Dealing With Vendors & Manufacturers...

...is never easy, but let me tell you: I am convinced that one gets LESS attention as a female, even lesser that that as a female over age 65!!!

i own a Hewlett Packard laptop computer with 17" screen; paid $999 for it in August 2007. Bought a few other items, including an extended warranty on the laptop. The vendor was Best Buy. You've heard of that company before, haven't you? Same with Hewlett Packard.

These are both respectable companies, right? HAH!!!

Today i still do not have a reliable laptop computer! It is sitting in somebody's workshop somewhere (maybe in the United States, but with all the outsourcing going on, who knows?) That piece of garbage has literally been in the shop more than in my house since i bought it.

From day one i've had problems with it. Mostly it would lock up and i couldn't get anywhere with it. Had to push the button to turn it off.

Here's the litany of problems:

1. Two 'fried' hard drives were replaced.
2. Frequent lock-ups when i had several applications open at the same time. When i took it to BestBuy they told me there was nothing wrong with it & sent me home with my problems.
3. Vibrations & loud noises led me to believe i had a fan problem. Took it in & they replaced the fan.
4. Two weeks ago it would not recognize my wireless connection. i knew it was the laptop because two other computers in the house had no problems whatsoever getting online through my wireless connection. After a couple of rebooting experiences, i could not even turn the thing ON!!!
5. Lemon policy does not apply because my second problem was not, in Best Buy's opinion, a problem.

Yesterday i wasted a good share of my day trying to reason with the unreasonable. Talked with BestBuy customer relations (hahahaha) for a half hour to learn number 5 above.

Then i talked with a HewlettPackard representative who informed me that they would have replaced it for me if i'd complained to them during the first year... since that's how long the company warranty applies. Again hahahahaha! i don't believe him.

Then he told me there have been a small number of that model computers with the same problems. For that reason they have a 'special warranty' lasting until the end of July 2009. He will send me a pre-addressed box & if i can get the computer back from BB & send it to HP, they will replace my computer with a new motherboard... which he said is the problem.

Get it back from HP? hahahahahahahaha! Impossible!!! It's 'in the shop' & i can't have it back until it's fixed.

What did i learn?

1. Do NOT buy Hewlett Packard products.
2. Do NOT shop at BestBuy.
3. The 'Geek Squad' doesn't even know the difference between a product number and a model number!

Today i phoned a local hospital laboratory where i had my last mammogram. I am personally responsible for a couple hundred dollars out of MY pocket because Medicare will not pay for it. Even though i know it's a matter of negligence on the part of somebody in an office... incorrectly inputting a meaningful code, it is MY responsibility to negotiate directly with Medicare! I choose to wait until after the Independence Day holiday to argue with them!

I didn't even choose Medicare as my primary insurer. It automatically became my primary insurer when i turned age 65. Thanks to federal government. hahahahahahahaha....... Hey you guys with the white coats.... come & get me! I'm ready!!!!

Today is Father's Day 2009

i've had the pleasure of loving three fathers...

• My genetic father lived with us - off and on - for the first 10-12 years of my life. i remember lots of bad stuff, all relayed to me by my mother. i remember a few good things, from my very own memory. i remember sitting on his lap... he called me 'daddy's little girl'. i remember not seeing him after he and mom divorced. i remember mom didn't want him to come around or see his children. There were four of us. i remember he phoned me when i graduated high school. He wanted to see me. i said no. i visited him once after that, when his sister, my Aunt Fleda told me he was sick. i went to his funeral. My brother and two sisters went with me when they heard about it.
• My dad was my step-father. He did not adopt us and i always called him Tony. Now that he is dead my sibs all call him 'dad' but i don't know if they did when he was alive. i remember Tony as a good father who made sure i behaved myself. i think he loved me. i remember after Tony had several strokes my mom complained about his bad habits. Did she not understand why he had those bad habits? i remember he died in a nursing home. We all went to his funeral.
• My husband was the father of my six children. i loved him then. i love him now even though he is no longer with us in this life.
• Oh! i forgot! There are four more fathers that have been in my life for many years now. These are the fathers of my six grandchildren. Yeah... i love them too.
• ...and now there is a special new father in my life. He is the father of my first great-grandchild, Logan James, who was just born last week! I love him too.

Last night i dreamed about my genetic father. You don't need to know the details. It was not a bad dream. It reminded me that i really had a 'real' father.

God bless all the fathers in my life. I love you one and all!

...on today's work ethic

I was in line to return reading glasses that fell apart during the second use. They were really cool glasses - very tiny and folded down for storage in a cylindrical holder with a pocket clip. This looked like the perfect solution to perpetually losing my glasses.

There were three customers on my side of the service counter... all waiting patiently. Two female associates (that's what they call clerks these days... perhaps to make them feel more important?) kept themselves busy behind the counter.

One of the associates was walking back and forth, wrestling with a big box. This store offers postal service for customers. The other one varied her time between talking to one of the waiting customers and talking on the phone... looking like a multi-tasker at her best. Her customer was also standing in the 'special services' area - part of the counter where you can mail things, buy lottery tickets, cash checks, and heaven only knows what else!

During this time there was a male associate entering and exiting a door which looks like it goes back where 'all the important people' work. He would look at the cash register and go back through the door. Meanwhile the third customer at the counter was standing near the cash register area, only on the customer's side. The guy never looked at her, or anybody for that matter, before going back through the door. Golly! He looked busy!

This scene lasted a few minutes while i'm standing next in line, waiting to be called to the counter. A line is forming behind me. Time for action.

The next time the busy male associate walked out to the register, I asked the customer across from him if she had been waited on. She said no. The fellow getting postal service commented to me that they were 'all' busy... one girl taking care of his package... the other on the phone.....

Meanwhile the 'busy' male associate handled the waiting customer's business, called me over, rang up my return information and called the next customer.

As i walked away, finally satisfied, the one gal was still struggling with the big box. Her customer was telling her how to measure it... and the other 'busy' female was still talking alternately on the phone and to the other customer.

Today is Memorial Day...

...and today i am sick... but here's me last week, along with a few of my best friends! Look at those smiles! We're having lunch at a place called Prado in San Diego. What are we smiling at? The cute waiter, of course! How else did you think i could get a pic of all four of us together, eh?

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday...

..today i did laundry... needed certain items so it couldn't wait until next week.

I baked a cake for tomorrow... will be having some of the girls and their families over for dinner.

When i brought in the newspaper, the whole neighborhood was so quiet, there was not even the ordinary noise of traffic. For a moment i actually felt lonely... then my neighbor called to wish me a Happy Easter; we talked a bit; i was not lonely.

... and today i saw excerpts from three different sports - baseball, basketball, and even a football game! You know, i think i liked sports better when each one had it's own season.

Life without Frank is a learning process...

...bigger than i ever dreamed. Between June 2008 and today i learned that i cannot 'fix' everything, no matter how much i want to.

In June my sister (one of three) moved in with me. She had a series of 'bad luck' with her living arrangements, money, and all that..... all of this after a lifetime of bad choices with men including two 'bad' marriages.

All i had was a big house, a big yard, more space than one person needs, a need for somebody to help me with the chores inside and out..... and a love for my maternal family that had been in the background during my life of adventure with Frank.

I soon learned my sister is not the little sister i remember. Matter of fact our lifestyles had changed so drastically in opposite directions that we have nothing in common. I also learned she had no intention to help with anything around the house, inside or out.

She lived in her bedroom when she was not at work. We had dinner together, and even that was not overly pleasant. She did not enjoy the foods i learned to like during the last dozen or so years of learning a healthy lifestyle with Frank, a lifestyle that prolonged his life (although not long enough!) She only went outdoors to have a smoke.

Today my sister arrived around 10:30 a.m. with a U-Haul truck, two of her grandkids and her car. By 12:10 she had all of her earthly possessions loaded, including Zeke, her Himalayan cat. She came back into the house, handed me my keys, and started counting out her money... her last 'rent' payment for living here. I told her i didn't want any money....

...and she said, 'It works for me.'

Goodbye little sister. I wish you only good things. I love you and I am trying not to cry. I wish i could say i will miss you, but i will not miss your abusive language... i will not miss the nasty sour ash tray smell whenever i walk past the room you occupied..... and i will not miss the occasional, but too frequent cat feces and urine on the floors of my home.

Wonderful Weekend...

Yes, this IS Wednesday but still wanted to say how much i enjoyed my weekend past. #5 and i are kindred souls in the winter driving department and she & i did a great job of getting us from here to there (across the state.) The drive, which is normally 2 to 2-1/2 hour drive took us more than 3-1/2 hours in nasty wintery snowy weather.

15 minutes into our trip we met up with the beginnings of a snow storm. As we progressed westerly, so did the storm. Amazingly, in the big city, people seem to think they can drive 80 mph regardless of the weather... on the expressway!!! We dodged many of these brain-dead types... and then... as we got into the city, their multiple several-car pileups!!! But we made it... slow and steady, 45 miles an hour most of the time.

We were determined to be there for a baby shower - a very special one. My oldest grandchild will be a father in June. He is in the U.S. Army. His wife will be moving to his base the first of March... so we needed to have a shower for her.

It was a small elite group. It was fun... well worth the determination and trauma of getting there. My first great grandson received loads of good stuff... mostly necessary and some just for fun. His mommy is SO happy... and so is his daddy! God bless little Logan James.

Thank you Number 5, for braving the weather with me. You are amazing!