Walker, Memory Grove

Walker's Senior Pictures, Memory Grove, TAKE ONE:

Dear Kmart,

You are difficult to love....

You had ONE checkstand open last night, and 6 people in line. The 12-year-old cashier was only doing her job when she doubled the wait time by explaining to each customer why it was in their best interest to apply NOW for a shopping card before completing their purchase. She was obviously a new, possibly temporary, employee, and when her computer froze (right before my turn to checkout), she could only shrug and look helpless and suggest we wait for an indeterminate amount of time or try the Customer Service desk.

We all headed for Customer Service (the people behind me in line, now in front of me) and listened while the one person in Customer Service explained to an elderly gentlemen why you can use a DVD in a DVD player OR a Blu-Ray player, but you cannot use a Blu-Ray in a DVD player, and why he should apply for a shopping card NOW before completing his purchase, then rang up his stack of titles. 

The line moved forward, and just as the person in front of me was finishing their transaction, the Night Manager approached me and said, "I can help you over here, ma'am," and directed me around to another register in Customer Service. I placed my items on the counter, and then she leaned in and asked, somewhat conspiratorially, "Do you mind waiting for a few minutes while I go reset that frozen computer?" Amazed that she had pulled me from the other line and lost my place there before making this suggestion, I pointed out that I had already been waiting quite awhile (20 minutes at this point), but I understood, and she should do what she needed to do. And I guess even my mild objection convinced her that I was going to be difficult, so she snippily replied, "Oh, so you don't want to wait" and started scanning my stuff, while continuing to try to talk the newbie through the technical repair on her register all the way at the other end of all the registers. 

My total was declared, and I swiped my card, after first having to complete an electronic survey on the keypad as to how I preferred to receive my advertising from Kmart and friends. I finally left the building, only to realize that she hadn't given me the 50% discount on one item, and had not charged me at all for another. A glutton for punishment, I went back in, waited behind another customer, then waited some more while she left to go investigate whether the 50% off sale truly applied to my item or not, since no one in that department answered her page.

I suppose that returning to the store after everything and waiting again to pay $10 for something she forgot to ring up the first time did not earn me any credibility in insisting that the other item really was 50% off, according to signs in that area. She returned, and announced that it was NOT on sale, but grudgingly admitted that the sign DID make it look that way, so she would honor the discount.

So Kmart, I spent 45 minutes trying to leave you last night, and despite your relentless marketing attempts, inadequate staffing, miscommunications and technical difficulties, I made my escape with my hard-won purchase, albeit temporarily sans my Christmas spirit. I think maybe we shouldn't see each other for awhile....

Good luck, and Happy Holidays,

Cindy

Gaga College Cover

Hahahahahahhahahahaaa.............

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Fame, Fortune & MTV

"Ultimately, Swift and West demonstrated that while they may have come off as adversaries last year, they have a great deal in common. Primarily, they both suffer from a bizarre disorder where what is supposedly intended as a gesture of generosity toward someone else inevitably spins out into a celebration of self. For him, this meant complaining about the pain of being a guy who can't stop acting like a jerk, and for her, it meant blowing up a moment of probably intoxicated rudeness into a major moral failing, just so that she could dramatically offer absolution." Entire, hilarious article/videos:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2010/09/13/129825153/taylor-swift-is-sure-kanye-west-can-get-to-heaven-despite-interrupting-her?sc=fb&cc=fp

Lady Gaga's Singing Program

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au-OhKgfkqA

Blocked

I feel like I'm in the playroom of a giant toddler, and every time I try to take a couple of steps in any direction, he places a big wooden block in my path. Not making much progress today, but afraid to give up for fear he'll lose interest in the game and just bite off my head.

Murder By Sandwich

Not content to let other nationwide chains be the only ones to commit murder-by-sandwich, last week Denny's unveiled its Fried Cheese Melt:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/waitwait/2010/08/30/129529771/sandwich-monday-the-denny-s-fried-cheese-melt

Tears?

Watched "Nacho Libre" tonight, for the first time, in rich, full WalkerPhonic sound: he sat next to me and spoke every line of the film along with the actors, then snickered and glanced to see if I was laughing or cringing. Shane fell asleep, but still managed to wake in time to sing along with the grand finale, "I ate bugs, I ate grass, I used my hand to wipe my tears...."

Fashion Police

All too recently, I've seen Walker wear plaid, Bermuda-length shorts, together with black dress socks à la Team Shuffleboard, and just this week, the pièce de résistance, white leather slip-on loafers, which he insists are cutting-edge fashionable. I don't get it. What's next? Leisure Suits? I have every reason to believe that he will begin his Senior year of high school tomorrow dressed as Herb Tarlek from WKRP in Cincinnati.

932

:)

My boss just introduced me to someone as the Volunteer Coordinator and the person who does all the things around here that he doesn't want to do. I laughed and said, "Sounds like job security to me," and he said, "That's right, because it's not like that list of things is getting any shorter...."

Click "like" if you love your daughter!!

Really?

Isn't that something of a contradiction, or at least a lukewarm comparison? Shouldn't there be a "love" button to click, if clicking is truly required to prove the veracity of one's feelings for one's daughter?

If I choose NOT to click, does that indicate that I don't love my daughter? Or even like her enough to click a button? And if I DO click the "like" button, what then? Will she be notified of my declaration of love/like for her? Will everyone else be notified? Will the world in general be comforted knowing that I do, indeed, love my own offspring? Was the public concerned? What kind of ongoing support/marketing will I be able to expect, having become a member of the exclusive club of people who love their daughters... Well, at least those who love them enough to click?

What about my son(s)? Will they feel left out, or that I'm playing favorites? Do I then need to seek out other buttons to click in similitude? What if I don't have a daughter? How will anyone know what a loving, demonstrative person I am if there is no public announcement to that end?

Please. Really.

(sigh) Back-to-School...

The new school year is fast approaching, and I can hardly bear the thought. With meetings and prep, the reality is that it has already begun for me, and I'm in denial. Time to face facts (not always my strong suit) and just get working on the twenty different school-related projects on my desk (or in a pile, or stuffed in a bag). Dread, frustration, gloom.....

On the upside, look at these "Back-to-School" shoes! Hahahahaha.... I love them! Obviously, finding and purchasing these will make all the difference in my attitude and productivity.... :)

Sounds about right....

"There's a little truth behind every 'just kidding', a little curiosity behind every 'just wondering', a little knowledge behind every 'I don't know', and a little emotion behind every 'I don't care'."

So, yesterday....

.... I pulled out my high school yearbook from my senior year, for the sole purpose of looking up Dee Barrett, from whom I recently received a facebook message regarding our upcoming class reunion. And the reason I felt the need to look up Dee Barrett is that the message was actually from Dee-Aleece Barrett, which seems somewhat feminine, and facebook was under the impression that this person was of female gender, while I distinctly remembered Dee Barrett as being a man. And the only photos available were family/group shots, in which I recognized no one, male or female, although in my defense, it has been awhile. So that got me wondering if during the intervening 

30 years since we graduated, Dee Barrett had a sex change, or if I was somehow remembering really, really incorrectly. And while I was looking through all the seniors with last names that began with "B", I stopped at "Robert Barrera", and thought, wow, what a good-looking guy with perfect 1980 hair, feathered back just exactly so... And even though I had never really known Robert Barrera while we were going to school, or traveled in any of the same circles, I couldn't help wondering what he was doing now, and what his hair looks like now, before moving on through the rest of the "B" photos, once again, as always, distracted and irritated by my own senior portrait there in the "B"'s, with color and lighting so bad that my mom sent me down to Felt Photography in downtown Logan for a re-shoot, which turned out infinitely better, but too late to replace the original in the yearbook... Then tonight, I saw a post on facebook from another former classmate, saying that Robert Barrera was killed this week in a 4-wheeler accident. And even though I never really knew Robert Barrera, I was just looking at his picture yesterday!! So, it feels like I kinda DID know him... but not. And I guess what I'm trying to say is.... um, I really don't know what I'm trying to say. Except that life is really weird, isn't it?

And Dee Barrett was definitely a guy in 1980, so I don't know what's going on with that....

Eagle Court of Honor Video

Wyatt & Walker Koeven

Eagle Court of Honor Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoeS1D3BGnY

Rah-rah, ah-ah-ah... Ro ma ro ma-ma...

http://www.gleetastic.com/articles/glees-bad-romance-video

overwhelmed

"When you're drowning, you don't say, 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come to help me...' You just scream."

yearbook design, yearbook photography, yearbook promotion, volunteers, newsletter, church, talks in church, newsletter translation, website/school, website home, sync ten calendars, community council, relief society meetings, facebook, scouts, family, eagle court of honor, parents, fhe, headstone, history, thank you's, weddings, parties, graduation (Wyatt), money, graduation (Wilder), money, husband, journals, diet, health, children, responsibilities, bills, college, work, deadlines, friends, support, dinner, shopping, budget, errands, technology, dentist, doctor, graduation photos, graduation announcements, laundry, things that are fair, things that aren't fair, housework, garage, new toys, old toys, repairs, decluttering, yardwork, reorganizing, garden, redecorating, vacation,

Real Men

When I suggested Shane have a yogurt for breakfast with me, instead of his hoped for steak & cheesy eggs, he looked puzzled, and asked, "Why? I don't have a yeast infection." And when I had him taste the lowfat, blackberry carbmaster flavor I was enjoying, he scrunched up his face and said, "Yechh... I can taste all the little bacterias going down my throat."

"Like a Prayer" from Glee Season 1, Episode 15, "The Power of Madonna" - Video - Glee

I didn't have much interest in this song when it first came out and Madonna sang it, but there's just something about the people of Glee that have me clicking "play again", again and again... (click link below to view)

"Like a Prayer" from Glee Season 1, Episode 15, "The Power of Madonna" - Video - Glee

I love my husband.

Teenage Time Loop--How many times do I have to say it??

Another overdraft fee! I don't get it. I sent him with PLENTY of travelling snacks and soda, purchased here at a grocery store so he wouldn't have to pay inflated convenience store prices on the road, AND $100 cash to buy souvenirs. So he buys a pepsi and a hat in San Francisco yesterday with his DEBIT CARD, and overdrew his account by -$4.55, plus the $20 Banking Stupidity Fee. His reasoning? "I just didn't want to use my cash at the moment."

Disparate [dis-PER-it]

Things that were on my front porch this week...

• couch, bisected by a chainsaw earlier this month;
• broken fenceboards (victims of lacrosse balls), assorted sizes;
• wrought-iron "pick-up truck" floral planter with fake flowers from last fall, slightly flattened, most likely due to prolonged contact with the aforementioned couch. Note to self: get rid of the cute, country truck planter.... you're just not "country". Not even a little bit.
• worn doormat, severely deteriorating on one side, imprinted with the query, "got dirt? (answer: "yes");
• orange Home Depot bucket;
• empty, plastic milk carton;
• two white kitchen-size trash bags, ALMOST full of stuff, ALMOST ready to go to D.I.;
• athletic cup (WTH?);
• 20 oz. plastic Mountain Dew bottle, 1/3 full (really hoping it doesn't have anything to do with the athletic cup);
• two bags of IceMelt, both of them open;
• one spoon;
• broken sprinkler;
• yellow, plastic, wasp trap;
• various and sundry spider webs, dead leaves, detritus;

... time to focus on some curb appeal...

Test post.