Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Too PROUD to be wordless!

Last night, Bethany was chosen to be a delegate at her caucus!

(I have no idea what that means. Newscasters keep trying to explain the "Texas Two-Step" process in which South Texas votes for Hillary don't count as much as votes for Obama from urban centers like Houston and Dallas--something to do with how those precincts voted in the last Democratic primary--but this is WAY over my head. Apparently, my brain was built for Whitman and Coleridge and Zusak...NOT politics or taxes or mortgage interest or deductibles. Ick.)

So, anyway, on the nine-week anniversary of becoming a vegetarian, Bethany also became a delegate for Obama. Falisha, the other vegetarian in the family, just attended an exciting rally for Obama in Dallas (she thoughtfully invited me, and if we lived closer, I would have gone!) , and her friends surprised her with a BARACK-ON! t-shirt she now sports proudly.

Another reason I'm so proud? They're proud of me for sticking to my guns and voting for Huckabee.

Bustin' my buttons,
mad4books

P.S. I'm also too MAD to be wordless. Did you know that Abilene moved the Social Security office to the edge of town? Oh, and that gas is now over $3.00 a gallon so it costs a pretty penny to get there?

And, here's the kicker, the Social Security office hours are from 9:00 to 4:00!!!! Did you know this? The man who hit the locked front doors ahead of me came all the way from Albany, poor guy. I was a little mad, but he was furious!! (Seriously, though! An important government office closes at 4:00? I'm at work for more than an hour before they open...and still at work when they close?) Are they staffed by French dukes? Do they get two-hour lunch breaks? Are there harlots and free massages in the staff lounge? Grrr...

8 comments:

Steelerfan06 said...

Um, I know you're 11 yrs older than me, but that's still not old enough to necessitate a visit to the Social Security office. What's up?

Just curious...well, I'm off...headed to the local AARP office on the way to the senior center for a rousing round of bingo.

Ferny. said...

I'd still move to Canada if Huckabee were elected, but I am proud of you, nonetheless.

Also, yeah! I'm a delegate! Show some respect.

^I've been saying that all day. If I get pulled over today, I'll tell the cop, "Sir/Maam, I don't mean to be rude, but you may want to rethink this. I'm a delegate."

Oh jeez. 9 weeks!
Eat organic. Eat local.
Live, love, learn!
Reduce, reuse, recycle!
Once is not enough.
Earth day is everyday.

i could go on forever...

bessie

Kirsten said...

Kristy, you didn't tell me the rest of the story at work today...you must still have been mad at the SSO!!! Guess you will take a loooong lunch break tomorrow, but no, you still can't get a massage on work time!

Sandra said...

YEAH Bethany and Falisha! Welcome to the world of veggies!!
If you ever need a recipe ....

Anonymous said...

And one more thing about S.S. Admin. offices. I went to one that had a "Take a Number" sign over a number dispenser machine and three customer service representatives who would periodically call out a number to summon some person in the crowded room from "the huddled masses" to their window. But there was NO chair on the customer's side of the window; only the rep was able to be seated. I said, "Isn't this where folks come to file for disability?" (I myself was on oxygen, though I was not there to file for disability.) They said that it was, indeed, where disabled people file, and I asked, "Then whose decision was it to not place chairs on this side of your window for those with disabilities?" They told me that it was their local director's decision. I went over to the far side of the room and, with labored breath, I grabbed two chairs and drug them across the room and placed them at two of the windows and informed them that I thought it was a poor decision that needed to be revisited. I proceeded to sit down and complete my application for Medicare.

mad4books said...

2steelerfan--Hope you and AF had fun at Bingo. (Be careful at the senior center, though; those polished hallways are "slicky-like," and a new hip is expensive.

2betheeegail--No moving to Canada. If Russell and I could live through eight years of Billary, you can stand anything the GOP can throw at you. (Oh, and Mexico's warmer, anyway.)

2kirsten--Thanks for being understanding on today's long lunch break...while I take my life in my hands driving amongst Texans IN THE SNOW!!!

2sandra--"They DO love their veg!" (a line from Wallace & Gromit, which I *will* be buying any little VanHooijTots God sends your way.)

2Anonymous--I think I know who you are, Mom! (Isn't it time you get a blog?) YOU GO, MOM! I can just see you, pulling chairs up for the disabled...with an OXYGEN TANK over your shoulder. Good for you, you feisty little Texan!

Ferny. said...

i really liked billary.

-bessie

mad4books said...

Update on Abilene's Social Security office...I'm happy to report that they put TWO chairs in front of each window!

They may have ridiculous hours (and I'm still not convinced that there aren't harlots and chocolate fountains in their staff lounge), but at least they are thoughtful enough to provide chairs for their patrons who are often elderly or disabled. (I am ashamed to report that the skeptic in me raised an eyebrow more than once at some of the "disabled" folks who acquired their limps halfway up the sidewalk.)

The only real complaint about our S.S. office was the check-in procedure. The poor couple in front of me could not figure out the check-in system because the son was mentally handicapped (he was sweet as could be--constantly smiling--and not only held the door for me as I neared the entrance, but he also carried his mother's purse for her!) and the mother could not read.

Every time the computer monitor required input, they just pressed things they thought were right. Every time the little ticket thingy popped out what number they were in line (A124, B207, etc.) they would rip it off and start over because it didn't match the last four digits of either of their S.S. numbers. Finally, after the check-in line was growing long and impatient, I offered them a hand, read them the screens, and explained that the wadded up tickets the mother gripped were simply the numbers that the lady behind the counter would call when it was their turn.

The excruciating part came about fifteen minutes later when the clerk called out A124 and no one moved. She proceeded to B207...and still, no one came to her window. I just kept my eyes on my paperwork because I just knew all of these numbers were in the whiskery mother's handbag. After the exasperated clerk made her way through five numbers without anyone approaching the counter, she got up and slid back a panel behind the check-in counter to look at the ticket dispenser. Assured that everything was working okay, she returned to her window and started calling out numbers again. THANKFULLY, the bewhiskered duo realized that it was their turn and made their way to the window to inquire about the son's disability check.

Oh, wait...that leads to another complaint about this office! It afforded little to no privacy; I heard everything each customer had to say, from the mother who had a daughter in prison, to the lady who wanted to dispute the amount being withheld from her monthly check, to the lady with the giant diamond rings who needed to change her last name to her new husband's name. Yikes. Not a fan of that.

Oh, hold on...that leads to a THIRD complaint, now that I think about it. Affixed to the wall in the waiting room was a frame to mount a television, yet there was no TV on it. Perhaps we wouldn't have been able to hear everything in the glass and tile building if CNN had been playing. Oh, and we would have been way less bored during our long waits!