Photo Finished

I've been mocked by every photo kiosk in town. It started with trying to order prints online and all at once NOBODY.com's photo uploader worked. I finally got some through on ugh, Walmart.com :ducking: then once I was picking them up I was told I had to have proof that I had rights to them. I had no proof, and no idea what they were going to do with my gorgeous son's gorgeous photos, it makes me sick to think of it. Another store's cashier stood there and proudly told me that nope, I didn't order photos, I mean obviously since they weren't there. 8 blood pressure pills later I was bringing cd's and memory cards to the photo stops themselves ("It's so much easiah," they say) but still had issues. At one point I had to revert to ordering online and Walmart again I told me couldn't have my photos, this time because the employees were "too unorganized", that they printed them but that they just didn't know where they were. I'm not sure why weren't they just filed under "GODDAMMIT how hard is it to file under the last name like they're supposed to beeee!" Dis.appointment. Dis.neveragain.

On December 17th I became super-engrossed in a Cafepress.com order once I discovered they were participating in free shipping day. I found out the hard way the deadline ended at 8pm, my emotional skin is still singed by that one.

Today, after losing it at one RiteAid I strapped 40 pounds of scissorfighting arms and legs back into the carseat and drove to another sketchy RiteAid, knowing it was the only location that had once given me moderate (not total) success. I took a deep breath in hopes to not burst out into profanity like at the previous store ("Yah, you know you've been standing there a while but that machine doesn't print photos." [this is where I swore aloud,and then said] "The sign says it doesn't print 8x10s, I was looking for 5x7s" "Yah, it doesn't print anything with an 8." "Where is there an 8 in 5x7??" "There's not," he said, and let the conversation end.) At this 2nd RiteAid, the one where Jimmy had previously been yelled at by a worker who was a bit light in the dental region ("Yu dohn't kick dat!"as I was working at the kiosk trying to solve WHYYYYYYY I couldn't just PRINT ALL the effing PHOTOS I wanted) I had a glimmers of hopes even though technology is an awful, awful thing that I need so much.

Today, I walked into the store, asked straight up if their machine was working, and Ta-dah!!! It worked!!! Today, what a relief!!! I grinned and beared it through the checkout...I had to get out of the first line we were in because I didn't want the cashier near my son. The second line, I sorta-felt I should have been fast-passed seeing as I was obviously the one with just one item and the impatient toddler, nudge-nudge, but no, a guy with a case of Bud cut in front of me, I think he justified it because his line wasn't moving fast enough. On to the third line, I stood behind a guy with his winter coat on inside-out. How does this happen?? I would expect never to see such a thing except for at that RiteAid. I hoped it wasn't because he was hiding the splashmarks of some victim's squirting arteries.

Home now, happy that Jimmy seems to be happy with The Santa Clause 2 on Channel 8. I'm relying on this stupid movie (and a tall shiraz) to replace the jollies back into my holiday spirit. Back to Santa's knifty knittering sweatshop.