Me Too

My perception of the Me Too movement is that there are far more females putting themselves out as victims of sexual assault than the bandwagon can hold.  If we are to believe the numbers by the rallies they hold and the protests they make, one would be hard-pressed to find a woman who has not been a victim of some sort of sexual assault.

And I don't believe that.

I would ask these protestors how many of them made credible accusations and/or involved law enforcement at the time of the alleged assault. Suddenly coming forward 20-40 years after an alleged assault diminishes its credibility to being a "me too" accusation without merit. It's really easy to jump on a bandwagon these days, making accusations without any credible proof, and these kinds of actions can destroy a person's life.  Public demonstrations bring out people who need public approval of their lives; people who truly are traumatized don't seek the limelight.

Ms. Ford, however, came across as a credible witness in her testimony at the confirmation hearing for Judge Brett Kavanaugh.  She was not hysteric and histrionic, but composed and right on point with her accusations and evidence of sexual assault all those years ago in a school setting.  Yes, she was clearly emotionally engaged in her testimony, and I believe her truth in a way I would not have had she been one of the group at the elevator who accosted Senator Flake and screamed their accusations of sexual assault at him.

Regardless of what the FBI background check affirms, Brett Kavanaugh is finished in his quest for the Supreme Court. His behavior while on the stand at the hearing demonstrates that he is too egocentric and arrogant to be a good Supreme Court jurist. He also has too much dirty laundry hanging off the lines to be at the highest level of jurisprudence, and I doubt he'll even be returned to his current Court position in light of the past week's revelations.

UPDATE:  So, I am wrong.  Kavanaugh is already sworn in as the newest Supreme Court Judge. Let's just hope that his old drinking buddies don't suddenly start talking about the good ole days when they've had a few too many beers.

Updating Sparkle

The people next door have finally both said it’s okay to find a forever home as they simply are gone too much, leaving Sparkle on her own.  She won’t stay in their yard as she has no food/no water when they’re away, and she literally climbs the chain link fence to get out. I talked with the husband the end of last week and he said “take the dog,” which I did.  Evidently, he didn’t transmit that message to his wife, who sent over the oldest son to see Sparkle on his way to school. I went over and talked to her and she said they really don’t want the dog, but the kids love her, and I told her they can come over and play with her in my yard (which she so far has not escaped).

Meanwhile, Sparkle is always right beside me whether we’re in the house or outside. She likes to be up on my bed, too, along with Daisy and Cinnamon.  Sparkle learned quickly about our morning cookie routine and waits for her bite to be fed to her.  She’s very quiet for a big dog and loves chewing on my favorite pair of sneakers that I left out – it’s been a while since I’ve had a puppy.

Friday we’re going to the vet for a check-up, rabies shot, etc., and I asked for an x-ray for the leg that the children injured when they were “playing” with her about 3 months ago.  I’m sure it’s healed and nothing can be done to undo the injury, but I’ll feel better knowing what happened.  Sparkle used to hold her leg way up, but she now uses it and puts her paw on the ground when she’s walking, so it can’t be too serious, but I need to know.  I’m also going to have her neutered as I don’t want a litter of puppies to deal with.

UPDATE:  Sparkle's leg was broken when the children played with her too roughly.  There is nothing that can be done about it now -- except to have an expensive surgery by an orthopedic surgeon, which I'm not in a position to fund right now.  She uses the leg, so it's not impeding her movement, but it's not right.  I also got all the shots she needed, and had her chipped, and got a voucher for a discount on having her spayed.

I don’t want to have 3 dogs, especially with my upcoming trip, but sometimes we receive gifts we didn’t know we wanted, and mine is a female German Shepherd dog.

Uplifting

Yesterday, the new garage door system would not work.  I had been out and about and when I returned home, I hit the down button and nada: the garage door wouldn't shut.  I tried about a dozen times to get the equipment to work, but it would start to close and then go back up.  Frustrated, I called the installer business and asked for a service tech to come close the garage door for me.

He arrived and the system worked like a charm.  He raised the door, closed the door, raised the door, closed the door a dozen times and it worked perfectly.  Feeling like a fool, I told him that I had tried to get the door to shut and it hung up at the same place every single time I pressed the button.  He said he believed me, but he can't fix a problem that he can't see.

Okay, so now, every time I leave, I'm going to wonder if I have to cast a magic spell to get the door to close!  Technicians always say that the most challenging problem to fix is an intermittent problem as they have to be able to replicate the problem to find a fix for it.  I'm going out later this morning, so I'm just going to remain optimistic that the darned door will close for me.

Caught in the Act

The General Manager for some Denny's restaurants in our area called me.  She had received my comments from the Denny's website and wanted to apologize for the experience we had at the I-10 store. She said that she had negative feedback before, but mine was more specific and gave her something to work with.  She asked me to go back to the restaurant Monday and see if the experience was different. She would comp our dinners and we would be "secret shoppers."

I agreed and last night, we went to Denny's.  The crew must have been expecting us because we were treated like visiting royalty!  Every single person on the crew greeted us personally and came back during our dining experience to see how things were going.  Last visit? No service; This visit? Too much service.  I told Y we had been made and they knew who we were and were going way out of their way to provide us with the ultimate in service.  He asked me how they would know who we are, and told me that maybe I was just overreacting.

As we finished dining, the supervisor came over to our booth and thanked us for coming back and giving them a second chance to get it right. She apologized for our previous experience and told me we are always welcome at their restaurant.  Nope, we hadn't identified ourselves … but she knew.

I'm not sure how informative our feedback would be about this visit as they obviously knew who we were and went overboard to see that we had a good dining experience. The food was prepared properly, the service was good, and the experience was fine. I'll recommend to the GM that she send in another couple of secret shoppers to see if the crew performs as well for strangers.

Dining Out!

Denny's has a newer menu than what it was in the old days, and most of the dishes are tasty.  Denny's is also a quick stop, so it's a nice place to eat when you don't have all day.  In my experience, Denny's has a lack of consistency both in the physical appearance of the restaurant and in the quality of its food.  Last week, Y and I went to the Denny's on I-10 in North Palm Springs and man! was it NOT a good experience.

The restaurant is clean enough, but there is no ambiance and no sound damping, so every scrape of a plate is magnified into a significant noise. I became far too aware of the noise as I listened to the staff gossip and giggle, rather than come over to our table and take our order. Once the order was on the way to the kitchen, the gossip and giggling continued, often involving the cook in the conversation, which became very clear when our meals arrived.

My broccoli and chicken skillet was charred on the bottom; I've had it before at other Denny's and it was cooked perfectly, so I think the cook was distracted by the gossip girls.  It was impossible to get the staff's attention from our seats, so Y got up and went over to the group to ask for a refill on our water. Another couple at a booth near ours kept looking toward the staff huddle and I told them they may have to go over and break up the gossip group to get any service.  The best part of the meal was the apple crisp; the rest of the dining experience was sub-par.

I complained to the supervisor, who was one of the gossips, that the staff acted in a totally unprofessional manner and ignored customers who were there to be served.  She apologized and gave me a "free entrée" card--but it's only good at that Denny's location and I'll never eat there again!

The dining experience begins when the diner enters the parking lot, so the appearance of the business has to attract attention first and then be supported by what's inside.  The staff at this Denny's gave the impression that they really don't want to be there doing the job they were hired to do, and if I were their boss, I'd fire the whole crew and start over with people who want to be there and work hard to do a good job representing the venue and the menu.

As for the free meal card?  Thanks, but no thanks.

When is an idea a bad idea?

Is anyone else concerned that The Purge will implant some dangerous ideas into the heads of suggestible individuals who may think that a real “purge” is a good idea and implement it based on what they see on TV?  Today's populace seems to be unable to distinguish between what is fact and what is fiction. Far too many people believe that if they see it on TV or on their phones, it is truth and actionable.  Those who are on the verge between good and evil may not be able to comprehend that "it's just a TV show," and decide to get in on the purge program to right many of what they perceive to be wrongs in their lives.

It takes quite a while for an idea to become a TV reality, so I'm frankly amazed that this concept went through a vetting process, has been produced, and is now awaiting its season premiere. 

The Escape Artist

Our morning and evening walks are the same route: around the block.  It's not fancy, and it only takes 20 minutes, but the dogs have set their routine and we follow it.  The past mornings, since I returned from my trip East, Sparkle has come bounding across an empty lot on the street behind me.  She is evidently getting out the back of her property as easily as she gets out the front.

The first time she met us, I didn't have a leash, so I unhooked Cinnamon and clipped the leash to Sparkle and finished the walk by depositing her back into her own yard.  Since then, I just carry a spare leash, hook her up, and finish the walk by putting her back into her  own yard.  This morning, however, I put her back into her yard and she literally climbed the trash cans against the fence and was back in my yard before I could get to the garage door!  She has a leg injury that somewhat limits her movement, but it doesn't slow her down getting out of her yard.

She's still here as the man I talked to next door doesn't speak English and just stands there, smiles at me, and says, "Si"  to whatever I try to communicate.

I'm going to be away today, and I don't want Sparkle in the house while I'm not here.  I pretty much have her potty trained by using the doggie door, and I've given her some serious chewy toys for those big canines to bite into, but I don't want to not be here when she decides to try chewing on my furniture or one of the many afghans I keep on the seating spaces.  However, if I lock her out of the house, I also have to lock my 2 dogs out as I have to block the doggie door to keep Sparkle in the yard.

If the next-door neighbors are going to keep her, they need to replace the 4-foot fence with at least a 5-foot fence, and then become more aware of the fact that they have a dog and it must be cared for.  Leaving a dog outside 24/7 is not a good way to keep an animal, so I don't blame Sparkle for wanting to come to my house, where there's always food/water and a person there to interact with.  She loves to come up onto the couch with me, and seems to favor putting her head into my lap where she'll get some head scratching and some baby talk.

But, as I said and continue to say, I already have 2 dogs and I don't want a 3rd.

The Pants Order

I hate to shop on-line because I never know what the product really looks like, nor how it will fit. However, a few months ago I bought a pair of khaki pants that fit me, look nice, and hold their shape while wearing, so I decided to purchase a couple more pairs of the same pants for my upcoming tour of the major music cities.

Yesterday, I ordered the pants; today I realized I had ordered the wrong pants. I called to cancel the first order and make a new order, but it had been 24 hours since the original order was placed, so I have to wait for that order to arrive and send them back.  Okay; I can deal with that. I went ahead and placed the replacement order and was pleased with the service and the attitude of the CSR, who was very nice and friendly.

I no sooner logged off the order and went to my email to find a coupon for 20% off my order and free shipping.  The 5-hour time limit for the sale was 8am to 1pm East Coast time. I immediately called back to Blair and talked with a CSR about the code and the 5-hour sale and my order.  She placed me on hold for a couple of minutes and then came back online.

In very small print at the bottom of the email message is the caveat that the sale is on East Coast time, not Pacific time, and I had called in on Pacific time--so no 20% off and/or free shipping.  I told her that I didn't read that and apologized, but she also said that my order had to be made on-line and not over the phone. I told her I was sorry that I had not followed the directions in the small print and told her to cancel the order I had made earlier.  She asked me to hold for a minute, which I did, and when she came back to me she said that her supervisor said they would give me the 20% off and the free shipping because I had made an honest mistake.  I thanked her, but told her I was willing to cancel the order and call back later -- but she said we were good.

I cannot stress the value of excellent customer service!  I made the mistake and was willing to do it over, but the CSR realized that would just generate a lot of unnecessary paperwork for both the company and me, and she contacted her supervisor to offer a solution that saves them the paperwork and gets me a good deal that will bring me back to Blair the next time I am shopping for clothes.

It's a Case of Open and Shut

So, yesterday I was leaving the house to go to the post office (which is a short walk away), and pushed the button on the garage door opener to lift the garage door.  Nothing.  No sound, no movement.  I tried again and it opened with a very loud grinding noise that didn’t sound good.  Once I exited the garage, I pushed the button to lower the door and it did so in a jerky movement; again, not good.  Of course, when I returned I had the same experience, so decided to call the garage door man.

He arrived right on time, asked me about the symptoms, then climbed a ladder to check things out. He asked me to join him on the ladder, which I did, and I could clearly see the debris from a mechanical piece, meaning it was slowly disintegrating and the noise I’d been hearing was that metal-on-metal grinding.

All in all, not a good symptom of proper garage door operation.

I held my breath when I asked how much to fix it and got the expected answer: not fixable; needs to be replaced. Gulp. I mentally adjusted my in-my-mind cost and asked how much to replace the whole system and guarantee it won’t break within 6 months and need more money thrown at it.  He was very matter-of-fact: $600, all new system, and warranted.

It took us longer to have the conversation than it did for him to take out the old system and replace it with a new system.  It’s now very quiet; as a matter of fact, I can’t hear any sound when the system opens/closes the door, which is eerie.  I have to look to see if the door is raising or lowering.  He told me that there is no more chain; it’s a more sophisticated system than the one I’d been using for the past 15 years.  I have an option on the keypad next to the garage “house” door that will lock the system so no one driving by can open it remotely, which is nice to know if I’m going to be gone for a few days.

The good news is that I have a new system and can rest easy about the door falling on my head when opening/closing it, which was my fear with the old system.  The bad news is that it cost $600, which is a lot of money out of my pocket.

And there was a hiccup (isn't there always a hiccup?).  I left the garage to go do some errands and the garage door wouldn't close.  I must have tried a dozen times to get it to move and it simply wouldn't, so I called back to the repair service and asked for someone to come get me out of my garage so I can do errands.  Chris, the installer, arrived within an hour, walked up to the control console, and voila! down comes the door.  Of course I stood there feeling like a fool!  Deep inside, however, I knew that it didn't work for me, so I explained that it was hanging up at a certain place in the process and I pointed it out as he worked the control switch.

Yep, there was a hitch in the performance, so he adjusted the big spring at the top of the garage door opening and it worked fine.  Haven't tried it today, but I'm going to be positive that he fixed the problem and I have $600 worth of reliable operation out of my new system.

But the best part of the whole deal is that I “earned” another $25 certificate to use at a very pricey Italian restaurant that serves delicious meals.  The certificate should cover the cost of the tip should I take advantage of the deal, which I may because the food is out of this world good. After all, the certificate was “free.”