Can you hear me now?

The only phone that I have is a cell phone. It is cheaper than having a land line and more convenient to travel with. I've had the same phone since 2003 when I received a phone for Christmas.

Now, my current phone is not the original phone that I was given. The original one never worked right. And when the company headquarters couldn't get it to work either, they gave me the one I have now. A $200 upgrade on phone value. They gave me the make and model of a new phone and told me to bring in the one that wouldn't work and have the store replace it with the new model.

Everything had been going fine with said phone. My only complaint being that I couldn't get service out at my parents house. I figured out all the bells and whistles, had it programed to have a different ring and color for each person programed into it, and even used the alarm clock a couple of times. The GPS in it really came in handy when I was rear ended 2 years ago.

Unfortunately, it got broken while I was on my vacation a couple weeks ago. It appears that someone stepped on it and broke it. It was a flip phone, and now the top comes completely off the bottom. Ironically, if you line the two pieces up just right the phone still works.

I went to the Version store to replace the phone. I had been told in the past that I had a $100 credit towards a replacement phone. I get into the store and have to interrupt the sales lady to get any help. I explained what had happened and she looks up my number on the computer. Since my parents had given me the phone as a gift, their name is on the account, not mine. She then told me that unless I signed a 2 year contract and had my name added to the account, then there was no way I was getting a replacement phone.

I was confused by this, so I called my mom (on my broken phone) and had her add me to the list of users. I asked how much longer we had on our current contract and was told that I could only have "Limited" information since my name wasn't on the account. While I waited for mom to add me to the list, I looked around and tried to decide what new phone I wanted. Mom called me and let me know that she talked to the headquarters and they told her that I should be able to get a new phone free. I went back up to the counter to relay the new information to the sales dragon... I mean lady. She curtly informed me that she was with a "Customer" and it would be a minute. I stood there thinking... Ok, I was your customer a minute ago... what am I now? Chopped Liver?

When she finished up with her "Customer" I waited to be acknowledged again and relayed the information that we had been given by the headquarters. Then the witch went off saying that it didn't matter what the headquarters said, that was them and this was her store. If I wanted a new phone then I had to sign up for a 2 year contract or pay full price for the phone. She said that the only way I was getting a free phone was if I bought their 2 for 1 special phone. She checked the computer to verify what I had said that the headquarters had said and said that they shouldn't have added anything about a free phone and that they had made a mistake about that.

I have never been treated so rudely by a retail person before. It's not my fault that someone stepped on my phone or that the company headquarters said to give me a free phone. I finally said forget about it and left with my broken phone. I'll contact the headquarters and file a formal complaint. I'm seriously thinking of switching providers. It's not like Verizon is the only company out there. You cant around without some company offering you a better deal.

Hey Verizon.... Can you Hear ME Now! Your customer service sucks! And I'm going to be sure that everyone I know or talk to knows how lousy your staff treats customers. I'll get as many as I can to switch provides as well.

I'm going to bed gang. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day for all of us. Except for the Verizon people... remember what goes around comes around... I hope someone treats you exactly how you treated me today.

The joys of living in an apartment!

I live in an apartment. A third floor apartment to be exact. The building was built back in the 1940's. So that means there's thin walls, noisy plumbing, and no elevators. But, the location is perfect, the rent is affordable, and the landlord is nice.

I have 800 square feet and a view that includes the parking lot, the highway, and the 24 hour gas station on the corner. There's 2 bedrooms, a small bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen. And it's all mine!

There are some unique joys of living in an apartment complex. I don't have to shovel the driveway or mow the lawn. There is a pool and patio, but it hasn't worked right for 2 out of the 3 years I've lived here. I have a car port to park my car into, but its about a block away from my front door. But, I'm only 2 miles from everything. 2 miles from work, 2 miles from the mall, and 2 miles from the grocery store. If needed, I could walk anywhere I needed to go.

My neighbors are an interesting lot. Across the hall is a single guy who's about my age. I rarely see him other than the occasional crossing in the hall. Below me is a couple in their mid 70's and the wife's mother. I'm sure they just love it when I do my exercise routine late each night. My neighbor that shares the big wall with me is a 20 something college student. She's the noisy one. The one that drives me crazy. Her schedule is the exact opposite of mine, so when I'm trying to sleep she's wide awake and moving about like an elephant in a china shop. Shes prone to taking multiple hour long showers at random times during the day. (And she uses all the hot water available!) There is one more neighbor that shares a side wall with me. I've never met them, but they've created some interesting memories. As I've mentioned before, the wall here are rather thin.. One night I was in the bathroom, and I heard all this thumping around. It sounded like someone was trying to break into my apartment. I grabbed the first available thing I could reach (a shampoo bottle) and cautiously opened the door. It turns out that they had called an ambulance and the thumping noises were the ambulance crew getting them out of the bathroom that shares a wall with me.

My apartment is decorated in early garage sale. I have a red white and blue checkered couch, a pink rocking chair, my computer desk, and entertainment center in the living room. The kitchen table came from the goodwill and the chairs from my parents old set. In my bedroom I have just the bed, a book shelf, and a couple dressers. The spare room is basically a store room, so it doesn't have much more than bookshelves and boxes. There is a hockey theme that decorates the entire place as I collect sports memorabilia. The bathroom is decorated in butterflies. (I had to have something girly in the place.)

I really should clean my apartment. Right now it's a disaster. I've been really busy so everything has just been thrown down as I pass through. I usually keep it picked up, though dusting is not high on my list. I'll admit to being a pack rat. So I have alot of stuff around that I probably don't need. But, I might need it someday so I can't get rid of it. Most people have a junk drawer, I have a junk room. My spare room has one wall of just book shelves. The rest of the room is filled with boxes I have yet to unpack from moving in 3 years ago.

Well gang, I have to go exercise (3 miles tonight) and then I'm going to crash. I'm so so so glad that tomorrow is Friday. I can't wait for the weekend.

Love always and forever!

One down, one to go...

As I've previously posted, I have been volunteering with a couple auctions. One was for the Rotary auction that my mother is a member of and one is for my co-worker's baby. I have worked for the last several months to try to get items for both auctions.

Well, last night was the Rotary Radio auction. My day started at 5:00 AM. I worked my regular work shift and trekked the hour to where the auction was being held. I helped set up tables, phone lines, and snacks for the volunteers. My job when the auction itself started was to match the bid slips to the items being auctioned. Pretty tricky when you're talking 200+ items going at once. And 6 phone lines ringing at all times. There were some really nice items to bid on as well. A weeks stay at Hilton Head, a $300 teeth whitening package, certificates for: food, golf, landscaping, & assorted other goodies. There was a deer blind, hotel stays all over the state , & Red Wings memorabilia (I got that for them at the Wings training camp.) Tigers, Sagainaw Spirit, Grand Rapids Griffins and CMU/Army tickets. The un officail total for the Rotary Auction was just over $13,000. All that will be reinvested back into the community. It was 12:30 this morning when I finally made it back home.

Now, I can commit all my focus to Jacob's upcoming auction. Jacob was born with a severe abdominal wall defect; the worst of that type that the University of Michigan has ever seen. He has fought through several complications and illnesses. My co worker's and I are doing a pancake brunch along with a silent auction, 50/50 raffle, and a bake sale to help out his family. They have to trek down to Ann Arbor at least 2x a month and the costs are really racking up. It's funny really. I have been able to get multiple donations for Jacob's auction, but cant manage to sell a single ticket to the benefit. We'll have a ton of cool stuff, but no one to bid on any of it.

One of the most touching things for me about getting the items for Jacobs auction is when I stopped at a local car wash. I asked the lady at the desk if they ever donated to benefits or things like that. She took my little flyer and told me that she'd forward it to the owners. But, she didn't think they would contribute anything. She did however donate her own personal employee car washes. That really touched me. The local business have been very supportive. Hopefully this benefit will bring in alot of $ to help Jacob out. The little guy is a fighter!

I'm totally whipped and exhausted doesn't even begin to cover how tired I am. I'm going to exercise and then go to bed early. Hope you all have a good day. And remember to help out someone sometime. You never know when you'll need help and someone else will be there to return the favor. Fate has a way of working that way.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It feels like its taken forever, but it's finally here. It's hockey season! My favorite team is the Detroit Red Wings. Then N.J. Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, and finally the San Jose Sharks. Though I do have a favorite team, I'll watch any game that's on. How else am I going to have all the dirt on the referees.

You gotta love a 60 minute game that takes about 3 hours to play. There's the goals, the saves, and the fights. And, they're all on on ice! What's not to love.

I try to go to at least one game per season. But, I prefer to watch the games from home. (The line for the restroom is MUCH shorter.) I've sat in every kind of seat there is. The nosebleeds down to 2 rows from the ice. No matter where you sit, the atmosphere in the arena is electric. I've been to games in other cities and no matter where you go, people are excited about hockey.

It's interesting to go watch the team at training camp and then seeing the result of their hard work manifest on the ice. It makes the players seem like your friends even though they don't know you from Adam. You cheer with them, cry with them, and hate the refs with them. They become your"Boys."


I can't wait for October 3rd. Opening Day! Let the games begin! And always remember... It's ALWAYS the refs fault!

-Reffie

So, Which little piggy are you?

You've all probably noticed that I haven't blogged for a couple days. There is a reason for that. I've been babysitting my almost 2 year old niece Leah. It's amazing how one little one can keep you running all day long.

I picked her up at the drop off spot on Friday evening. We went out to dinner at our favorite gas station/Restaurant. Leah as usual only ate her fries. Eventually we'll either remember to just order fries for her or she'll start eating the hot dog that goes along with those fries. (Picking our battles at this point.) She eats fruits and veggies like they're going out of style so I guess it counter balances the only fries for dinner nights.

Saturday we went out and picked the beans from my garden. Leah's mostest favorite veggie is green beans. She'll eat the whole can if you let her. We picked lots of beans and some of Grandpa's red tomatoes. We have those plastic snowman out around the gardens to keep the animals (deers, turkeys, etc...) out. Leah had to make sure that each of the "Boys" got a taste of the beans and the tomatoes. "Yum... Yum.... Delicious!"

After we picked all that was ready to be picked from the gardens, we decided to go swing on the swing set. Leah likes to go fairly high, so I was reminded to "Push Jo Jo, Push!" The only problem with her swinging is that she tends to just jump off when she's done. So, I'm standing behind her pushing and all the sudden she goes end over end and splats face first into the dirt. That brought an abrupt halt to the swinging.

Grandpa and Grammy took us out for dinner Saturday evening. We ordered the pizza for Leah and once again she would have none of it. Instead she feasted on the carrot slivers that came in my salad, most of Grandpa's fries, and part of Grammy's chicken. Leah is becoming very independent as of late and insisted on sitting in a booster seat instead of the high chair. We ordered her some diet coke (caffeine free) and they brought it to her in a little kiddie cup with a lid. She thought it was milk and would have nothing to do with it. She wanted my diet coke or nothing at all. It took a great amount of effort on all our parts to convince her that it was indeed diet coke and not milk.

We decided to try swinging again today (Sunday.) Just so she wouldn't develop a fear of the swings. I asked if she wanted to and she nodded her head yes. This time I stood in front of the swing just in case. We got swinging, and Leah proceeded to tell me the story of her spill the day before. "I fall down (pointing to the dirt) and I cry... and cry...." Then she asks to get off the swings and go see the boys. The weather was reasonably warm, so we sat outside and did bubbles, went for a walk in the wagon, and played with the hose in her little pool. She astounded me by counting to 20. (Remember, she's not even 2 yet.)

We watched Elmo movies, Thomas the train, and Leah's newest favorite; Scamper the penguin. We read books, saw deer and turkeys in the yard, and played webkins. Nap time is getting increasingly shorter. The trick to get her to fall asleep is to pop in the baby Einstein dvd. That thing is hypnotic. You turn it on and both Leah and I are asleep instantly.

Well gang, It's time for me to go night night. See you all tomorrow. I'm looking forward to adult conversations again.