Open letter to the cable company

Dear big behemoth company with a monopoly:

I am done with you.

Tomorrow, I will call your disconnect line and get rid of your DVR service, your On Demand service and your stupid box. Oh, and the phone service too. I wish I could get rid of the cable completely and my internet service, but alas, you are a MONOPOLY, and I can’t have any other service in my building.

And you know that. You are twirling your handlebar mustache  and laughing behind my back right now, aren’t you??

I have spent COUNTLESS hours on the phone with your incompetent  “customer service reps” and have had 5 techs in my home in the past 35 days.

None of them can figure out what the problems are. NONE OF THEM.

I have had my condo rewired.

I have been yelled at by a CSR.

I have stayed home from work 5 times for you to tell me you can’t fix my problem.

I have had 4 new cable boxes.

I have been given credits* and fake apologies.

I have been told (today) I am past due on my bill, though the 7 different CSR people I have talked to over the past 7 days have told me my bill was due on 7 different days and that they had given me so many credits I would not have to pay for another few weeks.

I am done with your shady business practices.

I miss the ease of use of TiVo (and it did SO much more than the DVR for Comcast). It only costs 3 bucks more for better service. I am going back to them as soon as I can.

I had DirectTV for 7 years in Chicago, and other than the few times we had issues during weather related outages, I never had a cable TV problem. NEVER.

Your company- nothing but problems, and outages and issues., Issues you can’t seem to fix.

Gee, do you think it was because they did not have a monopoly and they had to treat their customers with respect and dignity?

You are picking a BAD time to make your customers mad. The economy is bad; you don’t want all your customers to leave you do you?

Oh, that’s right, WE CAN’T! You have a MONOPOLY OVER US!!!!!!!!!

Signed-

A former DVR/OnDemand customer

*that more than one mean CSR has told me I don’t deserve. GRRR

Still here...

I have been a bit preoccupied with work and with life lately-- most of my time at work has been spent writing for my job (you know what I do) and since I have been writing for that, I haven't wanted to write personally. I submit my work to the designer today so it will be nice to be FINISHED with my project for a few days so I can get some other work done.

I have been a bit depressed- the organization I work for is laying off 15% of the workforce next week so it has been especially scary the past 2 weeks with everyone I work with speculating if they are going to be laid off (or not). I have no idea if I am one of the people to be laid off, but if I am, it will be especially hard since I just moved here less than 2 months ago and have no network to help me find another job. And bought a new car. And have a 2 year lease.

No matter if I stay or go I will still be sad-- a lot of people I think are extremely smart and talented are going to be let go.

It will not be a good week next week.

I am breathing and trying to just get through these next few days.

I got my bridesmaid dress for the May 30th wedding, and have to go buy the undergarments for it sometime in the next few days, then get it altered. I am excited to be back in the Midwest from May 22-June 2nd.

My cousin is graduating from college this weekend so I am traveling to see my family and see him graduate. I am proud he found his calling in life and am happy he was accepted into a great graduate program.

TBO has a vet appt on Friday-- he has 3 large and scary lumps on his back and has been crying a lot. I hope he is OK and not in pain. We shall know soon enough, I guess. 15 is a ripe old age for a cat. He is starting to have "grumpy old man" days where all he does is pout and sleep.

So all in all, kind of a crappy month and it is only May 6th.

Sorry I am such a Debbie Downer today!!

Famous!

My photo from a few months ago while riding on the 147 bus in Chicago made it on ROCK on the CTA… (for those of you who can’t see the link/photo, it is a photo of a woman’s feet. She had fashioned white duct tape as sandals. The things you see while on the bus….

http://rockonthecta.blogspot.com/2009/04/i-heart-duct-tape.html

 

ROCK on the CTA is a website that people submit photos of crazy things they see while riding on the Chicago Transit.

The festival is over!

I am exhausted, but the weekend, and the festival is over. I worked from 7a until 9p on Friday (at work and packing the truck), 6:30a-8:30p Saturday and 9a-8:30p today at the actual festival.

Yep, you read correctly—that is 6 1/3 days of work (8 hr days) in 3 days.

Ouch.

It was hot (on the mid 80’s) both days, but we had one of the most shadiest spots along the festival so that was helpful. We also were along the parade route, so that was something that was cool to watch from the comfort of our booth.

I am stupid exhausted, so I am not going to write very much- just know I am glad it is over. I will be in the office tomorrow but will take Tuesday off (waiting for Comcast to come fix my broken-since-Wednesday TV and home phone – thank goodness my internet is finally up and running!

I AM SOOOO TIRED!! AND SOOOO GLAD IT IS FINALLY OVER!!

I’m sorry did I already say that?

 

48MV

Why I dislike Atlanta: Reason #132

There are tiny black flying bugs here that LOVE TBO’s wet food. I hate them, and they love me.

EW EW EW EW EW EW EW.

I have NO idea what they are but I want them gone.

EW.

On 30 Days Here…

Yesterday was 30 days in the new city.

In the first 30 days I:

• moved across country/rode in a car for 15 hours
• unpacked over 75 boxes
• installed, reinstalled and installed again my wireless internet connection
• had 2 out of 4 Sunday AJC newspapers delivered correctly
• did untold loads of laundry
• (ditto for dishwasher use)
• researched, test drove and bought a new car (Fiiiiiiiiiit!)
• worked on, went with the flow with (when plans majorly changed 2 times) and planned logistics for a 2 day festival in ATL (happens this weekend)
• entertained 5 visitors in one week
• researched, bought and put together 2 leather barstools and a wooden TV stand
• organized my new closet
• took 4 car loads of clothing and other things to Goodwill
• bought a sleeper loveseat
• bought a new outdoor plant for my balcony
• joined the gym downstairs and worked out 10 times (wish it was more)
• received countless emails and phone calls from family and friends asking me how I was doing
• cried myself to sleep 10 times
• found my mailbox after 8 days (was not told the mailbox #)
• spent 2 “fun” days of Comcast installation
• did hatha yoga 6 times
• received 5 cards and notes in the mail from friends
• watched TBO sleep for hours and hours and hours
• went to the Dialog in the Dark Exhibit in Atlantic Station
• had a lot of trouble sleeping the first 3 weeks. Still having some issues, but am starting to get a little more sleep.
• spent more time than one person should at Target and WalMart (surprisingly, more time at the WalMart which is farther down the road than Target)
• only been to Starbucks 2 times in 30 days (and one of them was the day after I got here) I think I have broken my addiction to hot chocolate
• was put on anti-anxiety medication
• learned my way to and from work both by Marta train and car
• found the closest JCPenney's
• learned the pros and cons of both Kroger and Publix (I think I like Publix better, but I am not sure yet)
• made brownies, homemade mac and cheese and homemade freezer burritos…mmm…comfort food

I am sure there is a lot more that I have done that I am missing, but this is all I can think of right now. It has not been the worst month of my life, but it certainly has not been the best.

While change is a good thing most of the time, I am allowing myself to be unhappy and homesick for a little while longer.

A lot of people have told me the sooner I “own” my unhappiness, stop pretending I love it to people who live here and just grieve for what I have lost, the sooner I will come to terms with everything.

I miss my friends. I miss picking up the 147 outside my house and waking up to frost on the windows. I miss my morning starbucks and walking to Walgreens at lunchtime. I miss hearing sirens every ten minutes on Sheridan and walking along the lake on the bike path. I miss I Go car sharing and pool monitoring. I miss seeing Chase banks on every corner and the crazy lady in the wheelchair that used to think she was a car. I miss seeing the Chicago skyline as I ride into work.

I still feel like I am on vacation.

I miss home.

A better picture of the new car