Exhausted Already

Wow, the next few weeks are going to be brutal. It's only Monday night and I'm exhausted already. Welcome Week doesn't officially start until Wednesday, but already the kids (college freshman) and their parents are lighting up my phone like nobody's business.

The next several weeks are going to be busy, busy, busy. Meal plan changes, meal plan activations, and answering questions will take up most of my time. So much so, that I won't be surprised if I dream about them (I have in the past).

Anyway, all this is to say that I probably won't be around the blog very much over the next few weeks. I'll try to post every now and then, but don't be surprised if I don't. Although, come to think of it, blogging may be just what I need to take my mind off from work. Hmmmm. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Life As a Dinosaur: A New Beginning

March 8, 2011 - Saw the new rheumatologist this morning. TheHusband met me at the clinic for this first appointment. He is very concerned regarding the prior doctor's initial diagnosis and treatment plan. Not to mention the communication issues we had with the prior rheumatologist. She would tell us one thing, but then do another (see previous post regarding "the last straw").

I guess I can still be surprised.

I've been doing my current job for about 10 -12 years. After all that time I thought I couldn't be surprised by the the questions I get. Today, I was proven wrong.

As I was getting ready to leave work today, I received an email from a student with a request for information. Only the information he was looking for had nothing to do with meal plans. He wanted me to help him find someplace to live. Apparently someone told him that I could probably help him, so he emailed me with his budget and other housing requirements.

Now I could help him with finding food, but finding a place to live? Well, "housing specialist" is definitely not one of the job descriptions I can put on my resume. Now I just need to figure out who in the heck would possibly tell this poor kid that I could help him. Either they wanted to pull a prank on him, or they wanted to pull a prank on me.

So it begins. . .

It is the time of year that I both wish for and dread. I wish for it because it means the summer season of last minute changes from customers and constantly shifting meal plan set ups is coming to an end. For this I give a big sigh of relief then take a deep breath. The deep breath is my way of preparing myself for the part of the year I dread.  For the next month or so I am "The Enforcer" and the crusher of dreams (or so I've been told).

What am I enforcing? Oh, just the policies regarding meal plan changes and cancellations. The rules are very straight forward actually, but there are always one or two or a hundred people (or their parents) who think their circumstances are more special than everyone else's and that I should make an exception for them. I never do.

Don't misunderstand, I really do have empathy for all the people who honestly are having financial/health/whatever troubles. I've been there and actually do know what it's like to have to scrape together the money to pay for tuition, housing, books, and all the other unexpected expenses of going to college. It's just that if I make an exception for one person's situation, then I have to make an exception for every person in that situation. Then I have to justify why that situation deserves an exception and not this other similar situation and then all heck breaks loose. Trust me, there's already enough "heck" broken loose that I don't need ALL of it to break loose.

Over the next few days, I may just tell you a few stories of what I mean by "heck". Some of the questions I get are hilarious, and some of the excuses people use to attempt to get out of a meal plan are mind boggling.

Creative Estates Contest - Why I want to win.

I found out about this contest thanks to my sister-in-law, Teresa. When I read her blog post entry, I was like "Whoa! What is this? A crafting retreat? Why, that sounds fabulous!" So I just had to enter to win two free tickets (one for me and one for a friend) to what sounds like my kind of fabulous weekend!

First I need to tell you why I would LOVE to win. Honestly, the last few years have kept me busy & exhausted with school, work, saving kitties from certain death (okay, it's only two kitties, but they love me just the same), and adjusting to having AS (ankylosing spondylitis, for those who want to know) that I haven't really had a good craft session in quite some time. In fact my craft table is looking pretty sad these days.

I know. Sad, right?!

Winning this contest would be the perfect inspiration to get me to clean off the craft table and back to my "happy place". Besides, TheHusband wants me to do things that make me happy and this would make me oh so happy. I mean, who wouldn't be happy to be surrounded by creative energy and the ability to totally craft-out!

Now, who would get that second ticket if I won? That's a good question. It would be one of the harder decisions I've had to make. It would be a tough call between my friend Crystal and my SIL, Teresa. They are both fabulously craft ladies and I don't get to spend nearly enough time with either of them. *sigh*

Oh, Creative Estates, pleee-ase pick me. You would make me and my Peeps so very happy!

C'mon, you know you want to put a smile on these faces!

How hard is it?

I went through the drive through for dinner tonight and in addition to my burgers and fries I also received a free side of facepalm.

I ordered a "Large" size item x, only to be told "That doesn't come in a large. It only comes in regular size and snack size. Would you like one of those?". Really? I mean, reeee-ally?!?

I'm sure TheHusband would say something like "There you go again, expecting people to use logic."  But, if you have two sizes of an item, and I order the "large" size, is it really so hard to ring up the larger of the two sizes even if it isn't called a "large"?

I don't know. . . maybe I am asking for too much when I ask for a little logic to be used.

This is what happens . . .

. . . when I get left alone with a broken vacuum cleaner.

A few months ago (before I welcomed Frankenfinger to the family) we had a little problem with the vacuum cleaner. You see, it would turn on, but the brush wouldn't turn. Obviously, not acceptable. So after TheHusband went to spend some time with friends (and no I didn't tell him what my plan was. . . I didn't want to make him nervous) I dug out the tool box and got busy tearing the darn thing apart.