What is it about math?

I am amazed at the number of people in service jobs who can't do math. Not just the cashier who relies on the register to tell how much change to give...I have a copying job I need done today. When I went to the first business (I won't mention names, but it is a prominent office supply store), I told the person in the print services center how many originals I have (40), how many sets I need (60) and that I wanted them back-to-back and 3-hole punched. She quoted me a price of $75 roughly. Seemed reasonable, if a bit too good to be true. So...

I called the same place today to confirm the cost. The young man who answered the phone, given the same information, quoted $168...a bit different from $75. When I mentioned that an employee in the print services center had said $75, he said (and I'm not making this up), "Well, I have to go now." I said, "Are you talking to me?" He said, "yes, just come into our print services center and talk to them in person." (Which, you will recall, I did yesterday.) So I said, "Can you transfer me to them?" And he did.

I asked the person who answered that phone the same question, and she said it would be $311. ARGGGH! I think she basically doubled the amount I needed, but still - double would have been $336.

I called another well-known copy service center to get another quote. The man who took the call first quoted me $9.00 (as in NINE DOLLARS). I questioned that quote, so he asked my info again, and then said $264.

The third place I called, gave the same info, and the guy said, "So, 280 copies, right?" First of all it would be ten times that (60 x 40), but his math was wrong anyway, because 6 x 4 = 24.

And one of these fine establishments wouldn't let my 17-year old daughter work there (in spite of the fact that she is a high-school grad, national merit semifinalist and AP scholar).

I don't get it.

(Sorry for the gripy tone - I actually find the whole thing amusing, but a little riduculous.)

Introducing us

Here's a picture of me with my husband and daughter. We have two other daughters, Sarah and Grace, and a son in Germany. God has blessed us beyond what I could have imagined (Ephesians 3:20-21). But I miss the days of chaos and noise that filled our home when they were younger.

Warning

Well, all you eBayers, here's a cautionary tale.

This morning I received an email from eBay, saying my account was going to be suspended if I didn't "update" my info. Since my primary credit card has changed since I started with eBay, it seemed a reasonable request. Soooo I clicked on the link. It asked me to log in, so I did. Then it asked me to "verify" my credit card. Screeeech! (That's me hitting the brakes.) Wasn't there some notice I got once from eBay that said they would never ask for that info?

Sure enough, when I opened a new window and logged into eBay itself, there were no messages to me asking for account info. When I looked at the original email, I discovered it wasn't addressed to just me, but to many others as well. I can't believe I almost fell for such a scam (or spoof, as eBay refers to it). Consequently, since I had logged in on the bogus site, I had to change my eBay password, or they could have bought all sorts of things as "me". Whew!

So, be warned...eBay will not ask for confidential info through email. If you receive a suspicious email supposedly from eBay, forward it to spoof@ebay.com. Or, check by opening another window and log in to eBay independently to see if there are any important messages about your account.

Now you know.

My stubborn will

I may finally have a diagnosis for the pain I've been experiencing. It comes coincidentally(?) right after I prayed and told God I would let Him handle it - I would be willing for whatever He wanted for my life, even if it was a life of pain and struggle. Hmm. I won't go into the details of the diagnosis or the exact pain, #1 because it's embarassing, and #2 because it's irrelevant. But it could've been determined months ago, and at first, that was my cry - why did it take six months if the answer is so simple? I was expressing this to a friend, who said, "Remember, M, you said all you wanted was to know what it was. Now you have that." I realized she was right. Not only that, and my earlier prayer of "relinquishment", but if the doctors had found this problem 6 months ago, I wouldn't have reached the stage of relinquishment, and they wouldn't have found two other medical problems that were discovered during all the testing (and that are relatively easy to correct). So there was a purpose to the timing.

Now I have to learn to surrender daily in terms of what I eat (and don't eat), in order to overcome the pain. (Yes, it is affected by what I eat.)

A message to those of you who are younger and think, "There's plenty of time later to eat right, exercise, etc. etc. " Later may come sooner than you think! Take care of the body God gave you now so it can take better care of you later. (That almost sounds memorable.)

'Til another day,

M

Ah ha!

I admit it - when Sarah first suggested I do this (webjournal) I didn't understand the purpose. But after the day I've had (and it's still early afternoon), now I do.

First, my doctor told me last week I need to lose weight. Big surprise there...his point was that some of my continuing health problems and aches and pain may be improved if I lost the weight. He even suggested gastric bypass surgery...but his main point was Weight Watchers. So, I'm trying w/o weight watchers to restrict what I eat to healthy, more nutritional choices. A real challenge when there are Snickers candy bars in the building where you work! But I did it...I avoided the candy bars for today. (Yay me!) Still have the second half of the day to go, but I only work in the mornings. It's so much harder than I remembered to restrict my eating. I want to eat what I want to eat when I want to eat it! But I need to be strong, if only to avoid another scolding from the doctor on Thursday. (I know my motivation should come from within rather than trying to please the doc, but I'm not there yet.)

Number 2, just so you know, Madalyn Murray O'Hair is no longer living. There is no threat to Christian radio or television programming through the FCC. That's all I'll say about it, but there's much more that could be said. See this site for more info: http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/fcc.asp

Anyway, Sarah is right. I feel better having posted. I hope in time that my posts will be less whiny in tone and more encouraging. Maybe as God changes me, you'll see a difference. Some good books on surrender (a recurrent theme for me this year) are Beyond Ourselves by Catherine Marshall, Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge (I think I got their names right...too settled/lazy to go find the book and verify it), and Joe Beam's books, Seeing the Unseen and Getting Past Guilt. I'm sure there are many more...surrender is such a big topic after all.

Happy birthday

Happy birthday, Sarah, Grace, Joel, and Linda. Also Evan M. (wherever you are), Roy J., Sawyer H. and Juan G. Whew...what a lot of people born on the same day...must have something to do with the fact that the Christmas season is 9 months previous!

I am so grateful to have had a life with Sarah and Grace...the lessons I have learned as a mother have taught me much about being a child of God! I remember one day being so frustrated with my four that I went outside and sat on our swing by myself. I was thinking, "If only they'd listen to me and do things the way I tell them - life would be so much easier then." Suddenly I wondered, is that how God feels about my lack of obedience?" Hmmm.

Similar thoughts have occurred about delayed obedience (you know, when the response is, "in a minute..." and the minute never comes.)

I am grateful for Joel and his love for God, Sarah and my grandchildren. His faithfulness is much appreciated. And I appreciate Linda too, for without her there would be no Joel and thus no Emmy or Denali!

As for Evan M., I never knew him well, just knew of him (his father was the minister many years ago at the church in Long Beach, CA - Evan was born after we left there), but if he is anything like his parents, he must be a godly man indeed.

For Roy J., Sean G. and Sawyer H.- (father, son-in-law and grandson) it's nice to see another family get involved in "our" birthday.

New beginning

Okay, Sarah, this is for you. It's 2:30 in the morning here in California, and I'm unable to sleep once again. I've been having random pains since about 1:00 p.m., and have taken 2-3 vicodin over that time period. Watched a wonderful movie on tv (The Inheritance, based on a book/story by Louisa May Alcott) from 10-12, called Daniel just after midnight to say goodbye and bon voyage, faxed a health form for him, and laid down to sleep at about 1:00. After an hour of dozing, I decided to get up and possibly do some praying, but decided to do this first. Hope you like it! :)

Today is going to be hard, especially because of the lack of sleep and my pain. There's a funeral this afternoon, and we're singing a couple of songs at the beginning with a small group. (Old songs: Asleep in Jesus, and Til the Storm Passes Over). I don't want to be in pain today of all days, because the focus should be on the deceased and his widow.

I'm praying that I can finally surrender my will to God's...I prayed some from 1-2 while I was trying to sleep, and I told Him that whatever He wants for me is what I want too. I want to stop fighting and trust His care again, as I once did. Maybe journaling will help me to come to terms with it all. I don't know how many people I'll share this journal with, though, because it may be too personal. (And I may decide to quite using it after a time.)

Anyway, for better or worse, I'm in for the time being.