Wrong Message

Last night I was watching television and received a text message. It said 4 tuna, 4 salmon, 4 kani. Almost immediately I got a second message that said, "Wrong person, so sorry!". It was from one of my doctors. He was done with work and wanted to order sushi to take home for dinner. My name was one above the word sushi and I guess he did not double check who he was texting. I thought it was very funny and responded that I now was in the mood for sushi. Imagine if it was a personal message that no one else but the intended recipient was to see. That is the danger of texting. We do it so fast that most of us never spend a moment to double check to whom and what we are sending.

The Right To Pay

Yesterday my boss came running into the office upset about her personal credit card account. It seems it was overdue even though she thought she paid it. She called in a payment and the call got cut off at the very end but she assumed the payment went through. She gave me the bill to call in the payment. I called Citibank and explained what happened. I told them that I wanted to pay her bill in full. They said that they needed her to get on the phone to authorize the payment. She was with a patient and I did not want to interrupt. Then I asked the representative a question. If I pay with the automated system, how does it know who I am? She had no answer. I was not taking money out of the account, I was paying it off. If I could do this over the phone without a live person, why couldn't I do it with a representative? The rules are the rules and I am not here to give a Citibank worker a hard time, so I interrupted the doctor to have her get on the phone to say it was ok for me to speak. They never asked any other security questions. Now, I would like to know how they really knew it was her.

No Radio

I know it is holiday season. I know that by the holiday music. My favorite station will play only holiday music until December 26. I feel like part of my drive to work is being stripped of it's happiness. I will no longer have my favorite songs to sing along to. Bing Crosby just does not cut it for me.

The Return

My computer ran out of ink yesterday so I replaced it with a new one that was Staples brand. It would not work. The ink's metal circuit board was damaged so the printer could not recognize it. I had bought the ink a while back and no longer had the receipt. I went to Staples and asked for an exchange. I showed the associate the missing circuits on the ink. He then started to do the return. The numbers would not go through their system. It had been an online purchase and they could not figure out how to do an online return in the store. Since it was their brand there was no mistaking that I bought it from them. One associate tried, then the next, then the manager. They were stymied. They then called the Staples online help line and were walked through it. This had taken 45 minutes so far. Once they had the numbers to enter, their own computers froze. I was taken to three different registers until one finally worked. I was amazed that a store that sells computers could not get theirs to work. Finally, one hour later the transaction was complete.

Repairs

If you know how to do it yourself, you can save a lot of money. My upstairs bathroom faucet has not been working well. The water flow is thin and no hot water seems to be coming up like it used to. Most people would call a plumber. We never call for outside help until we have exhausted all other methods. Last night we bought a filter for a few dollars. Voila. The faucet is fixed.

Origami

I have decided to make my office staff holiday gifts this year instead of buying them. Each person will get a flower pot filled with origami butterflies and flowers. I might even throw in a bird. I have been watching You Tube videos to learn how to fold the paper to make the beautiful origami. I am amazed how just folding a paper a few times can transform something plain into something intricate. I guess it parodies life. Take what you are given and make it into something that you can be proud of.

Memory

I am at the age where I am glad I can remember my own things. Please do not ask me to remember yours. Yesterday I got a text message from my boss asking how she paid an employee a settlement 5 years ago. First of all, I am not the bookkeeper. Second of all, why is this my problem? I keep records of everything I do. If you don't, tough luck. I am not responsible for your bad memory or poor recordkeeping.