misfitmonkey

I’m going on VACATION! I took a full paid week off of work (something I’ve never had enough vacation given to me to do at any other job… very new and exciting for me), we have family coming in from Minnesota (my aunt/uncle and their five kids) and my family (10 people including parents, 5 kids, spouses, and my little nephew) and we’re all going to the following awesome locations:

Sunday: Toledo Zoo, where I will be using the hot lens I rented, the Canon 70-200 f/4L IS, to take hopefully halfway decent photos.

Monday: Cabin in Sandusky near Put-In Bay and Kelleys Island. Jim and I are taking some bikes to ride and we’re just all going to run around the Put-In Bay area having unscheduled fun. I haven’t been on a bike in at least 5-7 years, so that should be interesting. I am less than incredibly coordinated.

Tuesday: Cedar Point, where I will spend some time taking photos and then riding awesome roller coasters and eating unhealthy food and getting a sunburn if I don’t already have one by then.

Wednesday - Sunday: Family time back at home, including at least one bonfire, cookout at my grandmother’s, and general hanging out with family.

I don’t know how often I’ll be posting via blog or Twitter because I’ll mostly be concentrating on REALLY enjoying time off work. I’m sure there will be occasional pictures, but I can’t promise how much you’ll be seeing of me, and don’t expect immediate replies to email. Let the party begin!

Yesterday, Jim and I went to Classic Park up in Eastlake, Ohio to see The Bob Dylan Show (Bob Dylan in live in concert with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp opening). My mom got us tickets a month or so ago, knowing that I have always really wanted to see Bob Dylan live before I die (or he does, which was likely to come first).

Willie Nelson played first, and he wasn’t bad. I think Jim was most excited to see Willie play, but even he admitted that it wasn’t a stellar performance. I think Willie’s getting old and his live stuff just isn’t as good as it used to be. Still enjoyable though, and Willie’s son (who was playing with Willie) is pretty darn good.

John Mellencamp played second, and he wasn’t bad (good energy, good musicians playing with him), but my one big turn off with Mellencamp is that a vast majority of his later work all sounds the same, and this was very evident in everything he played, including a brand new song he played that he had just recorded (I found myself able to sing one of his other songs along with the chord structure of the new one). He’s not someone I would go see as a headliner, but I still enjoyed his performance, and MAN oh man were there a lot of middle-aged women going totally crazy over him… it was almost disturbing. Lol.

And finally, Dylan performed. The first thing you should know prior to seeing Dylan live is that he primarily plays his newer work and it will NOT sound like the album version. This tends to really tick off Dylan fans who aren’t prepared for it, so steer clear of live performances if you want “All Along the Watchtower” to sound like any of his recorded versions. He also tends to play completely different sets each night, so you could see him on this same tour and we will probably won’t have heard a lot of the same songs if we compared notes.

I thought it was a solid performance, and I was really just thrilled to be seeing Dylan live. He played several of my favorites from his last few albums (”Jolene,” “Ain’t Talking,” and “Things Have Changed”), and Jim really enjoyed “Senor.” Here are a few of my clips (the first clip has three different song bits included):

One important thing to remember if you go to see this show while these three fellas are on tour: they don’t play together, or at least they didn’t at this particular show. Jim kept insisting they were surely all going to come out on stage together and play at the end, but it was a no go. Just a heads up.

Overall: Great show, glad we went, thanks so much to my mom for tickets and to my dad for a lifelong exposure to Dylan and a heads up about what to expect when seeing him live. This was definitely a check-off on my bucket list. :)

I have a few things to say about Mental, a fairly new show on FOX that stars a:

“radically unorthodox psychiatrist who becomes Director of Mental Health Services at a Los Angeles hospital where he takes on patients battling unknown, misunderstood and often misdiagnosed psychiatric conditions.” (from show description)

My husband enjoyed watching me watch the show this past weekend, and eventually even said, “Umm… why are you watching this? It just seems to be agitating you.”

You know, the show is not really all bad and the doctors are all vaguely interesting as people, but here are some of the things that bug me about the show:

1. Why are psychiatrists the only people who seem to be working with these patients and their families?

Seriously… where are the social workers, the nurses, the aides, the occupational therapists, recreational therapists, and other various people who generally work on an inpatient psychiatric unit? More than one episode shows the main character finding family members and engaging in counseling and doing about a dozen different things that are NOT realistically carried out by the psychiatrist in a typical inpatient setting. It’s a team effort, and it’s really irritating to see my role often completely overlooked or completely misrepresented as something a doctor would do.

Psychiatrists do very important work and I work with many who are very dedicated and mindful and more than competent at what they do, but sometimes (a LOT of the time) it’s a social worker who’s rolling up sleeves and diving into a messy family situation and providing individual or family/couples therapy while the patient is on the psych unit. Did every single important character on the show have to be a doctor? *sigh*

2. Why are all of these patients diagnosed with things or experiencing things in a way that most mental health professionals NEVER see on a daily basis?

I understand the intrigue of rare disorders, but a majority of the public could greatly benefit from better exposure to more common mental illness diagnoses and the difficulties that come with those diagnoses. I would really like more typical psychiatric patients and the struggles that they have to deal with, not to mention the complicated struggles their families deal with as well.

You don’t have to go way into left field to find some really intriguing stories about mental health patients and their loved ones. My work day is completely different every day, and I almost always finish a work week with at least one story that no one would believe if they haven’t been exposed to inpatient or community mental health, so why does the show have to focus so much on rare diagnoses and exceptions to the rule? Try showing the public a more realistic and helpful look at the type of illnesses their family and friends could be struggling with on a daily basis, and there is a valuable, interesting show that people could relate to.

3. Sleeping with a patient’s immediate family member is unethical.

ESPECIALLY when you’ve interacted with that family member during the course of treatment. Enough said.

Overall, I don’t hate the show, and I’ve continued to watch it (I think I’m on the fifth episode), but it doesn’t do a very good job of accurately portraying an inpatient psychiatric unit and all of the hardworking people that spend their days working with patients and their families. They really could have done better with this show.

WOW… did I ever fall of the wagon.

Yesterday, I dragged myself to Curves after work, because I hadn’t been there to work out in so long that they sent me a postcard. (Ouch.)

I knew that getting back on that circuit of machines was going to be bitch after several weeks (probably almost two months) away, but what I hadn’t really prepared myself for was the weigh-in and measurement.

The overview: From January to April-ish, I lost 15 pounds. Since the time I stopped going to Curves and fell off the healthy eating bandwagon, I have gained 20 pounds.

That’s right. I’m five pounds heavier than when I started on this journey around New Year’s. SHAME. ON. ME. Not only shame on me, but I’ve also developed some health issues that I believe are very likely the direct result of my shitty eating and absurdly low physical activity level. I’m honestly afraid I’ve thrown myself into Type II Diabetes or something along those lines (I’ll hopefully be finding out next week at the doctor).

Two things have prompted immediately self-intervention:

1. That weigh-in was a kick in the gut, plus I’ve gained 1/2 - 1 inch on each of my body measurements. FUCK.

2. Hearing myself explain to Dianah that I hid from my husband in the bathroom the other morning to eat mint chocolate chip ice cream for breakfast was a bit eye-opening. WTF.

So.

Shit shit shit. Excuse my language, but seriously… shit. I am trying to get back on track as of this week. Please just slap me in my gluttonous face if you catch me (in person or on any social sites, etc.) eating bad things or skipping workouts. I will NOT finish this year off heavier than when I started when my ONLY goal this year was to get myself in better shape physically. Enough is enough.

Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card

My review

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Finally finished this volume from the Enderverse, and I have to say that I struggled to stick with it. This book was very disjointed, wandered all over the place, and some of the storylines just really didn’t interest me. The second half was definitely better than the first in that I became even more interested in the formics/buggers than I was when I finished Ender’s Game. I think I’ll be moving on to Speaker for the Dead next, because I really want to read more about the formics and their reasoning, history, and maybe their future?



I won’t be reading this one again, but it had some good moments in it that make it worth the effort. The writing is not great, the characters are not always well-developed (especially the women… Card does not seem to understand women in the slightest), but there are some good nuggets in there, and I’m glad I caught those along the way.


View all my reviews.

Has anyone checked out the new Regina Spektor album, Far since it’s release last week? I am absolutely loving it.

I’ve been a pretty big fan of Regina’s since Begin to Hope, and I was honestly pretty leery about her new album, simply because Begin to Hope is such a seriously solid album. As it turns out in this case, a seriously solid album can be followed by an equally solid album (I wouldn’t say it’s better than the last, but definitely stands up to the quality of it and is just as innovative).

I initially thought the album was a bit over-produced, but by the second listen-through, I was totally hooked and already catching myself humming a few of the tracks under my breath throughout the day. I love Regina’s voice, and the more I listen to the lyrics, the more I simply love this new album, which is exactly how I fell in love with her last album… a little unsure at first, but totally captivated by the second listen.

There just isn’t anyone else out there I’ve listened to who is able to really alter their sound and their voice and use the vocal effects that she does and still produce such a beautiful, strange sound. If you’ve enjoyed her past albums, you should definitely be checking this one out. :)

Thanks to all the presenters, all the volunteers who helped with registration, all the organizers (notably @AngeloMandato, @DoctorAnonymous, @MerryCricket)and everyone else who made the weekend such a total blast! There are just too many people to list, but I met a lot of great new people and I saw a lot of people I built friendships with last year at Podcamp Ohio.

I took a lot of photos, so I’ll leave you with the slideshow, and you can see several recorded session here (they are gradually being added as Coefficient Media goes through all the footage). Thanks to DG Hollums of The Guys Podcast, who helped me with camera settings and was generally very spiffy, per usual. Note in the photos that Doctor Anonymous is completely incapable of smiling in a photograph unless you catch him unaware… what a ham! ;)

Can’t wait until next year!

Also a big thanks to the sponsors, who deserve some major love (especially loved the caffeinated water Avitae throughout the event!): The Ohio State University Center For The Study And Teaching Of Writing, Blubrry.com, Doctor Anonymous Podcast, Circle Of Seven Productions Book Trailers and Marketing, AssistCoach.com, blip.tv, TechSmith, SpaceBlue, Blue Microphones and Avitae.

Yikes... I've never done that intentionally to a book, but there you go.

Some of the other pages/tasks I've done so far:

Looking forward to wrecking the rest of the journal! Almost everyone I've shown the book to has gone out and purchased one... the wreckage is contagious. There's a group on Flickr too, so I'll be adding all my pictures to that group in addition to the album I started as well.

Let the wreckage begin! :)

I had some fun with the goofy frames at Pearle Vision the other day when shopping for glasses… click on Brandice Potter for all the horrible shots. ;)

Jim and I rode out to my mom’s to go with my family to the Sebring Firemen’s Festival this past weekend and I made my first couple Harley videos of the season. :) I have to say, that yearly festival was a lot more impression when I was kid… going as an adult, I just found myself watching all the miserable parents drag their sugar-crazed kids from carnival ride to merry-go-round to lemonade stand, etc. (my poor mom and crankly little bros included). Always good to spend time with family though, and it was bike night so Jim got to scope out the other bikes.

This was the first video (mute the sound if you want to watch).

Also, the only time I will eat a corndog is when they’re made at a fair in fresh batter (too many frozen dogs as a kid… blech), so having corndogs and fresh lemonade for dinner was a treat.

Got a couple cute shots of Jim with Ben on his shoulders at sunset too. Are they just about the cutest men ever? (The correct answer is yes, of course.)

Overall, a good evening. I also ate a funnel cake, because I can’t be stopped when it comes to funnel cakes, especially fresh ones sold by a seven-year old money miscounting cashier. YUM!

First, everyone referred to this person as “Dr. Such-and-Such” when she has a Masters in Social Work and is an LISW (Licensed Independent Social Worker,” not a Doctor of anything. When a discussion arose about whether or not she was Dr. Such-and-Such or just Such-and-Such, I explained to my co-workers that she and I have the same degree and training, and that while she is a licensed therapist, she doesn’t have a doctoral degree and she is a licensed clinical social worker.

This prompted a lot of Q&A:

“So, if you went back to school, you could do what she does?” (No, I already HAVE the schooling and license to do what she does. If I went to work in an outpatient clinical setting, I would be doing what she does.)

“So, she’s a social worker, not a therapist?” (*ahem* She is both, and so am I.)

“So, wait… you could be a therapist too?” (I am a therapist… what do you think I do when I take a patient into a room and we’re in there for an hour?)

“But, I didn’t think social workers did that kind of thing. Don’t you just do discharge planning?” (I do discharge planning as part of my overall role in this particular setting, but I also do individual therapy, family therapy, and occasional group therapy. What do you think I do in those ‘family meetings’ I conduct on a regular basis?)

It’s amazing that people who work with me on a daily basis don’t know what I do because of the common misconception about what social workers do. Everyone on the planet thinks that social workers take people’s children, put old people in nursing homes, and help homeless people find food and shelter.

Sure, some of us do those things, but the field of social work is a very broad umbrella that encompasses several specialized fields. Here is the basic definition of social work, as described by the Indiana University School of Social Work:

Social Work may be defined as the applied science of helping people achieve an effective level of psychosocial functioning (Barker, 1991, p.221). The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the largest professional association of social workers in North America (1973, pp 4-5), described social work as:

“…the professional activity of helping individual, groups, or communities to enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning and to create societal conditions favorable to this goal. Social work practice consists of the professional application of social work values, principles, and techniques to one or more of the following ends: helping people obtain tangible services; providing counseling and psychotherapy with individuals, families, and groups; helping communities or groups provide or improve social and health services; and participating in relevant legislative processes. The practice of social work requires knowledge of human development and behavior; of social, economic, and cultural institutions; and of the interaction of these factors.”

Social workers are expected to get their degree, pass a test for licensure, and then work within a field of competency (a chosen specialty that they’ve had additional training in, through hours/years of practicum and licensure supervision). Some of us are able to work in more than one of these area, depending on our training and experience.

Those chosen fields include (but are not limited to):

Mental health, disaster relief, military social work, rural social work, adoption & foster care, child welfare, family preservation services, homeless assistance, eating disorders, genetics, hospital social work, crisis intervention, school violence, hospice/palliative care, developmental disabilities, advocacy, consulting & planning, employee assistance, veteran services, child abuse & neglect, domestic violence, political development, parent education, school social work, family planning, HIV/AIDS, gerontology, addictions, criminal justice, housing assistance, public welfare, and employment services. (from Social Work Profession, NASW)

Those of us who are social workers in mental health (clinical social work, whether it’s private practice, inpatient, or community mental health) are licensed mental health professionals, or as most would describe it, therapists. We engaged clients/patients in individual therapy, group therapy, and family therapy, and unless we’ve been trained and are competent in additional areas of competency, we can’t come to your home and take your children, and we can’t get you food stamps or low-income housing.

With my experience, training, and practicum hours, I am competent to work in the fields of mental health and developmental disability, (with specialized knowledge in dealing with inpatient psychiatry, inpatient geropsychiatry, addictions, crisis intervention, and self injury). I have no idea how to help a person with an adoption or with school issues, and have only basic knowledge about pubic welfare assistance and low-income housing, and a child welfare social worker or a medical social worker would not necessarily be competent to engage a client/patient in psychotherapy. Level of education plays a factor as well, since a Bachelors-level social worker has different limitations that a Masters-level social worker doesn’t have.

Despite being labeled with the broad term “social worker,” I am specifically a clinical social worker, a therapist, and sometimes it’s honestly just easier for me to say that I’m a therapist than explain that I don’t take people’s babies away. The only reason you would ever have for keeping your kids away from me would be due to the fact that I don’t know the first thing about kids (as a newlywed non-parent) and they usually just freak me out. ;)

“What did you do before we had the Internet?”

Wow. Well, I have mention that prior to the internet, I was young, so the difference between what I did pre-high school and what I do now has a lot to do with my age rather than the internet, I think.

The internet has really taken its toll on a couple of things though (along with life, a job, and being a grown up, I guess):

1. I read less. I was voracious reader as a child, to the point that I could devour several books in a day if I had the whole day to do as I pleased. I’ve recently found a better balance, which has been easier after finishing my Masters and not having that residual school-induced resentment of books that I typically get from classes that force me to read crap that I don’t want to read.

Did I stop reading as much solely because of the internet? I guess I would say that the content of my reading changed drastically as blogging hit the web full force… it’s honestly possible that I read as much as I ever did, just less items of the tradition book variety. Is that a bad thing? I’m not sure it is… although I’m not sure it isn’t either.

2. I write less. When I wasn’t reading, I was writing creatively, whether it was short stories, poetry, or my own journaling. I use to write creatively on a constant basis, notebook always in tow, constant scribblings, constant editing of poems… I thought at one point in my life that I would be a Writer as my main calling and while I know at this point that my purpose is a little broader than that, I still hope to accomplish a few things as a lowercase writer. ;) (Stay tuned on that, actually. I’m entertaining serious plans to finally self publish something I’ve worked on for a long time.)

I would say that only in the past few years has the internet really taken a big chunk out of my creative writing volume, because where my poetry and short story writing lessened with the onset of internet availability, my online blogging/journaling skyrocketing for a long time, and at the time, the internet was the perfect venue to express myself through introspective/personal writing of a journaling nature.

Initially, the internet actually increased the amount of writing I did, but as my need for cathartic LiveJournal-type writing decreased, my creative writing didn’t increase to keep the balance. Other things on the internet (shiny new videos and podcasts and lots of other people’s amazing and innovative new content) grabbed my attention and up until recently I’ve allowed other people’s innovative content to use up some of the energy that I should be using to create my own innovative and creative content.

As you can tell, I’m trying to remedy this lately. This journaling prompt actually prompted (pun intended) some introspection on how I can more often use the internet to foster my own creativity, rather than let it draw my attention away from my own goals with shiny, pretty internet things. :)

What did you do before the internet? Is there something you love that you should still be making time for, even if that baby laughing on YouTube is still funny the twentieth time you watch it?

I just want to clarify something here, which is that it sounds to this person (important distinction not made by said person) like I’m afraid (along with all those other wayward spiritual people) to commit to a belief system (which I assume means a religion, since everyone has a belief system).

The public service announcement nature of the twitter is offensive, basically implying that everyone who identifies as spiritual is broadcasting a message of fear to all the sensible religious people on the planet.

It’s divisive. It’s elitist. It’s judgmental.

FYI: It is actually possible that some of us have CHOSEN not to commit to a religion (I say religion because I have a belief system and everyone does), for reasons that are valid and important to us, and are based on our own very personal and individual life experience.

To diminish our choice by assuming it is fear is ignorant and judgmental. It is also none of anybody’s goddamn business and not anyone’s place to define another person’s spiritual identity (or identity in general) or the basis of that identity (especially based on one word), so I say in response to this person (and their immediate removal of me from all their social networks as a result of a four-twitter exchange):

ADIOS.

“If you had to evacuate your home because of a natural disaster, which of your possessions would you bring with?”

I’m trying something new, wherein I’m using random journal prompts when I’m not sure what to chat about on the ol’ blog. I want to keep my introspection muscle in shape and I also want to commit to regularly journaling, not just posting pictures and video and such.

This question seemed like an especially torturous one, so I thought I’d start here, with a list of the things I would be scrambling to take with me. I’m going to make a list of the sentimental items and the gadgets-I-would-cry-if-I-lost items.

Gadget list:

• iPhone - Not so much because it couldn’t be easily replaced, but because I am undoubtedly going to want to call the police and the fire department after fleeing my home.
• MacBook and external HD - I think losing the laptop and the external hard drive would hurt pretty bad, so I’m sure I’d be scrambling for both. I don’t run Time Machine often enough, so the external is never up-to-date, but has things the MacBook doesn’t.
• Rebel XSi - I did JUST get a fancy camera, so I’d pretty bummed to lose it in a fire, and it’s not on the renters insurance yet, so I’d be scrambling for that if it wasn’t in the truck of my car (I’m trying to get in the habit of always having the camera with me).

Sentimental list:

• Japan 2001 photo album - I don’t have digital copies of the pictures from the time I spent in Japan during the summer of 2001, so I’d be scrambling to take that album with me. There is also a green box of photos near that album that I would try to take with me as well (old photos that I don’t have on Flickr).
• Keepsake box - I have a box that has some very dear things to me… a sweater of my grandmother’s, some letters and things from Jim. I actually have several boxes of this type of stuff, but there is one particular box that would be especially hard to lose.
• My cat - I think the first thing I would look for would be Penelope if the apartment burst into flames… I’m firmly entrenched in the belief that my cat will live forever, and if she doesn’t I will be demanding an explanation from the higher ups. She simply must out-live me.

What would you be scrambling to save if your home suddenly went up in flames/flood/etc.? Would you just head for safety, or are there things that you (whether wisely or foolishly) would just have to try and save?

There are very few things that I can keep alive other than myself at this stage in my life… My cat seems to be fairing well (although my husband is the one to remember to feed her most of the time), I once had a fiddler crab that kept my interest for almost a year, and I can grow hen and chicks.

What’s even cooler? (Other than that I took the above picture and don’t seem to have totally screwed it up with my very undeveloped photography abilities.) The hen and chicks I happen to be growing in my dark red pot this year are descendants from the very hen and chicks that my mother planted at my great-grandmother’s house when she was a child.

They are very special hen and chicks. :) AND, you can accidentally leave them out in the elements all winter and they’ll perk right up come spring. That’s my kind of plant!

What are you growing in your garden (or on your apartment window sill) this year?

Last Thursday, I finally went to an allergist after two months straight of being sick, having a constant hacking cough that was allowing me only about twenty minutes of sleep at a time before I would wake up in a panicked choking state.

Things that are not fun about allergy testing:

-What the crap do they make those little pricking sticks with? They hurt worse than… (50 of them)

-The needles that come after the prick sticks (about 16 of those).

-Finding out you definitely have severe allergies, after 28 years without them. (Severe dust being the worst, severe mold being second, and mild dog/cat being added bonuses.)

-Finding out that you’re allergic to the mold at work that has not been cleaned up, despite many people having allergy/illness symptoms, and this is the reason you’ve been so severely sick for two months. (I have already sent a lengthy email about this issue to the appropriate people.)

-Finding out that you might have asthma if your hacking cough doesn’t go away with…

-Steroids. Lots of steroids for the next week (and I get very ill and very constantly agitated on steroids) to get rid of the two month cough.

-Leaving with prescriptions for two nasal sprays, eye drops, and supplies for giving one’s self twice weekly shots. (Total at the pharmacy, after insurance, not including the needles they had to order: $102.00.)

-Learning to give yourself shots of you’re-not-even-sure-what, one in each arm twice per week.

-Itching like mad from all the needle/stick pricks the entire way home.

-Being told by allergist that stat care doctor was an idiot when he sent me home with a whole bunch of antibiotic crap and several diagnoses that all added up to these allergies two months ago. (Remember that?)

__

BUT. (There is a BUT!)

I have not woken in a choking/coughing fit for two days, and while I might be cranky and horribly upset to my stomach, I can breathe… finally. I gave myself the shots today for the first time and it was totally fine, and the steroids are done in a couple days, and I can live with all of this if it means I won’t be as sick as I have been lately.

Lesson to myself for the future: Go to the damn doctor SOONER. Why can’t I get that through my head?

Gift Of The Dreamtime: Awakening To The Divinity Of Trauma by S. Kelley Harrell
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book over 4-5 separate evenings, reading a section and then spending time thinking about what I’d read over the days that followed, and I came away from the book with what I felt was the author’s message, but also with a personal message of my own, which surprised me given that this book is so intensely personal in its depiction of Kelley’s own journey toward true and constant Grace.

Accepting and understanding “the divinity of trauma” (a phrase I now better understand after finishing the book) is extremely difficult, going against a lot of societal expectations of a trauma victim and suggesting some very unpopular or uncomfortable ideas about what trauma is spiritually for some. Kelley expresses the learning of this lesson in a way that makes the concept less foreign, and she sheds light (quite painfully at times) on the true nature of trauma.

View all my reviews.

I hate that I’m about to write this post, but it’s time. I’ve personally and publicly backed a tea blender who has at this point really and truly disappointed on a business level, regardless of whether the tea sold by the company is fantastic.

Felicitea has, after over a year, been reviewed on my tea podcast STeaP multiple times, I’ve purchased the tea, I blogged about the company when I was writing for Slashfood, I’ve raved about it to many people, I helped in decision making for a tea that has my name, and in November I received an email that Felicitea was in danger of going under financially and needed some help.

I immediately jumped into action, recommending the site for Christmas tea gifts to several people, and I purchased (on November 22, 2008 at 6:04 pm EST) $68.99 worth of Felicitea Earl Grey Brandice to give away as Christmas gifts.

The events that followed:

November 22nd - I order $68.99 worth of tea from Felicitea.com, and sent the following email to several people:

Hi all,

I don’t typically forward newsletters, but Felicitea is a great company and Summer (the owner) is having a very rough time with the economy being what it is. People aren’t splurging on custom tea blends and massages during a recession, so if you know a tea lover who would enjoy some really good tea, I highly recommend Felicitea for Christmas/holiday tea gifts.

I particularly recommend the Earl Grey Brandice, which I helped in creating (and do not receive any compensation for - I just genuinely love the tea and am proud of the blend), or the Sloth Tea. Summer also does haiku tea cups on Etsy that are very cool. I’ve grabbed a few for myself over the past few months.

Anyway, if you’re looking for tea for gifts, this is my recommendation. I love a lot of the bigger tea companies, but I’ll be supporting this smaller one in hopes of keeping Summer in business during holidays, and I hope you’ll consider throwing some business her way as well if you’re in the market for some tea.

xo,
Brandice

December 2008 - My tea never arrives. I keep waiting for it, but eventually Christmas comes and goes and I’ve given away IngenuiTEA tea infusers with no tea to put in them. I’m a little hurt, but unsure how to broach it with Summer from Felicitea.

January 10th - I finally become uncomfortable enough with the fact that I never got my holiday tea that I send the following email:

Not to be a bug, but that EGB I ordered weeks before Christmas never arrived. :( I didn’t know if the delay was due to needing time to get supplies to make it or what, but since it’s been quite a while, I wanted to check in with you about it.

Brandice

And the response was (the end comments are about my invitation to have Summer start doing video footage and some blogging for the STeaP site, which has never happened):

My official position on the US Postal Office is “hatred”. These people can’t handle anything.

I’ll ship you another order.

Also, SteaP stuff is coming. Committing to it and then having the holiday season? I couldn’t do both. I’m sorry. I’m working tea vids already - should have something uploaded on Monday. :)

Summer Plum

I feel a bit better. Clearly, the package was lost and I was just stupid not to say something much sooner or I might have had my tea prior to Christmas.

January 15th - Summer emails:

Tea will reship tomorrow.
:)
Summer Plum

So, even though I’m a bit confused about why she’s mailing it out a week after I alert her to the fact that it never arrived, I eagerly await my tea, but…

January 25th - My tea has not arrived, and while I’m doing a test call for STeaP Live and testing out TalkShoe, Summer pops in the test call and we chat for quite a while. At one point, she mentions that my tea is “right by the door” and is going out the next day. I say something along the lines of “Oh, good. My dad is coming in to town next week, so I should be able to give him some while he’s here.” Summer also mentions that she will be on STeaP Live for the episode coming up that will involve a review of one of her teas and I excitedly say that I will be interviewing her.

January 31st through February 3rd - I spend time with Dad while he’s in from Texas, and at no point does any tea arrive on my doorstep.

February 10th - STeaP Live reviews Felicitea Day Dream tea, and I (the host) awkwardly try to cover for the fact that Summer never shows up as previously stated. Instead of spending most of the episode interviewing her, I record one of the worst episodes I’ve done, video or audio, because I was completely unprepared to compensate for her absence. Also, the one person in the chat who had ordered a sample of Day Dream to try with me on the show stated that he never received it and seemed a bit peeved about that.

February 19th - I post the following on Twitter:

Trying not to get outright angry at a tea vendor I’ve backed publicly that seems to have screwed me out of some tea at this point.

Shortly after twittering this, I receive a call on my cell phone from Summer, who leaves a voicemail apologizing, saying that perhaps my box of tea was mixed up among her moving boxes and she will find it and she will overnight me the tea and I will have it by tomorrow.

February 20th - I did not receive any tea.

And… here we are on the 21st, which is now officially three MONTHS after I ordered the tea. There is no excuse, NOT ONE, which would allow for a shipment of tea to take three months, and no amount of fondness for the company owner or the tea itself will excuse bad business or this many broken promises.

At this point, I have no faith that the original package was even lost in transit, I feel foolish for the support (and money) I’ve given, and I feel let down to an extent that I just can’t let it go anymore, especially if it means that others could be treated this way during a business transaction. I tried filing a dispute of the transaction on PayPal, but you only have 45 days to do that, so I sent the following email:

Hi Summer,

I really would just like a refund at this point. The tea (which did not in fact arrive Friday) would be nearly two months old in the package you were going to send, and it’s three months overdue as of tomorrow. There is no excuse at this point that would make up for tea that I should’ve had in November (December at the latest), and I would rather just have the amount of $68.99 refunded.

Thank you,
Brandice

So, there you have it. STeaP will unfortunately no longer be reviewing Felicitea’s line of teas, especially in light of the fact that there is a likelihood that any samples ordered by my audience will not be received in time for recording.

I have unfortunately learned a very disappointing (and financially costly) lesson, but my hope in publicly describing this interaction in detail is that I will prevent this from happening to anyone else. A company may offer the best tea blends on the market, but business practices as poor as the ones I’ve experienced in recent months are simply a deal breaker.

Originally published at Brandice.net. You can comment here or there.

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