Lotto

"We really won the lotto on drivers today" I told Ron, with sarcasm.  He agreed. 

First: I had to take a lot of caffeine due to my migraine, yesterday (as it turns out, it was my "Hey, you started your cycle!" migraine).  It kept me up very late, and I only got about 4 hour's sleep. 

Odd but true, if I am to be shorted on my sleep, I do better if I only get 4 hours or so.  I wake up pretty energized.  If I sleep 6 hours, I am very groggy.  8-10 hours is best, of course. 

I got up, did my God Time, and took a short shower.  I always get ready early. 

Good thing, 20 minutes before the pickup time the driver's banging on my door like I owe her money.  I told her we were coming, finished eating, and took my pills. 

Thank God she didn't honk.  I don't want to be the asshole neighbor waking everyone else.  

She saw one of the cats.  I could tell she doesn't like cats, but plenty don't.  I didn't hold that against her. 

Ron came out of the house.  Now, the driver is SUPPOSED to get out and help the customer, but she just left him out there.  She probably assumed it was "my job" to get him in the vehicle. 

No, they're supposed to get out and help, even if they have a caregiver.  I was shocked.  I've never seen a driver do that. 

For $25 an hour, plus (one driver said he made $36 an hour), I'd help.  When I saw she wouldn't help I got out myself, and assisted him. 

Ron got in and shut the door.  I'm left holding his walker.  She made sure I waited a good couple minutes "busy with the papers" before she comes out, takes it, and puts it away.  Or maybe she thought it was "my job" to secure the walker, too. 

I'm mildly disgusted by now, and baffled.  She is just radiating repressed anger.  I don't know why she's so angry but we have done nothing.  Without us, she's unemployed.  I don't expect butt-kissing but NOT hating us would be nice. 

I double checked with Ron, he felt the same way I did - she was seething with anger.  She's not bipolar, I can tell that. 

I sat in the front passenger seat, and attempt to fasten my seatbelt.  The belt had an unusual amount of slack and was not retracting (useless).  I realized someone has tied a knot in the seatbelt, preventing it from functioning properly. 

I told the driver, "I think this belt is broken, I'm going to sit in the back seat".  I rode, once, with a lady who was a quadraplegic because she didn't wear a seatbelt.  No thanks.  If I can prevent an injury, I will. 

Besides, Houston is a good mix of "Road Warrior" meets "Death Race" every day, to begin with!  My seat had a good belt. 

I suggested she "call it in" and report she can't use the front seat. 

She got very angry with me and shouted that she had done that, on purpose, because "A pacemaker client was complaining about it pressing on him". 

In that case, the driver is supposed to say: "If you won't wear the safety belt I can't transport you".  I have seen that happen, several times.  Guess what, the client always wears the belt.  You can lose your service for that. 

I would also suggest the client bring a small towel or something to cushion the blow.  If I were a driver I might even bring some large, clean, rags or small pillows the clients could use to pad the seatbelt, if needed.   Lots of options. 

In 12 years of ridership, this is the first time I've ever seen this.  I imagine this is what she does in her own car. 

Speaking of, I realize that all the other seatbelts have been "knotted", and are completely useless, including Ron's belt.  I was Not Happy. 

When the driver got out to help the next clients (!) (caregiver and client), into the vehicle, I had Ron move over into the middle back seat, which was OK. 

I would have waited, not said anything, and then called in a safety complaint.  Ron couldn't leave it, though, part of his head injury. 

"Why are ALL the seatbelts knotted?" he asked. 

She got angry again and went on about how every client is either a dialysis patient (with a fistula, she meant), or a pacemaker client.  Wrong.  While I'm sure she sees a lot of dialysis patients, I have ridden with more, and not one has ever complained about the seatbelt/fistula. 

So, she concluded, because everyone was bothered by the belt, she had to tie them off.  Ron and I can't look at each other, but we did, sort of, mentally, completely baffled. 

"She wasn't right" Ron said, after we disembarked. 

When we got to our location, I told Ron to wait in the car "Until you have the walker".  She didn't like that, she wanted him to get out, then go fumble around in the back, making him stand in agony as long as possible, before finally giving him the walker. 

God showed me how to circumvent that.  We left. 

"If she's smart" I told Ron "She'll undo all those seatbelts and make them functional.  She's got to know we have to call this in." 

I'll refer you back to the woman who was paralyzed from her neck down, because she didn't have a seatbelt.  One that's been tampered with is just as bad as no seatbelt at all. 

We did call it in, Ron did.  He told them the situation, and then said "Don't believe me, send a safety supervisor to go check out her seatbelts".  There's no way she can undo all of them, in time, if they pull her over.  Even if she tried they'd see it. 

I'm not sorry.  She will get fired if they catch her.  But I'm not sorry.  You don't compromise on safety.  You don't get an attitude with your clients because you don't like your personal life. 

I think God sent her to us because He knew we would report her.  [shudder] 

Unlike last week, this week went pretty well.  Sales were pretty slow, which was nice, we agreed.  We know we will be in rocket mode next month, through January. 

I did snacks, didn't take long, even with the pastry.  Ron raced through the sodas, we got 2 deliveries, I stocked the machines, and even had time to do a little reading in my earthquake book ("The Rift"). 

We headed out, into yet more drama. 

This driver was blasting hymns on his radio.  ["Fake Christians are the worst" Ron said later "I wish he'd been an atheist.  He makes God look bad."]  There was a very large woman in the backseat, the front seat was empty except for some personal items, belonging to the driver. 

He tried to say we would all have to sit in the back.  No, I told him, you're not going to pull this "No one can sit in the front seat" (for $25 an hour you can deal with it!!!  If you find us so OFFENSIVE!) "Crap, are you?  The last driver who tried that we called in on her and she lost her job.   [she did]  Unless someone peed in it?" 

He said no one had peed in the seat, gave a HUGE sigh, and made a major production out of clearing out the front seat.  The woman in the back immediately leapt into it, after offering it to Ron, who was clearly having some difficulty.  I thought that was sweet. 

She took out her phone and had a very involved conversation about her probable arrival at her drop off location, which, by the way, was after us. 

The driver made up his own schedule (!!!) and dropped her first.  I guess they think I can't read the computer.  It isn't difficult. 

Recently, Houston had what is basically a family massacre.  Someone's Baby Daddy came to her house, killed their child, her other 5 kids, her, and her husband.  It's been a huge tragedy. 

I found it quite provoking when I heard the children in the family had been begging neighbors for food.  I don't know what was happening but I didn't think good parenting was involved.  That's the kindest way I can frame it. 

Now, they were having a huge funeral at the church.  I figured it out when I saw the 8 hearses, and the media. 

Spectacle.  I pray to God no one does that if I die (I think the Rapture's imminent).  Just have a nice meal, talk a little, and pass out Bibles to anyone who doesn't have one. 

I hate huge spectacle, funerals. 

I've never actually attended one, but I've seen funeral processions.  I find them really frustrating.  You are dead.  Why are you [censoring] up MY traffic? 

Do I think I would have a big funeral?  No.  I would be shocked.  I'm OK with that.  I think there'd be a bigger uproar online than locally. 

I need to figure out how I would alert you, my reader.  I need to find a highly trusted person.  Maybe ask my aunt to mail a package, which would contain my password. 

Sad but true, I don't trust a lot of people.  Anyway, my name can be found on this page if you know where to look.  If I don't post for a week or so you could always Google my name.  

Anyway, we came home.  I ate some Lo Mein (a bad idea), and took a pretty good nap.  I slept 3 hours.  I think Torbie slept with me. 

I woke up with a headache and had to take OTC headache tablets (more caffeine!), but they worked.  

I already did my God Time this morning so I watched a little TV and got online.  I'm a little manic today but I think that's just the sleep deprivation and the caffeine I drank to wake up. 

Then my message boards, here, and maybe a little looking around later. 

Tomorrow's off.  That's nice. 

I don't feel bad about that, we will be working very hard this winter so I plan to charge my battery, so to speak.