Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Apartment life
Just got word that our apartment complex wants to jack our rent up by $240/month. Did the apartment suddenly get bigger? Did a washer and dryer suddenly appear in the apartment? How does one justify that much of an increase? Damn you Debt! If it wasn't for you I would be buying a house right now!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
How Bacon broke my heart and ruined my day.
I love pork. All kinds of pork. Of all the meat out there, the one that I could never give up is pork. And when it comes to pork, there is no form that it is more appealing in, than bacon.
Now bacon (or bahkyonee as Jamie loves to hear it pronounced) is something that is very near-and-dear to my heart and I don't just mean all the cholesterol. I've always felt that it was perfect. It is, after all, the food that makes all other food better. Don't believe me? Have you ever had a lettuce and tomato sandwich? No. Because that would be fucking boring. Slap some bacon on it though, and it's delicious! Want some eggs for breakfast? No? How about bacon and eggs? And if you even offer me a club sandwich (not to be confused with Joanna's christmas club sandwich) without bacon on it you are in for a half hour tirade about how, by definition, a club sandwich has bacon on it.
Now, my love affair with bacon can probably be traced back to my childhood. Whenever we would visit my maternal grandparents in the deep hills (suburbs) of Chattanooga, TN, my grandfather would wake up earlier than anyone else just so he could attempt to cook bacon and sausage faster than I could eat it. I was 4. He never succeeded. I think the frustration of it all might be what killed him, but I digress.
Flash forward about a dozen years or so and I met the girl who eventually became my wife. The first time I had breakfast with her and her family (all proper meat lovers like me) and I saw her dredge her bacon through maple syrup I was appalled. I remember thinking "Sweet bacon?!?! Only if it's also smothered in course black pepper!" but I kept my mouth shut as she was my ride home.
Today my world changed and the spell might just be broken. Joanna and I went to a restaurant that opened up across from where I work and I ordered a burger with guacamole, green chilies, sour cream (?) and of course, my beloved bacon. The food got to the table, I took a bite, and was immediately grossed out. I knew the problem was that there was something sweet on my burger that was just out of place. At first I figured it was the sour cream, because really, who puts sour cream on a hamburger? But that wasn't it. Guacamole? Nope. That tasted just fine. Maybe they are using sweet green chilies....well they're actually a little spicy. So after deciding that I wasn't going to be able to eat the burger, I figured I would just eat the bacon off of it and be done. And then I was horrified. What if, it was the bacon that was in fact the problem? I tentatively took a nibble of one of the pieces only to make a terrifying discovery: Maple. Smoked. Bacon. I told Joanna, she reached across the table to try a piece of my bacon and she said it was yummy. Well that settled that. If Joanna likes this bacon it must be bad. I pulled all the rest off my burger and suddenly, it became tolerable. How on earth do you manage to turn bacon into the worst part of the meal? Ugh. I am never eating there again.
Now bacon (or bahkyonee as Jamie loves to hear it pronounced) is something that is very near-and-dear to my heart and I don't just mean all the cholesterol. I've always felt that it was perfect. It is, after all, the food that makes all other food better. Don't believe me? Have you ever had a lettuce and tomato sandwich? No. Because that would be fucking boring. Slap some bacon on it though, and it's delicious! Want some eggs for breakfast? No? How about bacon and eggs? And if you even offer me a club sandwich (not to be confused with Joanna's christmas club sandwich) without bacon on it you are in for a half hour tirade about how, by definition, a club sandwich has bacon on it.
Now, my love affair with bacon can probably be traced back to my childhood. Whenever we would visit my maternal grandparents in the deep hills (suburbs) of Chattanooga, TN, my grandfather would wake up earlier than anyone else just so he could attempt to cook bacon and sausage faster than I could eat it. I was 4. He never succeeded. I think the frustration of it all might be what killed him, but I digress.
Flash forward about a dozen years or so and I met the girl who eventually became my wife. The first time I had breakfast with her and her family (all proper meat lovers like me) and I saw her dredge her bacon through maple syrup I was appalled. I remember thinking "Sweet bacon?!?! Only if it's also smothered in course black pepper!" but I kept my mouth shut as she was my ride home.
Today my world changed and the spell might just be broken. Joanna and I went to a restaurant that opened up across from where I work and I ordered a burger with guacamole, green chilies, sour cream (?) and of course, my beloved bacon. The food got to the table, I took a bite, and was immediately grossed out. I knew the problem was that there was something sweet on my burger that was just out of place. At first I figured it was the sour cream, because really, who puts sour cream on a hamburger? But that wasn't it. Guacamole? Nope. That tasted just fine. Maybe they are using sweet green chilies....well they're actually a little spicy. So after deciding that I wasn't going to be able to eat the burger, I figured I would just eat the bacon off of it and be done. And then I was horrified. What if, it was the bacon that was in fact the problem? I tentatively took a nibble of one of the pieces only to make a terrifying discovery: Maple. Smoked. Bacon. I told Joanna, she reached across the table to try a piece of my bacon and she said it was yummy. Well that settled that. If Joanna likes this bacon it must be bad. I pulled all the rest off my burger and suddenly, it became tolerable. How on earth do you manage to turn bacon into the worst part of the meal? Ugh. I am never eating there again.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
New Year
Everybody makes resolutions. Usually it's something grand like "I'm gonna start going to the gym" or "I'm gonna quit smoking" or "I'm gonna stop killing hookers and dumping their bodies in such and such lake". I've decided to keep it simple this year. Nothing too grand but large enough that I will feel a sense of accomplishment once completed.
Now, since I stopped smoking before the holiday season was upon us, I don't think that qualifies as a resolution, but I did stop smoking and that's something. I say "stopped" smoking because "quit" implies permanence, and I've stopped smoking before and we've all seen how that worked out. I'll let you know whether or not I've quit when I die.
When we moved here, I started working at Best Buy again as something to do until I found something better. However, once I had the job, I immediately fell into complacency about work and then stopped looking for better work. So by the end of this year, I resolve to be making at least 50% more than I am currently making. Gotta pay them bills after all!
Finally, I decided I would stop taking my health for granted. I pay a not-so-tiny amount out of every paycheck for health, dental, and vision insurance and I never go to any of the appropriate doctors to take advantage of said services. That ends this year. I got sick with some strain of flu (I'm calling it Death Flu) at the beginning of the year, so I went to the doctor, got medicine, and recovered much more quickly than I would have without the miracle of modern pharmaceuticals. I will be making an appointment with the dentist in April (after I have changed my dental plan to the more comprehensive coverage cause I'm gonna need a lot of work) and will go to the dentist for the first time in roughly 18 years. As for the vision, well, I went to the eye doctor already and I believe that deserves its own paragraph because I would like to go into detail about the experience.
So....
Joanna told me a few weeks ago that she wanted to go to the eye doctor and get her eyes done so she could get a new prescription for her contacts while we were still on this year and then get a new pair of glasses against next year's premium or whatever. This was right about the same time that I started noticing that I was having difficulty reading the smaller numbers on the higher TV tags along the wall there at work, so I printed off all the pertinent information, handed it to Joanna and asked her that if when she made her appointment, could she make one for me as well. So I went to the eye doctor for the first time since I was a kid. I got there and filled out all those wonderful "first time patient" forms, and then proceeded to get my preliminary exams done by Adam. Adam looked like he was about 16 years old, and it was actually a little off-putting to have my exam done by one so young, but he knew how to use all the fancy machines and I don't, so he won that round. Then it was on to the actual doctor. Doctor Lady Person told me that though I do have really good vision, it looks like my eyes are having some problems with seeing things that are farther away and she detected an astigmatism that could account for my dizzy spells, and the fact that sometimes things look just a little off. The glasses she prescribed are more for allowing my eyes to keep from working so hard (thus hopefully eliminating random headaches) and improving my over-all quality of vision back to what it should be. So far, so good, but now it's time to pick out my very first pair of glasses! Now, their selection was not exactly bountiful, but whatever, I didn't figure on making a fashion statement with these, I just want to have something that helps me. I go over to the cases where they keep the men's frames, the office worker person shows me how to open the drawer, and walks away to let me pick out my new glasses. I may not be the best person in the world to give advice on how one should give the best customer service, but I do know if someone has absolutely no idea what they're doing, you might want to hang out and give them a hand. I picked out the frames that I liked, handed them to Little Miss Not Helpful at All and told her, "I guess I'll take these". She told me that she would send them off to the lab and they should be ready in 7 to 10 business days but with the holiday, it might be closer to 10. Fair enough, Lens Crafters could have them to me in an hour, and they would probably have helped me pick them out, but whatever. So being the kind of person that I am, I called them on the seventh business day as a follow-up. The unhelpful office shrew answers the phone and when I ask her about my glasses she says (in a manner that made me almost feel bad for bothering her) "It will take 10 to 14 business days for them to be finished and we will call you when they get here". Wow. Really? You're gonna act like I'm hassling you about something that there is really no excuse for taking so long? You madam, are a bitch. So I give it a few more days and give them a call on business day number 11. Adam answers the phone. I asked him if my glasses have come in and he says he just walked in the door but he will look for them if I can hold. I can hold, so I say that's fine and he's back on the phone in 30 seconds and says that they did indeed come in first thing that morning. This call took place at 2:30 in the afternoon. Guess who had been working that morning when they came in and did not call? Anyway, I put my glasses on and Shrew tells me not to where them while driving for the first few days as they will take some getting used to, but to otherwise enjoy! "I DON"T KNOW HOW THESE FUCKING THINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO FIT WOMAN!!!!" All the help you're going to offer me is "Don't where them while driving"? At this point I was so furious about the complete and total lack of customer service that I just took my glasses and left. Now that I've had them on a few days, I have a better idea of how I want them to fit but the thought of going back there and trying to get Shrew to adjust them is actually causing me anxiety. Ugh. But anyway, here's some pictures:
Here I am!
Now when I ponder things, I look way more intelligent.
Once I realized that the ear pieces of the glasses were just making the hair around my ears look even shaggier, I decided it was haircut time. Since I am broke, that meant it was time to bust out the clippers!
Now, since I stopped smoking before the holiday season was upon us, I don't think that qualifies as a resolution, but I did stop smoking and that's something. I say "stopped" smoking because "quit" implies permanence, and I've stopped smoking before and we've all seen how that worked out. I'll let you know whether or not I've quit when I die.
When we moved here, I started working at Best Buy again as something to do until I found something better. However, once I had the job, I immediately fell into complacency about work and then stopped looking for better work. So by the end of this year, I resolve to be making at least 50% more than I am currently making. Gotta pay them bills after all!
Finally, I decided I would stop taking my health for granted. I pay a not-so-tiny amount out of every paycheck for health, dental, and vision insurance and I never go to any of the appropriate doctors to take advantage of said services. That ends this year. I got sick with some strain of flu (I'm calling it Death Flu) at the beginning of the year, so I went to the doctor, got medicine, and recovered much more quickly than I would have without the miracle of modern pharmaceuticals. I will be making an appointment with the dentist in April (after I have changed my dental plan to the more comprehensive coverage cause I'm gonna need a lot of work) and will go to the dentist for the first time in roughly 18 years. As for the vision, well, I went to the eye doctor already and I believe that deserves its own paragraph because I would like to go into detail about the experience.
So....
Joanna told me a few weeks ago that she wanted to go to the eye doctor and get her eyes done so she could get a new prescription for her contacts while we were still on this year and then get a new pair of glasses against next year's premium or whatever. This was right about the same time that I started noticing that I was having difficulty reading the smaller numbers on the higher TV tags along the wall there at work, so I printed off all the pertinent information, handed it to Joanna and asked her that if when she made her appointment, could she make one for me as well. So I went to the eye doctor for the first time since I was a kid. I got there and filled out all those wonderful "first time patient" forms, and then proceeded to get my preliminary exams done by Adam. Adam looked like he was about 16 years old, and it was actually a little off-putting to have my exam done by one so young, but he knew how to use all the fancy machines and I don't, so he won that round. Then it was on to the actual doctor. Doctor Lady Person told me that though I do have really good vision, it looks like my eyes are having some problems with seeing things that are farther away and she detected an astigmatism that could account for my dizzy spells, and the fact that sometimes things look just a little off. The glasses she prescribed are more for allowing my eyes to keep from working so hard (thus hopefully eliminating random headaches) and improving my over-all quality of vision back to what it should be. So far, so good, but now it's time to pick out my very first pair of glasses! Now, their selection was not exactly bountiful, but whatever, I didn't figure on making a fashion statement with these, I just want to have something that helps me. I go over to the cases where they keep the men's frames, the office worker person shows me how to open the drawer, and walks away to let me pick out my new glasses. I may not be the best person in the world to give advice on how one should give the best customer service, but I do know if someone has absolutely no idea what they're doing, you might want to hang out and give them a hand. I picked out the frames that I liked, handed them to Little Miss Not Helpful at All and told her, "I guess I'll take these". She told me that she would send them off to the lab and they should be ready in 7 to 10 business days but with the holiday, it might be closer to 10. Fair enough, Lens Crafters could have them to me in an hour, and they would probably have helped me pick them out, but whatever. So being the kind of person that I am, I called them on the seventh business day as a follow-up. The unhelpful office shrew answers the phone and when I ask her about my glasses she says (in a manner that made me almost feel bad for bothering her) "It will take 10 to 14 business days for them to be finished and we will call you when they get here". Wow. Really? You're gonna act like I'm hassling you about something that there is really no excuse for taking so long? You madam, are a bitch. So I give it a few more days and give them a call on business day number 11. Adam answers the phone. I asked him if my glasses have come in and he says he just walked in the door but he will look for them if I can hold. I can hold, so I say that's fine and he's back on the phone in 30 seconds and says that they did indeed come in first thing that morning. This call took place at 2:30 in the afternoon. Guess who had been working that morning when they came in and did not call? Anyway, I put my glasses on and Shrew tells me not to where them while driving for the first few days as they will take some getting used to, but to otherwise enjoy! "I DON"T KNOW HOW THESE FUCKING THINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO FIT WOMAN!!!!" All the help you're going to offer me is "Don't where them while driving"? At this point I was so furious about the complete and total lack of customer service that I just took my glasses and left. Now that I've had them on a few days, I have a better idea of how I want them to fit but the thought of going back there and trying to get Shrew to adjust them is actually causing me anxiety. Ugh. But anyway, here's some pictures:
Here I am!
Now when I ponder things, I look way more intelligent.
Once I realized that the ear pieces of the glasses were just making the hair around my ears look even shaggier, I decided it was haircut time. Since I am broke, that meant it was time to bust out the clippers!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Today the univese decided it hates me.
Well, it actually all started back on Thursday...
I was on my way to work on that fateful day and on the way there I had planned on dropping the check for my renter's insurance off at my neighborhood State Farm agent's office. I pulled into the parking lot (the same one that they have been located in for the entire year and some change that we have lived here) only to find out that they were no longer there. I immediately texted Joanna to tell her, and I went to work. She called them later that day and they told her "Oh, we moved across the intersection to a different parking lot. Sorry we didn't notify you, but we're assholes." or something very similar to that. So with today being my first day off since then, I decided to make hunting for their new office to be my #1 errand that I would run in a list of errands. By the time I finally tracked down their new office, it was exactly 11:58 a.m. according to my cell phone (and we know if it's on a cell phone, it must be true) I walked up to the door, and it's locked. "WTF?!?!" I exclaim perhaps a bit too loudly. (I did stop smoking last week so everything is aggravating me a bit more than usual) I look on the door to the office, and the posted hours say that they are closed from noon to one for lunch. "Well that's convenient. I guess I'll have to come back later". So it time to be on my way to go shopping for Joanna's christmas gift.
Now, about a year ago, my wife said to me "Ya know what I really want for christmas next year? I want a club sandwich on rye bread. You should start saving for that now." I was thrilled to hear that because I work at a store that sells club sandwiches, and I get a discount. So after the debacle with the insurance agent, I figured I would just go to the store and pick one up. Well first off, I turned down the wrong street because I wasn't paying attention, and that took me very much out of my way so naturally, I got stuck at every single red light between the agent's office and my store. Grrr. I finally get to my store and I go to the deli department. I grab the guy that works there, and tell him I need to order a club sandwich. So we start the process of ordering one. "Well, it doesn't look like we can order the club sandwich that you were thinking of, but here in the store we have a roast beef club!" Now, as we all know, a roast beef club isn't really a club sandwich, so his counter-offer made me irritated in more ways than one. I then proceeded to look at some turkey sandwiches, ham sandwiches, and variations on other types of sandwiches. What I finally decided on (after going behind the counter and putting the meal together for myself) was a Ham-and-Turkey, sandwich with cheese and bacon, but only two slices of pumpernickel bread instead of three pieces of plain rye. She will be happy with that, or she can go hungry.
Once that was done, I then went to the bank and depsited a christmas check (thanks dad!) bringing me one step closer to a new TV in about 7 years. Next up: Laundry!
The laundry facilities at our apartment complex have been down for about a month now, forcing us to go to a public laundromat. I don't really mind since I usually have week days off and it's not very busy then. That was not the case today however. It was packed. And I had 6 loads of laundry. I managed to get it all going, and even had some time to enjoy my new Star Wars novel on my Palm Pilot, but when I went to fold my laundry, that's when people almost started losing their lives. You see, the only folding table that was available, was the one that is right next to the little play-place they have set up for the kids so they don't bug their parents while their parents are doing laundry. One child, was not interested in not bugging his parents (or anyone else for that matter) so he just kept shouting "Mommy Look! MOMMY!" at (strangely enough) his mother, who was all the way across the laundromat trying to pretend like she didn't hear him. She heard him. Everyone else heard him. I hate her. The other kid, was just whining about how the kid that was shouting wouldn't play with him. I hate whining. I usually think that there's nothing worse in the world than violence against children, but today taught me that I might need to rethink my stance.
Upon leaving the Laundromat, I was so relieved to think that I was done, but as soon as I got back into my truck, something in my coat pocket stabbed me in the neck. My renter's insurance statement. Shit. I suddenly realized that I had to go all the way (about 30 blocks) to the agent's office to pay the insurance that, if they could be bothered to actually stay open through the entire business day, I would have been able to pay earlier today and would be on my merry (holiday reference) way home. But nooooooo...... I then had to stop at every red light (again) on my way there before I could finally go home.
I have never been so happy to have to unload the dishwasher and clean the coffee pot as I was when I got home today.
Happy fucking holidays.
p.s. Club Sandwich is a euphemism.
I was on my way to work on that fateful day and on the way there I had planned on dropping the check for my renter's insurance off at my neighborhood State Farm agent's office. I pulled into the parking lot (the same one that they have been located in for the entire year and some change that we have lived here) only to find out that they were no longer there. I immediately texted Joanna to tell her, and I went to work. She called them later that day and they told her "Oh, we moved across the intersection to a different parking lot. Sorry we didn't notify you, but we're assholes." or something very similar to that. So with today being my first day off since then, I decided to make hunting for their new office to be my #1 errand that I would run in a list of errands. By the time I finally tracked down their new office, it was exactly 11:58 a.m. according to my cell phone (and we know if it's on a cell phone, it must be true) I walked up to the door, and it's locked. "WTF?!?!" I exclaim perhaps a bit too loudly. (I did stop smoking last week so everything is aggravating me a bit more than usual) I look on the door to the office, and the posted hours say that they are closed from noon to one for lunch. "Well that's convenient. I guess I'll have to come back later". So it time to be on my way to go shopping for Joanna's christmas gift.
Now, about a year ago, my wife said to me "Ya know what I really want for christmas next year? I want a club sandwich on rye bread. You should start saving for that now." I was thrilled to hear that because I work at a store that sells club sandwiches, and I get a discount. So after the debacle with the insurance agent, I figured I would just go to the store and pick one up. Well first off, I turned down the wrong street because I wasn't paying attention, and that took me very much out of my way so naturally, I got stuck at every single red light between the agent's office and my store. Grrr. I finally get to my store and I go to the deli department. I grab the guy that works there, and tell him I need to order a club sandwich. So we start the process of ordering one. "Well, it doesn't look like we can order the club sandwich that you were thinking of, but here in the store we have a roast beef club!" Now, as we all know, a roast beef club isn't really a club sandwich, so his counter-offer made me irritated in more ways than one. I then proceeded to look at some turkey sandwiches, ham sandwiches, and variations on other types of sandwiches. What I finally decided on (after going behind the counter and putting the meal together for myself) was a Ham-and-Turkey, sandwich with cheese and bacon, but only two slices of pumpernickel bread instead of three pieces of plain rye. She will be happy with that, or she can go hungry.
Once that was done, I then went to the bank and depsited a christmas check (thanks dad!) bringing me one step closer to a new TV in about 7 years. Next up: Laundry!
The laundry facilities at our apartment complex have been down for about a month now, forcing us to go to a public laundromat. I don't really mind since I usually have week days off and it's not very busy then. That was not the case today however. It was packed. And I had 6 loads of laundry. I managed to get it all going, and even had some time to enjoy my new Star Wars novel on my Palm Pilot, but when I went to fold my laundry, that's when people almost started losing their lives. You see, the only folding table that was available, was the one that is right next to the little play-place they have set up for the kids so they don't bug their parents while their parents are doing laundry. One child, was not interested in not bugging his parents (or anyone else for that matter) so he just kept shouting "Mommy Look! MOMMY!" at (strangely enough) his mother, who was all the way across the laundromat trying to pretend like she didn't hear him. She heard him. Everyone else heard him. I hate her. The other kid, was just whining about how the kid that was shouting wouldn't play with him. I hate whining. I usually think that there's nothing worse in the world than violence against children, but today taught me that I might need to rethink my stance.
Upon leaving the Laundromat, I was so relieved to think that I was done, but as soon as I got back into my truck, something in my coat pocket stabbed me in the neck. My renter's insurance statement. Shit. I suddenly realized that I had to go all the way (about 30 blocks) to the agent's office to pay the insurance that, if they could be bothered to actually stay open through the entire business day, I would have been able to pay earlier today and would be on my merry (holiday reference) way home. But nooooooo...... I then had to stop at every red light (again) on my way there before I could finally go home.
I have never been so happy to have to unload the dishwasher and clean the coffee pot as I was when I got home today.
Happy fucking holidays.
p.s. Club Sandwich is a euphemism.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Extendend Service
Amidst all the craziness and money worries that we've been having, it's nice to get some good news now and then.
I worked very hard about a month ago to get Joanna set up with a desk and computer that she could move (easily) throughout the apartment and do whatever she needs to do on. Sorry. "On which she can do whatever it is she needs to do." About a week after I got it all set up, the monitor died. So today I took it into my store, and slapped it up on the counter (the monitor, that is) and said "shit's broke". They punched in some info, looked at some screens, and replaced it for me right there on the spot. This is why I ALWAYS buy those extended service agreements. I just saved myself $200 b y paying an extra $25 when I bought the monitor.
Now, this is not the only time I have ever had to use the service plan. Joanna's first laptop we bought from Best Buy, went off to service 3 times, and then when it went off the 4th time, they replaced it. So I bought a new service plan on the laptop with which they replaced it. THAT laptop went off to service 3 times, and again, they ended up replacing it with a shiny new one. That's the one we currently have. It needs service, but guess what?!?! I bought one for that one too!
Then there's the TV. When we bought it, that was the first thing I ever bought a service plan on, and boy-howdy am I glad I did. Another product, another 3 times off to service, another new product.
Now, I know what some of you (Doug) are thinking: "These companies should just make reliable products and we shouldn't have to buy service contracts." Well, the realities of supply-and-demand in today's world make that a virtual impossibility. Back in the days when the world wasn't DEMANDING lower prices and 4 times the amount of product to be available to them at all times, these manufacturers could afford to take their sweet time making things as well as extensively quality testing their product. They can't do that anymore. People like their shiny laptops and they loooove to go into a store like mine and have an almost endless array of ones to choose from. Bye-Bye quality control when you have to produce on such a scale as to appease the rabid masses. "WHAT?!?! this 50" TV costs more than $1000? That's insane!" Lady, less than 5 years ago a TV like that would have cost you 10 times that. How do ya reckon that they trimmed enough fat to be able to sell it for what it goes for today? Sigh.
I worked very hard about a month ago to get Joanna set up with a desk and computer that she could move (easily) throughout the apartment and do whatever she needs to do on. Sorry. "On which she can do whatever it is she needs to do." About a week after I got it all set up, the monitor died. So today I took it into my store, and slapped it up on the counter (the monitor, that is) and said "shit's broke". They punched in some info, looked at some screens, and replaced it for me right there on the spot. This is why I ALWAYS buy those extended service agreements. I just saved myself $200 b y paying an extra $25 when I bought the monitor.
Now, this is not the only time I have ever had to use the service plan. Joanna's first laptop we bought from Best Buy, went off to service 3 times, and then when it went off the 4th time, they replaced it. So I bought a new service plan on the laptop with which they replaced it. THAT laptop went off to service 3 times, and again, they ended up replacing it with a shiny new one. That's the one we currently have. It needs service, but guess what?!?! I bought one for that one too!
Then there's the TV. When we bought it, that was the first thing I ever bought a service plan on, and boy-howdy am I glad I did. Another product, another 3 times off to service, another new product.
Now, I know what some of you (Doug) are thinking: "These companies should just make reliable products and we shouldn't have to buy service contracts." Well, the realities of supply-and-demand in today's world make that a virtual impossibility. Back in the days when the world wasn't DEMANDING lower prices and 4 times the amount of product to be available to them at all times, these manufacturers could afford to take their sweet time making things as well as extensively quality testing their product. They can't do that anymore. People like their shiny laptops and they loooove to go into a store like mine and have an almost endless array of ones to choose from. Bye-Bye quality control when you have to produce on such a scale as to appease the rabid masses. "WHAT?!?! this 50" TV costs more than $1000? That's insane!" Lady, less than 5 years ago a TV like that would have cost you 10 times that. How do ya reckon that they trimmed enough fat to be able to sell it for what it goes for today? Sigh.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
WTF?!?!
So.....
A follow-up to my whole "money sucks" post.
We have had some pretty shitty luck here lately. Money is pretty tight right now to begin with, but now it's starting to get ridiculous. We had one of our cats get pretty sick, and needed surgery. It was $2800. I know that seems high, but he's our cat and we got him repaired. That's more than I spent for my truck, but whatever. I chatted with some very nice people with a debt-management firm to try to get our finances a bit more under control, and it looks like that's our only way out. We were about to get all the paperwork taken care of for that when someone wiped out my wife's checking account via an ATM somewhere, so now that's on hold. The universe really owes me right now so I'm thinking it's high time I started playing the lottery.
A follow-up to my whole "money sucks" post.
We have had some pretty shitty luck here lately. Money is pretty tight right now to begin with, but now it's starting to get ridiculous. We had one of our cats get pretty sick, and needed surgery. It was $2800. I know that seems high, but he's our cat and we got him repaired. That's more than I spent for my truck, but whatever. I chatted with some very nice people with a debt-management firm to try to get our finances a bit more under control, and it looks like that's our only way out. We were about to get all the paperwork taken care of for that when someone wiped out my wife's checking account via an ATM somewhere, so now that's on hold. The universe really owes me right now so I'm thinking it's high time I started playing the lottery.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
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