Zeus's Law

 The current temp is 71 (F).  If you're in Central PA, you can plan for an afternoon high in the mid to upper 80s (F).  There are storms in the forecast, too, but I'm thinking they'll not be nearly as severe as those that most recently swept through the area.  The day time highs have not been scorching us with 3 digits of Fahrenheit, and so we're not sitting on a hotplate waiting for a cold front to smash to pieces.  Once the cooler air passes through, we will still have daily highs in the low to mid 80s (F).  Most of the summer might not turn out to be so bad after all, at least not  in Central PA.

I spent a full shift in the flooring department yesterday and business was exceedingly slow.  Other departments were busy, but mine was not.  Traditionally, installations slow down during this time of year.  For me the most exciting thing was sending a rather heated email to our measurement services.  I set up a measure for a hardwood installation back in late May and the customer was measured in early June.  The quote came in at a cost much higher than the customer was expecting, so the quote was canceled.  On June 27, someone named Michelle noted that the sale was "lost because of price."  On July 25, someone named Judith from our measurement services reopened the quote. In addition to leaving a voice mail for the customer, she sent 2 texts and an email to this customer.  So, I emailed measurement services and asked at what point does customer service end and customer harassment begin?

My wood chipper arrived yesterday and will be assembled after this morning's workout.

I have an eggplant!  And there's more than one!!  I can see a pan of moussaka in my future.  

So, ticket sales for The Odyssey have grossed over $639.  This is unprecedented.  This is in 2 weeks.  In the US the film has an R rating and films rated R never, ever generate ticket sales of this magnitude.  Why?  I suspect Elonia Musk's Nazi tirade about a black Helen of Troy may have started things off.  Another factor is probably a fascination with ancient Greece.  So many of the words we use, no matter what language you speak, have Greek origins.  Democracy originated in Greece and all citizens, as Bob likes to say, "went out and cast a damn vote!"  The Odyssey is an anti-war movie and I do believe now, more than ever, many, many people around the world are simply fed up with war.  And I can't forget to mention that the film is, as many conservatives shriek, Woke.  Anne Hathaway claiming, "I've been sitting on an empty throne for 20 years!" hits the audience like a sucker punch.  And, of course, the movie is about Zeus's Law, where all strangers are welcome.  What happens when you break Zeus's Law?  Maybe you should ask Polyphemus. Is this why Zeus stayed Poseidon's hand?

Main Stream Media

 It's Sunday, the temp is 68 (F) and, again, it's predicted to climb into the mid to upper 80s (F).  The skies are supposed to be partly cloudy, though there is not going to be any hint of rain.  That might show up tomorrow, which is going to be a replay of today, except with more humidity.

I do get to work today.  I worked yesterday.  I have a pair of customers whom might be difficult.  Usually, when a customer sets up a measure they're allowed to order 3 free carpet samples.  Well, they ordered one sample when the paid for their measure and then showed up yesterday to order 2 more free samples. The system wouldn't let me order them.  I got an error saying their measure number had already been used. Not everyone who orders multiple samples makes a quick decision because not everyone is happy with their original choice.  I'm thinking the large, orange home improvement retailer I work for changed the ordering process.   The customers called last evening before I left and were quite upset they hadn't received an email letting them know their samples had been ordered.  He was rather adamant about how they needed these 2 more samples before they could make a decision. I explained the situation.  He was not happy.  So, this morning when I get to work, I'm going to set up a fake measure in order to get a measure number, and order them their other two samples, and then tomorrow, or Thursday, I'll cancel the measure.  

I also got into an argument with a fellow associate that started with his telling me something he'd heard on Fox (notice, I've dropped the News).  My dander went up and I said things... but it's Fox, the joke of Main Stream Media.  The fact that people who are supposed to have brains still watch tabloid entertainment and think that it's news.  Remember this?

And for those who haven't noticed, there seems to be a big problem with Main Stream Media, and it's not that they're putting out fake news, as much as that they're not covering the news the way they used to; these days they're focused on how often their website gets hits.  Instead of reporting the news, they seem to be creating drama especially around Biden.  Though let's be honest, part of my complaint is that the reports of Biden's mental status seem to be constant, and I truly wish that subject wasn't their bread and butter.  However, when the Lincoln Project says that the administration has been deceitful about Uncle Joe's capabilities, you need to wonder.  I do really hope he's not being a stubborn old man.  If that's the case, then the MSM has been doing their job, we just don't like it.

Worthless

 So, I stayed up a little later and so slept a little later.  The outside temp was 68 (F) when I woke up.  That's nice.  Today's supposed to be cooler, low to mid 80s (F) and I can deal with that.  Sunday, however, the heat will be returning for a few days.  There's no getting around the fact that it is summer.  Possible rain is also in the forecast.  That would be nice.

When I got to work yesterday, one of my fellow associates told me that one of my measures had sold.  That gives me over $3000 in sales for the week.  However, later on, before I left for the day, I went in to check the order and the wrong product was attached.  It looked to me as the someone from Home Depot Measurement Services went in and changed the product.  Rather than call the customer, I first sent an email to the associate who sold the order, copying one of our Customer Order Specialists to see if the customer had originated this change.  The last thing I wanted to do was call the customer.  If this change was done by one of our associates, it would make us look like big douches.  And if it was a mistake, this might also let us fix it without the customer knowing about it.

I finished watching Lockwood and Co. on Netflix last night.  It was... not bad, a little too predictable in the last 2 episodes.  Perhaps if what they were looking for was the most evil thing ever created I might have enjoyed it better.  The minute an older character befriended a younger character I said to myself, well, I know where this is going.  And I was right.  The first 2/3 are really good, it's just in the last third that the stereotypical ending takes over.  When I copied the trailer link, I saw that the series was canceled after only 1 season because viewership declined.  I don't doubt for a second that it was the last 2 episodes that killed this series.

For those who haven't heard, AT&T was hacked in 2022... and we're just finding out about it now.  Personally, I believe they should lose that great tax break given to them by the Orange Anus.

And Biden gave a one hour press conference last evening.  I actually watched a snippet, the bit were he said Vice President Trump, then I turned it off.  There is no denying he is an old man.  Will he withdraw from the race?  Probably not.  Will he be getting my vote?  Of course.  I want to be able to complain like hell if he loses, which I don't think will happen.  Voting also gives me the right piss and moan if, during his second term, he does something I don't like.  If I don't vote, then my opinion is mute.  Back when I first started working as a Flooring Specialist, I worked with a bald gent who had very strong liberal opinions.  One day, while were cutting carpet for a customer, he told me he and his wife never voted, they just didn't see any point in it.  Being the outspoken person I am, I immediately told him that since he didn't vote, his opinions were worthless, that they had no merit.  America doesn't need armchair voters, those constant complainers who fail to see the need for participation.  Their loud voices too often have little or no value.

Kamikaze

 So, California is getting rain.  A Navy buddy of mine posted pictures on Facebook this AM and I was polite.  I didn't tell him that is what most rain storms look like here in Central PA because they don't have the amount of rain that we do.  Two years ago there was a heavy drought in the southwest, today they're getting too much.  This means I need to make a really bad joke:  Isn't this how it usually is?  When it rains, it pours?

Anyway, yesterday was oh, so boing at work.  I did have customers show up who I'd sold blinds to last week.  They got a phone call, the product they wanted was out of stock and there would be a 3 week delay until production could begin on their blinds.  That does happen on occasion.  What does irk me, however, is this belief by some customers that they can show up on Sunday and resolve the issue.  While our store may be open, Bali blinds, Levelor blinds, and Venetia blinds are closed on the weekends.  True, we can reach their customer service reps, but all they can do is look at notes on a customer's order, which is what I can do.  The customers are coming back later this morning when we will be able to get some answers for them.

It seems as though I have Kamikaze snails.  Here's one racing towards the edge of the clam shell.

And so the Orange Anus had made it official, he will not be participating in the RNC debate with the other candidates.  No surprise there.  Gutless and spineless are two very good words to describe the former president.  He doesn't care that most of America now sees him as a coward extraordinaire, not as long as 71% of the Republican party trust him more they they would a member of their own family.  When I saw that figure I was stunned, but only for a moment.  Just think of how these people act, and talk, and dress.  They are a cult, and Trump is, and this is something he truly doesn't understand, their Kamikaze leader.  All together, they are going to wrap themselves up in a great red MAGA flag and do a swan dive directly into history.  Believe, it can't happen soon enough.

Something's Coming

 Well, it's Monday morning and we are sitting under a small thunderstorm, barely a splotch on the map, and the whole thing should be done with in about 20 minutes.  So far, this summer has turned out to be rainier than most.  Rain is not a bad thing, as long as it's not torrential.

Yesterday was very slow at the store.  There was a bit of a customer incident in the grout aisle.  I saw a friend of mine walking towards the flooring desk and as I stood up, he told me a woman needed assistance. The first thing she asked me was "do you have any grout lighter than platinum?"  Our selection of the Simple Grout she was looking at is very limited, so I told her I didn't know.  That was not the right answer.  She told me the other associate was going to get a ladder because she said, "I need 2 of those," pointing to a higher shelf.  Growing impatient, she asked how much grout she needed for coverage with hexagonal tile.  I told her our charts are for square tile, but gave her a guestimate (not what she wanted).  The associate came back and pulled down the box she'd been pointing to, and she scolded him, "not those, those up there," without naming the product.  She wanted 5 gallon buckets of premixed mortar (heavy), so I told her he would need to get an electric ladder.  (Not what she wanted to hear).  While I went to get my store phone to check inventory, she went latched onto an appliance specialist since I wasn't providing her with the service she was demanding.  I ended up selling carpet to another customer while the appliance associate and a plumbing associate filled her order.  I'm not very good with impatient people.

I took a picture of some red raspberries while Lily and I were out on her morning walk the other day.  Behind the berries and hidden beneath the ivy is a concrete staircase leading up the front entrance of a house.  Nice, eh?

So, Barbie smashed box office records yesterday raking in over $155 million in the US alone.  Oppenheimer didn't due to shabbily either, pulling in $80+ million.  The Internet had a big laugh at Bennie Shapiro burning Barbie and Ken dolls dress like Ken.  That's right.  Bennie evidently didn't realize that the black T-shirt and pants he was wearing matched Ken's outfit in the movie... and this is after seeing the movie.  Perhaps his subconscious just need to send a subliminal message to his viewers that deep in his heart he desperately wanted to be just like Ken.

And, of course, social media was abuzz because large media vans and trucks began filling up the parking around the DC Courthouse.  Something is expected to happen there either today or tomorrow (perhaps).  That's right... Something's Coming.

Screwed

 Let the rain begin!  Actually, Lily woke me up around 0300 to go potty outside and the drizzling had already started.  Showers and soaking rains are supposed to continue through Tuesday.  The daily high temp is supposed to crest in the low 70s (F).  Autumn is arriving.

My neighbor was back yesterday with her daughter, and her brothers-in-law.  There was some hammer banging (not much), so I suppose they were fixing the attic stairs so a potential buyer can actually go up to the attic.  I had talked to her on the phone, and she said there was water damage, they thought the leak might be around the dormer. She and her husband bought the place in 1985 and have not replaced the roof, so there are probably several leaks the new owner will need to contend with.  The house is still filled with furniture.  Her daughter told me that in about 2 weeks they were going to have a walk through 'yard sale' hoping to clear some of it out.  They are so naive. 

Sometimes I rail against our customers.  Usually, when I do so, there is just cause.  By the same token, we have associates who, for some unknown reason, enable these asshole customers.  Take yesterday.  I went up to the Service Desk to get our returns and found someone had returned 2 white shelf brackets.  However, these brackets were no longer white, they had yellowed with both age and possible cigarette smoke.  That irritated me.  They were evidently past the return date.  But what truly pissed me of was the screw.  Can you see it?  That's how it was returned, with the screw still in it.  What the hell is wrong with people?  This customer definitely wanted to screw us over.  And the clerk who took this return had no problem being screwed.

Everybody is waiting for Trump to be indicted.  What I've heard is that it will happen after the election, at least as far as the DOJ's investigation is concerned.  Georgia is another story.  For that case Trump did manage to hire a highfalutin' attorney by the name of Drew Finding.  Expensive.  I hope Drew understands he's never going to be paid for his services.  Mr. Finding also usually defends rappers, though I'm wondering if his style will help him keep Trump from taking the wrap for election interference.  I'm suspecting Trump pretty much screwed himself when he made that call to Ken Rathensburger.  In fact, Georgia may be responsible for several indictments, including one nicely wrapped for Lindsey Graham.  No matter how desperately Lindsey tries to get an NDA from the Georgia Attorney General, it ain't going to happen.  He's going to end up being screwed, too, by Donald Trump.  Of course, maybe that's what he's always dreamed of.

The Swarm

 Today is my Frump day, that means for most of you it's a Friday while for me it's a Hump day.  

And, in case you're wondering, we did have rain yesterday.  The humidity was heavy.  I like to ask customers what the weather's like outside of the store.  Yesterday, no one had a nice thing to say.

Can we talk about a communication break down?  If issues crop up after we sell an installation, they are resolved by a COS (Customer Order Specialist).  Believe me, they do crop up from time to time.  Normally, when we get an inquiry or complaint, we transfer the call to the COS.  Well, our COS is helping out at a different store this week.  Since no one told us, we've been transferring calls to her extension... calls which are not getting a response because... yeah, that's right, she's working at a different store.

My back is feeling much better.  After all of these years, I should be used to this by now.  This episode was definitely on the light side.  I think they happen to remind me I do have some limitations.  And believe it or not, it isn't the meds that help most, it's a good, old-fashioned heating pad set on low.

I may end up putting mowing my lawn until Monday.  That's fine.  The tall grass will make for slow mowing.  Sweat pants and a long sleeved T-shirt will be required because of the blood-sucking mosquitos.  Wearing anything else means entering into the swarm.

And I saw in The Hill yesterday where the failed, one term loser president, let loose with a stream of angry verdictives when he heard 17 Republican Senators had vote to discuss the infrastructure package.  Dumb ass.  Seriously.  Just think about it.  This loser yammers something venomous about Republicans at the very time many Republicans in the House are being proven to be liars and fakes by the Jan 6 commission.  Many say they are too busy to either be watching or listening to the hearings... well, that's a lie.  You can bet their eyes and ears are glued to the testimony, desperately praying things don't get any worse for them.  And what does dumbshit do?  Spits out a big turd.

Good Vibrations

 Yesterday turned out to be quite the nice day.  The temps only climbed to a comfortable 82 (F) and there was a bit of a breeze to help dry out all of the rain.  That was a lot different then the forecast, which had been calling for a 60% chance of rain.  In fact, for the next few days they're forecasting no rain.  In the 'what used to be normal' summer weather, July and August were dry and sunny.  The pattern changed last year, and so far this year the change seems to be holding.  

And I do get to go back to work today.  Not surprisingly, I'm not 'a flutter' with excitement.  A return means having to call customers and dealing with issues.  That's one thing you can bet on, issues have cropped up.  Being forced to provide outstanding customer service to people who don't always deserve it is a real pain in the ass.  I really do wish we'd just start saying 'no' to the entitlement so many feel.  People are not as special as they believe.

I've found the reactions of people to Bezo's trip to the edge of space fascinating.  Quite a lot of chatter is going on about New Shepherd, his rather phallic looking rocket.  Let's be honest here, rockets, in general are phallic, Jeff just added a little pizazz to his.  Let's be honest, it does look quite a bit like a billionaires sex toy, and I'm willing to bet Jeff was feeling some really strong 'good vibrations' on his 11 minute ride.

And then there's this, courtesy of JMG.  99.5 % of Covid deaths in Texas have been unvaccinated individuals.  I was going to add a tag noting they were all Republicans, except .5% were actually vaccinated individuals who suffered from breakthrough infections.  Still, I'm will to bet that most of that 99.5% were Republicans.  Since February, the Texas GOP has lost over 8000 loyal Trump supporters, and that's on top of those who died from other causes. like freezing to death, or, more recently, sweating to death.  Oh, and in Florida, DeSantis is now saying Covid is seasonal, meaning you can get infected in every season of the year.

Survival of the Fittest

 Okay, so Wednesday has arrived.  I get to go back to work tomorrow.  I'm not excited.  This is how it goes.  When I sit down at the flooring desk, I know there is work I will need to catch up on... sales calls that will need to be made.   Making calls is not one of the highlights of the day.  Most of the time they go into voicemail.  The message I leave is always the same, and quite often it elicits the same response.  Very few people return calls.  Too many people initiate the process without understand the cost involved.  Carpet estimates are always close, but laminate?  Or hardwood?  Or vinyl?  Sometimes those estimates aren't even in the ballpark because those products require smooth and fairly level floors.  Like people, as homes age things begin to sag.

I want to mow my lawn later this morning.  For the first time in years we seem to be getting April showers... and everything is green and growing.  My tulips are beginning to bloom.  Nice.  Now if only I could get a hold of some veggies to plant.

Peonies are in the background

I was talking to my friend Betsy last evening, telling her how, with so many getting vaccinated, the virus was going to begin cycling among the unvaccinated masses, you know, the Republican / Evangelicals.  And I reminded of Darwin's theory regarding the survival of the fittest, however in this case fit does not mean surviving Covid over and over again, but rather those smart enough to be vaccinated.  She had to laugh when I told her we were actually living through evolution.

Of course, more and more corporations are joining the complaints against Republican sponsored voting limitations.  It's in their best interest to keep their customers happy.  An unhappy customer will take his business elsewhere (I'm in retail, remember).  Republicans have never understood Customer Service.  Their egos get in the way.  Yep.  They are all too much like Loser #45.  As a result, they're going to partisan themselves out of politics, where the survival of the fittest award does not go to 'no' saying diehards.

I kid you not

 While some of you are prepping for the weekend, for me? Today is nothing more than a tease.

Yesterday was kind of... odd at work.  Is it full moon?  Here's an example. (I hope you're sitting down).  A customer called, they were supposed to have flooring delivered yesterday and she was concerned because no one had called her yet.  So I checked.  The delivery date had expired.  And then I looked and saw their quote was still 'staged for register,' so I asked "did you pay for this?"  She replied, "we gave the guy at the register the paper."  Of course I asked, "did you put it on your credit card?"  And she said "no, we're supposed to be set up for monthly payments."  So I told her she needed to put the charge on her credit card, and she asked?  "And they'll send us a bill every month?"  So, I said "yes."  Then I heard her tell her husband, "we were supposed to put this on our credit card, this guy says they'll send us a bill every month."  I kid you not.

None and then I'll see something that just... sticks out, and I think I ought to mention it, like an article in The Guardian.  It seems one of the main reasons McConnell is trying to push through Amy something or other's nomination to the Supreme Court is because he doesn't want to give the media too much time to scrutinize her past because... she is really Cracker Jack Crazy.  This makes sense.

And yesterday the Idiot Jerk in the White House lashed out at... well, a lot of people, in an interview.  Like any tinfoil dictator, he's furious his political opponents haven't been indicted and put in jail. How Putinesque.  Our infamous leader also believes he won his debate with Biden, even though his approval rating dropped 4 points afterwards.  He refused to participate in a 'virtual debate' because they'll mute him so he can't interrupt.  He also claimed his treatment was a cure... it isn't.  Oh, and I guess no one told him that this 'miracle from God' was developed using aborted fetus tissue.  It was also revealed he had the doctors and staff at Walter Reed sign NDA's (non-disclosure agreements) after his secret trip there in 2019.  Oh, and his doctor (?) said he's finished his treatment, so he wants to start live rallies this weekend.  I kid you not, I can not make this shit up.

Finally, a bit of summer still blooms as we enter fall.  Here's a pic of one of my roses, oh, and that's Biggie in the background.

 

The Oddities of Life

Yesterday was... odd, both at work and at home.
At work:  A mature woman returned 6 blinds saying we offered a premium brand and she was going to purchase those instead - she lied.  She also had 15% off coupon which stated "in store use only," and not surprisingly she couldn't use it on the Internet.  She yelled at the clerk because of that and when he pointed out the "in store use only," she snapped "are you trying to make me look stupid?"  So I politely stepped in and her attitude changed.
I worked for an hour at the Paint Desk because of staffing issues.  They updated their software and that was the first time I got to work with it... and then sent me a new associate to train.
A little bird told me they were going to transfer me into that position I applied for, the one that's part-time?  Half my hours would go there, the other half would be split between paint, flooring, and appliances.  Of course there's nothing official.  Supposedly they're just waiting for approval from Corporate HR.
At home:  I was going to go for another ride but... the ride I chose had a video update.  That too 2 minutes, however it blew out the Bluetooth sync between my trainer and my laptop which meant I needed to sign out of the app and reboot.  However, when I started the reboot I got one of those wonderful "waiting for Windows to update" screens.  After putzing around for half an hour, I canned the ride.  And then my sister called to tell me she'd gotten an iphone....  My sister has spent her entire life refusing to interact with technology.  I think I laughed hysterically for at least 5 minutes.  She's never going to use that thing.  Oh, and I did get the access code for Beta access to the next Ghost Recon game: Breakpoint.  Beta access allows game player to try and 'break' the game in order to find bugs and glitches.  At this point, however, because it's an 'open Beta' the game is considered 'consumer ready.  I should be able to download it sometime between 9/2 and 9/9.

Oh, and I just got a news flash that Boris Johnson has asked the Queen to suspend parliament.  He can't wait to leave the EU.  Even when the truth gets shoved into his face, he will not understand that the days of the British Empire are over.  He is quite a bit like those bumble headed Republicans in this country who still think their wet dreams over the 1960's are romantic.

There's bad rain, and bad chairs

Evidently it rained like hell all through the night.
The warnings continue.  Water is about 1.5" in the basement.  I haven't run the pump yet.  I have a stone foundation so what runs in, runs out naturally - no drain.  The map shows dry to the south for a couple hundred miles.  So hopefully, as far as my basement is concerned, things should start to dry out.  Forecast was for the pattern to move to the east starting around midnight last night.  They seem to have been a bit off in their timing.
So, how much rain did we get here?  I put a bag in this Tidy Cat liter container and use it when picking up dog poop.  As you can see, it's nearly full.  figure half of that is from torrential downpours splashing in.  I'd say, locally at least, a good estimate would be between 7 - 8 inches of rain.

And I just checked, the water in the basement is already receding, though it is raining... again.
Because I play video games, I bought a gaming chair.  Sharp and snazzy, lots of bells and whistles: speakers by the head, vibrations to almost think it's kinky and... it doesn't work.

  No sound.  The advertising claim that it was wireless is... well, practically fraudulent.  What you get are RCA (red and white) audio cables to connect to your gaming consoles.  However, newer consoles (those sold since 2015) don't have RCA jacks.  This means you need to use an alternative audio source, like your TV.  My jacks are on the back of my TV and my TV is mounted on the wall - no go in that department.  You can also connect a transmitter to your TV's headphone jack.  That doesn't work either, I mean, it lights up, but transmits nothing.  So, I tried contacting their customer service - what a joke.  I was on their "live chat" for almost an hour and 15 minutes and moved from #2 in the queue to #1.  Calling their customer service was courting failure right from the start.  You get a 'thank you' message for calling, get transferred to customer service where, after 8 rings, you get another message asking you to either leave a message, call back later, or send an email.  I called several times and ran through the same routine every time.  I did send them an email.  After 10 hours I got a response:  "thank you for your email.  We are forwarding your email to our customer service department."  In the end, I contacted Amazon.  They're replacing the chair.  Let's hope this one works.  The company that sold the chair is Ace Casual Furniture.  Buy from them at your own risk.  Oh, and they got a really detailed, bad review on Amazon.

Bloomers and Idiots

Well, here it is, Sunday.  Today is the hump day for your 3 day weekend.  For me?  Just another work day.
Yesterday work was odd - strange customers, the kind who usually only come out at night when the moon is full.
Like the woman who asked me "where do you keep your dish rags."  She frowned as I politely told her "we're a home improvement store.  We don't carry dish rags."
Or the couple who stopped in as I was ready to leave, complaining that they were going to need to rescheduled their carpet measure.  They told me the measure had been scheduled for 6 PM (we don't measure past 3:30 PM) however the "guy who was supposed to measure cancelled because he'd fallen into a hole...."  When I called our measurement services to reschedule I got a message telling me they had closed at 7 PM.  I'd never gotten that message before.
Then there was the woman who needed to have a blind re-cut, it was a half inch too wide.  When I'd finished, she looked at the edge of the blind, pointing out a small amount of chipping.  You needed to look very, very close to see what she was talking about.  The cutters uses a circular saw blade, the cut is always good, but not perfectly clean.  Politely, I told this was almost always the case.  Her face got really, really red.  "I had 7 blinds cut the other day and there was no problem."  Demonstrating great customer service skills, I reached for a new blind.  "Here, let me cut another for you."  And... of course.... after the blind was cut, you could see fine chipping along the edge.  She got redder.  I thought one of two things was going to happen:  either her head would explode... or she'd burst into tears.  However, what she did do was take the blind, shove it into her cart, and walk away without another word.  I wouldn't be surprised if that blind, and the 7 she had cut, ended up getting returned because she's going to go home and check out those blinds.  She'll get pissed, and want her money back.
Today is supposed to be cooler with thunderstorms.  Already dark clouds are looming over the tree tops on the hill behind my house.  In anticipation, I took a couple more pics of my roses since storms will knock them to pieces.

White and pink

Biggie kept trying to get in every picture...  What a ham.

One of the reds

The color is actually more of a blood red.

Another one from Little Stonehenge

While some fade, others bloom.

Accountability

Ah, Monday, my 5th day in a row.  Isn't it amazing how fast time flies.
I yelled at my boss yesterday - not my store manager boss, my department supervisor boss.  He has a bad habit of disappearing.  He's a nice guy... with some aging issues.  He's 47 and totally not dealing with aging.  He divorced his wife, pretty much stopped talking to his 4 kids, and got himself a girlfriend 21 years younger than himself.  He also has other issues compounding this problem.  Saturday he'd told me that he'd needed to take off work 3 times for mental stress, and that once he'd been hospitalized for a week for dementia.  That's right, and he managed to get himself into a management position.  Yesterday, the department was starting to get busy and he was nowhere to be found.  So, I went searching, and found him texting his girlfriend in the 'kitchen design' department.  I told him he was needed in the department.  And he said, "oh, I think you can handle it."  And I said, "your thinking doesn't count when you brag about being mentally ill, we need you in the department now."  This is life.  He went to the department.  What can I say.  He makes jewelry out of bicycle chains so I'd say that somewhere in his path he took the wrong career path.
This morning's ride took me up to the Boston area, 9.8 miles, and I ended up near Concord which was interesting since the last time I was there I was playing Fallout 4, battling super mutant and ghouls.  It's in Concord that you get your first set of power armor and have to kill your first Deathclaw.

Of course, that's a game.  It's not real, so there's not a lot of accountability.  That's something some people will never understand.

Crank this

Well, here it is Tuesday.  I called off today.  Said I had the stomach virus that seems to be going around.  I did have a bit of a cranky belly when I woke up... kind of... if you know what I mean.  As I lay in bed I thought to myself, gee... I wonder if I'm getting that bug?  Then I got up and ate breakfast and most of the crankiness went away.
I was cranky yesterday, however.  I went to my neighborhood Giant specifically to pick up a big (29 pound +) bag of Beneful... and they were out.  The girl at their Service Desk informed me that if there was none on the shelf then... they were out of stock.  So I told her that this was the 2nd time in 6 weeks that I'd made a specific trip for dog food only to discover that they were... out of stock.  For the same customer to have the same problem twice is terrible customer service.  When I got home I used the receipt info to give them a bad review.  I also went to their corporate website and filed a complaint.  This is what you do when you have a legitimate complaint.  No entitlement here.  I just expect outstanding customer service - that means the products I want 'in stock' and on the shelf.  I work for a major home retailer and that is one of our most important customer service goals.
Evidently the Idiot Jerk in the White House wants to send home lots and lots of Salvadoreans.  My money says he wants to use their lives as a bargaining chip in effort to get his wall built.  While most people with an IQ understand how this shits on humanity, he and his supporters view these people only as numbers.  Do these self-centered haters care that a majority of Americans don't want a wall?  Absolutely not.  Do they care that lives are in the balance?  Absolutely not.  Will these losers even notice they are making more and more Americans cranky?  Hell no.

Finally, I did a short ride on the trainer yesterday... up a hill.  You see, this trainer I have increases pressure on the tire to simulate going up hills and when I hit 6.6% incline it was like Holy Shit!  I need to work on strengthening my legs, which means like weighted squats and lunges, and that means they're going to get real Cranky!!  I'll just have to keep reminding myself that having great looking glutes is not necessarily a bad thing.

Outnumbering the Idiots

Here is an interesting article in Brookings regarding these past few elections.  I was pretty much aware that Democrats outnumber Republicans.  My take is that if more Democrats hadn't believed the polls that Hillary was going to win, and had gone out and voted, we wouldn't have the Idiot in the White House.  More racists and haters went out to vote for their Supreme Idiot while a lot of levelheaded, humans paid the price of an assumption.  Even if you think your candidate is a sure shot, go out and vote.  And if you're one of those fools who stayed home because you didn't like either candidate?  Well, look at what's sitting in the Oval Office.
On this side customer service Hell, about a month ago I sold 3 expense roller blinds to a contractor (think $990 plus tax).  While I was on vacation, he returned them, saying that I had ordered the wrong color.  I checked yesterday and... you guessed it, Bali shipped the correct color, a light gray.  Did this contractor re-order them in a darker gray?  That's what you would think he'd do, right?  I mean, we've had customers where the wrong color has been shipped, or the color doesn't work for them, and they always re-order... but not this contractor.  He took his credit.  Was the color off that much?  Most likely not.  What probably happened was that his client looked at the blinds and said "You spent almost $1000 on these!"
The Hoodie Guys were not at the gym this morning, so maybe they don't have a regular workout schedule.  You know, just show up every now and then hoping to, maybe impress people.  And the best App for the gym seems to be something called Gym Timer which costs either $6 or $8, and it's a recurring charge.  Oh, and you have to use PayPal.  I don't use PayPal.  I sent the designers an email telling them this, adding that I only use my Amex or my Visa for Internet purchases.  Their response was that "we're looking into adding other forms of payment."  Translation:  Not in the near future, which means I'm not going to buy it.

Idiots abound

And not only in the White House.  We have them here in Central PA.  Here are some examples:
Two nights ago a couple tried to return some paint.  You see they'd bought it over a month ago planning or repainting their house and, over the past 4 weeks, ended up changing their minds.  When the manager told them we were not going to return $450 in paint they grew furious... and dropped the name of our competitor.  For those who don't know, our competitor has a store less than 1/4 mile away and customers think that spitting out that little name is going to make us cave... no way.  We hear it daily.
I'm serious.  Yesterday morning I'm talking to a customer on the phone who's moved past Idiocy 101 into his 2nd semester.  He's hemming and hawing about the carpet, and then says "Lowe's is coming out to measure tomorrow, they're going to do it for $400 less."  That's his way of telling me he wants me to take money off his already cheap carpet.  He thinks he's a smooth operator.  My response?  "Okay, let me know if you change your mind."  That got me a few moments of silence before he finally said he'd let me know.
Then last evening, about 20 minutes before the end of my shift, I took a walk down to our Returns Desk to see if anything needed to be put away.  And, as I'm walking by our A/C display a customer stops me.

This is Idiot #3.  He asked me if we were going to be bringing out any more units.  I glanced over and saw that we had about 15 different sizes of A/C units there, and it was packed out full - it's been cool and rainy here so there hasn't been much of a demand. So I say to this gentleman "I don't know, that's a Seasonal / Appliance product.  We may have some more in the back.  I can get an associate to help you."  Now, I don't know what he wanted me to say, but my answer was not what he was expecting.  And, I kid you not, the first words that came out of his mouth were "Well, than I guess I'm going to have to go to Lowe's." To which I said "okay," at which point he began muttering about my lack of customer service skills.  He muttered all of the way out the front door, not loudly, but constantly.

So many Idiots seem to have this air of entitlement about themselves, a 'you need to give me what I want' attitude.  They neither listen, nor do they try and understand.  It's almost as though they think understanding diminishes them in some way.  And in every one of the instances above you could replace the customer with the Idiot in the White House... no difference.  Idiots seem to be abounding around us and for too long we've been catering to them rather than tell them to shut up.  Maybe it's time we changed.

Honeysuckle and Idiots

We had a customer come in while we were having our paint sale;e and purchase 8 five gallon buckets of paint.  When he learned that, being as busy as we were at that time, tinting them would take at least 2 hours he put them on what is known as a 'will call.'  This is when a customer buys a product and gives you a specific date he wants to pick up his purchase.  We do this quite often.  With this customer, however, the clerk at the Service Desk pretty much screwed it all up.
You see, this clerk didn't ask for a specific date, he just keyed this order in for pick up on 6/13.  Even though the customer gave the clerk specific paint chip, no colors were listed on the order.  This past Tuesday, this same clerk, called the customer and told him his paint was ready.  So the customer shows up last night and nobody knows if the paint has been pulled, or, if it was pulled, was it even tinted. And this clerk closed out the order without putting any notes in the system.  Now these 8 five gallon buckets total around $1200, and I didn't want to tint 8 more buckets only to find out the order had already been tinted.  This is really bad customer service.  I ended up tinting 2 of the buckets, the customer will pick the rest up tomorrow.  And this morning, when I go into work, I'm going to have a long talk with this clerk's manager.
On the bright side, the honeysuckle drooping over the back fence is in bloom.

You can see a bit of the fence towards the bottom

I've always liked honeysuckle, of course it does bring bees, but then I have dogs, and the dogs try and eat the bees because... well, they don't know they're bees, just little things floating in the air.

Tomatoes and Non-Returnable

Well, the sun is kind of out here in Central Pennsylvania.  Hopefully we will start selling paint and deck stain because we have a lot of ground to make up.  That's right, corporate forecasts how much paint I'm supposed to sell, it's my plan.  Weather is no excuse for not making plan.  We now have to sell our daily plan plus some in order to hit our plan for the week, for the month, and for the year.  In other words, if you're supposed to sell $25,000 in paint in a single day and only sell $20,000, the next day you need to sell $5000 more in order to get out of the hole.  This is the third year in a row that we've had a rainy, cold spring which is terrible.  In fact, the only thing this rain has been good for is my tomatoes.  I already have flowers.

This is one of two plants which have started to flower

So, I work today and then have 2 days off, of course, then I have to work for 6 days straight.  Anyway, I talked to a woman with 2 kids on Saturday.  She said that she'd bought Deckover, but, after buying it, read a number of bad reviews on line and so was planning on returning it.  "If it's tinted it's non-returnable," I said.  Pinching her lips together and glaring at me down the entire length of her nose she said, "but it has all of those bad review."  I wanted to say "tough shit," but refrained.  Do your research before you buy a product.  And there are negative reviews on line, but they represent on 3% of all the Deckover sold, and most of those complaints are due to bad application.  People just didn't read the instructions and got a shitty result.  They did stupid things like putting the product down three hours after power washing their deck.  We tell people they need to wait at least a week after power washing and they look at us as though we're idiots.  We know what we're talking about.  I can tell you this woman is going to demand a refund even though she's been told it's non-returnable.  We're going to pay because she didn't do her research.

On the bright side?  The sun is out and my tomato plants are flowering.

Spilled paint, and other lies

Yesterday afternoon I had a woman call to complain - the can of paint they'd bought the night before had broken.  "What do you mean broke?" I asked.  "It broke all over the rug," she replied, "and we need a new can of paint."  "You need another can of paint?" I asked.  "Yes, cause the other one broke."
Well, paint cans don't really break.  The lid may come off if you drop it on the floor, and sometimes, if we tint it and don't hammer on the top on tight enough there might be a problem.  If there is a problem, it's going to happen well before you get home.  Anyway, after a minute or so of this conversation her husband got on a 2nd line (that's right, I got to speak to both of them simultaneously) and repeated what she had said, except he wanted to speak to the manager because their can of paint spilled and they needed another.  Now this guy was obviously giving me a line of shit.  All they wanted was another can of paint.  And, of course, we are 'customer service, customer service, customers service oriented I said "let me put you on hold so I can get this approved through the store manager," (who was not in the store yesterday).  After a bit I resumed the call and told him to bring in the empty gallon with the lid.

So, about 20 minutes later this dude shows up, who was neither the husband nor the wife, with an empty gallon paint in a supermarket bag, and asks for a gallon of white semi-gloss.  I pointed out that the can he had was satin, not semi-gloss and this dude says "he told me I'm supposed to get semi-gloss."  "Sorry," I said, "I can't give you semi-gloss when you bought satin."  He made a little bit of a frowny face and said "okay."

When I asked Cori, one of my associates, what she thought she said.  "They just needed another gallon of paint, probably for trim."  Of course, she was right.  The can was missing the tell-tale signs of a spillage.  You see you don't get drip runs down the sides of a can when it spills, just a long solid streak where it sits in the spilled paint.  This can had drip runs and brush marks.  These people just lied to get a free can of paint.  And it was obvious through the conversation that they knew, that we knew, they were lying.  This is life in the retail world.