Waiting & People - Random wise wisdom

I have to say that one of the best things about traveling is people. I think watching people is one of the best ways to pass the time at the airport.

So since I had to wait about 2.5 hours on my friend to arrive in NYC today, I found a comfortable spot near her gate, drug out the iPod and my book. What could be better, music, a good book and 2 hours of time to read.

Well, a bit into my reading, an older couple arrived at the gate in wheel chairs. The looked to be in their 80s. I continued reading as they settled in next to me and began to talk to each other.

It was so sweet. They were so into each other. I just kept reading.

Then the gentleman, taps me on the shoulder and I take out my headphones and direct them towards the the restrooms.

Continue reading.

Then Ruth, the older lady, comes back. Her companion had shared with me that they had been in NYC for a week and were heading back to FLA. They had also been to a wedding in Boston. To which, I am thinking - you go you guys.... rock on! Traveling so much and being older. He had also shared with me that Ruth was 98 years old.

Get out, she did not look 98. Old yes, 98, no way.

So as she settles in we begin to talk. She is very nice and I got a bit of info on the grand kids and great grand kids. (She also tells, me rather conspiraciously that the gentleman is not her husband, but rather a really good friend and a great guy to travel with! To which I am thinking you go girl.....)

But then she hits me with a zinger. After she confides, that she happens to have a few years on me. She suggests that I start to savor and relish every experience I can, because when I am her age, that is what really matters. Those memories are what you savor. Your mental photo album, has real value she says.

Wow! I was thinking about that the other day, but she laid it out with such a seriousness, like she had really given this alot of thought. Like it was a juicy bit, the secret to life, that she had chosen to share with me.

Then as the time crept up and it was time to go meet my friend, I wished them safe travels and she shook my hand and kissed my cheek, telling me that I should live life well.

Wow! I mean it was random, but profound too. I really hope they made it back to the sunshine state alright. They were inspiring.

Here's to living life to the fullest!

Baggies

Alright, we need to lay the groundwork here a bit. Yes, I like Ziploc baggies. Great invention as a food storage option and well other item storage too..... So on the whole, baggies are cool.

Point number two, it has been well and duly established that I am certainly not a Raving Fan of the W. I have quietly stewed of his misuse of the English language, muttered to myself when he speaks on TV. I have shaken my head when certain decisions have been made. I will even admit to yelling and throwing pillows at the TV. On occasion I have even resorted to counting the days until election day.

Now then the meat of the post. I really resent that I have to pack my "liquids & gels" or in German - Flussigkeiten (translation: toothpaste, make up and lotion) into a quart size Ziploc bag. I mean, packing is tough enough, but seriously - I want to take the make up I want to take. I have a number of very nice make up bags - which are designed for the task of taking one's make up and other overnight items along. NOTE: I am not that big into make up, but a girl does have her own routine.....

It is seriously stupid that we all have to go thru this Ziploc bag routine, put the bag on the screening belt separately and the whole smear! I mean, my make up bag could go on the belt. Besides, I firmly believe that this whole gel bomb thing - was a plot by certain fringe groups, to see just how high they could get us all to jump....

Only W and his highly intelligent associates would think that this is making any of us safer from terrorism. I mean, totally not on purpose mind you, but on the return trip from Germany - I had liquids and gels - not in a baggie and not on the belt, which I did not notice until I was unpacking at home. No one noticed! No one! and I went thru security at three airports and a few times more than once.....

The only people benefiting from this farce, in my opinion, is ZIPLOC and the kiosks and restaurants at the airport - in the sterile zones - who can sell you water at totally inflated prices. That is it, as far as I can tell.

Oh, well - if I need something - that won't fit in my baggie - I am sure I can find it in NYC.

Are you being served???

I am a bit of a customer service NAZI. I have high expectations. I think it has to do with working in financial services for such a long time. Service, Service, Service. That is really all you have to sell. That said, I have been working on lowering my standards. I know, that is sinking to the level of mediocre, which seems rather pervasive in this country - but honestly it is best for my blood pressure and overall well being.

But I have to share this one with you. (As a bit of background, I have taken on straighten out the business affairs at our church.)

So Chase Bank sent to us a notice that they needed a w-9. So I set about getting the correct signatures and at some point the return postage paid envelop was lost, misplaced, eaten by monsters, buried under other paper - you pick your poison - but bottom line it is AWOL and I needed an address.

So I called the 800 number for customer service. (Oh, why do I put myself thru this kind of torture?) After entering my account number twice, listening the auto menu, which did not have a choice that truly fit my question - I selected the closed item and then I got to hold. I just love holding......

After holding a bit, a very friendly woman answered - informed me I had dialed the wrong number for customer service ( Funny, it was the number printed on the letter - which had been sent to us...... like I picked this number at random.) She then transferred me, to another number, where I had to re-enter my account number and pick a somewhat related choice, from the menu, for my query. Great!

Then I got C, who I am guessing really loves her job. Not! She was a bit flat on the phone, but I charged ahead with my query. I just wanted an address, so that I could mail back the form. Seemed simple to me......

"You misplaced the postage paid envelop? We send those out for a reason!" she exclaimed.

Yeah, well shit happens everyday! But I remain polite and told her that it seems that it is gone and instead of delaying the return of the form, I would just like to get the address - so that I can return the form. So she puts me on hold. FOREVER.

Now, having worked in the finance services industry - I know all about document retention out- sourcing and that there are departments everywhere and anywhere, who handle this sort of thing, but truly - I find it hard to believe that I am the only one who has misplaced a self addressed postage paid envelope. In fact, I can name 5 former clients who I had, off the top of my head, who routinely misplaced envelops and documents that I had mailed them.

So eventually C comes back on the line and states that she could not help me. She had no idea where I should send the form. She suggested I walk into a local branch and see if they could help me. (Ok, I am getting a little steamed now!) So I asked for clarification.....

"So you are saying that you have no idea where I should send this form. That seems strange. I mean you all sent the form to me."

"Well that is why we include an envelop. You should keep track of the envelop, then you would have the address." she replies.

Come again??? There is now steam coming out of my ears.

But I am forever polite.

"Yes, well I appreciate that and I will endeavor to do better in the future. However, I have this form and I would like to return it to the bank. Perhaps I could speak to your supervisor and see if she has the address."

C informs me that she had spoken to her supervisor and her supervisor suggested "I walking myself into our local branch and see if they could help me."

Oh, I am so not happy. But because this is the new me and I am working for a church, I simply thank C for her time and let her hang up. Little does she know, but at the beginning of the call, I was selected to take a survey.

So I offered some fair criticism as to her job performance - using the 5 point scale. Then to my surprise they wanted me to explain to the the voicemail my problem and why I was not satisfied. Which I did. Being very sweet and polite. (Which nearly killed me......)

I then filed the form away, figuring if Chase truly needed the form at this point, they would mail me another request - with the ever popular and seemingly mythical return address.

So to my delight and surprise, tonight some called from Chase, in reference to my feedback - with an address. WOW! There really is somewhere to return the form to and someone actually listens to the feedback.

I hope C learns something here, but I do not plan to hold my breath.

The form is in the mail as we speak!

Please listen washington.....

I have to do this. I read this article a month or so ago in Marie Claire (one of my favorite magazines) and thought about posting about it, but then did not.

I have to say that with the Supreme Court decision yesterday, I have to speak out now. I am pro-choice. I am pro-woman. I strongly believe that it is my body and it is my choice. As a mother of a daughter, I want my daughter to grow up in a country that respects her mind and her body. It is hers to control - in every way.

My message to Washington is - STAY THE HELL OUT of MY WOMB, MY BODY! What I do with it is my business. Legislating morality is wrong! Limiting my access to birth control is wrong. Limiting my children's access to sex education is wrong! The Bush administration is steering us in the wrong direction.

I must also say that I feel for women who have made this decision. Like Gretchen, it is a choice that will forever be with them. While I have never had to make this choice, I know in my heart that women know what is best for them and their lives, families. No politician and no judge should ever be given that much power, to control women and their bodies. It is just wrong.

I urge you to read Gretchen's story and then contact your elected officials. More info is available at www.naral.org

One woman's story

After reading Gretchen Voss's story in Marie Claire, NARAL Pro-Choice America's president Nancy Keenan asked the woman--who shared her own experience with abortion--to write a message to pro-choice activists. At a time when so much is at stake--we're waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to issue its decision on the Federal Abortion Ban--Gretchen's story puts it all in perspective.

Any day now, the Supreme Court will determine whether women, in consultation with their families and doctors, should make personal reproductive-health decisions - or whether politicians should make our medical and moral decisions for us.

I care a lot about what the Supreme Court has to say about President Bush's Federal Abortion Ban. The same day I decided to terminate my pregnancy, lawmakers gathered in Washington, DC to discuss the ban, which could outlaw abortion as early as 12 weeks and has no exception for a woman's health.

Read Gretchen's full story after the jump.

That's why NARAL Pro-Choice America asked me to share my story with you. It's not a story I ever thought I'd share with thousands of strangers, because frankly, it's nobody's business. But now, of course, it is.

When I was 18 weeks pregnant at my doctor's office in Lexington, Massachusetts, I remember eagerly anticipating the ultrasound that would tell my husband and me whether our baby was a boy or a girl. We were so excited, oohing and aahing like the giddy, expectant parents that we were.

The technician, however, was quiet, and I started to panic. We learned that the ultrasound indicated that the fetus had an open neural-tube defect, meaning that the spinal column had not closed properly. We had to go to Boston immediately, where a new, high-tech machine could tell us more.

In Boston, the doctor spoke using words no pregnant woman wants to hear - clinical terms like hydrocephalus and spina bifida. The spine, she said, had not closed properly, and because of the location of the opening, it was as bad as it could get.

What the doctors knew was awful: the baby would be paralyzed and incontinent, its brain smushed against the base of the skull and the cranium full of fluid. What they didn't know was devastating: would the baby live at all, and if so, with what sort of mental and developmental defects? Countless surgeries would be required if the baby did live, and none of them could repair the damage.

It sounds naive now, but I never considered pregnancy a gamble. Sitting in the doctor's windowless office, I tried to read between the lines of complicated medical jargon, searching for answers that weren't there. But I already knew what I had to do. Even if our baby had a remote chance of surviving, it was not a life we would choose for our child.

I asked over and over, "Are we doing the right thing?" Our family - even my Catholic father and Republican father-in-law, neither of whom was ever pro-choice - assured us that we were. Politics suddenly became personal - their daughter's heartbreak, their son's pain, their grandchild's suffering - and that changed everything.

If President Bush's Federal Abortion Ban had been in force on that day, my husband and I wouldn't have had this option.

It's not always easy to see how the Federal Abortion Ban will affect our lives, so I am asking you to share my story with your family, friends, and co-workers. Please let them see the human side of this story. You can also read my full story here.

As soon as the Supreme Court makes its decision, NARAL Pro-Choice America will be in touch and provide you with ways to take action in your community. In the meantime, if you have a personal story of your own to share, please submit it here. And please learn more about President Bush's Federal Abortion Ban by clicking here.

Thank You,

Gretchen Voss

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Fun Snap Shots!

I promised pictures - so here are some other snap shots from the trip!
The view of Oedheim from our Aunt and Uncles' patio
As view of the park that we visited in Ulm. It was long the Rhine. This was on Good Friday and the weather was so wonderful. We had the best time.
An old house in Bad Wimphen.
The tower in Bad Wimphen. It was built in 1208. That is seriously old. You can climb it, but we did not.

Uncle Hermann's favorite old house in Bad Wimphen
It was an awesome trip. I think I am done blogging about it..... but who knows!