you go, starbucks

I just caught this on the OD front page, from a diarist who was horrified, just appalled that Starbucks is promoting a **GASP** gay agenda. I don’t like to start wars with people I don’t even know, no matter how idiotic I think they are, and today I’m in an evil evil mood so I would not be able to stop with some nice note disagreeing sweetly with this diarist  who is just as entitled to her own (stupid) opinions as I am to my (correct) ones – as evidenced by my already calling them an idiot – so I’ll just make an entry in MY diary and say, YOU GO STARBUCKS!!!! I’d go have a great big expensive mocha to celebrate, except that sadly I’d have to drive all the way to Hickory for it. And boycott away, Baptists. That just means shorter lines and more coffee for me! That boycott thing worked real well with Disney, I noticed.

Idiots.

Yeah, I’m Kind O’ Cranky today. This would piss me off during the best of days, but today it makes me so mad I fear my head will explode. I’m sick of sharing my world – MY WORLD, dammit!!  -with stupid people.

But before I get all wrapped up in a major foam-flinging rant, I just want to say thank you for all the very very very nice notes about my mom! I’m behind with my own noting this last few days, but I really appreciate it. I’m also glad to hear of the good results with Aracept. I hope it will help. At least slow things down.

Okay. It’s probably obvious that I’m at work and I’m very busy and I’ve had just one insane call after another, and I’m really ready to lose my own mind. Or just walk away and go to Starbucks.  I’m sure it’s just my terrible mood, but honestly, 9/10ths of the people I’ve had to deal with appear to have an IQ of about 8. K and I were just talking about how scary it is to think that they are going to be (and many already are) teachers. If I had kids I’d be homeschooling. No doubt about that.

I’ve had at least three people call and tell me they have a degree and they’re interested in coming back and getting their teaching certification and they would like to know what they need to do. I tell them that we have a program for that and in fact I have a packet with information and an application to have their transcripts evaluated and I’ll be happy to pop that in the mail for them. And they say, "Oh, I think I already have that."

So far I have VERY narrowly avoided replying, "Well then why in the hell are you CALLING me, you idiot?? Can you not READ??? Fill out the goddammed application and send it BACK."

And I’ve had a number of them who can’t figure out what to do once they do get an evaluation done and I mail them the list of classes. They get a letter that says, in a nutshell, 1)sign the program and send it back to me (and keep a copy for yourself, a line I had to add because 9/10s of them would sign it and send it back and not keep a copy and then call back saying they had no idea what classes to take) 2) contact the registrar if you’ve been a student here before and Admissions if you haven’t. That’s it. Not exactly brain surgery, right? But since they all have an IQ of 8, they don’t know what to do. They don’t know what to sign, they don’t know what the letter said, they don’t know where to send the program, they don’t know what classes to take even though they have the list in front of them (providing they kept a copy and an alarming number don’t, even WITH a note in there reminding them that unless they have magical powers and can conjure that program back up when they need to register, then they better keep a copy). I had one on the phone for 15 minutes earlier today, trying to explain to her what sign the form, send it back, and call the registrar means.

"So, I just sign it?"

"Yes. If you want to enroll in the program, sign it and send it back to me. Then call the registrar’s office and they can tell you what to do to get enrolled in classes."

"Sign the form?"

"Yes. Sign the form and send it back to me."

"Where should I sign it? Where it says ‘Student signature?"

"YES."

"Who should I send it to? The registrar’s office?" 

"NO. SEND IT TO ME. The address is on the letter."

"Okay, so I sign it and send it to the registrar’s office, and then you’ll enroll me in all my classes, right?"

AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I’m sorry to say that is very little exaggeration there, too.

And of course there are the ones who can’t pass the Praxis (because they can’t read with any sort of comprehension, apparently) and then they call me whining and crying. One – who is in the Reading masters program – has tried three times and can’t pass it, so she called me to complain about how unfair it is that we won’t give her a license without the Praxis and I told her it’s a state requirement, not a university requirement, (not to mention that it’s the state issuing her the license, not us) so she whined and complained some more, and then called the Reading coordinator and told her that I said it was a university requirement and not a state requirement and she doesn’t understand why we’re making her take the Praxis and it just isn’t faaaiiiiirrrrrr. The Reading coordinator and I briefly daydreamed together about having the freedom to slap people’s heads right off their shoulders.

When I was a student here, I often wondered what on earth was wrong with all those mean old hateful women that worked in the Registrar’s office and in Financial Aid and Student Accounts. Now, not only do I know exactly what was wrong with them, but I’ve turned into one myself.