Just Pickin' Daisies

The Daily Smalls

2006-03-18T22:50:00.000-08:00

It had been a rather lonely week at work. You see, I normally would get a call from Sarah. Almost daily. She calls to tell me about a test, or friend drama, the lack of selection in the cafeteria, a squirrel falling out of a tree, etc. I look forward to these calls. In fact, my office looks forward to these calls. They all feel like they, too, have a little sister going through her first year of college (sound travels well through cubicle walls).

So this last week was Spring Break. Sarah was off being a spring breaker. Was she busy laying out in the warm Texas sunshine? Was she hitting the slopes? Was she spitting spitwads at Simon Cowell on last week's American Idol? Did she head back to Europe for another cruise of the Greek isles (that jerk)? Turns out she was back in Keller doing whatever there is to do in Keller, which isn't much.

But she's back in San Marcos now and I, for one, am glad. When my phone rang at 10:53 this morning, my Monday was instantly 1,238,942,389 times better. Today her roomie was sick and sleeping so she didn't unpack. Her ballet class was canceled. She has to go to the airport and pick up a friend tonight. She was going to be late for art history.

Could I have lived without ever knowing these things? Probably. But life wouldn't have been as enjoyable. Sometimes it is not about the details. Sometimes it is just about the call.

What's That Smell???

2006-03-15T19:27:00.000-08:00

I smell flowers, no wait, chlorine. No, maybe sweat? Or is it Vanilla? No, perfume. Or is it awapuhi? If you are standing by me, the answer is yes. To all of them. Its crazy how many different flavors (yes, smells come in flavors, as to lotions, clothes, and candles) one can carry at a single moment in time. Let me explain.

I swam yesterday, my skin soaking up all the chlorine in the entire pool. I will now reek of chlorine for days. Awesome. I went to a kickboxing class today and worked up a sweat, which brought out the chlorine in my skin. My floral flavored (see above) deodorant attempted to mask the smell. As I tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear I got a brief whiff of the vanilla hand lotion I had put on that morning. The movement in my hair brought our the awaphui shampoo smell. All that, with my Versache Woman perfume, can drive a lady crazy.

Good thing I'm not a lady. No matter how hard my mom tried.

Nearly-In Tournament

2006-03-14T09:07:00.000-08:00

OK. I'm admitting it. I had never heard of the NIT until a few years ago when I started working in the sports industry. Its true. The National Invitation Tournament is vastly overshadowed by the NCAA Championship tournament. (For those that are a step behind me, the NIT is the tournament for those that weren't one of the top 64 teams to make it to the Big Dance)

And not that its an excuse, but none of the teams I cheered for were ever playing in it, so I didn't even know it existed. Growing up, I didn't watch a whole lot of college hoops. And when I did, it was during March Madness. And I was cheering for Duke. The last time Duke was in the NIT, I was 2 months old. I have since changed my allegiance to the Texas Longhorns, who haven't been in the NIT since I was 5.

Yesterday Brian printed out an NIT bracket (yes, they even have printable brackets), so we could fill one out. BYU is a 6-seed in the NIT, so I'll cheer Brian's cougars on to NIT glory and victory.

While I'm at it, maybe I'll even start an NIT office pool. Who knows, maybe by the end of it, I'll actually know where Fair Dickenson, Hofstra, Lipscomb, and Butler are all located.

Understock.com

2006-03-08T14:31:00.000-08:00

Brian and I ordered bedroom furniture. Half of it arrived broken, scratched, etc, (not to mention a far inferior quality than what we were expecting) and had to be sent back. The whole process has been frustrating and very time consuming. I have spend hours chatting online with customer service, and keep getting the run around. Here is a snippet of the most recent conversation:

Finn: After review I see that the previous representative has initiated return as refund for this item.
you: it was supposed to be an exchange.
you: When can I expect it to arrive here?
Finn: I can understand your concern.
Finn: But the item has been out of stock while the return was initiated.
you: Then why does it say on the web page that it is in stock?
Finn: Yes, you are right.
you: And there was no "almost sold out" tag on the photo
you: This is absolutely ridiculous, Finn.
Finn: The item has come in stock now only.
you: What does that mean?
you: One all of a sudden re-appeared?
Finn: Be assured that the credit will be issued right now and it will be reflected in your next credit card statement.
you: I don't want credit. I want my night stand.
Finn: I request you to reorder the same item.
you: why? I don't understand why you can't send me one that's in stock. Why do I have to re-order it?
Finn: I'm sorry for the trouble that you are facing with your item.
Finn: May I go ahead and place an order for you?
You: you may go ahead and answer my question.
Finn: Let me explain this.
you: OK
Finn: The return for this item has been initiated on 02/17/2006.
you: OK
Finn: At that time the item has been out of stock, so the return was initiated as refund but not as the replacement.
you: But the web site never said the item was out of stock
Finn: This is the reason that we are issuing you the refund.
Finn: Did I explain that clearly?
you: I was never informed that my exchange had been turned into a return.
you: After you are done explaining to me our current problem, can you please explain to me why I was not notified?
you: are you with me?
you: no, I still do not understand why I was not informed at the time of my refund request that the item was out of stock
Finn: Wer are sorry for the inconvenience caused.
Finn: *We
you: Can you please answer the question, Finn?
Finn: I can understand your issue.
you: Thanks, but I don't need understanding. I need answers.
Finn: I assure you that the credit will be issued right now.
you: Can you answer the question, please?
Finn: I request you to reorder the same item.
you: I request you to answer the question.
Finn: The previous representative has initiated the return as refund so we will be issuing the credit.
you: That's nice. Why did he not tell me the item was not in stock.
you: And that was 2 weeks ago. Why am I JUST NOW being issued the credit?
you: And by "issued credit" do you mean that I have store credit, or the money has been placed back on my credit card?
Finn: Brook, the credit will be issued to your credit card.
you: Yes, I understand that. What I don't understand are the other 2 questions I just asked you.
Finn: Brooke, this is not the way we do our business, but sometimes mistakes do occur.
Finn: Please accept our sincere apologies for that.
you: Its interesting that on this one order, 6 mistakes occurred. 3 broken pieces of furniture, a label that was accidentally deleted out of your system, and 2 items that were supposed to be sent to me are not longer being sent to me.
you: I would like a 50% discount on the night stand.
Finn: I'm sorry I do not have an authority to offer you the discount.
you: I
you: I'll wait while you go speak with somebody that does.
Finn: I am sorry the maximum that I can offer you is a
$20 coupon.
you: I'm sorry, but don't you think that I deserve a little more than that?
Finn: You can use this $20 coupon for your future purchase.
you: What makes you think I'd ever want to purchase something again from a company who's treated me the way that I've been treated?
Finn: This is the maximum that I can offer you.
you: I'd like to speak with a supervisor, please.
Finn: Please stay online while I transfer this chat to my Supervisor.

The Supervisor then gave me the whole song and dance that my new not-best-friend Finn gave me. I finally accepted 10% off the re-purchase of my two missing items, and she would place the order. I called Customer Service later because the Supervisor had not given me my order confirmation order. To my (not so big) surprise, not only had she not placed the order, but both items were out of stock. Awesome.

Cream Cheese Creations

2006-02-23T15:56:00.000-08:00

Cream cheese is so yummy wummy
In my lummy, vummy, tummy.

I've decided that cream cheese is my new favorite secret ingredient. While there are some obvious cream cheese favorites, such as cheese cake and cream cheese and salsa dip, I've found a few golden recipes that make cooking oh-so-much easier and tastier.

Truffles
1/3 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 tsp vanilla
cocoa/melted chocolate/coconut/chopped nuts/whatever for outer coating

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate and vanilla until no streaks remain. Refrigerate for about 1 hour. Shape into 1 inch balls. Roll balls in coating of choice. Makes 20.

Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup butter
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups milk
6 oz. grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from head when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked to long. Makes 4 servings.

For those of you who are more health conscious than I am, neufatchel (pronounced nufuschuchulchuel) cheese (fat-free cream cheese) is a worthy substitute. Enjoy!!!!

Tid-Bits on Torino

2006-02-22T12:30:00.000-08:00

1. Thank goodness for Canadian television. They are doing a WAY better job of showing events. NBC's broadcasters are better, but CBC has better coverage.

2. Maybe Bode Miller would go faster if he dusted the spider webs off of his ski suit.

3. If I were to compete in the winter Olympics it would be in ski jumping. And only if I could wear a bright orange uniform like Finland. And I would only answer to "The Flying Cheeto."

4. The Winter Olympics are the rich man's Olympics. Training costs a lot more. Compare lift ticket prices with free admission to your local neighborhood high school track.

5. Chad Hedrick calls himself "the Pairs Hilton of speed skating." Chad, you're an ice skater. Can I get a "That's hot"? Yeah, didn't think so.

6. Mad props to the camera men. Thanks for only shooting waist-up on the skin-tight uniforms.

7. What's with the Days of Our Lives skits. Even as a decade-long Days watcher, I'd still rather have the John Tesh moments. Please.

8. I've found myself cheering for Canadians on accident. I've been watching mostly CBC (see #1) and when the announcers say "the American wins the gold BUT THE CANADIAN GETS 6th!!!!" I find myself caught up in the moment.

9. I am hockey-retarded. Do I know the difference between a blue line and a clothes line? No. Do I think icing is something you put on a cake? Yes. But I'm learning.