I Never Knew

I think today must have been, "Let's go out and run errand day" for everyone around here.  I believe people woke up this morning and thought, "HEY it is MONDAY! Let's go to the bank, the grocery store, the phone store and let's make sure to create traffic to make the enjoyment complete."  Now if I were a smart person, I would have turned around and headed home as soon as I saw the many cars parked at the bank parking lot. But, evidently, I am not a smart person.  I did not think to myself that most people around here use the drive-thru and with that many cars in the parking lot, it is sure to be a long line in the bank. Nope.  I parked my car in the remaining spot, steadfast in my ways, and said I WILL MAKE MY DEPOSIT TODAY!  Imagine my surprise when there was *gasp* A BIG LONG LINE!  Again - at this point - I should have perhaps made Tuesday errand day - but again - I failed to recognize an intelligent choice and instead stood in line.  When I finally made it to the teller window, I was helped by the teller that also operated the drive-thru window, so that my wait time was increased three-fold. How lucky for me to pick the busiest teller. Since my day was already going so brilliantly, I headed straight for the cell phone repair center.  The worst time to EVER go to the cell phone repair center is when you are happy and gleeful and full of optimism because once you enter the repair center, all your happiness will be sucked out of you immediately.  Since I already stood in line forever at the bank, I figured today was as good a day as any to get my phone exchanged. I have a windows based mobile phone that is supposed to do everything. I carry full insurance on my phone so that if there is any electrical, software or mechanical issues - I can get a free replacement.  Ahhh if only life were that simple.  Wouldn't it be AWESOME if you could call your cell phone company and say. "Hey the phone I have which I carry full insurance on - isn't working properly."  And then the cell phone company would reply, "Oh I am terribly sorry! I will send out a new replacement right away!"  Instead, I get to call the cell phone company.  Have the cell phone company send me to the retail center.  Have the retail center send me to the repair center.  Have the repair center call the cell phone company.  Have the cell phone company tell the repair center that they will send a new phone to the repair center so that I can pick it up later this week. Is there logic in this?  I mean if I call the cell phone company to say my phone isn't working, shouldn't that be sufficient? After 4 complete hard resets, one dozen soft resets a day, missed phone calls, non-responsive software, phone that randomly turns itself off, frozen screens - wouldn't that meet the criteria of "I WOULD LOVE TO MAKE A PHONE CALL but my phone does NOT work"?  I guess the obvious answer to that question is NO - because I sat at the repair center and waited for them to tell me that my phone isn't working properly.  Oh thank you.  I never knew.  And just to make my day of waiting complete, tonight I went to the high school swim team meeting for students and parents.  There I got to sit for over an hour and listen as the handout was read to me. Now I don't want to speak ill of parents or students or the community - but I am fairly adept at reading, and if I am handed a informational sheet - I can actually read it myself! Really.  I can sound out all the words and everything.  I learned that particular talent a while ago, and I think I have it pretty well mastered.  Perhaps the meeting should have been called "story hour". I could have then looked forward to a nice story being read to me whilst I snuggled in my blankie and maybe even had a cup of hot chocolate to go with the story.  I wonder who I can complain to about the marketing of this meeting?  "Information Meeting" - that implies vital information that must be obtained at the meeting.  "Story Time" - that implies a nice anecdote being shared aloud so all can enjoy the tale. So if I look backwards through my day, I can be happy that I was able to see the dexterity and skill of the bank tellers as they kept all their money organized and accounted for.  I can be happy that I was able to test out the softness of the metal stool at the repair center and become mesmerized by the sheer number of cell phone cases displayed on one wall as I waited for the very knowledgeable repair person to solve the mystery of my non-working phone by informing me that my phone isn't working properly. I can be happy that my hearing is A-OKAY and I am able to enjoy a terrific story hour where I can learn that if you show up to swim practice - you will perform so much better than if you don't show up. Go figure. Wow - I never knew. What a great learning experience I had today. I am very lucky to have learned so many wonderful things today.