Teachers vs. Legislators

In my opinion... the people responsible for teaching our children, shaping the future for them, should be paid more.

It shocks me, that we pay our state legislators more than three times the salary of a starting teacher.

Yes, these same legislators that can't seem to pass a budget, earn three times the salary of a starting teacher. This doesn't include the extras that these politicians have access to (i.e. state paid travel, etc). I know that my company does not pay for me to get to and from my office. Why are these people entitled to this benefit? And I don't think that teachers are paid to get to and from their school each day.

What if a teacher decided that (s)he didn't do a major portion of their job for 50+ days of their work-year? Would the state consider that acceptable performance of the job duties? I am sure the answer would be 'no'!

References for notes above...
Job Postings for Clovis Unified School District - starting salary listed at $39,370
Salary for Mike Villines - salary listed at $133,638.96

(Note - I am not related to any teachers or legislators... just my personal opinion on the matter. This is not a personal attack on Mike Villines, he happens to be the legislator that represents the Clovis area.)

Ahh... the return of political season!

I actually find political season very interesting... I know many people hate it!

Why do I find it interesting, you might be asking.

I find it fascinating to see the city wallpapered in signs for the candidates. Well, let me clarify that a bit. I find it fascinating to see which candidates can't be bothered to remove their signs after the election is over.

The candidates spend lots of time talking about how important it is to clean up the city, and I have great respect for those that remove their signs soon after the election is over. However, the candidates that leave their signs to rot in the sun for months to come should be ashamed of themselves.

I was pleased to see that the two mayoral candidates that are having a run-off this November promptly removed their signs after the June election!

Also, I found it heart-warming that after Andreas Borgeas won in June, he (or someone on his committee) added tasteful "Thank You" signs onto some of their large signs!

I got an answer!!

So, after nine business days of waiting for an answer, I finally got one! I got a phone call from a nice man named Ken that was able to answer my question.

I've held off on posting what my actual question is... now that I have gotten an answer, I'll post the question.

Hi!

I regularly ride the 30 bus, southbound, getting on at Blackstone and Shaw. I can not figure out why, for what is supposed to be a 15 minute service 6a-6p weekdays, there is no 5:45pm Blackstone and Shaw bus.

I usually arrive at the stop (from my connection) about 5:42pm, and am forced to sit and wait for the 6pm bus, which is usually a bit late. Meanwhile, I see two northbound busses pass in front of me each day, as they have busses stopping at Blackstone and Shaw at 5:46 and 6:01.

Can someone clarify this for me?

Thank you!

So, the answer I got from Ken is -- budget. They send the Northbound bus back to the yard after it reaches the end of the NB line at Blackstone and Nees. They don't have the budget to send it back SB.

I didn't really understand this, as the bus has to go south to get back to the bus yard. Ken explained that it is a much quicker trip to just send the bus directly back, instead of making a full trip.

This seems a bit silly and wasteful to me. They are expending the gasoline to drive the bus back to the South end of town. But, I can understand that the labor costs would be higher.

He seemed to understand my frustration that there were two north bound busses that pass in front of me every day, while I wait 20 minutes for the southbound bus. I also explained that the southbound bus is usually extremely full when it arrives at Blackstone and Shaw at 6pm. Yesterday I boarded the bus with 15 other people.

So, any thoughts on the bus system that you want to share?

Still trying to reach a competent FAX employee!

Called main FAX office again, to see if they got my second online contact form. Apparently the online contact form doesn't really work. The lovely attendant that answers the phone at the FAX Administrative office will "talk to the IT guys" and have them call me.

Asked for the name of the supervisor of David, the Transit Supervisor, because apparently he does not return phone calls. She didn't know that either.

Why is this so difficult?

He hated the Chihuly... I loved it!

Recently, I got the opportunity to go up with a friend, to the amazing DeYoung Museum in San Francisco! We went for the specific purpose of seeing the Dale Chihuly exhibit -- Chihuly at the DeYoung.



I have seen a few small pieces of Chihuly's work... but never an exhibit of this depth.

Before going up, I read The Fresno Bee's review of the exhibit by Donald Munro -- Hated the Chihuly.

Just for convenience, a quote...

As I wandered through each of the people-choked, darkened rooms, confronted in each with far too many works wedged together, I was struck with just how close I was to a ride at Disneyland. The museum might as well drive us through in little cars moving along a track.

Yes, the rooms were crowded -- which did make it difficult to really get up and study the art. The obnoxious children running rampant scared me a bit... but that is another post!

Yes, there were a lot of works tightly packed together. But, I thought that added to the whole experience. I was immersed in this colorful sea of twisted glass. Walking into each room was like getting thrown into a sea of color, texture, and light.

It was amazing! The vision that Chihuly has in creating these breathtaking glass sculptures is just unbelievable. They are so beautiful, so complex, so awe-inspiring.

I know I can count on Munro for recommendations of what to see. 99% of the time, we are complete opposites. The more he hates it, the more I am sure I will love it!

OMG!!! I about died laughing!

You have to read this... Rant of a copy girl

Totally not Fresno related in any way... but I about died laughing from this Best of Craigs List posting!

Still attempting to get an answer...

Still no answer from FAX. Its been over a week.

On the phone with them right now, trying to get my question answered...

10:39am - Phone answered by the same girl I talked to last week. Yes, the one that promised me "someone will get back to you"

10:44am - She comes back to ask me my name and the date I sent the email.

10:46am - Apparently they never got my email. They got the others sent that day, but not mine. Hmm...

End of call - referred to the Transit Supervisor.

10:48am - Calling David, the Transit Supervisor now.

Got his voice mail. About 20 seconds into leaving a message... got cut off. Though I was given a litany of options to choose from with what i would like done with my cut off message.

10:51am - Finally was able to leave a message that contained a number to call me back.

So, 12 minutes to figure out that FAX has a bad online contact system, and an equally crappy phone system. But, not an answer to my question.

The irony...

So, yesterday evening (6:30ish) I stopped in SaveMart at Herndon and Milburn to get some groceries for the week.

As I arrived at the checkout area, I was struck by the humor of this scene. See that sign at the top of the picture (yes, I know the pic is kind of crappy, its from my cell phone).

It says... 3's A Crowd. If there is more than three in the lane we will open another checkstand. (Or something like that)

Directly under the sign, is a line of people (obviously more than three) that is so long, its reaching into the regular aisles of the store. There were three checkstands open, two regular and one express, and they all looked like this.

Am I alone in finding this funny?

We have arrived!

Today, while I was in the mall... I was SOOO excited to see that a Frederick's of Hollywood is being put in almost right across from Victoria's Secret, in Fashion Fair!

I have a serious love affair with Fredericks! Seriously! I love good naughty lingerie... corsets... stiletto heels... etcetera!

I know... VS has been here for years... but I have a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth for them, after a shopping trip when i was 19.

(Though, I have to admit... I just went to their site to grab that link... and fell in lust with these shoes... not that I would look anywhere near that adorable lounging on a chaise wearing a tank top and red heels!)



And now, back to the regularly scheduled snarkiness!

Was today National Bad Customer Service Day?

Ugh... I get really irritated with crappy service...

First, I went to Fosters Freeze to get a burger today... apparently my regular burger with a slice of cheese was too complicated. They found it easier to make the four burgers that were ordered after mine first. Including one EXACTLY the same as mine.

They claimed they didn't forget my order... i don't believe that though.

Second, went into Fashion Fair, to get the finishing touches for an outfit for a party next weekend. Went into Claire's to try to find some cute hair accessories. Aside from being packed in there, with music so loud i was momentarily thinking they had transformed into a nightclub... the little sales girl, who appeared to be about 16, had no clue. I asked her a question. She didn't know, and couldn't be bothered to look. When she rang me up, she couldn't be bothered to do anything more than stand behind the counter looking as intelligent as a box of carrots.

Though... I have to say... it was good to see that the mall was so busy today! I was glad to see people out shopping and spending money! Our economy needs this!

Still no answer...

We are about an hour from it being one full week since I submitted a question to our local bus system, through their website... so far no response.

So well informed...

Well, it has been 4 business days, and I still have not gotten a response from FAX, so I decided to call today, to ask them what the turn around time on questions submitted through the online contact form.

The girl that answered the phone was not aware there is an online contact form to submit questions.

She asked around, and apparently, the Head Tech (is that his job title, sounds like something a psychologist might use) has been out for a few days, and he is the one that responds to questions from the site. Apparently, FAX is not aware of a concept called "backups". Someone that covers your job duties when you are away.

She assured me, someone else will get back to me with a response to my question.

The wait continues...

An appalling bus ride...

So, I was on my way home from work last night, riding the bus like normal...

I was so appalled by things, I have to vent about them.

First, the bus was 12 minutes late. Now that doesn't sound terribly bad, but, when its 100 degrees outside, and you are sitting somewhere with no shade, it does start to get irritating. Once all the passengers were on the bus, we had to wait an additional three minutes, while the bus driver called a family member and had a personal conversation about his mother trying to reach the person he was now on the phone with.

Once we finally got going, the bus driver resumed his personal conversation with the young girl (calling her a young lady would be too complimentary) sitting in the first seat, across from him. I think they are related to one another, but not really sure. She looked about 15. Sitting next to this girl, is an adorable little girl, no more than 2 or 3 years old. Her left arm is in a cast. The girl (mother possibly) didn't bother to stop coloring in her coloring book to pay attention to the toddler that was with her. Instead, she preferred the attention/discipline method of "Sit the f--k down" and "Shut the f--k up".

At one point, the bus driver asked the (older) girl a question, which required her to stand up and next to him for a block or so, for them to extensively discuss this question. During this time, of the older girl standing next to the bus driver, the toddler proceeded to stand up on the bus seat and nearly tumble over a few times.

It was about this point, that I took some time to observe some things about the driver. Apparently, his preferred method of stopping the bus is to slam on the brakes as close as possible to the actual bus stop, thereby giving everyone on the bus a case of whiplash. Also, instead of using a safe, conscientious driving method, that is common for bus drivers, he prefers to drive a bit erratically, and use his horn a lot. Including at another bus parked in front of him dealing with a mechanical issue apparently.

A bit later in the bus ride, the girl was sitting back in her seat, coloring again, and noticed that the toddler had gotten off the seat and was standing (nicely) in the aisle. The girl grabbed the toddler by the wrist (not on the broken arm -- thankfully) and put her back in the seat, with the instruction "Stay!"

Soon after that, we got to my stop and i left the bus. I can not imagine how the rest of the ride went.

Why make it so complicated?

I am avid user of the Fresno County Public Library, making good use of their large network of books, cd's and dvd's through the online request system.

One thing that is especially irritating and wasteful is the way the library system handles transfer requests.

I can look online and see that my local library branch has a book that I want on their shelf. This is great! But, often, I won't be able to make it to the library for a few days, and would like to make sure that book is still available. So, it would make sense to me, that if i place a hold on the item, one of the staff members of my local library (in my profile) gets notified, walks over, grabs the book off the shelf and places it with the other held books.

Instead, our library system will request this book from another library branch, often times a branch out of town. This adds to the transportation costs, personnel costs, etc for the library, rather unnecessarily.

Or, am i crazy?

Waiting for a response... Day 2

We are now beginning Day 2 (business days) of no response to my question to FAX. Wonder how long its going to be.

Waiting for a response...

I sent an email at about 11:45 this morning to FAX, regarding a question I have.

Wondering how long it will be until I get a response.

Do you not hear what I am saying?

A while back, I went to a movie over at the Manchester Mall theater, and afterwards, went over to the mall to walk around and window shop a bit.

I stopped in Gottschalks, to look at the shoe department (i am addicted to shoes!) and decided to use the ladies room while I was there.

Upon entering the restroom, I was appaled at the state of it. There was more trash on the floor than in the actual trash bins, the floors were wet and dirty... i could go on from here. I found the cleanest stall available and went about my business. After washing my hands and throwing my paper towel in the proper receptacle, I felt the need to notify a staff member about the state of this restroom.

The customer service/gift wrap area (closest to the restroom I used) had a long line of people waiting. I went back into the store area, and found the nearest register that was staffed.

I waited to be acknowledged, while the two young girls working that register finished their personal conversation. After hearing all about the one girls date the previous night, she asked how she could help me. Here is how the conversation went:

Me - Your ladies room over here (pointing) is in need of service.
Her - What?
Me - Your ladies room needs some cleaning.
Her - Well... there is another one on this floor. (points across the store)
Me - I don't need another restroom, I just wanted you to know this one needs some attention.
Her (obviously perplexed) - But there is one over there.
Me - I don't really care that there is another restroom, I've already used this one. I just wanted someone to know about this.
Her - But there is another one.
Me - Like I said, it doesn't matter that there is another one. This one needs attention.
Her - Ok.

Immediately after saying "ok" she turned and resumed her conversation about her date.

Now, silly me to have a higher expectation of customer service from a nice department store like Gottschalks, than i would of say... K-Mart.

I went and did a bit of poking around and found that Gottschalks prides themselves on their customer service... as seen in this quote from this page of their website...

Gottschalks' vision is to provide customers with quality, brand- name merchandise, a large selection, competitive prices and, above all, the best customer service in the business.

So, apparently this conversation was "the best customer service in the business". Somehow, I doubt that.

Was it that much cheaper?

One of my big pet-peeves is misspelled business names.
Why do it?

An example... a convenience store in the Brawley/Fig Garden Loop area.

Fast 'n Esy

I think they are trying to say, Fast 'n Easy. Did the 'a' cost that much more, they couldn't afford it?

This annoys me to no end. One of the ways I learned to read as a child, in addition to traditional methods, was reading signs while I was in the car with my parents. How are children supposed to learn, when we are giving them examples like this?

Update - Just passed by this place, I need to make a correction, the business name is actually Fast 'n' Esy. They managed to use the proper number of apostrophes for the 'n', but still could not manage to add in the 'a' to make it spelled properly.