Have you seen that DHL commercial about the lack of customer service?? The two salesgirls are gossiping at their counter instead of helping the customer, the bagger slams a gallon of milk on top of the eggs, a delivery man lets his box get squashed by the elevator doors.

Yeah, that was MY day today!

I had a 10:20am appointment at Penney's to get Grace's first birthday photos taken. Now I had been going to the same girl since Grace was born, but she apparently doesn't work there anymore. Also, I was a little taken aback when the girl on the phone who made my appointment asked me to spell my last name. It's quite a common one; I've never been asked to spell it before.

So I arrive at 10:20 on the dot. I know I should have been a few minutes early, but I had to stop for a latte. Another family arrived at the same time I did and breezed straight into one studio without filling out any paperwork. Come to find out, the girl who went ahead and took their photos wasn't really at work today; I guess she came in only for that family. But I filled out my paperwork and was told to wait until the girl that really was working today was finished with her current customer.

That customer took 30 minutes to pick out her photos, no lie. I know it's not the photographer's fault that she took so long, but after thinking about it for a while, she could have excused herself from the customer for a moment and said to me, "I'll be with you as soon as we're finished here!" Maybe then the customer would have realized that she was holding other people up.

Then again, maybe not.

So I was perturbed because it was 10:50 by the time we were able to have Grace's photos taken. So much for an appointment. I discussed the problem with the photographer, which is how I knew that other girl wasn't working today, and she also told me that they schedule their sessions really close together in order to get more customers in.

I was just disappointed because I've never had a problem with Penney's before, and usually I sing their praises. But we got three cute poses out of Miss Gracie, so I suppose I can't complain too much.

The other customer service issue happened on the way home. I remembered at the last second that I'd asked to have a refill of my birth control filled at the sub base. So I went trotting off to Medical, where I was initially told that I'd waited too long after the request was put in, and my prescription had been returned to stock.

I knew that wasn't the case because I put in the request last Wednesday, and you have 10 days to pick it up. I was well within my window.

Finally the HM (hospitalman, which is basically a nurse's aide) told me that my birth control is, for all intents and purposes, a special order (which I knew already), and that I could only have it filled at the hospital refill station. I tried to explain to her that if that were the case, the internet refill site shouldn't have allowed me to request picking it up at the sub base. She just looked at me with that blank look, total deer-in-headlights. We went round and round, and she tried to make it out to be MY fault for having a special order prescription.

Now I'm pissed because that woman was rude to me, and I also have to drive 25 miles one way just to get a damn prescription filled!

Some days I know I just should have stayed in bed.

Unfortunately, today I didn't, but I did some major retail therapy. I spent way too much money. Ssshhhhh, don't tell Kurt!! :o)

(Since he reads this anyhow, he'll find out.)

I bought some more coveralls for Gracie because I'm all about the one-piece dressing (her cloth diapers actually fit under the coveralls) and a new dress for her that had been $30 but was marked down to $7. I bought those at the Penney's kids' counter, and went downstairs to investigate the bras. While topless in the changing room, I heard over the PA, "Will Karyl [my last name] please return to the kids' department??"

I had left my purchases on the counter.

Senility is just around the corner, I can FEEL it.

I also bought a new watch/bracelet set for myself, which I totally didn't need, but it's sooooooooooo pretty. And since Kurt is getting that bonus whenever the Navy gets around to paying him, I have the money for it. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.

AND I got a new purse because my $1.77 purse is just too small, now that Grace wears size 4 disposable diapers. It was perfect when Gracie was in the size 3, but the size 4s are just too big for it. This time I got a chocolate brown purse so Kurt won't mind carrying it when he gets home. He'd refused to carry the pink purse.

But I have noticed a lot of pink clothing in the boys' and young men's departments. One shirt I saw said, "Real Men Wear Pink," which I would dearly love to get Kurt, and the boy's shirt I saw today said something about "Manly enough to wear pink." It's a lovely baby pink, too!

THEN it was off to Target, where I wanted to get a couple of those air fresheners that go around an outlet. I figured Grace couldn't pull one of those off! But I didn't see it at my Target. I resisted buying Cinderella since I didn't really like that movie anyhow. I got Gracie her birthday present -- a remote control car!! Isn't that COOL!? I also resisted the sparkly ballet flats that actually fit me in an 8½, but it was really hard to resist. It took a lot of self-control. But I figured with the purse and the watch/bracelet, I had bought ENOUGH for myself.

So that was my day in a nutshell; how was yours?! :o)