Los Angeles vs My Mood

Ya see, I want to be in a good mood. I really do! And today, I have no serious symptoms of the bug that MetaBoy oh so graciously passed on to me. There's a bit of a sore throat, but no fever, no chills, no headache...two miserable days, and I'm feeling good again. And I got a lot of rest, since I had little energy to do anything other than watch TV with the kids.

But I digress. I woke up smiling with energy to spare. Had a busy day making up for the big load of nothing that I've done all week, including grocery shopping. It's amazing how quickly you can run out of food when you don't buy more. As I said in a recent tweet, we haven't relied on take-out this much since MetaGirl was born. In driving around and getting things done with my positive attitude, it occurred to me: it's hard to stay in a good mood in this city.

Trader Joe's - It's a small store with narrow aisles and a lot of shoppers. Why do people leave their carts in the middle of an aisle, blocking other shoppers, and walk off as if enchanted by elves? Or perhaps they insist on "gently" pushing you as they walk past, despite the fact that you're carrying a baby and you're hardly in anyone's way. Maybe, if you're lucky, that pushy older lady who just had to get in the store right NOW might say "thanks" as she sees the pile of rubble left in her wake. Slight exaggeration? Perhaps. But only slight. This is the last time I go to Trader Joe's in a good mood. I need to be crabby to go there if I'm going to defend us.

Traffic - People don't know / understand / respect traffic laws. I understand getting distracted by a "shiny" and not noticing the light has changed. We've all been there. But don't make a left from the right lane...while crossing 2 lanes of traffic. That is NOT OK.

Home Maintenance - Someone turned the ringer off on the phone. I don't know who did it, and I don't really care. I didn't notice for days since we don't get many calls at home. We only realized it when the answering machine came on this morning despite the lack of rings. I was going to check it, but I forgot. So when the lady called with the estimate I had been expecting for several days, I missed the call. In her message, she said something to the effect of *gee, you're phone and fax machine are the same number. I'm leaving for the day, so I guess I'll have to call you tomorrow to fax you the estimate.*

My reaction:

• If you can print out an estimate, you have a computer. Get an email account. Use it.
  
• If you have an estimate, you have a dollar figure. Don't hang up without giving me some information.
  
• If you're calling me to tell me essentially...nothing...don't call me.

And while we're at it...

• When you give me a time frame for service, honor it. If you don't, don't start calling me a week before the bill is "due" to "remind" me.
  
• Be thorough. Don't change shower handles without suggesting it might be a good time to change washers. As far as I'm concerned, if that unchanged washer is the cause of a leak, it's you're fault.

Is it just me? Is it just Los Angeles?