Tag Archives: humor

THIS is What Recovery Looks Like

Drug addiction and recovery, Joy in the Journey, ,

Eli has been home from in-patient rehab for one week now. I love having him home, especially since he obviously is in a VERY different place than he was when he went in a few months ago.

Today, he asked if I could help him with some gas money. He’s in the process of starting new jobs, and so is more dependent until he starts getting paid. We are glad to help him get back on his feet. I handed him $40 and off he went.

As soon as he left, I was gripped with this panic and fear about having given him cash. But instead of judging myself for that, I just texted him and told him that I was feeling a need to be reassured that the money was actually going for gas.

He sent me pictures and videos to reassure me. They made me laugh, and I asked if I could share them. He is so much fun to be around and these pics and vids show what a creative, cool guy he is.

He sent me “Reassurance exhibit A:” empty gas tank.

2015-11-06 19.06.57

Reassurance exhibit B:

Reassurance exhibit C:

And finally,

2015-11-06 19.07.28

I am so glad I am not judging myself. I am so glad he can prove in a fun way that he is using the money like he said he would. I am so glad we can share the fun of this and text about it and allow the process to strengthen our relationship.

A Katzenjammer of Miscellany

Uncategorized,

7. I am now drinking one cup of bullet proof coffee each day. This elixir contains coffee, 1 TBSP XCT oil, 1 TBSP butter, 1 TBSP collagen peptides, and a small scoop of whey protein powder. I was not a coffee drinker before (other than as an excuse for dessert at Starbucks), but I really like this.

1. I often have ideas which involve polling people to find out more about what they think about certain subjects.

012. Sunday, in my first foray into gardening, I pruned our grapevine down to the nubbins because they clearly have black rot and  it doesn’t go away once it has a grip on this season’s fruit.

22. I think everyone who ships merchandise should provide a tracking number.

5. I just watched “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” Slow and beautiful.

6. Maybe the Drunk Ex-Pastors should consider not getting so drunk on their podcasts. Just a thought.

7a. I love Apple products, even though I have given up my Apple watch for the time being.

X. Donald Trump is just something else, isn’t he.

99. Children’s literature is a gift to the world and I feel sorry for anyone who doesn’t get to read children’s books regularly. A good place to start is Officer Buckle and Gloria, by Peggy Rathmann.

10. We are about halfway through the library adventure and I’m wishing my vision for my movie was Really Exciting, but it seems kind of boring.

12. I think the postal service really does a fantastic job, you know? I’d love it if it could be run without a huge deficit, but I appreciate the USPS.

11. Just sent an inquiry about some “theradoodle” pups just born at the end of June. Perhaps Kepler’s dog will come to us soon.

42. Life is just pretty dang amazing.

Customer Service via Online Chat

Uncategorized,

So my dishwasher lost its mind last night.

There had been signs that something was amiss, but it wasn’t until this morning when I tried to tell it what to do that I realized it had flipped its lid. Well, I know what it feels like to have too many people talking to me at once, but I can’t really see that this is Dishwasher’s problem. Only one person talks to it at a time and usually says the same thing. What’s the problem here?

Probably most people who have dishwashers don’t care to be without them for long. I do go through spurts where I have some sort of religious experience and I want to wash dishes by hand for a few days. However, I do not want to wash dishes by hand when I am forced to.

Somewhere in this house I have the warranty information about the d/w but I figured the magic elves on the internet could solve that problem for me. I turned to the Sears repair site for help. HELP is Customer Service via Online Chat. I LOVE online chat. There are no phone menus to wade through, very little wait time, and for visual learner me, reading the conversation is just the best.

If you haven’t ever tried using the online chat function of a company, let me tell you — this is the way to communicate. The online CSR is just as keen as the phone CSR to get a high rating, so they work hard to resolve the issue. I find online chat extremely efficient, enjoyable, and allows me to multi-task while it’s happening. I can’t do that while I’m on the phone. But on online chat, the chat box tells me “customer service representative ‘Joey Boutino’ is typing.” This alerts me to an upcoming communication.

On the phone, when they put me on hold, I either hate the muzak they play while I wait, or I worry I have been cut off because there is no muzak playing. No muzak at all with online chat. I don’t know how many people take advantage of this wonderful service, but I HIGHLY recommend trying it out.