onto my one "political" reason as "I will not patronize an establishment that treats its employees poorly" - low wages, forced unpaid overtime, no health care benefits.
So I decide to go to Wal Mart and purchase a bat bag for my nephew. I walk in and the "Greeter" doesn't greet me. I don't really care, but come on, your one job is to welcome the customers and you can't do that? So I start the hunt for sporting goods. I find it relatively quickly and I begin looking for bat bags. I am not having any luck, but I can't really figure out the logic in the department. There are baseballs and helmets with the golf equipment. Then I find bats with the soccer equipment. I think it's possibe that I am just unable to locate the bat bags. I begin seeking assistance and I hear a page, "Customer needs assistance in sporting goods". I'm thinking, "Wow! They are watching me and are sending help. Maybe they really have changed since the last time I was here." I see another customer walk up to the counter and wait. I realize that is who the page is for, but who cares? I can get some help, too.
We begin to wait. Eleven minutes. Eleven freakin' minutes?! I am beginning to get irritated. I walk down an isle and see an employee walking toward me. I gesture to him to see if he is the one on the way to sporting goods to assist a customer. He makes no response. I keep walking toward him and make another gesture. No response. He is looking right at me! He is too far away for me shout to him. I keep walking - another gesture. NO RESPONSE! I finally call out, "Are you coming to help us in sporting goods?" NO RESPONSE!!! Are you kidding me? This man is not only not responding to me, but he is taking his good ole time getting to me.
He finally saunters up and tells me he can page someone to help us. I explain that we have already been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes. I further explain that I just want to know if you carry bat bags. He says he can look around for me. He begins to move (honestly, I have never seen a human being move this slow) and I realize he is about to wander through the department looking for my product. At this pace, this could take hours!
He also has a bit of a smirk on his face. I ask him if he is moving that slow on purpose? He is a little surprised by my boldness - as is the other customer. Hell, I even surprised myself, but what the hell, it slipped out so I'm going for it. He explains that he is a rather large man and this is how he moves. I acknowledge his size, but insist that he can move a little better than that. He smirks and shrugs. I then explain that I feel that he is just being plain disrespectful. I think on some level he actually respected my honesty, so he began to search for my product. FINALLY, the paged employee comes to assist. I ask her if they carry bat bags - she doesn't know either. I am just done at this point. I have been in the store for nearly a half hour and I don't even know if they have the product! I say thank you and begin to leave. Two other employees walk up and begin to search for bat bags. No one knows whether or not they carry them. The large man rounds the corner with another employee and they have a bat bag! I am appreciative that he put forth such tremendous effort in finding the item, but I am so pissed off that it has taken this much effort on MY part just to shop there that I don't want to make the purchase. I go back and forth on this a few times, but I decide to make the purchase. (Please note I had to return the freakin' thing anyway because it wasn't what my nephew wanted afterall!)
So here is where I am. This is not by any means a horrible story about Wal Mart. However, I find that I am boycotting a business mostly because of its poor treatment of its employees and the employees suck. Really. I am happy the large man found my item, but it took a total of four employees to accomplish that goal. And more than 45 minutes of my time. Yes, 45 minutes because I was in line FOREVER in the express lane with only one person in front of me who was already in the process of checking out! There was absolutely no sense of urgency from any of the employees and whogivesashit was their battle cry - I should say "battle sigh" because "battle cry" implies effort.
I am no longer boycotting Wal Mart because of poor employee treatment. Now, I just don't shop there because of crappy customer service.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Bike Ride Down Memory Lane
Hello World!
I ran some errands on my bike this evening. While I was on my way home, I decided to ride past my elementary school and junior high school. I was taken aback by the flood of memories that hit me as I rounded the end of the junior high school (turned middle school) end of the building and came up on the back of the elementary school. There I was playing softball as a young girl...then I was running across the field because the boys were trying to steal my comb from my back pocket...there's the swing where Karen Baylor got hit in the face and had her two front teeth knocked out...I'm racing Eric Zigman and Jimmy Bevis across the playground...there's the three humped monkey bars that always made my heart race because I was afraid of falling off...my friends are pushing me on the swings...there I am again at the first field up to bat hearing the crowd yelling, "Show them where you live!" and I can hear the train in the distance...I can see the kids sitting on the wall hanging out during recess...the playground, the baseball fields - they are completely different now, but I can see them clearly as they once were. As I continue around the rest of the building, I can hear the cacophony of children crowding through the front doors, papers rustling, teachers shouting...it was all so vivid. I rode all the way home with a big smile on my face. Ahhhh...childhood....
I ran some errands on my bike this evening. While I was on my way home, I decided to ride past my elementary school and junior high school. I was taken aback by the flood of memories that hit me as I rounded the end of the junior high school (turned middle school) end of the building and came up on the back of the elementary school. There I was playing softball as a young girl...then I was running across the field because the boys were trying to steal my comb from my back pocket...there's the swing where Karen Baylor got hit in the face and had her two front teeth knocked out...I'm racing Eric Zigman and Jimmy Bevis across the playground...there's the three humped monkey bars that always made my heart race because I was afraid of falling off...my friends are pushing me on the swings...there I am again at the first field up to bat hearing the crowd yelling, "Show them where you live!" and I can hear the train in the distance...I can see the kids sitting on the wall hanging out during recess...the playground, the baseball fields - they are completely different now, but I can see them clearly as they once were. As I continue around the rest of the building, I can hear the cacophony of children crowding through the front doors, papers rustling, teachers shouting...it was all so vivid. I rode all the way home with a big smile on my face. Ahhhh...childhood....
Thursday, April 24, 2008
What a Beautiful Day!
Hello World!
Today is bright and sunny and warm and just gorgeous! I am going to clean my bike and take it for a ride! I'm so excited because I was injured last year and was unable to ride my bike. That was a real bummer. I'm almost scared - isn't that weird?
I am going to ride my bike up to Wal Mart. Yes, I said Wal Mart. I have to return something that I purchased there. Yes, I purchased something there. I feel dirty just talking about it! Most of you know that I RARELY set foot in Wal Mart because I think it is evil. Well, due to many circumstances I decided to walk in there and buy a product. I wanted to see what would happen. Well, check out my next blog to get the story...
I am trying to figure out this blog thing and I am not having much luck. I want to make the page a little more interesting to look at and to offer some other features like links to cool places and a spot to post my Quotes of the Day. Just bear with me. Argh! I am getting so frustrated with this thing! I want to move this paragraph of text and apparently you can't just cut and paste. What the hell? I am posting this blog as is because I can't figure out how to move things around. So let's see I have to do my writing in a word doc and then copy it over to my blog?? That is stupid. Can someone enlighten me? I can't stand having to read tons and tons of irrelevant information just so I can figure out the very basic functions of this freakin' blogging shit.
Now how the hell am I supposed to enjoy a pleasant bike ride? Wal Mart better be on their toes because that is where I am headed. Do you see how easily one's mood can change?
Okay, let's get that sunshiney disposition back again, shall we? Ahhhh...deep breath...pretty sunshine...warm breeze...aaaand I'm back. Now where's my helmet?
Today is bright and sunny and warm and just gorgeous! I am going to clean my bike and take it for a ride! I'm so excited because I was injured last year and was unable to ride my bike. That was a real bummer. I'm almost scared - isn't that weird?
I am going to ride my bike up to Wal Mart. Yes, I said Wal Mart. I have to return something that I purchased there. Yes, I purchased something there. I feel dirty just talking about it! Most of you know that I RARELY set foot in Wal Mart because I think it is evil. Well, due to many circumstances I decided to walk in there and buy a product. I wanted to see what would happen. Well, check out my next blog to get the story...
I am trying to figure out this blog thing and I am not having much luck. I want to make the page a little more interesting to look at and to offer some other features like links to cool places and a spot to post my Quotes of the Day. Just bear with me. Argh! I am getting so frustrated with this thing! I want to move this paragraph of text and apparently you can't just cut and paste. What the hell? I am posting this blog as is because I can't figure out how to move things around. So let's see I have to do my writing in a word doc and then copy it over to my blog?? That is stupid. Can someone enlighten me? I can't stand having to read tons and tons of irrelevant information just so I can figure out the very basic functions of this freakin' blogging shit.
Now how the hell am I supposed to enjoy a pleasant bike ride? Wal Mart better be on their toes because that is where I am headed. Do you see how easily one's mood can change?
Okay, let's get that sunshiney disposition back again, shall we? Ahhhh...deep breath...pretty sunshine...warm breeze...aaaand I'm back. Now where's my helmet?
Sunday, April 20, 2008
My First Blog
Hello, World!
I am a brand new blogger and this is my first blog. I am pretty excited about this new adventure. I really have no idea how to do this, but my friend, Julie, suggested this would be a great way for me to express myself. It seems pretty easy so far. I plan to use this space to share my stories and shout out my opinions which are many and very, very important. Here is my first opinion on my fantastic new blog...hope you find it informative...enjoy...
My boyfriend, Mac, takes me to Little Italy here in Cleveland once a month to try a new restaurant. Once we try them all we will be spending a weekend at the Baricelli Inn, but I digress...
Last night we went to Il Bacio. It is fairly new to the area; I believe it's about a year old. This place has become my new favorite restaurant in just one little visit! I really don't want this to sound like a restaurant critique, so I will just tell you what we ordered.
Arugula Salad
Grilled Scampi Appetizer (from the specials menu)
Salmon Linguine
Filet with grilled red peppers and onions
Tiramisu
Peach Sorbet
Cappuccino (decaf)
Every dish was absolutely wonderful and cooked to perfection! The salad was refreshing, the vegetables were soft and crisp (which I can't really figure out), if you looked up "al dente" in the dictionary a picture of this pasta should be there, and I blacked out with my first bite of the tiramisu. Really, I was in the middle of a sentence and could not think for a second or two after the fluffy yumminess hit my delighted taste buds. Ahhh...it was bliss.
Mac and I like to order two different meals and then share. We mentioned this to our waiter, Gary, who took the liberty of splitting the meals in two for us. I love when restaurants do that. Each serving was just the right amount. It was such a wonderful night. The restaurant is cozy and our waiter was great - he even walked us to the door and told us to come again! I felt like family for, Pete's sake!
Well, my first blog was short and sweet. Please do not be fooled. My stories are generally me getting pissed off by some stupid company and then I have to boycott them. I am exhausted having so many causes. This blog will free me of that! I now have a one stop bitch shop. What a wonderful world...
I am a brand new blogger and this is my first blog. I am pretty excited about this new adventure. I really have no idea how to do this, but my friend, Julie, suggested this would be a great way for me to express myself. It seems pretty easy so far. I plan to use this space to share my stories and shout out my opinions which are many and very, very important. Here is my first opinion on my fantastic new blog...hope you find it informative...enjoy...
My boyfriend, Mac, takes me to Little Italy here in Cleveland once a month to try a new restaurant. Once we try them all we will be spending a weekend at the Baricelli Inn, but I digress...
Last night we went to Il Bacio. It is fairly new to the area; I believe it's about a year old. This place has become my new favorite restaurant in just one little visit! I really don't want this to sound like a restaurant critique, so I will just tell you what we ordered.
Arugula Salad
Grilled Scampi Appetizer (from the specials menu)
Salmon Linguine
Filet with grilled red peppers and onions
Tiramisu
Peach Sorbet
Cappuccino (decaf)
Every dish was absolutely wonderful and cooked to perfection! The salad was refreshing, the vegetables were soft and crisp (which I can't really figure out), if you looked up "al dente" in the dictionary a picture of this pasta should be there, and I blacked out with my first bite of the tiramisu. Really, I was in the middle of a sentence and could not think for a second or two after the fluffy yumminess hit my delighted taste buds. Ahhh...it was bliss.
Mac and I like to order two different meals and then share. We mentioned this to our waiter, Gary, who took the liberty of splitting the meals in two for us. I love when restaurants do that. Each serving was just the right amount. It was such a wonderful night. The restaurant is cozy and our waiter was great - he even walked us to the door and told us to come again! I felt like family for, Pete's sake!
Well, my first blog was short and sweet. Please do not be fooled. My stories are generally me getting pissed off by some stupid company and then I have to boycott them. I am exhausted having so many causes. This blog will free me of that! I now have a one stop bitch shop. What a wonderful world...
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