(we're all about bandwagons…)
On Thursday, a truck stopped in front of our apartment. Three guys got out and dug two potholes with a jackhammer and drove off. On Friday, a truck came and left a T-handle sticking out of the hole, with water coming out of it. Water has continued to come out of the hole. Today, a backhoe and a dump truck came by and they started putting the road into the dumptruck. In addition, we no longer have water.
I called the 800 number on my Land’s End order confirmation email. It didn’t even ring.
“Hi, this is Marsha at Land’s End. How can I help you?” No computer, no hold, no anything.
“UPS lost my package, and they won’t do anything unless they talk to the shipper.”
“We’re very sorry about that, what’s your order number?”
I gave it to them. “We’ll just send you some more. Oh, I’m sorry, but we’re out of the buttercup color of those sheets, would you like some other color?”
Now this was just funny. I only ordered buttercup because the choices were buttercup or pink. From Land’s End overstock. I don’t know if she didn’t realize it was overstock or didn’t care. I’m amused that they were selling buttercup as overstock when I ordered it, but now they’re out. I wanted blue.
I told her I wanted a blue. She said no problem, and started to go into a diatribe about the different blue colors. I interrupted her and picked one, then asked her to send it any-which-way but UPS. “But UPS is the fastest way.” “Not to me it’s not.” “Okay, how about FedEx?” “Perfect!”
And that’s all there was to it.
I bought a salmon today for less than $8. Yes, a whole salmon (minus head and guts).
Was it worth going to the Super Wal-Mart? I’m not sure.
You might get robbed, you might get shot
And that’s just in the Wal-Mart parking lot
As I pawed through the freezer, trying to find the smallest salmon I could (I was afraid it wouldn’t fit in our freezer), a little boy came up and tugged at my coat. “Excuse me, excuse me…”
I turned and gave him my attention. His dark brown hair was cut in a buzz, and his front teeth were crooked. Six? I’m afraid I’m not very good at judging ages. I used to be small. I just don’t remember how small I was.
“Look at those!” he exclaimed, hanging onto the edge of my coat with one hand and swinging the other toward the tank of lobsters behind us.
“I’m sorry,” said his mother, looking exasperated and apologetic, but not stopping her excavation at the other end of the freezer.
“Those are big crabs!” he continued.
“They’re LOBSTERS!” I replied, grinning.
“Yeah! And they’ll pinch you with their pinchers! Like this!” He reached forward and pinched the shirt at my tummy. “Pinch pinch pinch!”
“That’s why they put rubber bands on their hands!” I replied.
His mother laughed and called him away from me.
I selected a fish, stuck it under my arm, and went to look at frozen pizzas.
Actual Fact: The = sign was invented by the 16th Century Welsh mathematician Robert Recorde, who got tired of writing “is equal to” in his equations. He chose the two lines because “noe 2 thynges can be moare equalle.”
So we’ve been a bit lazy about updating this thing lately. Now that I’ve actually got stuff to write about, I’m too tired to bother.
On Thursday, due to lack of students, I was able to leave work early enough to get home before the UPS man. Only, once I checked the tracking information, I discovered that my second day air package was scheduled to be delivered the third day. Wonderful. I officially hate UPS. They have failed to deliver a single thing on time for months.
I told the UPS man that I would likely be at work tomorrow when he showed up, but that if he couldn’t leave the bloody brake caliper on the front porch, would he at LEAST make sure that I was able to pick it up that day. He said he would.
On Friday, with the flight commander gone, and us limited to 5 airplanes, the assistant flight commander asked who’d like to leave early. Before he finished his sentence, I was out the door. It meant I didn’t get to fly, but there was a good possibility I wouldn’t get to anyway, due to either weather or lack of aircraft. And, I would get there before the UPS man.
Who, as it turns out, was extra-special-nice to just *me* and came to my apartment last, at about 6pm that night, to be sure I was home.
In any case, the caliper is installed, and all seems good. I even washed the car (or at least, hosed it off) today, for the first time in a year or two.
Joanna is making Lasagne. I’m not sure why she didn’t ask me, but she seems to be having fun, and I haven’t felt much like cooking lately. Hope it’s good. I turned on the oven for her. And opened a bottle of wine. I’m feeling lazy and pampered.
It’s awfully nice to have her back home.