New Silhouette Top and Flies in Food

I watched DWTS last night.  My favorite is Katherine Jenkins, the amazing singer.  If you haven't heard her sing, look up Time To Say Goodbye on Itunes and listen.  She was a guest singer on DWTS last season and she sang that song.  I think Jackie Evancho is even better, but she isn't on DWTS.

I said I would post a picture of my new Silhouette pattern blouse today, BUT it didn't turn out exactly right.  Not Silhouette's fault.  It's my really poor choice of fabric.  This was my "muslin", so it really didn't have to turn out -- but I love, love, love polka dots, so I wish it would have.  What I messed up was the neck binding.  I was in the middle of it when Lucy arrived yesterday, and we dropped what we were doing and ran to the front porch.  I may cut the binding off and start over on the neck.  Or it may join the City Dump with my other wadders.

You can't tell my mess-up much in this picture, but you can see I really did make another blouse.  I may try to transfer this style to my SFD blueprint.  I know Glenda is going to wonder why I didn't do that to start with.  It just takes longer, and Silhouette patterns are suppose to fit real well in the shoulders and arms, and it does do that!  I did not change them at all.

And there is Lucy.  I did about 25 sit-ups last night to try to get my stomach to look like that, but ALAS, it still looks the same.  They must not have any 65-year olds running around Fabulous Fit.  I thought about a tummy tuck, but I hate pain, and I would probably find something wrong with it -- like the HUGE scar it leaves! 

I sent Jill at FF a long email telling her how disappointed I am that they missed the mark so far in getting this to look like me.  No comment back from them.  I told her I was going to keep her, so I'm sure they are glad to hear the last of me.  They sure won't be the first company to feel that way!  I can be a real PITA when I get poor customer service.  My daughter will tell you that I am always getting free stuff.  It's a running joke in my family.  No mystery.  I just complain to management if I get lousy service, and management always "fixes it".  Most people don't want to make waves.  I AM a wave, lol!

My daughter told me that one time she and her family went to a BBQ place to eat.  She, of course, being my daughter, knows that I won't settle for bad food or bad service, and knows first hand what I do about it.  She was served her dinner, and there was a DEAD FLY lying on top of her meat.  She told her husband, "My Mom sure wouldn't put up with this.  I'm going to call the Manager!"  So she called the Manager, and the Manager came over to their table.  My daughter tells the Manager, "There is a DEAD FLY in my food!!!"  She expects the Manager to apologize profusely, take away the gross plate, and bring her back a free dinner and dessert and coupons for the next visit -- after all, that's what they do for me.  Nope.  Not how it ended.  The Manager says to her, "Well, we don't charge extra for the flies!", and he walks away.  She said she just ate off her husband's plate, and they left and never went back.

Now this is where she got it wrong:  I would have followed his butt right over to wherever he went, and I would have said, "May I please have the name and number of the District Supervisor?"  He would have spun around on his heels and saluted her!  I kid you not.  You want to know how I learned to do that?  Here is the story:

My girls were 8 or 9ish.  My neighbor and friend, Sherry, called and asked if we wanted to go to Ken's Pizza with her, her daughter, her friend -- let's call her Linda -- and Linda's two little boys.  Sherry was 9 months pregnant and about to give birth any minute.  Linda had a moving truck coming the next morning, and they were moving out of State.  So this was sort of a going-away dinner, I suppose, but only Mom's and kids were there.

So we all go into the Ken's Pizza, and we have to wait for them to find a long table to put us all at.  Sherry had a buy-one-get-one-free coupon and Linda had a buy-one-get-one-free-coupon, so that is why they chose the place.  So we order two large pizzas to get the two free pizzas.  I'm just going to pay my share because it wasn't my idea, and I don't have any coupons. 

We are the only ones in the place, but we wait and wait and wait and wait.  No pizza.  Finally, the pizza comes, but we have to ASK for plates.  They tell us they don't have any clean plates, and they will have to wash some.  Okay.  Go wash them!  They came back with a few, but not enough.  THEN we tell them we need some silverware.  They don't have any silverware -- why? -- because it is all dirty too!  We ask them to please wash some.  Then we get around to passing out the pizza, and the pizza is cold and it IS NOT the kind we ordered.  I am just "along for the ride", and I'm minding my own business, but agreeing with them that I'm not eating it either. 

Sherry -- knowing my reputation for getting things done -- says to me, "Joy!, YOU need to go get the Manager."   I said, "WHY do I have to go get him?"  She said she was too pregnant to go get him.  So I go find the Manager who appears to be 16 years old.  He is a cocky smart-aleck, and tells me there isn't anything he can do about it.  I go back to our table, and I tell Sherry and Linda that the Manager is a child, and he doesn't care, and he isn't going to do anything.  Sherry tells me to GO BACK and tell him we aren't going to PAY.  So, I go back to the cocky kid and tell him that we aren't going to pay if he doesn't bring us some clean plates and hot Pizza of the right kind.  He tells me he isn't going to do that, AND he tells me that IF we don't PAY, he is going to call the Police!!!  I go back to the table and tell Sherry and Linda that he is going to call the Police.  They tell me to GO BACK and tell him to GO AHEAD.

Do you remember me blogging about how I do everything people tell me to do.........  This is the same Sherry that had me go get those kids ............. but, I digress ..............

So I GO BACK to the cocky kid.  The place is deserted except for us -- no wonder -- and I tell the kid to just CALL the Police because we aren't going to pay.  I told him two of the pizzas were free anyway, and we had not even eaten one slice.  All the pizza was still there!  So he calls the police, and the policemen come.  I think there were two of them.

By this time, it is late, and the kids are tired and still hungry.  We are all standing up by the register talking to the police.  Sherry is doing all the talking.  She explains what happened and how we are NOT going to pay.  THEN the policemen tells Sherry that SOMEBODY is going to have to GO TO JAIL!  I kid you NOT!!!  Sherry looks at the policemen and guess what she tells them????  Can you guess?????

She tells them that she is nine months pregnant and expecting any minute and that her friend Linda and kids are moving the next day, so they will have to take ME to mail.  No joke!  The policemen look at me and tell me they will have to take ME to jail.  I am in SHOCK and wishing I had never met Sherry or Linda.  I finally find my voice and start talking to one of the policemen myself.  I ask him what I can do so I won't have to go to jail.  He walks behind the cash register and gets the cocky kid, and he tells him that he wants the DISTRICT SUPERVISOR'S name and number.  The policeman gives the name and number to me and explains that a Manager of any business HAS to give you that if you request it.

Sherry and Linda give me their part of the bill -- decide I am handling it -- and they disappear.  I have to pay the cocky kid for the Pizzas none of us ate.  I am NOT a happy camper.  I could have gone to JAIL, for heaven's sake, and how would I explain THAT to my husband!?  I had to go to work the next day!  I was the Land Manager of a small oil company, and  I would have to tell my boss who was the owner of the company that I was in JAIL!

So, the next day at work, I called the number the policman gave me.  The District Supervisor wasn't there, but I told the whole nightmare to whoever answered the phone.  They told me they would give him the message.  I figured I would never hear back from anyone but, at least, I wasn't in jail.

BEFORE THAT DAY WAS OVER, the District Supervisor HIMSELF drove to EACH ONE OF OUR HOUSES.  He apologized profusely.  He refunded all of our money.  He said he had immediately fired the cocky kid.  He begged us to come back one more time, and he gave us coupons for free pizzas for all three families.

So THAT is how I learned to stand up for myself when I get bad service or food.  I'm not one to just do that for no reason.  Sometimes, it is warranted, however.

Gotta go.  Hugs, Joy