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One of favorite items in my office is the emergency Starbucks job application that my friend Steve filled out for me and framed. Always a good conversation piece. By the way, this is a test of posting via email. I’m NOT having a bad day 🙂

I forgot that I had taken this photo of our Japanese snowball this morning in our back garden.

Speaking of balls, let me just say that I think it takes BIG balls to have someone wait around all day for installation service and then to tell them (only after they call) that they should just reschedule for another day.

Just who is the tail and who is the dog? (I just know who the ass is!)

Fortunately, its a sunny day. Jeff and I have had a relaxing time puttering around the house, and we did get out to the Apple store briefly to buy a connector to store photos from our camera onto my iPod. This way, we don’t have to cart a computer around when we travel. THIS is a cool widget to have.

But…our tale of woe is with DirecTV.

I stumbled on a web article telling me that San Francisco local channels are now available in high definition. (For the record, this is how you find out things about DirecTV, because they like to bury this information on their website.) So, I called DirecTV on Friday night and they scheduled me for a Sunday morning equipment upgrade. We currently have HD through DirecTV, but apparently we need to keep up with the times and get a new HD receiver. But its free…so cool.

Anyhow, our appointment was between 8-12 this morning. At 11, we got a call saying that the technician was behind schedule (big surprise) and would not get to us until 2pm. OK. I was annoyed to lose 3 hours of my morning, but we ran off to do our errands and returned at 2pm.

At 4pm, I called DirecTV. They called their local contractor. The contractor “tried to contact the technician, but could not reach him” and suggested that I reschedule for another day. I said no…that I had wasted my day waiting for them, and that they can try a bit harder to find their guy.

Sooooo, they are sending a “supervisor technician”. I don’t know how much I trust him, since he can’t find the technician he is supposed to be supervising.

It is 5:16. He is late.

An update. It is now 7:34. The “supervisor” never showed up. Instead the lost technician arrived. It look him FOREVER, but he did the job. (Jeff actually hooked up the HD receiver while the technician was on the roof.) Of course, when the technician called DirecTV to activate our new receiver, they tried to charge us, because there was no record of our ‘no charge update’. Total time spent on the hook for DirecTV? 11 hours 34 min.

After a morning running our typical weekend errands, Jeff and I decided to take advantage of the warm afternoon sun and run along Crissy Field. This is one of our favorite runs, going all the way back to when we lived in my apartment in the Marina District. The route takes you along the northern edge of the City and ends at Ft. Point under the Golden Gate Bridge. On a day like today, you just wonder why everyone doesn’t want to live in San Francisco.

The end of the route is marked by two whimsical signs for joggers to touch and turn around. There is one sign for people, and one at ground level for the joggers’ canine companions. The turn-around point used to be directly under the bridge, but thanks to terrorist threats, there is an attractive jersey wall and chain link fence. Chalk up another reason to despise terrorists.

The jogging route is filled with life. Its a favorite spot for pet owners to bring their dogs to fetch and get wet in the cold Bay waters. On windy afternoons, the Bay is typically filled with wind surfers. As you get closer to the Bridge, there are picnic grounds that are ALWAYS full. Today, we even spotted an odd spontaneous linedance to some loud Christian country music blaring from an open van. Better to focus on the serene heron that wandered nearby.

As I was pulling up the photos from our jog, I was drawn back to a couple of new images from Venice. Yes, I have Venice on my mind. I’m excited, ok! But it was the pigeon photo below that made me chuckle. After my blog meltdown from earlier in the week, this shot reminded me that its not always a bad thing when the world shits on you a little bit. It can add character 🙂

See, the mood has passed. This evening, Jeff and I indulged in two true comfort items: pizza and frozen cosmos. These allowed us to unwind, reflect, and talk about our upcoming vacation. We also discussed the complexity of immigration politics with a very friendly (and a tad bit odd) stranger.

Well, it all worked. I’m relaxed now. Down from my ledge.

And yes, I agree with the assertions that I have a good life. I certainly have the best friends in the world….especially you guys that read my blog. (For the record, you guys are my favorites…just don’t piss the others off and tell them!)

All I need is the occasional rant. (Although those tiny bags of airline snacks STILL irk me 🙂

So here, in the spirit of peace, love, and harmony: a picture I took of some chicks. I’m not normally into chicks (no chuckling!), but these little peepers made me smile. Hmmm, and no, these chicks were not in the bar where I snapped the top picture…I never realized that our favorite bar has the atmosphere of a chicken incubator!

I think I’m due for ONE rant, aren’t I? I mean, I’ve been good, right? I’ve been Happy John…at least online 🙂 But I’m just frustrated today. And I didn’t get lunch. So, I’m grumpy.

What’s got my goat today? What tipped me over the edge was trying to book two upcoming trips. Travel to Michigan? Expensive. Travel to Europe? Through the roof. Upgrades from those thousands of loyal miles I fly every year on United? Waitlisted.

I guess I’m just tired. I’m tired of hearing the woes of the airlines. Flights are packed. Planes are smaller. Upgrades are far and few in-between. Points in mileage programs have become totally devalued. Food in coach is a bag of Savory Snack Mix. In flight entertainment is a non-stop advertisement for a TV network. What more do these companies want from us?

I’m tired of people always wanting more.

I’m tired of being made to feel guilty for not giving more.

I’m tired of taking my car to a crooked auto service center that sloppily breaks my anti-lock brakes and then tells me that I have to pay to diagnose the problem.

I’m tired of my City telling me that they don’t have enough money to fix the freakin’ potholes, while we’re JAM PACKED full of tourists paying top dollar for hotels and tee shirts. We’re a true destination city with only 750,000 residents in a tiny 7mi x 7mi box, and yet our inept government and flavor-of-the-day social programs are draining us dry!! (We don’t even have bad weather…so why the hell do we have so many potholes?!!)

Don’t make me the bad guy. I’m a softie. I want to love every one. I want Mexican families to lead good lives…but don’t break into my house and then tell me to feed you!! When did I become the bad guy?

I’m pretty convinced that I haven’t changed one bit. I think the world shifted under my feet. The Great Quake of 2006 is just a social tremor, I guess.

Sigh.

I’m just tired of being tired.

So. Jeff and I are hopping on a plane in three weeks. We’re going to Europe. And we’re not answering e-mail. And our last stop (after London and Paris and parts in-between) is to return to our most peaceful destination yet. We’re going to wander the silent alleys of Venice at midnight. And feel great about it.