Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Badass Of The Week

With a headline like " Man jumps in, punches shark, gets his dog back "....how can you not admire that....? Wow.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Overheard

WG: when does the fun start?

The Bike Owner: Good question...

WG: if it doesn't start soon, i want my money back.

TBO: If you have too much fun, they'll take their money back
TBO: hehehe

WG: lol
WG: that's the problem
WG: how do you know when you've had precisely the amount of fun you're permitted to have?
WG: do we have a fun quota?
WG: A Department of Fun?

TBO: Yep. The number changes randomly, and we never know what it is.

WG: ah, i see
WG: that must be fun for somebody

TBO: They're very serious about their fun.

WG: well fun is important
WG: so you have to take it seriously
WG: i mean, you might miss out on some of the fun you're entitled to if you didn't
WG: the people at the department of fun must have it rought
WG: not only are they required to make sure that everybody's having fun in the right amount, but they'd be required to have fun doing it

TBO: Tough job..

WG: i think this conversation's going to have to end up on my blog.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Low posting anticipated

I very likely won't be posting much for the next month and a half or so. Real Life stuff is happening that's keeping me very, very, very busy.

On a side note, I have chocolate. Red went and bought me Ghiardelli's Intense Dark Premium Assortment, and have been in heaven for the last 20 minutes or so. The Twilight Delight (72% cacao) is incredible, the Espresso Escape combines two of my favorite things, but the Mint Bliss....Oh. My. God. That's all I have to say about that.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Contrast & compare

Okay, the last post was a rant. Contrast that with Red's conversation when she called T-Mobile to get an additional phone and phone line. Red is a Mary Kay consultant (freakin' awesome company if you ask me).

First - she got a living, breathing, speaking person her first attempt.
Then they gave her free stuff. I didn't get free stuff when I got my phone, but then again, I'm not a Mary Kay consultant. She got a free, pink and white Bluetooth headset for her new white Blackberry Pearl.
Then they hooked her up with a 12% account discount, just for being generally awesome, and a Mary Kay consultant.
Then they offered more stuff, which would have cost us a small amount of money.
Then they asked if they could do anything else for us, and asked us how we like our service.
Then we find out that the lady on the other end is at the call center here in town.
Red invited her to come to their big city-wide meeting/shindig thingy tonight, free makeup, prizes, etc. She said she would try to come and would be bringing friends.
Then Red got her supervisor on the phone and told him what an awesome job the customer service lady had done.

Hear that, Internet/Home Phone Disservice People I Won't Name, But Name Starts with Q?

That is how it's done.

Fun with the phone company

I was late paying my phone/Internet bill last month, due to some other money issues (*cough* baby), and my service provider cut things off. Not just a little, mind you - cut off all outgoing calls, Internet service, etc. All of it. I paid it in full on the first of this month.

Nine days later, I'm still waiting for them to turn the damned thing back on. Oh, I've sent email after email. I've chatted with a Live Agent. I've even sent up smoke signals and sent messages by carrier pigeon. I've done....EVERYTHING...I can do. I just got off a live chat with an agent (I won't name the company, but it starts with a Q, if you're interested). Here's a paraphrased version of the conversation.

Agent: Hi, my name is Well Meaning Flunky, and I've been empowered by the company to do everything in my power to help you.
WG: Hi. I want my phone service and Internet back, please. I paid the bill.
Agent: Hi, WG. Before I can help you, I need to access your account. Is that okay?
WG: Uh, yeah. That'd be why I contacted you.
Agent: Hugs, rainbows, and fluffy bunnies.....one moment please.
Agent: Okay, WG, it appears that your phone service has been interrupted for nonpayment.
WG: That's incorrect. I paid the bill in full, and notified your company two weeks ago.
Agent: WG, did you notify us that you had paid the bill?
WG: ....
WG: Yes.
Agent: Okay, WG, I'm going to send you over to our Credit Management people, and they can help you. Just click this totally pointless link, fill out the form, and pray to whatever God you worship that we'll get back to you before the next time Halley's Comet comes around.
WG: Okay. I did this when I paid the bill, but okay.
Agent: In order to expedite your service recovery, please contact us at (phone number) from any working telephone.
WG: That'd be the whole problem, the not-having-a-phone-thing.
WG: What clueless asshat came up with that one?
Agent: I apologize for the inconvenience.
WG: It would be an inconvenience if this were the first time this had happened. Sadly, it isn't; it's happened on at least two other occasions, and I complained about it then.
Agent: Did you call us to complain?
WG: When things are working correctly, and the services I'm paying for are delivered timely, I don't make a habit of complaining, no. At the moment, I'm unable to call you at all, for reasons I'm fairly sure I've explained.
Agent: I apologize for the inconvenience. I am unable to assist you further via this chat. Please contact us at (phone number) from any working telephone for further assistance.


It went on like this for quite a while longer. Of all companies out there, I think by far the most frustrating to deal with is the phone company. I think I'm gonna switch services; paying nearly $100 a month for slow service, constant disruption of connection, phone static, and completely nonexistent customer service is ridiculous.

Update:
About an hour later, I got this gem.

Thank you for your recent e-mail inquiry to Q****.Thanks for your payment. I'm sorry but we are not able to discuss this account without first verifying that you are an authorized user. Could you call our office at 1-800-***-****(Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm) so that we can verify that you are authorized on the account?Thank you for choosing Q****. Have a great day!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Stupid criminal tricks

I saw this story, and couldn't stop laughing.... What the hell?????

AP - FRESNO, California - Authorities say they've arrested a man who broke
into the home of two California farmworkers, stole money, rubbed one of the men
with spices and whacked the other with a sausage before fleeing...

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Friday, September 5, 2008

New button thingy on the right.

I got it from Kate, who got it from the Anchoress, who got it from....you get the idea.

Anyway. I can't tease my coworkers about their liberal leanings, but since this is my place, HA!

McCain hasn't failed to impress me yet. There's a lot I don't agree with the guy on, but I totally respect the fact that he's willing to tangle with just about anybody when he feels it's worth not compromising on, and the fact that he's willing to compromise if it's reasonable. Maybe what this country needs is a centrist. I don't know.

Palin is just freakin' awesome. After watching her for the last week, I'm not suprised she's lasted over a year and a half as the governor of the state producing 20% of this country's energy with approval ratings of 80% or better. WOW.

So. There. You got my pick for Presidential ticket this year, as if any of you who know me didn't already know. lol

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Warning Label Fail

Have you ever noticed those warning labels on things saying "Warning: Do not do something abysmally stupid with this product. Death or serious injury may occur"?

Last time I checked, death was considered serious. What the hey?