Getting Crabbier by the Minute...

I had an appointment for a guy to come here at 6 pm to sync my computer with my printer and wifi which I have been unable to do... so he's calling (big surprise) to say he's running late...will be here at 7 and I said "do you just want to come tomorrow?" and he got all excited that I was trying to postpone and I said, "here's what I don't want. I want to eat dinner. You say 7, but I see how 7 turns into 7:30 and you're late and then it's 8 and the next thing I know it's 9 and I've spent my evening waiting for you."

And that really is my experience. 

So he says something like "I'll be there as close to 7..." and then catches himself and says "I'll be there at 7" and I said "see you then" and hung up. I am so effing tired of holding up my end of the arrangement and others fa la la la at whatever is convenient for them and their schedule. 

I'm an old crabby lady!


LATER THAT SAME DAY UPDATE: The guy showed up at 6:45 and all is well, and I now have a working printer.

Telemarketers... bah humbug!

I was just really rude to a telemarketer, but she really teed me off. I answered the phone, and first that silence and then hear, "Patricia?" in this questioning voice (even though I answer my phone by saying my name...) And I said "yes." At this point, I thought it was a business call or something about personal business. And she said, "You're a hard woman to get a hold of." Which irritates the crap out of me because I am not. I am the one who returns phone calls, answers my phone, responds to emails, etc. And then she said, "You're harder to get a hold of than the last pickle in the pickle jar..." She went on to say "My name is Vanessa and I'm a professional fundraiser..." and I interrupted her and said, "I am not difficult to get ahold of, and I don't appreciate your saying I am." It's a pet peeve of mine when someone lies and says, "I left you a few voice mails..." No, impossible! But I think they are so used to using that line and having it be true.

So she tries to recoup and says, "I was just trying to give you a chuckle..." and I said, "Well, you didn't" and hung up.

Bernie Madoff

I watched the four hours of Bernie Madoff from the ABC show today, and it was quite good. Richard Dreyfuss really does an amazing job depicting him.

I was somewhat traumatized when this happened -- which sounds selfish -- of course not as traumatized as people who lost their life savings... but a week or so after Madoff was arrested, I read a piece on Huffington Post by a woman who had made her career in the magazine business and except for she became editor and I became ad director our stories were quite similar. Now she was facing retirement with a comfortable nest egg (or so she thought), a cleaning woman and other perks. Just like me. Now she is financially ruined... totally broke.

What got me, however, beside our career similarities, is that she wrote about being so thrilled when she got to put her money in the Madoff fund because top execs at Conde Nast where she worked also had their money with him and she thought "oh boy, my money is in the same place as these bigwigs."

That was another similarity. In my 30s, I was "accepted" by this tax accounting firm which specialized in magazine execs and how I had to be recommended blah blah blah and they don't just take anyone and so they took me and I remember thinking the exact thing this woman did -- that my taxes were being done by the same people as the senior execs. I know with metaphysical certainty that I would have given my money to Madoff if the senior execs I worked with had made the offer. It scares the bejeezus out of me.

Well, luckily my tax guy, whom I still use, is a good guy and an honest guy and we've had a long relationship of trust, but the thought that this woman could have been me is terrifying.

My Winning Prize

Mary called me because she is reading the comics for the blind people tomorrow (as usual) and she didn't "get" one of the comics which involved a pun. We talked about various possibilities, and then I googled it and discovered, much to my self-satisfaction and delight, that it was a play on a Bruce Springsteen lyric. I declared myself the winner and then declared for my prize, I want Mary to bake me this recipe for Red Lobster's cheese biscuits which I had seen earlier today. I love those little crack cakes!

Expanding on my prize, I said I want them with corn chowder which we agreed would be a mighty tasty combination. Thanks, Google!

And the Peapod Beat Goes On...

Just received this (and the "weather conditions" are about 1/2 inch of snow)

Dear Valued Peapod Customer,

Due to winter weather conditions your Peapod order scheduled for today, Friday February 5th, may be delayed.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Sincerely,

Your Friends at Peapod
Peapod, LLC

Another Peapod Screw Up

I like the food. I like the freshness. I like the variety. I like the prices.

But Peapod, at least for me, has a delivery problem.

Today I was supposed to get my groceries between 11 am and 1 pm. They called at noon to say the driver was running late (again). I asked to be transferred to customer service because when they don't make the delivery window, I always ask for my $6.95 back. The reps were all busy and so you were given the opportunity to "press 1" and someone would call you back.

Didn't happen.

Then after 2 pm, I got a call that the driver had been to my house; no one answered my buzzer, and I said "impossible." The driver must be at the wrong address. She said he is going back to his truck and then would try again. We were still on the phone five minutes later, and I said, "He couldn't possible be taking this long to walk back to his truck."

Then my buzzer rang. I wasn't even going to ask the driver about the not answering my buzzer, but I couldn't stop myself. He said he had been "around the corner" at the wrong address.  So I got my groceries, started to unpack and put away and came upon a bag which made me go "Huh?"

This bag contained at least 15 pounds of potatoes, 4 huge yellow onions, red onions, grape tomatoes, regular tomatoes. Later I found a box of camomille tea which I didn't order. Then I realized I got no frozen items I had ordered, including my weekly allotment of one pint of Ben & Jerry's!

So I call back, now really frustrated, and I have to say the guy handled me well. He told me they couldn't pick up the food I had gotten by mistake due to health department regulations... and that my frozen food would be delivered tomorrow.

Bottom line is I got free delivery, coupon for other free delivery, another coupon for a discount and $10 off my order.

I emailed Marilyn and asked her if she wanted this food, which she did. There is enough potatoes to take me well into next year. She's going to come tomorrow to pick the stuff up.

Somewhere in NYC, someone is pissed about their potatoes. When I was talking to Fran, she wondered if the person was making potato salad for Super Bowl. Which is possible. I'm just glad the food is going to get used.

Milo's Bad Day

Milo spent the day at the animal hospital over a breathing issue which is being diagnosed now -- could be asthma, could be an allergy, could be something else, but the vet thinks it will be OK...had xrays, blood tests, the works. Now he is home and relaxing. I know the feeling!