You Broke My Menorah???? (Dresser Queen I think I Hate You)

[magicdomino]

Not all of that lady's dogs are barkin'

The wheel's spinning but the hamster's missing?
She's a few ants short of a picnic?
A few geeks short of a Star Trek convention?

She's a few fries short of a Happy Meal?
She went to the well once too often?
The runway's a little too short for takeoff?

She certainly doesn't seem to be the sharpest knife in the drawer or the brightest crayon in the box.     Definitely a few tacos short of a combination plate.  

[behindbj]

Not all of that lady's dogs are barkin'

The wheel's spinning but the hamster's missing?
She's a few ants short of a picnic?
A few geeks short of a Star Trek convention?

She's a few fries short of a Happy Meal?
She went to the well once too often?
The runway's a little too short for takeoff?

She certainly doesn't seem to be the sharpest knife in the drawer or the brightest crayon in the box.     Definitely a few tacos short of a combination plate.  

Well, that's what happens when you're not the brightest light on Broadway.

behindbj

[Tabris]

It can't have weighed that much for $10 shipping.

The page Marina linked to said it was $10 *extra* for shipping. The other sites I glanced at had shipping for about $40 to $50.

[wheeitsme]

Is she a few rocks short of a wheelbarrow?

Maybe her bubble's not on beam?

[Emmy]

I wonder if this woman just picked up the package sitting outside your door and fibbed about the UPS guy handing it to her.  Also, if she picked up the package and felt it was too heavy for her, why did she decide to carry it instead of leaving it alone?  There is absolutely no excuse for her to be opening your package.  It sounds like she is a busybody and curiosity got the best of her when she saw you had a package.  

I agree you should inform your HOA about her.  Make sure all future packages have to be signed for or are delivered to your work.  

[JanetCinNC]

I am FURIOUS right now....I really need to definitely calm down before I act on this situation.

Last year we had an "incident" involved a cat, a tablecloth, the sharp corner of a chair and our Hanukkah Menorah where we needed to purchase a new one. This year I finally tracked down the type that we were replacing and purchased it and it should have been delivered yesterday. It was this menorah if anyone is curious http://www.judaism.com/display.asp?nt=bZcacdej&etn=IGBGE&cdo=chabadalexandria.org and I was very excited about getting it because the first night is not far off.

Marina, I don't know if you would be interested in this, or if it could even reach you in time even with overnight shipping, but QVC has a Menorah that is similiar to the one that was destroyed by your neighbor.  You can go here  
http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail
to see it.  It's not as beautiful nor the same quality as the one DQ destroyed, but it might work for one year.

Edited:  Sorry, I don't know how to do an active link, so I put it on a separate line to show it more clearly.

Okay, so I see the link doesn't go to the right place, so you could go to
www.qvc.com
and search on H144845, if you are interested.

[housewife2k]

Not all of that lady's dogs are barkin'

The wheel's spinning but the hamster's missing?
She's a few ants short of a picnic?
A few geeks short of a Star Trek convention?

She's a few fries short of a Happy Meal?
She went to the well once too often?
The runway's a little too short for takeoff?

She certainly doesn't seem to be the sharpest knife in the drawer or the brightest crayon in the box.     Definitely a few tacos short of a combination plate.  

Well, that's what happens when you're not the brightest light on Broadway.

behindbj

A few sticks short of a dam, maybe.

[Clara Bow]

I didn't notice if there were dimensions on the website, was this an average sized menorah? Like about ten inches high, little over a foot wide? If so, i'm having a hard time believing that she dropped it more than once. I mean, even if it was a very heavy solid glass, it's not going to weigh more than she can carry.
Also, anyone who ships a four hundred dollar glass ANYTHING is going to pack the heck out of it...styrofoam cut out that it fits in firmly with a lid, packing peanuts, that plastic sheeting and bubble wrap on the innner lid of the box. It's also going to be marked "FRAGILE" all over, probably even "FRAGILE: GLASSWARE".
The point is, you can usually drop a package of glass pretty hard and not destroy what's in it.
I think that she opened it and broke it out of meanness, or just pitched it up against the wall, then opened the package to be sure the job was done. Why? Well, it came from a Jewish company, she's nuts, she hates you....reason doesn't matter. DQ broke that menorah, and I think that she did it on purpose.
I think that she owes you four hundred dollars and a sincere apology. And I'd file a police report, as well as a complaint with the HOA about what has happened.

[RuneGuardian]

I'm not a follower of your religion, but that is a very nice ornament/figure. And what a price...wow. It's too bad you can't take her to small claims court and demand she pay you back for it...unfortunately, there's probably no proof she damaged your item (which she most likely did because, as AV said, glass stuff is packed like crazy with cushion when it's mailed and the only way to break something like that would be to throw it against the floor).

I also agree there's a chance it was stolen - color me crazy, but I've never heard of a package being delivered to a neighbor if the recipient isn't available (but that may just be me). Is there any way to find out who delivered your box to see if they just left it at your home or if they really did entrust it to your neighbor? I know some people have no problem filching packages; the neighborhood brats once stole a package off my grandma's front porch - inside it happened to be a quilt Grandma's friend made for her herself, and some scirfy little brat got their sticky little fingers on it. Grr.

I'm sorry your neighbor is such a lousy bee-itch.8

[hollasa]

I will mention that I used to work with someone who curated a glass art show, and I assisted with some aspects of the show. Some of the pieces did break in transit, even when packaged by the artists themselves.

Without knowing anything about the packaging, which no-one here knows except for Marina, then everyone is just guessing about whether or not Dresser Queen opened the package and threw the menorah against a wall to express some religious difference. I'm not saying that it's not possible, mind you!

It just concerns me to have so much negativity expressed towards her here, especially given the nature of this forum. Of course, she's in the wrong and not too bright, at best.

[Hopefull]

I think it's time to call "Judge Judy" and file a small claims against dresser queen. 

Ooh, I agree!!! Let me the date it's filming, and I'll fly out to sit in the audience! Who's with me?

MEME Me Me I have always wanted to see Judge Judy in action!!

[Miss Charlotte]

I respectfully disagree that DQ acted out of anti-Semitic feelings. I think she saw the package, wanted to know what was in it, and then dropped it so she had an excuse to open it.

At any rate, she has essentialy stolen and destroyed your personal property, admitted it to you, and it's now time to involve the HOA and the police.

Even if she is trying to be friendly in some strange, socially dysfunctional way, as others have suggested, I think a strong approach (utilizing the police, etc) is best, because you want her to have no doubt that her actions were unacceptable and are to never happen again.

and now a note from Evil Miss Charlotte: does anyone else feel the desire to plan an elaborate "lesson" (a' la Arrested Development) for DQ???

[Suze]

After a quick exchange she heaved my box off of the floor and it sounded like there was something broken in there oh and it was obviously taped back together.

Me: Did this package come this way?

DQ: Well it is a little heavy so when I took it back to my place I accidentally dropped it a few times in the garage, so I opened it to see if it was OK...and it mostly is.

Me: Mostly??? ::::as I put the box down and open it (again) to see that it is no longer usable as a Menorah:::::
Me: You broke this!
DQ: Well, I am sure they'll ship you a new one...it could have broken during shipping.
Me: But it didn't!!!!!! Theres no more time to get a replacement before I need this!!!!

DQ: Well, I don't know what to tell you...I was trying to do you a favor :::closes door in my face::::

To me - the red words are the ones that implyed to me that DQ did "something" to that box.....

Dropped it by accident "several times"  IN the garage?

and shutting the door in her face (probably saved DQ's life, if I had paid $400. for a something and it was broken......

Not buying it.

[Bibliophile]

Can someone explain to me how it's theft?  I'm not meaning any rudeness by this, but I'm very confused.  The delivery driver left it in her care.  UPS, FedEx, DHL and most flower delivery places do this on a regular basis when the person is not home and it doesn't look safe to leave the package at the door.  I even have tracking numbers that state that packages were signed for by what neighbor at what address.  I wouldn't think of reporting it as theft unless they did not give me my package.  Although the package was damaged & open, it was still given to the rightful owner...

[Aeris]

Can someone explain to me how it's theft?  I'm not meaning any rudeness by this, but I'm very confused.  The delivery driver left it in her care.  UPS, FedEx, DHL and most flower delivery places do this on a regular basis when the person is not home and it doesn't look safe to leave the package at the door.  I even have tracking numbers that state that packages were signed for by what neighbor at what address.  I wouldn't think of reporting it as theft unless they did not give me my package.  Although the package was damaged & open, it was still given to the rightful owner...

It's not, unless DQ intended to keep the package away from Marina.