And you thought the Star Wars saga was long and overdrawn

Schmassion wonders why I haven't been blogging more during my LOA. I'll tell you why. Because I've spent pretty much the whole 3 months buying a new mattress.

Let's see if I can recreate the timeline:

Nov 13 - first look at mattresses at the Bay Fairview
Nov 15 - first look at mattresses at Sleep Country
Nov 19 - final look at Bay Fairview mattresses, purchased Stearns & Foster
Nov 25 - Stearns & Foster delivery - between 12:00 - 6:00 pm
Nov 26 - realized S&F mattress like a big sinkhole that takes my teenage weight and practially drops me through the boxspring
Dec 5 - speak to Bay Fairview salesguy. Start looking at new mattresses.
Dec 6 - spent FOUR hours at Bay Fairview trying other mattresses with no decision.
Dec 10 - first look at mattresses at Bay Queen St. New sales guy tells me they've had customer problems with S&F mattresses before because they have too much memory foam and they sink. Spend 1.5 hours trying new mattresses and decide on Simmons Beautyrest.
Dec 11 - "mattress technician" arrives to tell me 3/4" depression in S&F mattress after 2 weeks is perfectly normal, and that memory foam is supposed to conform to my body to "cradle" it for a better sleep. But, I should buy a new bed frame that better supports the mattress.
Dec 12 - order new mattress and bed frame (Simmons Beautyrest) from Queen St. store by phone. Now mattress that costs $100 less than original mattress is giving me only a $17 refund.
Dec 16 - get HBC card statement. Notice Fairview sales guy put me on instalment pymts instead of 6 month deferral as agreed. HBC card customer service says I have to talk to sales guy.
Dec 17 - speak to Queen St. sales guy - tells me will have it corrected.
Dec 18 - take delivery of Simmons mattress (12:00 - 6:00 pm). Realize box spring is not low profile as agreed. Find black marks and ripped fabric on mattress. Call sales guy who apologizes and agrees to send new box spring. Sleep on new mattress and realize getting firm instead of plush a big mistake because it's like sleeping on a plank, despite comfort top.
Dec 19 - big back ache from sleeping on plank. Call customer service to complain about black marks. Get mattress exchange including plush instead of firm. Now awaiting delivery of 2 separate items - new box spring and new mattress.

I'm still waiting for Queen St. sales guy to call me back and tell me how he's going to "compensate" me for my inconvenience resulting from his mistake. Since this will be my THIRD delivery, that will be 18 hours I'll have had to spend waiting for the mattress. Actually more, b/c really, I spend the entire day at home waiting for it. Plus the 8-10 hours in the store trying to find the right mattress. Plus the time I spend moving everything out of my bedroom, and then back into the bedroom, plus booking the moving elevator, each time delivery happens.

Lessons learned?

1. New mattress is always firmer than the store model that you tried out.
2. Stearns & Foster's mattresses are too soft and they sag. This has been confirmed by another friend who told me she and her husband bought one and it became a hammock.
3. Learn to laugh at this stuff. Otherwise you'll cry. And looking back...it's slightly amusing.

Even though two separate Bay sales guys screwed up inputting my order...at least they were nice and customer-friendly. I guess everyone makes these mistakes. All you can do is hope for a nice person to deal with after they make the mistake.

Sigh...I really hope I can get a mattress I like before I go back to work. Cause now I need to spend time working to pay off this thing. I almost wish I never bought a new mattress to begin with.

S-M-R-T

MSN conversation today (actually, this was a one-sided conversation - all without needing to respond)

what are you doing on friday?
besides shopping for turkeys.
maybe you should by that tomorrow...
buy.
omg. i can't spell!
aliens have invaded my brian!
um... brain.

:) Classic. Makes me smile.

Oasis

Visited Unionville Oasis today - AKT and KHo's church.

Had a good reminder about God's power and living by faith.

I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

-Psalm 121

Favourite elevator newsclip of the day

"Conservatives pull ad of bird defecating on Dion."

I love election time :)

Farewell Beijing Olympics

How sad the Olympics are over. What will I do now without 24-hours of broadcast sports? Luckily US Open is starting now. I need to get TSN.

I had an interesting speculative conversation with a friend last week about the athletes' prospects for encounters of an intimate nature at the Olympics. A bunch of teenagers at their physical peak away from home, thrown together with other physically fit (read, "hot") athletes, teenaged and otherwise? I mean, do they discipline themselves to abstain until the games are over? Or just until their particular competitions are over? I wondered if the athletes thought "doing it" during the Olympics would be bad luck - like shaving during the playoffs. Or maybe, it was a distraction that would throw them off their game, so they avoided all contact until the end. Or do they not care?

Thanks to my dear friend....I now have the answer. Click on the link for the funniest news article I've read in a long time. (Yeah, so I don't read the news...so what?)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article4582421.ece

The Log Driver's Waltz

http://www.videorambler.com/2006/06/log-drivers-waltz.html

The Log Drivers' Waltz
Wade Hemsworth (1916-2002)

If you should ask any girl from the parish around
What pleases her most from her head to her toes
She'll say, "I'm not sure that it's business of yours
But I do like to waltz with a log driver".

(Chorus)
For he goes birling down and down the white water
That's where the log driver learns to step lightly
It's birling down, and down white water
A log driver's waltz pleases girls completely.

When the drive's nearly over, I like to go down
To see all the lads while they work on the river
I know that come evening they'll be in the town
And we all want to waltz with a log driver.

Chorus

To please both my parents I've had to give way
And dance with the doctors and merchants and lawyers
Their manners are fine but their feet are of clay
For there's none with the style of my log driver.

Chorus

Now I've had my chances with all sorts of men
But none is so fine as my lad on the river
So when the drive's over, if he asks me again
I think I will marry my log driver.

Chorus

Got it!

It does come in girls size, if you go to the store...

I tried to buy ones for parents to take on their trip, but can you believe it? It's apparently totally sold out and I'm now on a waiting list! That can't be right...it's not even Roots...

Ironically, guess where my Canadian Olympic shirt is made? You got it...China.

Addicted

OK - first of all, how scary is it that after not posting for like a year, Schmassion sees my new post right away? Am I being stalked? :P Kidding...glad someone's checking.

Anyhow - ever since 8-8-08, I've been addicted to HD Olympics. The worst part is because of the time difference, there's basically Olympics on 24-7. I'm taking a page out of a friend's books and starting to PVR all the programs and fast forwarding through them in our time zone. It's weird, I stopped being interested in the Olympics over the last 10 years or so but this time I'm really getting into it. Maybe cause it's in China and it seems like everyone I know is also into it. It's funny to listen to all the CBCs (and our parents) talk about the Beijing Olympics with such Chinese pride. I think they actually have more pride about the Olympics being in China than if they were in Canada.

I'm being suckered into it too. I kinda want to buy a Canada Olympic shirt. But the one I want doesn't come in kids size! Grrr.

Bored

I haven't posted in a long time. I don't really have anything to say now. Except that I've been reading everyone else's blogs and their Flickr sites cause I'm so bored. So felt like posting again.

If I can make time for this, why can't I make time for the important things...the things I've been saying I'll do for the longest time...like reading the Bible...and dusting??