October 27, 2014

Putting Out Fires

October 27, 2014

The readers of this blog come from all over the world.  There are phrases we say in America, that may not mean the same in other countries.  There are several variations on this one: Putting Out Fires, Stamping Out Fires, Stompin' Out Fires.  They all mean (when applied to a work day) that you couldn't get around to doing the normal work day things for having to handle one crisis situation after another.  Ron uses those phrases often.  I don't - until today.

After being out of the office for just over a week and having our son's wedding date speeding at us like a freight train (another of those phrases that may lose something in the translation) I had one of those days.  Since I got home from my trip, I can't find my vibrating alarm clock.  I know it was in the bottom of a bag or sack.  I saw it a few days before I left Dallas, but have never unpacked it while in Dallas, instead letting our son be responsible for waking me after he had his shower each morning.

Now that I am home, it is Ron's job - until I find my alarm clock.  Being deaf when I sleep and take off the Cochlear Sound Processor, I need the vibrations to wake me.  The sound does nothing for me.  Ron did not wake me before he left for work this morning, and I slept later than I should have.  I texted him to see what time he had to leave the office for a promised job and he said 10:00.  Yikes!  I needed to get moving.  (Fire #1)

I spent the morning on office work, catching up with a stack of mail - more bills than checks; more junk mail than useful things; more magazines than we have time to read.  Ron left on his job.  I waited on customers, paid bills, sorted receipts that had stacked up in my purse - some being for the office and some being mine.  The ones that were mine were then divided into my normal purchases and wedding expenses.

Next I gathered papers that needed to be filed.  I paid more bills and answered emails.  In the emails I found that during one of my trips out of town earlier in the month, I had overlooked one bill.  I hate that this particular company sends their invoices only by email.  It is too easy for me to overlook them when I am out of town or very busy and not checking email as much.  There was enough time to send a check - if them mail was dependable, but we all know it isn't.  (Fire #2)  Later in the afternoon I had to ask Ron to call that company and pay the bill by credit card.  I don't do well on the phone with the Cochlear Implant.

After lunch I needed to place two orders for things for the wedding rehearsal dinner.  I should have done it last week, but I was not it a place with secure internet, so I had waited.  I filled out all the stuff to place the first order.  I gave my information.  It was rejected.  I called Ron into my office and he said to try again.  I did.  It was rejected.  He tried again (I am not sure why) and it was rejected (I also didn't know why).  So he placed the order using his credit card and it went through.  What???  They are different accounts, but why was mine rejected?

Later that afternoon the credit card company called and said they had blocked my card for a suspicious purchase.  It was my rejected purchase.  The payment was being processed in Canada, so they refused it.  Ron explained that it was an intended purchase but they didn't care.  In fact, not knowing he was on the phone with them, I placed the second order.  It went through, but when I told him I had just placed an order, and he relayed that information to them, they said that it would also be refused because she had blocked the account. (Fire #3)

During the lengthy discussion, he asked if my card was near the limit.  She said no, I had several thousand dollars available.  He asked how it was available if she had blocked the card.  Duh...  She finally unblocked the card.  Time to get a new card!  I have been with them for 20 years and usually this week every year I go to Houston for the International Quilt Festival and buy from shops from around the world and never have had a problem.  Oh, well.  So glad Ron took care of it for me.  He told me when he got off the phone, that I would never have been able to understand the lady.  He had struggled to understand her.

It was just that kind of day.  All in all, I did still get a lot done.  I have a few things to do tomorrow still to catch up, but I was able to prepare a packet of things to send off and made a trip to the post office and hit it at a slow time and the things are now in the mail.  I need to send a box tomorrow and another item.  Going to the post office isn't one of my favorite chores, but I did see a favorite friend from church while at the post office today.

I had shown Ron a video on the internet of some things I wanted him to make for the rehearsal dinner decorations, and he got some of them done tonight.  Great job!  We both worked on things for the wedding rehearsal dinner decorations.  We talked to Stephen and later I talked to Vickey.  Both conversations were helpful and brightened my day.

For the first time in a while, I cooked supper!  I made chicken and rice, broccoli, and baked a pineapple upside down cake.  It was perfect!  Yummy!  I did a little sewing and a little reading.  I do love to cook and especially to bake, but I just have not had time to do so lately.