Apologize for returning with a rant

Lots to catch up on but have a rant that's truly driving me a bit nuts and isn't that the point of having a blog but to share my opinions.  With everything going on in Texas why am I so amazed that there are people looking to use this to promote hate!?!  And before you argue it isn't hate here's a simple guide rule: is it helpful or hurtful!

We're adopting a Puppy ~ No, I Don't Have a Degree in Animal Science!

We lost one of our dogs, Mutiny, back in October.  She was 13 years old and passed away in our arms.  We've decided it's time to welcome another 4 legged member into our family. Things have changed since we rescued Mutiny, it seems you need a BS in animal science to rescue a puppy today ~ seriously!!

Rant: They're Leaving Facebook

Facebook used to be a place where your feed was filled with cute animal videos, amazing recipes, annoying game requests and the selfie hall of fame.  We were able to connect with long lost friends, school alumni and Great Aunt Sue.  In the past few weeks I've received notices that at least 8 people are closing their Facebook accounts, and not just for Lent.

Movie Issues (minor Rant) and Review: Home

Yesterday we saw Dream Works latest animation Home.  We also saw people behaving like idiots and a preview for a movie even Hubby won't be seeing.

Returning With A Rant ~ Movie Previews

Hello! Have you missed me?  Sorry I know it has been a while but we'll get into that another time.  I've really been upping my movie attendance and I've decided some people have simply lost their minds!! And people at Screenings seem to be even crazier....

Returning With A Rant

So have you missed me?  Life's been a bit crazy since I last wrote. However before I share what's been going on I thought I'd re-enter with one of my favorite blogging activities~ Ranting

Rant: What I Do Not Post on FaceBook

I've been holding this post, or at the least the concept of writing this post, back for a while.  It is a rant, which I know you love.  But it is one of those rants that will certainly have you falling into one of two distinct categories. You will either strongly agree with me (as well you should)  or think I am not only wrong but mean, cruel, stupid and judgemental.  Here's hoping you're in the first category.

Our Neighborhood Bully and His Wife

Florida has what is considered by many as the strongest Anti-Bullying Laws protecting our children in school and on the Internet.  What happens though when the Bully isn't a child but a grown adult?

Getting some Rants out of the Way

It has been a while since I've stood on top of my soap box.  I've stored up 4 rants covering movies, Facebook, and Triberr.  So grab a drink and get ready to fight the good fight, well at least in our little royal world.

When Celebs start hawking everything

     How much influence do some people think they have?  Why should fame automatically translate into your endorsement on products outside of your expertise knowledge?  How clueless have we turned American consumers into that people will simply buy a product because there's a familiar smiling face on it?

Drive-throughs ~ Why don't I just give up

As Leo Getz from Lethal Weapon says: They always get you at the drive-through.  Ok he wasn't as PG when he said it. I am soo tired of it.
     Really how hard is it to get an order right?  It isn't as if you have unlimited choices when you order off a marquee and shout into a box!  Without fail I can guarantee you that my order is wrong 50% of the time.  The sad part is I order the same thing at every McDonald's so I can't blame it on a specific store.
    You would think I was ordering a burger cooked a special way or fries with no salt.  Nope it isn't anything that complicated.  The order that seems to completely baffle the employees is... UNSWEET TEA NO ICE.  That's it ~ a drink for heaven's sake.  Unlike my son who on occasion will ask them to make his Power-ade with half water, all they have to do for me is put the cup under the correct spout and pull. I can't blame the order taker because it shows on the screen when I confirm my order.
     I now have a ritual for making sure I get the right drink.  When I pull-up to the window I always smile and say hello.  As I am handed my drink I'll ask: That's UNSWEET right?  Now all I can think of is that there is a camera watching to see if they've made a mistake because no matter what they have put in my cup they always assure me that my order is correct.  Maybe they think that I'd prefer Sweet Tea if I'd just try it?  Well no matter what they say before I pull away I take a sip.  This of course means I have to open the straw first so precious seconds are ticking away.  Why they're surprised when I give them back the wrong Tea I just don't understand.  Usually they're very quick to blame the order taker even though they just told me it was Unsweet. Another quick response is that they gave me the wrong drink order ~ I really giggle at that one when there's no one behind me in the drive-through.
     Half the time it isn't just the drink they can't get right.  Not putting ice in a cup must send some kind of electrical shock through their system.  I can usually plan on my tea being nice and cool at room temperature, the worst that could happen is that I get (OH-NO) warm tea.... that works for me as well!!  Every now and then the window worker will tell me they just brewed the tea and asks would I like some ice.  On those rare occasions I call the store and compliment the employee; yeah I'm one of those people.  Now I get that there is no way for me to be able to tell if my Tea is Sweet or Unsweet but people come on~~~anyone and I do mean anyone who is able to hold their cup can tell if there is ice in their drink.
     Seriously I am not making this stuff up ~ Life is way too entertaining to need to do that.  Just today I went through and ordered a Happy Meal, one large UNSWEET TEA no ice and one Sweet no ice.  I'll deal with the Happy Meal issue in a minute.  I was talking with the guy as he handed me my food.  First drink handed over ice tinkling and I asked is this Sweet or Unsweet?  The look on his face said it all.  That's one Sweet the next one is Unsweet.  I can tell he's not thrilled as I start searching for the straws...BIG SURPRISE both were sweet.  Meg was OK with the ice in hers.  I hand him back mine and heard the usual excuses.  As I handed it back to him I ask him please remember no ice. I'm really hoping his inability to follow simple directions will have no bearing on his SAT scores.  I point out that he's handed me a drink with ice and his reply was "that's OK there's just a little".   At least this time it was Unsweet~ you know I checked it before I drove away.
     Onto the Happy Meal issue.  This is a pet peeve of mine and well while it may seem insignificant I think it is just plain rude and false advertisement.  My kids are way past the age of eating Happy Meals so if I am ordering one you can be sure it is because I WANT THE TOY!!  That's right the toy.  Currently McDonald's is advertising that with their Happy Meals you will get a toy from the new Christmas Movie Rise of the Guardians.  (Review on that tomorrow)  If you haven't seen any commercials, the elves are just adorable and I want the toy.  Now I understand that they run out of toys so I have no issue with that.  What bothers me is that they leave the signs up advertising the toys that are included in the Happy Meal.  Where's the truth in advertising?  Do they think a little girl is going to be happy with the left-over Power Ranger toy or a boy with a My Pretty Pony?   Where's the humanity????
If anyone wants the Power Ranger toy that came with my meal today let me know :(

Pick A Rant

I have a couple of things I just need to get out there and so I thought I would share these thoughts/rants with you to see if I am the only person~

    I am really getting tired of people having to share every little injustice in their lives as if it is a cross we all have to bear.  Recently a friend was standing in the express lane and the woman in front of him had 15 items instead of 10 (someone call the supermarket police). As if counting her items out loud wasn't enough humiliation he felt the need to take her picture and post it to Facebook.  I wonder if during this little temper tantrum if he thought about how uncomfortable the poor teller and anyone else around him felt!!  Really this was so upsetting in your life that you had to share it with the world.  Who hasn't this happened to and come on who hasn't been guilty once or twice in their lives of having an item or two over?  The first few comments on his post were supportive then a few of us starting pointing out the pettiness of it all.  His response to everyone was "Calm Down"  (a phrase that sent me into a my own temper tantrum today ~ see below).  My overall thought is... If that is the worst thing that happened to you today then you had a great day and unless you want us to start pointing out all your little smudges of the rules think twice about posting someone else's.

  I dare one more person to make a face when I tell them that my son has chosen to join the Marines.  Yes, please ask me am I worried about him dying.  You know you're right I haven't thought about the fact that someone, someday may point a gun in his direction thank heavens you pointed it out for me.  And in response to your unasked question why isn't he going to college~ he is doing both.  No the military isn't his only option it is HIS ONLY CHOICE.  He has chosen to work hard and overcome the physical ailments of just 5 years ago to become one of the strongest in his squad.  He has chosen to choose a career in the military so that you can tell me how horrible all the wars are and how sad the state of our military is.  He has chosen to defend what he believes in the greatest country in the world and the freedom it affords you to vocally share all of your opinions.

  And from today's happy experience~~ Neighborly Courtesy.  From what I understand many neighborhoods have someone that I am going to name Anal Andy.  Our Anal Andy, who lives across the road from me and has a serious fetish with his lawn.  I'm not talking about someone who likes to make sure their lawn looks great.  Anal Andy wants his lawn to look as if it is ready for the cover of Better Homes and Gardens EVERY DAY.  You can see him watering his lawn daily despite any drought conditions.  He has actually chased down many a truck driver who had the absolute gall to run over the edge of his lawn (no sidewalks here).  He has interrupted parties to loudly inform the host that one of their rude guests parked on the edge of his yard. When someone he, or anyone else, has a garage sale he puts cones around the edge of his property to protect it from rude shoppers; not caring that his customers have to park their cars somewhere just as long as they don't hurt a blade of his precious grass.  Living across from Andy for the past 14 years we've endured many of his tirades.  We've seen him stand on his lawn and watch to see if our learning drivers were going to back onto his grass. We've heard him yell at kids whose carelessly thrown, kicked or hit ball happened to land on his lawn and encouraged them to move down the street.  To make things easier when we're having an event we tell him so he can put his little cones up, though he still watches every car being parked.  So today when he had three massive pine trees cut down you would think that common courtesy would prevail.  The first two trees came down and unless it was the plan one took out his decorative fencing.  Tree #3, the largest of them all, was to be felled in front of his house like the other two but at the last minute the workers decided it had to be pulled across the street towards our yard.  The guys who were pulling the rope attached to the tree were standing precariously close to our driveway where our two cars were parked.  Now this is where you'd assume that common neighbor courtesy would come into play.  Did he or his wife warn us and suggest that we move our cars???  Well you already know the answer to that.  We realized all this was happening as the men were pulling on the rope and the tree was dropping.  Thankfully our cars were not harmed by the tree that fell less than 6 feet away.  While we were outside surveying the mess he came over like a proud poppa bursting with pride over this great event.  UM NOT HAPPENING DUDE!!!!  I asked why couldn't you warn us?  He said it doesn't matter.  I said no that's not the issue why didn't you come and tell us to move our cars. His response~~~ Calm Down!  Excuse me no I am not calming down if this had been the other way around you would have had a hissy fit if any pine cones or needles landed on your lawn.  Now he tells me to Calm Down and Shut Up!  Well it didn't end pretty.  The tree guys hearing this exchange apologized saying they should have come and told us.  But ended it by saying we've been at this 20 years we knew what we were doing.  Oh yeah like when you took out his fence~ I didn't say this but sure thought it!!!  My next door neighbor who came out afterward was just as shaken when she saw the laying tree in-between our yards and she kept saying Andy didn't tell me about this (and he likes her!!).  Guess common courtesy is no longer a two way street.

 So there you have my three latest rants... Am I crazy?  Is it just me?  What do you think?

 

You shouldn’t have to get mad to get what is fair

            I don’t back down.  If I think I am right I will go toe to toe with anyone.  Today the lucky person to feel my full wrath was the manager at The Orange Box Store *.

     Last Spring we went through a fruit tree phase.   We bought 6 different varities of trees.   We’ve been fertilizing and just generally loving them for the past year.   All but one of our fruit trees have been doing really well.   This one tree finally lost its fight with the last dry spell we had.  But I wasn’t too disappointed as we bought the tree at The Orange Box Store .  Like Lowes, The Orange Box Store offers a one year guarantee on their plants.  With that in mind we leave the store tags on the trees in case something happens.  (Can you see where this is going?)

     In the past I have had to return plants.  I’ve never had an issue.  Return the plant in its pot with tags and you get a replacement, no questions asked.  Having decided to return my dead tree I called over to The Orange Box Store and spoke with the garden manager.  Told him my tree was dead and it still had all of it’s The Orange Box Store  tags on it.  I explained I no longer have the receipt and that I didn’t want a refund just a replacement.  He said no problem, bring the tree in and we’ll swap it out.  I should have gotten his name.

            Today we dug the tree up and headed to The Orange Box Store to get a new tree.  I really have to wonder- do the put the most clueless person at the returns desk?  Seriously if they don’t have any authority whatsoever don’t put them there!!  We explain to the girl (in her tight leopard top-can’t make these things up) about the tree and our conversation with the manager.  Sorry you need a receipt.  Again tell her what the garden manager says, she repeats all this (in a “TONE”) to another girl in customer service who repeats the store motto ~ no receipt no return.  Honestly who keeps their plant receipts for a year?  Never mind the fact that today’s receipts are not printed in ink like the good old days but are actually printed on thermal paper and even with the safest storing methods fade over time.  “No sorry you need a receipt, how do we know you bought that plant a year ago?” 

            Obviously she thought her stern tone would be enough to scare me away.  I replied with one of my favorite lines ~ can I please speak with the store manager?  She calls the store manager, tells her the situation and turns to me and says, the store manager said you need the receipt.  UMMM NO I asked to speak to the store manager can you have her come here.  

            The store manager comes up front and before I can say anything tells me that a receipt is required to return anything to the store.  (Oh yeah this is going to be fun) I explain my conversation with the garden manager.  I also tell her how I have returned plants to Lowes, which is literally right next door, without any problem whatsoever.  This doesn’t seem to faze her one bit.  She stands her ground repeating that she’s sorry but a receipt is necessary.  After five minutes this was getting old.  Feeling like we were losing the battle I start to leave and let her know that this is not done.  I tell her I plan on contacting not only the area manager but the corporate headquarters telling them how this store seems more concerned about paperwork then their customers.  Before we leave I turn one last time to tell her that I am going to write a blazing blog post regarding how this store treats their customers.

-and then-

Mam!?!  Mam!?!  I want you to know that this one time I will exchange your plant.  But please know that in the future if you need to return a plant you will have to have your receipt.  You can go to the back and pick a tree to replace this one with.

Now why did it take me threatening to write a blog for me to get a replacement tree???   Let’s face it when something is returned it goes against the vendor not the store (my husband used to work at Lowe’s so I know how this works).    UGGH SO FRUSTRATING!  Imagine how many people just give up.  I hate that stores and corporations have gotten so big that customer service, real customer service barely exists anymore.  Oh forgot to tell you the tree in question cost a whopping $19.95, imagine if it had been one of the $59.95 trees!

My orchard now is the proud home of a Cherry Tree!!

***So I ran this post by my husband as he was there with me.  He pointed out how I threatened to write a blog and got a new tree yet here I am writing a blog.  He felt it would only be fair if I took the name of the store out, The Orange Box Store was our compromise.  Also in all fairness I did not mention which one it is as there are 4 in our area.