1.Everything is TOO expensive. Yes, we went to Orlando to see the sights and ride the rides and of course we were not oblivious to the fact that it would be expensive, but goodness me, does a burger really need to cost that much? If it had not been for my very loving family, we would not have been on the trip in the first place, but I did learn that there are plenty of great cheapo spots to go to where you can get knock-off Disney stuff that’s just as good and will fall apart just as easily as whatever you buy at the actual park!!! One great idea…if you buy a bottled drink or a fountain drink…do not throw it away…rinse that sucker out and re-use it as much as you can…there are water fountains, with cool-ish water in them…take advantage of that…you should be drinking water after all that walking anyway!!!
2.Always, no matter what they say, bring your own snacks. As many have seen, if you have looked on my Facebook page, I actually wore a fanny pack on our trip to Epcot and Universal Studios…yeah laugh it up…my shoulders were not killing me by the end of the 12 hour days, so I was happy. Anywho…with this lovely little hipster, I was able to hide little snacks, such as 2 nerd ropes, a miscellaneous Wonka chewy/sour contraption/sunflower seeds and some other anonymous bag of something…can’t remember. The best thing about a fanny pack in these parks, is that they are pretty much looking for weapons when they peek in your bag at the checkpoint before you enter. The guard stuck his little pen in my fanny pack for all of 10 seconds and I was moving on with a small stash of snack for Sloaney Baloney…I’m pretty sure I could have stashed a sandwich in there too. I know for a fact it keep the few bucks I did have safely in my pocket!
3.Wear moleskin or you WILL get monster sized blisters. Silly, silly people, like myself, think that since they are wearing their most comfortable shoes, ones that they wear every freaking day, would not give them blisters. WRONG!!!! I have never felt pain that in my feet, ever. I was offered the wonderful moleskin for my feet hours before I left for the park, but no!!! I resisted and paid the price the rest of the trip! If you are offered…just say yes!
4.Always stay late; no matter how tired you are, if they have fireworks. If you have the luxury of going to Epcot and staying for the 9pm fireworks show, please, please don’t pass it up because you think you are too tired…or you are tired of walking…or you are tired of your family…stay anyway even if it mean you will have stayed at the dang park for 12 hours that day…it doesn’t matter…STAY!!! Once the time comes and you are standing there with you family and you see the tremendous amount of time and money Disney has put into this wonderful display, you will know it was all worth it and it will make your walk back to the car go by quicker.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Miracle at McDonald's
So I am rushing all over town on my luch break to get snacks and such for the big drive tomorrow. I had a real hankering for an ice coffee from McDonald's. (which isn't that bad if made well) So, I take a little detour downtown and stop in at the McDonald's on Govt Blvd. Granted I have not been to this particular McD's since I lived in midtown many years ago. That being said, I had no idea what kind of service I would get. Instead of wasting gas in the hella long drive-thru line, I park Daniel's Subaru and hesitantly walk in. The parking lot was way packed, but I've rather save gas. I get in line with all the others, which was about 12 people, and waited. I could hear everyone making their orders and the check out girls voice never sounded upset or rude...she actually sounded happy. Let me tell you, I have to give props to this woman...she took 12 orders in less than 10 minutes with a smile on her face and a "hello, how may I help you" to every single person that was in line. So I will have to take back what I had written before about how awful McDonald's can be just because of her. There are some people that really do like their jobs, or at least pretend to very well. Thank you so much nice counter lady at McDonald's for making me change my mind, even if only for a moment, about how people in the service industry treat their customers.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Adopt Me Oprah
So, my family is much like many other families living in the US today, we are broke! For the past six months, my husband has been without work. He was laid off, along with thousands of others, from one of the many shipyards here on the Gulf Coast. Like many of those people, he has not had any luck with finding something to help us along. To make matters worse, the state we live in will not allow him to receive unemployment benefits, yet others from his same crew are collecting beaucoup bucks from the state and sitting on their asses doing nothing. We need that supplemental income to make it, but we are denied it for no good reason at all.
Be that as it may, I am the only one bringing home the bacon…and the bacon is a little thin for my liking. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful that I have a job at all, but man I sure would like to have more money to feed my family, pay my bills and maybe, just for once, do something fun and not worry about the money we are spending having some monumental effect on us paying a bill or not.
That being said, have you ever been so down on your luck that you revert to “borrowing” things from work so that you don’t have to pay your hard earned money for them? Things like coffee, creamer, sugar and toilet tissue? I have! I’m not proud of it, but those necessities are more expensive than we can sometimes afford and there are more than enough of those items stock piled here at my office. Yes, it may be stealing, but am I ok with that? YES!!!! We have even gone as far as filling my purse with condiments and napkins each time we have the luxury of going to a fast food place. I mean, think about it, you can get a bunch of ketchup, mustard, mayo and relish from various places in town and they don’t bat an eye. The napkins are a given, we always grab a handful when we go to take our seats and I proceed to fill my purse so that I will not have to go to the store to spend money I don’t have .
So I want to put it out there to you, Oprah, if you are looking to spend you money on some needy people, you need to look no further than the people right here in you own country. We are all more than willing to take a little hand out from someone who can more than afford it.!!!
Be that as it may, I am the only one bringing home the bacon…and the bacon is a little thin for my liking. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful that I have a job at all, but man I sure would like to have more money to feed my family, pay my bills and maybe, just for once, do something fun and not worry about the money we are spending having some monumental effect on us paying a bill or not.
That being said, have you ever been so down on your luck that you revert to “borrowing” things from work so that you don’t have to pay your hard earned money for them? Things like coffee, creamer, sugar and toilet tissue? I have! I’m not proud of it, but those necessities are more expensive than we can sometimes afford and there are more than enough of those items stock piled here at my office. Yes, it may be stealing, but am I ok with that? YES!!!! We have even gone as far as filling my purse with condiments and napkins each time we have the luxury of going to a fast food place. I mean, think about it, you can get a bunch of ketchup, mustard, mayo and relish from various places in town and they don’t bat an eye. The napkins are a given, we always grab a handful when we go to take our seats and I proceed to fill my purse so that I will not have to go to the store to spend money I don’t have .
So I want to put it out there to you, Oprah, if you are looking to spend you money on some needy people, you need to look no further than the people right here in you own country. We are all more than willing to take a little hand out from someone who can more than afford it.!!!
Customer Service Please
I’ve noticed more and more lately that the customer service that has been so engrained in my brain from childhood has been thrown out the window in recent times. So much so that my husband, daughter and I have started to take score each time we go to shop or eat in public.
A good example would be your neighbor hood Wal-Mart. Here is a place that millions visit daily, and as I’ve read, the people that work there are pretty well taken care of, in terms of insurance, decent pay and discounts. That being said, why is it that every freaking time I’m in the place the employees seem unhappy, won’t look at you and certainly are not willing to help you in any way? I mean, we are there, shopping, making mounds of money for that corporation and I get to the check out clerk, after waiting in line for a few hours, and she acts as if she can’t be bothered to even say, “Hello! How are you?” What does that say about that establishment? Not much to me. But here is a little nugget for ya. If you happen to live near a smaller, non 24 hour, non SUPER Wal-Mart, you will find that the people there seem to be much happier and actually ask you if you need help and get this, they are waiting for you at the end of their register guiding you in, if you look as if you are ready to check out. This being said, I drive my happy self to the much more out of the way Wal-Mart, that has less selection and nicer people.
Another example of horrible customer service, where it is needed just as much as anything other place, is the fast food industry. Don’t get me wrong, restaurants have the same problems, but they don’t seem to be as predictable as the service you will receive at the numerous fast food places everyone on earth goes to. I mean, am I really putting the person behind the counter of McDonalds out that much to get me a packet of ketchup when there is obviously none available because the little dispenser at the end of the condiment aisle is completely empty and they don’t exactly have the ketchup out for me to get myself. It’s been so bad in some instances that I have actually reached over the counter at a local McDonalds and gotten the ketchup myself. Hello, it’s your job to SERVE me...I am paying your wages child…get off your butt and sell it to me, you know? But instead of customer service we get the lack there of in almost every place we go.
A good example would be your neighbor hood Wal-Mart. Here is a place that millions visit daily, and as I’ve read, the people that work there are pretty well taken care of, in terms of insurance, decent pay and discounts. That being said, why is it that every freaking time I’m in the place the employees seem unhappy, won’t look at you and certainly are not willing to help you in any way? I mean, we are there, shopping, making mounds of money for that corporation and I get to the check out clerk, after waiting in line for a few hours, and she acts as if she can’t be bothered to even say, “Hello! How are you?” What does that say about that establishment? Not much to me. But here is a little nugget for ya. If you happen to live near a smaller, non 24 hour, non SUPER Wal-Mart, you will find that the people there seem to be much happier and actually ask you if you need help and get this, they are waiting for you at the end of their register guiding you in, if you look as if you are ready to check out. This being said, I drive my happy self to the much more out of the way Wal-Mart, that has less selection and nicer people.
Another example of horrible customer service, where it is needed just as much as anything other place, is the fast food industry. Don’t get me wrong, restaurants have the same problems, but they don’t seem to be as predictable as the service you will receive at the numerous fast food places everyone on earth goes to. I mean, am I really putting the person behind the counter of McDonalds out that much to get me a packet of ketchup when there is obviously none available because the little dispenser at the end of the condiment aisle is completely empty and they don’t exactly have the ketchup out for me to get myself. It’s been so bad in some instances that I have actually reached over the counter at a local McDonalds and gotten the ketchup myself. Hello, it’s your job to SERVE me...I am paying your wages child…get off your butt and sell it to me, you know? But instead of customer service we get the lack there of in almost every place we go.
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