So, today is my day to rant about the treatment of women by the automobile industy. Women are not inferior to men. Each individual has strong points and weak points. Our skill sets are different. It is just human nature. All that being said, I see women being treated as less intelligent when it comes to car purchases and repairs. This morning was a perfect example.
My husband works Monday through Friday from 8:00am until 5:00pm or later. This left the responsibilty of purchasing tires to me. Not generally a problem. We priced the tires and went to the local Discount Tire and asked for a price match. No problem there. I made an appointment and made my way to get the new tires. All was going very well until I was paying and the salesman offered to add an additional 2 tires for a total of 4. He explained that there was a rebate if we purchased a full set. I agreed and made my purchase for four tires of the specifications that I originally requested. No problems there.
After waiting for the tires to be installed, I got into my truck and came home. The ride was nice and I realized how badly the tires were needed. The problem came next. My husband came home for lunch and immediately said, "Those aren't the tires we asked for. How much did he charge you and what did he say he was selling you?" I pulled out the receipt and sure enough, he had changed the tire model to the cheaper tire without telling me and did not adjust the price to reflect the change. A total difference of $62 after we repriced the tires we received. Would this have happened if my husband had went to the tire shop? I highly doubt it because he would have known they were wrong before he left the shop. He would have known to ask if they had enough of the correct tires in stock. I am not blaming being female on the swindle but my lack of knowledge. However, I do blame the salesman for flim flamming. He knew I didn't know much about tires because I did say so. I realize my limitations and he exploited that fact.
My lesson was learned today. Firstly, that I need to be more aware of the reciepts when I handle car related transactions. Secondly, that Discount Tire is known for flim flam sales. And thirdly, I know my limitations and need to refuse to handle transactions that are outside of that scope.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
Life's a Balancing Act
In the month of June, Forward Motion's Merry Go Round blog topic is balancing life and writing. It is a tough topic for many reasons but everyone can relate. So, it is time to delve into my experience with the balancing act.
From the minute we are born, we must learn to divide our time amongst different tasks. The young baby has only a few things to balance: sleep, eat, cry... It is simple and the baby never has a worry because these things settle in well together. That is until they grow and need to learn new things like crawling, feeding themselves, walking and talking. The lesson begins.
Life prepares us slowly for the busyness of adulthood. We start out like that infant with limited abilities and needs. Slowly, new skills are learned and we grow to learn to balance physically as well as figuratively. Once you get the physical balance down, you start to run and never look back. Seems awesome, right? But what are you running towards? Adulthood. Responsibility. A life to balance all of your own roles in it.
I am a wife, an aunt, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, a homemaker and a writer. These are just the roles I fill today. As we start our family, a mother's role will be added. I toss my juggling balls into the air and hope for the best every day. My feet it the floor each moment with the sole purpose of not disappointing anyone in my life, myself included. However, I am the first person I sacrifice to take care of others. My time alone, my time to read and, of course, my time to write, These are the first things to go. My husband is taken care of as well as our home. My parents have been checked in on. My friends and other family members have all claimed their piece of me for that day. The quiet of evening takes over and the time to write turns into zoning in front of the TV to relax. But no more will I let my life run me!
My new resolve in life is to balance the personal life and my writing life so that each is fulfilling. I have a to do list each day. It includes the household activities that need tending to as well as my objectives for my writing. I am not looking at each aspect of my life as a chunk of time but as each task getting the attention it deserves. Today is writing this blog. Tomorrow I will start to create character profiles for my next project. Will I fail some days? I am sure of it but I still toss those balls in the air every morning. Hope for the best and expect the worst. You end up happily surprised at the end of the day.
From the minute we are born, we must learn to divide our time amongst different tasks. The young baby has only a few things to balance: sleep, eat, cry... It is simple and the baby never has a worry because these things settle in well together. That is until they grow and need to learn new things like crawling, feeding themselves, walking and talking. The lesson begins.
Life prepares us slowly for the busyness of adulthood. We start out like that infant with limited abilities and needs. Slowly, new skills are learned and we grow to learn to balance physically as well as figuratively. Once you get the physical balance down, you start to run and never look back. Seems awesome, right? But what are you running towards? Adulthood. Responsibility. A life to balance all of your own roles in it.
I am a wife, an aunt, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, a homemaker and a writer. These are just the roles I fill today. As we start our family, a mother's role will be added. I toss my juggling balls into the air and hope for the best every day. My feet it the floor each moment with the sole purpose of not disappointing anyone in my life, myself included. However, I am the first person I sacrifice to take care of others. My time alone, my time to read and, of course, my time to write, These are the first things to go. My husband is taken care of as well as our home. My parents have been checked in on. My friends and other family members have all claimed their piece of me for that day. The quiet of evening takes over and the time to write turns into zoning in front of the TV to relax. But no more will I let my life run me!
My new resolve in life is to balance the personal life and my writing life so that each is fulfilling. I have a to do list each day. It includes the household activities that need tending to as well as my objectives for my writing. I am not looking at each aspect of my life as a chunk of time but as each task getting the attention it deserves. Today is writing this blog. Tomorrow I will start to create character profiles for my next project. Will I fail some days? I am sure of it but I still toss those balls in the air every morning. Hope for the best and expect the worst. You end up happily surprised at the end of the day.
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