Loss for Words

Have you ever been truly at a loss for words?  It happens to me more than I would really like.  I'm generally rendered silent by such things as utter stupidity or ignorance but sometimes, someone acts like such a bonehead that there really are no words and the best I can manage is a small scream of frustration.  I'll keep this short... if there is an accident, disabled vehicle or construction, you do NOT need to stare.  Let me repeat that... YOU. DO. NOT. NEED. TO. STARE.  What if it were you or your loved one in that accident.  Would you want people to be rubbernecking just to see the carnage?  There is nothing there you need to be concerned about, in fact you are causing more problems.  Do you ever get a pain in your neck trying to see all the gory details?  You should be ashamed.  Your responsibility as a driver is to operate your vehicle safely and trust me, causing traffic and another potential accident just because you need to see if there's any blood is the furthest thing from responsible I can think of.  Be ashamed, be very ashamed.  Next time you come up on an accident, disabled vehicle or construction, I dare you not to turn your head.  I dare you to just move forward.  I bet you can't do it, but I hope you prove me wrong because I have places to be and you are holding me up.

Do you really want me to rate your service??

I originally posted this in reply to someone else's post but after a horrible experience today, I thought it was worth posting on my own page.  If I'm giving you my money for something could you at least look me in the eye and say thank you for your business instead of making me feel like I'm either leaving it on the night stand or asking you to leave it on the night stand?

Progress, technology, advancement. How often do we hear these words? In today’s society, it seems to be all about moving forward, what’s the next best thing, what corners can we cut? We don’t often hear as much about quality, service and integrity. In an effort to make more and more money, human interaction has been sacrificed for efficiency and cost savings. You call a company and you get an automated system, you want to check in for your flight and you have to touch a screen, I’ve even had to make a dr’s appointment by automation. I find that as I get older I’m more nostalgic about “when I was young” which I suppose is to be expected, but what I miss is the idea of service. When did it become okay for a company to make a promise but then not keep it hoping everyone would forget. There used to be a Walmart advertisement that they promised the lowest prices but when it was proven that many stores offered lower prices, they just changed their slogan instead of honoring the original and lowering prices. It’s business, I understand that, but it lacks integrity. I miss walking into a store and not being worried about finding someone to not only help me but to be able to answer questions, I miss stepping onto an airplane and not having to pay for a tissue to wipe my nose. What some companies may not realize is that there IS a market out there that will pay a bit more for good service. I would love to have a flight where I felt compelled to dress up because the service was that good. Do you really need to nickel and dime me for a blanket and an olive? What’s next, quarter toilets? Anyone else remember the prizes at the bottom of the cereal box? Do they even do that anymore? What about all the cool useless crap we used to get from McD’s and BK as kids? Oh wait, we’re already hooked on the food so there’s no need to spend that much to grow the customer base. How will I trick or treat this year without my happy meal punkin pail? At least McD’s is trying to “healthy up” it’s menu. I wonder if anyone recently has done a return on investment study on simple service… I miss it so.

Nothing to Lose

Everyone and their brother seems to blog these days and I’ve thought about doing but wasn’t sure that #1 I had enough to say and #2 that anyone would want to read it.  That being said, I recently responded to a post about service on one of my favorite blogs www.littlepinkmonster.com and she gave me a really nice comment so I figured, why not.  I’m not currently working so why not jot down my thoughts about whatever comes up in my day and perhaps talk about the fun and exciting adventure of job hunting in these economic times.  I also figure this might be a great way to hold myself accountable for improving my diet and increasing my exercise, but not quite yet J. 

Such an open forum lends itself to complete randomness and I confess to being a little bit overwhelmed with where to start or what to write about.  The 15 year old high school student in me feels that if you can’t write things that are related to each other in some sort of cohesive way, then it’s just rambling.  The grown up in me says screw it.  I can do what I want! 

So what do I want to write about today? I don’t know.  I’m actually playing around with how my blog looks and it’s a little distracting.  I like to consider myself somewhat computer savvy, but sheesh.  I suppose the proper etiquette might be to tell you a little bit about myself.  Most of my family… actually all of my family… calls me Missy which I used to hate but now that I’m in my 30’s I don’t mind so much.  Is this me trying to recapture my lost youth?  I’m the oldest of 3 girls and the aunt of the coolest little girl I’ve ever met.  Don’t worry, you’ll be hearing about Samantha or Samma Jamma as I call her.  My parents were married for 25 years until my mother passed away.  I’m a total Daddy’s girl.  I work in hotels in administration, sales, reservations and conference services.  Eventually I plan to get my meeting planner certification aka CMP.  I live just outside of DC and love it.  It’s not too expensive to fly anywhere from here and there are lots of places within a reasonable drive for some fun trips.

What I like that I’m not ashamed : My family… duh… my DVR and TV, NASCAR ( I embrace my inner redneck proudly), old black and white movies and movie musicals, The Kane Show (google it, hysterical), nail polish in unusual colors, bread and cheese, diet mt. dew, University of Tennessee sports, music of all kinds, black and white photographs, American history…. Sheesh I could go on forever so I’ll stop now…

What I don’t like: Mean people, stupid people, rude people (see a trend?), mornings, bills, wicked hot summers, skin scorching sun, cancer, traffic, people who feel compelled to rubberneck thereby CAUSING traffic, poor customer service, etc…

What I WANT to like because are good for me: Hiking in the woods, oatmeal, green peppers, brussel sprouts, getting up early to exercise, exercise, yogurt

What I want to learn before the end of the year: Knitting or crochet, how to cook a turkey well, cake decorating, how to install bathroom tile, how to install a bathroom vanity (can you tell I just bought a house J ).  We’ll start a new list in 2012, I have to find a job first.

I believe that is enough to start.  It’s about 6:30am so I may have something else to say later today, we’ll see.  Obviously I don’t have any kids since there’s the possibility there might be more than one post in a day.  Let the rambling begin!!!