#94 - I don't think so, Tim!

We have an insurance plan that requires we use a mail order pharmacy for maintenance drug presecriptions, as opposed to the local pharmacy. I  think many insurance companies have gone to this method, as it is more cost effective. So, Bob has allergy related items among other things, that are ordered online through the mail order pharmacy. One item is a sodium chloride solution to irrigate his sinuses and keep them opened.  Makes me laugh that it would be more cost effective to ship these liter plastic bottles (free shipping, mind you) rather than make us go to the local pharmacy and pick them up. The box that a 3 month supply arrives in is fairly heavy.  In any event, the last shipment was sent at the end of November and never arrived at our house in VA.  The tracking from UPS says it was shipped to St. Louis. MO, and the location was a dock and was signed for by Hune.  WTF??? Who the hell is Hune? Bob must have used an assumed name to sign for the package and made a trip to MO to do it!!!! And we must have a dock in our backyard. And in case they aren't good with geography, MO is not MD, and does not border VA.  OK, OK, so things can happen.  That is not my peeve.  My peeve is that I get an email this morning after I alerted the mail order place to this, stating they shipped the order and it arrived on the 30th, but that if they need to ship another order, we will have to pay for a 2nd presecription. I DON'T THINK SO, TIM!! (You have to know the show Home Improvement & Tim the Tool Man Taylor & Al, to understand that statement).  Take it up with UPS, goobers, not me!

                                                       

                                                                                                                     

#93 - Obscene Salaries

The ammunition I receive on a daily basis that continues my theme peeves is amazing to me. Yesterday's theme of greediness was fueled by a radio report I heard today, about a St. Louis Cardinals baseball player signing a deal with the Los Angeles Angels for $254 million over 10 years.  That's a quarter of a BILLION DOLLARS.  I don't care how good the player is (and I was a big Nolan Ryan fan when he played for the Mets). $254 million - to play baseball.  Baseball, that once-upon-a- time All-American sport that ALL AMERICANS could go and watch at a stadium and not have to mortgage their house or sell their first-born child to do. To take a family of four to a major league baseball game costs a small fortune today. A mezzanine level seat at Nats Stadium is $25.00.  Nosebleed seats are $15.00.  So, just for so-so tickets for your fam of four, you would shell out $60-100.  Add transportation and /or parking, one drink each and a hot dog, and forget it - you will be eating P & J sandwiches at every meal for the next week to replenish your checking account!  What the heck has happened to our society where a major league baseball player makes $25m a year, and starting salaries for some teachers are $25k???!!!!????

                                                                   

                                                                  

#92 - Greediness & Grinchiness

Christmas- the season of peace and love and hope.  The spirit of Christmas can bring out the best in human beings, which I believe, is what our Lord hoped for when he was born over 2,000 years ago.  But like a story, human beings have two sides.  What also surfaces at this time of year (perhaps not as much as the rest of the year) is greed.  How the Grinch Stole Christmas is the epitome of greed.  To want and take everything that someones else has. It seems to me (and this is just my opinion) that people in today's world want more and more.  Bigger is better mentality.  And if I don't have the biggest and the fastest and the newest, then I will be discontent with my station in life.  There are many discontented people out there.  Two weeks ago I watched a segment on 60 Minutes about homeless kids living in their family's cars & trucks.  This one young lady (about 14 years old) should be the spokesperson for all humanity!  She and her younger brother lost their mother at a young age and live with their father (an out of work carpenter) in their truck in FL.  They go to school. They go to the library in the evening to do their homework. They joined a free community theater so they have something to do in the evenings.  And not once did you hear this kid complain!!! She tries to give back to the community.  She makes the most of their situation and has great compassion for those less fortunate.  LESS FORTUNATE???!! Less fortunate than she and her family living in a truck!!??? Boy do the rest of us need to take a page out of this girl's book on generosity of heart and little Cindy Lou Hoo in Hooville!!

                                                                          

                                                                          

#91 - Tacky Christmas Decorations

Fact: everyone has different tastes in homes styles, furniture, clothes, and Christmas decorations.  Opinion: some Christmas decorations are just plain tacky!  Some people like the Victorian era look in decorations - swags of garland hanging from porches and over doorways, dotted with twinkling little white lights. Very Williamsburg. Very nice. Some people prefer colored lights to the Williamsburg look.  Also can be very nice when done right.  And by right, I mean neatly arranged around windows and doors or wrapped around bushes.  Not thrown from the ground up, into a 25 foot tree, resulting in a strand here and a strand there, looking like you haven't quite finished decorating yet. Or the houses that are trimmed in lights only halfway, meaning they literally ran out of lights and were too lazy to get another set.  Or how about those houses that the inhabitants must not have ever seen Currier & Ives or Thomas Kincade depictions of Christmas scenes, and have LED palm trees and a blow up of Santa in a bathing suit & sun glasses in their front yard. Different strokes for different folks, but perhaps you can keep the different Christmas decorations inside next year!

                                                             

#90 - Christmas Decorations

Do you know how many people I have heard in the past week say that they are so far behind in their Christmas decorating?  How far behind is far behind, I wonder?  Is there a law that says you have to put up Christmas decorations by a certain date?  I don't think so.  Is there some rule that says you have to do your Christmas cards before St. Nicholas Day? Not to my knowledge. Did someone back in history mandate that Christmas baking needed to be done by December 15th or else it didn't count?  People need to relax and enjoy the beauty and wonder of the season.  Advent for Christians is a time of reflection and waiting.  So, how about we do a bit more of that and quit agonizing over made up missed deadlines!

                                                                  

#89 - Absentee Boss

I realize in this day and age of telecommuting and conference calling, there is not as much demand for a person to be in his/her physical office space or as my friend, Emil, would say, "at their work stations".  However, when the boss is hardly EVER in the office, it does not make for a smooth running office.  Well, I guess depending on the type of boss, maybe that statement is not entirely true.  If your boss is unorganized and out of control, then being in the office may be worse!  I am not easily influenced by chaos around me, as a general rule.  But when everyone around me seems out of control, then it begins to effect me, and I get cranky and irritable and the feeling of peace that is usually within me, disappears!  So, perhaps the solution is this:  anyone who takes a supervisory role in their workplace has 90 days to pass certain milestones.  If they do, great.  They continue as the boss/manager/supervisor/pastor.  If not, they have 24 hours to clear out their office and find another job that better suits their talents and gifts, and restore peace to the chaos they have created!

                                                          

#88 - Generic Holiday Names

Why is it that we can have specific names for secular holidays - Martin Luther King Jr Day, Columbus Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran's Day?  And when it comes to religious holidays like Christmas & Hanukkah, we suddenly have to group them together and simply say, "Happy Holidays" because it may offend someone to say Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah.  OK, so I get that you may not know if I am a Christian or a Jew, so you wouldn't know which greeting to give.  So to remedy this situation, here are a few suggestions:

1. All those who are Christian and celebrate the birth of our Lord should wear a cross.

2. All those who celebrate the arrival of Santa should wrap a string of lights around their heads.

3. All those who are Jewish and celebrate Hanukkah, the festival of lights, should have a menorrah sticking out of the top of their head.

4. All those who are Jewish and celebrate the 8 days of Hanukkah, commemorating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, should wear a Star of David.

5. All those who do not celebrate either of the above simply wear a sign that says "Seasons Greetings Only Here" so you do not feel left out.