One: Harry Potter comes out in July...YEAHHHH! I can't wait. I was so sad when I thought that this was the second to last one they are going to make...there will only be one more and then that is it. Ohhhh :(. But then I found out that they are splitting the last book into two movies so I can put off my sadness for at least another year.
Two: New Moon comes out in November...now I know that it is a bit early to get all excited about the movie but I can't help it. Look...I already added a count down...YES! I need to reread the series so that I am prepared for the movie and won't miss a thing. "Obsess much?"
Three: the fourth of July is almost hear and Adam and I are going to go out will all of our friends for the first time in six months. My very good friend Denise is going to watch Gunnar over night for us and I am a bit nervous about him being away all night but it is going to be good for us. Besides...Denise and Todd (her husband) are so in love with Gunnar it is amazing...they act like he is there grandson or something...I love it. They are truly the greatest people.
Four: Adam and I's one year wedding anniversary is on the 25th...so exciting! The biggest change since we got married is Gunnar. We have been together for 11 YEARS on Monday and I we have considered ourselves married for so long that the actual event didn't change much. Still it is nice to be officially Mrs. Adam Tamez.
Five: I am going to start reading this true crime novel by Ann Rule called the Stranger Beside Me. It is the story of Ted Bundy the serial killer. She worked with him as a police officer in Seattle. It sounds very interesting.
Today was crazy all around. I had an episode of what my friends like to call "Whitney's World". I had a long day at work today filled with annoyance and disappointment and on my way home I had the privilege of getting stuck behind a line of twenty cars going...no shit...40 miles and hour. I was stuck behind this line of cars for the whole 20 minutes that it took us to drive 8 miles. It was completely ridiculous. You know when a semi pulling a double passes you in 30 seconds you are driving WAY too slow.
So after the 20 minutes it took me to get up to the person who was causing this ridiculous traffic jam I noticed that it was a Warrington Irrigation truck pulling a 12 foot trailer loaded with about 50 pieces of gated pipe. Now I realize that this is a farming community and that there will be tractors, swathers, trucks hauling loads, and other various pieces of slow moving equipment on the road from time to time. But in my experience the farmers of our small community stick to the back roads as much as possible and when they cannot they are courteous of the public and will pull over when the notice people behind them and let them pass. This was not the case with the driver of the Warrington Irrigation truck. He stubbornly stuck to his 40 mile and hour speed and let the line keep building up. This of course after the day that I had put me over the edge and so me being the person that I am, when I realized who was driving the truck I called the company to complain. This is how that conversation went:
Me: Hi, my name is Whitney (I didn't want to tell them my last name because Adam actually does business with them...a minor complication given my level of annoyance), you don't know me and I don't shop there but I have a complaint for you.
Joey: (she didn't say anything, so I continued talking.)
Me: I am on my way home from Ontario and have been stuck behind a line of 20 cars going 40 miles an hour because a man driving a grey Warrington Irrigation truck hauling a load of gated pipe is driving 40 mph on the highway. It has taken me 20 minutes to get from Ciaro Junction to the bottom of Trinkle Hill (approximately 8 miles).
Joe: Well, what we have found is that it is safer to drive on the highway then on the back roads because everyone is in so much of a hurry on the back roads that it is more dangerous.
Note: I realize that...at least I was annoyed so more then likely that annoyance showed in my voice...I however didn't expect the level of vehemence in hers.
Me: I understand that but you have to realize that because he was driving so slow he was a danger to traffic not to mention incredible frustrating, because all he was doing was causing others to pass him more recklessly then they normally would because of their frustration, and I would hope that a local company would be a little more courteous to the others in their community.
Joey: You have to understand that this is a farming community and there are tractors and machinery on the road all the time.
Me: I know that, but they often stick to the back roads as much as possible and if they have to take the highway they pull off the road when they notice people behind them and let them pass.
Joey: Well, are you in such a hurry that you cannot drive 40 mph? Do you need to get where ever you are going that bad?
Me: It doesn't matter if I am in a hurry or not...that is not the point. The point is that I would hope that your company would be a bit more courteous to the public and take the back road. (that runs parallel to the highway about a mile north and has about 20 crossroads that meat the highway in various places along the entire way from Ontario to Vale. It is not a great inconvenience to take the back road as far as you can and then get on the highway when you have to.)
Joey: Well if you are in such a hurry why don't you take the back roads?
Me: Because the highway is posted at 55 mph and the back roads are only 50 mph so why if I am going to drive the normal speed should I have to take the back roads.
Note: At this point we are both starting to get very angry and I am about to drive around the Vale butte and my cuts off. A couple of minutes later my phone rings and who do you think it was? Right...Warrington Irrigation. So I answer the phone and this is how it went.
Me: Hello?
Joey: If you are going to call me up and chew my ass then you better not just hang up on me when I am trying to respond.
Me: Actually I didn't hang up on you I was going around the butte in Vale and I lost your signal.
Joey: (a little pause) well, we pay our taxes too and there is no reason for us to take the back road. Blahh, Blahh, Blahh. What if our deliver is right off the highway?
Me: Well you can take the back road as far as possible and then return to the highway when you are closer to the delivery point.
Joey: At this point she is just going off...completely worked up over the situation and so I just say...OK what ever and hung up. She never called back.
I was completely aghast at her reaction to the situation. As a consumer I have a right to voice my opinion on the practices of the businesses in my area...or any business for that matter. The normal reaction to a complaint by a consumer is to apologize and assure them that you will look into the situation. I know...I have worked in retail. That...obviously...is not what happened. When did it become common practice for a manager at a business to curse at a consumer or to call them back and continue to argue and harass them for having an opinion and voicing that opinion to them? I have worked retail for many years and never once have I been instructed in customer service to continue or even start an argument with a customer no matter the circumstances...no matter how rude or demanding they are being. In fact I was always told that it was grounds for release. I guess that times have changed and that common courtesy is not as important as it once was. Adam and I moved back to our home town from Salem because of the family like environment of a small town that we have all lived in for so long. This is not at all what I had in mind. I am completely disappointed in them. They are just glad that they are the only ones in the community to offer the services they do or they would probably not have any business...and they can be sure that I will never have anything good to say about them if anyone asks. I will also be sure to voice my opinion of them whenever I hear their name mentioned weather I am asked or not. It is completely ridiculous.
Normally I would have just grumbled about the situation, maybe flipped the guy off as I passed...at least gave him a very serious but probably ineffectually glare and move on with the day. Instead I called them to voice my opinion and that is what I got. What shit is that. Anyway...I should probably put an end to my ranting...for tonight at least...this is far from over between us. LOL.
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