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UPS managed to deliver things today. This is good, as at least one of them really needed to get here before Drew did. A lot of things have been coming UPS, and I'm having to revise my opinion of them. I've had an ongoing hate for UPS, because they stink at delivery here. They stink so bad that way back when, I left a "do not leave packages" order - ring the doorbell and if I don't come get it, hold it at the main facility and I'll pick it up. When work moved to Hillsboro, I had to rescind that because I could no longer be assured of getting to the main facility (in Tualatin, for us) before it closed, after work. I was not amused.
But...drivers change over the years, and most all of the aggravations that caused me to do that and hate UPS appear to have vanished. I haven't had an exceedingly small package (and I've gotten one) left under the door mat where I could step on it. I haven't had the driver fail to ring the doorbell (one once failed to ring the doorbell while I was home and waiting for the package, but I did find the slip on the door later - grrr). All sorts of issues I used to have with them are no longer occurring. More than that, the driver or drivers (I can't remember for faces) have been very helpful as far as manhandling things into the front hall for me, so they can wait in the warm dry house for Scott to move them (the larger things, anyway, that i couldn't handle - like the crib, or the crib mattress). In at least one case, there were two UPS personnel in the truck and one of them waited by my door while the other turned the truck around (we're on a dead-end). I have to assume, despite my poor memory for faces, that one of those two had delivered here in the recent past, because he was obviously both aware of my slow response time to the doorbell (my "work-from-home" space is at the far end of the upstairs hallway from the stairs) and my inability to manhandle large packages around at the moment. They never do that. It was incredibly nice.
And then there's the bad stuff. Scott went to work today. Huzzah, because he could stop and get groceries on the way home. Except. A jackknifed semi on I-5 southbound near the Boone Bridge (ie, just south of us) a couple hours ago, coupled with other problems related to extreme ice, created a hideous backup on I-5. And on the frontage road as people tried to wiggle around the problem. (Hint: if you need to go further south than Wilsonville, you can't. The Boone Bridge pretty much IS your ticket across that river here, and to go far enough to get around it other ways involves back roads that would be quite dangerous and slower even than waiting out the mess.)
Net result: Scott couldn't really get to Albertson's due to the backup. He had an alternate route to try for home (which I about had a heart attack when he said he'd used, because it involves a highly-arched overpass, but he said it was clear), and was able to stop at Lamb's Thriftway.
I'll see what he gets home with. But you can add the "people have probably bought out some stuff" to the "Lamb's Thriftway SUCKS" and imagine how thrilled I am. Their variety of selection, quality of product, store layout (designed to make it as hard as possible to find anything, I swear), and service are all horrid. So bad that I can and have wished them out of business. And yannow, I still hate them that much, even if tonight they're sort-of saving us. We'll see. I don't expect to do as well off my original list as I'd hoped. Everything on it is something that Albertson's carries. Most of what's on it I would expect them to still have in stock. But they're a bigger, better, cleaner, higher-quality store than Lamb's, so now I'm going to get whatever can be managed from what Lamb's has.
This morning before Scott ended up going to work, I didn't expect ANY groceries until after Christmas. And we'd have been fine. But it's amazing how much I was looking forward to some of the things on the list...which, I suspect, in many cases won't actually be available. I'm annoyed with myself how disappointed and upset I am, but I'd let myself hope. To have that messed with by, of all things, a road problem that's not even in town...argh. But it's certainly created problems in town. Blast it. :(
Hopefully when Scott gets home I'll be pleasantly surprised by what he's managed to get. But...I don't really expect it, given the store. Lamb's is good at disappointing and annoying me, even at their best, and with full shelves and without storm weirdness. The odds they'll pull through now? Pretty crappy, really.
Oh, well. If they have nothing, at least we've enough to eat. I'll be happier when Scott's home safe, tho.
But...drivers change over the years, and most all of the aggravations that caused me to do that and hate UPS appear to have vanished. I haven't had an exceedingly small package (and I've gotten one) left under the door mat where I could step on it. I haven't had the driver fail to ring the doorbell (one once failed to ring the doorbell while I was home and waiting for the package, but I did find the slip on the door later - grrr). All sorts of issues I used to have with them are no longer occurring. More than that, the driver or drivers (I can't remember for faces) have been very helpful as far as manhandling things into the front hall for me, so they can wait in the warm dry house for Scott to move them (the larger things, anyway, that i couldn't handle - like the crib, or the crib mattress). In at least one case, there were two UPS personnel in the truck and one of them waited by my door while the other turned the truck around (we're on a dead-end). I have to assume, despite my poor memory for faces, that one of those two had delivered here in the recent past, because he was obviously both aware of my slow response time to the doorbell (my "work-from-home" space is at the far end of the upstairs hallway from the stairs) and my inability to manhandle large packages around at the moment. They never do that. It was incredibly nice.
And then there's the bad stuff. Scott went to work today. Huzzah, because he could stop and get groceries on the way home. Except. A jackknifed semi on I-5 southbound near the Boone Bridge (ie, just south of us) a couple hours ago, coupled with other problems related to extreme ice, created a hideous backup on I-5. And on the frontage road as people tried to wiggle around the problem. (Hint: if you need to go further south than Wilsonville, you can't. The Boone Bridge pretty much IS your ticket across that river here, and to go far enough to get around it other ways involves back roads that would be quite dangerous and slower even than waiting out the mess.)
Net result: Scott couldn't really get to Albertson's due to the backup. He had an alternate route to try for home (which I about had a heart attack when he said he'd used, because it involves a highly-arched overpass, but he said it was clear), and was able to stop at Lamb's Thriftway.
I'll see what he gets home with. But you can add the "people have probably bought out some stuff" to the "Lamb's Thriftway SUCKS" and imagine how thrilled I am. Their variety of selection, quality of product, store layout (designed to make it as hard as possible to find anything, I swear), and service are all horrid. So bad that I can and have wished them out of business. And yannow, I still hate them that much, even if tonight they're sort-of saving us. We'll see. I don't expect to do as well off my original list as I'd hoped. Everything on it is something that Albertson's carries. Most of what's on it I would expect them to still have in stock. But they're a bigger, better, cleaner, higher-quality store than Lamb's, so now I'm going to get whatever can be managed from what Lamb's has.
This morning before Scott ended up going to work, I didn't expect ANY groceries until after Christmas. And we'd have been fine. But it's amazing how much I was looking forward to some of the things on the list...which, I suspect, in many cases won't actually be available. I'm annoyed with myself how disappointed and upset I am, but I'd let myself hope. To have that messed with by, of all things, a road problem that's not even in town...argh. But it's certainly created problems in town. Blast it. :(
Hopefully when Scott gets home I'll be pleasantly surprised by what he's managed to get. But...I don't really expect it, given the store. Lamb's is good at disappointing and annoying me, even at their best, and with full shelves and without storm weirdness. The odds they'll pull through now? Pretty crappy, really.
Oh, well. If they have nothing, at least we've enough to eat. I'll be happier when Scott's home safe, tho.
no subject
Maybe you can toss the food dreams up to hormones? :) I hope that Lambs will surprise you this time, it sounds like they are overdue.
no subject
Why would I toss the food dreams up to hormones? I've been stuck here forEVER and I don't have the foods I'd hoped for for a holiday - is that supposed to be more disappointing because I'm pregnant?