Stupidest person I've seen in awhile

Coat: Target (Don't mind my weird hand. It's the only picture I have with the coat zippered.)

I was at Safeway pumping gas on Monday and the lady next to me was sitting in the drivers' seat smoking a cigarette.  Her teenager was pumping gas. She was admonishing him for using his cell phone while he pumped gas.  She was smoking 4 feet from a gas pump and there was a giant tanker loading gas into the ground 20 feet from her car.  She said to the kid "Do you want to blow us all up? There's a sign that says no cell phones." ....to which I almost yelled a reply back.

She also had small children in the backseat which leads me to believe she's one of those people.  The people all teachers hate because those people make such terrible choices on a daily basis that how could they possibly raise a productive little citizen? I glared at her through my sunglasses.  Sunglasses are great for people-watching, aren't they?

Anyway, fall is here and I can wear my boots now.  The boots are 5 years old and I got them at the PX in Alaska.  The dress/tunic is from Express two years ago.  And looking at this picture, I think it's time for another haircut.

Really Missouri?!

I swear I don't walk around looking for things to complain about.  They just fall into my lap.  I'm trying to keep it down to one rant per week (you're welcome), and 2 weeks ago I talked about our experience at the MS&T campus bookstore.

Let's continue our journey with the Missouri University of Science and Technology...
The bookstore/i.d. card thing was inconvenient, enough to ruin a day, etc.  We'd simply thought that it'd be refreshing to deal with an organization that's not the army, for once, and have things go smoothly...for once.  So it was just disappointing (I did get an apology email, by the way).

Since Scott couldn't get the books there, he had to "rent" them on base from the MS&T professor.  Whatever.  He used his credit card

A week later, we find out the credit card information had been STOLEN.

Actually, we've had the card for 9 years.  Never had a problem.  So, it could've been something else.  Maybe one of those skimmers at a gas station?  Sometimes I really hate this world we live in.

Moving on...

Let's go over some of the poor, awful, no good, very bad customer service experiences we've had lately.

(An aside:  One complaint I never had about Alaska was the customer service.  People there were genuinely nicer than anywhere I've ever been.  From cashiers to college professors to co-workers..everyone was smiling and helpful.  Perhaps I just expect too much now.)

1.  Colton's Steakhouse
This is a chain restaurant throughout the midwest.  It's comparable to a Texas Roadhouse (except Texas Roadhouse is tasty).  There's one down the street from our house in St. Robert.  The first time we went there it was a Sunday afternoon and I didn't feel like cooking.  I had a Southwest Chicken Salad.  It was okay.  Scott had ribs.  They were so-so.  Whatever.  We went home and forgot about it.  A few weeks later, a friend offered to take us out for dinner and he hadn't been there yet and wanted to try it. We went on a weeknight and waited over 45 minutes for our food.  That doesn't count the wait for drinks.  When the waitress brought my iced tea (unsweetened, thank goodness), she spilled it all over my Lucky Brand purse and our friend's leg.  I was a waitress so I get that this happens, but she was very nonchalant about it.  Like, disturbingly nonchalant.  Anyway, 45 minutes later, Scott got some boiled meat placed in front of him.  I should've taken a picture but, I assure you, these "steak tips" were not grilled in any way.  They were straight up boiled hunks of beefs.  I don't remember what our friend had.  I had the Southwest Chipotle Chicken Tips and it wasn't the best.  The sweet potato fries were okay, but they serve them with vanilla frosting for dipping.  I find that odd.
The only time we'd had a worst restaurant experience (in recent memory) was the Chili's in Fairbanks, Alaska.  A restaurant has to really screw up for us not to leave a 30-40% tip. But I think we left 15% at Colton's, and that seemed like a lot.  Very few people around here go to Colton's more than once or twice.  I think they stay in business primarily because all the families of basic training graduates eat there expecting it to be as good as Outback (which we like) and it's really not.

2.  The mailman
Our mailman is the worst mailman in the history of mailmen.  We consistently get other peoples' mail.  Notice I didn't say "constantly".  That means it happens all the time.  "Consistently" refers to a routine.  We know, without a doubt, there will someone else's mail in our box 99.9% of the time.  I complained to the post office.  I put in a little sign with our names on it.  It's neon yellow.  He can't miss it.  I understand that you may often get mail for the previous residents.  But that's not what's happening here.  We get mail for other people in our development.  People with different names, house numbers...on different streets.  What I do not understand is how this is possible.

An example of his handiwork:

My handiwork:

3. Seegers Toyota
Holy cow.  I saved the best for last.  We had our oil changed at this Toyota dealership in St. Robert, Missouri in June.  Usually, Scott does all our vehicle maintenance himself, but we get free oil changes with the new truck, so we figured we'd take advantage of it.
They didn't put the oil cap back on.


They didn't put the oil cap back on.


They didn't put the oil cap back on.

I don't even know what else to say, other than don't everevernevereverever do business with Seeger Toyota of St. Robert, Missouri.

Because they didn't put the oil cap back on.  

What in the... Wednesday.

Here's some things I'm shaking my head at...

Grocery shopping:  I spent so much time pining away for cool grocery stores like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods over the last couple of years.
This is my current Trader Joe's situation.

I am the red star. 

Blog shilling: situation in which you use your blog as a platform to shill products you don't care about because someone will send you a free sample if you do.  And/or recommending a product you don't know much about.  Or a product no one really cares about.

If you post in this way, I usually don't read them.  If someone asks me to shill a product (I love that word), I don't do it anymore unless there's specifically something in it for me. I know that sounds bad, but think about it: I'm not going to wax poetic about your product if you're not willing to exchange goods/services.  

A perfect example was Firmoo.  They wanted me to give away a pair of sunglasses.  They wouldn't send me a pair to review because I didn't have enough followers. But they wanted me to recommend them, talk about how great they were, post all kinds of links tracking back to their website...but I wasn't allowed to try them. Why would I recommend something I've never tried? That'd be like saying, "Go to this restaurant because it's the best ever!" when I'd never been there myself.  

I would think that anyone who takes the time to read this blog would deserve and expect better from me.

Weather:  You've all heard, I'm sure, about Alaska's recent heat wave.  The news has not stopped talking about the fact that people in Alaska can wear bathings suits now for, potentially, the first time ever.  (So untrue, actually, because Alaskans go on more tropical vacations than anyone else I've ever known.)

However, I've been getting a lot of, "Wish you were here to enjoy this, Kristin!" in regards to the warm weather there.

.....to where exactly do these people think I've moved?

Notice the cool-down on Sunday :(

A lady was staring, with great fascination, at my Alaska license plate when I came out of Target yesterday.  She said she was looking for where in Alaska it was from.  I said, "Anchorage", she just looked at me, and then I said, "Oh, it's mine".   It took her a minute to realize that I was the Alaskan car's owner...not some person stopping to examine a random car.  Like her.  

I'm drinking the Robin Thicke Kool-Aid.  This might be the catchiest song I've ever heard.  Oh well.   

Oh, and my brothers are turning 24 today.  That's older than I was when I got married, which now means that I'm *officially*-officially old.  

"What the..?" Wednesday

Before I get into the ridiculousness that is my first-world problems, Scott is having elective surgery today and I think I'm more anxious than he is.  If you could send me some good thoughts, I'd appreciate it very much.
How very convenient of him to schedule it over spring break so I don't get to have to take off work, right?

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After 2 Keurig de-scaling cycles, I tried cleaning the needle.  I broke this thing within 30 seconds of watching the how-to video.  Wtf.

If, a year ago, you had told me that I'd regularly wear neon pants to work, I would've said, "What is wrong with you?"

Times have changed.

Sweater/Scarf:  Target // Boots: Steve Madden // Pants: Gap

The kitchen sink has been leaking for a week and a half now.  I emailed the landlord.  She said someone would be calling me. That was Sunday, March 3rd.

A follow up email, sent by me, to check on the state of an impending repairman call, resulted in her telling me to call him myself.

I told her I wasn't doing it.

My plan was to let it keep on leaking, but someone showed to yesterday to replace it, thereby ruining my idea. Oh well.

Anything making you say "What the..?" lately?

Sharing at WIWW, Wednesday Walkabout, and Random Wednesday

WTF Wednesday

First, let's all say Happy Birthday to Duchess Kate.

  Oh, why, oh why, wasn't I born a day sooner???

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As seen in central Pennsylvania...

Those are real peacocks. Who keeps real peacocks on their front porch?  My dad says they've been there for 40 years. Weirdos.

As seen in the Hilton Hotel...

Stupid mini-bar

That's the same Hilton hotel that charged for wi-fi.

Also, I feel nothing short of blessed to know that I've helped 5 people discover more about the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.  I'm such a proponent for Alaska, after all.  I'm sure they learned a lot.

And then.. 

I fell in love with Marc Jacobs while in Nordstrom's the other day.

'Tis unfortunate, right?

Linking up to Walkabout Wednesday

Guess who...it's me.

Sweater: F21 // Dress: JCP // Scarf: Land's End // Boots:  JCP

Guess who can't get a picture to look any brighter than this? ^  4:30pm, folks.  That's as good as it's gonna get.

Guess who has another cyst behind her ear?

Guess who can't get a dermatology appointment until January?

Guess what decided to pop in the middle of math class just seconds after getting off the phone with said dermatologist? (That cyst.)

Guess who had to go to the nurse for peroxide and Q-tips in the middle of math class?

Guess who was asked, "What happened to YOU???" by concerned 9-year-olds?

Guess whose husband offered to "take care of it" with an unsanitized needle?

...And that was last Thursday in a nutshell.

Oh, and guess who is so super excited to have a 4-day weekend?  Uh, yeah, that's me too.

(and probably you :)

Sharing at The Pleated Poppy and Wednesday Walkabout.

WIW and WTF Wednesday

It's acronym day.


First.  If you're here for the nice, respectable, ladylike stuff...

Sweater: F21 // Dress: Target // Jeggings: JCP  //  Boots:  Steve Madden
WIWW @The Pleated Poppy

Second.  If you're here for my WTF moment of late...

My husband wanted to give a plaque to someone he worked with.  He wanted to buy it himself.  They are big.  They are expensive.  And he is not here.  The duty fell to me.

I went to a frame shop.  After waiting 1 1/2 weeks longer than they said it would take, I paid an unseemly amount of money for this plaque.

Then I needed to ship it to the lower 48.

Scott told me to pack it up and take it to the post office.  "It" weighed as much as me and was about as tall too.  Considering that I can barely get groceries into the house without damaging something, I said, "How 'bout I take it to UPS?".

I took it to UPS.

For them to pack it all up would cost $85.  Okay.

Okay.

To ship it?  $116.

Alright.

"How much for me to buy the supplies and pack it myself?"

"$59"

"So it's a $30 savings to pack it myself?"

"Yes."

The thought of dragging the damn thing back to my car (where I'm surprised it hadn't busted all up anyway with my driving and whatnot), dragging $59 worth of packing supplies to my car, lugging it ALL into the house, and then spending my Friday evening awkwardly trying not to cut myself on a packing tape dispenser was too much to bear.

I'd already been procrastinating this for 3 weeks.

"Just take it.  I never want to see it again", I declared more dramatically than necessary.  The teenage cashier looked amused by me.

And to all that, I just say "WTF".