venting | The Zimmer Zoo

Is It Just Me?

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Nancy

So…I’ve been sitting at work (yes. AT work) for the week. And I’m 100% reminded about how incredibly lucky I am to a) not have to do that commute every day and b) not have to put up with all the typical office crap. Sure, I miss the conversations and catching up with other real-live adults (and the food that seems to be everywhere! sheesh!)…but mostly – I am SO.SO.SO happy to be able to work from home full time.

Anyway…Am I the only one who gets bugged by fellow cubical-mates carrying on conversations on their speaker phone?? Seriously – how do you not get that this is incredibly rude? I don’t want to hear your (LOUD) conversation all day, every day. There’s a reason headphones were created. And I get that you’ll have conversations in your cube face-to-face… usually these are softer than phone conversations, so that’s no big deal. But entire meetings on your speaker phone? Gah.

Filed under: venting | Tagged: ban the speaker phone, office etiquette | 1 Comment »

Dear Kirby Vacuum Salesman-

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Nancy

First of all, your vacuum is kicka$$. Freakin’ expensive, but kicka$$. I just wanted to get that out of the way.

Second, I should probably have addressed this to “Kirby Vacuum Salesboy.” How old ARE you anyway?

Now, let’s get on with why I’m writing. I realize that this is probably all because of your training, but…

Your presentation is WAY too long. Seriously – two hours?? It’s a vacuum. I get that it has lots of neat things. I get that it’s going to clean better than any other vacuum in my house, in my neighborhood, on the planet…it doesn’t take TWO HOURS to convey that.
It’s CREEPY to go upstairs in a house you don’t live in. Especially since you didn’t really ask before you went, did you? I totally get that you want to show me all the gross stuff your vacuum will suck out of my mattress, but I don’t even really let my best friend in my room – why would I let some random guy in there??
Those filters you use to show me how much dust/dirt/gunk you’re getting out of my rugs/couches/mattress/etc..? Ya, I GET it. Put the bag on your vacuum and make the cleaning presentation go faster. Use the filter one or two times. Even one or two times per rug/couch/mattress/etc. would be fine.

And because I’m feeling so generous, here are a few personal tips:

I know you’re young, but mentioning that you still live with Mom doesn’t help your situation. Bragging that you still live with her almost kills it.
The “dramatic pause” when checking the filter was almost comical. Needs work.
Same goes for the “sneezing.” It made me want to say “You know, if you’re allergic to dust or cats, this might not be the right job for you.” And I would have. If the sneezing had been real.
That phone conversation you had with your manager? You know, to check to see if you could lower the price for us? SO.NOT.REAL. Was it your mom on the other end? Or someone’s voicemail? And exclaiming “NO WAY!” like $100 off of HOLY EXPENSIVE was some big thing..? Not cool.
Take a hint. When I go to put my kids to bed – it just might be time to leave.

Filed under: venting | Tagged: Kirby vacuum, salesmen, vacuum, vacuum salesman | 2 Comments »

Stupid Bed. UPDATED

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Nancy

We purchased a new bed a few weeks ago because our old bed had the tell-tale divots on each side of just being a ‘junk’ bed we’d had for too long. Did I mention the “a few weeks ago” part? Ya. well, the NEW bed is already showing signs of divots. (Seriously, I’m overweight, but geez – not enough to kill a bed in just a few weeks!!!) And both of us have been waking up with sore backs. And we bought it at one of those real mattress places.

When we bought it, we were assured that if we weren’t 100% happy, they’d be more than happy to exchange it as long as it was before 21 days had gone by. We’re still inside the 21 days, so Mike went to investigate. Ya. They’re more than happy to “exchange” it … but it’s going to cost us about 1/2 what we originally paid to do it. And there’s no guarantee that the new mattress will be any better. And I don’t think we’d be able to exchange the second one if IT isn’t any better.

We’re going in on Monday to see what they can do for us…keep your fingers crossed that they’ll be like “Oh, wait…THAT isn’t supposed to happen…you must have gotten a lemon. Here’s your new mattress for free!” mmmhmmm.

**updated with pictures**

I just thought I’d show a sample of what I’m talking about.

Nothing looks too bad here…

My Laptop IN the divot

Until I happen to push it a little to the center of the bed…

My laptop if I put it a bit toward the middle

My laptop starts sliding off the Laplander!!

Filed under: venting | Tagged: customer service, new mattress, old mattress, sore back | 10 Comments »

Children’s Shows – What the Heck??

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Nancy

I watch a lot of TV with my kids. I like TV, they like TV…what can I say. We DO limit it, but they still probably get more than they should.

THAT said, I have so many questions about these shows!! I’m sure some have been discussed before, but the following is what goes through my head while watching these shows.

Disclaimer: There is a lot of “What the…?” in this post. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I don’t ENJOY most of these shows with my kids. With the exception of just two – I actually like all of the shows I’ve mentioned. I’ll let you take a guess at which two.

Max and Ruby
Where the heck are their parents? Grandma drops by now and again, but even SHE isn’t asking where the parents are.

Handy Manny
OMG, how incompetent are his tools?? Why does he keep them around? Are they the only talking tools he can find? (And I giggle a little each time I remember that it’s Fez from That 70’s Show doing Manny’s voice. 🙂 )

Backyardigans
What the heck is Uniqua anyway? Seriously – we have a moose, a penguin, a hippo, and a kangaroo…and then some alien thing? Why not a … bear, or *anything* identifiable.

Also, I read somewhere that they have *3* different actors for each character. One who does the speaking, one who does the singing, and one who dances so they can model after him/her. REALLY?? In all of … wherever they are … they couldn’t find actors who could sing AND speak? Perhaps I could see not being able to dance, but…really?

Dora
WHAT IS WITH ALL THE YELLING?

Mickey Mouse Club House
Okay, so it’s not just the club house version, it’s been for as long as Mickey Mouse has been around, but what’s up with Pluto not talking? All the other characters are animals too and THEY can talk.

Tigger and Pooh
Darby?? What, Christoper Robin wasn’t smart enough to form the Super Sleuths?

Caillou
Holy whine. I really just want to smack that kid.

Dragon Tales
There seems to be a lot of time passing and parents don’t wonder or check on their kids. I suppose I could go with the “hours have passed in Dragon Land but only a few minutes at home” theory…but as a Mom, I know that if it were dead quiet in the playroom, I’d be going in to check on things!

Also, if you had a special Dragon Land, why would you ever come back?? 😉

Animation in General (no, it’s not a show)
Is there some unwritten rule somewhere that mandates only 4 fingers? It’s a little freaky.

Filed under: me, venting | Tagged: backyardigans, Caillou, children's shows, Darby, Dora the Explorer, Dragon Tales, Handy Manny, Max and Ruby, Mickey Mouse Club House, Tigger and Pooh | 7 Comments »

Dieting Sucks.

Posted on July 21, 2009 by Nancy

As you may or may not know, I started dieting last November. I even joined the now-defunct Ladies of Loserville blog ‘party’ to help with the process. Knowing that I’d never make it if I set the hefty goal of “I need to lose 50 pounds” … I started out small…20 pounds was my goal.

As most diets go, this one started out great! By Christmas I had dropped about 10 pounds. And then slowly dropped another 5 … and then another 3 … and then gained, then lost, then gained. For the past month or so I’ve been wavering between 17. 9 and 19.7 pounds shed. I CANNOT hit that damn 20 pound mark.

To top it all off, I’ve gone back to my crap diet. I’m no longer counting points; although, I’m still a lot better about things than I was.

But I have NO motivation. None. Nadda. I want all that junky, carb-loaded, sugary-sweet, tasty good stuff. And I have no will power to not eat it! *sigh* (In an effort for full disclosure, I’m actually munching on potato wedges while typing this up…perhaps the motivation needed for a confession.)

I suppose I should stop moaning and just get up off my butt and get back on the diet. Anyone have any motivation to lend?

Filed under: me, venting | Tagged: diet | 10 Comments »

Highway Robbery

Posted on June 15, 2009 by Nancy

Is it just me, or is charging $18 for a 4X6 picture a bit … pricey? Seriously. We had over 200 photos taken of the extended family over the weekend…and now that the pictures are available, I’m SHOCKED to see what they are charging. Don’t get me wrong – they are great photos, and they were great with the kids…but WOW.

And of course, I’d love to have a copy of almost all of them…don’t think THAT will be happening. *grumble*

Filed under: venting | Tagged: pricey pics | 4 Comments »

Removing the XL

Posted on April 4, 2009 by Nancy

As you probably know – either because you know me, or you’ve read previous posts (Bad Haiku Friday, this particular FX4, My Favorite Food: A – Z, 2008: International Year of the Potato…) – I *LOVE* potatoes. Favorite food – hands down. French fries are right up there with my mostest favorite-est.

As you probably also know, I’ve been trying to shed some pounds lately (19 of those nasty little things gone since November, thank you very much!). I’ve been keeping track with that ticker over there on the left-hand side.

So…it should come as no surprise that while I haven’t given up french fries, I have tried to limit my intake. If we go to a fast food place with the kids, I usually try to order the small sized fries. In theory, this is wonderful; I’m still getting those tasty little suckers, but I’m not ingesting the extra large box o’ fries. In theory.

What I’ve come to notice is that those small sizes are usually paper pockets…teeny tiny paper pockets. Pockets that hold only teeny tiny french fries. French fries that are so crisp, they could pass as potato chips. Apparently, all of the long succulent fries – crisp on the edges, but oh-so-potatoey on the inside – fall out and wait for those larger sized cardboard boxes.

So the question becomes, do I suck it up and try to enjoy the crispy ones, or do I ignore the whole “those aren’t good for you” thing and order a larger size? Torture.

Filed under: me, venting | Tagged: french fries, losing weight, potatoes, torture | 6 Comments »

Every Time

Posted on March 28, 2009 by Nancy

Okay, maybe not every time…but it seems like most of the time when we make plans for the family to get together with our friends, one of the kids gets sick and we can’t go. I think I’ve missed out on seeing my Connecticut friends the last 3 or 4 times they’ve all gotten together because of this. I know with 3 kids the odds of one of them being sick at any given time (especially in the winter) is probably astronomical, but sheesh. It’s getting ridiculous!

We’re supposed to go to a BBQ with friends this afternoon, but Maggie is *so* droopy. We did a Costco run and she fell to sleep in the car on the way home. She never does that any more! She’s had a fever off and on for the past few days and her poor nose is still redder than Rudolph’s (and very sore!)

Tomorrow we’re supposed to go see the above mentioned CT friends…I’m seriously hoping that she’s better by then because I really miss them. It’s been a long time since we’ve all gotten together. . . or should I say, since I’ve been able to get together with all of them.

And I had to cancel Maggie’s very first singleton-friend-coming-over-without-a-parent playdate on Friday because of this ick she’s got. She was crushed. (She was pretty pissed about not going to school as well…)

Filed under: kids, venting | Tagged: canceled plans, canceled playdate, sick | 5 Comments »

Holy Awkward

Posted on March 23, 2009 by Nancy

Literally.

The minister from our former church paid us a visit last night. And when I say last night, I mean he showed up at the door at 8:45. Unannounced. Uhm…really? And he stayed for about a half hour.

The thing is…he doesn’t know that he’s our former minister. (Read about my struggle and my peace.) We haven’t been to his church in two weeks. (We actually didn’t go to church yesterday because I was feeling really crappy and Logan has/had? Pink Eye.) He didn’t ask why we haven’t been at church. Church didn’t come up much, actually. As per typical, we heard a lot about how wonderful he is. (*sigh*) And honestly, as the last part of his visit dragged on, the voices in my head kept screaming “SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UUUUUP!!!!!!!!” (bad Nancy 😦 ) I guess that reinforced that we’re doing the right thing by going to another church.

The other awkward part of it all is that he brought toy cars for the kids. He’d been mentioning for a while that he had some – after Burke brought a bunch to church one day – and that he’d drop by to give one to Burke. He even set up a time with Mike to come by on a Monday (about a month or two ago) and then never showed up. I was THIS close to handing them back to him, but I totally didn’t want to get into it. Plus, if he HAD dropped by when he said he would – we wouldn’t have been looking for a new church at that point…right? I suppose we’ll just send a thank you card and leave it at that.

Do you think he’ll get the hint if we aren’t there next week? Or do you think we’ll get another visit? And if we get another visit do we let him know that we’re going to another church? Even if he doesn’t ask? Blah.

Filed under: me, venting | Tagged: awkward, church, uninvited visitors | 13 Comments »

Personal Security

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Nancy

In an effort to save a little money, we’re in the process of changing internet/cable/phone bundle providers. (Sorry Jon!) While talking with Mike last night, he mentioned our new phone number. So I asked if he had remembered to request that it be unlisted. Oops…

Part of the reason for unlisting it is that we never use the thing. It’s hooked up to our FAX machine, so we never answer it. What’s the point of listing it if it will just frustrate people because we never answer it? However, the biggest reason I’d like for it to be unlisted is this blog. I use our real names, so if we have a listed phone number it would be super easy to “come get us” – a little scary if you ask me…

So Mike called them back this morning to make the request. Their reply? “Sure! $4.99 a month and we’d be happy to do that for you.” What??? I’ve never had to pay to keep my phone unlisted! Mike looks at me with those “ahhh…what do I do??” eyes (the good man knows when his wife is upset 😉 ).

So I took the phone and had the following conversation:

Me: (Obviously pissed upset) I’ve never had to pay for this before.
Customer Service: There’s always been a fee – even I pay it.
Me: Maybe through YOU guys, but no one else has ever charged me. It’s ridiculous that I have to pay for my own personal safety!
CS: Well…we can remove your address.
Me: Do I have to pay for that?
CS: No, that’s free.
Me: (thinking, “And you didn’t mention this before because…?”) Yes, that’s what we’d like.
CS: Do you want your town removed as well?
Me: (thinking, “Seriously, you really have to ask me that?”) Yes.
CS: Let me put you on hold.

So…our phone number is listed, but apparently our address will be left off. Geeez.

Filed under: venting | Tagged: customer service, unlisted number | 9 Comments »

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Is It Just Me?

Dear Kirby Vacuum Salesman-

Stupid Bed. UPDATED

Children’s Shows – What the Heck??

Dieting Sucks.

Highway Robbery

Removing the XL

Every Time

Holy Awkward

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