She was bored - obviously. It's not like I was going to drown, so she just paced slowly up and down the length of the pool with me. It was kind of nice, actually. When I finished up my swim, I walked over to her and thanked her for watching out for me. I told it must have been pretty boring, but it was appreciated. She smiled and said it was no problem. Might have been the first time anyone thanked her for being a lifeguard.
Not that I really needed a lifeguard - but they wouldn't have opened the pool if they didn't have the staff. So, I guess I did need her there.
I'm a little disappointed that I didn't do more -but I still have pushups to do this afternoon and my shoulders were starting to hurt.
I went over to Borders after the swim and found a couple of books that looked good. I stood in line for a while - longer than I should have had to. The problem was a woman who hadn't signed her credit card. The clerk rightly asked for ID, which the woman didn't have. So, we all had to wait for her to go out to her car and get her purse and get her ID.
You know what, people? It says right on the back of the damn card that you need to sign it. Period. If you don't sign it, they don't have to accept it. Also period. For those that think - "well, what if my card gets stolen?" - well, then the thief can then sign your name however they want and then go on their way. It's actually worse because they won't have to worry about matching a signature. Also? The post office won't accept your card unless you sign it. Do you really want to go up against the post office? Do you know where they got the phrase 'postal'? Sign your damn card and get out of my way.
Afterwards, I headed over to Chik-filet. (sp?) They have good chicken sandwiches there and I have two stories to relate.
1. I went there a few weeks ago and the line was so long I didn't want to fight for a special order to not have pickles. So, I just rolled with the standard bun-pickle-chicken-bun order and discovered - to my surprise - that I like dill pickles. Weird.
2. This time, they asked me for my name as I placed my order. When they brought the food over to me, they called me by name and thanked me for coming in today.
Now, my bank does this same thing too and it vaguely annoys me. (actually Borders did this as well today.) These people don't really know me. We aren't friends. The bank (and borders) is just reading my name off the screen after I swipe my card and Chik-filet only knew my name because I told it to them 45 seconds before that and they typed it onto a screen.
I guess they are trying to form some kind of relationship with me - trying to reinforce customer loyalty or something. But the name doesn't do it. Having the books I want - and short lines - will bring me back to borders. Having good chicken sandwiches will bring me back to Chik-filet. Having a nearby location and reasonable fees will bring me back to my bank. Having strangers say my name won't do it. Heck, I think I had a better rapport with the lifeguard and without my glasses I couldn't even really see her - and I sure don't know her name.
Hmmm... lot of time of soapboxes today. Better get back to the real world.
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