Inside the Head of a TV Junkie

On Wednesday I went to the post office to mail an item through priority mail.  I dread going to the post office for fear of the lines that await me.  I fear those lines less than I fear the mail room at my office though and so we have this story.

I decide to drive to the Tolleson post office because I figure the lines there will be much smaller than at a larger post office in Phoenix.  Besides, the Tolleson post office is closer to my office than any other so I save on gas.  When I arrive at the post office, the lines are okay, not too long and it seems like everyone has their shit together.  I get in line behind this lady who feels that letting her child run around the place is a good idea and wait.  At the front of the line, there is this older gentleman who gets called to the counter next.  There are three USPS employees working the counter.  What happens next is just classic.  I have never heard someone complain so much to a postal worker about how much the US Postal Service sucks.  Here’s how the conversation went down:

Older Man: “I just moved into a new home in the area and they said I had to come down here to get my mailbox keys.  Why do I need mailbox keys?  Are these keys going to be for that large collection of mailboxes?”

Postal Worker: “You are correct.  You will need to collect your mail from that central mailbox location.  The keys will unlock your box.  What is your address so I can get you your keys?”

Older Man: “That is ridiculous!  Back in the day, you would get your mail delivered to your house!  I am an old man and I cannot be walking to the mailbox every day to pick up my mail!  Why are we paying $0.42 to send a letter and not even getting our mail delivered to our door?”

Postal Worker: “I’m sorry you feel that way sir, but this is how the USPS requires new home developments to be setup.  We no longer deliver to people’s front doors…”

Older Man (interrupting): “Yes you do!  You deliver letters to my sisters front door and put them in her mailbox!”

Postal Worker: “Does your sister live in an older home?  We still deliver to doors/mailboxes in older communities.  The central mailboxes are only for newer communities.”

Older Man: “Do you know how hot it is outside?  You expect me to walk and pick up my mail every day?”

Postal Worker: “I do know how hot it can get here, sir.  May I suggest that you drive to the mailboxes to pick up your mail?”

Older Man: “What?  Do you know much gas costs?  You think I have that kind of disposable income to use gas to drive over to the mailboxes to pick up my mail?  That is ridiculous!”

Postal Worker: “I’m sorry that you feel it is an inconvenience but I have no control over your mail delivery.  If you’d like, you can write a letter to the Postmaster General.  Did you need to mail an item sir?”

Older Man: “Yes, I need to mail this letter.”

Postal Worker: “Okay, is there anything else I can help you with today?”

Older Man: “You’d better give me some stamps as well.  I need a sheet of $0.01 and a roll of the regulars.”

Postal Worker: “The roll of stamps will be $42…"

Older Man (interrupting): "What?! I’m on a fixed income!  I can’t afford that! Just give me three stamps, that’ll hold me over until next week."

Okay, so they may not be direct quotes above, but it is pretty close.  Anyway, the old man proceeds to leave the post office.  If any of you have been to a post office recently, you know how they sell supplies in the lobby?  Padded envelopes, boxes, etc.  Well, this old man is leaving the post office, walks over to the stand and says to himself, "Huh, I need some of these (padded envelopes) for those tapes I am going to mail."  He takes four or five from the rack and walks out.  Seriously, out of control.

The only other funny event that happened that day was a bride and groom mailing out their invitations.  The groom must not have mailed something in about 5 years as he was shocked at how much a stamp cost and accused the man behind the counter of wanting to charge more for a wedding designed stamp.  Crazy!!!

The pool in my condo community is closed.  Why?  Well, see the letter below.  We have a few people living in the area that can’t read picture signs and like to bring glass objects to an area where people (including children) walk around in bare feet.  These past few evenings have been quite wonderful.  Nice and quiet.  The pool is right outside of my home and some of these same people don’t know how to tell time (the pool is closed from 10pm to 8am).  Let’s hope it stays shut for a while!

The picture below is of a couple that was sitting next to my friend Erin and me at La Grande Orange on Monday.  From the moment they came in they hardly said a word to one another.  It wasn’t a first date type of awkwardness.  Erin likened it to more of a ‘been married for some time and I hate you’ type of awkwardness.  She had a front row view while I had to rely on her commentary of what was going on at the next table.  As you can see from the photo, they are really just having a great time!

A coworker passed the citizenship test on Monday. Today we had a “It’s great to be an American” party at work. Does that violate some sort of law? Hmmm.

I’ve only known one other person to take the test, and that was back in college. He was from England and took it along with everyone in his family. He told us that they used to have quiz nights at home on all the types of questions they would ask on the test. A completely different take on family game night.

Congratulations to all the new Americans out there.

You know how much I love reading these things!  Here’s one form this story.  So good.

>Straight people don’t go around
>announcing to the world that they
>are straight

Really? Do we not wear wedding rings? Tack photos of our families all over our office walls? Stand around the water cooler and complain about our husbands and wives? Send flowers to our spouses’ workplace on Valentine’s Day?

When gays do these things, they’re accused of “rubbing our noses in it.” When we do it, it’s business as usual.

The following links will take you to two sites.

The first is the Wikipedia entry for the Akaka Bill currently in the U.S. Congress. Read up on what exactly this bill will do and you can’t possibly tell me that it would pass any sort of Constitutional test.

The second site (zeroshibai.com) touts itself as “The Voice of the Silent Majority”. The site is an interesting read. Granted, I don’t live in Hawai’i nor am I Hawaiian, but I still find this fascinating. How is this controversy not making more headlines here on the mainland? I guess we have to wait until crazy shit goes down before we’ll hear anything about it. Check the awesome cartoon they created. Let’s just say it created quite a stir in Hawai’i and with the OHA.

One of the teams at work is having a V-Day Potluck. The sign up sheet is below. At first glance it appears that Maru could possibly be bringing a guest to this event. Supposedly, that is the name of some sort of Panamanian dish. Not sure about that, but it definitely got a laugh out of us this afternoon (especially my friend Jenie).

So, I was at the soccer game on Wednesday night.

All I have to say is that I was shocked to hear what I heard while at the game. I guess, at the same time, I am not.

In case you don’t know… making generalizations towards a group of people is not cool… it actually constitutes racism. Yeah, I said it, the ‘R’ word.

“They should be trimming my shrubs or cleaning my pool.”
“How many of these people are day laborers?”
“ICE should be out here rounding these people up.”

All I ask is that you watch what you say… take a minute and think about what you are going to say. Making a joke doesn’t make something you said ‘OK’.

Ok, that’s all for now.

Ok, once again, work is driving me crazy. This would be the consession stand work at the BOB. Surprisingly enough, it’s not the high schoolers this time. Anyway, yesterday must have been “stupid customer day.”

Again, two main issues… if you see us cleaning up the stand, the lemonade is empty, the lights are off, and things seem to be picked up, we are closed. That means we have no lemonade to sell, we have no cotton candy to sell, we have nothing! Don’t ask! No, we don’t give shit away for free either. Do I just live a sheltered life? Where are free products being given away??? Please share, because that’s a pretty sweet deal. I’m pretty sure I’ve ranted about this issue before, but it deserved another visit after last night. Oh yeah, and trying to make me feel guilty by saying that I’m making a 4 year old sad doesn’t work. If you wanted to avoid any sadness you should have bought it back in the 2nd inning. Besides, who in their right mind is going to give a 4 year old SUGAR at 10.30 at night? !?

Anyway, second issue and MAJOR pet peeve of mine… Yes, I realize we’re in Arizona. Yes, I realize we’re 3 hours from Mexico. Yes, I realize many people move from Mexico to live in America… but no, we do not speak spanish here and we’re not required. No, I don’t speak spanish. No, you shouldn’t assume I do because I’m “brown” or, in other words, “look like I should.” Also, if you can speak english, perfect english (or at least good enough english) then speak it! Here’s what happened…. story time:

A man comes up to the stand, asks for some lemonade. Sounds innocent enough, except he asked in spanish. It had already been a long day and so I just ignored the fact he asked in spanish and I just answered in english. He then proceedes to ask for a specific flavor (in spanish) and I again answer in english. He finally gets the point and finishs our transaction in english. Btw, he speaks english as well as I do with hardly any accent. When he leaves he says, “Why didn’t you just answer me back in Spanish? You obviously understand it.” “I’m sorry sir, but I don’t speak spanish, I just understood what you were asking for because we get a lot of spanish speakers here.” “Well, you’re mexican right? You should speak spanish.” “Actually sir, I’m half mexican, and no I shouldn’t. We live in America where the official language is english. You shouldn’t presume that someone speaks spanish just because they ‘look’ like they should.” Man leaves stand with a look of disgust on his face. I believe we’ve lost a customer… lol.

The moral of the preceeding story? Don’t assume someone speaks a specific language just becuase they look like they should. Also, don’t be rude and expect someone to speak your native language, you’re in america, we speak english, get over it or go home!

Ok, this all probably sounds like i’m going overboard on a small issue, but it seriously happens to me on a daily basis and you should see the looks of disgust i get from people when they realize I don’t speak spanish and I look mexican. It drives me crazy. I have been to many countries where they don’t speak english and I have NEVER once assumed that anyone spoke english nor have I expected someone to know how to speak english to make it “easier” on myself. I find that to be extremely rude and even offensive (given I am half mexican and my dad’s family all grew up speaking spanish only, but they don’t go around assuming people speak spanish or that they should speak spanish or that things should be done for them in spanish, blah blah blah).

Alright… I figure i’ve beat this issue to death, but I just had to get it off my chest. I have another game tonight… hopefully it’s better than yesterday!