Reminders #32 & 33 (A Sadly Short Time Since My Last Reminder)

I guess I'm one of those people who just doesn't live entirely in the world. This isn't to say that I'm some kind of holy person. No, I'm just occasionally a stupid one. Quite often, my mind is just not very close to where I happen to be.

For instance, tonight I was fixing myself a frozen pizza for supper. This should be a rather simple task. At the same time, though, I was trying to figure out what to do in my classes since I'd just learned that I'm probably going to be out of town on Wednesday, covering for a teacher who was going to be taking her class on a field trip but who got sick. Anyway, explaining (in your mind) to your class the new schedule for the week, it turns out, rather hurts one's ability to prepare your pizza.

I was trying to perform the extremely complex task of putting two pieces of the already cooked and cut pizza on a plate. I grabbed a plate and started using the spatula to place it on the plate. I was still hanging around in my classroom, though, and so it took me a few moments to discover that things weren't going very well. So I, unconsciously, tried harder to get the pizza onto the plate, but it just wouldn't fit inside. That "inside" eventually became the impetus for my reentry into reality. There, obviously it now seems, is no "inside" to a plate.

I'd grabbed a plastic cup it turns out, rather than a plate. It's difficult to maneuver your spatula so that you're neatly putting pizza into a plastic cup. That's also probably not the best way to serve pizza.

Which is something worth remembering.

Reminder #32
Don't eat pizza out of a cup.

Reminder #33
Be here.

Reminder #31, A Bachelor's Tale

Tonight, I was picking up around my house. Last week was rather hectic so it had gotten into rather a mess (though I’ve been doing much better than in the past of keeping my place neat).

One problem I encountered while cleaning was trying to discern the dirty clothes from the clean ones among those laying in my bedroom floor. This is a normal problem, and I usually resolve it by just washing everything that’s suspect. Tonight, though, I’d already done what I hoped was all of my laundry. I was neither wanting, nor expecting, for this pile to have any dirty clothes in it.

So I decided to sniff.

Technique is rather important when you decide to sniff out the dirty clothes. The sniff must be short, and you should always try first to smell only the most non-threatening areas of the item. For instance, smell the side of your boxers, the top side of the socks. It’s probably obvious, but avoid armpits. Usually, this will reveal whether or not this article of clothing needs cleaning without exposing you to too much risk.

The first sniff (of the elastic) didn’t reveal much though. Hastily (good sniff technique should always be slow and deliberate—except for the actual sniff itself), I moved downward.

Things smelled pretty fine. It wasn’t a soap smell exactly though. It was more of a nothing smell. Absentmindedly, for the most part non-suspectingly, I moved the boxers backward and smelled again.

So, Reminder #31

The third time is not always a charm.

Funny Thing

Funny thing.

I got cable TV today. It's already set up.

It's sort of strange how it happened, especially after all of the frustration that went before.

I decided this morning to call the first company I'd called several weeks ago when I was trying to get set up. They'd gone three days in a row of not showing up when promised. Still, they seemed by best chance of getting some sort of set-up before the end of the month. I called the company, and the woman I talked with told me they'd try to set me up today, since the men would be in Winters today, but if they weren't able to do so, they'd call me and reschedule for next Tuesday.

Sounded good enough.

Sure enough, I was called at 2:00 this afternoon and told that they'd not be able to set up my cable. They didn't know whether they'd be able to do my house at all, in fact, since I had to have them come during the afternoon when I could be there. They were not normally in Winters in the afternoons. I got off the phone with the assurance they'd try again next week.

When I got home, however, at 4:00 there were two trucks parked outside. They'd shown up to set things up, despite the call saying they weren't going to be there. I started talking with the two technicians, and (really funny thing) they were not there because of my rescheduling the service this morning. Instead, THE TECHNICIANS HAD NEVER EVEN RECEIVED THE CANCELLATION NOTICE TWO WEEKS AGO. They were at my house because they'd just now gotten around to the original work order that I'd set up over two weeks ago.

I guess it worked out though. I have cable today, and I thought yesterday that it'd be October before anything happened.

I guess, also, that this proves the great value of complaining. As soon as I wrote my rant, things started moving. I'm thinking of writing a book called "The Positive Power of Negative Thinking." I think everyone should have a good curse placed on them.

I'm willing to give you mine if you want it.

I hate to return to blogging with a rant. I’d been doing so well blogging, had seemed to have hit a stride. I was actually blogging regularly. But then I moved and didn’t have any internet service for several weeks. I’d hoped that at my return I could pick up on the previous rhythm. Alas.

A Rant

One of the worst things about living in a small town again is that you can get no service whatsoever on anything. Case in point, my struggle to get tv turned on.

You see, the Cubs have been doing extremely well (a rarity) and the Cowboys were starting. These are two things that I really need tv for. Plus, there’s nothing else to do in Winters but watch tv. I’ve really been craving it (or something at least).

On August 21, I called the semi-local cable company. Everything went fine (despite the slightly high cost), and they told me they’d be there on Tuesday the 28^th. That seemed like a while, but I went along with it. I told them that I couldn’t be at the house until a few minutes after 4:00 (it varied that week), and so they should either wait for me if I wasn’t there and I’d show up or call my cell phone. They said ok. They showed up at 4:11 (or so their note said). I showed up at 4:13. They were gone. No phone calls.

So, I rescheduled for Thursday the 30^th. They didn’t show up at all that day. I called back, and the woman I spoke with said they’d be there on Friday, and she’d call me back to set up exactly when. She never called back, and they never showed. I called the company on Saturday, and I was told that the Thursday and Friday dates had only been “hopeful dates.” I really wasn’t scheduled until the next Thursday (6^th of September). That wasn’t what I’d been told, and I didn’t think that was right. So, I cancelled my order. Somebody else would do a better job than they would, and I figured that somebody else could manage to hook up the cable in less than 2 ½ weeks.

I was wrong.

I called up Verizon. They do tv, but only if you have a home phone line, which would cost me an extra $20 or so per month. I didn’t want that.

So I called up Directv. They’re the only other choice here. I called them on the 3^rd, and everything went well. They’d be here on Friday morning between 8:00-12:00. That was perfect. Their normal hook-up times were all during my workday, as was this one, but Dad was coming to Winters on Friday so that we could leave and visit my sister as soon as I was off work. He would be there to let the technician in.

They didn’t show up though.

When DirecTV called to reschedule, I didn’t know a time that would work. They said to call back next week to reschedule. I called back today, September 10, at 4:44.

I spoke to five different people, one after the other, with extended holds in between. I was on the phone until past 6:00. The earliest they would agree to set up my service would be (get this) September 21st. They wouldn’t promise me a time on that day when I could be sure and be there either. I would likely either have to be pushed back, or I’d have to convince my Dad to make another special trip to Abilene. Plus, there’d be a total of one week left in the baseball season.

I cancelled the order and felt rather like an idiot. I felt rather disused, and dehumanized, too (though I really wish there were a better word for that feeling). That's how I always feel when I have to go through these messes with businesses like these. I'd feel a lot better if it were people I were dealing with rather than with a business. At least then, there'd be somebody to forgive. I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do about this all now.

On the bright side, since I don’t have TV, the Cowboys and the Cubs will likely win the Super Bowl and the World Series.