Dear So and So

[OakLeaf]

Snap - sure hoping you can be comfortable without more surgery.

Catrin - safe travels and well-behaved family.

May as well say Merry Christmas now, since Hanukkah and Solstice are already past. Hope everyone had/will have a happy winter holiday, whatever you celebrate!

[Crankin]

Dear DS,
We actually had a good visit... I am very proud of you. And, I actually saw some glimpses of the irreverent kid I used to know. When I really think about it, you've been in a controlled environment for almost nine years. So, welcome back to the civilian world. I am not worried about you.
Just don't ask me for any help with that calculus or Chinese.

[malkin]

...
Just don't ask me for any help with that calculus or Chinese...

The subjects are different here, but I certainly know that feeling!

[Crankin]

Here's a very rare picture of both of my kids and their spouses.
Together.

[malkin]

Looks like a good time!

[Owlie]

Great picture, Crankin.

Not-dear ETS,
You charged my credit card twice (that extra $50 is a lot of money for a grad student, you know!), and you tell me that "Sorry, we can't refund it." You lot are a bunch of a________s.
Hopefully this is the last time I ever have to deal with you.

[indysteel]

Great picture, Crankin.

Not-dear ETS,
You charged my credit card twice (that extra $50 is a lot of money for a grad student, you know!), and you tell me that "Sorry, we can't refund it." You lot are a bunch of a________s.
Hopefully this is the last time I ever have to deal with you.

Owlie, I'm not sure what ETS is, but I'd take the issue to your credit card company and dispute the charge that way.

[tangentgirl]

Dear Bike - I miss you! We should hang out more. If it's not so windy today, wanna go do something?

[Catrin]

I hear you Tangentgirl!

Dear eyeglass chain who will remain unnamed,

I've been bringing in these frames for almost a solid year. I look at them and they warp. I turn my back, and one of the lens will fall out. Every 2-3 weeks they need adjusting, or tightening, or the lenses pop out or... It has been very frustrating for both of us.

Today I went into one of your other locations when, once again, the frames decided to go out of true again for no apparent reason - and they were just adjusted 6 days ago. I am very careful with my glasses, I don't sleep in them, or sit on them, or drive over them. I take them on and off with both hands, and it has been frustrating. They weren't cheap either. Anyway, your OTHER location had a bright idea after hearing my tale of woe as she worked to adjust them. She is ordering me new frames since they are still under warranty. She wonders if there was a problem with them from the very beginning before I even got them, and why didn't you think of that and offer to replace them to see if the problem is ME or the actual frames? I certainly didn't think of that. She also explained to me why I've had such problems actually SEEING with this particular type of progressive lens and that you should have told me what it would be like to move from digital lenses back to traditional progressives (apparently for a lot of people this move doesn't work well).

Before I walked out of the door I scheduled my annual exam with them, and, hopefully, the new replacement frames will workout better so that I don't have to pay for new frames a year early as my insurance won't cover frames until 2014. I am sure you will breathe a sigh of relief that I won't return to your store.

[luvmyguys]

Dear Personality-challenged guy at the not-so-LBS,

Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that anyone who has ever helped me with a bike is a complete and utter idiot, and wouldn't know a seat tube from a derailleur. Let's assume that you are God's gift to the cycling world, and the only person who ever properly fit someone to a bike. Let's also assume that you are correct that if the standover height works, nothing else matters and you can fit anyone to anything. Do you really think, even on the slim-to-none chance that you are correct, that you're doing yourself any favors by going off like that about a bike that's already been bought, and one that I am completely, utterly happy with? Do you really think that's going to endear us to you and the chain you represent, when we plunk down another $2K on dh's bike?

Thought not.

[emily_in_nc]

Dear Clueless Woman in Polaris,

Obviously your eye roll and stating to your husband that "They don't have any idea where they're going" when my DH and I on bikes turned into the gravel road to the large, not-yet-built subdivision here was said loudly enough that it was meant more for our benefit than for his. But really, I'd like to educate you:

1. Yes we did know where we were going.
2. We ride there all the time; it's one of the best roads on the entire island.
3. We live here so we actually aren't nearly as clueless as you obviously are.
4. All bike rides don't have to have a destination.
5. Riding for fitness and recreation can be an end in itself.
6. You should get off your lazy azz and try it sometime.

Sheesh!

[indysteel]

I like number 6 on your list, Emily! Lol!

[Crankin]

They sound like super azzholes to me.