Most of Tuesday

We were warned there are a lot of new drivers. 

Now, let me explain a little about the rides.  There is the big van, it holds about a dozen people and/or several wheelchairs at a time.  They are used about half the time.  Ron prefers them leaving work because they can't pull a "no room - the client has too many groceries so I don't have room for Ron and Heather".  That is not supposed to happen, btw, but many of the clients are old ladies who are cheap and do not want to "waste" extra tickets on a grocery trip every week, so they make one monthly run and literally fill up the entire vehicle. 

Rules say 4 bags maximum, but the drivers don't want to be the "bad guy who left the old lady behind".  They know this and take advantage. 

Then we have the minivan, pretty standard minivans with a wheelchair conversion in the back, so it can hold driver, console area, front seat passenger.  Three clients across the back row and then the wheelchair in the back compartment. 

Many drivers are germ freaks and sanitize themselves, spray rubbing alcohol all over themselves, etc. when they touch a client, helping them, or have to load a wheelchair.  I think it is unnecessary and insulting unless the client is ill or has an overt infection.  That, I could understand. 

But "I touched a wheelchair STERIIZE!" like NOMAD in Star Trek.... just rude. 

Then we have the clients "I am paid to drive you around but NO ONE IN THE FRONT SEAT!"  they bring tons of crap and spread it all over the front seat to discourage people.  They believe, often correctly, that people are reluctant to ask someone to clear an area for them.  Especially when the driver already opened the back door. 

I am getting less tolerant of those head games.  I really get annoyed when the driver has 5-6 HUGE tote bags because, with a full house, there is nowhere to put them. 

Case in point, this morning, germ freak, OK.  The cab is empty so I take Ron to the back passenger seat, it is the easiest for him.  He doesn't like riding in the wheelchair because it hurts his back and makes him carsick. 

I take him over there.  "He can't sit there" the driver says "I have a lot of pickups before I drop you."  takes Ron around back and forces him to ride in the back.  So there's room for 3 besides me up front so I am assuming we are going to pick up some slow people at a group home, a couple for dialysis, etc.  She says we are getting "a lot" of pickups so I'm thinking at least 2 other people, and yes that would be crowded. 

I went and stood by the front passenger.  "Sit here" she tells me.  That is bullshit.  I can sit in any empty seat per the rules.  She can "ask" me to sit in the back if she is getting a very large client or something but she can't force me to ride in the back.  I very kindly told her this and asked her to move her stuff "Or I will sit on it".  She had two big bags and a bunch of other crap spread out all over the front seat, then, I noted, a couple more big tote bags in the back.  She wasn't happy. 

She drove around in circles around my subdivision for half an hour, totally pointless wandering.  Then she got stuck in traffic and took another "side road" that was another 20 minutes out of my day.  She picks up ONE OTHER CLIENT.  ONE.  That is it.  There would have been plenty of room in the back, SAVE HER BAGS.  Ron would have been touching the bags and she kept sanitizing her hands every 5 minutes, compulsively, while she drove. 

It is not often I meet someone who I think is too mentally ill to function in society.  She qualified. 

We FINALLY got to work, she was rude on top of being inefficient.  I was so happy to get Ron out of there.  She was "handwashing" with sanitizer because she touched that horrible, filthy, wheelchair, last I saw her. 

But her on-time performance was TERRIBLE and I doubt they will keep her onboard for long.  One of those trips that was awful but they were such a poor driver overall it is doubtful we will see her again.  It is really not necessary to have 5-6 large tote bags for a 12 hour route.  Ron has pretty complex medical needs and can get by for days on the contents of his fanny pack.  Same with me. 

We got into the building and got to work, we actually had some business.  No one bought the hot dogs again but we got rid of them for a while.  Sandwich company sent ham sandwiches instead.  We stocked, got most of it done.   We talked to the other vendor. 

Someone I know with a cat also has fairly small kids.  One of the kids cut the whiskers off the family cat.  Is it just me or are all kids psychopaths when it comes to cats these days?  I really had nothing uplifting to say so I just avoided the person, they kept talking about it to everyone and I was sure I wasn't going to give them what they wanted. 

I am just glad my cats are safe and not around kids anymore. 

We came home, that was a good ride, and came in the house.  I have a birch rocker I got from IKEA.  They called it a "Lillberg".  It is a nice, heavy, chair, very comfortable but it IS a rocker and 3 cats under it is not going to work. 

I did some hunting yesterday while I was manic, and found a nice chair I can use to replace it.  It doesn't require a lot of assembly, either.  I just need to 1.  get the money and 2.  get to Ikea.  I have a lot of cat things going this month and then I have flood insurance next month.  But I can't have vulnerable little legs under those rockers, either. 

SO, after my nap, I got one of the yard chairs and brought it in.  It will be fine for a while.  I can lean back and my pillows work fine.  It took some wrangling but I got it in the door (freaked out the cats), dragged the old chair to an unused corner of the garage, and then set up the new chair.  It has four rigid legs, the cats can sleep under it and I won't have to worry about them.  I don't want to be a TV zombie anyway so it is OK if it is not the most comfortable thing in the world.  And IKEA has a couple of cute chairs. 

I will probably ask Ron to get me a new chair rather than a Kindle, for my birthday.  I will use the chair more. 

Walmart delivery just came.  No Special Kitty Mixed Grill 13 ounce can, but I have a good amount of canned food and NEVER allow myself to run out.  They did have the gravity feeder, which I loaded with Urinary SO since everyone likes it so much.  They didn't have the 4 pound dry food canister, they sent me a 10 pound for the same price. 

No pudding either, that was going to be my dinner, but that and the other thing mean I have $10 back in my pocket.  They did have the "proper" litter box, the gravity feeder, the feed bin, all of which I really needed.  They had the candy for the vet, the milk, the yogurt, and the cereal which will now be dinner. 

Since it is Tuesday I took the trash out once I got everything put away, but I really didn't get much.  The cats had gotten out in the garage when I took the chair out (next move will be to the curb), and didn't want to come back in.  It was all very interesting with the chair... so I left them to it (virtually all of them went out to explore the closed garage) and just brought everything in the front door. 

The nice thing about a rescue they have no desire to go back out on the street.   They are quite happy inside the house with their 7 litter boxes and the gravity feeder.  Not to mention the treats! 

So I will see what Ron wants to do tomorrow, when he wakes up at 4.  I need to get paid.... but that means a trip to the bank.  I suppose I could take the bus and I could do some shopping after I'm done at the bank (take the bus) and just take a $20 cab home from the store.  I will broach it.  I am OK with that. 

But I need to get Spotty to the vet to be neutered.  He's not pissing anywhere but I don't like the mating behaviors with Cleo - who is entirely capable, and does, kick his ass.  It's really up to Ron. 

I will be glad when I take my pills today; not liking the edge of this mania.