a graceful return...

I have been away from my blog as I have been "invaded" for the last two weeks. My wonderful sister and niece have been in for a visit and we've been busy with them and then another friend who flew in to join my sister and niece so we've been doing whirlwind visiting! It's always so much fun and hugely enlightening to see my world through their eyes. Things I have come to take for granted and things I have forgotten about are always brought right up front when they come. The grandeur of the desert we live in, as opposed to it just being dry sand, the actual laid back attitude of the population out here and I am saddened to say the much better customer service (or at least pleasantness of the people doing the customer service) out here as opposed to the sad state of customer service on the east coast. After having them here to visit the bad stuff doesn't seem as bad here once I'm reminded of what it was like back there! But then again they were on vacation so ....maybe a bit of rose color to those visions of loveliness out here?

Unfortunately, my return to the blog is due to their having left today to go home :-(. We are a saddened house hold but we look forward as always to the visit we will have with them hopefully next year on their turf (which would mean a return to the east coast for me which would be SOOOO cool and the first visit that my children would actually remember to where mommy comes from!)

So, I close this little blurb- happy for having gotten to spend time with my long lost love ones, for the new friend made from his joining my sister on her journey out here, for the joy they have brought my whole family (my littlest misses her auntie and cousin already) and for the "newer" look at the area I have come to call home.

See ya next year!

"The Happiest Place on Earth"

No silly, not the mouse's house...but an adult establishment (kid friendly..don't get dirty on me people) that causes close to the same euphoria for adults that children feel upon entering the Magic Kingdom.

For those of you who don't know me, I am not a pretty picture without coffee. For those who do know me, I hear ya, I'm not a pretty picture with coffee either...and aren't you people cute(you know who you are)! Anyway, on with the purpose of this little jaunt in to the my casual caffeinated mind.

I love coffee, and more importantly I crave coffee most days. I enjoy my mass market chain store along with the rest of the lemmings, but as with the rest of the lemmings I become more and more disenchanted as time goes on and prices go up.

I also have a lot of trouble with the lack of good customer service, I know I know that's a shocking revelation for some (who obviously haven't read this blog, or had the privilege of listening to my diatribe in person). So, why the long intro....who knows.

There is a place, a place I've been going to for about two years on and off that I LOVE. They have the best coffee, the best baked goods, and more importantly the BEST attitude when it comes to customer service. That place is LUX! If you love coffee, kind people, and great goodies THIS is the place to go! Jeff and Tara own/run the place (I think) and they are the kindest sweetest people. They SINGLE HANDEDLY restore my faith in the human race on a regular basis. No matter how long I've been away, or how often I go in, I never cease to be amazed at the wonderful people who work there and how welcome they make everyone feel, from the first timers to the old timers.

Because of their greatness I will do whatever I can to promote and support them! They deserve your patronage. I have included their website in my post here http://www.luxcoffee.com/ and if you feel like visiting great and if you don't GREAT, because while I support them and want them to do well, the less people there, the happier I'd be because I want to keep it all to myself! But that wouldn't be fair to Jeff and Tara and they deserve all good and wonderful things for continuing to restore what little faith I have in humanity.

As always, thanks for reading!

PS-I love this picture and I don't think it's copyrighted so I think I'm okay...if I'm not please let me know so I can mea culpa and remove it! Thanks

Irregardless . . . and other such nonsense

People, people I beg you...if you're going to murder the English language then at least please hail from a foreign country so that you have a clear and logical excuse (an accent might not be bad either...we tend to forgive almost anyone with an accent) to have the poor grammar that you use so flagrantly in public.

IRREGARDLESS is not a word!!! I repeat NOT A WORD...so don't use it! You do not enhance regardless...you just don't do it.

To quote a favorite passage from a favorite movie, "INCONCEIVABLE!" which is responded to with "I do not think that word means what you think it means."

Thank you for your time.
The grammar deficient management.

Do you want a BAG with that???**!!

My family loves me dearly, at least I'd like to continue living under that delusion. A long LONG time ago, in a town far FAR away, I had a summer job that entailed A LOT of customer service. This job was my first real foray out into the working world and for this casual mind it was a great adventure.

That being said it was an education as well. I learned that from that first fateful job that I WAS NOT cut out to do any sort of direct customer service. My attitude was far from congenial and my patience, even at that young age, was not enough for me to be able to deal with the general public and their never ending needs, "can I have bag with that, you didn't give me the right change, are there any fresh baguettes (said while standing in front of a basket FULL of warm steaming fresh baguettes), or is this Organic Raspberry Jam organic (I kid you not the jar said organic, but perhaps this "out of Towner" just thought we were pulling one over on her ....or she simply couldn't be bothered to read, I'll let you decide)" completely illustrated that I, me, personally was not cut out for customer service.

The title of this blog were the very words I uttered to my family, who I love mind you, one day when they came in to - poke the tiger as it were- see me in action at my first job. My fate was sealed and I will NEVER live that statement down. Now, in hindsight, I find it an amusing quirky story.

But that leads me into one of my every favorite gripes - If you don't have the talent or desire to do customer service then -PLEASE- do us all a favor and DON'T.

On Friday evening, I went rushing eagerly out to a local store. I was trying to get to them before they closed and knew that I would be pushing the time pretty close, but in today's economy, I thought hey, perhaps they'll be okay with me asking some questions even if I run over their closing time just a tad.

I get to said store and am greeted by the greeter, a young bubbly little girl with a smile and a headset. I am informed before I even set foot in the door, "you are aware we close at 8pm and it is now 5 mins till 8. We will be open again tomorrow for your shopping enjoyment, but if you have any real shopping to do you probably shouldn't come in now"

....I pause for effect here.....let that sink in a bit....okay.....good.....

so here's what I'm thinking at that moment, "um, hello, I'm a CUSTOMER, I have questions in regards to purchasing something from your overpriced and expensive store, I indicated to you that I wanted to make a large purchase but had a few questions to go with that and in today's economy where you can't get people to take some of these higher priced things FOR FREE, you - the CUSTOMER SERVICE REP for this establishment is saying please, take your money and leave and if you so desire to make a purchase, come back when it's more convenient for ME."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

Sorry for all the caps but this really got me irritated on Friday and as I write about it now I'm getting all worked up all over again! What did I say to the bubbly little girl at the door.....I'm ashamed....I said, "uh, gee, okay, uh thanks?" Yup that's it folks that's all she got from me.......

Now do you see why I need a blog!

Casual Friday - the conspiracy

So, it's Friday and that for me my friends means - CASUAL FRIDAY!!! woo hoo! I know, I know, I get so excited over the little things (yes - all the little things) any who, it's my dungaree day (for those unschooled that means denim or jeans) and I couldn't be happier. My Fridays start off SOOO much faster when I get to wear "the jeans". Some how going to work doesn't nearly as dreary. There's more of a bounce in my step, swing in my ponytail and smile on my face. Now, if only I could go to work EVERYDAY in casual wear (to go along with my casual mind LOL).

There are those of you who look down on casual Fridays and you know who you are! I hear you when you say things like "Boy I'm glad I work where I do, they don't allow casual days so I don't have to see you poorly dressed urchins." But what you're really saying is "DANG, I wish I could wear my jeans to work, stupid office doesn't allow casual day, arg..grrr...grump...rrrrr..."

So to you and all my potential readers I say.......HAPPY FRIDAY!!! and thank goodness for Casual days!

**PS- the monkey is just cool so I thought he'd be a good "Oh no you didn't..." picture to post with this entry! The picture is in no way meant to represent the blogger, the readers or the above mentioned casual day denial person.

*Side Note to possible readers (if there are any)

Please forgive my lack of commas, possible run on sentences or incorrect grammar or word usage. This is a blog, or more accurately my blog. As the title states it's ranting and raving from a casual mind. Therefore if you're looking for prim and proper it more than likely won't show up here.

That being said, probably only people I know will read these and thus this note is superfluous as they all know my mind is terribly casual!

I'm writing for fun, mine and hopefully yours. I do hope that my posts are enjoyable and if they aren't, well they're mine and that's all I can say about that!

You are invited to comment, you are invited to tell others if you find me interesting, you are invited to email if you have ideas you'd like me to post on, otherwise you are stuck with whatever drivel comes forth from the casual wanderings of my weary but sometimes excitable mind.

***I have no idea where this photo came from but it ALWAYS makes me laugh. I sincerely and genuinely give credit to who ever created it and thank them for letting me post it here.***

Here comes the heat...

but it's a dry heat. If you don't live in this desert metropolis but know people who do, or if you do live here and are just trying to cope with what you know must be one of the rings of the underworld (that would be July, August and early September for sure) then you've uttered or heard uttered those very words often.

Today we will top out at 90 ish the local weather persons say. Around 1sih today while out and about the temperatures were 88 & 89, and as I turned on the air conditioning in the car I wondered, would I be any happier elsewhere? No probably not. I would more than likely cripe about the rain, snow, sleet, hail, humidity or other weather that is offered up in different locales, so it seems it may not be the weather per say just my need to gripe (cripe, or other words I use normally but will not assault the reader with here)

Is it really that bad to have 90 degree weather in April? Well, I believe yes it is! 90 degree weather now only gives us a foreboding sense of defeat as desert dwellers and the most certain knowledge that the short but beautiful period of pleasant weather may be at an end even earlier this year then last. Is it really time already for the pleasant little chill to be gone in the mornings replaced with the heat that most of the country gets at their highs during the day and that causes us to use a light sweater when walking to the car in the morning knowing that by 9am we will have removed the cursed sweater and have already started dripping with heat, causing us to long for a shower by 1030am???

but then again it's a dry heat, right?

A brand new day . . . or not

A friend commented just the other day that perhaps I should finally venture forth into the world of blogging. Not a new concept to me as I currently thoroughly enjoy blogs of others that are posted in this fabulous forum. However - I have never thought that my ramblings would or could be of any interest to others. But, alas, society and it's never ceasing ability to make me want to pontificate and has driven me here to unload. Perhaps this will continue, perhaps not who's to say - um, that would be me I guess.

So why today, you the reader may be asking, I say why not today! It's a day just like any other, why should today be any different...well it's not different and that, dear readers (if there are any who venture to this blog), is what saddens me.

I am not quite old enough - I think- to make this type of statement, but I must. You see I remember when (key old time theme musak in the background) customer service was a point of pride, ney, a staunch facet of working with the public. When you, the customer, were treated with kindness, respect and, dare I say, a reverence that screamed - You are our customer, without you we would have no reason to be here, we are here to make your day more pleasant and to SERVE you our customer, thank you for choosing to spend your hard earned money here as opposed to our competitor across the street!

Unfortunately today seems to be just another one of those endless days that reminds me, even during these tough economic times, when money is scarce and every penny (customer) counts, that nobody cares!! Shop here if you want, don't shop here if you don't want, we don't care. You, the individual, the customer, you don't count at all! If you feel you must shop here please don't expect us to serve you, the customer, instead let us make sure we emanate disgust and put upon-ness (I made it up, but you know what it's my blog so there!) so that we insure you will never want to frequent our establishment again, because we laugh at your money - Ha Ha Ha - we don't need your money, we just have our establishment here as a hoax! We're not here to serve customers, in truth we are here merely as a cover operation for some other dastardly plot involving other life forms! You gullible humans, we shall one day rule you!! - or something like that.

Huh, and here I thought it was just me.