Tracy Calabrese

Booked…almost.

I reserved the ticket so I had some time to call my mom and let her know that I ended up getting on the same departing flight as my dad and the same return flight as both of them and now Continental won’t let me actually purchase the ticket. At least I have it on reserve for 24 hours, but I am going to have to call customer service in the morning. I despise dealing with customer service, especially when I have to call. Hopefully, it is painless since the ticket is technically just sitting there waiting for me to buy it.

The good news about having to deal with this…I had enough miles on Continental, which I never fly anymore since I moved to Dallas, from my trip to South Korea last year that I only had to pay the $5 fee for my ticket. And…since I didn’t use my American Airlines miles, I have tons of them to use either later in the year or save until next year and hopefully go on some amazing trip. Maybe Mexico…or back to Napa…or Aspen or Taos for a ski trip in the winter.

A real vacation would be nice, but for the time being, I am going to Las Vegas for work (and staying a few extra days for a mini-vacation) in March, possibly LA for work for a day or two in March and New Jersey in both April and May.

For Christmas, my mom bought me two cookie sheets and one brownie pan from Home Goods. When she left the store, the alarm went off and she had to go back in and have her bags checked by the cashier.

She didn’t realize until Christmas Day after opening all of our gifts, that I didn’t open my cookie sheets and brownie pan. She was so upset! She tore apart the house and looked in every closet and cabinet and even opened some of the other presents under the tree looking for them. She finally gave up and apologized for not having them for me.

After finally realizing she must have left them in her cart and then finding the receipt from the store, she decided to go back and explain the situation. She went back yesterday and spoke to the cashier at the returns counter, who called the manager. The manager came to the front of the store with a bag and said, “I was hoping you would come back! I was just about to put these back on the shelf.”

In the bag were the two cookie sheets and brownie pan and stapled to the bag was the receipt from all my mom’s purchases.

I have to say, kudos to Home Goods and their customer service. Now I have two cookie sheets and a brownie pan. Time to start baking!

• I didn’t feel like I was getting sick.
• I didn’t get home from SD/LA/SF at 6am this morning.
• I didn’t spend 20 mins on the phone with AT&T customer service trying to get my air card to work again.
• I had some good food in my pantry/fridge.
• If the Cowboys weren’t losing right now. Pull it together boys,.

I don’t understand how people can be so incompetent. How do they go on every day half-assing their job? People who have jobs where they have to deal with other people should have customer service skills and know how to deal with people. How do they get by? How do they live with the fact that their crappy service is someone else’s inconvenience?

I am annoyed. I am surprised I have kept my cool for as long as I have. I only sent one semi-nasty e-mail today and for me, it was pretty tame.

My attitude may change tomorrow if the people I am dealing with on the closing of my condo actually get their shit together and I close tomorrow. If I don’t have the keys in my hand tomorrow afternoon, then a side of me that people tend not to like will likely rear its ugly head.

That is all for now.