Books of the paper variety

Obviously it's great that people read - no matter how they read or what they read.  Newspapers, magazines, books, ebooks.  Whatever.  Yay for reading.  But.  It makes me so sad to see the remaining brick and mortar Borders stores closing.  My husband and I met for our first date in a Borders, and often go to bookstores just to browse.  That said, I take partial blame for the demise of the book store, as I prefer to use the library over buying books and often order books online.  But my question is this - is this the beginning of the end of print material?  I suppose we're in the midst of the downfall of printed newspapers and magazines already, and with the rise in popularity of ebooks, I have to wonder.  I like the feel of a book in my hands.  I like the smell of a book.  I like the physical aspect of turning the pages and bookmarking.  It's so unappealing to think of reading to my child from a screen or monitor rather than from a dogeared, colored on book. 

What do you say?  Are books the relics of the future?

When you say it couldn't get worse...it gets worse

In the past couple of weeks...
...I got the dreaded blue screen of death on my work computer, where I had foolishly saved a large project with a looming deadline on the desktop. 
...I spent $100 to overnight the computer to my home office.
...my kid came down with the flu (we're on day 3 now).
...I came down with the flu.
...my computer came back, repaired, then promptly died via virus.
...I spent another $100 to overnight the computer back to the office.
...I neglected to get Father's Day gifts.
...yet another warning light appeared in my newish car (that makes two, plus a malfunctioning horn).
...I snapped at my poor sick kid. 
...I snapped at my husband.
...I received a rejection email, which is sort of worse than a letter.
It's not been a banner month, June.    It's time to say the Serenity Prayer. 

effing effity eff eff eff

This morning I got a flat tire.  I've never changed a tire, but hey, I'm a grown woman.  I can do it.  Except that I can't.  Stupid blankety-blank lug nuts are on so tight that they won't budge.  So much for the sense of accomplishment I was looking forward to.  I hate that I'm going to have to rely on BB to change my effing tire for me.  Makes me crying mad, almost to the point where I'd ride my bike to a store to buy a breaker bar. 

Heartlessness.

The other day my sister, my son, and I were driving down the Strip - something I rarely do since it takes so long and the pedestrians can be annoying.  We locals often get annoyed by the tourists in our city . . . not all of them, just some of their behaviors.  My suspicion is that these are largely good people but something changes in them when they come to Las Vegas.  They seem to think this is a place where the rules don't apply to them, the rules of law, as well as the rules of a polite society.  Anyway, one of the most common complaints about tourists is their brazen attitude about crossing streets.  They often ignore traffic lights or dart across the wide streets and often obstructed medians in areas outside of the crosswalks.  Anyway, we came upon a very recent accident where a pedestrian was hit by a car.  It didn't look good for the pedestrian.  Now, that person may or may not have been acting carelessly at the time of the accident, and the same goes for the driver.  Those aren't my focus right now.  What really bothered me was that a huge crowd had gathered to watch the firemen assist the victim, and they were taking pictures and video of it all.  That person may have been dead or dying and people were gawking and videoing the whole thing.  We drove by as the firemen arrived, so I can't say whether or not passers-by attempted to assist the victim or if they merely walked around him or whipped out their phones to take pictures and video, but in the aftermath, what possesses a person to video someone in a moment like that?  How could one be so callous?  More and more I feel I'm witnessing a breakdown in morality in this country, and in the world.  People seem so willing to blame others for their misdeeds rather than taking responsibility, and others seem to feel that nothing matters outside of themselves.  If I see either in my little C when he grows up, I'll be beyond disappointed. 

Brutality in Celebration

I just heard about the brutal attack on CBS journalist Lara Logan.  We see it time and again - people going on destructive, violent tears while "celebrating."  In the US, it's often seen in professional sports.  If I ever find myself in a city with certain types of professional sports teams, I'll heartily hope they lose.  What would make fans feel like setting vehicles ablaze, harassing motorists, crashing through store windows, and looting following something like a basketball championship victory??  Is it a lack of morality?  Mob mentality?  Utter heartlessness?  Evil, even? 

Thank God for the group of women and soldiers who saved Ms. Logan. 

Project 2011, January 25 - The Food Police

Dinner - BBQ chicken pizza (similar to this recipe, but without cilantro and gouda and with green bell pepper), pineapple

C's Dinner - roast pork and potatoes, a tiny bit of pineapple

I mentioned that C moved into the toddler room at day care, right?  Well, apparently that means he can have school lunch now.  Monday that was chili and corn bread.  Tuesday was sweet and sour chicken and rice (both days with a fruit and vegetable).  They offer it to the kids and if they don't eat it, they give them the lunch the parents send from home.  So I guess I was busy reeling from the thought of my baby being a "toddler" on Monday, because I didn't give the lunch a great deal of thought until that night.  Then I pictured him eating canned chili.  Canned, sodium-filled, preservative-laced, questionable meat-stuffed chili.  All going into my breastfed, organic only boy.  So, with Jamie Oliver-esque passion, I called the daycare director.  Expecting conflict.  Scary conflict.  Apparently most parents have this break down when their kids go to the toddler room, though, because the director was totally prepared and knew all the answers to my questions, even if I didn't like some of them.  She acknowledged that the USDA standards aren't high enough, but it's what they have to go on.  SO, I'll be sending his lunches from home and approving any snacks or additional food on a weekly basis.  I feel better, but it begs the question - why don't Americans care enough about their kids' nutrition and all of the implications of the quality of their diets to object to the ickiness that is the standard school lunch?  I'm certainly placing all of the blame on the schools.  It's also our lawmakers that need to understand that this is an important issue.  So, please, educate yourself on what your kids are eating at school, contact your representatives, educate your child on food nutrition, and have a discussion with the dietician/principal/PTA/school board at your child's school.  See if there's any way you can help.

Image from Vertical Harvest of Jackson Hole.

Here's more:
http://www.schoolnutrition.org/default.aspx
http://healthyschoolscampaign.org/
http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/ (a blog by Mrs. Q, who ate school lunch every day in 2010 with her students)

101 Insults

So I just heard about a new book called 101 Places Not to See Before You Die by Catherine Price.  Among the sites listed in the anti-travel guide is Nevada.  The entire state of Nevada.    I've not been known to rave about Nevada, but it's an insult to everyone here to boil a whole state down to the less-than-lovely aspects of the Las Vegas Strip, nuclear fallout, the potential nuclear garbage dump, and a segment of the state profiting off of those who wish to look for evidence of aliens. 

Nevada has wonderful outdoor recreation (hiking, golf, climbing, biking, skiing, boating, and on and on), historical sites, shopping, restaurants, museums, and spas, just to get started.  If you're not into that, it has great shows of all kinds, concerts, gambling, and oddities.  The state is diverse in geography, economy, and culture.  It has something for everyone.  It doesn't have everything for everyone, but it has something.  Doesn't every state have something for everyone if they just care to look? 

Hey, we've all been places that underwhelmed.  The point is to take from a place what you can.  Go in with a positive attitude, do some research, and try to have fun.  Oh, and if you ever find yourself putting together a web site promoting your book, do a quick spell check (ahem, Ms. Price, that means you).

Ms. Price seems like an intelligent, funny, and well-rounded individual.  Her book won't harm any of the sites listed, and it might even promote some of them.  I'd just be more interested in a book that lists both the best things to do and see, as well as those that are best skipped, with the focus on the good.  Since we moved to Las Vegas, we constantly hear about all of the things people hate about Vegas, and are often met with surprise when people learn that there is more to the city than a five-mile strip of casinos.  Come on, people!  Las Vegans don't sit around playing slot machines and drinking booze from novelty cups until it's time to get to work flipping nudie cards at passers-by or stripping!  Sorry for going off on a tangent...

If you care to look for beautiful, interesting, and fun things in Nevada, check here first.  Then here.  Maybe I'll do a little post on things to love about this place soon.  Hey, here's a pretty place I haven't visited yet, the Ruby Mountains.

Ruby Mountains

Who Changed the Menu?

Today C's day care called and said "there's been an incident in the infant room," to my horror.  Apparently the head teacher was out of the room and another teacher accidently gave one of C's bottles (breast milk) to another baby (a formula-fed baby).  At the moment I was just thankful that by "incident," she didn't mean "murder" or "massive diarrhea outbreak," so I took it in stride and ran another bottle down there for my C.  Now, though, I keep thinking about how I would've reacted if C had been given another kid's bottle.  I would've been livid even if it were formula, but totally grossed out if it had been breast milk.  The assure me that steps will be taken to ensure it doesn't happen again, but let me do this...

Dear parents of baby inadvertantly fed C's bottle,
I understand if you're disgusted and worried.  However, let me put your mind at ease.  I don't drink alcohol, consume caffeine, take drugs, or eat poorly.  I mostly eat organic foods (and the occasional Winchell's doughnut when I'm particularly weak).  C is thriving on my milk.  Look how beautiful and smart and happy he is!  Come to think of it, your darling child probably enjoyed that gourmet meal!  You're welcome! 
Respectfully,
Milk Donor

I kid. 

Scorpions, Spiders, and Ants - Oh My!

Um, do you remember when I complained about spiders?  That was nothing.  The other day I was on my way to the laundry room - barefoot - when I spotted a scorpion on the floor .  Being a self-preservationist, I ran.  I thought the damn thing was dead, but when I finally gathered the nerve to return, it had moved.  It so happened that we had a bucket in there, so I slammed it over the scorpion, topped that with a big container of laundry detergent and ran away, screaming.  I could hear it banging around in there.  I was home alone, but for the cat, and emailed BB and called the exterminator.  Both said not to worry, but really, those are horrible creatures.  In the end, BB and I coordinated an attack when he got home - we wore boots (ready to stomp), BB armed himself with some harsh bug spray, we stuffed rugs against the cracks under the doors to prevent escape, and I grabbed the swiffer to corral it if necessary.  There was a lot of screaming, but we killed it.  In Three Stooges manner, we killed it.  Scorpions:  Another reason no human belongs in the desert.  I'd post a picture, but it was so scary that I didn't take one.  By the way, the scorpion matched the color of our tile and carpet.  I'm genuinely scared now, and C is unlikely to ever get to move from our room into his own room, which is near the laundry room.  That happened on a Monday, and then on the following weekend I saw an enormous spider that looked similar to a daddy long legs with thicker legs and a bigger body.  I have the creeps just thinking of it.  Again, BB had to kill it for me, as it had penned C and I into our bedroom.  Then there are the giant ants taking up residence in our back yard.  Gah!

Loss of Control

So I'm still pregnant.  I'm not due until Sunday, but I'm scheduled to be induced next week.  It's so frustrating for me to know that my kid will be exposed to Pitocin and probably Cervadil when I've done so much through this pregnancy to avoid exposing him to anything that could harm him.  Now I'm reading of possible links between Pitocin and autism (one of my nightmares) and the increased odds of needing an epidural or even a c-section and decreased odds of successful breastfeeding.  Of course, BB is totally calm about it all.  In home ownership news, we went to sign the papers this week only to find several mistakes.  Now we're delayed again, and hope to have the keys on Tuesday.  Yes, you guessed it, the day I'll be induced if I haven't already gone into labor.  I can tell you for certain that focused anger (at the title company in this scenario) does not cause one to go into labor.  Nor does annoyance, frustration, anger, or constant calls from nosey and needy mothers.  If I had control over anything in my life right now, most of it would be different.  Alas, I do not.  Thus ends my rant for the day.  Carry on.

Customer "Service"

After a lengthy conversation with my prescription coverage customer service, requiring 3 separate phone calls and speaking with no fewer than 7 different agents, I thought I'd write a little guide to get you through the run around that is telephone customer service.

1. Have all documents ready before placing that call
2. Have documents you don't think are pertinent ready before placing the call
3. Have paper and a pen ready for note-taking before placing the call
4. Get the names of each and every person you speak with, as well as the date and time
5. Remain as calm as possible. Remember that the customer service agent rarely, if ever, has any say in company policies. They just do what they're told (one would hope they aren't winging it)
6. Explain your situation slowly, calmly, and as succinctly as possible
7. Repeat step 6 as needed
8. Ask for a supervisor if you feel misunderstood, ignored, or that more can be done
9. Call back if you aren't satisfied or if more questions come up
10. Don't trust that what you're told will happen will actually happen. Continue to follow up until you're satisfied
11. Do you best to be polite and courteous, no matter how maddening the situation becomes
12. Be the squeaky wheel if necessary. Follow up by phone, email, letter, etc.
13. Be your own advocate. Customer service employees work for the company, not you. Don't rely on them to take action.

I'm feeling particulary cynical lately after getting the run around from a major retailer over Christmas, this insurance company, and a major shipping company. Health care providers are often cautioned against thinking of patients as numbers or as unavailable beds, and I think customer service reps should be taught the same thing. It's empathy, people!

Anyway, I'm done ranting. Now I want to thank Miss Craig who finally, patiently helped me today. She saved my day. :)