Daily Prompt: She Drives Me Crazy| Unprofessional Cashiers

Photo Source: http: bandtcrowd.blogspot.com

One thing that really drives me crazy is an unprofessional cashier! I can not understand why it is so hard to greet me, tell me my total, and thank me for my business. I am not asking for conversation while it is my turn in line, but it would be nice to do the basics.  Honestly they do not even have to ask me to, “come again.” The most annoying thing is when my cashier is talking over me to another cashier!! Are you serious?? I tell you “hi” FIRST, I might add, and you ignore me! Yet, you can manage a conversation about the upcoming weekend to your co-worker. When it is time for me to pay, your conversation continues, as if it is not your job to be communicating with me, the customer.  Then to make matters worse, this conversation continues without you ever thanking me for my business.

How do I plan on preventing this from getting to me?  I have a few things in mind.  One is to tell the cashier directly what he or she is doing wrong.  If that does not lead to corrective behavior, then I would speak with a manager.  I am not sure if these cashiers act this way because no one ever tells them anything, no one ever speaks with a manager about their behavior, or if management nor the employee cares.  Either way, I will be finding out the next time I have a less than desirable experience with a cashier.

The next option would be to kill them with kindness.  If they do not speak first…then a nice, loud, “HI!! HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY?” might do the trick.  If the cashier does not tell me my total, then I will just stand there until he or she does (pointing to the screen will not count).  Finally, if the cashier does not thank me…a nice, loud, “THANK YOU!!” will be their parting gift from me. If you can’t beat ’em join ’em. Instead of letting them get to me, I’ll get to them instead!

Daily Prompt: She Drives Me Crazy

 

Go F— Yourself! Yes, Go Find Yourself!

Picture Source:  instacomedy.com

I know certain fashion, makeup, hair, and other trends are sweeping the nation. That’s a good thing and a bad thing.  It’s good, because that means people are forgetting about some other disturbing trend that once was “the in thing.” It’s bad because it just means more carbon copies. I am not against the latest and greatest, but what does annoy me is seeing you and your stunt doubles throughout my day.  Usually seeing you once is more than enough. Believe me, your floor length hair, Snuffleupagus eyelashes, Sharpie drawn eyebrows, color by number make up, and outfits with overkill matching accessories were enough the first time. I don’t need to see it again on ANYONE else EVER!! This is why I say go f— yourself!  Yes, go FIND yourself!  Minds out the gutter people. I know fashion may be something you love and can’t live without, but please try making it your own look. You do not have to look like the end result of any given Youtube makeup or hair tutorial. How can you stand out, how can you compete, how can you expect to be treated as an individual when you look like the majority of your competition?  It’s time to figure out who you really want to be, and not who you think everyone wants to be.

This is just my opinion. If you don’t like it…go f— yourself!  Find, find find!!

K. A. Smith

And The Oscar Goes To…YOU!

Most people have a general idea of who they are. We know if we will fit in with the crowd, or if we will be a wallflower. We know if we are leaders, or if we should be led. We even know if we eat certain foods or not. Each of these characteristics of self are excellent identifiers of who we are, and how we will go about our day to day lives.

This would be great information, if it didn’t pertain to people and life!  Both are extremely unpredictable, and there are always exceptions. Especially when “life” happens to people. You shouldn’t be surprised by any outcome of that combination. This is when we deviate from the well known path we are so familiar and comfortable with. We act out of character, our actions are questioned, our thoughts and ideas challenged, who are we?!  I’ll tell you exactly who we are…we are actors.

Each of us have broken character on several occasions during our lives. Have you ever been asked, “What’s wrong with you? You are not yourself today.” Or one of my personal faves, “What are you smoking?” The latter is usually when a person says something that baffles another, simply because they expect you to remain the same day in and day out. Well, NEWSFLASH people, we are all actors!  Including you, yeah you, the one who is reading this. Who is saying, “I don’t ever change!”

Here are just a few examples of why each of us deserve an Oscar:

You had a girl’s night last night, and you aren’t in the least way presentably (or capable) to go to work today. You cannot call your boss, and explain the hungover, oblivious state you are currently in. So, you call your boss and explain how you are too sick to come in to work. You cough, you sniffle, you even get in your best,  I think I am about to whither away and die voice, and you put on the performance you hope will win you the chance to be employed another day!

Or maybe, you run arcoss an unusually attractive girl while you are studying at the library early one morning.  You’ve never seen her there before, and it may be your last time seeing her. You decide to go over to her table and see if your charm and wit will give you a chance with the mysterious and captivating patron. As you get closer, you see she has books spread across the table. One of those books titled, Health & Fitness. You know good and well you don’t work out, however you still proceed. Through breif conversation you learn she is an avid gym goer, and lives a strictly healthy and active life. Knowing you are as lazy as a fat cat, and will eat more candy than a kid on Halloween, you tell this health fanatic you too are into living a healthy lifestyle. You win the chance to take her out. Now, you make up stories based on movies you saw long ago (while you snacked of course). You eat little to nothing on dates. You even end each day soaking your pain away from the excessive hours you put in at the gym. You have officially won a chance to get to know more about the mysterious, captivating patron.

These are just  a couple of instances of how quickly we can change what we thought were defining characteristics of ourselves.  We do this often, and usually nothing is wrong with it. I just find it funny that we are all great actors if the occasion were to arise.  Keep being who you are, change a little, and keep your acceptance speeches short!

K. A. Smith

Lyrics I Love: This Used To Be My Playground

It’s Friday, so I will be discussing lyrics I love from songs I love even more. Today’s lyrics are from This Used To Be My Playground, by Madonna. The lyrics I love are:

This used to be my playground (used to be)
This used to be my childhood dream
This used to be the place I ran to
Whenever I was in need
Of a friend
Why did it have to end

We all have a special place or person we rely on to be there for us during difficult times in our lives. There are also times when that comfort zone is nothing but a memory.

I see the storyteller at an old forgotten house, during the late night hours. Maybe where she grew up or possibly spent a lot of time. Perhaps she has been faced with a life altering event, and her safe and familiar place is her escape. She has returned to  this safe place only to find it is not the same. It seems there is a special person she shared this place with, and their absence has caused her some upset.

The song appears to be about wanting to return to the past, but not being able to. Also, in other lyrics of the song, the storyteller has been warned on more than one occasion to let go of what used to be.

This lyrics, the melody, and of course the singer (Madonna) come together for a beautiful story in song.

Lyrics can be interpreted differently, depending on the person. These are only my views on the lyrics I love. I welcome your take on the lyrics meanings.

***Lyrics can be found here http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/madonna/thisusedtobemyplayground.html ***

Watch the video here Madonna – This Used To Be My Playground (Video): http://youtu.be/rMHRq7yGdkA

K. A. Smith

Who Am I? One Big Ol’ Contradiction!

Who am I?
I am just like you,
Except we are nothing alike.
I laugh all the time,
Except for when I cry.
I love reality TV,
Just not on my TV.
I love people,
I just do not love working with them.
I can not live without music,
No, really, I can not live without music.
I am honest,
But I lie.
I am content,
However, things need to change.
I work hard,
Yet I am beyond lazy.
I crave attention,
And I desire solitude.
I am me,
Hey, who else could I be?

K. A. Smith

The Fans At… (The Story of Why I Write)

This is my story of why I blog. It all started long ago, in a far away land…wait that wasn’t me!  Ok, all jokes aside, in elementary school we were always assigned writing assignments. Year after year, I was always entered into the Young Authors Contest…and won!  I was excited to win, naturally, but never thought I had a gift to share with others.

In middle school (6th grade) I made my way into a 7th/8th grade Creative Writing class (I didn’t like the class options for 6th graders,  so I got some strings pulled). This is when I was first told I had a gift. My first day in the class I was instructed to free write. I had the entire class time to put together ideas and come up with something original. As the bell rang, I had about ten pages front and back completed. I thought nothing of it, until my classmates appeared amazed. My teacher was also rather pleased. I was asked to stay after class for a few minutes, and that’s when I became nervous. I thought about everything under the sun that could be the problem, but instead, it was a moment of encouragement. The Creative Writing class was just a stepping stone for other writing opportunities in middle school. I was in a Journalism class, wrote for the school newspaper, and also discovered my love for writing research papers.

Fast forward to my senior year of high school. I was in my Honors English IV class, and each nine weeks we were assigned daily writing journal assignments. The daily writing assignments were typed on a standard sheet of printer paper, and were handed out to each student at the beginning of each nine weeks. The contents of the paper included:  the guidelines for writing the journal entries, a topic for every school day, and the deadline.  We had to write each assignment in our “journal” (black and white marble composition notebook). 

This one interesting journal topic was given to us during the final nine weeks. It was titled. The fans at… I was at home trying to knock out a few journal entries one day (making sure I met the deadline), and I was sitting in my bed writing. I came across, The fans at…, and I began writing.
Time passed and it was the last day of school for the seniors. Our English teacher handed back our journals, so we could see our grades.  Then, she announced that she read the most interesting journal, and wanted that person to stand before the class to read it aloud. If you haven’t guessed it yet, that lucky student was no one be yours truly. The selected entry was, The fans at… As I made my way to the front of the class, I was laughing on the inside, but my classmates were curious about what I had written. Once I had everyone’s attention, I began.  “The fans at my house are…” “…the fans at Home Depot are…” I went on describing ceiling fans, oscillating fans, and box fans in various places.  The class erupted in laughter, thinking I wrote that as a joke. My teacher wasn’t laughing. I was nervous…again!  I had an “A” on the assignment, why was she so serious?  She then told me she was referring to fans at a sporting event!  All I could say was “Oh!, and laugh it off, but she still wasn’t done with me. She went on to say that I shouldn’t persue a career in forensics, I should be a writer. She had never had anyone respond to that topic in the way I had. She explained how creative I was, and how she enjoyed reading all of my assignments throughout the year. 

That teacher’s words stuck with me, and I am finally giving writing a try!

Hello, and welcome to my blog!

No More Parental Judgment

I absolutely love this article on parenting! Everyone is an “expert” when it comes to raising children, but this is a must read when it comes to parenting! Enjoy 🙂

Weighing In On Weight Loss: Comparing Yourself to Others

As I sit here in the lobby of a local oil change & car wash place, the TV on Fox News, Hobby Lobby is the topic of discussion. A few guys,  probably in their 40s,  sit to my right engaging in an in-depth conversation about helicopters. There is some chatter in the distance I can’t quite make out.  My mind, however, is focused on weight loss. I watch these men with their beer bellies, and less than desirable figures, comfortably walk, talk, and move about. I see more protruding midsections here than in a maternity store!  Wow!  Do men just not care about their weight like women do?  Do men just not make as big of a deal about it?  I am not sure, but if they’re happy, who am I to say anything? 

As a woman,  it is a daily struggle with skinny pants, short shorts, and extra fitted shirts.  If a woman wears “comfortable” fitting clothes then she is letting herself go. If she puts on the latest fashions that her body is not quite ready for then, “she shouldn’t be wearing that.” The images of what we should look like are everywhere. Constant reminders that we aren’t what we should be.  In my opinion, if we can block out the perceived “perfections”, we might be able to reach our weight loss goals. 

Constantly comparing our bodies to the next woman can be good and bad.  For some, comparisons are fuel and motivation to stay on the journey for a better body. For others, it can cause setbacks. Some women see the ideal body, compare, and see how far they have to go. This causes them to feel as if they will never reach that size, and give up. In this case, it is time to quit comparing. Use clothes or numbers as your ONLY motivation. For example, if you are a size 16, buy something in a 14 or a 12, and let that be your only goal. Other alternatives to body comparisons are: setting weight goals, measurement goals, cholesterol levels goals, blood pressure numbers goals, blood sugar levels goals, etc… These are just some tips from a woman who is in the process of losing weight.

Women might have more interest in their weight than men, but maybe taking a page from their books might be the key to successful weight loss. Comparing bodies should only be done if you are mentally capable of using this as motivation. If comparing makes you want to give up, do as some men do, don’t even worry about the next person!  Live your life for you, make gradual changes, and you are your ONLY competition! 

Dear Lady With the Bad Attitude

Dear Lady With the Bad Attitude,

I understand you are a busy person within the company you are employed with. I can tell, because you always have a stern face, and run around like a chicken with its head cut off.  I also understand you might have some things going on outside of work that may be causing you to have this awful attitude.  Let me just say, I do not care! You are currently at work and will be getting paid for the time you are working.  Therefore, you should drop the attitude, check your baggage at the door, and greet the customers with smiles.  I understand you were faced with a no show employee today who is throwing your whole day off.  Let me just say, I do not care!  You can now apologize for the inconvenience, and give me some options.  Honestly, a story about why that employee is not at work is none of my concern.  Your nasty attitude, and “whatever” facial expressions are not going to keep me as a customer.  Life is not perfect, and neither is your business. Get over it, and change your attitude before you find yourself with no business.

Sincerely,

Let Me Just Say, I Do Not Care