Old Ephraim

 

(Photographs courtesy of my Mom)
Yesterday, my parents brought up their ATV's and we drove to Temple Fork in Logan Canyon. Then, we rode the ATV's to Old Ephraim's grave. If you don't know who Old Ephraim is, check this out. Ever since I heard the story of Old Ephraim, I wanted to visit the grave even though it's not really a grave, it's just a marker. We had a blast on the ATV's, the scenery was beautiful, and it was well worth the trip!

Two Mister Rogers and a Sesame Street

When I was little my mother would help me quantify time by telling me it would be two "Mister Rogers" and one "Sesame Street" before it was time for this or that. It was so simple but somehow that made the time pass by easier. Lately, it seems like I need another simple way to quantify time other than staring at a calendar and clock. Although, today that might be a little more complicated. I might have to measure time by one two-hour season premiere of the “Amazing Race”, one “The Office” and one “Grey’s Anatomy.”

I’ve noticed lately that I’ve been living life by just trying to make it from one event to the next and not really focusing on the day to day living. I would never dare to get philosophical on this blog but my new goal is to find good moments in each day without having to look forward to find the good. The deep-rooted pessimist in me says that I can’t do it but at least I put it in writing.

Seriously. Part 2.

I just don’t get it. I want to get it but I don’t. I just don’t understand why customer service has declined. I feel like I am qualified to complain about customer service because I worked in the customer service industry for nearly 8 years. I have learned to not expect much in the customer service area but I do demand competence. I seriously just had this conversation with Office Depot. Well, I must begin by saying that I first had to survive the “dial this for that menu.” I hate those. I just want to talk to someone.

Customer Service Agent: Hello, thank you for calling Office Depot. Can I have your name?

Me: Cheryl Sheffield

Customer Service Agent: Okay, Shirley, how can I help you?

Me: I have a corporate account with you and I need to get a quote for custom pens.

Customer Service Agent: I will have to transfer you to our department that handles promotional products.

Me: Okay.

I get transferred after being put on hold.

Customer Service Agent #2: Hello, thank you for calling Office Depot. Can I have your name?

Me: Cheryl Sheffield

Customer Service Agent #2: Okay, Cheryl, how can I help you?

At least he got my name right this time.

Me: I have a corporate account with you and I need to get a quote for custom pens.

Customer Service Agent #2: What is your corporate number?

I give him the information.

Customer Service Agent #2: Your account is actually handled by a different department. I will give you the number and transfer you.

He proceeds to give me the number I had called originally. At this point I became disgruntled. I told him that I already called that number and they transferred me to him. But he insisted I had to talk to the other department that already wouldn’t help me. Seriously, I just need a quote on one particular pen! He assured me that when he transferred me they would help me. Yeah right.

Now, you can just re-read my first two conversations but just insert Customer Service Agent #3 in the appropriate place. I am finally asked the product number of the pen in question. Then, I am quoted the exact same price that is in the catalog before any discount is applied. I mentioned that to Customer Service Agent #3 but she just keeps quoting me the same ridiculous price. Did I mention that I ordered pens from them last year and received quite a significant discount? Let’s just say I am taking my business elsewhere.

Shut Out

In a very last minute decision, Neil and I decided to make the trek to Kaysville and watch the BYU vs. Wyoming game yesterday. It was well worth our trip. BYU shut out a second team in a row 44-0. It was a great game and I was relieved that BYU didn't have any fumbles. I know that I live in Aggie territory, so I should be careful with what I say, but I hope that BYU gets a third shut out in two weeks against Utah State. It would just look bad if BYU was able to shut out UCLA and Wyoming but not Utah State. Too bad I will not be able to see the game. Sigh.... Football is just so much more exciting seeing it in person than watching it on TV.

After the game we had to rush back to Logan so we could attend "Nunsense." I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was a traveling anniversary tour and Sally Struthers was headlining. I will admit that seeing the name, I had no idea who Sally Struthers was until I read her biography. She has won an Emmy and Golden Globe award but I wouldn't have known that or cared. But when I read, "and the CW's highly acclaimed, "Gilmore Girls."" I got really excited. I was a huge fan of Gilmore Girls and couldn't wait to see what character she played. When she came out on the stage for the first time, I still couldn't tell who she was (she was dressed like a nun). But as soon as she spoke, I knew immediately that she played Babette on Gilmore Girls. Anyway, "Nunsense" was hilarious and the actors/singers were amazing. It was definitely a good performance to attend.

The Black Hole

Last night on my way to my dance class, I thought I would quickly run into the library, grab a book, and make it to class on time. I did my research ahead of time and made sure the book I wanted was available. When I got to the section where the book should be, I quickly scanned the titles looking for the book. It wasn’t there. So I scanned the books near and around the section in case someone had trouble with the alphabet. No luck. Because I was short on time and I absolutely needed a book and couldn’t remember the other books on my “to read” list, I went to the circulation desk. I explained the problem and asked if the book could be anywhere else (namely sitting in the drop box or something). I suppose the library worker gets this all the time and made the assumption that I was an idiot and didn’t know the alphabet. She proceeded to take me over to the section that I had already checked more than once, to check for herself. Then she admitted that it could still be on a shelving cart. In which she proceeded to check all 15 carts. I appreciated the effort but I was short on time. Still no luck. The book has been lost in the library black hole. So I settled for the CD version because I still couldn’t remember what other books I wanted to read. As I drove away from the library, I wondered how many books are lost in that aforementioned black hole. Can you imagine how many books could be lost by just placing them one or two bookshelves away from its predestined location? Some books may never be found again, while others may be happened upon by some unexpecting library patron.

In summary, I want that book. I want it now and I can’t believe someone lost it.

17 more to go

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” I think Thumper from Bambi said something similar to that. I think it was Thumper. In any case, my mother quoted that statement to me many times when I was a child and I have to say it was success because it has stuck. Therefore, I have neglected my blog a bit because I have been super busy with not many nice things to say about what I’ve been doing.

In the last few weeks Neil and I have attended 3 out the 20 events that he has to for one of his classes. I warned all that I would be reporting on them. But remembering the advice from Thumper, I have withheld my comments. I love the performing arts! I love going to a concert, play, or musical and walking out of it feeling like my socks just got knocked off or inspired or at least wanting to buy the soundtrack. So far the only event that made me feel inspired did not require actors. It was a lecture about photography. I was not thrilled about attending a lecture but you do what you have to do, right? But I was pleasantly surprised by the intellectual stimulus and inspiration that it provided. The lecturer discussed how photography is the bridge between art and science. It was very good.

Now you are curious aren’t you? You want to know what else that I have seen but refuse to comment on, don’t you? I will say the “Celebrate America-Aloha USO” show was interesting. We also saw “High School Musical” last weekend. That one had an interesting message to teens— you can do anything you want to do, as long as you fulfill your stereotypical obligations first.

I think it will have to get better from here. It has to.

Bizarre

The last few nights I have had some very interesting dreams. So the psychologist in me forces me to contemplate and analyze what my dreams mean. I will not go into detail of my exact dreams but I have listed below some symbols in my dreams and what they "represent."

Dream Meanings - SNOW
To see snow in your dream, signifies your inhibitions, repressed/unexpressed emotions and feelings of frigidity. You need to release and express these emotions and inhibitions. You may also be feeling indifferent, alone and neglected. If the snow is melting then it suggests that you are acknowledging and releasing those emotions you have repressed. You are overcoming your fears and obstacles.

To dream that you are playing in the snow, indicates that you need to set some time for fun and relaxation.

Dream Meanings - SLIP
To dream that you slip on something, signifies that you are forcing yourself to do things that you do not really want to do.

Dream Meanings - LAKE
To see a lake in your dream, signifies your emotional state of mind. If the lake is clear and calm, then it symbolize your inner peace. If the lake is disturbed, then you may be going through some emotional turmoil.

Dream Meanings - ELEVATOR
To dream that you are ascending in an elevator, signifies that you will quickly rise to status and wealth. You may have risen to a higher level of consciousness and are looking at the world from an elevated viewpoint. Descending in an elevator, denotes that misfortunes will crush and discourage you. The up and down action of the elevator may represent the ups and downs of your life go emerging out of and submerging into your subconscious.

To dream that the elevator is out of order or that it is not letting you off, symbolizes that your emotions have gotten out of control.

Dream Meanings - ROWBOAT
To dream that you are in a rowboat, symbolizes hard work and perseverance. You are coping with your own problems and emotions in your own way and at your own pace. Consider the condition of the water.

Wow, interesting stuff. It sure makes me sound like I have a lot of emotional problems. I've always had really weird dreams.

Anyway, on to better and bigger things. It was pointed out to me that I wasn't dedicating enough time on talking about how awesome the Cougars are doing. So BYU just won their 13th straight game yesterday. To make things even sweeter they shut out UCLA 59-0. I remember the days of being their in person to witness such glory. Sigh.....

Finally, in other news, it looks like the newspaper littering bandit only works on weekends. We are now only receiving our 4 newspapers Friday through Sunday. At least I can get the coupons and comics in the Sunday papers. Plus, Neil and I don't have to share the comics because we get two copies of each paper. I also think I will take my Mom's suggestion and go into the pinata making business. Does anyone need confetti or a pinata? Come Cinco de Mayo, I will be ready.

Unsolved Mystery

I decided that I needed to follow up on “the newspaper situation” and yes, it has been upgraded from a “minor irritation” to a “situation.” On Friday, August 29 at approximately 8:30 AM, I first reported my minor irritation with the delivery of duplicate copies of two different major Salt Lake papers on this blog. It began sporadically for the last few weeks but then for an entire week straight we received the unwelcome deliveries. When I finally decided to catch the newspaper littering bandit in the act and woke up early enough to catch him, we stopped receiving the deliveries. I was relieved because it saved me from having to make a phone call to complain. But as soon as we thought we were in the clear, the papers showed up again last Thursday and Friday. So on Friday, I made the dreaded call. Luckily, the customer service representative I spoke with was competent and spoke English (which is fortunate these days). She asked for my name, address, and phone number and confirmed that we indeed did not have a subscription to either paper, let alone two for each. She insisted the delivery agency just must be delivering them to the wrong house. I agreed but I still question the logic in whoever is delivering the papers to our house. I consider myself a fairly logical person. I also try to give others the benefit of the doubt and assume they are logical people as well. So here I will begin a study in logic. Please correct me if you find any errors in my logic.

1. Our house is the only house on our block that faces north. Therefore, there are no other driveways in proximity to ours. Thus, the confusion on which house to deliver the papers to should be significantly reduced.
2. Perhaps, the delivery person has dyslexia and has the wrong address. However, I don't think the reverse of our address exists.
3. Wouldn’t a red flag go up, if you were delivering 4 newspapers to one house? And then maybe a huge red flashing light go off if you were delivering duplicate copies to the same house? If it were me, I would check a master list of my delivery route. Just an idea.
4. Isn’t there someone or several people missing their papers??? Shouldn’t they be the ones calling demanding to know where their paper is? They are actually paying for it. So I am assuming someone has been reporting their missing paper(s), so don’t you think someone would try to figure out where they are going wrong with the delivery?

Now, I will end my study in logic to continue with the exciting conclusion of the “situation.” I was told by the customer service representative for the papers that they would contact the manager in charge of our area to let them know of the problem. Whew. I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to clean papers off my driveway every morning anymore. Then, we went out of town and came back to 8 wonderful surprises. I tried doing the right thing by calling and reporting the problem but what am I supposed to do now?

Why?

Why is it that when you need to make a good impression with an important person that you end up making a fool of yourself and/or completely do the opposite of making a good impression? Today would have been a good day to make a good impression with an important person but instead I showed up to work looking pretty much how I feel. Speaking of how I feel, I feel pretty miserable. I think because I am feeling so miserable all of my amazing natural wit and charm left me. Neil gave me a cold over the weekend. He went back to work and school on Tuesday feeling better and I got to begin the work week feeling sick. Why does that always happen? Not that I enjoy being sick over weekends especially holiday weekends but I think it is worse to be sick at work. Speaking of being sick, why do I have a hard time taking sick leave? I almost have 2 weeks worth of sick leave but I’m saving it for when I get really sick. Is that weird? Speaking of sick leave, what qualifies as really sick? I don’t know what I’m waiting for.

Forewarning

I thought we were busy this summer but our calendar is quickly filling up with fun and not so fun things. The last few weekends we have been so busy that I have been longing for a weekend in which we have no plans. But I know that as soon as we have a weekend with no plans, I will be longing for plans. One of the very fun things that fall brings is the college football season. On Saturday, Neil and I were able to catch the BYU vs. Northern Iowa game. We don’t get to actually attend any of the games this year. But that is a sore subject for me, so I will leave it at that. In any case, my parents throw awesome football parties, so practically every Saturday through November is booked with a game.

In between the football games, Neil and I will be catching 20 performances before the semester ends in 14 weeks. Neil is finishing his last GE requirement. I will not even claim to understand the ridiculous GE program that Utah State has, let alone the classes. But that is a sore subject for me, so I will leave it at that. Basically, he is taking an Art Symposium that requires him to attend 20 performances and write 20 papers. At first, I was excited for this because I thought it would be fun to go out more and see fun things. Now, after seeing what is being offered and required, I’d rather stay in. I suppose this is a forewarning of things to come on this blog. You will probably read way more about BYU football than you would ever want to read. By the way, way to go Cougars with the first win of the season! I expect much better ball handling in the future and for the energy to be kept up in the second half. You may also be forced to read my very honest critiques of the 20 performances that I will attend with Neil. First up, we are going to a Celebrate America show tomorrow.

Then, in between football games and around 2 performances a week we have life. You know, the day to day things that you like and/or have to do. Like working, running errands, cooking, cleaning, and paying bills. I will still be taking my modern dance class on Thursdays and an African dance class on Tuesdays occasionally to mix things up. Neil will just do school and work. We also make monthly canning trips for our church calling. We also have to fit in those required family events that may or may not be fun. But such is life and consider yourself warned.