giving back

around the holidays i start to get the bug to do some volunteer work.  i wish that i was a better person and it was a year round thing that i could commit too, but i'm not quite there yet. 
i used to volunteer a lot.  in highschool i was active in all the community service clubs and regularly worked at soup kitchens and did canned food drives and rang bells for the salvation army.  i also headed up the ecology club and we did cleanups and recycling drives.  then in college, my sorority did work with alzheimers patients and habitat for humanity among other things.
once i was on my own, it was difficult to find these opportunities.  and i had a lot less time.
but i really started to miss the feeling of giving back.  sending a check to feed a homeless family for thanksgiving every year just didn't really cut it for me.  i'm the type of person that would rather give my time than my money.  i've found that this is fairly difficult to do.
last year i was searching for volunteer opportunities in denver and was discouraged with all the hoops i had to jump though - applications and references?  commit to a minimum of 10 hours per week?  where were the "i have some free time this saturday and can help you out - what do you need?" events? 
i understand the reasoning behind the background checks and minimum hours, i really do.  i just wonder how many people they are turning away who want to help.
this year, i found this fantastic site - volunteer match. so far, I have wrapped presents and helped with a few adoption events at the lifeline puppy rescue.  this weekend j and i will be putting together food baskets for seniors and then helping again at the puppy rescue. 
it's nice to have something rewarding to do with my time, and lord knows we could use the karma right now. 

miscommunication

one thing that has been bugging me lately is the plethora of communication choices. between calling and texting and emailing and facebooking and twittering.. trying to figure out who prefers what is exhausting!

i personally prefer texting and emailing. i hate phone calls, unless there is a lot of specific information that is too complicated to text or email. a lot of times i can't understand the person on the other end very well because i am in my car and there is road noise or the connection is bad. if someone leaves a voicemail, you have to dial your voicemail, enter your password, listen to the pre-recorded "you have 1 new message. first message.." all to hear "hey, it's so and so, give me a call when you have a chance". seriously? if you CALL me, PLEASE leave the reason you called in my voicemail, or it is an utter waste of time! and don't even get me started on having to sit through the 2 minutes of pre-recorded crap in order to leave someone a voicemail. does anyone EVER "press 5 to page this person"??

with my customers, i try to ask them what method they prefer. even if i hate talking on the phone, i will do so for my customers who prefer it. that is just good business. i wish the vendors i work with would take note. for example, i have 2 contractors who insist on calling me practically every day. not because there is an emergency or question, but just to "update" me, even when nothing has happened. i'm sure they think this is good customer service, but it drives me batty! i have been trying to get through to them that i am very busy and can't take 10 minutes 5 times a day to chat with them about nothing. even though i've told them i prefer texts, it doesn't seem to be sinking in. so i've resorted to ignoring their phone calls and then texting them back with "can't talk, what do you need?".

they still aren't getting the hint.

do these stripes make me look fast?

this is my car.
















i know. it's super cute.

and apparently, invisible.

i have owned this car for almost 3 years. and i have been hit 3 times.

#1: summer 2006 - was parked at a friends house and someone in a large SUV backed into me. i had a huge dent in the hood from their ball hitch. fortunately, they were decent enough to leave a note and paid the $1500 repair bill.

#2: labor day weekend 2007 - was driving home from going out and a tweeker kid ran a stop sign and t-boned me. shattered the driver window, mangled the driver door. thank god no one was hurt. he was driving his friends mom's car. i didn't want to call the police because although i was ok to drive, i had been drinking that night and wasn't sure if i would register on a breathalyzer. i think the kid was on something too because he didn't want to call the police either. i was smart enough to get the license plate. i filed a police report the next day, saying that it was late and i didn't feel safe waiting for the cops to show up and thought it would be ok because no one was hurt. the owner of the car's insurance paid the $3500 repair bill.

#3: fall 2008 - was parked in front of my house. went outside and saw that my back hatch door was bashed in and there was red paint where it had been hit. no note. i filed a police report and then played detective in my neighborhood for weeks, checking the front of every red vehicle i saw. nada. so i sucked it up and claimed it on my insurance. its going into the shop this week. buh-bye $1000 deductable. i have a feeling it was a friend/family member of the immigrant family across the street - they are always parking in front of my house and dropping off or picking people up. and i'll bet dollars to doughnuts that they don't have car insurance. fuckers.

so not only do i seem to get hit a lot, i have about twice as many close calls. maybe only 10% of them are my fault. today i experienced 2 within an hour of each other.

#1: turning left onto colorado from 40th street. car in front of me slams on its brakes, so i slam on mine. turns out a stupid double-long fed ex truck was doing a U-TURN on a RED LIGHT on colorado blvd and got in the way of the guy in front of me. i passed the fed ex truck and honked. the guy behind me was riding my tail and when we got onto I-70, he sped up to pass me, honked, and flipped me off! WTF did *I* do? i hate that.

#2: going straight in the old navy parking lot. some lady pulls out and turns RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. i slam on my brakes and lay on the horn. i was literally inches away from hitting her. i double checked to make sure i didn't run a stop sign or anything, and of course, i had the right of way.

is it because my car is small and people just don't SEE me? or are there more idiot drivers on the road now more than ever? i think i might have my insurance deductible lowered...

you are a target market

i am a product of consumerism and it disgusts me. i was thinking about this today when i was going through all my email and it was advertisement after advertisment for christmas presents and gift cards. this post was originally going to be about how silly it is that every company thinks that their product is the best christmas present and a rant against christmas spending.. but then i thought.. wait a minute, i am totally guilty of this too. probably not nearly to the extent of other americans - but it's there, and not just around christmas time either.

i have gone into debt buying new furniture and clothes and a car and god knows what else. hell, i had to get a second job to pay for it. i get on my high horse about the marketing and gluttony and materialism, but although i try to support local business more than chains and try to buy most things on sale, i still find myself spending $100 at target on things i don't really need. or buy new clothes even though i have a ton in my closet because i was influenced by an episode of "what not to wear". i feel a bit hypocritical.

there is a healthy balance that i just need to find. i think i've been close to it, actually, since realizing that i need to save money. it's all about distinguishing what you want from what you need. this is a hard thing to distinguish when you are bombarded with ads and commercials convincing you that their product is all you need to be happy.

i want to live this perfect, healthy lifestyle - be in control of my finances, not put crap into my body, pollute less.. but it's really, really difficult for me to do right now. and it all boils down to how many (or how few) $$$ i have in my pocket.

don't sit in my section

while doing some research for my final project this semester, i came across this disturbing, albeit entertaining blog entry. be sure to read the comments and her replies.

crazy restaurant customer

talk about having some control issues.

lady, here's the thing. you're expecting 5 star service from a 2 star restaurant. you think that just because most people like something, doesn't mean the server should assume YOU like it, and that the server is wasting their time and being inefficient. i think it's more inefficient to not make assumptions about the 99% of customers that would like a refill of the same drink they've been drinking.

and seriously, WHO orders 4 sides of ranch? if you were rude to me for not bringing you enough, i would probably bring out a soup bowl full and sweetly say "is this enough ranch for you ma'am?" so that you would at least look stupid in front of the other customers.

you also state that you don't care about the servers name or the specials. if you so obviously don't care about the server and the restaurant, then why should the server care about you? studies have shown that introducing yourself to the table and telling customers about the specials actually increases the tip percentage.

if i did everything you suggested, i would risk pissing off 99% of my other customers.

if you're so picky about everything, maybe you should stay home and cook your own goddamned food.

a mixed bag

i'm in salt lake city for work right now. utah. what an interesting state. if i didn't think a city run by a cult church was such a bad idea, i would love to live here.

pro: gorgeous scenery, great weather
con: everything is centered around a temple

pro: light traffic, wide streets
con: street naming convention drives me nuts. south 500 west what?

pro: lots of hot, young guys
con: they're already married with 3 kids

pro: friendly people
con: wholesome mormons

pro: cool downtown area, clean city
con: hard to find a happy hour

pro: microbreweries
con: state records my name if i order a drink. how weird is THAT?

pro: ski areas within 30 minutes of the city
con: hmmm.. no con for this one.

summary:
salt lake - an oasis if you're religious, rasing a family, and like the outdoors.
not ideal for singles, drinkers, and other sinners.