I HATE the USPS

remember how I hated the USPS when I first moved here. if not never fear the recap can be read here.

since then we had gotten on to better terms. I learned that if I added a c/o line then my mail happily made it to my mailbox or at the very least I had my PO box option...something like $12 for 6 months. I could handle that (turns out the walk to the post office was annoying, so I didnt ever give that address and never received a piece of my own mail there...lots of stuff for previous owners of box 6001 but none for me) I continued my love affair with sending and receiving actual mail instead of just the electronic kind on birthdays and holidays and just because...and sent out my usual 3 dozen christmas cards, remembering of course to include the require c/o line in my return address incase someone decided to return the sentiment.

and then the post office decided to implement their new policy. their new policy of not leaving packages, even though they were behind locked doors, because too many people's packages were disappearing. ok fine I accept this policy. you're looking out for my stuff, thats cool.

what is not cool then you ask, why do i HATE the post office now? because I asked for my package to be redelivered on saturday, because I dont work on saturday, and I waited on saturday for it, and it didnt show. and I didnt get a we tried again slip. so I asked for it to be redelivered on monday. and it didnt show. and I didnt get we tried again slip. so I called. and filed a complaint. and the branch head person called me back today. and said I dont know how it happened but the carrier didnt get your request. DIDNT GET MY REQUEST??? TWICE??? REALLY????

so I went to pick it up. and there were literally 17 people in front of me. and then a lady said if you're here to pick up a package I'll take your tickets come over here with me. so I got out of line, and the lady gathered up our 10 slips, spent 10 min in the back then came back with 2 pieces of mail. TWO. and one of them wasnt mine. I insisted mine was there since I'd just talked to the supervisor 45 min ago and my box was right in front of her. post office lady says ok well maybe its at the counter go wait to go to the window. WHAT !!!!!! get back in the line you just made me get out of????????

I'll need my slip now I need to go put more money in my meter before I get a parking ticket trying to pick up my package. and then I stood in line again. literally an HOUR after I arrived at the post office I made my way to the counter. told the lady at the window what had gone down. and she said...if the other person couldnt find it I cant. but then someone took my id and slip, went in the back, and came out moments later my box in hand. apparently it was right there. UGGGGG

that PO box where the slips go in for packages and the packages stay right at the nice close branch doesnt seem like such a bad idea now. and a little walk and a little exercise is never a bad thing.

Inversely proportional relationship

Dear blog-

how I miss you. I have sadly realized that my relationship with you is inversely proportional to my busyness factor.

when the busyness goes up the blogging goes down.

right now I could blog about how I spent last saturday taking a 125 chemistry content test for my IL teaching certification and I didnt come to the first chemistry question until question 90

or I could blog about my 30 mile bike ride on sunday when I chucked my full water bottle not once but twice out of my bike bag at the riders behind me because despite my not having any empty water bottle racks I couldnt bear to pass up free swag.

or I could blog about how I got a $1 bill in the mail as bribery to try and get me to go online and fill out a survey about my new car purchase.

but instead I will go and make a power point and student note packet for unit 2 chapters 2 and 4.

sometimes the bad day may just be worth it

yesterday was a long day. got to work someone was in my parking spot. 40 min later with blisters covering the entirety of my heels and baby toes, I finally made it to my classroom to start the long list of things I needed to do before school started.

sat through mass for two hours, which translates to telling girls to stop talking to their neighbors, discovered web CT wouldnt let me get online for my online class, still couldnt see any surface of my desk, worked till much later then I wanted.

ventured out into the rain for a delicious dinner, then back home to complete night number two of post midnight working, but first checked the mail to discover my parking spot privileges have been terminated so they could give my spot to an apartment renting individual, so little bunny is going to demoted to the street :(

but then came home today after a 12 hour at work day, to nickface standing in the doorway, goofy smile on his face, arm behind his back, beautiful flowers in hand. all becaused I'd had a bad day.

nickface, bustedface

e-mail I received from my mom moments ago: "I thought that you would take a picture of Nickface's face and post it on your blog. You take pictures of your injured car, your injured bike but not your injured Nick?" apparently the public demands drama (with pics!)

8:01 am I am awakened from my 4th attempt at sleeping-in (yes I'm trying to do this as much as possible before the dreaded school year begins next monday at 7:45 am) by my cheerful alarm clock with its cheerful ring and on the other end of the line is a not so cheerful nickface and a

"can you come pick me up"

"um ok, did you have another flat on your bike"

"no I wrecked my bike and smashed my face. bring something to sop up the blood"

and I'm out the door, hat shoved on my just got out of bed ponytailed-head brand new roll of paper towels in hand.

and then I'm back in the door, perhaps I should put on real pants instead of my polka dot pj pants, oh and a bra, probably don't want to be standing on northwestern's campus loading a bike into a car dealing with a bloody boy without slightly more presentable attire.

8:15 am nearly to campus, phone gives its cheerful ring again and on the other end

"are you almost here? people keep asking me if I'm ok"

I was coming as fast as I could, but this made me want to come faster, because well we don't like to talk to people.

drive up to a boy sitting on the sidewalk next to his bike, side of face COVERED in blood. head wounds bleed. bleed like it's their job.

load bike into car, drive around till we find student health services, since this isnt the kind of thing you walk into a new doctor for for the first time, get nick all bandaged up, and then head to the emergency room, since apparently this isnt the kind of thing you just stumble into health services about either (it's not mono after all...not mono by any stretch of any imagination, not even a university health services doctor's imagination, and thus out of their league).

check into the ER, apparently it's head trauma day here as the person in front of nick is in with a bleeding head wound in the back of the head. take our seats for the short wait...(side note...will always try to plan future emergencies for before 9 am...not so crowed then). Nick goes back, I call my mom, mom tells me I'm a bad girlfriend for not going-in with him, I ask nice security guard if Im allowed back there, nice security guard lets me in and gets me a stool, and I resume the roll of the good girlfriend just in time for the boyfriend who is scared of needles to get his tetanus shot.

tetanus shots hurt, he opted for concentrated pain all in the same arm. x-rays taken, numbing shots to the face (this time I'm totally there ready to be the hand-holding-good-in-a-crisis-girlfriend that I am), 12 stitches later, and the doctor gives us the clearance to go, letting me know to watch for weirder than normal behavior indicative of a more serious head trauma.

and we return home. scraped-and-sore boyfriend nick, ready-to-be-strong-and-carry-heavy-bike-up-three-stairs-then-administer-tylenol-on-a-6-hour-regiment-girlfriend me.

boycott list

sometimes I send mean e-mails when I get mad. here is today's

I was just in the store to pick up two bikes a wheel that we dropped off last thursday and arrived to several not so pleasant experiences.

first, the wheel was no where to be found. the mechanic we talked to on thursday didnt fill out a separate ticket for it, and so there was no record of it in the shop. while yes we should have stood there and insisted on a receipt for all three things the fact that your mechanic questioned us not once but multiple times about whether we were telling the truth about bringing in the wheel, because he didnt remember us bringing it in. no, I've just paid you $100 for work on the other bikes and now am trying to get a free wheel out of you. I have no problems with small things like a wheel getting misplaced, but the response from the mechanic was rude an unprofessional.

second, one bike was in to have the brakes adjusted, something the mechanic last thursday assured me was not a big ordeal. when I was called and told my bike was ready this afternoon, I was informed that the mechanic got frustrated with the front brakes and so replaced them. He began by wording the conversation as a question, is it ok if we do this, and when I asked how much longer it would take to fix, told me that he'd already done it. and it would be $10 more then I had been originally quoted, and I didnt feel like I had much of a choice, since it was already done. I feel as though it is VERY unprofessional to do work without asking the client first. I had never had any trouble with the front brakes, they were a little loose, but didnt need replacing. When I arrived at the store I saw that different parts had been used then were on the bike, not a big deal, except that one is small and black and the other larger and silver. two matching parts that in no way match any more, and something that I had no say about. this whole situation leaves me feeling like I got charged $10 for a service I didnt ask for, because your mechanic couldn't put back together what he took apart, and I paid to get my bike back in worse condition then I brought it in.

I have been seething since arriving home, and thought that this needed to be addressed.

this one apparently worked....my ghetto bike will be no more...perhaps I should take a pic of gimpy bike and gimpy car together...they are matching at the time

blah.

in bad mood...and do know why. why? you ask....take your pick

• took my new car on its first road trip over the weekend. hello highway, it's nice to make your first acquaintance. good bye hubcap, it was nice knowing you. car dealer response: that's unfortunate, falls under wear and tear. WEAR AND TEAR! the car has 700 miles and it happened as soon as I hit 55 for the FIRST TIME.

• have to take a bio class to maintain my chemistry certification. since apparently one must know biology to teach chemistry. NOT. and of course the online class at oakton community college I picked is full. and the professors are not responding to my e-mails. and of course this was discovered AFTER I paid the $25 application fee.
  

• didn't get to ride my bike today because I had to work, and since its gross million degrees today can't just do it now. also didnt get to eat lunch today because we were working up a storm so now I am just hungry.
  

• finally was making plans to do something with someone I'd met since I got here. BEACH DAY! and then have to work again tomorrow...so probably dont get to have any fun. of course.
  

• STILL dont have my test prep books for stupid certification tests that I have to take for stupid state of Illinois stupid certification tests even though i ordered them last week.
  

• bought nick velcro ball catchy yard game toys and they fell apart first use. so took back to target to get new ones. stupid target is out of them. boo. and tried to go to get pretty yarn to make hats with claires but stupid joanns has only ugly yarn, and the stupid knitting needles were already 25% off so I didnt get to use my 40% off coupon. boo.

weekend recap part 4: beach, part deux

last stop: the beach

this one, life guard free. and so we swam. and got smashed into the rocks.