WTF (What The Fax!)

I mentioned in my post a few days ago that doing everyday chores in the presence of my offspring is a Herculean feat.  This goes for errands as well. 

Yesterday I had an absolutely horrific experience at the PakMail.  Normally, I wouldn't bring all three kids on an errand like this, but I was under a deadline.

To try and minimize grabbing little hands, I put the boys in the double stroller, which never goes well.  As we know, The Boy Georges do not like to be fenced in.   After trying to communicate to the clerk above the wailing of the boys, I decided to let them roam free.  Big mistake!  Not seconds later, they are gleefully tearing apart boxes of staples and uncapping highlighters.  In the meantime, my 22 page fax is getting fed into the machine willy-nilly since there seems to be something wrong with the feeding mechanism.  After what seems like eternity, the fax is "completed," only to have the clerk announce that only 21 pages went through. 

Trying to remedy two situations at once, I grabbed the boys and force them into the stroller.  They are NOT happy!  They resist the stroller with all their might and end up in a half-in, half-out position, which only enrages them more.  Sort of like stroller purgatory.  Now back to the fax.  The clerk just sort of shrugs when I ask what can be done about the missing page.  Since she has no idea which page did not go through, she is stumped.  With no remedy in sight, I figure that I'll just have to make a copy of this monstrous fax and mail it.  On to the copy machine.  Boys still screaming bloody murder.

Of course, the copy machine gets jammed and the clerk cannot figure out why it won't re-start.  Other patrons come in to witness the twins' meltdown and one lady says, "I just want to give you a hug."  I want to say, "I just want to shoot myself," but refrain. 

Nicole is being very well-behaved throughout this and is actually singing merrily to herself,  completely ignoring her brothers' tantrums.  Unfortunately, her singing just adds to the noise factor.  Then, another little girl comes in and Nicole and this little girl start playing tag around the card displays.

To cap off this disastrous experience, the clerk charges me $25 for a fax that ended up being useless anyway.  I left the store, practically in tears, with the boys kicking and screaming, only to end up forgetting my wallet.

Another Calgon day.

Comments

[Betsy]

OMG Lisa... That is unreal. That girl at the PakMail is kind of a sassy b... I know exactly who you're talking about. I can't believe she charged you for a fax that didn't go through. But like most places out here in God's Country, they don't have to be good at what they do since they're the only game in town. Sigh...
And our husbands wonder why it is so hard to pick up the drycleaning, get something notarized, etc.?!