June 25, 2008
It's an in-office issue.
I have no idea what that means, but the radiology place called me about 10 minutes ago, just as I was heading in to take a shower, and said they needed to reschedule my appointment for today due to an "in-office" issue.
I don't know if that means a pipe burst, a tech didn't show up today, or they are having a mechanical problem, but if it's a mechanical problem, um yeah, reschedule me.
They said they had to call all of today's patients and reschedule them for Thursday and Friday.
All of today's morning patients will be seen tomorrow, and this afternoon's patients will be seen on Friday morning.
I'm totally ok with this, I mean, if it's a mechanical problem, I'd rather not be inside either of those machines until they figure it out ya know?
Ha!
But I am happy that they called me as early as they could, I was getting myself ready to go.
Sis couldn't give me a ride, so she dropped off a loan of cab money early this morning, at like 8:30am.
I was all sleepy-eyed and groggy when I opened the door, but greatful.
It's just too hot out to take the bus there.
I can deal with the bus back.
It's one thing to be all sweaty on the way home from a doctor's appointment, than it is to get all sweaty on the way there.
"Please remove all your clothes and jewelry, and put on this lovely opened back gown, and have a seat on this cold plastic chair for a minute."
Sure.
Plop my sweaty fat ass on an ice cold chair in an ice cold MRI room, hair completely frizzed out from the humidity and sweat, and looking as though I need another shower.
It's rather gross weather we're having this week.
You step one foot outside, and you immediately need to take another shower.
It's sticky and gross out.
So yeah, it's ok with me they rescheduled.
This gives me today to do a bunch of stuff around here I didn't do over the weekend.
Later days!
June 24, 2008
Save some, spend some.
I wish I had had some extra cash on me tonight, because Publix had this huge shelf section filled with all sorts of clearance items.
They had so much stuff on it like some really nice place mats, their cute little matching salt and pepper shakers, table cloths, candles, soaps, laundry detergent, baby items, and holiday items.
All of it marked way, way down.
I always look at the clearance section, and if there are any good deals on food items like canned foods or pastas, I snag those right up because I like to keep my cupboards stocked with the basics.
I did grab a couple different spices they had on the shelves, and I asked the manager who was stocking even more items on it, why these were all so cheap now.
He said they had decided to no longer carry that particular brand of spices and herbs any more, so they had to make room on the regular shelves for the other brands and a new brand they now carry.
I bought 4 bottles, cinnamon, oregano, basil, and garlic salt.
All 4 bottles were normally priced at $2.99 each.
I got all 4 of them for exactly $2.00
Bargain-o-rama baby!
I picked up some more lunch meats, ham and Genoa salami, more bread, a pound of burger so I could make spaghetti later in the week, and some subs for dinner tonight.
Summer is sub and lunch meat season at our house.
It's amazing how much teenagers can eat.
I just went shopping on Thursday when I got paid, and had bought ham, salami, and roast beef, a pound each, and when I came home from the doctors today, all of it was gone.
It lasted about 5 days, that's not too bad I guess, with all 3 of us eating it I suppose.
Oh!
While I was waiting in line and ordering the lunch meats, Sebastian was waiting to order the subs.
The guy who was working the sub counter completely ignored him, and waited on 3 other customers who came to the counter after we did.
I got done getting the meats and walked over there, and Sebastian was like "Mom, let's just go, he keeps ignoring me, let's get something else, he won't wait on me."
The guy heard him, and I looked right at him and said, "I've been standing over there getting what I need and watching my son. You did ignore him, you took people who were in line after him, why? We are in here all the time, you know him, he buys subs all the time."
He tried to say he didn't see him, and I said "You didn't see this 6 foot tall young man standing here?"
He stuttered an apology, and a lady who always works in the deli and usually waits on the teens, came over and pushed the guy out of the way and took Sebastian's order.
There was a manager standing there, she heard the whole thing, and she pulled the guy aside and spoke to him. Then the guy took off his apron and walked into the back room.
Maybe she sent him on a break or fired him, I don't know, but I do know that this isn't the first time he's ignored the teens when they order subs or deli meats.
Mark can't stand the guy, he says he does it to them all the time, and Mark has had to raise his voice to get service.
It's not like the teens are really young kids with no money, they always pay for everything the buy, and the amount of times we are in there buying subs and other lunch meats from Publix, you'd think they would treat them a little better.
Maybe that guy just hates teenagers, and I know some teens can be real idiots and troublemakers, but my boys are always respectful and polite.
I've like totally rambled on, sorry about that, but bad customer service just irritates me.
June 23, 2008
Tie it up with a bow.
I've been doing a lot of thinking and planning about my jewelry business.
I want to get back to it so so bad. I miss it like crazy.
I have all these beads and gemstones that I bought when I was out and just purchased in the hopes I can get back to making jewelry again soon.
But when I do get the all clear, I also want to pick up some custom boxes to ship them to my customers in.
I've seen some really cute boxes from other people on line, and I want them.
They hand stamp them with their business logo, or just a fun little print, and people really like them.
It makes the whole thing come together in a very neat look, a finished look.
I will get back to it soon I hope.
Just need to get this pinched nerve stuff taken care of, and then I'm going to get busy on some of my plans.
I miss doing it so much, it was calming and soothing, and when I'd complete one and my customers let me know how much they liked it, it was such a good feeling.
June 11, 2008
I finally got them to take the money!
I was finally able to get Verizon to take my money!
I had to call their executive customer service department, and I got that number from Lisa of Wild Rose rpgraphics, so thank you sooo much Lisa!
Today is the 11th, I basically had until tomorrow to get them to take the money, and they still hadn't, so I called the number Lisa gave me and explained it all, years and years worth of frustration of just trying to pay my bill every month.
I had given them checking account numbers, savings accounts, credit cards, debit cards, I was literally begging them to take my money every month so I could have internet service, and for some reason, it was just never going through.
Sometimes if I called, the payment would go through right away.
Other times, it would only charge me $1, but most of the time, it just wasn't billing me at all, and so every month for the last 2 years, I've had to call and beg them to take my money.
So I spoke to an executive customer service rep, explained it all, and I said to her, "You have absolutely no idea how frustrating it is to have to call Verizon every month and beg them to take my money. How many customers actually beg you to take their money? But that's what I've been doing, begging, and I shouldn't have to beg you to take the money."
She laughed and said, "No, usually people call and beg for more time to pay their bill, you're the only person I know of who calls and begs us to take their money."
And not only did she take my money, she gave me a direct number to call every month if this happens again, and they have the authorization to charge the card right then and there.
Now why, in all the years that I've been calling and begging, did none of those other reps, give me this direct number?
I don't understand, they knew I wasn't able to pay my bill by the automated biller, so why didn't they just give me that number?
Anyway, I'm glad it's paid and now I have a number I can just call once, no more 3-4 times a month having to call and beg to pay my bill.
June 7, 2008
Dear Valued Verizon Online Customer,
"Thank you for choosing Verizon Online. Unfortunately, we are unable to bill your Verizon Online service charges to the credit card you provided. To avoid disruption of your broadband service, full payment is required immediately. If your bill is not paid within 10 days of the date of this notice, we will have to disconnect your broadband service. Please pay immediately to avoid interruption of your service."
Once again, Verizon has failed to charge my card.
The money has been sitting there for weeks now, they were supposed to take the payment on May 28th.
They did not.
On June 2nd, they sent the above notice.
Due to how I was feeling, I did not call them until June 4th, I told them the money is there, confirmed my card numbers, told them to take the frigging money, and give me a confirmation number for this call to verify that I am trying to pay my bill.
They said, "We are very sorry that this is happening again, but we promise you that your service will not be disconnected."
I told them don't promise me that, because the same shit happened last month, and last month, you shut me off again.
They swore the charges would go through that day, June 2.
I waited 2 days and checked my online account again, and again, they did not take the money.
So I called them again yesterday, June 6.
I told them to please take the frigging money, if I get disconnected again because their automated biller can't charge the card, I'm going to be fucking pissed.
Yes, I was very nasty with them because come on, this has been happening to me for well over 2 years. It doesn't matter which card I use for the auto billing, I've used 4 different cards over the years with them, my account is screwed up, no one can tell me why, and they don't charge me, my service gets shut off.
I begged the guy to take the payment right now, I said "I'm begging you people to take the money. I shouldn't have to work this hard to pay my bill every fucking month for over 2 years."
And once again, they promised me the card would be charged that day, June 6.
I said don't make me anymore fucking promises. You do this every month, you promise I won't get disconnected, you promise you'll take the money, you don't, and my DSL gets shut off.
I work from home, I need my service on all the time. I pay for it to be on all the time, at least I fucking try to.
I actually beg them to take the money.
That's how pitiful this situation has become.
Me, begging Verizon, to let me pay my bill.
The gave me another confirmation number, promised the card would be charged yesterday, and wouldn't you know it?
It's still not been charged.
I swear, if my service gets shut off, I'm going to fucking kill somebody.
I technically have until June 12th to get this resolved, but I don't trust that.
Last month, they shut me off within 6 days of the notice, not the 10 days like they said in the email.
I'm going to have to call them every freaking day until they take the money.
Don't they want the fucking money?!
They do, or otherwise they wouldn't be sending me shut off notices and disconnecting me all the fucking time!
I fucking hate Verizon!
I really wish I had other choices for phone and internet besides Verizon and the even more evil Comcast in this area, but I don't.
Comcast charges way too much, and Verizon's service and customer service, is just fucking shitty.
When my DSL is on, it's great, but if they don't charge for the service, it's an actual battle to try and pay my bill.
I shouldn't have to beg and plead with them to take the money every month.
This is fucking ridiculous.
I've blogged this situation every time it has happened.
I went through my site's archives for the last 4 years, and there are a ton of posts about Verizon not taking their money, the shitty service, the accidental shut-offs, and the non-stop pleading with them to fix my account.
I'm so fucking fed up with them!
June 6, 2008
Delivered to the wrong house again.
I'm pretty sure my street has a new mailman, I never see the regular guy anymore at all, heck, I never even see the mail truck anymore.
But whoever is delivering the mail now, keeps giving me my neighbors mail.
Not my next door neighbor, but a neighbor 10 houses up.
Our house addresses are exactly 1 number dfferent.
I'm 5328, and they are 5428.
I don't know how they can make that mistake repeatedly, there's a big difference in the appearance of the numbers 3 and 4.
But anyway, once again, I got their mail which includes the husband's guitar magazine, and the wife's furniture catalog.
From reading the address info on the back of it, I think she's an interior designer.
I have to confess something.
I flip through their magazines before I send Sebastian up the street to stick them in their mailbox.
Is that a crime?
I know you can't tamper with other people's mail, like open envelopes and stuff, but these are magazines with no seal keeping them closed, no plastic wrap, just wide open and ready to be read magazines.
Am I breaking the law by flipping through them?
The guitar magazine is very cool, there are some beautiful ones in there, custom designed and painted ones, and an order form to get a custom painted one if you want one.
They are way expensive though.
And her furniture mags, oh man, I love looking through them.
The pieces are just so gorgeous, and the beds and sofas look incredibly comfy, and there's all these paintings and throw pillows and stuff that you can buy to make the whole room come together.
But I get done flipping through them, get done oohing and ahhing over the stuff, and then I send Sebastian up the street to plop them in their mailbox.
What's funny about this mail mix-up is that they never get any of my mail, I've asked, and nope, they don't.
I need to stake out my mailbox one of these days and drive home to the mail person that 3 and 4 are not the same number, and he needs to pay closer attention to what he's cramming in my mail box.
May 27, 2008
That was a great idea!
The state of Florida just keeps screwing up.
You know that stupid child support debit card they made us all get?
Well, someone has hacked their website.
It doesn't look hacked, but it is.
They, the hackers, have taken over the website and are attempting to gain control of card numbers and pin numbers.
A child support deposit was made, and I attempted to go check my balance, but it kept saying my password had expired, so I tried to create a new one like it was asking me to, but then it went to an internal 500 error.
So I called the card people, and they said the website had been hacked, do not use it at all, instead use the 877 number on the back of the card to check balances etc.
I asked them how long the site would be screwed, and they said they don't know, they are attempting to get into the database and server and take back control, but everything they have done is not working.
I asked them how long it has been hacked, and the lady said about a month now.
That's just great.
So basically, if you live in Florida and have a child support debit card, don't use the website under any circumstances.
I had my doc follow up appointment this morning, and he upped the dose amount on those Opanas.
The 15mgs didn't work the whole 12 hours like they were supposed to, so we're trying a higher dose.
If it doesn't work the full 12 like it should, and I'm still getting breakthrough pain, then he'll give me something for that.
I'm just really tired now.
I had to walk home from CVS, they were the only drug store close to home that carries the Opanas.
It was either that, or go all the way over to the Bee Ridge pharmacy again, and I didn't have anyone who could drive me there today.
I need a nap, a long one.
May 23, 2008
Total saved = ?
Total before coupons and deals - $148.36
Store flier coupons - $3.75
Vendor coupons - $18.99
Advertised special savings - $17.65
Advantage buy savings - $7.58
In-store special savings - $2.50
Total savings = $50.47
Total spent = $97.89
I did ok today.
I bought quite a few buy 1 get 1's, and I got two bottles of Kraft salad dressing for free because they had them on buy 1 get 1, and in my Kraft Food & Family magazine, was a coupon for a free bottle.
They normally cost $3.69 each, so the one with the coupon was "paid", and the other was my get 1 free deal.
Heh.
I get a little giddy when I can sneak in a deal like that.
Now, onto what Publix has done.
Grr.
They closed early on Tuesday night and rearranged the entire store.
All of the aisles are totally swapped around, I have no clue where anything is.
In the 10 years I have been shopping there, it's always been exactly the same.
My OCD was in hell this afternoon.
Health and beauty products are no longer to the right side of the entrance, the wine and Hallmark cards are there now.
Health and beauty is now 7 aisles over, and some of the stuff is missing.
Razor blades for instance, are no longer with the shaving cream, they are now on the end cap displays at the registers.
uh, er, yeah, that makes total sense! *rolls eyes*
Baby products, jar foods, diapers, wipes etc, are now in the aisle with the cookies and candy, which used to be in the same aisle as the diet products like slim fast and rice cakes.
Diet products are now opposite the health and beauty products in aisle 7.
The entire store is now totally swapped around.
After all my years in retail management and working at grocery stores, I know exactly why they did this.
See, if you know where every thing is, you go in with your list and can get out quickly.
If everything gets moved around and the placement of products doesn't make sense, (hello? razor blades should be with the shaving cream!) it will take customers twice as long to do their shopping, and because you will now go up and down every single aisle in search of your items, you will end up making impulse purchases.
A manager was standing at the doorway handing out maps, a list of products alphabetized, and what aisle number those products are now in.
I needed to pick up some girly things for when Aunt Flo comes to visit, and I figured they'd be in with health and beauty, where they were before.
Where they belong.
No!
They were over with the bar soaps and toilet paper in aisle 9.
Yes! that makes total sense doesn't it?!
Tampons and pads should always be with the toilet paper!
The marketing guy geniuses who figured out that feminine hygiene products should be with toilet paper, should get a big 'ol pat on the back or a quick kick to the nut sack.
I don't know why they would do that.
Maybe because when a wife asks her husband to pick up her girly things for her on his way home from work, men automatically think if it goes "down there" then it's probably like ass wiping paper, and that's where men would look first.
They certainly were not thinking about where women find all of their products like hair dye, shampoo, conditioner, shave cream and deodorant, would be the logical place to put all women's products.
Anyway, it's probably going to take me and my OCD about 2-3 months to figure out the new placements of everything, and then they'll decided to switch it up again.
But I got them.
I didn't impulse buy a single solitary item.
Neener fucking neener.
May 17, 2008
What do ya know? I'm blog of the day!
See that? You can click it for bigger, but it says that I am blog of the day for the triple P paid to blog company.
Funny thing though, I haven't worked for them since October 2007, and I left on very bad terms having a back and forth with their "customer love" department about all my issues with their company, and asking them to completely remove all traces of me from their system.
I did not want to be linked to from any part of their site, and I was assured they had removed every single link they had to me from every part of their site.
Promised actually.
But there I am, blog of the day.
How the hell am I blog of the day?
I have not taken a single post for them since the end of September and got my last payment from them in October.
It's gotta be a random selection because it's most certainly not based on me taking any posts, I haven't.
I am not the top earner, middle earner, or even low man on the totem pole, because I don't work for them.
I don't have the ability to even login to their sites anymore, so how did I find out I was blog of the day?
Several people emailed me screenshots of it.
Some of them were like "I hate to be the bearer of bad news because they promised you they removed you from the system, but obviously they lied."
Someone else said "Holy shit Kat! Don't get too pissed!"
And another simply said "LMAO! Idiots!"
Exactly my thoughts.
Idiots.
So if you're coming here from the blog of the day link on the triple P site, no I don't work for them, haven't in a very long time now, and they are clearly not people of their word.
They do not remove anyone from the system or site even if they promise you they do.
They keep every single blogger in there so their numbers of users is as big as it is to impress adverts with.
They can say they have over 100,000 bloggers, but how many of them are like me?
No longer working for them and asked to be removed from their site?
I'm guessing a lot.
I'm not mad I'm still in the system, I'm just very disappointed they lied to me about removing me.
May 14, 2008
Loans on inheritance? Say what?!
I had never ever heard of heir loans before in my life until tonight.
I'm rather kind of bored, so I started surfing around the net and saw this ad on someone's blog for inheritance loans.
I clicked it and was all huh?
You can take out a loan on the money you're going to inherit?
Explain please!
So I read the home page then clicked on the FAQs.
How can you get an heir loan?
Well it's pretty simple really, if you are inheriting at least $17,000 from a probate estate which is open or being opened.
The cost of taking out the loan is determined by the size of the loan you want and the complexity of the probate estate.
To get the loan now, you sign or assign, the right for the loan people to get a fixed amount of money out of the heir's share of the probate.
I could totally see something like this being useful if you've inherited a sum of money, because sometimes probate can take years to finalize.
I thought it was pretty cool too that they make sure the person taking out the loan has no judgments or child support proceedings against them.
It would of course, interfere with the payment to the loaners, but they make sure that you don't owe anyone else the money first.
Ya know, like your kids.
May 14, 2008
Opana.
My appointment was at 9:40am, and lasted roughly 40 minutes.
We talked about the shoulder issues, my concerns with it being a pressure sore, the weird bruising spots, and how bad it feels when I wake up everyday, as well as when I lean back in a chair or anything touches it.
He said he doesn't think it's a pressure sore, and then gave me a really big super duper injection of the nerve blocker mixed with cortisone, for the pain.
He injected it into two spots on my shoulder, one above the blade, and one dead center of the pain.
He hopes that mixing the nerve blocker with the cortisone will help reduce the inflammation and pain I'm dealing with.
He said, "It still looks as bad today as it did a month ago. What are you doing?"
I told him, nothing, but I sleep on my back nightly, no moving around that I know of, I wake up flat on my back just as how I fell asleep, and that is why I was concerned it may be a pressure sore.
I told him I looked that stuff up, and the pictures scared the crap outta me, if this is a pressure sore, fix me now before it turns into a freaking crater.
He said he really doesn't believe it is, but gave me a referral to a dermatologist to get the area and the weird eraser sized bruising looked at by someone who may know better.
He said if nothing is showing up on the xrays or the CT scans, then it may possibly be a skin issue which is out of his realm of expertise.
We set up 2 massage therapy appointments with a female masseuse this time, not that I know if that will make any difference in how I feel about being mostly naked on a table being touched, but I'll give the girl a try.
Then he switched my pain medicine completely.
I was taking 10/325mgs of Lortab (hydrocodone), 4-6 times daily as needed, but due to the increased pain I was dealing with, he said it appears as though my body has gotten used to them, built a tolerance up, and so let's try a new one.
Opana ER.
Opana is in a group of drugs called narcotic pain relievers. It is similar to morphine. Opana is used to treat moderate to severe pain. The extended-release form of this medication is for around-the-clock treatment of pain.I did tell him I was allergic to morphine, but he says it's similar, but not morphine. Well let's hope not because on morphine, I clawed myself, ripped out my own hair, and was in a drug induced la-la land for the entire first week of my hospital stay.
They are extended release tablets, 15mg, and I'll be taking 2 per day to start.
As my body builds a tolerance, my doc will either up how many of these I take, or increase them from the 15mg to a 20 or 30mg dose pill.
You can read all about this drug in the links I provided, but so far, so good, and I did find these side effects a little interesting.
Not worrisome, but interesting.
In clinical trials, some, but not all patients had some of the following side effects. Emphasis mine.
General disorders and administration site conditions: dry mouth, appetite decreased, fatigue, lethargy, weakness, pyrexia, dehydration, weight decreased, edema.
Nervous system disorders: insomnia.
So anyway, it will probably take me a few days to get used to these, they are much stronger than what I've been taking over the last few years.
They are like morphine, behave like oxycontin, and yes, may be habit forming.
I have a follow up appointment in 2 weeks so he can see how I'm doing on them.
Now for the fun part.
Walgreen's, CVS, nor Eckerds, carry this drug.
Walgreen's said they can order it, but there is no guarantee on when it would come in.
1-3 weeks possible delivery time.
CVS and Eckerds, said they do not carry nor would they order them.
I was like what??
You won't order this if it's a prescription?
Pffft.
I spent 2 hours sitting at Walgreen's while the gal called every single Walgreen's store in Sarasota to see if they had them, and the answer was no.
I called CVS and Eckerds, learned that stuff about them, and then called my doc.
I'm all dude, nobody freaking carries this pill!
They said we'll call you right back, they did, and told me the name of a single pharmacy on the other end of town who carries it, and away I went.
They said they always have it, but it's a fairly new drug, and some stores will not carry it because of how strong it is.
If my doc puts me on this full time, Walgreen's will get an ultimatum.
Carry this for me all the time or I move all my scripts to the one pharmacy who does stock it all the time.
I don't want to hear oh we won't order that for you, seeing as how I've been using the same pharmacy for 10 years now.
They have my business, if they want to keep it, they will stock this.
But my appointment was at 9:40am, I was at Walgreen's by 10:20am, and I didn't get back home until almost 2pm because of how long it took to find a store that had these in stock.
That's crazy.
I shouldn't have had to call so many places to find a prescription my doc wrote me.
May 12, 2008
Hoppy birfday to woo.
Christine made a post about kid friendly restaurants and birthday parties for kids, and entitlement jerks.
Basically the dad was mad because the restaurant didn't offer his 3 year old son no free gift or cake at his birthday when they dined out.
I worked in many different restaurants when I was working outside the home, and I can tell you that not a single one ever gave anyone, kid or otherwise, a free gift or free cake, on their birthdays.
The cake was added to the bill, and it was usually just a slice of cake from our dessert menu unless someone called in advance to arrange for a whole cake for the entire group to have.
We would sing if asked, but most people didn't because it is publicly humiliating for both the birthday person and the restaurant staff who are forced to sing it.
That dad is a butthead.
He complained about the crappy meal, the bad drinks, the bad service, and yet he expected the restaurant to shower his 3 year old with a gift and free cake, as well as sing the damn happy song.
______________
But we did do this once, to Sebastian on his birthday, at our fave Chinese buffet here in town.
He was about 10 or 11, and my sis and I felt like embarrassing him.
We pre-arranged with the manager to bring a cake over at the end of our meal, a small Pepperidge Farm one we brought ourselves, and also to sing to him.
The entire staff who work there are Chinese with very heavy accents.
We finished our meal and Sebastian thinks that's it, when the whole wait staff comes over with his cake and like 100 candles on it.
It was like on fire, I thought for sure the smoke alarms in the place were going to go off.
We never asked for the candles, the staff did that on their own, but it made it even more funny to sis and I.
They get to the table, Sebastian is already mortified because of the flaming cake o' death, and they start singing.
"Hoppy birfday to woo, hoppy birfday to woo", all really thick Chinese accents, so thick you could barely understand any of the words to the classic birthday song.
Every patron of the restaurant is staring at our table, people are standing up to see, and how could you not see?
There were 20 wait staff all dressed in matching black pants and white shirts, singing very loudly, and a tiny cake with flames shooting off the candles.
People were laughing, some were singing along, and Mark is nearly pissing himself with laughter.
My sister and I have tears rolling down our cheeks because all we wanted was the cake brought over, and maybe like 2 waiters to sing, NOT the entire staff, and it was just so loud and so bright, we were losing it with laughter.
Sebastian's face was bright red, he was so embarrassed, but it was just awesomely funny.
We've never done that again, but we threaten it every time one of the teens have a birthday.
We always take them out on their day to where ever they want to go, and when we get there, we joke about how we tipped the waitress etc to bring a cake and sing.
Both teens usually get immediately red in the face, and ask like 100 times through the meal if we're kidding or not.
We usually hold out on the joke till the very end, when we finally tell them we were kidding, but watching them get nervous every time a waiter passes by our table is priceless.
May 5, 2008
UPS, why must you suck so much?
I had my box cutter all ready to go, to open up the new monitor that the teen's Aunt Heather bought for them.
The monitor that was supposed to be delivered on April 30th, but once again, UPS couldn't find the address.
The address Heather used when she bought it, is correct, but what happens at UPS every single time now, is that when they enter it into their tracking system, they reverse the numbers to my house.
Instead of 5328, they enter it in as 5238, or 5823, or some other combination which is wrong, and then they just don't even bother to try looking up the correct address.
I've now lived here for 10 years, and I've never had a single package delivered when it was supposed to be.
They always mess it up, make me call them, or is the case right now, Heather is once again on the phone with them.
When it didn't get delivered by Saturday, she called them and asked why.
They told her about the address, they corrected it, promised her it would be delivered today, and now it's not.
When I called them a little while ago and gave them the tracking information and asked where it was, and also explained the promise, they said that "whoever told the gift sender it would be delivered today, lied."
When Heather called me about 20 minutes ago and I told her what they told me, she was furious.
"What do you mean they told you the rep I spoke to lied?! Are they calling their own employees liars now?!"
I said yes, that's what the lady said, that you were lied to.
To say Heather is unhappy is an understatement.
She's calling them now to chew them out some more.
To add to the chewing I did.
I mean come on!
10 years at the same exact address, and they still mess up my address and can't find my house?!
I swear, if I had other shipping options with the places I do business with, or could ask my shippers too please use Fedex or DHL, two companies who have never had a problem and as a matter of fact, always deliver a day early in most cases, believe me, I would.
I'm sick and tired of any package I order never making it to me on time, and having UPS come up with all kinds of excuses why.
They always apologize, but saying sorry isn't good enough any more, not after 10 years of hearing it.
May 5, 2008
Oh UPS, when will you get it right?
I'm not doing much today, just hanging out waiting on a delivery of a monitor for the teens pc that was supposed to be delivered on the 30th.
Why wasn't it?
Because once again, UPS screwed up my address when they entered it electronically into their computers and scanners.
A call was made, they supposedly fixed it, and it's supposed to be here today.
We'll see.
I also wanted to remind everyone about the two give-aways that are going on here.
2 copies of the Hot Latin Diet book, and a Mad Money DVD.
Entering to win is really easy, and anyone can enter!
April 20, 2008
Trying to wake up and move it.
I slept like total crap.
That trigger point injection has NOT kicked in yet people.
It should have kicked in by now and it hasn't.
Every movement with my left arm is like being stabbed.
Argh!
Anyway, I'm up this early because my friend called about going shopping.
We're going to go do it this morning after we stop and pay her car insurance.
The payment she made online the other day didn't go through for some reason, so they called and told her that, and when she checked her bank balance, sure enough, it didn't go through.
Their office is open this morning at 9am, so we're going to run there and pay really quick, then hit up the store.
I love that most businesses are open on Sundays here.
Missed paying the cable bill?
No worries, just drive all the way the hell out to the end of Fruitville road and the intersection of I-75, and pay it.
You may even get to watch a funeral at the cemetery across the street while you're at it.
I totally miss how easy it was to pay bills in Maine.
You just walked into whatever grocery store was your fave, go to the customer service desk, and you could pay your phone, cable, water, get money orders, stamps, mail packages, rent movies, all kinds of stuff.
They don't do that down here and man, was that a shock when I got here.
I actually went to the CS desk at Publix that first month I was in my own apartment, and asked to pay my phone bill.
They looked at me like I was crazy.
When I explained how it works up north, they said if they did that here, they'd never do anything else at the desk. They said it was bad now with having to just sell money orders and sell and give Western Union payments, never mind do actual bill payments.
Um, they barely do that.
They will sell money orders, but they don't cash them.
They will cash paychecks, but it has to be from a company in their "book".
It's weird.
It makes me very happy that I get paid through Paypal for everything I do because when I was working outside the home, getting my checks cashed without having a bank account was a nightmare.
If the place I worked wasn't in the book, they would refuse to cash it, and if I persisted, they would call my place of employment to make sure it existed.
Um, who hasn't heard of Pier 1 Imports or Ruby Tuesday's?
Then not one, but two store managers, would have to approve the check and add it to the book.
But whatever, I'm rambling now when I should be getting my ass in gear.
I tend to ramble upon waking.
Gotta run, time is slipping away faster than I think my body can move to get ready.
Ack!
April 17, 2008
Paradise by any light.
I was fortunate enough to receive some pearl earrings from a site that specializes in nothing but the finest freshwater pearls, exotic natural pearls, saltwater Akoya, and my favorite, south sea and Tahitian.
I received a stunning pair of black Tahitain pearl stud earrings.
They are black with that beautiful "peacock" over tone which gives them sort of a greenish hue, but they change in different lighting, looking very dark or very bright, almost silver-ish.
They are just so beautiful, I love them!
Just look at these!
I got them from Pearl Paradise, and I couldn't be more pleased with them, and you all know how much I love jewelry, so getting these was like wow.
All of the pearl jewelry they have is very affordable, the only problem you'd have is selecting what you want.
They own their own pearl farm, so they are able to control the quality and the pricing of the world's finest pearls, and believe me, these are some quality pearl earrings.
I am so lucky and greatful to have gotten them, and I can't thank Pearl Paradise enough.
But I tried.
I made this silly little video, yes, this is where I show off my uber dorkness, but I just wanted to show them and everyone else how much I love my new earrings.
Thank you Pearl Paradise!
April 16, 2008
Verizon sucks so freaking much!
If you do a search on my site for Verizon, you'll see how many times I've had issues with their service.
It ain't pretty.
Ok, once again, Verizon requires a CC to auto-bill for DSL every month, and every month without fail, their auto-billing thing does not work. It has never worked in all the years I have had DSL with them.
So every month, I have to call them and update the CC numbers, they bill, no problem.
But it just doesn't work the way it's supposed to.
They tell me I can go to their site and update it myself or make a one time payment.
No, I can't.
See, my account with them has been screwed since day 1 of service and no one knows why.
When I go to the site, no matter what I click on, it says "This tool is unavailable on your account."
Not just unavailable, but strictly unavailable to my account.
So anyway, I had already made 2 calls to them so far this month, they didn't bill like they were supposed to, again, so I called the first time, called again just to make sure it had been billed, and I was assured it had been.
But no, it hadn't been.
So I get this email from them that said the CC validation didn't work, call us or be shut off in 10 days.
That was on the 10th.
I called them as soon as I got the email, updated the CC info again, and again, they assured me it had been billed.
But it either hasn't been billed, or someone got a little over zealous and suspended my service on Monday the 14th at 7:40pm.
I called, they see they made a mistake and suspended wrongly, so they un-suspended my account, and assured me I'd be back on in 2 hours.
Nope, didn't happen.
I ended up being stuck behind a "walled garden", Verizon's suspended message when you try to go on the net.
My modem was on, I could connect, but they were blocking every single website with their silly little garden.
So I called and called and called.
They handed me bullshit line after line about how the problem was on my end with my phone line, and the local phone repair kept saying it wasn't.
DSL kept saying it was.
Finally, I spoke to a guy named John who (amazingly, I didn't end up with an outsourced employee this time) said that when they suspended my service wrongly, someone at the central office screwed up the wires to my account, and it was going to take a repair tech at least 24 hours to figure it out and fix it.
I told him not to bullshit me, I had already been lied to by 7 different non-English speaking tech support people, and if I got lied to one more fucking time, I was going to call 8 on your side and they could get to the bottom of this bullshit, because honestly, after 8 fucking years of having to call every single month because their auto-bill feature doesn't fucking work, I'm going to fucking kill someone for a problem that is clearly not my fault.
He said he could see looking at my records that I call every month, and the history of problems with my account, and he was so so sorry.
Sorry doesn't cut it, fix it, I said.
He said he'd personally over see it, he was a level 3 tech.
What that means I don't know, but from now on, I'm going to call, when I have to which will be every month knowing my Verizon history, and just demand to speak to a level 3 tech.
Fuck that outsourced bullshit with shutting my modem down, turn it on, clear my cache, and oops, we're sorry, looks like it's on our end.
I actually don't know if my bill is paid or not, but I updated my CC info again for the 4th time now, and my net is back on.
I'm happy it's back, I have a lot of work to do, but god damn, I'm so fucking sick of Verizon's bullshit.
If I had any other choice for phone and net besides Comcast cable and Verizon where I live, I would have left Verizon years ago.
Brighthouse is not available here, there is no other option for me, so I'm stuck, have been stuck, with shitty fucking service for like 8 years.
It's fucking bullshit, I'm over it.
April 13, 2008
Mini-fridge no more.
It was just as I had thought, the landman was out of town for the weekend with his family, his voice mail box was full, but as soon as he got back he called me to see what I needed.
I told him about the death of the fridge for the second time in 2 weeks, and he said ok, I'll call you right back.
He then called and said clean out the old broken 1, he was on his way over.
Ta-da!
New fridge!
Sebastian got straight to placing all our magnets back on it, and had some fun with their placement.
Silly teenage boy.
It's cooling slowly, it had been tipped on it's side to bring it in the house, so all the compressor stuff has to settle down again in order to truly start being cold, but it's getting there.
The landman and his family had been up at his parents house in the northern part of the state, and his son was with him when he brought the new fridge over.
He hadn't even unpacked all his luggage and stuff yet, so when placing the old fridge in his van, he kept telling his son to move his clubs.
Now either the boy just didn't hear him, or wasn't paying attention, but he started getting pissed as he was holding the end of the fridge up and trying to slide it in and his Callaway irons were still in the way.
Finally he just yelled, "Move the damn clubs now!"
That kid practically jumped and hauled the bag over the seat as fast as he could.
His eyes were huge, he let out this little squeak of a sorry, and the fridge finally went in.
The landman then turns to me and says, "I swear, kids don't hear anything unless you yell at them or are trying to give them money or video games."
I nodded in agreement, teens, they suck sometimes.
Seeing as how my lone package of burger was frozen in the mini-fridges itty bitty freezer, and because of the broken fridge, there was nothing to cook for dinner, so with the money sis brought over for the teens, they ordered us a bunch of $4 pizzas and wings from Dominos.
The teens had ordered 20 hot wings and 20 BBQ wings, but after the driver had left and we started to dig in, we noticed that they were ALL hot wings.
I can't eat hot wings unless I feel like being ill all night, so I called them back, explained, and they brought us the 20 BBQ wings.
I offered to give them back the other 20 hot, but they didn't want them, so all in all, we ended up with 60 wings and 3 pizzas for $40.
Not bad.
Off to catch up now before I go and put all the food in the new fridge, and i have laundry to dry still.
Later days!
April 9, 2008
Grossest chicken ever. Popeyes Chicken.
I had never eaten at Popeye's Chicken before, but everyone kept telling me how awesome it is, so today after doing a little shopping, we stopped and picked some up.
I honestly don't think I've ever tasted worse chicken in my entire life.
It was greasy, and had a nasty flavor to it that I can't even describe.
And the mashed potatoes and gravy.
Barf.
What the hell did they put in the gravy?
It was so gross.
I know they pride themselves on Cajun flavor, but I've had Cajun chicken before, and this stuff is just disgusting.
I do have to say though that their customer service was excellent.
They were quick, they didn't make any mistakes with our order, the staff was pleasant and courteous, and even offered us large cups of ice cold water because it was so hot out.
So the food sucks but the service was great.
Can't win 'em all.
March 29, 2008
It should be called open season on snowbirds.
Oh my, my my my, I have had a helluva day.
I went grocery shopping this afternoon, and I swear, every single senior asshole snowbird, was in Publix today.
The snowbirds suck, all of them, but the seniors are by far the worst.
I know I've bitched about this plenty of times, but today, I wanted to physically kill one of them.
Publix was overly crowded with snowbirds, the majority of them were of the senior variety.
The most obnoxious species to behold.
If you see one, or a small crowd of them, stay out of their way.
They have absolutely no manners and believe that the world revolves around them.
Publix had the hair-brained idea, that having every stock clerk on the floor and stocking shelves from noon to 4pm, was just the best thing ever.
But no, it's not.
Saturdays are busy shopping days, it's the one day of the week most people have off of work and can go get food.
Having 20 stock clerks clogging the aisles is just bad.
I went in the cereal aisle, or I should say, attempted to go in the cereal aisle, when I was immediately blocked in by a stock clerk to my left refilling the pop-tarts, the granola bars, and fruit snacks, and 2 shoppers in front of me going my direction, and 3 trying to go the opposite.
An old woman, approximately 65-75 years of age, came in behind me and proceeded to bang her cart into my ass.
I turned to her and said; "Ma'am, I can't go anywhere. There are people in front of me, and no room to go around because he's stocking the shelves".
She made a face that I assumed wrongly, to be of understanding.
Just a mere 30 seconds later, I thought I had been hit by a car.
Well it was a cart and not a car, and it was this same ladies cart, and it wasn't just a small hit, oh no, it was a full on slam directly into my tail bone.
I turned around and snapped; "What the fuck is your problem lady?! I told you, I can't go anywhere! If you want to go up this aisle so badly, why don't you ask the stock clerk to move, or better yet, why don't you say excuse me?!?!"
She stared at me, the stock clerk and the other customers in the aisle turned around to see, and she yelled out; "Move!"
I repeated that I couldn't move anywhere due to the amount of people in the aisle, and that if she rammed me with her cart again, she'd be very fucking sorry.
She clutched the handle of the cart and moved it back like she was getting ready to take aim at me again, and I turned around to fully face her, and said; "Don't. Even. Think. About. It."
Sebastian who always goes shopping with me and had seen her hit me, grabbed my arm and said; "Mom, is your back ok?"
I told him that no, it wasn't. She hit my tail bone. I felt the cart slam into my rods and screws, I felt it all the way up into my neck, but if this woman dares to try and hit me again, I'll ignore the pain I'm in just long enough to take her cart and shove it up her wrinkly ass.
Sebastian let go of me and backed up.
The old lady now had this look of horror on her face, and the stock clerk was trying to get his stuff out of the way to get out of the aisle.
The other customers started to back up and move out of the way as far as they could so I could pass through.
When there was enough room for me to move forward, I slowly turned back to face my own cart and then moved up the aisle.
The other customers just all stood staring at me and the old lady, waiting to see what was going to happen.
She came up the aisle, this look of superiority on her face, and as she passed me, she turned her cart into mine and pushed it, then kept moving up the entire aisle, not getting a single thing from the shelves at all.
She went up the entire aisle and turned to go down another.
She didn't even need anything in that aisle.
What the fuck?
I hate these people.
I hate these old, rotten, rude, assholish snowbirds who don't live here, but make the local people's lives a living hell from November to the end of April.
I cannot fucking wait till they all go back to wherever the fuck they came from, and the roads, the parking lots, and the stores, will once again be safe to be in or on.
They drive like they own the roads, no blinkers, they take up 3 parking spaces, they treat everyone they come in contact with like they are lower forms of life.
Hate.
Them.
I spent the rest of the time in the store in absolute agony.
That was only aisle 5, I had 15 more to go, a lot of groceries and other necessities to get before I could come home.
It took me over 10 minutes to check out, every register that was open, had huge long lines, they kept calling over the speakers for clerks to come bag and retrieve carts from the lot.
Normally, I can get in and out of the store in about an hour, today it took me nearly 2 hours to get everything I needed and get checked out.
I couldn't wait to get home.
I've been home since about 3pm, and my tail bone and lower back is on fire.
I've taken 3 pain pills and slapped on a lidocaine patch, and I am still in horrific pain.
When Mark was helping me put the patch on, he told me it was black and blue.
I turned to look at it in the mirror, and there was noticeable color change.
It hurts so freaking bad.
I swear, if she had hit my body again, I would have lost it on her.
I would have taken her cart and slammed it into her, and I don't know if I would have stopped.
It would have been self defense maybe.
Maybe temporary insanity, but she would have deserved it.
I am so sick of these people doing this shit.
I am so over them behaving like assholes in the store, taking things right out of people's hands, hitting people with the carts, being rude, never saying excuse me or thank you when someone does move out of their way.
I cannot wait till they all go home.
The end of April can't get here fast enough.
March 27, 2008
Yay for DHL!
DHL just got here with my new paypal card, the one that got canceled due to the Sweetbay fiasco, and it's activated and ready to go.
Now I have to go and fix the bills that had that debit card number, and switch them over to the new number.
I also cut up the old card into itty bitty pieces.
March 26, 2008
Things I need to do.
Tomorrow after DHL gets here with my new paypal debit card, I have to activate it, then when I get paid, I need to call and pay my medicare part d bill, and the water bill.
I have some work I need to do, but I will get it all done, but before I can do any of that, I need to fix me.
I just had one of those days ya know?
And if you don't know, read the post below.
I am tired, semi-depressed, bored, uptight, and in serious need of a shower.
I think if I can get a shower, I'll feel a helluva lot better about myself.
I just feel out of sorts right now, my hair is a mess, and I need to take care of me.
I'm always telling others to take care themselves, and I blow right past my own needs.
So yes, I need to take care of me.
Shower, do my hair, that stuff.
I got a gift cert from a friend last week to Amazon, so I got the boys a new game they wanted, and then bought myself some flat iron hair stuff.
Protector and smoothing stuff.
I want to go play with it, and I will as soon as I'm done posting this.
I need some me time.
March 21, 2008
Sweetbay Supermarket fiasco.
For those of you who don't know yet, this is what happened.
"Dear Customer: Sweetbay Supermarket has contained a data intrusion into its computer network that resulted in the theft of customer credit and debit card numbers. No personal information, such as names or addresses, was accessed. Sweetbay Supermarket doesn't collect, know or keep any personally identifiable customer information from transactions. We sincerely regret this intrusion into our systems, which we believe, is among the strongest in the industry. The stolen data was limited to credit and debit card numbers and expiration dates, and was illegally accessed from our computer systems during transmission of card authorization. The intrusion affected Sweetbay stores in Florida, Hannaford stores in the Northeast, US and certain independently owned retail locations in the Northeast that carry Hannaford products."
I haven't even shopped at Sweetbay in like a year, and 2 of my Mastercard debit cards have been canceled.
That's right, 2.
See, Mastercard feels that if an intrusion like this happened once, they believe it might have happened before this, so they are just shutting down the CC/debit cads of people who have shopped at a Sweetbay or a Hannaford in the last year.
This sucks.
I have absolutely no way to access any of my money until new cards are issued.
My paypal debit card, canceled, I might receive a new one by Wednesday.
My other card is a CS card that I didn't even want, and I might get that replacement card by Friday of next week.
I transferred my entire balance from my paypal account to my Amscot card, but that takes 2-4 business days to complete.
That's just great huh?
So anyway, I called Sweetbay customer service to thank them for their outstanding care of their customers information. /sarcasm
I was polite, I was nice, until the smart-mouthed customer service rep on the line said the following to me;
"Well it's not just you who has been inconvenienced. I have a car payment due, and a student loan payment, and bills of my own to make, and there's nothing I can do about it.You're not the only one."
Excuse me? Did she really just say that to me?!
I've worked in customer service for 18 years, you are in no way ever, supposed to get personal or rude, with any customer who calls in with any kind of complaint.
And so yes, after she said that, I went off.
I told her, "People have bills to pay, they have things to do, and because of the very serious breach in security at Sweetbay, Mastercard is taking drastic measures.
It's not just an inconvenience, it's a disaster.
New cards are being issued, money is tied up in limbo until transfers to other accounts can finish in business days or new cards are received by mail.
This isn't a laughing matter, it's a serious problem, and as someone who has worked in customer service for many years, I can tell you that speaking to customers this way, is not acceptable at all. You are never to get personal with a customer, you are never to get rude, you are never to say anything that will make the customer any angrier than they already are. Your job is to calm them down, apologize for the problem, confirm for them that your company is doing everything they can to make sure this never happens again.
I hope this phone call has been recorded so your supervisors can fire you when they hear how you just spoke to a customer. I didn't call this number to ask you about your financial problems, I called to tell you what your companies security breach has done to mine, and to inform you that because of this, I will never shop at another Sweetbay ever again. And because of how you just spoke to me, I can guarantee that I will never spend another freaking dime at any of your stores ever ever again."
She sputtered a few worthless apologies, but I hung up.
I was fuming mad at this point.
But here's the deal folks, if you have used your paypal debit or credit card at any Sweetbay in Florida or Hannaford in the Northeast, or any Mastercard for that matter, you might want to call your card issuer and find out if your card has been canceled.
I had no idea, I had not received any emails from paypal about my card being canceled, nor from my CS card issuers, but they are indeed canceled, and now I have to wait for new ones.
You might want to check yours.
March 20, 2008
Attempting to get moving.
I need to get my body un-stiff, and get off to the store.
I have to pick up a few things I forgot, and a few things the bagger at Publix forgot to put in my bags.
I hate that.
I don't buy groceries so the bagger can forget to put them in the bag.
2 packages of shredded cheddar, and a 4 pack of tuna.
They are on my receipt, but not in my fridge and cupboards.
I wish I had noticed it on Saturday when I actually went shopping, but I didn't notice till last night when I had the enchiladas already rolled and in the pan, and went to grab the cheese.
Oh well.
Mark is a funny kid. He's always bringing pens home for me that he finds at school. He knows I like a really nice pen to write with, the heavier the better.
But yesterday he came home with a bunch of marketing pens from a local retailer.
How many is a bunch?
15.
They aren't bad pens, they write good, but just not heavy enough for my hand.
And how he got them all, I have no idea.
I like the pen he brought home the other day though.
It's this wicked heavy silver pen, octagon shape, and it has a heavy ink.
It's way nice.
Me likey.
I got Rick rolled this morning.
You know what Rick rolling is?
It's this really stupid internet fad where someone posts a link, and says it's one thing, but it's usually the youtube video for Rick Astley's never gonna give you up.
So anyway, they posted a link, said it was a list, and it was the Rick Astley video, but the browser window, was flying all over the place. You couldn't close it down.
I had to ctrl + alt + dlete, to end it.
I have never found the funny with the whole Rick rolling thing at all.
It's really stupid actually.
March 12, 2008
It's a pretty picture when it comes in.
I went and got the converter box at the evil Walmart, and I'm quite glad I only had to pay $9.87 + tax.
I'll explain that, but first let me tell you about the fabulous customer service at Walmart. /sarcasm
Again.
I run in, find it in the electronics department where nobody is working, or if they were, they were not where any customer could possibly find them.
I make my way to the register, I have exactly 2 items, the converter box and a soda.
The cashier scans the box and the soda, and I hand her the coupon card, it's not a paper coupon, it looks like a credit or debit card, so of course, the cashier is absolutely baffled as to how to apply it.
She turns on her register light for a manager.
This register that I'm at is right next to the service desk and the manager podium.
The manager is at the podium, it's about 5 feet away from this register.
He looks up at her, down at his employee schedule for the day, and asks her if she wants her break.
She says no, so then he says, "Turn your light back on then."
Uh...
I said to him, "She needs help applying the converter box coupon please".
He looks up again, she shows him the card, he says "I don't know how to use that", and looks back down at his papers.
Uh.....
So I said, "Sir, it's the converter box coupon program, but it's not a paper coupon with a code, it has a scan bar, like a credit card. If you don't know how to apply it, can you please find someone who does know?"
He stares at me, and just then another manager walks up to the podium, and he mumbles converter box coupon, help, apply, and she comes over, looks at it, and says, "I have no idea".
Uh....
So I said,"It is like a debit card, so maybe she should hit debit, swipe it, and hit enter?"
This lady who just got done saying she doesn't know, says "Ma'am, it says right on it coupon, so we have to apply it as a coupon. Mary, just hit coupon, enter the amount $40.00, and hit enter, maybe that will work".
So Mary does that, and the register asks for a code, they don't have one, so they stand there staring at the card, decide to read the back of it, and then the manager lady just plops in her manager key, and hits enter, over ride, and her manager number code.
It deducts the $40, but that is so not the way to do it obviously.
And obviously, no one at Walmart has a clue how to use this coupon card, so Mary's till is probably going to be all screwed up at the end of the day, short by $40, or some other problem.
But whatever, not my problem, just finish my stuff so I can leave.
I swipe my debit card, wait for my receipt and run the hell outta there.
I hate that place.
Now, onto the converter box itself.
It works, it works quite nicely when the signal is strong, but just like an antenna, if the wind blows, buh-bye pretty picture.
And some local channels will not tune in at all.
WWSB, and WFLA, which both brag about broadcasting in HD digital, do not tune in at all.
Nada, zip, zero, zilch.
I've been home for over 2 and a half hours, had this thing hooked up in seconds, and have been attempting to tune in all the channels since.
I get a lot of channels now, there's like 6 different PBS stations, a few ION stations, some more Spanish channels, Qubo, which is for kids, and all of the channels I previously picked up with the antenna, are coming in really nice, until the wind blows.
But both the above channels, are local news stations, I watch them both for local news, and the fact that they won't come in, is well, irritating.
I'll keep messing with it, I may need to buy a stronger antenna, something called an Ang, I think, it's supposed to be better at picking up digital signals, even though I have an antenna that does that, I just may need one with more power.
*muwhahahah! I need! More! Powwwwer!*
So that's how my day is so far, how's yours going?
March 11, 2008
Lady, are you sure?!
I ordered Pizza Hut for dinner tonight, didn't feel like cooking, and the guy on the phone said delivery would be over an hour.
I was prepared for that, some nights are just busy, it was cool.
But the delivery guy got here in less than that, in about 35 minutes.
I ordered 3 Pizza Mia pizzas, they are $5 each, then a 2 liter of Pepsi for the boys, and 2 20 oz. Diet Pepsi's for me.
It wasn't much, came to about $25, and because he got here a lot faster than they said, and he had everything I ordered, I tipped him $10.
He asked me if I was sure, I said yes.
He asked again, I said yes again, and then asked him why he was surprised.
He said, "People don't ever tip more than $5, and lately, people have been tipping about $1-$2. Are you really sure?"
I said "Yes I'm sure, and people are cheap, and the economy is in the crapper. But the way I see it is this, if you order for delivery, then you should be prepared to give a decent tip. The cost of gas is rising, the delivery people use their own vehicles, and they barely make minimum wage. They rely on tips, that's how they make their money."
He said thanks 3 more times before running back to his car, and he had this huge smile on his face.
That was my good deed for the day.
I made sure the kid could get some gas in his car tonight.
When you order for delivery, how much do you tip?
March 7, 2008
Things to do with my tax return.
If I ever get around to filing it that is.
That's right, I still have not gone to get them done.
There's been a few issues come up over some things, not big issues, but I want to make sure before I go and do them, that the answer I was given is the correct one.
Then I need to decide on where to go.
Jackson Hewitt, who has always done my taxes, but didn't get back the right amount last year, or Amscot, who I have done all my money stuff through for the last 2 years?
I'll probably go with Amscot.
I know a few people who have done their taxes through them this year, and are very pleased.
So after I get them done, I need to get Kali to the vet, that's first and foremost, and then I'm going to go discount furniture shopping for a new sofa, and if I can't find something I like and cheap, I'll just do a slipcover.
Then it's time for new contacts again, and then it's time for me to get some new clothes.
New jeans, new shirts, new shoes.
I'm sure I'll go with as cheap as I possibly can, I always do, that mom guilt is a killer, so Target will get some business for my clothing needs.
And after the needs are met, the rest of the money will stay in my account for emergency bills, or other emergencies.
March 5, 2008
Clean from the inside out.
I'm so excited!
Any day now, I'll be getting a full size sample bottle of a new (well new to me) antioxidant to try out.
I love testing products, and I love testing them more when they are for health reasons.
I take a vitamin every day, a cal/mag/zinc supplement 3 times a day, as well as a fiber supplement 3 times a day.
The antioxidant excites me because of it's cleaning abilities.
It removes free radical intermediates, and oxidation reactions, by being oxidized themselves.
Oxidative stress may be an important part of many human diseases, and so having something to fight off those free radicals which may cause illnesses, is a good thing.
I cannot wait to try this one out, as it boasts an energy producer as well.
I'll be sure to let you know how it works and if I like it or not.
I'm rather impatient, and can't wait for it to get here.
February 26, 2008
Major power outages in Florida.
Obviously not at my house, but this is a widespread issue.
It's a major story on CNN, something is up with the power grids.
About 4.4 million customers across South Florida were affected, Florida Power and Light officials said.
The outage struck shortly after 1 p.m., as scattered thunderstorms passed through the region. But the cause of the outage was not immediately known.
In Washington, officials at the Department of Homeland Security said there was no immediate concern that terrorism was behind the outage.
February 15, 2008
It was so not my phone!
I've had a most icky day, I don't want to whine about it, but let's just say I probably could have used one of these posture correction things last night and today.
My back and whole body has just been a mess, but I think that one pill is finally wearing off.
Zanaflex + Kat = way bad interaction.
But anyway, I got up this morning after barely getting 2 hours of sleep due to that rotten pill, and found my phone to be sending the whole dead air deal.
My net was on and off all day, just a big mess.
I called Verizon.
Gah, that right there should tell you how fun of a day I had with them.
They tell me there's noise on my line, but most likely coming from my equipment.
I no longer have an answering machine cuz that got fried 3 weeks ago when the transformer blew, so the only things connected to the line were my phone and DSL line.
I went outback and tested the NID box, (Network Interface Device) got the same dead air back there.
Verizon calls me back and insists it's my phone.
I tell them I tested my phone at my neighbors house and it worked just fine.
They insist it's still my phone, but they'll send a tech out to take a look.
The repair guy gets here and sets about testing the lines.
He can hear the noise on the line, and goes about trying to find the faulty wire.
He comes back nearly an hour later, and tells me it's definitely not my phone.
There's a line on the next pole over from the one that had the transformer blow, and it was almost blown apart.
All the wires inside the line were exposed to the elements.
He wrapped a temporary line cover on it so my phone and net would work again, and tells me that a repair crew will have to come out and replace that whole line.
We plug my phone back in, and yup, I now have a signal again instead of air.
I'm so so glad it was not my phone, I feel vindicated.
Why?
Because if it had been my phone or the wires inside my home, they would have charged me $80 bucks per hour to repair it.
But seeing as it IS there line outside, I don't have to pay a dime.
But once again, Verizon DSL has not charged my CC for the bill that was supposed to be paid on the 28th.
I had to call them again today and ask them to charge my card.
I swear, they just keep screwing up my billing month after month after month.
He leaves and I go back to my couch, just to chill and try to relax.
My legs were still doing the herky jerky spasm crap from that one rotten pill I took.
It's supposed to be an anti-spasmodic, they give that muscle relaxer to MS patients, but it can have very bad side effects.
I only took one Zanaflex, it should have worn off within 3-6 hours, but I was at the over 24 hour mark, still having bad side effects.
I was nauseous, vomiting, my heart was racing, and instead of calming my muscles down, it made them do a little freak out.
My legs and lower back muscles twitched all night last night and all day today, with a pounding racing heart.
My mouth was dry, I had the runs wicked bad, and I wasn't eating or drinking anything at all.
I was tired and dizzy, but couldn't sleep.
At one point, I got so scared that my heart was beating so fast, that I thought about going to the ER.
My chest hurt, I was actually scared I was having some sort of adverse reaction that was going to cause me to have a heart attack.
I just tried to lay down and rest as much as possible all day and night.
I think it's finally worn off, and thank goodness for that. I was really scared for awhile there.
I sent to the boys to the store to buy subs for dinner, and we chilled out and watched a movie tonight.
Gone Baby Gone
I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but you need to see it if you haven't already.
Great cast too. I really liked it, and it had one of those endings that you just don't know which side you should have been on.
February 7, 2008
Crusty crotch pants from Old Navy.
Colleen bought two pairs of pants at Old Navy, she tried one pair on, bought another pair in the same style but different color.
On the day she wanted to wear the second pair, she noticed some other woman's vaginal discharge in the crotch.
Please go to Digg, read her story, digg it to the top.
It's awesome what's she doing with the pants now because ON treated her badly when she went to return them.
But I laughed, and I know you'll be laughing, but see, I know how this happened.
I used to work at Old Navy, I know their return policies, and where the products come from.
I worked mostly in the stock room bringing in shipments off the truck.
It was my job to unpack it, hang it on the hangers, place it on the floor.
I also covered the fitting rooms and helped put returned items back out.
First, ALL of Old Navy's items are made over seas. This should be a major hint to wash anything you buy from them.
Why?
Many times I would open a box and spiders would be in the clothes, or fleas.
Sometimes, I'd get done hanging over 200 pieces, and my arms would be itchy. I'd look down to find a major rash going on, on my arms.
From whatever was in the box.
In the fitting rooms, there was a sign up that said you must keep your underwear on while trying on clothes, but uh, sometimes the female customers wouldn't be wearing any.
That's the first way the crusty stain could have happened.
Yes, we could tell them they couldn't try on any more clothes after we saw nakedness, but that might cause a scene, and getting our manager involved in it was something the manager didn't like to do.
Heck, they didn't even like to get involved in blatant shoplifting exchanges.
The second way, is when items are returned.
All the Old Navy employees are required to do, is ask why you are returning it, and give the item a once over for outside damage to the outside of the garment.
We never were told to check pockets or look inside the crotch of the pants.
Simply look for outside stains or tears.
That's it.
That's the second way the stain could have happened, but she said the pants were new, so I'm betting on the fitting room scenario.
What did we do with returned items?
We hung them on hangers and placed them back on the sales floor of course!
Same with items from the fitting rooms that the customers didn't want.
In there, we never even inspected the items after they tried them on.
They were "new" after all.
We placed them back on the hangers, and on to the sales floor they went.
I've worked in retail and customer service for years.
The customer is always right even when they are wrong.
By thoroughly inspecting items and finding a stain like that, could cause the customer to start screaming that they didn't do it, that we must have sold it to them that way, they demand their money back, all at full on screech decibel, which causes other customers to leave the store.
It's best policy, and it was Old Navy's policy, to just inspect the outside of the garments and return their money, no other questions asked, then place the item back on the sales floor with no further inspections.
Old Navy hated to lose money.
Their items were cheap as it was, having to mark off an item, meant the store lost money, and I know for a fact at my store, that items that smelled like smoke, alcohol, coffee stains, baby throw-up, and other assorted problems, were placed back on the sales floor all the time.
The only items we ever marked off, we ones right off the truck, and usually only if they were broken.
But we'd even sell them, after writing it off as a loss.
We'd mark it down 20% and stick it in the clearance bin as is.
Colleen's story is funny and gross, but nothing new to people who worked in retail.
It doesn't matter what you buy and where, always wash it, spray that new purse down with Lysol, take a Clorox wipe to new toys.
You'd be surprised and sickened by what those of us in the retail field know about the clothes you just bought.
Wash them.
In hot soapy water with a bleach alternative if you can.
Some of the critters we came across, gave us the itchies and a rash that needed a doctor to treat.
February 6, 2008
A morning massage. Ahhhh.
I have a doc appointment this morning, for a massage.
That's right, one part of my new PT involves getting a massage twice a week.
I'm not super big on massages, I tend to get nervous and tense up, which defeats the whole purpose of getting a massage.
But I will go and try it at least.
I honestly don't know how this is going to go because of the sensitivity issues in my back.
I still have very little touch sensation on the top layer of skin, but if any type of pressure, even just placing a single finger and pressing lightly, I get massive sensations shooting through my whole back.
The nerves have not fully regrown since surgery, and it's quite a unique feeling.
I can't even really describe it well.
A single finger, pressing just barely, feels like thousands of needles being poked simultaneously into my entire back.
It doesn't matter where the press takes place, the entire back feels that way.
A massage could potentially send me into fits of agony on the massage table.
If that happens, I'll just have to cancel the rest of them due to hypersensitivity, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed I'll be able to tolerate it, because those lower back muscles are so tight all the time, they need to be worked on.
Then I'll come home, work out on the elliptical, finish the house stuff I need to, and hope that the forms and other papers I've been expecting, finally show up.
The mail is still screwed up.
Nothing again yesterday, not even the usual Tuesday junk mail fliers.
February 5, 2008
Update on the Buzzfuse post.
I wanted to update you all on what I've learned since making my post about the new service Buzzfuse, the other day.
It was a paid post for another company, and some of my blogging friends are obviously hard up for $5, so they did what they had to do to get paid.
The opp required them to sign up and submit an article, but before you can do that, you have to enter in the email addresses of 10 of your friends.
Not cool at all.
I posted about the situation on a forum, and learned exactly how I got spammed by Buzzfuse.
To show you how this went down, here's a bit of how it works from other bloggers who almost took this low paying piece of shit opp.
"I had actually taken it (the opp) and was going through the process of signing up and submitting something I wanted to promote, when it put up an alert box saying that I could not continue until I entered 10 email addresses of people to "invite" them to the thing. (I had chosen to skip that step in signup)."
"According to the info, in order to use their service, you must submit a video, picture, article, post or whatever you want promoted. So I started to do that. But you cannot even get to the submitting part without entering all ten email addresses."
Garreth from Buzzfuse replied to my post, I replied to his comment, he tells me this isn't spam for the following reason;
"Well, I understand your frustration. Your friends didn't have to put your name in, but I guess they did because they trusted you to review their work and give them feedback (and of course you have!). The point again is that its not so much about making money from their post as it marketing their ongoing posts or testing our system, and these are personal invites, so they are not spam."
Garreth, it's spam plain and simple.
They took the $5 opp because they needed money, they had to use your service and review it in order to get paid. That meant they had to complete all the steps which included entering 10 of their friends in to be invited.
I didn't ask for 5 invitations, they were sent on behalf of my blogging friends from your site, just so they could get paid.
You can say it's not spam, but sorry Garreth, a spade is a spade is a spade.
They did it to make money, not intentionally piss off 10 of their friends.
The requirement of entering in the email addresses of 10 friends, before you can submit an article to Buzzfuse to promote it, is pure and utter crap.
I would never just willingly enter the email addresses of my friends to promote an article I want to gain publicity.
I'll ask my friends to Stumble it, or Digg it, IF they want to.
I won't invite them to a service without telling them about it first, asking them if it's ok if they receive an email from a company they haven't used.
If they say no, then it's no.
Making it a requirement is just evil.
Stumble this post if you like it.
If not, it's cool.
That's how I promote my posts, by asking, not spamming.
Hint, hint Garreth.
February 4, 2008
FedEx needs to get it together.
My friend Holly, sat at home and waited all day, and into the night now, for 2 very large packages to be delivered from FedEx.
She is expecting a memory foam mattress and base, they are in two separate boxes because of the size, and it was all worked out that they be delivered today because it's her only day off this week.
FedEx has not delivered them, and doesn't know when they will be.
The reason FedEx says they could not deliver them today was because according to their computer, the weather in her area was very bad today. Severe weather alerts.
She even told them that wasn't true, it was a beautiful sunny day today, the weather alert is for tomorrow.
She has now emailed back and forth with five (5) different customer service reps, who have all asked her the same questions over and over again.
The website tracking for FedEx, says that one of her packages is on a truck for delivery for today, and the other for tomorrow, but now that the weather alert is for tomorrow, who knows when her bed will actually be delivered.
A supervisor finally admitted that the package that is saying will be delivered tonight, won't be.
Holly has two big problems.
Both she and her husband are working every day the rest of this week, and it is supposed to be raining really badly tomorrow, when FedEx says they will deliver them. If no one is home, they said they will leave them at the door.
Holly has no porch or covered area to protect them from the rain, her bed and bed frame will be absolutely ruined.
But FedEx doesn't really know for sure, if they will be delivered tomorrow, that's just a guess.
I seriously hate bad customer service. hate it.
She worked with the company the bed is coming from to secure delivery for today, it was all scheduled, and as usual, FedEx screwed it up.
I know so many people who hate FedEx for this reason, and others like, not knocking, just leaving the package at the door, or driveway, placed in uncovered areas, or in the case of one of my deliveries of contact lenses a few years ago, the wrong house on the wrong street, and the customer signed my name for them and kept them.
FedEx admitted they took them to the wrong house and they were signed for, so the contact lens company had to resend them at FedEx's cost.
Just last month, Christine ordered a phone from Virgin Mobile, FedEx delivered it to the wrong house, it was signed for, a forged signature, and Virgin had to file a claim and refund her money.
The companies who use Fedex to ship, need to stop shipping with them and use another company for shipping.
FedEx repeatedly loses packages, is late, or delivers them to the wrong address.
It's time for companies to just stop using them.
February 4, 2008
I'll report it to his supervisor.
The mail came, and none of it was mine.
My mailbox has HUGE numbers on it, my name is clearly written inside my mailbox, as a matter of fact, it says 'COOPER ONLY' on the inside.
What came in todays mail?
9 pieces of mail for a house 3 doors down.
A name on the envelopes that doesn't even remotely sound, or even spelled close to COOPER.
I called the post office and asked if my route has a new driver.
The guy who answered put me on hold, then came back and said yes, and asked me why.
I explained that I received mail for a house name and number, 3 doors down, and none of my own mail.
He said he'd report it to that drivers supervisor.
I said ok, that's all well and good, but where is MY mail?
I am expecting tax forms and other important documents this week.
We take the mail that isn't ours, and give it to the rightful owners.
Other people don't always do that.
They sometimes throw it out, or write return to sender on it.
If some of these papers I'm expecting get returned to sender, it's going to cause problems for me.
These are time sensitive documents.
I need them.
The guy said he doesn't know where my mail is, but the supervisor will deal with the new driver and tell him about his mistakes.
That doesn't answer my question, all I can do is hope my mail is not lost.
January 31, 2008
May I speak with Heydee please?
I have been getting calls non-stop from some credit collection people for my old room-mate Heidi.
It's been weeks of them calling 2-3 times a day, and me hanging up after they ask for Heydee.
I don't know anyone named Heydee.
Hee hee.
But today I snapped.
I hate collection calls, Heidi has not lived here in what now, 3 and a half years?
So instead of hanging up after the message that says "Please hold for a call from something something LLC", I waited to speak to one of the idiots.
Some guy with a thick foreign accent jumps on the line and asks me if he can speak to Heydee.
I say who? Playing dumb, want to hear him screw up the name again.
He repeats, "Heydee".
I say, you mean Heidi?
"Um, H-e-i-d-i, Heydee."
No, that spells Hi-dee. Heidi.
"Oh, sorry about dat ma'am. May I speak with her?"
No, Heidi has not lived here in like 3 and a half years. As far as I know, she's back in Seattle, I haven't seen her or spoken with her since she moved out.
"Are you sure ma'am? She put this telephone number down as a contact number."
If she put this number down as a contact, she lied to you, because she has not lived here in over 3 years now.
"Do you have another number for her ma'am?"
No, did you hear me? I have not seen or spoken to her in over 3 years. I don't know and don't really care, where she is. And take this number out of your system.
"We can't do that ma'am."
Excuse me? What? You can't remove MY number from HER contact information? This is not Heidi's home, phone, or address. It belongs to me, Kat Cooper and my sons only. Remove the number from her contact sheet.
"We can't do that ma'am, it's the only contact information we have for her, she must be using it somehow. Sorry to bother you, we will try again later."
He hung up.
Excuse me?!
They won't remove my number from her contact information? The bitch has not lived here in over 3 years, yet she's still using it as a reference number for stuff?
Man, if I ever see her again, I'm gonna fucking hurt her.
How dare she keep using this number and address for whatever it is that she's doing.
Makes me glad I did get her out of here when I did, who knows what kind of shit she's gotten herself into now.
January 30, 2008
Just jot it in the space provided.
I haven't really had a lot to say over the last few days, I'm still shaking off my flu bug, still kinda wankied in the head from that, and been sorta down in the dumpers about stuff.
I've been attempting to get all my tax stuff sorted out, so I can pay what I owe on my self employment earnings, and am attempting to wait patiently for the 1099's to come in the mail.
What I don't like is being asked to re-create my account at an on line company I no longer work for, because when I quit and they deleted my account at my request, they didn't create any back-ups of my tax information which includes my SSN and mailing address.
I refused to re-create that account, and instead sent my information through a secure email connection.
But now I'm slightly, ok, a lot, worried that my 1099 is going to have the wrong information on it.
See, my SSN should have been tied to my earnings in a database some where, but nope, they didn't have my SSN or address, so how are they going to send me a proper 1099?
I received a second email from them after sending them the information they needed, telling me this is the amount you earned, you don't need a 1099 to file your taxes, just jot this amount down in the space provided on the tax form.
Maybe I don't need the 1099, but I prefer to be professional, and have the proper forms should my tax preparer ask for them.
And quite honestly, the fact that my information was not kept in a secure database with my name and SSN tied to my earnings, I have to question if it's even the correct amount.
I don't think it is.
The number they gave me is more than I recall making, even if they added in the $100 for a focus group, it's still about $200 higher than I have written down as my correct earnings.
I kept very detailed records of my earnings, and the number they gave me is more than I have recorded in excel.
It's just another one of those phew, glad I got out when I did, moments for me.
I have zero trust in this company. I lost it quite awhile ago.
I want my actual 1099 in hand, and I want to add up my records again and compare it to this amount. Something is not right and I know it in my gut.
What this means if I am correct about that extra $200, is that I have to pay taxes on that extra amount. I am already going to be paying nearly $1,000 in self employment earnings, and this will just add to it.
I'm freaking broke people, I can't be paying more than I should have to because someone kept shoddy records.
And if the records are indeed wrong for me, how many others will it be wrong for?
January 21, 2008
It's finally fixed. I hope.
Verizon came out today and fiddled around for awhile, claimed that my house shorted out when the lightning struck. They never did climb the pole.
I thought for sure, the way things were going on Saturday night, that Shell would be packing her luggage by candle light on Sunday morning at 5:am.
It took FPL about 3.5 hours to fix the damage. They had to remove the blown transformer and install a brand new one.
They were in the back yard yelling all that time.
When the power came back on, certain appliances had completely blown out in some homes.
I lost my answering machine and my router.
Some things did short out, but that does not mean that their wires on that pole are fine, and they refuse to climb the pole and look.
I swear, if I have to go through hat I went through a few years ago, with having on/off service for months again while they tell me it's not their fault, I will seriously kill somebody.
When Verizon finally got around to checking that pole on their map, they found the grid had been blown.
But for months, they told me it was fine, that it was my computer and telephone that were broken and causing the problems.
They ended up giving me 4 months credit on my DSL bill back then, and if they have screwed it up again this time by refusing to climb the pole and look at those wires, they are going to be sorry.
I'll go to the media this time.
Lightning struck that pole. An FPL transformer is attached to it, along with Comcast cable lines, and Verizon phone lines.
They will not climb the pole and look.
I can almost guarantee you that the Verizon phone wires got melted or holes blown in them just like last time, but they won't even go look.
That's ignorant if you ask me.
They know what happened and will not even just go check it.
If I run into those same problems, they are going to have bigger problems.
