RANT: The Gap

So this week I had a not-so-great experience at (formerly) one of my favorite jean stores - The Gap.

Now I know there are a lot of blogger brand ambassadors out there for The Gap, and unofficially I considered myself one before this incident. I've had good luck with their jeans. They fit well, are durable, and have lots of different styles depending on your taste.

But this most recent trip only left a bad taste in my mouth.

This past weekend I headed out to the mall to find some replacement jeans after an accidental shrinking incident with a frequently worn pair.

After getting $4.20 for them from the little bitches at Plato's Closet - that's an entirely different story all together - I headed to the Gap where I assumed I'd still be able to find a matching pair.

And I did. They seemed to fit a little snug in the store but I assumed they'd relax out over time. So I made my purchase and headed home.

As I was getting ready to head out later that evening, I tore the tags off with excitement and donned my new denim.

After about 5 minutes I realized these were uncomfortably snug and that I would need to return them. So I took them off, folded them back up with the tags and receipt and put them back in the bag.

Let's fast forward to yesterday where, after work I headed back to the Gap to exchange. After trying on about 10 pairs of jeans I finally found ones that fit like I wanted them to. Upon my attempted return, the cashier inspects the pair I'm returning and calls a manager to the front.

They whisper to one another and speak in code, and finally the manager (who is a rude little 19 year old herself) asks "have you worn these?"

Me: "No."

Manager: "They look worn."

Me: "Well, they're not."

Manager: "Are you suuure?"

Me: "Yes. I had them on for a total of 10 minutes before realizing they didn't fit the way I wanted."

Manager: "Well, if you didn't wear them, then why are the tags off?"

Here is where I explain my excitement as I did above...

Manager: staring blankly....pause.... "are you really sure you didn't wear them?"

Oh no, you're right, I did, I'm sorry.

HELLO! Asking three times doesn't change the fact that I DID NOT WEAR THEM!

This actually went on for about 5 minutes. It was like pulling teeth trying to return a pair of jeans that I didn't wear - only to buy a more expensive pair. Oh, I didn't mention that? Yeah...

As I was leaving with the new pair of jeans she finally "let me" have, I was scolded for taking the tags off.

Manager: "Listen, next time, don't take the tags off and we won't have issues like this."

For a second I thought she was going to wag her finger at me like my 1st grade teacher used to...

Seriously?! I don't need to go to a clothing store so some chick on a power trip can talk down to me like this. Unacceptable in my world!

I hate leaving places knowing that I'm going to be writing one of these rants. Why can't customer service just be up to par everywhere - we'd all live in a much happier place.

Cheers!

-A

A healthy start

All you resolutioners out there who have vowed to live a healthier 2010 would be proud of my efforts thus far.

The year started out not so great, eating pizza and Oreos on a regular basis, but after reading a few excerpts from this book I decided to get my act together.

I'm not one for gimmicky fad diets, they never work, but I like to read stuff like this and take bits and pieces and adapt them to my life to find what works best to keep me healthy - rather than "the quickest way to lose 10 lbs."

One of the things that the O2 diet mentions is putting lemon in your water for increased antioxidants. Since one of my goals is to drink more water, this has actually helped. I also brought in a fun glass from home that sits on my desk, taunting me to drink from it.

Not sure the glass actually helps, but I have been drinking significantly more agua than the previous couple weeks!

I've also added in foods I never thought of because of this book - like figs. And seriously, I can't believe I lived my life without them before. So scrumptious! Just add a couple dried figs to a pseudo-trail mix of heart-healthy nuts and dried fruit like cherries, cranberries and raisins and a handful of dark chocolate chips and you've got yourself a perfect treat.

In fact, I forgot this little concoction at home today and I'm bummin'.

I also decided to join a gym. Yep, the one that I ranted about a couple weeks back.

I know, I know...but one thing I pride myself on is giving people/companies a second chance. When I approached my contact there, he was friendly and accommodating. Needless to say, we worked something out and I am now a member.

So last night was my first workout experience. Compared to other health clubs I've visited, this one isn't nearly as crowded...huge bonus.

I hate people, after all - especially sweaty strangers.

I kid, I kid...kinda.

Last night was also my first yoga class at the gym. Surprisingly, it was exactly what I'd hoped it would be. A little loud for yoga, but it was power yoga at it's finest.

Sure, it's not a studio where you have a tailored class for your goals, a room heated to 85 degrees or peace and serenity, but it's also not costing me $13 a class. It gets the job done!

Needless to say, today I have a lovely soreness about me and I'm finding that my energy levels are up. I've even got ambition to head home after work today and tackle the chores that await. Laundry here I come!

So tell me dear readers, how are y'all doing on your resolutions?

Cheers!

-A

p.s., if you're interested in the skydiving world, be sure to head over to my other blog, Skydive Chick, to read and interview from THE skydiving photographer, Norman Kent. You won't be disappointed with this one.

Starting 2010 off right

This is something I haven't been doing...

Most people start off a new year with resolutions to eat healthier - the BF and I baked a cake last night and had a piece (or two) at 10 o'clock; start a workout plan - I did just find a new yoga studio on my side of town that I'm already loving, so one point there; or get more sleep - we've been up past midnight the last few night playing Wii or watching old episodes of The Office on Netflix (I got him hooked on my favorite sitcom, oops).

Then there's me. The girl who resolved to clean up her sailor mouth. Which, is going pretty well actually; aside from the moment when I woke up today and realized I'd slept an hour longer than I wanted to.

My attempts at starting work by 7 a.m. have been foiled by the late night Wii playing I suspect. Needless to say, the day started with a giant F bomb.

This morning the BF mentioned in passing that I should have made it a resolution to break my dependence on the snooze button and he's right...there are some things I seriously overlooked when making my resolutions.

Who cares if it's already the 6th. The point is, I'm acknowledging these weaknesses and intend to work on them in the coming months.

So there. *raspberry*

-Clearly, the first on the list is to stop hitting snooze. I'll allow myself one snooze per day from here on out.

-Drink more water - I feel like I've been dehydrated ever since New Years. The soda drinking has come to an abrupt halt as well, so that should help.

-Get out of debt - this is huge and really should have been at the top of my resolution list from the beginning. It's very doable.

-Be in the moment - and appreciate the moment. Even the not-so-great moments. We so often fall into the trap of looking ahead, and sometimes, dwelling on the past, when there are amazing things happening right under our noses in the present time. This is a piece of advice I recently received and it's a damn good one, if you ask me. So, I'm going to try to live by it!

-Actually stick to my to-do lists - I love making lists (as you can tell) but I often set them aside when I get busy. So, let's try this again. It certainly won't be happening with this list ;-)

There are a lot of current projects in the works so I need to make sure that I take care of myself and stay on the ball with these resolutions. Baby steps to improvement...

And, just for shits and giggles, here's a picture from NYE. It started out as a decent photo - then our friend Tim took a flying leap onto the BF.

How are your resolutions going so far?

Cheers!

-A

p.s. - by popular request, I'm starting to add a little more of myself back into this blog. So keep coming back to catch up on the shenanigans of my life.

An Ode to Broom Handle

This year, New Year's Eve was spent at home. The boyfriend and I hosted a few of our skydiving friends at our new place. It was an attempt to keep things tame and not have to be out driving around with the drunk crazies after midnight.

The latter was successful...

During the night we ran into our neighbor and invited him over for a drink, as sort of a peace offering I suppose.

Wait, let me back up and explain.

When BF and I started the move in process, we met one set of neighbors - the ones with whom we share a living room wall. The wife seemed nice, and he, well, he was wasted. It was a Wednesday evening and when he introduced himself he was literally stumbling in place with drunkenness.

I forgot his name.

A couple days later, on Saturday evening, we were sitting in the kitchen after a day of skydiving, playing with some of our equipment when we heard this tapping at the sliding glass door.

We looked over to see a broom handle coming over the fence. BF opens the door, thinking the neighbor wants to be, well, neighborly, when he tells us that we've woke his wive up, twice, and need to be quiet.

HUH?!

We inquired about what we were doing that was loud, as we had been sitting in the kitchen for quite some time, and he couldn't tell us anything aside from the fact that we were being loud.

Personally, I think he's a total puss and is afraid of the wifey over there.

Anyhow, after this incident he was appropriately nicknamed, Broom Handle.

So fast forward to New Years when, long after midnight, Broom Handle comes home with some friends. As he's standing outside, we invite him in to share a drink. This is, of course, after we told him that we'd nicknamed him broom handle.

Come to find out, his name is actually Rod.

Rod.

Yes. Seriously.

A round of shots is poured and ROD decides to toast to a "quiet" New Years. And he wasn't joking.

I decide right then and there that he will forever remain Broom Handle in my world.

A little later in the evening he decides to invite himself back into our house to let us know that it's getting late and needs to get a little quieter. He asked us - somewhat nicely - to turn the music down.

"Anything for you, Broom Handle!" was the oh-so-sarcastic expression that leapt from the BFs mouth.

After being ignored, and probably realizing he was ignored, he wandered over again, let himself into our house and told a friend of ours to quiet down, that his wife is trying to sleep.

Ugh, I can see we're going to have some issues with this guy in the future.

Seriously, I think he's afraid - clearly of his wife, possibly of the BF. Grow a pair, dude, and tell us on our side of the fence if you have a problem. Don't be a douche and involve one of our friends.

Needless to say, in the end, I hate him more than I did before.

But thanks, Broom Handle, for the small (very small) amount of entertainment I could provide here on my blog today.

I suppose, this could be considered a RANT.

Aside from this, New Years was fantastic. Hope y'all had a great one!

Cheers!

-A