Wednesday, December 7, 2011
The Economess
Lately, I've been paying a lot more attention to politics and the economy than I ever have before. It used to be that if you went to school and worked hard, you could get ahead. Twenty years ago, life seemed more affordable. Now it seems that no matter how hard you work yourself to death, paycheck to paycheck living is the only thing that you can muster. And that's only if you are lucky. There has been a lot of belt tightening here in the middle class.
Salary jobs used to be a perk to attract qualified employees. The concept was that even if you worked only 30 hours, you got paid the same. Now salary is offered as a company method of controlling costs. No matter how many hours over 40 you work, they only have to pay you for 40. They also introduced a new concept called mandatory overtime. Simply translated, the company got itself in a bind and now expect you to work harder and longer to bail them out, and if you are salaried that's at the expense of your time, family, and wallet.
Hourly wages seems to be reserved for employees who are not exempt by the FLSA for overtime pay. But good luck finding an hourly wage job in these times that is considered full time. Most companies would rather keep an army of part-time workers than fewer full-time workers so they can cut costs on benefits. No matter how you look at it, it is less money coming home.
Are things likely to change? Probably not. For as long as lobbyists are being paid by big business, it is big business that is going to get all the protection. I feel the average American has lost their voice in politics, it is being drowned out by the sound of money. The same money that has been squeezed out of us.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Bloggedy Blog Blog Take Two
Well, it's been quite some time, eh? I fell off the radar. It happens. I took a lot of time to unscramble things. Are my difficulties over? Heck no! I think the challenges of life are the only thing that stay consistent.
Let me update you. Mr. Emotionally Unavailable is gone (that took up a good portion of the time I've been absent.). Verizon ended up getting paid the money I was never supposed to owe them. People are still happily swimming in the sea of denial. And I still have plenty to rant about despite going to see a therapist.
The therapist was actually a lot of fun, although expensive. Turns out there is nothing wrong with me, its everybody else! I'm surrounded by idiots. Unfortunately some of them are related, so I just have to learn to buck up and handle them better. Always easier said than done.
I've moved on to greener pastures in my personal life. I found (or re-found?) a wonderful man and married him. Of course that story is another blog post in itself. Although he can make me crazy, he is my buoy of sanity. Life can be such a paradox. I'm sure that I make him crazy too, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Just over the Verizon
Why is it that when you spend money, it immediately disappears out of your bank account and when you are owed money it takes forever for them to credit you? Is it just me or they do it to everyone?
This past March I moved into a new apartment and had the old phone number transferred (mind you the new apartment is smack next door to the old apartment). Well, Verizon assured me that the transfer was going to happen on a certain date at a certain time. Like clockwork, the phone was turned off. But a funny thing occured, there was no dial tone at the new apartment. So I call (thank goodness for neighbors with cellphones) and they tell me noon. Noon comes and goes. I call back, they tell me 2pm. That time comes and goes with no dialtone, so I call back. Apparently I was misinformed, the customer service representative tells me. Just because the transfer is slated for a certain time and date doesn't mean that it completes at that time and date. Now I need to wait a couple of business days for the new phone line to be on. Well thank you for telling me that in the first place! I could have had the new phone turned on and the old one scheduled for disconnection about three years later! Instead I had a chipper phone person tell me "we will just transfer that right over for you". I just knew it sounded too easy.
Well, you would think that after six months this whole silly phone ordeal would be over, but its not. After Verizon finally got the phone turned on, the line was all static and you could barely hear the dialtone. Not to mention, that the phone jack upstairs didn't get a dialtone at all. On top of that, I was missing all my calls because the phone never rang and sent the callers straight to the voice mail. So I call Verizon again on the crackily line and request repair service. They check the lines and tell me that there is a problem but they are not sure where it is, so they will be sending out a technician the next day.
Miracles upon miracles, the technician actually shows up that very same day! Just when I think we are making some headway on my lack of phone service, he informs me that he has good news and bad news. The good news is: there was trouble in the line to the building and he fixed it, and the bad news: there is trouble with the inside wiring and he will have to charge me to fix it. I inform him that I have an inside wire maintenence plan and that should cover the charges. He informs me that it might not because I moved. He also told me that decision wasn't up to him and I should call Verizon back and tell them what's going on and make an appointment for a repair crew that could authorize a repair under the plan.
I followed his advice and had two more repair crews sent out, none would authorize the repairs under the plan. Funny how Verizon charges you every month, raises your rates, and only when you actually need the plan do you get the fine print how nothing is actually covered. Now I was on a mission. There was no way I was paying $200 or so for something that was supposed to be covered by the $5 bucks a month we had been paying for the last 20 years. So we called and complained to Verizon every day. My mom and I figured that the squeaky wheel gets the oil and we were going to get very squeaky.
Two days later, a customer service representative got someone to preauthorize the repair under the plan and they were sending a repair crew at no charge and everything was going to be taken care of. The repair crew came, the phone lines were fixed, no bill was presented to sign, the peasants rejoiced, and life was finally back to normal after weeks of no phone. That is, until the phone bill came in. After the initial shock passed and blinking returned to normal, the bill was scoured for the source of the outrageous amount. Under miscellaneous charges there was an entry for $138 for repair service and another for $2 in materials for the very same day the phone was finally fixed.
I immediately called Verizon to report the error. After too many minutes of my life were wasted, I was transferred to someone who could help me. This customer service representative saw the notes on the account and the authorization for free repair and apologized for the situation. She authorized a credit for $140 and told me that it might take a billing cycle or so to catch up and I should go ahead and pay my phone bill minus the credit amount until such time. That was in June.
The credit still has not shown up. Verizon has transferred the account to collections and I get weekly phone calls and faxes demanding payment of the $140 and letters threatening the disconnection of the line. Yet, everytime I talk to someone about it I get an apology and a "We are going to handle this matter right away for you."
I am hoping that sometime before Christmas the credit actually appears and I can stop wasting hours of my life on hold. Why does everything in life turn so complicated?
This past March I moved into a new apartment and had the old phone number transferred (mind you the new apartment is smack next door to the old apartment). Well, Verizon assured me that the transfer was going to happen on a certain date at a certain time. Like clockwork, the phone was turned off. But a funny thing occured, there was no dial tone at the new apartment. So I call (thank goodness for neighbors with cellphones) and they tell me noon. Noon comes and goes. I call back, they tell me 2pm. That time comes and goes with no dialtone, so I call back. Apparently I was misinformed, the customer service representative tells me. Just because the transfer is slated for a certain time and date doesn't mean that it completes at that time and date. Now I need to wait a couple of business days for the new phone line to be on. Well thank you for telling me that in the first place! I could have had the new phone turned on and the old one scheduled for disconnection about three years later! Instead I had a chipper phone person tell me "we will just transfer that right over for you". I just knew it sounded too easy.
Well, you would think that after six months this whole silly phone ordeal would be over, but its not. After Verizon finally got the phone turned on, the line was all static and you could barely hear the dialtone. Not to mention, that the phone jack upstairs didn't get a dialtone at all. On top of that, I was missing all my calls because the phone never rang and sent the callers straight to the voice mail. So I call Verizon again on the crackily line and request repair service. They check the lines and tell me that there is a problem but they are not sure where it is, so they will be sending out a technician the next day.
Miracles upon miracles, the technician actually shows up that very same day! Just when I think we are making some headway on my lack of phone service, he informs me that he has good news and bad news. The good news is: there was trouble in the line to the building and he fixed it, and the bad news: there is trouble with the inside wiring and he will have to charge me to fix it. I inform him that I have an inside wire maintenence plan and that should cover the charges. He informs me that it might not because I moved. He also told me that decision wasn't up to him and I should call Verizon back and tell them what's going on and make an appointment for a repair crew that could authorize a repair under the plan.
I followed his advice and had two more repair crews sent out, none would authorize the repairs under the plan. Funny how Verizon charges you every month, raises your rates, and only when you actually need the plan do you get the fine print how nothing is actually covered. Now I was on a mission. There was no way I was paying $200 or so for something that was supposed to be covered by the $5 bucks a month we had been paying for the last 20 years. So we called and complained to Verizon every day. My mom and I figured that the squeaky wheel gets the oil and we were going to get very squeaky.
Two days later, a customer service representative got someone to preauthorize the repair under the plan and they were sending a repair crew at no charge and everything was going to be taken care of. The repair crew came, the phone lines were fixed, no bill was presented to sign, the peasants rejoiced, and life was finally back to normal after weeks of no phone. That is, until the phone bill came in. After the initial shock passed and blinking returned to normal, the bill was scoured for the source of the outrageous amount. Under miscellaneous charges there was an entry for $138 for repair service and another for $2 in materials for the very same day the phone was finally fixed.
I immediately called Verizon to report the error. After too many minutes of my life were wasted, I was transferred to someone who could help me. This customer service representative saw the notes on the account and the authorization for free repair and apologized for the situation. She authorized a credit for $140 and told me that it might take a billing cycle or so to catch up and I should go ahead and pay my phone bill minus the credit amount until such time. That was in June.
The credit still has not shown up. Verizon has transferred the account to collections and I get weekly phone calls and faxes demanding payment of the $140 and letters threatening the disconnection of the line. Yet, everytime I talk to someone about it I get an apology and a "We are going to handle this matter right away for you."
I am hoping that sometime before Christmas the credit actually appears and I can stop wasting hours of my life on hold. Why does everything in life turn so complicated?
Friday, September 5, 2008
Emotionally Unavailable
Well I went and did it again. Got myself involved with another emotionally unavailable man. What is it with me? They seem nice enough from the start: cute, funny, intelligent, caring. And then blam! Something happens and they are so wrapped up in themselves I feel like I no longer matter.
Of course, being the nice person that I am, I try to stick it out and be supportive. Let's face it: Life sometimes sucks. But after about a week, enough is enough. I would be way more lenient if it were a death in the family. But this? This is your happens to everybody at one time or another kind of stuff.
The question of the day is: What should I do about it?
At first I felt callous about telling him to just suck it up and move on like the rest of us. We all get sad and need to rant and rave to someone. As someone significant in his life, I thought that was my job. I listened, I consoled, I waited. Apparently not long enough. When I finally tried to tell him that this situation was hurting me, it was met with hostility and a total shut down of communication. That was 24 hours ago.
Is that the end? The last conversation we will ever have? It seems very silly for two grown people that care about each other to behave in this manner, but I only have control of myself. And as much as sanity screams he just doesn't care about you as much as you care about him, it's not so easy to just close the chapter.
Of course, being the nice person that I am, I try to stick it out and be supportive. Let's face it: Life sometimes sucks. But after about a week, enough is enough. I would be way more lenient if it were a death in the family. But this? This is your happens to everybody at one time or another kind of stuff.
The question of the day is: What should I do about it?
At first I felt callous about telling him to just suck it up and move on like the rest of us. We all get sad and need to rant and rave to someone. As someone significant in his life, I thought that was my job. I listened, I consoled, I waited. Apparently not long enough. When I finally tried to tell him that this situation was hurting me, it was met with hostility and a total shut down of communication. That was 24 hours ago.
Is that the end? The last conversation we will ever have? It seems very silly for two grown people that care about each other to behave in this manner, but I only have control of myself. And as much as sanity screams he just doesn't care about you as much as you care about him, it's not so easy to just close the chapter.
Lies and Deception
I have never realised before how many people around me are swimming in a sea of deception and seem completely ignorant of the fact. These people are not devious cunning con-artists trying to empty your bank accounts. They are regular folks that are so fed up with life that they just can't see anything clearly. So they waddle around in the wading pool of self-pity and start lying, mostly to themselves, until they are neck deep in a pool of lies. Some lucky bastards actually have Xanax for a flotatation device. Eventually they start lying to those around them til they permanently set sail into the ocean of fantasy. You would think that everything would be blissful at that point, but no. The waves of reality keep beating down until they are washed ashore. At that point there are two choices: face reality and fix whats wrong with life (way too easy for most folks) or gather the shattered pieces of their perception, seal it with a few more lies, and head on out of port.
What the hell does this have to do with me? you may ask. Well Im standing on the beach watching these fools. Its so tempting to set sail permanently into a perception you create, but unfortunately I am not completely insane and I am not medicated, so I am content to just dip my feet in the water of dreams (If I could only win the lottery) and go home. But its not that simple. These poor misguided fools actually mistake me for a lighthouse, like I have any answers. But I feel bad for them and I listen. I think that might be my first mistake.
What the hell does this have to do with me? you may ask. Well Im standing on the beach watching these fools. Its so tempting to set sail permanently into a perception you create, but unfortunately I am not completely insane and I am not medicated, so I am content to just dip my feet in the water of dreams (If I could only win the lottery) and go home. But its not that simple. These poor misguided fools actually mistake me for a lighthouse, like I have any answers. But I feel bad for them and I listen. I think that might be my first mistake.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Blogeddy Blog Blog
So, I finally did it. My very own blog. Some friends of mine have been pestering me to start one for awhile now, but I just wasn't ready to join the infinite number of idiots already whining about their personal lives. Now I am.
"Why now?" you may ask. Well honestly, its because I can't afford a therapist. I thought about starting a journal, but its too easily discovered. It's much easier to stick it out in the public eye where no one I know will ever think its me, and even if they do... I will deny it. I can feel completely free to whine about whomever is driving me crazy without fear of hurting their fragile ego or hearing "I can't believe you wrote that about ME! *sniffle sniffle*" for the next decade and a half.
That said, I am warning you ahead of time that all names have been changed to protect the guilty (particularly mine). Any resemblence to actual people or events you know is merely coincidence. And although I may actually be blogging about YOU, I will claim no knowledge of any such event all the way to the grave.
Of course, I have no idea who would actually want to read this drivel. But if you happen to stop by and browse, you can feel free to leave any comment so that I know I am not alone in the universe. Who knows, it might give me something else to rant about.
"Why now?" you may ask. Well honestly, its because I can't afford a therapist. I thought about starting a journal, but its too easily discovered. It's much easier to stick it out in the public eye where no one I know will ever think its me, and even if they do... I will deny it. I can feel completely free to whine about whomever is driving me crazy without fear of hurting their fragile ego or hearing "I can't believe you wrote that about ME! *sniffle sniffle*" for the next decade and a half.
That said, I am warning you ahead of time that all names have been changed to protect the guilty (particularly mine). Any resemblence to actual people or events you know is merely coincidence. And although I may actually be blogging about YOU, I will claim no knowledge of any such event all the way to the grave.
Of course, I have no idea who would actually want to read this drivel. But if you happen to stop by and browse, you can feel free to leave any comment so that I know I am not alone in the universe. Who knows, it might give me something else to rant about.
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