#101- Sour Grapes

I am not talking about the figurative ones, but the literal "sour grapes".  I was grocery shopping last week and was going through the produce aisle at a store that normally has great fruit & vegies, when what to my wondering eye should appear in the grape section - nothing but nasty looking, sour grapes.  I mean red, seedless grapes that had mold on them.  EVERY SINGLE BOX!!!! Not just one or two, like you sometimes see.  Now why in the hell would a store put out a whole display of bad grapes???? Let's explore.

1. The produce manager was out sick that day and the manager who was subbing was the cleaning aisle manager.

2. When they put the grapes out, they looked OK, so they must have ripened and gone bad in the course of 30 minutes.

3. The produce display stacker is blind.

4. The produce display stacker is from a 3rd world country where grapes with mold would be considered an antibiotic.

5. Santa delivered presents early to the store so they had to make room in the warehouse.

6. The grapes actually came on Santa's sleigh from the North Pole and were frozen then thawed then frozen then thawed.

7. The produce manager thought someone could use the grapes to make a batch of very dry sour wine.

 8. The produce manager is blind.

                                                                                                                           



#100 - Distracted Drivers

At this time of year, there are many things that can be a distraction to the average person.  Christmas or Hanukkah lists of things to buy.  Cards to write and mail to family & friends.  Baking to be done.  Decorating to still be done.  Driving through neighborhoods to look at Christmas decorations.  And now in this new milennium, we have a new distraction as we are driving around looking at our neighbor's houses - CELL PHONES.  People are either talking on them or texting.  You can tell which one they are doing by the position of their head.  If their head is tilted slightly to the right or left, they are talking.  If their head is tilted forward and in a downward position, they are texting.  Either way, they are distracted and not driving particularly well.  Either they are crawling along at a snail's pace or they are drifting from one lane to another or they are speeding down the road and coming within inches of your bumper.  It seems to this blogger that this need to communicate while driving has gotten worse, as 4 out of 5 cars I passed the other day, had a driver doing one of the above mentioned tasks.  Why is it that we can drive in a vehicle with a live person sitting right next to us and not talk for an hour, but we cannot go for a minute without either talking or texting on our cell phones!!!????

                                                                           



#99 - SUV=Shiny Under Vehicle - Not!

*Blog Author's Note: No entry for 2 days because of  bad head cold!

To continue the SUV theme.  What the heck is up with people getting SUVs and then putting really fancy, shiny wheels on them that make them look like a luxury car?  It just doesn't look right.  It's like wearing spike heels with overalls.  Or getting your nails done when you are a landscaper.  Or wearing a designer suit with a pair of sneakers.  If you want shiny, fancy wheels, then get a Cadillac or a Lexus.

                                                               

#98 - Speed Bumps & SUVs

Sport Utility Vehicle - SUV - has become one of the most populat vehicles on the road today. And what does the name of the vehicle suggest to you?  Rugged. Climbing. Bouncing. Can take quite a bit of bumpiness in the road, right???? Well, it irks me to no end to be behind a humongous SUV and when it comes to a speed bump, it slows down to the point that it almost stops!  And then goes over the bump at .2 mph!  Are you freakin' kidding me??!!?!?  Did these drivers never see the Chevy "Like a Rock" commercial sung by Bob Seger!!!!!!!!

                                                                       

#97 - Doctor Knows Best

As if the last week with our mail order drug place has not been annoying enough, they have started another battle of the emails over a generic vs. formulary drug.  Mind you, Bob hast tried the generic of this particular drug for his high blood pressure before and it causes his asthma to flare up, so whatever is in the generic is obviously not in the formulary.  Does the mail order place look back at their records.  Obviously not.  Because they send out this long winded email about costs and how you need prior authorization for new medications or meds you have not taken in the past 120 days.  WTF????!!! Bob has not stopped taking this med at all.  He has been on it for at least 5 years!!!!! It is a bit scary that we have been reduced in our health system to some doctors being questioned on simple things and having to take time out of their schedules to answer why they are prescribing something relatively harmless (not addictive), and other doctors prescribing drugs for patients that can cause their death and are literally getting away with murder.  I realize I should be thankful for having the coverage we have, but how about you quit pulling the blanket off of me onto your side!!

                                                                         

                                                                    

#96 - Let's make a drug deal???!!!!

The fiasco of the prescription shipment continues, almost a week later. Let me bring you up to date, if you have been following this story.
1. Sodium chloride solution for flushing sinuses shipped to St. Louis, MO. (my guess is they forgot to put a shipping label on box and it went right back to shipper, as they are located in St. Louis).
2. I send email to shipper (presecription drug place) explaining what had happened (proof of this was detailed in UPS tracking).
3. Shipper replies to my email, saying the item was shipped on 11/25 and according to their records, the delivery address is our address.
4. I reply to shipper's reply.  I know it was shipped and arrived, but we do not live in MO.  We live in VA.
5. Shipper replies to my reply to their reply.  Sorry for any inconvenience and since 12 days has passed since it was shipped, please contact us at the toll free # below and we can then begin the process of initiating a replacement for you. If we send a replacement, you will be charged another copay and a refill.
6. I send tracking info back to shipper once again, stating, see DELIVERED TO details and do not charge me a 2nd copay.  Take it up with UPS.
7. I get reply. We sincerely apologize for the delay on your order. We have confirmed that your order shipped to an incorrect address. Please call us at this 800 # and a patient care advocate (who is here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) will gladly look into replacing your order.
8. I call the 800#. I do not get a patient care advocate.  I get an automated messaging system. I email shipper with this info.
9.  I get reply.  I sincerely apologize for the trouble and the delay caused by our error.  The # you were given was a generic # and not client specific. If you will please call the # listed below, a patient care advocate will be happy to assist you.
Many of the above statements were proven wrong.  However, I can tell you the very last staement is an absolute fallacy, as whatever patient care advocate I get will certainly not be happy by the time I get through with him/her.  And this is all for a sodium chloride irrigation liquid!!! You would think we were renewing a narcotic or some other controlled substance! I miss the personal service of Helfands' Corner Drug Store!

                                                                         
                                                          

#95 - Hot Air: For Balloons Only

I have this thing about Christmas decorations.  I enjoy looking at decorations in daylight.  So, those houses that are decorated nicely, are those that look really nice during the day - garland, wreaths, bows - and become even more enchanting at night, when the twinkling of lights adds to the festive look.  What doesn't look nice (in my opinion) is a house in the daytime, that looks like a freaking hurricane or tornado ripped through their front yard, leaving a mass of rubber rubble in its wake.  You know what I'm talking about - those HUGE, not big but HUGE - blow up figures of Frosty & Santa & reindeer & snow globes, that are only displayable when the electric is pumping air into them.  So, when the lights are shut off, down goes the displays into a pile. I say save the hot air for romantic balloon rides, and stick to greenery and lights for your Christmas displays.