General Ramblings

National Delurking Day!

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*waves* Hey! Good evening my dear lil readers. Did you know it’s National Delurking Day today? It is. How cool is that? I’m so excited! I love my readers. I’d love to get to know you all better. I’m 38, I’m married, I live in south Jersey, I love to write and take pictures.

What about you? Where do you call home? How’d you come across Soapboxville? What do you like? What would you like to see me change? What would you like to know about me? I’ll answer all questions in a Q & A post on Sunday.

Take a minute and say hi today.

Love,

~  Carol Anne

Is No Service the New Customer Service?

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It never ceases to amaze me when companies won’t lift a finger to help their customers and prospective customers. It boggles my mind that in this economic climate that businesses aren’t falling all over themselves to get and keep customers. I never did find out whether or not Tetley Tea has or has not stopped making the powdered iced tea mix.

Since Christmas I’ve contacted Angel Wreaths to ask if the hot pink feather wreath I wrote about is temporarily sold out or if there will be no more made. I’ve also contacted two local fitness centers for rates. I called Healthtrax on Monday to find out the rates and never got a human being so I went to their website to request information and figured I might as well just request Virtua’s rates online as well. So far none of the above have gotten back to me. I don’t understand it. What good is having a website with a form to request info if you’re not going to bother replying? Why list your e-mail address on your site if you’re not going to write back? And if you can’t be bothered to answer questions about your business for prospective customers why be in business?

A few years ago I e-mailed the folks at Cacia’s Bakery to find out what their hours are. I wanted to find out if they are open late enough for me and the hubs to stop by and pick up a pizza for dinner after work. They never replied and I never got any pizza. They lost a sale because they couldn’t be bothered to reply. I sincerely don’t understand it. Now Healthtrax and Virtua aren’t the only fitness centers in the area but where else am I going to buy a hot pink wreath made of feathers? So now I have to decide how much I want the wreath. Is it worth the time to call and find out the info I assumed would be in my inbox the next day? Do I want to spend $40 with a company that couldn’t be bothered to answer my question? Do I want to chase down the rate info at the two fitness centers I’d prefer to go to?

What would you do? Does customer service matter to you? How much effort would you put into finding out info about products you’d like to buy and businesses you’d like to patronize?

Am I Too Young for a Midlife Crisis?

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/weekinreview/09aoscott.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

*points above* A friend of mine posted this on her message board today. I almost cried reading it.

I’ve often thought that our generation was probably one of the only generations to grow up in relative peace. Until 9/11 we’d never had to face war (well there was the first Gulf War, which was short and sweet so to speak), or civil unrest (save for the Rodney King riots, which were truthfully half a world away from Philadelphia) or food & gas rationing. We really had everything and no fear of the Russians coming to get us. No air raid drills, no bomb shelters just Duran Duran and legwarmers.

I’ve often thought that 9/11 offered us a sudden and violent glimpse of our own mortality. I was 28, almost 29 on September 11, 2001 and for the first time in my life I felt real and honest fear that it could be me or mine. The world changed so violently that day and for at least me ripped away the safety blanket I’d been living under. Suddenly the “Me Generation”, who was in the midst of our marrying, having babies, building families, building careers stage of life, understood what being vulnerable felt like. Suddenly the world, which had heretofore been our playground, was suddenly a violent and scary place.

I was born into a family with grandparents who’d not only lived through both world wars but also the Great Depression, a family with parents who knew what it was to fear their son being drafted and sent to Vietnam. I heard stories but I didn’t know what it was like to sacrifice or to fear a dangerous world. I watched as people danced on the Berlin Wall as it came down. I was too young during the 70s to understand the horrors of the Vietnam War or the violent images of Kent State broadcast into homes every night.

Before 9/11 we all thought we had forever to chase our dreams. In one moment our blissful idyllic existence was gone. The bubble had burst and there was no going back and as the decade progressed one war became two and the economy came crashing down. Suddenly those of us who’d never wanted for anything or understood what it was to truly be afraid were just scraping by hoping against hope that it was not our job that got eliminated and that it was not our plane that got hijacked. Suddenly there was anthrax in the mail and plots to poison food at salad bars.

Everything had been handed to us on silver platters and now there was more to lose. We were working just to keep afloat, to keep paying the mortgage on McMansions and the loan on the BMW, to keep our kids in private schools. We voted for change and believed that once that dolt Bush was out of office it would all turn around. What we did not plan on was things getting worse, much worse before they could get better.

Here we are almost ten years after our generation’s tragedy and times are still tough, the terrorists are still out there and there are no guarantees that the economy will rebound any time soon nor are there any guarantees that there will not be another terrorist strike and there’s Iran and North Korea to worry about.

For a generation born without the threat of war or hunger, that assumed that our children would grow up in the same idyllic peaceful bubble, this is a lot to think about. We’re at about the midway point and there have been dreams used and wasted and perhaps the world is not better for having had us in it. How breathtaking is that, knowing that it is half over?

My Best Birthday Dinner Ever — Tortilla Press, Collingswood, NJ

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Hey! Good evening kids. I had the most amazing dinner tonight. It’s my 38th birthday and the hubs took me to Tortilla Press in Collingswood for dinner tonight. I’ve been dying to try this restaurant for so long and my meal was more than I expected. I was so excited to finally go and I was worried that it would not live up to my expectations. As it turns out there was no need to worry. Everything we ate tonight was fresh, tasty and savory.

I’m not a restaurant critic or even an experienced foodie but I know good food when taste it and this was good food. My father has often said, “You don’t mind spending money when it’s good food.” Well kids I’d have paid twice what we paid and still raved about the experience.

We started off with Tortilla Soup. When it first came to the table I was worried I wouldn’t like it because the broth was red as opposed to brown. A few spoonfuls in I was wishing I’d asked for a bowl of soup. The broth was smooth and tasty and flavorful without being too salty or spicy.

For diner I chose the chicken fajitas (oh yeah I’m predictable) and the hubs chose Ancho Chile Crusted Tuna Pineapple. We both enjoyed our food immensely. Mine came with shredded cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, peppers, onions and rice. There wasn’t one thing on my plate that was not delicious. The chicken was tender and cooked in this yummy Mexican barbecue sauce, the peppers, tomatoes and onions were cooked just enough to be tender but not too much to be mushy and the rice was cooked just right; soft, fluffy, tasty.

Oh my gosh! I can’t believe I almost forgot to tell you about the black bean dip and fresh guacamole. The bean dip was so good we asked for more and brought what we didn’t finish home with us. I’d never had guacamole before tonight because it never looked appealing on my plate. Tonight’s guacamole was made fresh and was the most beautiful color of green I’ve ever seen. I truly wish I’d have thought to take pictures of our dinners. Both were as beautiful to look at, as they were tasty to eat.

The hubs’ tuna looked beautiful. It was seared and served rare so there was no way I was going to eat it. I did however taste his chipotle mashed potatoes, which were to die for. You know the ones I’m talking about. The good ones. The creamy ones. The made just right ones. The ones that you could sit and eat a whole bowl of by yourself. Oh yeah. These were it, soft, creamy, flavorful. Mmmmmmmmm …. Wonder if they’d sell me a bowl of mashed potatoes? *laughs* And imagine I only had 2 forkfuls. Imagine the rave review they’d have gotten if they were part of my meal.

Both of our desserts were to die for. I ordered the Coconut Flan and the hubs had the Cheesecake Chiminchanga. The flan was light, tasty, flavored with just enough coconut where you got the coconut taste without out being overly sweet. The real winner of the evening was the Cheesecake Chimichanga in all its warm, soft, comforting glory. What a way to end dinner. When the hubs cut into the yummy, light, sweet chimichanga outside to free the warm, tasty, oh so smooth cheesecake inside it was like eating tomato soup on a cold rainy day; warm, comforting, soothing. Yum. What a way to end a meal. *sigh* Next time we go I’m gonna eat mashed potatoes and cheesecake. Think they’ll mind? *laughs*

All mashed potato and cheesecake ravings aside, both of our dinners were amazing and I have to say, reasonably priced. Two cups of soup, Chicken Fajitas, Ancho Chile Crusted Tuna Pineapple, Coconut Flan, a Cheesecake Chimichanga and a cup of coffee for less than $65. For the quality of the food and the friendly and helpful service I expected dinner to be close to $100. I was pleasantly surprised when our waiter CJ brought us our check and it was nowhere near that.

I can’t wait to go back. The hubs really pulled off an amazing birthday dinner this year.

Reverb 10 — Community

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Pat's Orchid

 

Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Author: Cali Harris)

 

This year I’ve discovered community within my own family. Getting sick opened my eyes to how incredible each and every member of my family is and how important it is to just be there. It’s the showing up that’s important. This is something I didn’t understand until now. In fact it is the single biggest lesson I learned in 2010, perhaps the single biggest lesson I learned in my life. 

I’m so ashamed to tell this story now but it illustrates how little I knew about the importance of showing up and just being there. A few years ago my sister-in-law’s brother Pat died after a lengthy illness. Everyone was at my brother’s house and my mother called to ask if I was going to to there after work. I said no. My brother was sick with a bad cold  and Arlene’s brother had just died. Her whole family and my parents were at their house. I thought the last thing she needs is two more people to entertain I know now that when you’re at your lowest you need to be surrounded by friends and family. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there that night. I didn’t understand how important your presence actually is. If you ever find yourself wondering if you are needed or if you’ll just be in the way know that you are needed and your presence is very much appreciated. 

You can read more about my amazing family here. 

 

Now totally switching gears — the community I’d very much like to be part of in 2011 is the political blogging community. I wold love to add my voice to the multitude of voices already out there. I think I have something to say ‘d like to add to the discourse. I don’t know if that means creating a blog separate from Soapboxville that is solely a political blog or just choosing to write more politically themed blogs right here.