It’s over… They’ve Surrendered. ShoeGate Fall/Winter is done.

After the phone call of non-pushiness, I receive a message in my inbox.

From: .com shoe store
re: Your Inquiry
—
We’re constantly working to improve our site and your shopping experience, so please let us know if we resolved your question.
(links to survey)

Oh! A can of worms? For me?!

Your name:Stephanie
Subject:Survey Response
—
Comments:when asked why it is taking more than 5 business days for my package to arrive, I don’t feel as though I was given an accurate response other than the date was estimated.
I am so very frustrated with the debacle regarding shipping.

Mu ha ha ha.
That’ll show them.

From: .com shoe store
re: Your Inquiry
Thank you for contacting us about this. I’m so sorry your first order with us isn’t going as expected.
I have checked your order and see it is estimating it to arrive 6 business days after your order shipped. We also show that the package has been handed over to USPS so you may receive your package before November 24, 2009.
We pride ourselves in convenience and efficiency at .com shoe store, but I can see we didn’t meet that standard here. I hope you’ll give us another chance to make this right, and that we can prove the quality of our service with your next order.
We value your business and hope to see you again soon.
We’re constantly working to improve our site and your shopping experience, so please let us know if we resolved your question.
(links to survey)

Really?

Your name:Stephanie
Subject:Survey Response
Comments:I don’t understand how a package “ships” on 11/16 and as of 11/20, there is not movement from the shipper.
Class: Package Services
Service(s): Delivery Confirmation
Status: Electronic Shipping Info Received
The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on November 19, 2009 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if / when available. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.

By this time, I’m about ready to throw up from rage.
So, in the meantime, I head to the mailbox (of course I had them sent to work!) and what is waiting for me?
“Don’t you feel bad now?!”, my co-worker mockinlgy asked me.
“No.”
Back at my desk, they’re cuter then expected*. They felt nice. Then I took a step and left the shoe where it was.
Damn you reviews! These are too big!
I proceed to fill out an RMA and the bastard shoes are back to .com shoe store.

S.O.B.
W.T.F. am I going to do now?

If you’re still reading, last night (before heading out to see “Fiddler on the Roof”) I went to the local chain which is known more for it’s “sensible” (read: embroirded sweatshirts with “Love my Grandchildren!” amongst trendy teenager clothes and ladies business suits) styles.
Found a pair, loved them, they loved me but they weren’t the right size and the ones that were, were the wrong color.
This morning I headed out to another outlet of the same store and low-and-behold, the display shoe is the size and color I need.
Plus, a $10 off coupon?! Hell yeah.
Crisis averted.
While teetering on the wrong side of the ratio, they’re comfortable, have enough heel and look okay with jeans and pants.

"pillowy!"

Maybe tonight, I can sleep
*I knew I was going to be on the other end of the cute:comfortable ratio

“Yeah, Don’t Think I’ll be Buying Anything Else from You….”

ShoeGate, Fall/Winter Edition, devolpment:

Employee at .com shoe store: Thanks for calling .com shoe store, how can I help you?

me: Could you clarify your shipping policy?

.com shoe store: Sure (explanation, ver batium from website)

me: Hm. Interesting. Because I ordered a pair of shoes on Monday morning, was told that they shipping Monday evening and you’d think that by Friday, there’d be some tracking available.
.com shoe store: It’s looking like you’ll have your shipment by Tuesday.

me: That’s not 5 business days. Plus, YOUR site says that date, while the shipper has no information.

.com shoe store: Um.

me: So, when does that five days start?

.com shoe store: Uh.

me: Yeah, so see, I didn’t pick the $20 expedited service because 3-5 business days from Monday is Friday. It is Friday and the shipper doesn’t have any tracking information. For the price of the shoes plus the expedited shipping, I could have just gone to my local outlet for the same price.

.com shoe store: Well, it looks like they tacked an extra day on…

me: Which makes six business days from when the order ships, even though this shipper delivers on Saturday. And it’s coming from Kentucky, which isn’t that far away.

.com shoe store: The delivery date is an estimate.

me: Why would you say 3-5 business days if that’s not correct?

.com shoe store: If they don’t show up, we’ll overnight you a replacement.

me: That’s not going to work for me, thus, the original problem. Would you like to pass on to your customer service department that I am VERY disappointed in your shipping standards and will not be purchasing from you again?

.com shoe store, surprised: OH! Okay. Is there anything else I can help you with?

me: No. Thanks. I just hope this purchase meets my needs. And that you shouldn’t say 3-5 days when that’s not the case.

.com shoe store: Well, thank you for shopping .com shoe store

me: What?

WTF?

I-D-10t Alert

Back on Titanic* we had an intranet page entitiled “I D 10t” (eye-dee-ten-tee) for when people did/said things that were incredibly stupid.

Yesterday, I realized that I deserved an I D 10T award.
Since booking our vacation in JULY (that’s four months ago), I knew the countries we will be visiting are 6 hours AHEAD and I’ve been thinking 6 hours BEHIND.
I.E. “The show starts at 8pm, local time, which is like, 2AM our time.”
No, no honey.
8pm local time is 2pm.
So, all this time, I’ve been thinking that we’re getting in at 1pm (equivalent) when its actually 1am.

Dad and I had a time rift yesterday as well, when he was hellbent on the idea that it was the 18th and Thanksgiving wasn’t next Thursday.

 

*My first “real” job… named such because we [collective group] saw the perveribal ship going down.

ShoeGate: Fall/Winter Edition

Dear Universe,

What is it with you, me and shoes? First it was SummerShoeGate and now this.
No, seriously.
I need to know.

You send me a great idea (“You should look into a shoe that you can walk on all day, that’s not a sneaker and has a heel… You know, so you don’t look TOTALLY like a tourist when you go to Europe.”) and plenty of time in which to meet the objective.
HOWEVER, you’re the one who is slacking as I’ve held up my part of the deal. For the past 3+ months, I have been braving the megamall, the local mall, teh internets*, Marshalls/TJ Maxx…

Yesterday, you threw me a bone.
A pair of highly-rated shoes, within my range, in my size, in the agreed upon color.
So, I broke out the plastic and with free standard shipping (3-5 business days) and we were cooking with gas.
The shoes even shipped the SAME DAY!
ELATION!
Until you decided that 5 days was a loose estimate and it was more like a week-and-a-half.

So now, I have a week-and-a-half of wondering if I should just try to find something local or bank on the unknown.

WHY DO YOU HATE ME?!

* dsw.com, shoes.com, endless.com, 6pm.com, variousothershoesites.com, wayoutofmypricerangebutitsanimportantpurchase.com

Birthday! Birthday! Blogerveriary!

cakewrecks.com

Happy second birthday Please Stop Bouncing!!!

To think, I bore you because I was bored and now we have more/better friends then we ever would have imagined!

Here here!
To blogging!

Typical day at Casa Mak

And to all the, ahem, “adventures”, to come!

The Important Thing is That I’m not Broken. I think.

Section 106, Row 1, Seat 4

What’s that?
You didn’t have me pegged as a Metallica fan? I get that a lot.

Anyway, Steve’s cousin won a grand (but not The) prize from the local “rock” station and karma made sweet love to Steve and I.
The important part is, we were FRONT ROW FOR METALLICA.
You’re either jealous or “What’s a Metallica? Is that off-Broadway?”

"You get put in the box for two minutes to think."

Yup, that would be the lock on the box at the hockey arena… we were where players hang out.

Blue Line

Damn near center ice.
After running around Casa Mak, trying to get dog poo out of the carpet before the limo came to get us left me forgetting to pick up the PnS. So Cameraphone had to suffice.

singe

We lost a fair amount of arm hair, being so close to pyrotechnics and all.

Everyone get together for a group shot.

awesome awesome awesome

It’d been 15 years since I last saw Metallica and I totally forgot how great of a show they put on.

So, after the last song, Kirk (the long haired guitar guy) is throwing handfuls of picks into the crowd. And well folks, that smelled like competition.
One comes hurtling towards me and lands at my feet.
I turn, crouch and someone else sees the same pic and pretty much bum rushes me into the armrest.
However, I was the victor and our gracious host now plays home to the pick.
Today the injury is slightly worse than it was when I was drunk excited and there’s a fantastic bruise line that runs from the middle of my elbow to the middle of my tricep.
Thank heaven for ice packs.
And Metallica.

Ellicottville is CougarTown

indeed

I have nothing against Ellicottville NY…. well, except that some people sport those little oval stickers that say “EVL” because they’re trendy like that.
Up until this weekend, I never really thought  of EVL as evil.

The concert was in Salamanca, which is about 10 miles south of EVL and with lodging costing over four times as much, well, the situation basically solved itself.
Before the show, we went to a bar in EVL. The atmosphere was nice, music okay, it wasn’t crowded and the bartender was tolerable.
Well, by the time we got back to the bar after the show, we had to do a double take.
There was a thumping coming from inside that could only be described at Top-40.
Inside, our nightmares came true.

There were tables of Kate Gosslins*.
Women old enough to be our mothers, wearing short skirts and furry knee boots; very apres ski, despite the season not starting,
Women with mid-life hair, grinding against their girlfriends.
Women drinking drinks that involved fruit.
For the record, THIS woman was drinking Coors Light (because she’s watching her figure) and switched over to Labatt Blue when one of the eight guys she was hanging out with [on purpose; friends]  forgot what she was drinking.

One of the eight, let’s call him, Mr. Anderson, decides that he’s going to try and get some Crisis Tail.
Wearing an In-and-Out burger hat, a cartoon t-shirt and a furry beer gut, somehow the women were flocking to him.
I do not understand.
Some choice comments of the night:
-”Oh, that’s what desperation smells like. I thought it was KY and diaphragms.”
- “That’s not even an angry fuck, that’s revenge fuck.”
- “You know that they’ve just found out that their divorce is final and they decide to take a girl’s weekend to Eville and just ‘let loose’. Uck.”
- “The best part about being married is not having to date. I’d probably be trying to dance and someone like Mr. Anderson would come up behind me and start grinding me into the wall…”

Watching Mr. Anderson trying to score was by far the most entertaining thing at any bar and it wasn’t until we were rather trashed that we opted to go to EBC and by then, I was seeing double.
However, I was a functional drunk, unlike 95% of the population of EVL’s Kwik-e-Mart… people standing against coolers, asking whoever would listen why there wasn’t any pizza and bumping into things.
Being a card-carrying girl, I made the best of a bad situation, picking out chips, dip, tortillas and nacho cheese; the most bang for the least buck.
The boys were pleased at the offering, having already eaten all of the cupcakes and not being in any condition to make it to the vending machine,
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a pizza joint to open.

* If you don’t have “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ on your TV, it’s a “reality” show about a family that has 8 kids and the wife pretty much spent the first seasons yelling at the husband and berating him on national television. They’re now divorced. Which I’m hoping surprised no one.

Yer Not the Ocean

I love this band.
It’s not just songs, it’s a stories…
“..You are just a lake, made to take and take and take and take. You’re not the ocean, I’m standing on my toes. You’re not the ocean, you’re not even close. You’re not the ocean, you’re up to my chin. You’re the ocean, you’re not coming in. You’re not coming in.”

Steve saw it one way, I saw it as “You think you are all that and a bag of chips, but you know what? You’re not. Oh, you think you can own me, but you got another thing coming… I’m in charge of this situation…”

I also love this song…. “Everyone’s got their breaking point, with me it’s spiders, and with you, it’s me.”

Oh, and you want a spooky true story about a prison break? “Spent so much time away from the world, he’s 38 years old, never kissed a girl.”, “A tap on the window in the middle of the night, held back the curtains for my older brother Mike.”

And I think this one is from the last show we went to, where my boyfriend Molson and I did not get along… “A generation so much dumber than it’s parents”

More Stuff

While at the optician’s office yesterday (and that’s an EYE doctor for all of you on BumpWatch 09-10) there were two girls waiting for their  mom.
I say “girls” because the older one MAY have been 13 and the younger was between 9 and 11. What? I’m bad at guessing these things.
ANYWAY.
So, OlderSister was wearing mid-calf Uggs, leggings, a short demin skirt, ribbed long sleeve, puffy vest and a Burberry scarf. Did I mention she was like, 13? Yeah. Okay.
And YoungerSister was in skinny jeans, a sweater and blue patent loafers.
When did I get so old?!
O.S. askes Y.S. who she is going to dress up as for her party. “Because Nevaeh is going as Paris Hilton and Cole and Clayton are going as-”
And at that point, I stopped listening and starting wondering what their parents did for a living.
(Note, the eye doctor is in my building, which is downtown, kinda slumming it. Especially if you’re from Clarence/East Amherst. Momma must have known someone.)
For the record, I have ordered perscription sunglasses for the trip.

My tint is darker, but nice, right!

You did know I have bifocals right?
Yeah, someones genes thought it’d be funny to give my right eye a tendency to turn inwards when things are close.
The good news is that the new glasses/frames are covered but the doc doesn’t really want to give me a script for contacts WHICH ARE ESSENTIAL TO MY SOCIAL LIFE.

http://twitter.com/big_ben_clock
(you know you want to)

And in what is only a poor coordination on my sinus’ part… my fall allergies are acting up.
I have a dry (non-prodcutive) cough and a stuffy/runny nose. My voice is on it’s way out.
And my co-workers are looking at me like I have some kind of F.l.U. which may be making it’s rounds. Thus, I have to remind everyone who walks by when I cough that I am not spiking a fever, I have no aches (outside of the residul gym), my insides are where they should be… AND this happens EVERY YEAR.

Waxing Introspective

Since Grandpa passed away, I have been spending WAY too much time thinking.
Like WAY too much time.
Thinking about things that I can’t control, things I can’t change, things I can change but have not yet had the opportunity to…

Of course, there’s that screaming noise in the back of my head which sounds a lot like a ticking… like a clock.. say, a biological clock.
Now now, I know I’m nowhere near That Age, however, we’ve both agreed that we don’t want to have to show in up wheelchairs to our kids high school graduations. (unless it’s from broken pelvises in which case, we’re awesome)
Related, I’ve been thinking about how I was raised, how Steve was raised, how Mom and Dad were raised, how Grandma and Grandpa were raised and how I watch other people raise their kids.

There is plenty of potential to screw up.
Big time.

Lately, I’ve been overthinking coddling.
Former co-worker used to spend a great deal of her day on the phone, trying to correct her adult son’s missteps.
Some lady at the store took things the other way and basically toted her screaming 3-year-old on her hip around the grocery, not paying any mind.
My mom sympathizes with my toils and troubles and always wishes there was something she could do.
Steve played hockey on a chipped knee bone because SMS said it built character.
Grandpa was very here’s-the-rules-and-that’s-that.
My dad was “Stephanie Ann, if you (insert behavior here) again, I will (insert form of punishment).” and I would and he would.
Charlotte picks up baby Teppo whenever he cries, while daddy Teppo subscribes to the “he’s fine, let him cry”.

Is The Eventual going to end up on a comfy sofa claiming that his/her mom coddled her and that’s why he/she is constantly stuck in horrible relationship?
Or will he/she be a cutter because dad was too hard on him/her?

Ugh.

Perhaps focusing on how Not-Mullet-Trainer worked me over will divert my attention… if you will excuse me, I can’t feel my butt.