so don't ask if you don't want to know
Archive for February, 2011
Need a phone book?
Feb 28th
Nope, neither do I. Who actually uses phone books anymore?
All right, sure, there are still some elderly or Luddites out there that need a new phone book every 6 months, but the rest of us have moved on to various applications on the Internet, right?
And yet, AND YET here there is another useless bag o’ phone books outside my door. What a waste of perfectly good paper that could be used for something better, something useful.
Why are they still delivering them door-to-door? Why can’t they maybe leave a stack at a central neighborhood location like the post office and people can pick up a new one whenever they choose?
Sorry, but this bag will go directly into the garbage (because there’s no place to recycle it here) along with just about everyone else’s. And I’m resentful that I have to pick it up like a wet bag of dog doo and dispose of it at all.
What a waste.
Book Judging
Feb 22nd
Something I’ve had to change from my previous thinking, is judging people by their appearance. Actually, judging might be a bit harsh. Maybe “instantly compartmentalizing people based on their appearance” would be closer. Judging implies I also add weight to whatever I compartmentalize them as, which I don’t do as much.
For instance, in my previous life (before social media) I’d see this guy and my first impression would be motorcycle builder or roofer. 
Not that there’s anything wrong with either, but you wouldn’t expect as much intelligence with people in those positions versus engineers or CEOs.
But I happen to know this guy Derek. He’s like, brilliant. He’s one of the founders of Gangplank, he’s heavy into growing Chandler, and he’s apparently the go-to guy for Phoenix-area reporters when discussing local business.
He’s so much smarter than me that when we’re in the same room I just listen in awe and try to interject something amusing occasionally. Nobody cares that he comes to work every day in shorts and t-shirts and ball-caps and might not even own a suit. What matters is who he is, not what he looks like. (Though I’m not sure about that beard-thing, Derek)
I use Derek as an example only because he popped up on my TV yesterday. He’s just one of countless people that have taught me that appearances can be deceiving. I’ve met so many really smart, articulate, nice people that from a distance the old me would have pegged completely wrong.
I feel like I’ve been coming out of a fog in the last few years. There’s my previous life of… well, too many mistakes to go into, but close-minded and safe works. And now there’s my new life where I try really hard to learn from my new friends and stop making assumptions. But we all need to stop making instant value judgments. I’m getting closer to being a decent person myself, but I occasionally backslide:
I’m sure she was a really nice girl.
Gorram Cox again!
Feb 20th
Jesus Christ Cox, for an Internet provider you sure don’t understand how things should work, do you?
Let’s go back, last month I tried to arrange to MOVE my services to a new address. I went though your step-by-step instructions numerous times and it just pushes you to choose/start new services. I liked what I had and I didn’t want to think about it, I just wanted to MOVE it. Shit.
Ended up having to call in, nope you have to start new service.
That’s just stupid.
Then I had that rigmarole with actually getting my services to work in this new apartment.
That was stupid #2.
So my McAfee “Cox Security Suite” kept popping up the you-need-to-renew thing, and every time I would click on “renew” absolutely NOTHING happened. I’d go to the website and log in and all it shows is my OLD information. I don’t know my new account number until I get a bill. So I wait.
Meanwhile, that renew button just taunts me.
Now your old information doesn’t transfer to your new account, you have to reregister and basically start over. Losing your old email address and not being able to re-use the old login name.
That’s stupid #3.
Here’s how it should work just in case you want to, you know, get it right:
- I should be able to add an account number or change account numbers with my existing user information so I don’t lose email addresses, etc.
- I shouldn’t have to get a new account number if I’m moving my entire package to a new address. You’re flipping switches, it ain’t that hard. Off here, on there, done.
- Your “Cox Security Suite” should renewal should work. Right now that renew button does Jack.
- I shouldn’t have to uninstall and reinstall McAfee. There should be a way to, oh I dunno, simply transfer the old serial number.
- Steps on your website should work. I should NOT have to call in for any of this. I should be able to do it all online and have it work. And there’s too much crap on every page making it difficult to find the exact step you need.
I’m pissed off, Cox. I just want Internet/TV service and you’ve been the most pain-in-the-ass company I’ve dealt with this entire move. Great ISP, one that just doesn’t get it.
Some people!
Feb 17th
There appeared to be some sort of business meeting this morning at my local McDonalds. Five men and one woman who – as I walked by to the bathroom – was telling the men how hard it was for her to get to 7:45 meetings and pointed to the child sitting next to her.
My thought? Way to be professional and whine about your kid. IN FRONT of your kid. That’s a great way to advance women being taken seriously in business.
Cut to a little while later, SmallChild and I were alone in the playland and this woman popped her head in and asked me if I had planned on being there for a while. Yeah. Could I keep an eye on her kid? Sure. Off she went. SmallChild was happy she finally had someone to play with.
So maybe 15 minutes later this woman comes in to get her kid, bustles her into her shoes and coat and leaves out the side door without a word.
Whatever happened to Thank You?
It’s not like I did anything. BUT, had some rotten kid came in and hassled the girls I was prepared to defend them both. If/when the bad man tried to steal her kid, I would have stepped up to stop him. I mean, I accepted responsibility for her kid and she can’t say thank you?
Frakking bright-gold-jewelry-wearing, too-long-fingernailed, teased-haired, makeup-layered, drenched-in-perfume inconsiderate selfish cow.
It’s all good… except
Feb 15th
First I moved my blog from my friend’s server to Page.ly. I completely understand the security reasons behind the pain-in-the-ass restrictions with my previous host, but I decided I’d rather pay Page.ly a minor monthly fee (I had a coupon) than hassle every update for free. And it’s all good… except my categories are all out of whack.
Then I moved me to a new apartment. Actually I didn’t move me, Ginnie, Tyler, Max, Casey and Kira did. Yes, Kira was a lot of help carrying little things, running back and forth on her little younger legs. I’m mostly set up here. I still have a couple of boxes of books and stuff but everything else has it’s place.
- The good: Brand new carpets and blinds throughout. Washer is a bit loud, but at least I have one. I have a fireplace! The place is pretty big, first floor, covered parking.
- The bad: Slight smell of wet pressed-wood from the (fixed) leaky kitchen sink that I hope will fade. I’m a little close to Gilbert road traffic, and I’m on a front corner so I get a lot of resident traffic, but I only really hear it when the TV is off. School buses drop off right outside my door. And I can’t figure out how to get the static electricity out of my new plastic vertical blinds in my bedroom, so I feel a little exposed. They keeps sticking together at the bottom and leaving spaces.
- The ugly: Dead and dying cockroaches. Little ones and BIG ones. I was told they sprayed repeatedly before I moved in and there might be some crawling out to die. Right. Every morning there are at least a dozen little dead ones around on the floor, but the BIG ones take a little more… encouragement to die.
But I’m breathing 80% better and I like my neighborhood more. Everything I need within a 2-mile radius.
The best part? I’m alone!
Cox (Mis)Communications
Feb 10th
I have a friend who loves his I *heart* Cox t-shirt. I think he’s nuts.
So I got this email MONDAY telling me they’d already hooked up the cable and Internet. Swell. I can and have done self-installing. No problems, right?
Then I moved on TUESDAY and that evening tried the self-install thing. The TV tells me I’m disconnected, call the operator. And the Internet, well the Internet came up on the Cox page and after following directions, told me I was ineligible. Fuck off!
So I called. Waited 17 minutes for a human. Human A and I went through every step known to man and there is NO signal coming to my TV. Colored static. Scheduled a technician for WEDNESDAY afternoon. Transferred me to the Internet department. Waited 8 minutes on hold.
Human B in the Internet department was on a roll when my phone died, and I had to call back to get Human C – another 12 minute wait. Human C and I got it figured out after a while. Score on the Internet!
WEDNESDAY afternoon gets here and I get a call from Technician A, sitting at the old (wrong) address. He said he’d call me back and never did. WEDNESDAY night I started all over again with the phone waiting (8 minutes) and Human D did all the same stuff that Human A did – even though I told her exactly what we’d ALREADY done and I only wanted to schedule another technician, who is here now. Jared is stumped at what the problem is but hasn’t stopped trying.
I HATE having to repeat myself. If you have a problem, you should get ONE person to communicate with. I cannot tell you how many times I repeated “I just moved and am self-installing” and “I’ve double checked all the connections and turned everything off and on again multiple times.” Especially the second night, I told Human D I just wanted to know what happened to the technician and she made me go through every step Human A did. They have a script and will not venture from it.
They should not call themselves Cox Communications because they don’t actually, you know, communicate.
Well, here it is. Jared tells me the cable in the walls is faulty causing a couple of channels to spaz out. And Cox will charge me to run a new line outside because the issue is inside the building. And because the apartment manager isn’t in until tomorrow, I dunno if they’ll reimburse me so I said screw it. I’ll deal with not watching TMC and Cspan. Oh well. Every other channel is fine so far.
Grrrrrrrrr.
And I haven’t even started on the issues I have with my new apartment, which are not that bad but I’m already frustrated as shit over the Cox thing.
Cabbage Patch Baby
Feb 5th
Thanks to Netflix, Kira and I got to sit together and watch Toy Story 3, twice actually. I took this opportunity to remind Kira that she should be good to her toys – not because they come to life when she’s not around – but for when they eventually get donated or gifted to the next child.
Which led to her ask if I had any of my toys from when I was a kid (no) or her daddy (no) or uncle Max (yes – pogs but explaining what pogs were is beyond me) and then Ginnie. Yes, Ginnie still has many of her stuffed animals and carefully tucked away is Jessica, her Cabbage Patch Preemie. And then of course we had to go bug Ginnie to see Jessica.
Baby Jessica is at this moment tucked lovingly under a sleeping SmallChild’s arm, after changing every single one of her outfits. And she still smells like baby powder after all these years, as do all of said clothes.
The thing is, Ginnie isn’t ready to give Jessica up. Kira is allowed to play with her tonight but she has to go back into storage tomorrow.
So now I’m on the hunt for a preemie for Kira. I prefer the preemies because they’re hairless and not as butt-ugly as the other Cabbage Patch dolls. I’m watching a few auctions on eBay, and I’ve even bid on one. Before I go through with that, I just wondered if anyone had a Cabbage Patch preemie laying around they didn’t want anymore.
I’ve learned to ask because every time I buy something someone comes along the next day and tells me they had the item and wanted to get rid of it.
That was weird
Feb 1st
Just sitting here watching the news for a change when I hear a car alarm stuttering outside. Took me a minute to figure out it was mine because I’ve never actually heard it. Ginnie’s bf Tyler heard it and I sent him out in front of me to check it out. He’s like, really tall and sort of menacing.
There was an older couple standing next to the open back door and Tyler shut the alarm off. The man said the woman (altered – drunk? mental?) got in the wrong car. Theirs was parked next to mine and it’s similar.
Okay. Fine. Whatever.
They went on their merry way, Tyler rebeeped my car and we came back inside.
Now I’m wondering… how did she get the door open? When you hit the lock button on my fob it locks ALL doors and sets the alarm. One click. There’s no way to alarm the car without locking ALL the doors. And it doesn’t alarm itself after x-amount of time like some cars do. If you don’t tell it to, the alarm doesn’t set.
So how did she get in the car in the first place?
Hmmmmmmm…..
