Baby, when the lights go out...

I am the Rummy champion! Last night, a storm swept through Tupelo, complete with high-powered, howling winds and numerous power outages. Kurt and I played cards by flashlight and candlelight as our lights flickered on and off, and then came back on for about 2 minutes, then went off again for about 15 minutes, and repeated this pattern for a few hours. When the lights were off, I'd win a few hands of Rummy. However, when the lights came back on, I'd start losing. Strange. Maybe as a child I was involved in some sort of supernatural electrical accident that has since empowered me to win card games when the electricity goes out (like Nickelodeon's Alex Mac and the chemical spill)... or maybe not. But, I still ended up winning the game...sorry, Kurt.

An Unlikely Choice

I have discovered a new television show - LOST. Of course, I'm 3 seasons late. Kurt and I just finished the season 1 DVD tonight, and season 4 starts this week on television. A brother and sister in our youth group recommended we watch it, and Kurt accepted the offer without consulting me. I was not looking forward to the obligation to watch at least 1 episode of this drama (I don't usually like dramas) to appease the youngsters, but Friday night came with bad weather and nothing to do, so we popped in the first disc for a viewing. You see, I don't like suspenseful, dramatic television. My least favorite show of all time is 24. (Gasp!!) I know. So many intelligent, enjoyable people like it, but not I. No way. When we lived in Jackson, a group of our friends invited us over to watch some episodes of 24 and to eat pizza, as was their weekly tradition. I love pizza, so I conceded. After watching about 4 episodes back-to-back, it was over for me. I didn't sleep a wink that night. I was wired from all the suspense, and I couldn't get the violent images out of my mind. (I find no pleasure in seeing anyone get stabbed in the knee or bitten to death in the jugular. That is not entertainment.)Therefore, no more 24 for me!
I had the same reservations about LOST. I just can't afford to lose sleep over a television show, ya know? However, it is not as violent as 24, and it entices you little by little rather than dumping all the suspense on you all at once. It is also, to me, more creative than 24. There are so many background stories that are intertwined, and you learn a new pearl of knowledge about a character in each episode, but not enough to figure him or her out. Every person has his or her part in the survival and well-being of the people who are "lost." There are many spiritual parallels, elements, and conflicts as well. In short, we're hooked! We can't wait to watch season 2! I am still keeping my guard up, though. If it gets too unrealistic and "sci-fi," I won't like it anymore. We'll see. For now, I recommend it!

Old Navy's Response

The following email is Old Navy's response to my email (see last post). Yeahhhhh, they're not going to do anything...

Dear Marty,

Thank you for your e-mail. We regret to hear of the recent store
experience you have had regarding the condition of the store. Please
know that your feedback has been documented and forwarded to the
appropriate department in order to ensure a positive store experience
for all of our customers.

If for any reason you feel that you would like to speak with one of our
representatives regarding this issue, please contact Old Navy Customer
Relations at 1-800-OLD-NAVY, option 4, option 1, and then option 2. We
are available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Eastern
Time.

Thank you again for writing.

Sincerely,

Erika
Customer Service Consultant

Old Navy in Tupelo, MS, is disgusting!!

The subject to this blog is also the subject line to an email I recently sent to customer service at Old Navy. I do not need to explain why. If I receive a reply from them, I'll post it. The email is as follows:

Re: Old Navy -Tupelo, MS

The Tupelo, MS, Old Navy store is a trash heap. I have come to dread shopping there. I rather like its merchandise, so the last few months have been filled with second chance visits to your store. However, when I went today, it was the last straw. I'm fed up with all of the disorder and chaos. It's just plain messy. The last few times I have gone there, it has been unbearable, rendering me unable to locate any likable merchandise or to enjoy the "shopping experience," if it can be so called. I can barely navigate through the store because of all the clothes strewn about on the floor. It seems as if they were, at first, shoved under the racks little by little. However, garments of all kinds continue to be heaped under there and are spilling out onto the floor, leaving little room to walk! I cannot locate my size in anything.

I once went to your store on a Friday afternoon, and it was a mess. I decided to go back on Saturday morning when the store opened, thinking that the store personnel would have reorganized the inventory Friday night so that I could search more easily for merchandise Saturday morning. Wrong! All the mess was left as is on Friday night. I know that shoppers can be messy, but it is up to the store personnel to make some sense of it. They do not do so at all in the Tupelo Old Navy store. I feel like I need to put on a safety helmet with a light attached to it and go underground on a scavenger hunt to find one shirt! Shopping should not feel this way.

Even the clothes that are off the floor (located on racks and tables) are disheveled.

There is no sequence or order to the clothes hanging on the racks. These clothes are not grouped by size or style. The sale racks are horrendous. There are absolutely no similarities among them. They are the worst. If I see a shirt I like that is not my size, I don't know where to go to find my size. Could it be on the next aisle over? Maybe. Could it be shoved under the racks with all the other clothes? Perhaps. Could it be mixed in with clothes in the children's section? Probably. Could it be stuffed away in the urine-scented dressing room (another problem to add to the list)? Highly likely.

The tables are bad, too.The clothes on them are lumped together in large, dysfunctional, unbearable piles, through which one cannot even begin to sort. It is terrible!

I have shopped at other Old Navy locations in and out of MS, and they are neat and enjoyable. What is wrong with this one???

Please correct this heinous problem, or I will no longer give my business to your company.

Thank you,

Marty Cooper
Female, Age 23

You-Reek-a Tupelo!

Yes, I'm aware that I misspelled "eureka" in the title of this post. Don't get me wrong; I love living here. But, I have found the smelliest town on the map and I have a message for it. YOU STINK, TUPELO! Literally. Because of all the skunks. Apparently they all migrate year-round to Tupelo to die...on a street really close to our house. It's like they come from miles around to take a final pilgrimage to the skunk Mecca (which, again, is apparently close to our house. Maybe it's the Buffalo Park.), and right before they reach it, a car hits them, and they let out one final spray of fright and die. There are at least 3 skunk deaths a week, and I am so sick of it. I have to hold my breath on the last-mile stretch to our house. But, I'm getting pretty good at it. How can we avoid these mass skunk deaths? Please help!

Also, I have 2 more things to add to the list of "I don't believe in that" (see first blog entry for exhaustive list):

1. Tongue Pictures. You know, the ones where one person sticks his or her tongue out sideways and pretends to lick the other person. Why? Why would anyone do that? It makes no sense, and tongues are ugly. In these pictures, the veiny underside of the person's tongue is usually featured anyway. Yuck. Tongue pictures seem to be the new craze among high school students; I see it all the time in pictures which feature members of our youth group. I have seen it some in college student pictures, but not as much. College students are usually brave enough just to take it all the way and actually kiss the person rather than just pretending to do it. And I applaud them for their bravery; either way, let's get rid of the tongue!

2. Power Outages. Our power went out 5 times the other night. I got up 3 times and Kurt got up twice to turn off our beeping house alarm. I mean actual beeping, not "beeping" as in a substitute for a swear word. It starts this constant beep when the power goes out, and it won't stop until it is manually turned off. Ugh. But, worse than that is having to reset all the clocks. I abhor doing that. I don't know why; it just really bothers me. Besides switching to all battery-powered clocks, how can this problem be solved? Perhaps I could simply tell time by the positions of the sun and moon from now on. You know, set my inner clock. Ok, maybe not.