Phone Crisis!

Let me preface this story by saying the Julia Sugarbaker lives inside me and when the need arises, she is called upon to take care of business.......okay, on to the story!

I think that most people would agree that the cell phone industry is full of itself and they get you with contracts and certain phones for certain carriers. CRAP! That is what I say. I say, buy whatever phone you want, then shop for the best deal for cell service, no contracts, no crap! Which leads me into a little story about our current crap phones that were not cheap.

So, Glenn and I had Palm Treos from Sprint before we left for Korea. It worked great. PDA and phone, all of my information. Had to turn them off, because we couldn't use them in Korea. Okay, no problem. So, we get back last summer and go to Sprint and it was like I had walked into Macy's with last season's shoes! So basically, we had an "old" model and it really wasn't going to work like it should, because we had to get new batteries, etc., the cost just wouldn't justify and the rep wasn't sure how long the phone would work, because we were having some issues with it. Great. They were expensive. So, now they collect dust in a drawer.

We decided to go to Verizon and get phones there. Got a phone that seemed like it would be good. They were expensive, $250 and they were not PDAs! AND the whole internet plan was outrageous, so we didn't get that. Glenn started having problems with his and the touch screen and that is where the problems began....................


The phone is a piece of crap, hate it, but we are locked in until next summer, because of contracts. We only have one Verizon store in our town with technicians that can work on the phones. We went into the store in the spring, explained the problem and received a software update, didn't work. Kept trying over the summer to go in, but since it is the only store, it is ALWAYS busy. I cannot wait 2 hours to be seen. I won't. So yesterday we went in and it wasn't too busy. I explained the problem to the tech and she knew exactly what I was talking about, because the phone has problems. A new phone was created to fix the problem. Awesome, right?NO! My warranty expired 3 weeks ago. Sorry, we can't help you. Although you can pay $50 to get the new phone that was created to fix the problem. Not only no, but hell no!

Went home and stewed about it. I decided that I WAS NOT going to take that for an answer. So we were at the store this morning when they opened. I wasn't going to leave without the new phone and I wasn't going to pay for it. If the phone has problems, then that should trump the warranty I wasn't asking for an upgrade or discount, just the phone that is supposed to replace mine.

I got the technician that helped me the night before, which is great, because I didn't have to explain the whole story again. She looked something up and then left the area for a few minutes and came back with the manager. And she came out with an attitude. Mistake. Hence Julia Sugarbaker.

I began slowly and calming explaining the history of the phone, etc. All she kept doing was touching the screen and saying, "well, it is working now." My response in a slightly more loud, and more aggressive tone, "yeah, kind of like when you take your car in because it is making a funny noise and then it doesn't make that noise for the technician. Hmmm." I think I heard some customers laugh! After more attitude from the Barbara, the manager, I said, "Fine. Give me my piece of crap phone back and your district manager's name and phone number, because, obviously YOU cannot fix this problem, or you have chosen NOT to fix this problem. Your mind was made up before you and I spoke. This store will not be out any money, Samsung will not be out any money."

I left with the district manager's number, went out to my car to call her only to get a recording of "this is a non-working number." Oh no she didn't! I went back into the store, spoke to the original technician, who was VERY surprised that the number didn't work and was very helpful in giving me an additional number. She could see the frustration on my face. The number was h was to a district store in Austin. I talked to a very nice man, who actually was the manager who opened my store. I explain the problem start to finish very calmly and he said, "No problem, I will send you the updated phone and you will receive it via Fed EX on Wed."

I was so thankful. I asked him, "I explained this whole story to my store and they told me that they couldn't help; why was I able to explain it to you and you, with no hesitation, just are sending the new phone." He said "Barbara should have given you the new phone I will be talking to Barbara." Well now! I promptly went back into the store, walking very proud, with a shit-eat grin on my face and walked right up to Barbara and said, "I just talked to Todd and he didn't have a problem sending me the new phone and he also said that YOU should have been able to to to that." All I got was attitude. Regardless, I have the new phone....free.

So, if anyone needs assistance with an issue, please feel free to call upon myself and Julia at any time. I know that some of my Ya-Ya's have witnessed this first hand and I can provide references if needed!

Package

The package has arrived!!!!

Flight - Part 2

I finally talked to Glenn last night about 11:15. He made it to Dallas! He was going to the hotel and would be back at the airport Tuesday morning to get on the 9:00 AM flight, hopefully! So, at 10:00 AM Central Standard Time we will finally be together!

Flight

Well, we all knew that this would happen, right? I got an email from Glenn yesterday saying that he was in Germany, but the plane broke. What was supposed to be a 2 hour layover, was going to be a 7 hour layover. GREAT! So, this morning my phone rang at 6:30 AM, it was my brother-in-law who lives in Dallas. He was going to meet Glenn's plane and welcome him home. Anyway, he called to tell me that the flight was delayed until 8:00 PM tonight. But when I logged on, I had an email from Glenn telling me that he wouldn't arrive into Dallas until 11:00 PM!

It is always something! This will not make the kids happy! So, we wait.

Coming Home

I cannot believe that 8 months have flown by! It just doesn't seem possible. Glenn will be home on Monday around lunch time! He is in Kuwait now waiting for his flight out. I know that it will be a quick visit, but the rest of this deployment will fly by!

Wish

I just wanted to wish my very sweet and loving hubby a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Today is his birthday and we are apart, but the family will celebrate next week!

Glenn WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Meet Tucker

Okay, so last fall we were going to adopt a dog from my parents. We all love Sammy and we were very excited about him coming to our house. So over Thanksgiving my parents brought Sammy with them to try it out. Everything was good, except that Sammy wanted to eat one of my cats. That just wasn't going to fly, so Sammy went back home with my parents. They were not going to get rid of him and they still have him.


So, the idea of an additional canine has been on the back burner since. Ryan still talks about Sammy and how he wishes he could live here, etc. etc. etc. You see where this is going, right? About a month ago my friend from KC was visiting (it is all her fault!) and we decided to go to a Michael's in a different city. This is where you learn from your mistakes, always stay with the original plan, do not deviate! In order to get to Michael's, we had to pass the PetSmart, who was having an adoption. We drive past the front of the store and all at the same time say, "Awwwww." And from the backseat, "Can get a dog?!"


After Michael's I seriously debated with myself on whether to go in or not.................
......................................we went in.


Long story short. I filled out the adoption request. You have to be approved before you can adopt a dog and you have to wait a couple of days for the request to be approved. Like a waiting period for a gun! It's crazy, but I understand, there are some real freaks out there! Well, we got approved.


Tucker is now a 7 month old hound dog mix, a pound puppy, the best kind. He really is sweet, but a lot of work. The first 2 weeks were touch and go for Tucker. We had to housebreak him and I tell you, he almost didn't make it! But he is doing better. He has an accident every once in a while, like if we don't see him at the backdoor, which is progress!


The cats don't like him, but the will mellow over time. Daisy, our other dog, and Tucker play all of the time! You wouldn't think that Daisy was 8 years old! This is really good for her. So, here are some pics of the new addition!

Arizona!

I did so much in Arizona in such a short time! It was awesome! First, let me explain why I was in Arizona in July! No one else is; ya know why? BECAUSE IT IS HOTTER THAN THE SUN! The summer time is Arizona's off-season, because it is so freakin' hot! I don't what people say, "ah, dry heat." BLAH! BLAH! BLAH! It is heat at 115*! Let me just say that when I arrived back in Texas and was hit in the face with the humidity, it felt awesome!

Okay, I went to Arizona to attend a high school reunion. Now, I didn't go to high school in Arizona; I attended a school overseas for military kids, aka BRATS (Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines) we are all BRATS! So, after high school everyone just exploded all over the world. Because of so many locations and miles between the BRATS, having any reunions is challenging. Well, we have some wonderfully smart peeps in our group and an organization evolved based on a need. Hence, the Berlin Brats, now a .org! So many people have gotten reconnected and now keep in touch. Our group has all-class reunions every 3 years and we bounce around the country to try to get as many BRATS as possible in attendance. FuN!

A few friends and I went a day early and spent the night in a FABULOUS house in Sedona. It was spectacular! Could have spent the whole week there, except it didn't have a pool. Sedona is famous for the Red Rocks. They were beautiful.

For whatever reason, I could not rearrange my photos, so I will explain as we go!

This is me and Jenny! This was taken at a trail head in Sedona by our lovely house. Jenny and I played volleyball together in high school.

This was the sunrise view from one of our huge balconies.

There was an awesome micro brewery in Sedona that we were forced to try. This was a sampler and they were great!

If you are ever in Sedona, this is the brewery!

The Girls of '85 in our house!

This is Jenny and Cheryl with some yummy micro brew!

Here is Tim, he is Jenny's husband AND also graduated with us. Tim and I lived in the same stairwell!

This is Michael, Cheryl's hubby, walking through one of the living areas.

This is the morning view of the courtyard! Look at all of that lavender to the right.

Another sunrise view.

And another!

This was the larger balcony on the back of the house. The stairs lead down to the backyard area.

The upstairs living area.

Sunset view.

I was taking an artsy photo of the lovely lavender!

Entry way.

One of the eating areas.

Part of the courtyard.

Another shot of the courtyard.

Part of the backyard with a lovely terrace and hot tub.


The main entrance to the courtyard.

The entrance!

It was a great experience, just wish we had more time to enjoy the whole house! Maybe next time! After we left Sedona, we headed to Phoenix for the actual formal part of the reunion. That will be another post!