Appointment Issue

I am a little confused. Maybe some one can fill me in on something I am missing.

So I had an appointment with someone on Monday, the holiday. I talked to this individual on the phone and she seemed to be very excited about coming in and getting her hair cut.

Well, this person decided to change her plans and not show up for her appointment. Mind you, I had done about an hour of research on the hair cut and set up my entire kitchen (and cleaned my house) for this appointment. She called back that evening and I decided to make another appointment because everyone makes mistakes, right?

So, appointment number two was made for today at 4:45. This individual was going to get out of work at 4:30 and come to my house for a 4:45 appointment. David, the boys and I came home from their school and started cleaning. Vacuuming, Windex-ing, and all the other fun things that you have to do when you live with three boys. David takes the boys out to have some fun around 4:15. I had, during my cleaning episode, received a call from this individual asking to come in early. Obviously that wasn't going to happen. Then she says to call back to confirm her appointment. Well, by the time I got the message, it was 4:45 and time for the appointment. So I sat and waited and waited and waited. And guess what....she didn't show up. And didn't call me again until 5:45.

I thought that when you have an appointment scheduled for a certain time, you show up for it. There is no call ahead and confirm. I am not a doctor's office. You just show up! Part of my job is to write my appointments down so I am organized. That's one of my strengths....I am a note person. Everything is written down and adequate time is allotted for all services. I take pride in it! So this individual called a couple more times for this haircut that should have happened at 4:45 and taken about an hour.

Now let's get something straight, when David is off, I want our family to be together. We go out as a family and have dinner and all that fun family stuff. I have wonderful memories from my family doing the same thing growing up so I want to give my kids the same thing. So what did this experience do? Ruined my whole night. I freaking beat myself up over it. Was it my fault, should I have done this....or that....? What a horrible feeling this all is. It's not like the $25 for this haircut would make or break me, but the thought of letting someone down, even if the fault was not on my part.

What do you all think? Was I in the wrong? Should I feel guilty?

Oprah

I watched Oprah today. I should have had an appointment but the client decided to change her plans and keep it a secret from me, so I had an extra hour of nothing to do.
As I watched Oprah, I realized how interesting the show was. It documented 25 years of her shows having to do with racism. I can't believe how unbelievable people are.
I have learned, in my life, that everyone is made by one creator, God. No one person is any better than any other person. We all have choices we make that make us who we are. Some people choose to go to college and get an education and some decide to get loaded on dope and waste their life away. So does this depend on the color of our skin...no.
So many of us make assumptions on people based on their skin color. Take my husband for example. He came from a very poor family who came from Mexico. His Dad worked odd jobs and his Mom ran a daycare out of their house. Neither of them spoke English. Today, they have both become citizens of the United States and speak fluent English. David was raised in a lower income area and was exposed to all different walks of life, but he rose above. He worked his butt off, learning English in Kindergarten. By high school he was AP English and a very good student. Although he decided against college, he has established himself as a strong leader within the police department.
The reason I tell this story is because although David is clean cut, I have witnesses people lock their car doors when he walks by. I have seen people hold their purses a little tighter when they walk by him. I wonder if these things will happen to my children also in years to come.
I hope they too, are role models to those around them. I hope that the boundaries of racism will disappear more and more as we all become more educated about other races and where those people come from.

The original Letter to the Editor


Once again, the Fresno Police Department is violating our Fourth Amendment rights of unreasonable search and seizure with the DUI checkpoints. The police offer no response when asked how these searches do not violate our rights when we are pulled in to these checkpoints and asked for our license, registration, and proof of insurance without probable cause.

I'm all for arresting and prosecuting those who have endangered the public by drinking and driving, just not at the expense of my rights. There are quite a few states that agree with this assertion and do not allow the police to use this tactic.

Some will say that it is for the public good; that in removing a few drunken drivers off the street it is worth infringing on our rights outlined in the Constitution. I would say that that is a slippery slope I do not want to go down.

The Fourth Amendment was put in the Constitution because the Founding Fathers had experienced the oppression brought about by unjust laws established with good intentions. We, as a society, need to demand that the police enforce the laws in a legal way.

Patrick Smart



Read more: http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/01/08/2224079/opposes-dui-checkpoints.html#ixzz1AbMDW5R3


My response


I am embarrassed, as a California driver, to hear Patrick Smart’s comment regarding DUI checkpoints. Having a California Driver’s license is not a right, but a privilege. Along with this privilege come various rules and regulations.
The 4th amendment is to protect the public from unlawful search and seizure. Law enforcement does not conduct DUI checkpoints to violate rights, it is to save lives. Having a valid California drivers license (12500 VC), valid insurance (16028(a) VC) and registration (4000 (a)(1) VC) are also laws that go along with the privilege of driving. I don’t know about Mr, Smart, but I am happy that the Fresno Police Department, and other agencies within Fresno County, take the California Vehicle Code so seriously.
Also, just for the record, there is a DUI related death approximately every 39 minutes. These are deaths that can be prevented by citizens, traffic stops and DUI checkpoints. Good job Fresno PD. Make the streets of Fresno safer for all of us who appreciate California law!

My unedited opinion

I just can't let that one go. Did this guy get a ticket for a suspended license or no insurance? People just don't seem to understand that if you don't agree with a law then the best choice is to just move to another state or another county (which is a better option in this case). I would like for Mr. Smart to go to traffic court with his 4th amendment crap....I am sure the judge would love it!

Date night

I was so excited to go on a date last night! I had been so excited all week that I almost let the surprise slip several times. I even asked David if he wanted me to tell him what the surprise was, just so I could talk about it.
Realistically it wasn't that big of a deal. I had some friends come over to watch the boys at 6 and we were out the door to go to dinner at 6:15. I had gone through our Restaurants.com certificates and found one that was valid for a Friday night. It was for the Rio Grill Brazilian Steakhouse. It is very similar to Samba, so I knew we would enjoy it since it's all you can eat. When we walked in we were seated and started to eat with a vengeance. I think David ate an entire sausage! It got to the point that the meat guy would stop by our table every time he walked by. Being David's size, that's fine, but chubby girls do not need any extra attention!
So we had a wonderful 1 1/2 hour dinner, which more than satisfied our cravings and salt intake for the week. By the time we got out, we were ready to go home and sleep, but we managed to make a couple more stops.
First we went by BC Pizza and Beer. I have great memories from my younger years of going to that place and getting really good, cold, and unique beers from around the world. Unfortunately that place was slam packed. So we left and tried to think of another place to go. We started to head home and made our second stop at Sequoia Brewery. Yum! I love their beer. After sitting and enjoying each others company for another hour and a couple pints, we headed home. We got home around 10, just in time for my bedtime.
What a great time to reconnect with my husband after a tough week of children's attitudes and David's shift change. I am so thankful for David. As time goes on, I just love him more and more.