A Little South of Sanity

I haven’t really talked about it much- but yesterday I went to a funeral. It was for one of my neighbors- and the third of my neighbors to die this year. This doesn’t count Carol, who died in March (which I find myself still tetter-tottering back and forth between sadness and denial over), and then others who have passed recently as well.

I’ll tell you a little secret about me- or maybe it isn’t a secret at all if I’m sharing it here.- I know that no one actually likes death and funerals, but I have to say that they really get to me and I’m struggling with that right now. I think when God was passing out empathy, he gave me a triple dose or something, because as freaky as this will sound- I can literally FEEL another person’s sadness.

I remember trying to change that about myself when I was a teenager, but it didn’t work. I try to accept it as just part of who I am, but in times when so many people are hurting- it’s hard.

It will get better though- it will just take me a little while to work through the emotions.

Just a few days short of 3 months- with no end in sight. It breaks my heart when I think about the Gulf and what is happening because of this tragedy. It affects SO many, right down to animals who are now being deserted and taken to shelters because people have lost their livlihood and can no longer afford to take care of themselves, much less the animals they love.

It’s tragic, it’s heartbreaking, it’s maddening… When will it end?

As you all know, today is Mother’s Day and last week I decided I wanted to send my mom some flowers. I rarely order her flowers, so I thought it would be something special for her to receive on the day dedicated to wonder mother’s like herself. I decided to go to FTD.com (I’m not linking them) and I actually found a beautiful basket with tulips. My plan was to order them, because mom loves tulips as much as I do. When I went back to the site to actually place my order, they were unavailable. There were plenty of cut tulips, but I knew I didn’t want those, because unless you are putting them in a vase straight from the field, they aren’t going to last long.

To make a very long story short- two hours later, I’d finally chosen the flowers that I wanted for mom. At FTD you have the option of ‘upgrades’ which means you can get the same arrangment but with more flowers for a higher price. I ordered the ‘best’ of the particular arrangement I chose and asked for them to be delivered on Thursday.

First, I’ll say this- the flowers were delivered on Thursday as promised, but when I saw the picture of what mom had been given, I felt like someone punched me in the stomach. Mom said they were pretty, and I know she loved them, but when I asked her why it looked like some of them were old, she said they did appear to be that way, but maybe it was the type of roses they used.

I was NOT happy. First, I am not with my mom on Mother’s Day, which is emotional anyway, but to deliver what I considered to be flowers that weren’t fresh was not acceptable. I called FTD.com, and spoke to a very nice Asian person (FTD apparently outsources their calls to another country so they can pay their employees lower wages) who was more than willing to go out of their way to help me. They called the florist and then asked me to call the florist. I did. By the time I called the florist (whose name I won’t mention, because before this incident I’m assured have had a stellar reputation) they had already spoken to mom and assured her that the flowers were fresh (they’d gotten them in yesterday) and the roses that I thought were old were described to me as antique roses and tend to have that appearance of being brown on the edges. She did offer to replace them, and in the end, I told her that if she assured me they were fresh that it wouldn’t be necessary. She thanked me, and hung up the phone.

By yesterday morning (Saturday) those ‘antique’ roses were obviously just that, because they were dead. The larger roses seemed somewhat ok, but even they had seen better days. Now, I don’t know about you, but if a flower is fresh and is in water and not standing in direct sunlight, plus in a cool environment- there’s no reason under the sun that they should be dead in two days. I asked mom to take another photo and send it to me, and she did.

Again, I called FTD.com and told them that while I didn’t allow the flowers to be replaced because I was assured they were fresh, now after two days they were dead, which told me that they obviously were NOT fresh. The representative offered to replace the flowers and I told them NO. I said that the website guaranted that the flowers would last at least 7 days and since they didn’t even last two, I had no use for them and I wanted a refund. They gladly obliged me and I was promised to have the refund within 5 days. This morning, I noticed my account had already been credited.

I’m not sure what will happen with this situation, but one thing is for sure- that even though they handled it professionally, I’ll never order from them again. There was a HUGE difference in the flowers I ordered and the flowers I received, and I don’t mean freshness wise either. I even suggested to mom that the delivery guy created the arrangement- they were that unprofessional looking.

I applaud your customer service FTD, but your flowers leave something to be desired.

Have you ever noticed that anytime there is a crisis- there are always some lawyers lurking in the shadows just waiting to make a quick buck off someone elses misfortune? In the midst of the Oil Crisis on the Gulf Coast, where help with the clean-up is needed, there are those lawyers who are rolling up their shirt sleeves not to help with the clean up, but instead to come up with a plan of action to see who can be the most creative in coming up with a way to line their pockets.

Of course, they do it under the guise of helping those who are the victims of this tragedy, but yet if that were really the case, do you think they’d be asking for at least 1/3 of any payments that a person may ultimately receive? This all reminds me of good ole’ boy D. Scruggs and his plethora of ‘class action’ lawsuits. Last I heard he was in prison, but who knows, maybe he’s out now and is the ring leader in this mess.

Regardless of who’s the ring leader in this class action circus- you should be ashamed of yourselves by preying on those who are already struggling enough, and hiding behind the guise of saying you just want to ‘help’.

For those who are really interested in helping with the clean up, check here for more information.

Dear Spammers,

I checked my blog this morning to find a multitude of comments awaiting to be moderated, all of which after careful consideration were promptly disposed into the SPAM category- deleted from my little part of cyberspace, never to be seen (hopefully) again.

Some of you non-spammers out there may think that ‘those people’ (spammers) come out of the cyber woodwork only to make our lives a little more complicated. The truth is, I GET why spammers are out there- they are doing a job, created by someone else and they’re on a race against time.

I know that someone has offered to pay you 1 cent per ‘approved’ comment that you receive on blogs (or maybe a little more, but not much), and considering that you can find blogs that auto approve everyone, then you’ve hit the proverbial penny jackpot (don’t worry- I know those pennies add up- slowly, but they do add up). I also know that the same thing applies to email Spam- Again, people pay to get valid email addresses or pay to have someone else spam their product on unsuspecting people. Phishers use this tactic quite often as well, using your contacts to further their cause.

Dear spammers, I ‘get’ that you have a job to do, but you are wasting your precious time by stopping in here, because you won’t get approved and IF you do- the only way you’ll make it past the tight security (that’s me), is if “I” want you to. Just a little word of advice- If you want to do your job, and do it well while increasing your earning potential, I suggest reading at least PART of the entry before you attempt to spam it- after all there are pennies waiting to be made.

Now to quote Glinda the Good Witch, I’ll say: “Be Gone- before somebody drops a house on YOU!” (The Dropped house being me pressing the spam button and deleting your babble forever)

Much love-
- Moi’

As I was sitting here a little while ago, I realized that today is the anniversary of my grandmother’s death. She struggled for two years with cancer before it finally took her life, and even to this day, I miss her but am glad that she’s no longer suffering.

While I was remembering her, I realized that on the 28th of this month- Carol would turn 54 years old, and I felt as though I’d been kicked in the stomach. I found it hard to breathe and the realization that she’s no longer here hit me full force. I miss her- a lot.

Maybe her birthday would be a good time to try to write something in honor of her. If I can, if only I can.

It is no secret that I’m a HUGE fan of the television reality show Survivor. I’ve been watching it since the very first season when Richard Hatch walked away with the first million they gave away (and later was sentenced to prison time for tax evasion), and I’ve watched every season since.

The show is on it’s 20th season and this one is appropriate titled Heros -vs- Villians. Some of my favorite players of all time are playing on this show- J.T. (who won the million a few seasons ago), Rupert, and even one of the biggest villians of them all, Russell Hance.

If you’ve seen any of the two seasons that Russell has appeared on, it’s no secret that he is relentless. I honestly believe in the history of the game he plays it harder than anyone, and maybe that’s because he has this overwhelming desire to be known as the most ruthless person ever.

I’ve heard many people say that Russell is probably a sweetheart in real life and nothing like his Survivor persona, but I tend to think otherwise. I know these people are there for the ‘show’ and to play a ‘game’, but you can’t have your game face on 24/7 and not allow pieces of who you are to show. After alll, a person can only pretend so much.

This past weekend mom sent me a news article where Russell Hance had been arrested in Layfayette, LA for shoving a woman and making her fall to the ground. That would definitely give me the impression that he obviously means that negative banter he spews about women on the show, and how he seems to feel as though he is ‘superior’ to everyone else. Then again, maybe the show has gone to his head.

He’s a great player- but definitely not someone I’d want to know in ‘real life’.

After all, you can take the boy out the trailer park, but you can’t take the trailer park out of the boy.

Do you ever have that feeling like you are just too tired for anything anymore? Today, I feel as though I have reached that point and I really don’t know what to do about it. I haven’t been able to eat anything, I haven’t drank any water or even any coffee, and I just feel bone tired.

Marcel says that it’s because I have too many things on my plate right now, and at this point I tend to agree with him. I just don’t know how to work through all these thoughts and emotions I’ve been having and to get back on an even keel. It has to come, but I wish it were sooner and not later.

There are many wonderful things happening in my life right now, and I’m grateful. I think a vacation is just what the doctor ordered, but I guess we’ve got to get Marcel better before that can happen.

I hate days like this. BAH!

When I’m left alone with my thoughts, you’d be surprised at some of the thoughts that cross my mind. I don’t know what it is, but everytime Marcel and I get ready to make a trip home, I always think about what I’d do if we had a travel emergency, and if I would be able to get in touch with my parents or brother if I needed to. I know it is irrational, but it’s one of those odd things I think about.

I think I’ve watched too many movies, but I think my biggest travel adventure right now is that I”d love to travel via car from East to West coast stopping at places that interest me and blogging about them. As much as I love Marcel, I think I’d rather make it a girl trip with Samantha. I know we’d have a blast and Oh, the stories we could tell.

So tell me- when you’re alone with your thoughts, what do YOU think about?

I was talking to a friend of mine online a few nights ago and she was discussing the fact that she feels like she’s going to be single for the rest of her life. I think she looks around and sees the fact that her friends are married and that she’s still single and she thinks that she just isn’t going to be shot with cupid’s arrow. She told me that she thinks about having a lovely wedding, complete with the beautiful dress, gorgeous wedding invitations, and delicious food. She thinks about having children, and for some reason she feels these things are just out of reach for her. Nothing could be further from the truth. I personally believe that she has SO MUCH to give as a person to a relationship, but she just needs to give it time. I have a feeling that Mr. Right is lurking around out there somewhere, and he’ll show up when she least expects it. I just wish she wasn’t so hard on herself.