Sorry Just Isn't Good Enough Anymore

People are becoming impossible to satisfy anymore. If something goes wrong, it's like they want you to perform magical acts to alter the world until they are happy again. Sometimes, even when things have happened that are unfair to you, it can't be made entirely right again.

I had this guy walk into my office this morning thinking he was scheduled for a test. The reality was, when he called and scheduled, he'd called the office in Boise and so he was on their schedule. The test he wanted, I don't give on Tuesday mornings, so I couldn't give it to him. On Tuesday mornings my office is open for walk-in university placement testing, and I cannot give the test he wanted to someone while my door is open for people to walk in, it's a federal testing policy. I offered to try to get him in when I give the test this afternoon, but that test session is full, so I couldn't guarantee he'd get in.

He wanted me to guarantee it. I couldn't, I only have so many seats, and the schedule for this afternoon was full. I can't call someone up and cancel their test because this guy wants to test. I was trying to explain this to him, in a nice way, but he kept escalating. He was sure this was our fault because he didn't know he had called Boise when he scheduled. He kept saying I wasn't doing enough for him. I didn't know what else to do. I told him I was doing all I can do, and I apologized for the mix up. It just wasn't good enough.

But it made me think. I get that way to sometimes. Someone does something to me, or isn't forthcoming enough so I get caused problems or inconveniences, and nothing satisfies me after that. I don't want to hear sorry from people anymore. Is it because "sorry" is said too often and used to excuse incompetence or offending behavior? In some ways I think so. When my kids say sorry I tell them to save it because they use it to excuse their behavior instead of taking accountability and then doing something to change that behavior. For so long I've thought it was just them, but now I see that we all do it. People and businesses don't take accountability anymore. When we screw up we say sorry then move on to do the same thing to the next person the next day.

I need to make a pledge, here and now, that when I screw up, I'll apologize and mean it. I won't use "sorry" lightly anymore, and I will change my ways when the things I do or say hurt someone or make someone else's life uncomfortable. If I expect my kids to do it, I should to!!

I'm Just Sad

I was just reading over a post I wrote for Tales about one of my girls who just got married this month. You know, after you write and publish you go out and look at it to make sure it looks and reads right. So I was reading it, and I got teary-eyed. That's just sad! Anyone got a Kleenex?

Pain in the...

ELBOW!!

Good grief! I fell, what, a month ago. Oh, I haven't posted since just before I fell, have I? See, I was walking out to the van, getting everyone in and ready to head to soccer. I had 2-year-old in my arms and was almost there when my foot slipped off the edge of the sidewalk. All I really remember is trying to keep my boy from hitting the ground (and he hit anyway.) For about two weeks I endured ankle pain from twisting it, of course. But apparently I did something far worse to my elbow, because it still hurts. It's taking me all day to type this post because of the waves of pain radiating from my elbow to my fingertips and from my elbow to my shoulder. They x-rayed and found nothing. I've had three different braces now, and this last one is too small I think because within minutes of putting it on my hand starts to puff up and anything I do hurts. I start physical therapy on Friday. Wish me luck, if that doesn't work, they'll inject steroids and immobilized my arm in a cast for three weeks. Wish me luck and thanks for reading!

Guns for All and All for Guns

I generally don't post my opinions on current events, mostly because I don't spend a lot of time reading the paper or watching the news. I admit, I'm selfish about what I form opinions about, I don't vest my time in every little issue that comes along. Being human, though, tragedy like what Virginia Tech has just experienced does affect me. I watch and read about the events because I have empathy for all who are directly affected, and because I feel like it does affect my world as it is a sign of how our society has evolved.

So I'm watching a news report about the whole horrific event last night, and suddenly they are interviewing students who are angry with Virginia Tech. They are angry because the campus has a policy prohibiting guns at the school. They are angry because they feel this policy left law abiding citizens, student, unable to protect themselves against a raving lunatic. I think their anger is misdirected. I realize they need to feel like they could have done something if only...but that's simply not true.

Even if they were allowed to have guns on campus, would they really be carrying them to their 9:00 French class? How safe would any of us really feel if we knew we were sitting in class with 30 other 18-21 year olds who may have a gun in their backpack? And when in the face of danger, unexpected danger, what stressed-out, possibly hung over, sleep-deprived, young adult barely out of the nest individual has the sense to remain calm and "take out" the offender rather than panic, cause more chaos, and possibly shoot an innocent bystander or get themselves killed. Come on, you can't be serious that you think this is really the result of poor planning on the part of the university rather than what it really is.

And from everything I've read so far, there were tons of warning signs about this kid that everyone who knew him is stating and yet nobody did anything about it. Other students used to joke about how he would one day start shooting, but nobody tried to stop it before it happened. The problem isn't that the other students didn't have guns, it's that our society has evolved into this. We see our friends and neighbors in trouble, and we don't do or say anything until after the tragedy occurs, then we blame everyone else. We don't get involved with each other, we get involved with our causes. I'm just as guilty as anyone else. We don't need more freedom to carry guns, we need more compassion and sense of community at the get-go.

My Interview Questions

I was surfing one day, reading through all my favorite blogs, and came across this interview game on Pointless Drivel. I thought it might be fun, so here are the questions he asked of me:

Q1. You have a counter on your blog counting down the days until Christmas. How long have you been clinically insane?

A1. I couldn't really say as I've never ventured in to the nearest clinic to be diagnosed insane. However, I have had a Christmas Countdown Chalkboard hanging by my front door non-stop for 4 years now. But I don't know which gives me more pleasure, the anticipation that comes with watching the days peel away before the wonder of this glorious holiday, or the look of sheer anguish on the faces of those who, as they pass through my door, realize they were just reminded of how many more days they have to get ready for my favorite day!


Q2. You're the second blogger I know from Idaho. Is Idaho made up of just two bloggers and several million white supremacists?

A2. (Are there even several million people in Idaho?) If you think of bloggers as democrats, and republicans as white supremacists, then I'd have to say the answer to this question is simply yes.


Q3. You like camping and rafting. Have you had any Deliverance experiences you would like to share with us?

A2. I've never camped and rafted in Georgia/South Carolina, so the answer would be no. If you are suggesting that all the republican/white supremacists in Idaho are also inbred hillbillies, you should know, we reintroduced the wolf to the mountains of Idaho to help thin that population. Maybe that's why there aren't several million of them here...


Q4. You were born under the Sign of the Dog and you work in education, so you would be the one to answer this question: Is it indeed possible to teach old dogs new tricks?

A4. I learned to blog didn't I? Of course, I can't teach my mother to store new numbers in her phone...then again, she was born under the sign of the pig, maybe that's her problem.


Q5. You are stuck on an Island with all the Disney characters. Which one do you kill and eat first?

A5. Donald Duck, I love fresh roasted duck at sunset! And who wants to sit around and listen to that quacky voice for eternity?



Now, if you want to play, here are the rules:
Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.You will update your weblog with the answers to the questions.You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

WebMD

Have you ever been to WebMD? I went there to check out a few things going on with my body to decide if I should ignore it or call my doc. Well daad-guum (to quote Mater), it's a hypochondriac's dream. You put in your symptoms, and it gives you a list of up to 20 things that might be wrong with you. Then you can click on those diagnosis and see what they are all about!!

Right now I may be dying from Diabetic Ketoacidosis, or have Diabetes type 1 or 2, or severe sinusitis, or migraine headaches, or asthma, or tension headache, or dehydration, or a sunburn (highly unlikely, I think I can diagnose when i get one of those), or farsightedness. How do I choose?

I get checked for diabetes every year because it does run in my family. I guess I could go in and have it checked again early. I have a history of headaches, tension, migraine, and sinus, but I don't feel like those are the problem. I don't have a history of asthma personally or in my family, I guess I could get that checked. I've had lasik surgery, and my vision is generally fine other than occasional blurriness, so it's probably not farsightedness.

Maybe I should stay away from WebMD. Last summer it had me believing I was in stage 3 lung cancer, and it turned out to be stress and allergies. All I can say is, if you check it our, tread lightly, and then call your doctor for the real answers.

American Idol

OK, so American Idol is something like a modern Star Search, and we're all supposed to mock it. People are forming internet communities who's sole purpose is to vote off the best singers in order to make the show a joke. But at what point did we all become so cynical and expert in everything that we know nothing about that we think it's our job to bring others down? I realize there a lot of people who try out for this show who probably should have stuck to singing in the privacy of their own showers, but those who make it to the final 10 or 12 are there because they do have talent, or show potential. These people have dreams, and are putting themselves in a vulnerable position to take yours, mine, and Simon Kowel's (sp?) criticism. Why do some feel the need to make a mockery of it?

The fact is, when you turn on the radio, in a day you will hear several former contestants from American Idol singing their tunes. Obviously, this show has found some talented people, and we are all listening to and enjoying their art. Why not let the show continue to find good vocal artists for us to enjoy?