Iowa

Iowa

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Beautiful Summer Day

After weeks of having the house closed up, having the air conditioner running non-stop and having horrific storms, we have today, a beautiful day.  Low humidity, sunshine and white fluffy clouds.  In fact, last night I was actually cold while sleeping.  Have you ever lay in bed uncomfortable, whether it be too cold, too hot, having to go to the bathroom, and wondered if you should do something to remedy the situation?  I do that a lot.  Last night the fan was going, the windows were wide open and at 4 AM I wondered if I should do something about the fact that I was freezing.  If I got up, would I be colder and lose the warm spot in the bed?  Would the cat think it is morning and decide to play?  Would I stub my toe or have difficulty falling back asleep?  I do this when I have to go to the bathroom.  Can I wait until the alarm goes off?  If I get up right now and race to and from the bathroom will I be able to go back to sleep?  That seems to be a big worry, and I have to admit, much of it depends on what time it is.  This morning I just curled up in a ball and fell back asleep with a wind...not breeze...coming in the window above my bed.

A few glitches with the computer.  Verizon had to come and give me a new router and fix a couple of settings. I called last week and yesterday was the soonest they could come.  They assured me they would be here between 8 AM and noon.  So, there I was, rolling out of bed at 7 to get a shower and eat some breakfast.  Waited.  Waited some more.  And more.  Tried to call them.  Push 1 for this, 2 for that, up to 8 for this and that.  Nothing about checking appointment.  There was one to cancel the appointment, but none to talk to a person....so I kept pushing "0".  Not a valid option.  After a half hour I had someone on the phone who said the repair person would be there between 2 and 3.  Fortunately, he came before that.  Words I don't want to hear...."Gee, that never happened before".  And "I never got that message before".  And I have noticed that when anyone comes to the house to repair anything they always ask "Who did this?" followed by a shaking of their head.  He told me to contact HP. 

Easier said than done.  Finally....after 1 hour on the phone I get Jim from India.  He remotely accessed my computer and fixed the glitch, but not before several problems popped up.  Had to call them again today for a different issue.  I called six different numbers and finally called the world headquarters and talked to my new bff, Julia.  She assured me she would help.  I'm waiting for a call from her.

We have become a society that cannot reach a live person to discuss a problem.  Thank goodness I am persistent....although I have about given up on the one minor glitch.  When I asked Verizon how to bypass all of the automated messages and get to a person, the tech support said I can't.  They are busy because of all the storms we have had.  I'll accept that for now, because it is true that weather has probably played a part in all of this....but the next time I will think about switching from Verizon.

The kids seem to be racing through summer.  Baseball, biking, swimming,   Phipps is extremely short handed in their guest services department, so I have been working A LOT.  Have not seen many of Matt's tournament games, which is sad.  I actually go for the refreshment stands, but don't tell Matt that.  I believe we are all looking forward to the road trip which is rapidly approaching. 

Pirates are doing well.  Grilli is hurt.  He is the closing pitcher, and seems to be a really neat person.  I hope it isn't serious and that he gets back to the ballgame.  I see that they are again having a drug investigation on players.  Maybe I am naïve, but I don't think this has touched the Pirates.  I think if I heard of any of them taking performance enhancing drugs I would be very disappointed.  And I know there are those that say "everyone" does it, but I don't (1) think that is true and (2) think that is an excuse to do it.

Well, I am headed to the back yard to sit under the tree with my book and enjoy the wonderful weather. 

15 comments:

Twigs said...

It's going to be cooler here also, in fact, maybe the lowest temps we have seen all summer.
I always try to wait it out rather than get out of bed. I make the dog cross his legs if necessary.
I am so tired of these automated systems. It's not just help desks, it's everything. It is such poor customer service. And with help desks, it is usually Jim or Susie from India. I heard at one point Dell was going to use service centers here in the US, don't know if they have done that.
Summer is flying by, I think way too fast.
Hope the Pirates continue to do well, and sorry about Grilli.

Shelly said...

Boy, you have hit on a pet peeve of mine and that is calling a help line. By the time I can actually talk to someone I am so angry I have to be careful not to take it out on them.
I understand the need to cut costs and be cost efficient, but to what end? Some have us over a barrel, we don't have a choice. But if I have a choice, I will switch. Even my doctor's office uses this method.
Tim seems to be doing a good job cheering for the Pirates. Keep up the good work, Tim.
I can't wait until we get some cooler weather. It's been really hot here with bad storms also.

Bill said...

I am thinking that the Pirates got a gift tonight...there was no way the runner was tagged, but hey, we'll take it.
Ahh, yes, the ever frustrating automatic operator. I find that if they have 24 hour call stations the best time to call is 4 PM. People are on their way home from work, others are preparing dinner, so that is when I have luck getting some actual person. I also punch operator twice immediately OR I don't push any buttons and let them think I have one of those very old phones. Sometimes that works.
Sounds like the kids are enjoying their summer. And yes, summers go way too quickly anymore. It has been a hot one here, and we have had a lot of storm damage.
When is the road trip?

Tim said...

I am exhausted, but I will continue. A game at noon tomorrow, no rest for the weary.

Jen said...

Glad to hear the computer is up and running well. It is a pain and I sometimes think that each person you talk to has a very narrow knowledge of what they can fix and if you don't hit the right person it can be awful!
Twigs, you team was supposed to beat Cards tonight so Pirates could go ahead. At least I think that's right.
Baseball for kids is over here. Matt must be in tournaments. We didn't make any this year.
Sorry to hear about Grilli..there was a nice article about him.

Jessica said...

I love that picture, Mia. They look so happy!
Yes, help centers are a pain. I find that if I keep asking to speak to supervisor and then write a letter to the company, I feel better. It is not the fault of the person who answers the phone, it is the darn corporation that won't hire qualified/enough people to respond. This is the problem. The poor person who is the one who answers the phone takes all the abuse often, and they have no control. Be kind, Mia...they are trying.

Lori said...

What a great picture of the kids! I have come to accept that when I have a problem I will set aside an hour to wait to get somewhat a resolution. It's sad, but this is what big business has become...greedy. It's not about providing service, it's about making money by not hiring people who can speak the language, who can understand the problem, who are able to help. It is what it is.
It has cooled off here and I am very, very glad. Perhaps I won't have to sell my first born to pay the electric bill. How did I live without air conditioning when I was growing up?

Ben said...

Good job, Tim, I like your style! Pirates are making me a wreck. I am headed to see the double header on Tuesday, am counting on you Tim. Grilli is out for the season,I think. Hope not, but I think so.

SassySam said...

I need a blanket. I'm just saying. From 95 to 55. Ridiculous. I feel like the furnace should be on.
I hate help desks because they don't generally help.
That's all.
Have a good night.

ginger said...

I had computer problems also, I think because of the microburst we had. It knocked out my modem, just found out what that was and where it was.
Comcast was very helpful and got me back on line. Then it acted up again so decided to call and somehow, it righted itself. Just like finally deciding to call the doctor and then nothing hurts.

Pirates lost today, What happened Tim???

Enjoying this beautiful weather also. Great for sleeping. When I get up in the middle of the night, I read a book until I get drowsy again.


Tim said...

Cheering as loudly as I can. Go Pirates.

Jessica said...

Good job at cheering, Tim. Keep up the good work. And I normally don't follow baseball!
This summer has gone so quickly and I cannot believe that in 5 weeks the kids will start back to school!
It is cooler here also and I am certainly enjoying it.
Glad your computer is working well. Mine is ancient, but I just keep plugging away at it. I should take it in and get it serviced. I'm sure it's pretty dirty with dust and such.
I don't much like it when I hear a service person say "oh, my" or "Wow". Just do the work and keep the editorial comments to yourself!

Jessica said...

Good job at cheering, Tim. Keep up the good work. And I normally don't follow baseball!
This summer has gone so quickly and I cannot believe that in 5 weeks the kids will start back to school!
It is cooler here also and I am certainly enjoying it.
Glad your computer is working well. Mine is ancient, but I just keep plugging away at it. I should take it in and get it serviced. I'm sure it's pretty dirty with dust and such.
I don't much like it when I hear a service person say "oh, my" or "Wow". Just do the work and keep the editorial comments to yourself!

Jackie said...

It's nice that the Pirates caught the Cards in a slump and then tromped all over them. Way to go Pirates.
I absolutely dread calling help lines. But I don't think there is anything one can do. It's so rude that companies think this is good customer service. Whatever happened to actually hiring people to man the phones and knowing where to direct people rather than those stupid messages that make you listen for five minutes then don't address your problem?

Tim said...

I think I should get some of the credit for the Pirates win.