What a Grumpy Brat!

And no, actually..... I'm not talking about my child this time. *chuckle*

There's a clerk at the grocery store, let's call her "Amy" shall we? Amy tends to have a VERY bad attitude. Now, to a degree, Amy reminds me quite a bit of myself. Short, pudgy, not blessed with a terribly pretty face by nature. (Hey, I know I'm not homely or dog ugly, but I'm also honest enough to know that I don't have a typically "pretty" face.) But..... It's amazing how a smile and a happy attitude can change the appearance of even one who's not naturally blessed with good looks. This girl, Amy, has a seemingly permanent sour expression and nasty attitude toward her customers.

For the longest time I've really attempted to give her the benefit of the doubt about the possibility that she's simply had a bad day. But, EVERY day? Every time I go into the grocery store (anywhere from 1 to 4 times a week, though I try to limit it to 1 trip a week), Amy is snarly, and scowling, and all in all considerably less than pleasant. Hell, I even know that a happy upbeat customer can help improve the day of a tired-on-their-feet clerk, and I try to be that customer just as I try to be that "happy, upbeat clerk" when _I'M_ on the job. It's not always possible, just as everybody else, I have my off days. But no matter how many times I've stepped into Amy's line, and smiled at her, and inquired as to how HER day is going, she looks at me, rolls her eyes, picks up her "phone" and calls for a bagging clerk to come help take care of my groceries. I ask as to her day, and she glares at me and DOES NOT ask me how my day has gone, much less respond to my initial question. She never wishes me a good day as I receive my receipt from her (as is protocall, from my understanding), much less calls me by my name. (Again, from what I've been told, it's pretty well required to address the customer along the lines of "Thank you Mr./Mrs. A. and have a good afternoon." when handing the customer their receipt.) Not ONCE in the couple of year's I've been using this grocery store weekly, has Amy addressed me by name, much less wished me a good afternoon.

And today, when I dared ask (because I didn't see it totalled up) if I'd received my bag-credits (for using cloth bags instead of plastic), she actually snarled at me and snapped that yeah, she'd given me the dang credit. *shaking head*

Enough is enough. Next time I go to the store, I'm going to corner Sue or Donna (the two Store Managers) and make a complaint about Amy's attitude. I try not to complain, because I don't want to be known as the griping customer. I go with the attitude that this is my neighbourhood and I want to enjoy the people I see regularly, and I want to enjoy seeing me when I come in. But, enough is enough. And, at the same time, I think I'm going to put in a good word on behalf of both Casey and Kathryn. Casey was terribly sweet today to keep an eye on my full cart while I ran to the restroom, and Kathryn always has a smile and spends a couple of minutes letting me enjoy the flowers (especially the hyacinths!) at the floral department. Most of the people at the store are dolls! I hate that it's come to the point where I feel I need to complain about one of them.

Would YOU complain? After years of being ignored and snarled at by this clerk, but giving her a good attitude in return, is it WORTH complaining after being snapped at, when you've let everything else slide over the past couple of years?

*****

Tay's going to see the Child Psychologist through the Raven school this next Thursday! Apparently 2 of the 3 categories on her IEP (individual education plan) test, taken last Friday, came back normal, but the Math category was low enough that it's requiring her to now see the Child Psychologist to be tested for learning disabilities.

YEAH!!!! I cannot tell you HOW happy it makes me that she actually tested LOW enough to qualify for the further testing. I was afraid she'd breeze through it all, and not qualify at all, and we'd be back to having to shell out the $$ to take her to a child psychologist on our own time and money. We don't have that kind of money, so it's a real blessing that her test scores, in even the one category, were low enough that she qualified for the testing through the school program!

This also means that she'll qualify for an IEP, which is basically special ed, even if she DOESN'T test positive for something along the lines of ADD or Dyslexia. And that need for Special Ed. almost guarantees her a spot in the YESS program next year. Combine the Special Ed. needs with the fact that she's seeing a therapist for behavioral/mood issues, and there's no reason why she shouldn't be in the YESS program next year.

Again, I cannot begin to express how big a relief this is. I know it's not perfect, that Tay is being diagnosed with learning disorders and in need of Special Ed. and a therapist and all........ But, for how badly things had gotten around here (how bad they can be, on days), this is a MAJOR blessing! And a major load of stress off my shoulders!!!

I WILL update as I get more info.

*****

Things did NOT improve at work this past week. Though it was rather comical that at one point the Kiss Ass approached me to gripe about the "mixed signals" she's getting from the boss: "yelled at for NOT asking a question, then getting yelled at when I DID ask the question." Her comment to me was about how danged frustrating this is. It was all I could do not to get snarky with her, considering she is an almost daily source of frustration for me and several of my coworkers. (As it was, I kept my tongue and responded only that yes, I understand frustration on the job all too well!)

I got in on Monday to find that the Kiss Ass had put together a partial cart of cds to be put away by somebody else, and had found other 'projects' to work on instead of ACTUALLY shelving those cd's herself. (Should I refer to her simply as K.A? or would that be confusing considering those are MY initials. *grin* Actually, her REAL initials are L.G.) Anyway, this is a tactic she's taken for MONTHS, then she shoves the cart out of the way where it will go ignored (by her, and everybody else) for DAYS before I, or my coworker CM, or the new girl Em. or Helen (the previously mentioned "slow" coworker with mental & physical disabilities) take that same cart out to put away those cds. Inevitably, we find that the cart has been inappropriately put together, resulting in more work for the one actually putting it away, seeing as you wind up having to walk from one side of the CD section to the other to put away improperly organized cds. (Mind you, the CD section at my library consists of probably 20,000 cds and is a couple dozen feet long by several feet wide.)

Anyway, LG simply shoved this cart full of CDs out of the way, on Monday, and left it to be put away by somebody else. CM, CF, Em. and myself are all "wise" to LG's ways, and do our best to NOT shelve these cds unless there's really no other choice. (Helen will take the cart just to avoid putting her own cart of books or cds in order. But it takes her HOURS to do what one of us can do in a manner of minutes, and she invariably packs the CDs into their spots, not always accurately, and often without shifting to make room for the new arrivals among the CDs that were already in their spots. This means Helen makes a bigger mess that CM, CF, Em. or myself must later clean up, along with our regular work.) Anyway, Tuesday afternoon, LG arrived for her evening shift, found the cart STILL not put away, and proceeded to load it up with even MORE CDs that had come in during the day on Tuesday. Then, LG stuffed that same cart, now double full of CDs, back out of the way.

Wednesday, I got in and found that LG hadn't bothered to touch the cart overnight, so I approached KO (the Lead Page) and complained that LG was creating work for the rest of us by filling up this cart with CDs, but never taking them out herself to put away. I made the point that Boss Lady had told us we needed to be better about putting our own ordered carts away, rather than expecting somebody else to take them out for us, and yet 3 days had now passed since LG had "organized" that cart, and yet she hadn't touched it to put it away. *wry smile* KO actually realized what I said was true, and said she'd talk to LG about it. It'll be interesting this coming week, to see if anything WAS said to LG, and if she puts anymore CD carts together.

It's funny, typing it all out, this seems so petty. I can only guess how petty it must seem to you all, my friends. But, it really becomes a hassle when this is a constant issue at work, and never dealt with by the Leaders/Bosses who are paid to deal with such negligence. (And, the CD carts are only a small portion of the things LG does to avoid doing actual shelving, while pawning things off on the rest of us, either overtly or covertly.)

*****

Let's see..... Meals this week?

Didn't really try anything new that I can share. Everything else I made (quick & easy Macaroni salad, without the tuna or shrimp this time; French Dip Sandwiches; Beef-Stuffed Sopaipillas....) I have shared before.

This coming week, however, I should have some new recipes to share, including a baked Rotini casserole, and a slow-cooker Pork & Beans dish.

But, nothing to share of any worth today. Sorry.

*****

The hockey tournament is over, for Tay's "Other" team. *grin* This is the team she was playing with as "second Goalie". The "main" Goalie faked an injury on both this morning's and this afternoon's games, in order to give Tay a chance in the net. This morning, she spent almost half the second period, and all the 3rd period, in the goal net. In this afternoon's game, the "main" goalie "aggrivated" the "injury" he'd gotten this morning, and Tay played the third period only. *grin* During her 2 and a half periods in the net, not a single goal was scored. the goals scored on our team were done during the time the "main" goalie was in the net. I shouldn't feel happy about this, because it IS a team effort and NOT just dependent on the skill of the goalie, but it does make me smile a bit on behalf of Tay, that she didn't let a single goal through.

All in all, though, our team lost. 3 of our 4 games were losses, with only this last game a win. The last game was 8 to 1 on our behalf. We took second-to-last place in the tournament, but at least Tay got to take part in the tournament, unlike her other team (the all-girls team) which is considered a "developmental" team and wasn't even invited to participate.

Along with the fact that Tay's IceBreaker team is a "developmental team" and not a "comp" team, it's also a team consisting of girls from 11 to 14 years old, and as such has members both too young and too old to participate in either 12U or 14U categories. FWIW, "Comp" is short for "competition" and implies a traveling team that plays a majority of games. A "Developmental" team is a NON-traveling team that plays games mainly for improvement of skills, and whose ice-times consist mostly of practices. A "Developmental" team is usually made up of kids who've only just begun in the sport, and don't have the years of experience that Tay, Jackie, and Caitlyn all do.

Jackie & Caitlyn being two of Tay's teammates who've been skating -and playing- with Tay for nearly as long as Tay's been skating. But, Tay has MORE ice time than ANY of the other girls, as she started playing officially a week after her 5th birthday, the rest of the girls had to wait one more year to start on a team. (And, we started Tay skating when she was 2, where as I know that most of the other girls didn't start till at least 4 years old. In this aspect as well, Tay has more experience than most other kids her age.)

So, no win for our team in the State tournament, but Tay got to at least participate and play with a team that had a shot at winning (and DID win) a game! And, though she wasn't supposed to, the Coach let her keep her Fury team jersey, and at the end of today's game they all signed each other's season jerseys. Even a couple of the boys who were initially rather antagonistic toward Tay finished off the tournament regarding Tay as their teammate, and several of them expressed a hope that she's on THEIR team next year. *grin* (The goalie, included! Said he'd like a fellow goalie to switch off games with, so they could EACH play out as desired.) It's funny watching Tay interact with the boys, as well. She can physically keep up with most of them, and is more physically capable than a couple of them. She interacts more comfortably with the boys, more at home talking about sports & video games, than she was at interacting with most of the girls on the IceBreaker's team. Most of the girls are already (even at 11 years old!) thinking about make-up and clothes and boys and making out. Tay's still at a stage at which she really can't stand the thought of boys beyond a friend aspect. It actually makes her very angry when teased (by the unititiated, as the rest of us know better) about having a boyfriend. She blows a gasket. So to sit in the locker-room all season listening to her teammates go ga-ga over the boys they were "going out" (or making out) with made Tay rather pissy. But man...... These boys she was playing with..... She had a blast! (At least, once they got past viewing each other as opponents, and started viewing each other as teammates.)

A funny little tidbit..... Mom, you remember JoBrett Trout, I'm sure? Well, his baby brother Jared was on this team Tay just competed with. Tay and Jared got along fairly well. I told Tay how JoBrett and I were friends back in First grade. I found it rather comical that now my daughter was playing hockey with (and, against, for most of the rest of the season) JB's baby-bro.


*****

Last little bit, the weather has been rather hit-or-miss lately. It's been sunny and warm, but so windy you can't stand to be out in the sun for very long. The temps have been dropping down to -20 and colder at night, then warming up to +20 or +25 during the day, with the sun out. Then come nightfall, it'll cool down again and the wind will pick up the pace a bit more. Climate shift???? I don't remember March being this windy when I was growing up around here. Then again, where I grew up, there were more trees than we've got in my current neighbourhood. But even so, it always seemed that August was the windy month, not March. It always struck me as funny as a child, that old verse "March Winds bring April Showers, April Showers bring May Flowers." It struck me as funny then, because it never seemed to me as if it were true. I wondered why it couldn't be, as it'd be great fun to be like the pictures and spend the month of March flying kites, then April wandering around in rain gear and galoshes, and get to enjoy flowers in May. Now it really has become that way. I can only assume that we are seeing some climate shift and that our climate has become slightly more temperate.

Might also account for the ability of some of my hill-dwelling "neighbours" to grow apples and pears and cherries which were NEVER local crops during my growing-up years. I cannot say that I find that aspect of Climate Shift regretable. Hell, if we have the ability to grow apples and pears and cherries around here, I would be thrilled! Central Alaska has the tendency only to produce berries with any regularity. Chokecherries and thumb-nail-sized crabapples are 2 exceptions to that "berries only" tendency, but even these are "transplants" and not native to Alaska. For long term ability to find locally grown fruit, I'll not be sorry at all if Global Warming/Climate shift allows us to grow more fruit around here. I know that sounds awful, and over all I don't want anybody to think that I REALLY mean I'd like to see the Polar Bears go extinct in exchange for apples, but you must understand that I CAN see some definite benefits to these fruits growing locally. (It makes me wonder if perhaps Maples, Oaks and other temperate-climate trees would also grow around here.)

As far as my own gardening efforts, I haven't made any except to receive my seeds. The FIL and I have talked about it a little, and he's going to see if he can't scrounge up some grow-lights this year, to help our seedlings along. But we haven't actually made any efforts toward starting any seeds yet. I also was mentioning to Scott that I'd really love to find a way to add a chokecherry or crabapple tree to our property, or perhaps some berry bushes. Ideally I'd love to put a British style hedge of mixed berry bushes and small trees along the bottom and back of our yard. (Or, perhaps a chain-link fence along the back border of our yard to grow beans and peas against.) But, I've often thought that having some hedge-type border for our yard would be nice. Now if only I could persuade Scott. *grin*

Oh, and did you see the news that Michelle Obama took part in breaking ground at the White House for a kitchen garden? She had a bunch of school kids come in for the ground-breaking, and they're going to be back in a couple of weeks to help with the first plantings, and later for picnics using some of the produce, if what I recall of the article is correct. This was from our local paper this morning. I found that rather happy news. If nothing else, this shows that the Obamas are willing to take the advice of some of their regular, every-day consistuents as I know myself and a great many other gardeners emailed President O. with the need to set a good example and put in a garden there at the White House. There has even been a few rather comical compilations of cartoon drawings and the tune "This Land is Your Land" in regards to persuading Pres. O. and family to re-start the Victory Garden efforts in our country. Along with fruit trees and veggies, they're also installing a couple of bee hives! What a fantastic example!

Anyway....... I guess that's enough meandering and musing for today.

Have a Blessed Day!