My husband and I took off from our jobs today in hopes of having a family day at the beach. Unfortunately, it was damp and in the 60s. So, we scrambled for a backup plan.
My car needed to go to the dealer for soome minor recall-related work, so we figured we'd drop it off before we ventured off for our day of family-bonding. On the way to the dealer, my car started acting up. At one point, I couldn't drive faster than 20 mph. This was problematic on the highway. We got it to the dealer and left them our cell number.
We decided to spend the day in Portsmouth. We wanted to see the U.S.S. Albacore (a submarine). That turned out well. Then we were going to visit the local library's used book shop, which was no longer there. So, we headed off for lunch. We planned on visiting another used book store that we'd heard of after lunch. When we located the address, the building had been torn down. We did manage to find a nice independent book store. While we were there, we got THE CALL.
Turns out that my car wasn't just acting up a little bit. Turns out that it needed about $2k in work to even be driveable. The car has 101k miles on it. We could neither afford to fix it, or to buy another vehicle at this point. Dilemma. The drive back home took about 40 minutes. By the time we got home, we decided that we might be able to swing a previously owned vehicle (for under $10k).
We arrived at the dealership at 4:30. We needed to be at our son's school for an orientation session by 7pm. With all the negotiating and paperwork, and what not (lots and lots of what not), my husband was just nearing the home-stretch on the paperwork at 6:50. (It takes 20 minutes to get to the school from the dealership.) The dealer handed me the key and slapped the temporary plates on the new (to us) vehicle, and I dashed down the road.
The most important aspect of the school orientation meeting was finding out about our son's math placement. So, imagine my consternation when I arrived to the classroom just after the math teacher's presentation. Fortunatley, she graciously answered all our questions at the end of the meeting, including telling us our son's home room assignment (which had somehow not been communicated to us all summer, though some folks have known theirs since June).
Amid all the chaos of the afternoon, we missed eating dinner. So, I put some vegtables on to steam and a dairy-free organic lasagna in the microwave. I was so busy ranting about my day on this blog that I let the water run out on my vegtables. The whole house smells like burnt food, though the veggies were somewhat salvagable.
But, hey, I did get to see the U.S.S. Albacore and I have a cute little black hatchback now, which gets 10 more miles to the gallon than the car that died. "Always look on the bright side of life.... whistling sounds"
Monday, August 28, 2006
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Convenience orafice
The english language is so versitile. We have dozens of ways to convey basically the same information. Some words or phrases are more straight forward than others. While I enjoy having a deep vocabulary at my disposal when trying to achieve an exact concept, I admit that utilizing such a vocabulary can put some people off. Not everyone has had the same broad exposure to the english language that I have. And even those who have had that exposure do not see the point in complicating one's communication with a fifty-cent word when a nickel word will do. (Then again, I admit that sometimes I misuse a word here or there.)
I for one believe that posted signage should use the most common language possible, so that the most people can grasp the meaning of the sign. Take the following sentence copied from a public rest room sign:
Pardon my baseness here, but WTF? Why on Earth couldn't the sign simply read:
???
Pardon my potty mouth.
I for one believe that posted signage should use the most common language possible, so that the most people can grasp the meaning of the sign. Take the following sentence copied from a public rest room sign:
Please deposit adult absorbent material in the intended receptacle, located in the oversized cubicle.
Pardon my baseness here, but WTF? Why on Earth couldn't the sign simply read:
Please put adult diapers in the Diaper Genie in the large stall.
???
Pardon my potty mouth.
Friday, August 25, 2006
How to have a truly unpublished phone number
Last summer, we purchased our current house from some people who were on the verge of bankruptcy. We got a pretty good deal, though the house had major issues (we had to pay $4k to have the former owners’ junk removed, had to replace the toilet and floor in one bathroom, and we’ve had to replace almost every major appliance in the place, including the furnace and AC).
We thought we had finally rid ourselves of the “issues of owners past” until this summer when we started getting calls from collection agencies looking for them. I was baffled as to why we would be getting calls for these losers when our telephone number had no connection to do with them. I finally grilled one of the fell automatons as to what led them to call our phone number. They said that they used a database that linked addresses to phone numbers.
I was incensed. I thought that we had an unpublished number. If that was the case, how could we end up in one of those directory databases?
So, I called Vonage and inquired as to how this could be. Initially, the moron I spoke to at Vonage had no clue as to the existence of these address-based directories. Upon reflection, I recalled knowing of them myself from my days as a summer employee of the phone company when I was in college. I couldn’t believe that Vonage had someone working their second tier of customer service (second tier, because I totally stumped the first tier) who did not know about these types of directories. Heck, you can even make use of such a directory yourself, for free, via Whitepages.com!!!
Upon further research, I found that our phone number was not actually “unpublished”. Since we had a directory listening under Verizon, we had one when we switched to Vonage. There had been a check box in the initial LOA with Vonage that had asked if we wanted to keep our same directory listing. I think I thought that the directory listing would go away when we lost our battle to keep our old Verizon number. Drat!
However, even if our number were “unpublished” it would not fully protect us from being listed in these address-based directories. Apparently, there are companies that pay to get phone numbers and addresses from various and sundry sources (mostly web sites that ask for your contact information). There was even some discussion regarding phone numbers harvested from retailers who ask for them on your checks when paying face-to-face.
While you can put your phone number on the “do not call” list, this will not protect you from ending up in these insipid address-based directories which can be used by the same people who are excepted from obeying the stipulations of the “do not call” registry. According to the FTC, the exceptions include “calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors would still be permitted, as would calls from companies with which you have an existing business relationship, or those to whom you’ve provided express agreement in writing to receive their calls”.
In our case, since the callers are trying to reach someone that they have a legitimate business relationship with (the former loser home owners), they are not in violation of the rules. And, while we have asked that they remove references to OUR phone number, the former owners were in such deep financial trouble, different companies keep calling us trying to track them down.
So, what’s a poor harassed receiver of such calls to do? How do you keep from getting such calls in the future?
We have a plan!
For Item #2 above we will be establishing a non-personal phone number with eVoice. For $4.95/month we will get a phone number that callers can leave us messages on, without disturbing the peace of our home. Each time a message is left, eVoice will then send us an email to let us know that someone has left us a message. We can then check the message at our leisure and decide if (and when) to return the call.
We hate the phone. This strategy may help us to better manage our interactions with the dreaded beast. I’m not sure exactly when we’ll execute the plan. I have some work-related reasons to want to hold onto our current phone number for a while longer. However, I may pick up the eVoice number soon, to see how the service works, since they have a 30 day free trial of the service.
I’ll gladly accept any feedback on our plan, or any horror stories dealing with similar scenarios.
We thought we had finally rid ourselves of the “issues of owners past” until this summer when we started getting calls from collection agencies looking for them. I was baffled as to why we would be getting calls for these losers when our telephone number had no connection to do with them. I finally grilled one of the fell automatons as to what led them to call our phone number. They said that they used a database that linked addresses to phone numbers.
I was incensed. I thought that we had an unpublished number. If that was the case, how could we end up in one of those directory databases?
So, I called Vonage and inquired as to how this could be. Initially, the moron I spoke to at Vonage had no clue as to the existence of these address-based directories. Upon reflection, I recalled knowing of them myself from my days as a summer employee of the phone company when I was in college. I couldn’t believe that Vonage had someone working their second tier of customer service (second tier, because I totally stumped the first tier) who did not know about these types of directories. Heck, you can even make use of such a directory yourself, for free, via Whitepages.com!!!
Upon further research, I found that our phone number was not actually “unpublished”. Since we had a directory listening under Verizon, we had one when we switched to Vonage. There had been a check box in the initial LOA with Vonage that had asked if we wanted to keep our same directory listing. I think I thought that the directory listing would go away when we lost our battle to keep our old Verizon number. Drat!
However, even if our number were “unpublished” it would not fully protect us from being listed in these address-based directories. Apparently, there are companies that pay to get phone numbers and addresses from various and sundry sources (mostly web sites that ask for your contact information). There was even some discussion regarding phone numbers harvested from retailers who ask for them on your checks when paying face-to-face.
While you can put your phone number on the “do not call” list, this will not protect you from ending up in these insipid address-based directories which can be used by the same people who are excepted from obeying the stipulations of the “do not call” registry. According to the FTC, the exceptions include “calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors would still be permitted, as would calls from companies with which you have an existing business relationship, or those to whom you’ve provided express agreement in writing to receive their calls”.
In our case, since the callers are trying to reach someone that they have a legitimate business relationship with (the former loser home owners), they are not in violation of the rules. And, while we have asked that they remove references to OUR phone number, the former owners were in such deep financial trouble, different companies keep calling us trying to track them down.
So, what’s a poor harassed receiver of such calls to do? How do you keep from getting such calls in the future?
We have a plan!
- Have Vonage change our phone number; this time as truly “unpublished”.
- Get a voice-mail only phone number to give out to non-personal contacts (web-sites, retailers, and other organizations that insist on having our phone number).
- Block our caller ID before calling any one that we don’t want to have our real phone number.
For Item #2 above we will be establishing a non-personal phone number with eVoice. For $4.95/month we will get a phone number that callers can leave us messages on, without disturbing the peace of our home. Each time a message is left, eVoice will then send us an email to let us know that someone has left us a message. We can then check the message at our leisure and decide if (and when) to return the call.
We hate the phone. This strategy may help us to better manage our interactions with the dreaded beast. I’m not sure exactly when we’ll execute the plan. I have some work-related reasons to want to hold onto our current phone number for a while longer. However, I may pick up the eVoice number soon, to see how the service works, since they have a 30 day free trial of the service.
I’ll gladly accept any feedback on our plan, or any horror stories dealing with similar scenarios.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Back to the gym!
Friday, I had an appointment with a personal trainer at my new gym. I wanted someone to help me refamiliarize myself with the equipment. Plus, much of the equipment was very new fangled, so I wasn't sure how some of it functioned.
My primary goals in returning to the gym are to strengthen my core (and hopefully combat the chronic back issues thereby) and to regain muscle tone. The trainer knew I had back problems, but she must not have realized how serious the issue is for me. She tried to get me to reverse sit-ups (where you lay across a piece of equipment on your stomach bent at the waist, and lift your torso until you are completely horizontal). This is not an exercise that my lower back takes kindly to. I did about five of them and told her I was done with those. She was a little surprised, and suggested ways to do them that would be less strain on my lower back. I nodded politely, while my brain said "when donkeys fly, you bimbo".
Still, I got a pretty good work out. And, here's the important thing to note, I went back and did it all again on my own today!
I hope to go every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon. I'll let you know how it goes.
My primary goals in returning to the gym are to strengthen my core (and hopefully combat the chronic back issues thereby) and to regain muscle tone. The trainer knew I had back problems, but she must not have realized how serious the issue is for me. She tried to get me to reverse sit-ups (where you lay across a piece of equipment on your stomach bent at the waist, and lift your torso until you are completely horizontal). This is not an exercise that my lower back takes kindly to. I did about five of them and told her I was done with those. She was a little surprised, and suggested ways to do them that would be less strain on my lower back. I nodded politely, while my brain said "when donkeys fly, you bimbo".
Still, I got a pretty good work out. And, here's the important thing to note, I went back and did it all again on my own today!
I hope to go every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon. I'll let you know how it goes.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Musically out of touch
I have been listening to audio books in the car for the last three or four months. In between, I've mostly been listening to favorite CDs. I feel totally out of touch with music. It makes me kind of twitchy, actually.
I guess the Fates wanted to help me out on this. My NEW CD player is acting up. It has issues with ejecting CDs. Sometimes it ignores my requests to do so. The player's been installed since May. We tried to find the receipt, but have lost track of it. Maybe we'll take it back to Best Buy tomorrow and make a fuss, all the same, since B purchased the thing on his Best Buy card.
Any way, I've been forced to listen to the radio in the car instead for the last day. I haven't found a station with tolerable new music yet. However, I do have to wonder if this is somehow meant to be.
Another way to 'catch up' is to listen to Pandora. I'll put in the names of a few new artists that I've managed to hear this weekend, and they'll play stuff by those artists and ones with similar qualities.
I also went over to Billboard and checked out the charts. They really are less-than-useful since their charts reflect sales, and high sales watermarks are usually achieved by rap, hip-hop, and dance, these days. I'm not against those genres of music. However, they're not core to my listening enjoyment.
So far, I've been intrigued by:
Wish me luck in my pursuit of decent current music, and the repair of my CD player! Also, feel free to comment with the names of any groups that you've 'discovered' in the last year.
I guess the Fates wanted to help me out on this. My NEW CD player is acting up. It has issues with ejecting CDs. Sometimes it ignores my requests to do so. The player's been installed since May. We tried to find the receipt, but have lost track of it. Maybe we'll take it back to Best Buy tomorrow and make a fuss, all the same, since B purchased the thing on his Best Buy card.
Any way, I've been forced to listen to the radio in the car instead for the last day. I haven't found a station with tolerable new music yet. However, I do have to wonder if this is somehow meant to be.
Another way to 'catch up' is to listen to Pandora. I'll put in the names of a few new artists that I've managed to hear this weekend, and they'll play stuff by those artists and ones with similar qualities.
I also went over to Billboard and checked out the charts. They really are less-than-useful since their charts reflect sales, and high sales watermarks are usually achieved by rap, hip-hop, and dance, these days. I'm not against those genres of music. However, they're not core to my listening enjoyment.
So far, I've been intrigued by:
Panic! At the Disco
Finger Eleven
Blue October
Nina Gordon
!!! That really IS their name
Wish me luck in my pursuit of decent current music, and the repair of my CD player! Also, feel free to comment with the names of any groups that you've 'discovered' in the last year.
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