Not Just PMS

I’ve got some catching up to do tonight. I said I’d explain about my crankiness on Sunday but would have to see how Monday went first. Then, last night I just made a quick post about making my own changes occur so I’m back on track tonight. I thought Sunday’s crankiness might have been a bit of PMS, which it may still be; but I also know that it was the idiot people I was encountering during the day, and I just couldn’t shake it.

I had to drop Tyler off at a friend’s house so he could attend a birthday party. Since he was doing something fun I decided to take Zach and Dolly to do something fun. Since I’d earned extra money babysitting I thought I’d take them to get their ears pierced since they’d been asking me; Zach for over two years now. They were very excited so I called Wal-Mart ahead of time to find out when the ear piercing lady would be there. She’s not there over the weekend. That was my first irritation; I couldn’t get my kids’ ears pierced when it was convenient for me. What the fuck is up with that?

So we headed to the mall where there is a Piercing Pagoda. I called them in advance to find out what the hours were. Lucky for us they are 12-6; since we were dropping Ty off just before noon, we’d get to the mall just when the store was opening. The girl who answered the phone also told me they were having a BOGO half off sale. YEA!!! Not so YEA after all. We arrived and found out that the earrings we had to choose from started at $35. Did I say “started” – yes I did. They STARTED at $35 and went all the way up to $60. Are you fucking kidding me? For a pair of starter earrings? Even with the BOGO it would have cost me, with tax, about $55 to get both kids’ ears pierced. Someone lost a fucking cog somewhere if they think I’m paying that kind of money.

I just blankly looked at the girl behind the counter and told her we’d be going to Wal-Mart, even though I knew we wouldn’t. We went to an accessories store that did free ear piercing. How much are the earrings? “Anywhere from $35 - $60 depending on which earrings you choose.” The last part of the sentence was actually spoken to my back since I’d already started walking out of the store. We went to one more place that did ear piercing and there was already a boy about Ty’s age (9) in the chair so I had Zach and Dolly watch. Then I asked how much it was and the girl gave me a plastic box with the different types of earrings and their costs. We didn’t exactly hit the jackpot but theirs were a lot less expensive than the other places. This place had some for $17.50; I wasn’t thrilled but I could handle it. I was still thoroughly irritated by then, though.

So they watched that little boy get his ears pierced – both of them. Cool. Then his younger brother got in the chair to have his done. YEA!!! I was slowly getting more irritated because, apparently, this was a family outing for Father’s Day or something. Mom, Dad, two boys, and baby sister – the Loud Family – along with Uncle Doofus, all went to the mall to get the kids’ ears pierced. As each boy got his ears done, Dad and Uncle Doofus had to step in and check it out and give a high five. Dudes, two kids, two high fives each; they don’t need one for each ear, from each person; there are other people here waiting. If this is how you act for an ear piercing what are you going to do for a graduation or the first time the boys get laid?

Anyway, the boys were done and the family left saying they’d come back to get the little girls’ ears done. Fine, go. Zach still wanted his done so he climbed in the chair. I’d brought my video camera to capture this moment in his life. I know I was just complaining about the Loud Family. There’s a difference, though; my kids’ dad doesn’t get to witness this stuff first hand so video is the only way I can show him. Besides, I’m unobtrusive about it. The girl did Zach’s ears very quickly – 16 seconds according to the video clip – but because Zach had said “OW, that hurt,” Dolly changed her mind. She actually got up on my lap, the girl cleaned her ears, and even put the dots in place; and then she decided she didn’t want to go any further. I’m willing to bet it was, in part, because Zach said it hurt (Dolly even said so), but I’m more willing to bet that it was because the Loud Family with Uncle Doofus in tow returned to the store to do baby sister’s ears and were making a lot of noise as well as crowding in for front-row seats to watch Dolly get her ears pierced. Back the fuck off, folks; you can see that she’s scared. Just walk around the store for a few minutes and let us get this done. I didn’t say it but I was thinking it.

So Dolly and I got off the chair and sat, out of the way, on the floor to discuss it. I told the others to go ahead with the baby and I would let the girl know if Dolly changed her mind. Zach wouldn’t stop talking to Dolly and he was just making her more nervous, even though I asked him, repeatedly, to stop and let me speak to her. In the background, though, all I could hear was Mom Loud getting excited over baby’s ears and saying that she was about to cry (they’re not your ears, lady, and it’s really not a milestone in life – relax), and Dad Loud and the boys were goofing off with Uncle Doofus. It was way too much noise in too small of a space. I finally just got so frustrated that I couldn’t stand it and brought the kids home.

All I wanted to do was take the kids out to have some fun and to do something that they both really wanted to do. I’m sure the Loud Family didn’t realize what a pain they were, and I’m sure the people who set the prices at the other places we attempted to go didn’t realize they irritated me and were disappointing my kids. That’s all fine but I was still irritated to the point of crankiness. It was so bad that I really didn’t want to be around anyone. That’s why I thought it was PMS, through and through – it was just so bad. It wasn’t, though, and I’ll tell you why. Later that day, Dolly said she wanted her ears pierced “tomorrow” – Monday. Okay, but I wasn’t going to go every day until she decided to go through with it. I was willing to try again, though.

The next morning I called Wal-Mart to find out when the piercing lady would be there. The person who answered the phone didn’t know and suggested I call before I left the house. DUH, I was ready to leave the house, so that trip had to be postponed for a couple of hours because they wouldn’t have anyone in jewelry at all until 2:00. At noon I went to a local tattoo place to see if they would pierce Dolly’s ears. They wouldn’t because, they said, Independence law forbids them to pierce anyone under age 15 and they could only pierce 15-18 with parental consent. The girl also told me that I’d be hard-pressed to find anyone to pierce Dolly. When I explained about Zach getting his done the day before, the girl was surprised. I’m thinking she lives under a rock. She said they haven’t been properly trained and that they couldn’t sterilize their equipment between customers. Whatever. The gun itself doesn’t touch the customer; the cartridge with the earrings does and that’s different for each customer and then thrown away when it’s empty. Besides, kids have been getting their ears pierced for eons and suddenly there’s an issue with blood-born pathogens. What-the-fuck-ever!

Anyway, I was even further into my irritation (remember the phone call with the Wal-Mart chick) because of the tattoo babe filling my head with bullshit. So Dolly and I headed to Wal-Mart anyway; with luck we’d find a piercing lady and, if not, I’d buy the gun and do it myself. The gun was only $5. We get there about 12:30 and find a lady behind jewelry and further find out that a lady who can pierce will be returning shortly. YEA!! The piercing lady gets there, takes care of a guy who’d been there that morning and then gets Dolly in the seat. She gets her ears cleaned, gets the dots on them and then asks to sit on my lap. The lady pierces one ear, makes sure Dolly is okay, and quickly does the other ear. Dolly never even flinched, and never dropped a tear. Guess what? There was no audience and no loud noise; there was me, the piercing lady, Dolly, and one elderly lady who needed a watch battery but waited patiently while Dolly did what she had to do. To top it off, it only cost me $10 plus tax.

Do you understand why my crankiness wasn’t just due to PMS? It was because of all the morons I was dealing with all day the day before. Had things gone smoothly, and so much crap not been thrown my way, I wouldn’t have been so cranky. Monday I was fine until the Wal-Mart chick couldn’t give me any proper information and then the tattoo chick with all of her bogus blather didn’t help. Once everything fell into place, I was just fine. If it was totally PMS I would have been a complete crankass both days. That wasn’t so. Tonight, though, I’m starting to get cranky because of my ex-husband and his dumbass shit, and because of my neighbor. She just sent her niece over for the second time today for sugar – it’s 11:20 at night. Why do you need sugar at this time of night and why are five kids – aged 11-3 all still awake and running around? I don’t care what you do in your home, but please don’t disturb mine this late at night. I’m just going to go to bed so they can’t bother me anymore. I’ll discuss the stupid issue with my ex in another post. For now, though, I think I’m depleted.

Until next time…peace to all.