Jana Land

Monday, February 26, 2007

Not Such a Perfect Situation Anymore!

My perfect situation has turned ugly. Last night my dog attacked my dad's dog and he is making me get rid of her. She really is a great dog, but she has some food aggression problems. I am posting this because I don't know what to do. I really want to keep her and I know that I will not be living with my parents that much longer. I hate to take her to a shelter when I know that I can take her back not long down the road. Does anybody have any suggestions on what I should do? Pork Chop already told me he wouldn't let me keep her at his house because he is never home and nobody can take care of her during the day. I really don't want to give her up, but it doesn't look like I have a choice. Is there anyone that wants her temporarily until I move out? Anyone know anybody looking for a dog? I really don't want to do this, but I have to. She is such a good dog, but I wouldn't recommend her for a house with other dogs. Please let me know if anyone out there can help me. This is killing me. I have pictures of her posted throughout my blog if you want to know what she looks like. She is about 50 pounds and is excellent except for the food aggression problem. PLEASE HELP ME!!!

Friday, February 23, 2007

FRIDAY!!!

Happy Friday! Today is Friday, which brings me to a story from last Friday. I just said to Jon, don't say you're bored today! Last Friday we said that and then it was balls to the wall! Jon worked until 9:30 and I didn't get home until 8:45. It sucked! All I wanted to do was sit down and drink a beer. Around 5:00 I knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Of course we had the usual, people that needed cars out of the blue, but last Friday was something special.

About 5:00 I got a call from Parkersburg and there was a customer that was broke down on the interstate directly in the middle of us. Neither one us had a car so he decided to send her my way and send a full size truck down to take care of this 90 pound girl. The girl got here and of course the vehicle wasn't. So while she was waiting, she decided to have a nervous breakdown. I just let her sit there and cry being the sympathetic person that I am.
My dealership called earlier that day and said they needed a 4 wheel drive vehicle. I got one from 45 minutes away and had it here for awhile. When we called them, they said they did not need it anymore. Great, another 4 wheel drive vehicle sitting on my lot over the weekend that I can't make money on!
I got a call from the Kenna fire station, about 20 minutes away. They had two elderly ladies there that needed a rental car. Perfect, we will rent them the 4 wheel drive vehicle that I thought I wasn't going to be able to rent. Rick goes to get these women around 5:20.
5:21: Tom Peden calls back. "We need that 4 wheel drive vehicle!" I said, "OK, we'll be down" because we cannot tell a dealership no.
Jon went to get the customers and we explained to them that there vehicle should be back in about 20 minutes. They were waiting to go to Ponderosa for dinner, but they said that would be ok.
20, 30, 40 minutes passed and Rick was not back yet. Where was he? Oh yeah and the truck from Parkersburg had just pulled up about 20 minutes after close. The Tom Peden customers being the rednecks that they are, wanted that full size Chevy and they didn't want to wait anymore. I didn't care, I had to get the train wreck girl out of my office and on the road.
About 10 minutes later, Rick pulls up with the elderly women and a bed full of shit. How these women got all of this stuff in there 2000 Mercury Sable is beyond me, but they insisted that it all went with them, including their rocking chair! Wait a minute aren't these the ladies that wanted to switch out into a small car? Yes, they were, but now they insisted on having the truck. I simply told that it was not going to happen. I got a vehicle for them, but it was in Marietta (45 minutes away) and that is all I could do for them at this time because we had been closed for 30 minutes. The ladies argued with me as the customers impatiently waiting outside needed to get to Ponderosa.
I finally convinced them that we would get them a car and all their stuff should fit if we left the ricking chair behind. That was ok just enough time for us to unload the truck into a car. We got the other customers going and they were off to Ponderosa, which is also where Rick was going to eat (will be important later).
Finally, we can get these ladies on the road and I can go home! Wrong! She hasn't even filed her insurance claim yet. Are you kidding me? That's all I could think of! She's filing the claim and in the middle of her conversation she asks the lady that has been driving her car, "What is your name?" What the hell? How do you not know the name of the lady that has been driving your car at least since Cleveland? Way beyond me!
Anyway, she gets her claim # and I think it's about over. Wrong again! They don't understand why they can't have the truck that another customer is already in. We convinced them once again that they would be fine in the car that we had to take them to. Finally, we were explaining the contract and I let her know that she needed to bring our vehicle back to us. Great, something else to confuse the poor lady. She was pissed by this point, because she was pretty much clueless about the whole process.
I told her that we would deal with that later. I was done by this point and had already started beating my head on the window. Jon tried to explain to them that they needed to leave their rocking chair at our office and come back for it the next day on their way through. They were originally headed to Beckley, but canceled their reservation there and made one for Marietta. Once they spent the night in Marietta, they needed to come back through. Simple solution to the "rocking chair problem". The older lady insisted that it would work and she would just sit under the chair. I said, "whatever works for you is fine!"
Oh, I forgot to mention when asking the customer for her cell phone number, she couldn't find it. She asked her nameless friend where it was and she said, "I told you to put it in the door of the truck." Well, she did, which meant it was still in there. I tried to call that customer and they were not home yet. There was not a cell phone number listed so Jon said, "They were going to Ponderosa to eat. Maybe we can page Rick and have him look for the customers." Yeah, I know, very ridiculous! The ladies wanted the customer's phone number, which I was not about to give to them. When I told them I couldn't they insisted that we called Ponderosa and paged them. We called Ponderosa and they couldn't find Rick, so the ladies were screwed.
OK, back to when we left the office. Jon is trying to situate them and all of their shit so he can get them to Marietta and transfer everything once again to another vehicle. About 5 minutes down the road I got a phone call. It was Jon and the women wanted to stay in Ripley for the night and come back the next day for a vehicle. I said, "Are you kidding me?" This was unbelievable!
I told Jon just to take them to a hotel and deal with them in the morning. Before he could do that, they made Jon take them to Ponderosa where they found the customers and they found their phone on the floor of truck.
Before he could take them to the hotel they wanted us to unload all of their stuff and put it in the office. Jon did so and then took them to the hotel. They made him wait while they registered. They couldn't get one on the first floor so Jon had to help the older lady up the stairs. You would think this was the end at least until the last day. Nope! Marietta had put the keys in the gas cap so Jon had to go get that car anyway so it wouldn't get stolen.
Meanwhile, I had to go to the mall in Charleston because Jon had special ordered some stuff for his girlfriend who would be in town that night. There was no way for him to get to Charleston by the time the mall closed so I told him I would go get the stuff and he could meet me in Elkview later on.
I got his stuff and headed over to Pork Chop's house. Usually the door is unlocked when I am coming over, but it was locked and there was no response when I knocked. I called him to let him know I was waiting outside and all I heard was, "Fuck!" He hobbled down the hall, let me in and then went straight back to bed. He wasn't even going to stay up with me until Jon called for me to meet him. So I cracked open a beer and watched "When Harry Met Sally." A couple of beers later Jon called and went to pee before I had to meet him. On my way down the hall, I realized that PC had closed his door. Apparently I was disturbing him!
Anyway, I met Jon and he said, "If we can get through these two ladies, we can get through anything," which has led me to believe so.
These two women had every problem ever possible wrapped up into one rental. They are still in a car and it is not over yet. In fact, they called Jon the other day on his cell phone. He said they got the number because they had to call his to get their own number.
These women have also led me to worry about the people that are out on the road.
Signs that you should worry include:
Not knowing the name of your friend driving your car.
Not being able to make it through the night without the rocking chair.
Leaving your cell phone, which you don't know the number to, in someone else's vehicle.
Making someone track down a complete stranger at the Ripley Ponderosa for their phone. They could have been shot!
Insisting to take the truck that they originally refused to rent.
The lists goes on and on...
This is an extreme example, but I do deal with this kind of crap on a daily basis. So the next time my Uncle Will tells me that I don't know what work is, I am going to direct towards my blog and ask him, "Have you EVER had to deal with something like this?"

Hopefully today will be a lot better than last Friday. I don't know if it can be worse!
Have a good Friday everyone! I will be in Huntington tomorrow and I can't wait!!!

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Update!

This isn't an official Ski Trip update like everyone else has posted, but it is my attempt to return to blogger world. Since I have moved back home and my parents are ignorant to the fact the dial up is not the fastest way to get online, I have slacked off in my updates. Another reason is I now have a boyfriend and we spend every spare minute together. It also doesn't help that he thinks we are all crazy with our blogs and our MySpace accounts. I have faith that one of these days he will give in and become a MySpacer, but I don't anticipate a blog anytime in this life. I am going to try to update my blog with pictures tomorrow from his house, but that's if we don't go to the movies. This entry I am just going to update everyone on what's been going on since I moved back home.

We'll start in October:
I got a promotion to Branch Manager of the Ripley branch. I had worked in Barboursville for a year and it was the closest route to a promotion. I figured it wouldn't be bad to move back home and drive 45 minutes to work considering I don't have to use my car or spend money on gas. Well, it's not that bad, but I hate it more and more every day. The thought that once I get off work I still have at least 45 minutes until I get home kills me. I miss the old days when I could be home in 3 minutes and down at Hank's within 15. I miss having more than an hour of free time in the evening before I have to go to bed. I miss going to Hank's or out to dinner after work and still getting home at a decent time, or a not so decent time. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy to be back in Pinch, but it's the little things that I miss about Huntington. Most of all, I miss all of my friends and knowing that I could go out for a couple of drinks after work without it being a production. I don't even drink during the week anymore, which is good for me, but sometimes it's nice to have a beer and unwind after work. My life is different now, but I am truly happy. Sometimes I think about where I would be if I didn't take this job in Ripley and that answer is...probably in the streets! I was living by myself and the expenses were getting out of control. I thought the solution was to put everything possible on a credit card and then pay it later. That's all fine and dandy until you reach your limit and you get denied a credit increase. That's when I knew I had to do something and do it fast. I thought about moving in with Amber, which would have been great, but I knew if I wanted to get out of debt and still be able to eat, I would have to do what I promised I would never do...Move back in with the parents!!! It's actually not as bad as it seems. I redid my bedroom that I had as I was growing up so it was nice to have a new "place" that I didn't have to spend a lot of money on. I got new carpet, painted the walls "paprika"(it turned out orange) and redecorated everything. It actually looks really good (pictures coming soon)! I love the fact that Pork Chop is only 5 minutes away when I get home instead of an hour away and only seeing him on the weekends. I love that my dad likes to cook so dinner is usually ready when I get home. I even get breakfast sometimes before I leave for work. I love that I do not have to go grocery shopping unless I want to and my dad makes it a point to buy things that I like. The best part...it's all free! The only thing I am obligated to pay for is my storage building which is only $120.00/month. I wouldn't even need that if I could get rid of the massive amount of shit that I own. The living arrangements have worked out very well. I can leave my dog whenever I want to and I don't have to worry about someone taking her out. She loves being at my mom and dad's house and she is free to run around there. In Huntington it was such a pain because I had to keep her on a leash and clean up her poop. My dad has fallen in love with my dog and I may not be able to take her when I decide to move out! I don't ever have to worry at night anymore because I am never alone. My bedroom door is never locked because of the fear of someone breaking in. It is really nice to not have to worry about these things. I have even convinced Pork Chop that's it ok to spend the night when my dad is in town. He used to only stay over when he was out of town, but he is over that fear now. Overall, it is the perfect situation for me right now. I don't want to do this forever, but it's works right now.

This is a typical day for me during the week:
3:00 a.m. - Wake up, but not by choice. This is when Pork Chop gets up and he insists that I am awake if he is.
4:00-5:00 a.m. - Usually spend this time driving home because I am afraid to stay at Pork Chop's, trying to go back to sleep, watching Dawson's Creek or a combination of all of them.
5:00-6:00 a.m. - I finally fall back asleep and this is also the time that I need to start waking up.
7:00 a.m. - This is when I leave the house.
7:00-8:00 a.m. - Drive to work and hating it more and more, waiting for another branch to open in Charleston.
8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. - I am in the office. I rarely get to leave, do not take lunches and listen to people bitch for the majority of the day. I really do like my job, but I hate Ripley so much! Sometimes in this time slot, I will go to Wal-mart or find somewhere to go outside of the office, but there isn't much to do.
6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. - Drive home and hate that a branch in Charleston has not opened up yet!
7:00 p.m. Watch Family Feud with my dad waiting for Pork Chop to come over. If I am going to his house, I usually go at the end of Family Feud.
8:00-9:00 p.m. - Sometime in here I go to bed. It depends on what is on TV or how tired I am. I am usually out by 9:00 especially since I started taking pills, which leads me to another subject.

I started taking anxiety pills. Mainly because my job is stressing me out right now. I am sick of the negative attitude and stupidity from my car prep and the fact that my new hire is taking so long to catch on. I know it's not his fault because he has had serious brain injuries, but it is very frustrating for me. I realized I needed these pills and had access to them when I went to the doctor a month ago. I was having sever back and stomach pain. I had no idea what was wrong with me. I just ate my mom's Loritab's until it got too bad and then broke down and went to the doctor. It turned out that it was only a UTI, but that shit hurts. I do not wish that upon anyone! I had a follow up appointment the morning of the Ski Trip and they also said I had an appointment for the radiologist the following week. They said I needed to have a halter monitor. When I asked them on the phone what that was and why I had to have one, they said, "we'll talk about it Friday." I was scared out of my mind. I have always been healthy and never had any serious illnesses. When I got there Friday they said I had to have the monitor done because I was having heart palpitations. Apparently, the nurse said that I was, which I never said that was going on. They cancelled that and just put me on anxiety pills. They are pretty good pills except they make me very sleepy and I have some of the most outrageous dreams. For example, the other night I was pregnant and I wasn't sure if it was my brother's baby or Pork Chop's! Seriously out of control... Oh yeah, don't even think about drinking on them! If I know I am going to drink I don't even take one. I turn into an instant retard when I've had two beers. Enough with the medical stuff, let's move on.

It seems like I have been going a lot of places since I moved back home. A couple of trips to Huntington, a couple of trips to Webster Co. (to see PC's family), a weekend at Hillbilly Haven (that was my gift to PC for his birthday), The Ski Trip...
I love to go out of town. It makes everything less boring. I also love to stay at home and not do anything. I wanted to do that this weekend, but I have a stronger desire to go to Huntington. That's right, we will be in Huntington this weekend. We got a room at the Holiday Inn downtown. We will be getting in town around 3:00 or 4:00. We'll probably drink a few in the room, go out to dinner and then hit Hank's. After that, I don't know what will happen, but I am very excited. By the way, I expect everyone to come out because it seems like it has been forever!

Finally, what everyone has been waiting for (if you made it this far without closing)...
The Ski Trip portion of my update!
I had a blast this year! I had a great time last year, but this year was much better. I hated that I got there last and had to leave early, but it was all worth it! I was so happy that Pork Chop came because I wanted him to meet all these ski trippers that I talk about. He ended up having a great time and I think everyone liked him. After all he did win the favorite John/Jon contest (Sorry Jon Connor)! I am glad that we played so much catch phrase that the wooden chairs were starting to get imprints of our asses. I love that people that you would never expect to play the games joined in (example: Marc Sherman). He may not admit that he had fun, but I could see it in his eyes. I love the crazy ass clues that made us laugh over and over again...B-52, Porch Bunny, Picasso!, Ole!... I hate that I was hungover from Friday and the thought of beer made me want to puke so I decided to chug Vodka and Sprite. It was so delicious until I realized it was 9:30 and my head was spinning. PC being the sweet boyfriend that he is, took me to the cabin, put me to sleep and immediately deducted points for passing out early. It sucks that the rules I made ended up getting me in the end. Like on Thumper when I said if you mess up you get eliminated and I was the first one to get eliminated! Regardless of my passing out early, I had a great time. The point system ended up being a hit, the games were fun, the drinks and food were good and as always, the people are a blast to be around. I finally got to meet Amber Scott and I also got to know a few people a little better. Thanks to everyone who has let me in this circle and I can't wait for next year!


Well, that's enough for an update now. I will try to post some pictures tomorrow and possibly create and album on Kodak Gallery. I will keep you all posted.

For those of you who made it to the end, please let me know that people (besides Amber Moles) are still looking at my blog. Leave a comment of any sort so I am not forced to delete my blog. It is not something I want to do, but I may not have a choice!