Soap Box Wednesdays: Fragile is Italian

Honestly, I could do another Soap Box Wednesdays post on more drive thru dilemmas (I've had some doozies since this post), but this week I'm gonna talk about what the word "fragile" means. 

According to the dictionary (Merriam Webster), fragile means :

a : easily broken or destroyed <a fragile vase> b : constitutionally delicate : lacking in vigor <a fragile child>. 

 Sounds pretty staightforward to me.

"Fragile" is an English word, with Latin origin, however I find myself wondering:  Is it REALLY English? Why do I wonder this?  Because, apparently, some don't understand what it means.
 

Let me explain.  As many of you know, I've shipped many of my possessions to Ireland since I will be moving there in less than a week.  One of my most recent shipments was a large 11x18 framed wedding portrait of Barry and I.  I took my time wrapping the precious item in bubble wrap, paper and towels before I placed the portrait in a box to ship.  What other choice did I have?  I had to ship it.  It's too big to put in a suitcase and I couldn't carry it with me because I'm going to have my hands full with other carry-on items on the plane. 

Once the portrait was placed in the box, I taped it up and wrote the word "fragile" on the outside of the box.  And, yes, I've heard the horror stories from people who say that they've done the same thing, yet their items still arrived broken.  I've also heard that if "fragile" is written on an item, sometimes that package is deliberately mistreated, thrown around, dropped, kicked, etc.  But, I put my faith in humankind that that would not happen.  Mistake.

But, I thought who would be so cruel? ESPECIALLY, since when shipping something to another country, you must fill out a customs form and attach it to the outside of the box.  This customs form must specify the contents of the box.  And, I specified.  I did. I wrote, "WEDDING PORTRAIT" on my customs form for all to see.  Yet, woe is me. 

The package arrived with Barry in Ireland the other day.  He then informed me that the glass on the portrait was broken.  Not only was it broken, the glass had scratched and damaged the photograph.  Of course, I was upset. I understood the risk in shipping something like this and it was a risk I was willing to take, but I did take precautions. 

I supposed my question is why do we write "fragile" on these items when they are not treated as fragile? Perhaps everyone has the same mindset as Ralphie's dad does in A Christmas Story?  Picture the scene when he wins his "major award" and the box with this award arrives (see video below).  Maybe Ralphie's dad isn't the only one that thinks "fragile" is Italian?   If you haven't seen A Christmas Story, watch the video below so you know what the heck I'm talking about (I apologize for the quality of the video.  It appears to be one that someone recorded from their television and uploaded to YouTube...but, it is the only one I could find.  Personally, I think the volume indicator on the screen is a nice touch). 

 

P.S. All is not lost, Barry took the damaged photograph and is having it refinished at a low cost so all will be right in my world again. :)

Soap Box Wednesday: The not-so-negative edition

Yeah, I know I just created this Soap Box Wednesday thing a few weeks ago which has allowed me to basically bitch about whatever is bothering me.  However, this has been such a good week, I can't find any negativity in me at all...which is a very weird feeling.  I'm still processing it.  Soooo, this Soap Box Wednesday post will be a glorious post full of joy and positive blah blah blah. 







I was very excited today to see me wee little blog featured on For the Love of Blogs!  Holla!  I have to say...I am crushing very hard on For the Love of Blogs right now and not just 'cause they featured me, but 'cause they bring me so much amusement!  I have found and connected with some really cool gals with supa cool blogs via FTLOB.  And, honestly, my productivity in life has declined since stumbling upon FTLOB.  But, I don't care.  I deserve some entertainment.

And, to make this week even better...I got some beautiful flowers from the hubster, I received a package that I have been waiting on for TWO months, my EEA Family Permit for Ireland was approved, I booked my ticket FINALLY to go to Ireland and Mollie over at OK in UK passes along a Stylish Blogger Award (which I'll come back to later today) to me.  Seriously, I need to play the lotto I think.

It hasn't been all rainbows and puppy dogs this week, however.  I did turn my resignation letter in at work and did finally come face to face with the realization that very, very soon I'll be leaving my job and my friends and family.  Of course, I knew it was coming, but I'd been so preoccupied with the planning and organizing of the whole move, that I hadn't allowed my emotions to come out and play...until this week.  But, alas, all will be grand, I'm sure.  Cheers for now!

Soap Box Wednesday: Drive Thru Dilemma

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Here we are again, week two of Soap Box Wednesdays and I have to say, I'm quite excited by this little venture.  Finally, somewhere to vent my frustrations and hopefully maybe yours, too! 

So this week, I'm getting up on my soap box about the fast food drive thru window.  I've never had luck ordering food from drive thrus.  Nine out of ten times, my order is wrong and I've learned to accept that, until this week.  Yes, the past few weeks has been a trying time for me as far as drive thru windows are concerned.  Every time, my order has been wrong! In particular with one well-known burger chain. 

After four times (one after the other I might add) of going through this particular restaurant's drive-thru window and after four times of getting my order wrong, I've had it up to here (I have my hand held at my neck, by the way.  Just so you  have a visual).  When I order a sour cream and chives baked potato, I expect just that (I also expect a fork, which I usually don't get, but hey).  Not a plain baked potato with no sour cream.  And, when I pay for a sour cream and chives baked potato, I expect to get what I pay for because the sour cream and chives potato is about 40 cents more than a plain baked potato.  Somehow they manage to ring it up and charge me for what I actually ordered but the food item I'm given is not what I ordered.  I realize 40 cents is not a lot, but times are tough and those 40 cents could potentially be the 40 cents I have in my wallet when I'm at a parking meter and my time is running out and the meter maid is coming by to pass out tickets.  So, those 40 cents could be the difference between getting a parking ticket and not getting a parking ticket.  Just sayin'.

I can't help but wonder, maybe they need help understanding their own menu?  In that case, I can help!  Let me just take a minute here and explain to this restaurant about their menu items.  A sour cream and chives baked potato has chives on it and it comes with butter and sour cream on the side.  Oh, and it costs $1.49.  A plain baked potato has no chives on it and it does not necessarily come with sour cream.  As the name of it suggests, a sour cream and chives potato has chives on it and comes with sour cream.  And, it is really helpful if you provide your hungry patrons with forks.  Forks are what we eat your yummy potatoes with. 

Phew!  Okay, I think I'm done.  I'll step off my soap box now.  If you'd like to share your drive thru dilemmas with me, I'd love to hear them!  Bitch it out by posting a comment! Cheers!

Soap Box Wednesdays

For today's post, I've decided to create a very special type of post.  I'm starting a Soap Box Wednesday posting every week, of course, and today is the very first one!  I've decided to do this because it is starting to get a bit ridiculous out there in the world.  Why is it people never do what they are supposed to do?  I just can't understand this.  If I say I'm going to do something, I always do it!  Even if its something as small as returning an email or phone call, I still do it.  Am I the only one now that does this? 

There are many things I could randomly rant about...injustices I have suffered by incompetent people and companies however, we have to thank a particular shipping company for the creation of Soap Box Wednesdays.  Now, I won't name names here, but I assure you, it is a VERY WELL KNOWN shipping company. So now, let me get up on my soap box:

You see, as you may have read in my previous posts, I have been working on my immigration papers so that I may join my husband, whom I've not seen since our honeymoon by the way, in Ireland.  I painstakingly put together a binder, with 100 pages of supporting documentation to go along with my immigration application, or more specifically, my EEA Family Permit application.  I filled out the online application, went to my biometrics appointment and then shipped my 100 page binder to the British Consulate in New York.  I paid to have this overnighted since it contained such sensitive information and documents like my passport, birth certificate, etc. 

Well, as you may have predicted by now, even though I paid for overnight shipping, it was not overnighted.  In fact, it sat in the shipping company's air terminal for a good 36 hours before it was shipped to New York.  There was no reason but incompetence and I could not be given a straight answer as to why this happened.  The weather was perfect, so it couldn't have been a weather delay. 

So,why?  Because no one did what they were supposed to do!  Yes, my package did finally arrive in New York 36 hours after it was supposed to.  But, I'm still out the cash I spent for overnight shipping and I'm just plain miffed about it.  What's the point of spending money on a service, when that service will not be provided?  I mean, would you go to a hair salon and pay $50 for a shampoo and a blowout and just leave not having the blowout or the shampoo without demanding your money back or at least a partial refund?  Of course not!  You should get the service you prepay for! So, why would any other service be different?

 I guess the good news is that it has arrived and now I'm just awaiting the decision on my permit, but I do have to say, the path to this permit has not been an easy one.  Oh well, the things we do for love, eh?