Legal Quandary

Monday, September 18, 2006

Another Boring Update Post

I've been busy trying to finally get the house settled and the family on some kind of routine. Within the last week...

- We have a home telephone again. You wouldn't think this was a great accomplishment, but apparently the phone companies hate us, and it was a minor victory when our phone finally worked on Thursday. Email me if you need the new number....

- We have home internet access again. I think Earthlink has finally pushed me over the edge. I wound up talking to someone in the Phillipines to try to figure out why the cable company in Ohio didn't come out to install our cable connection when they were supposed to. Turns out Earthlink didn't completely update our address and this particular cable company doesn't provide service in Seattle (you know, where we lived a couple of years ago), so the order was rejected.

- My laptop finally went Tango Uniform. I spent over an hour on the phone (using up my cellphone minutes!) with someone in India trying to trouble shoot what I knew to be a hardware issue. It's hard to trouble shoot a laptop that won't even turn on - I don't care how many times you remove the battery and hold the power button for 20 seconds. I'm sending it in for service and they've promised to return it to me in working condition, but I'm not holding my breath. I'd welcome any recommendations as to which laptops to consider as a replacement.

- I have developed an extreme hatred of companies who outsource their technical customer service to other countries. Yes, it may be cheaper for the company to route these calls to New Delhi (or wherever), but I DON'T LIVE THERE! If calls must be outsourced, please try to do so to a country with a sense of urgency. It should not take nearly an hour to tell me what I already knew: My laptop's busted.

- Because I trust Dell so completely, I bought a hard drive enclosure to try to transfer the important stuff off the laptop hard drive and onto the desktop. This was impeded by the fact that I am a technological idiot and had no idea that I needed to/ how to remove the adaptor from the hard drive. Also, the sales "dude" from Best Buy - less than helpful. Did I mention I'd be buying a new laptop? Yeah, well there's no chance in HELL that it's coming from Best Buy given the level of customer service from Nick, the computer sales guy.

- Lots of time has been spent obsessing about the fundraiser for EC's choir. The school was "proud" to announce the return of this "popular" fundraiser. Popular with whom? As a parent, I'd really much rather just write the choir a check for 35 bucks and call it good. As a consumer, I've really never felt the need to pay $8 for a roll of wrapping paper just because some company has figured out how to reduce their overhead and con my kid into peddling their wares - in exchange for the chance to win some cheap "prizes," and the promise to share a portion of their pure profit with the school. Did I mention that I hate these damned things?

- I've spent an extraordinary amount of time looking for our cat, Lancelot. He apparently escaped the night before we left for Tahoe. We've gone door to door. We've driven around and around the neighborhood. I've called and visited all the animal shelters. He's an old kitty, so part of me is a little afraid that he just went away to die somewhere. But if you see him, could you let me know? Thanks.

Comments:
Ask neighbors with garages to check their garage. I've had 2 friends THIS YEAR lose their cats for 4 to 5 days because the kitty snuck in a neighbors garage and got locked in for a few days. Both kitties were fine. Pissed, but fine.
 
That's so sad! :(
 
Post a Comment

<< Home