re-tar-ded

There were many reasons leading up to our decision to move off the mountain.  One of those reasons was the annoying condition of our private street.  We moved into the house about 5 years ago.  Just prior to our move-in, a section of the road was trenched to lay assorted wires and cables.  As the years passed, the trench filled with water, turned to mud, washed away, and generally continued to erode its way to canyon status.  By the time The Boy got the Volvo, he had to be very careful not to bottom-out when entering or exiting our street.

We requested remedy for our annoying trench, but our request fell on deaf ears...  So, we continued to haul in dirt, gravel, whatever we could find, to temporarily stay the deepening chasm.

Now that we've removed ourselves from the neighborhood (and btw--we were the ONLY ones living on our particular private street), they have finally decided to fix our street.  A street with no inhabitants...  A street upon which nary a car ever travels...

And this is how they fixed it.  They re-tarred it.  Only, they were a little re-tar-ded in their efforts...  The only part of the street that needed fixing was the gradually growing gully...  Did they fill that with tar?  Why, no!  They re-tarred up to the trench, skipped the gulf, and picked up on the other side.  They re-tarred a road that didn't need it--except for that one spot that they skipped!

Seriously...  Re-tar-ded...

It's a sad, sad day...

Well, after nearly a week, our iMac file recovery is complete...  Or, more accurately, it's finished, but the files are incomplete.  I've lost thousands of photos.  And who knows what else...?

Words cannot adequately describe how I feel at this moment.  I'm sick, sad, frustrated, annoyed, incensed, angry, and generally despondent.  Although I'm stymied as to why Carbonite didn't seem to back up everything, mostly I'm just highly irritated that this happened at all.  Apple has the worst customer service around, and their warranty is pathetic, too.  I can't believe that I find myself in this situation for the second time in less than a year!  And they offer no help or assistance.

I know the iPad just came out...  And the iPhone will keep vying for attention...  But don't talk to me about Apple products right now.  I'm NOT a happy camper!

Qwest is Dumb

I got a call from a collection company yesterday. What? A collection company??? What bill have I not paid???

I was informed that I had an outstanding balance for October on my Qwest wireless service. Hmmm, interesting, especially since I've never had Qwest wireless service. And by the way, why on earth am I being sent to collections on a bill that is less than a month old??? (No response)

Oh, I guess it's not your wireless bill, it's for long distance. Hmmm, I canceled my Quest home service (including long distance--obviously) a few months ago. And since I paid my final balance then, how can I have a balance? The collector went on to reiterate that I must not have paid my final bill. Well, I can assure you that I pay every bill that is delivered to my mailbox...

I told the collector that I would be contacting Qwest directly.

The Qwest Rep informed me that yes, indeed, I did owe a balance for my October long distance. They explained that I had paid the final bill for my Qwest services, but long distance is a third party vendor. He said that third party charges sometimes don't get billed as promptly as regular charges. While I had indeed paid my final Qwest bill, these charges had come in since that payment was applied to my account.

OK, so then I asked why I had not received an updated *final* bill. Why had I been sent to collections instead of being sent a new bill. And on a bill dated October? Really, it's only the first part of November! I was then informed that because I had paid my final bill, my account had been closed. Because my account was closed, they couldn't bill me. What??? They have my contact information, including my address--they looked it up just now by my phone number! They couldn't put a dollar amount on a piece of paper, put it in a stamped envelope and mail it to me? They had to send it to collections instead??? Yes, I was told. That is the process. Seriously Qwest! Give me a break!!!