Blah.

That's what I've been feeling for the last few days. You'd think I'd be estactic and all excited and happy because I'm no longer living in my tiny 34' RV.

You'd think that having a nearly 1800 square foot, 2-story condo/townhouse would glue a permanent smile to my face.

You'd think.

Alas, that's just not the case. Ben and I were talking this morning (he wanted to know what was bothering me but I didn't want to dump on him but he insisted) and he made a very good point. He said that he used to think that once I was out of the RV things would instantly improve but instead, he's realized that we could live in 20 mansions and it's not the building that makes the difference.

He's right.

I'm a very social person by nature and thought by now I'd have met a new friend or two. Then again, I suppose that working 11hrs a day and being gone from the house a total of 13hrs makes it a little challenging to meet people.

Don't get me wrong, I have fun with Ben and we're best of friends, but there are times where I wish that we had a small network of people that we could hang out with from time to time. For example, Karyl had a small party last night complete with appetizers, food and even dessert. Then they were all to play board games.... I'm so envious.

And at work... there are 3 women (other than my friend Sheray but she's not permanently assigned to FLL) there but one of them is a single mom, one of them has a problem with alcohol, and the third has a husband and a child to go home to each night----not the kind of women who'd be interested in getting together outside of work.

I know. I'm bitchin' and I shouldn't be. Sorry. Sometimes a girl just has to vent.

Or maybe I just need some Wellbutrin! Or a maragarita. Or both. Ha, ha! (kidding)

Until next time...peace, love & HEALTH!!!

2006-12-29 - 9:10 a.m.

First, a HUGE shout-out to the one, the only, the FABULOUS Sister-O-Mine, Karyl.

She converted my diary page to more of a blog style so I can add multiple entries in one day if I choose. And I choose. Maybe not right now, but I know that in the past, I've wanted to just add a few thoughts here and there but didn't want to risk the thought that a reader of mine might miss something posted previously if I added each thought in a separate entry within the same day. Make sense to you? Me either.

Ha, ha. {grin}

Ok. So, as Karyl would say... "You're baaaaad!" (This is in reference to me, of course.)

I have no clue now where I left off with the City Furniture ordeal, but I have to admit to you, my loyal readers [all 4 of you], that I indeed was baaaad. Actually, that would be a collective "bad" because both Ben and I succumbed to the evil that is City Furniture and ordered from them again.

I know.

It's just hard because they're the only local furniture store that has the styles we like, for the price that we like, in a relatively decent quality of material that we like.

So, we ordered a bed frame and night stand for the guest bedroom as well as a night stand for our bedroom and a book armoire thingy for the 3rd bedroom. This room will be an office/exercise area/storage place.

We placed the order on Tuesday evening and scheduled the delivery for Thursday morning. We were placed in the 7am - 1pm time slot. Woo-hoo! But we weren't holding our breath either after what happened the last time. However, Wednesday night my phone rings and it's a recording that reminded us of our 7am-1pm delivery schedule. Hmm... things were looking up already.

At twenty minutes until seven on Thursday morning, my phone rang again. Ben answered it. The City Furniture guys were calling to say that they'd be here promptly at 7am.

WOW!

Now, it gets better. Wait. Did I say B-E-T-T-E-R?!? Why, yes. Yes, I did.

Not only were the 3 guys ON TIME, the lead guy greeted us with a smile, shook our hands and said, "Good morning Mr. and Mrs."

DOUBLE WOW!

They were in and out in 35 minutes with great smiling faces, happy attitudes, and no furniture damaged. It was a fantastic experience.

To top it off, our sales rep who we placed the order with and who filled out our invoice on Tuesday night, actually called a few hours later to check on how things went! The previous sales rep called me 10 days after the delivery to inquire how things went.

It's amazing how the customer service aspect of a company can either make or break the experience. Truly, we were seriously wanting to completely write of City Furniture but now, if we can get this same service in the future, then we'll be happy to buy from them again.

The question that remains, however is: Why the hell couldn't this have been our experience the first FOUR times?!?!?

Things to make you go hmmmm....

Until next time...peace, love & HEALTH!!!

2006-12-15 - 7:18 a.m.

And the saga continues

I'm not sure where I left off with the furniture saga but it has continued to spiral downhill.

We were promised that our furniture would be delivered last night between 6 and 8pm. Eight o'clock rolls around and we don't see the truck so Ben calls the customer service number. The representative tells him that we've been bumped up a little bit to the 9-9:30 time frame. Of course, Ben and I both look at each other knowingly--- that they were blowing us off because they weren't going to show up until 11:30 or midnight again.

Keep in mind that they were supposed to have been here Monday night but at 12:50am, they hadn't shown up so Ben called the company (they have a 24hr number) and told them that it was too late with us having to get up at 4am and not to deliver to us. So naturally we assumed that they were going to do the same thing to us last night.

But alas! There was hope! My phone rang at 9pm and the guy needed directions once he got the community. I told him where to go and within 2 minutes, he was ringing the doorbell.

As soon as we let him and his partner into the house, each one of them greeted us with a big, bright smile and a "How are you this evening."

WOW! A *VAST* improvement from last Friday night. No attitudes and these guys seemed professional but friendly at the same time. In fact, when they were done I even offered them some of the cookies I had just baked an hour before.

I was all smiles and everything until they asked me to sign the invoice. I said, "What about the coffee table and bed frame?" (These are the two damaged items that were to be replaced when the end table and sofa table were to be delivered.) The poor guy didn't know what to say. He felt bad but allowed me to talk to a supervisor. Well, I was a lot more calm than Ben was.

He asked for the phone and I handed it over. He was very direct and firm. He made it very clear that he was NOT satisfied and that he was really pissed off because he had just spoken to the GM (Mike B #2.... Mike B #1 is the guy I talked to on Monday afternoon.) earlier that day to confirm that all FOUR items would be on the truck.

So, needless to say, Ben has to go down there IN PERSON and give someone an ass-whippin'! Too bad I can't be there to witness it. I love it when my man is assertive! Tee-hee!

Meanwhile, I'm at work for a few hours to earn comp time; I need to make up 2hrs from Monday morning and then the addt'l time goes towards taking time off for Christmas.

Cross your fingers that Ben gets the situation all squared away when he goes to the store directly and by the end of the day or the next, I'll FINALLY get to sleep on my mattress & foundation IN my bed frame!

One can hope, right? But one is not going to hold her breath....

Until next time...peace, love & HEALTH!!!