A Few Comments on Fingers

Yesterday at work my co-workers were comparing their manicures. Both had lovely, long, painted, filed nails. My nails, in contrast, are chewed stubs with torn cuticles. Even if I didn't chew off my nails, I couldn't have long nails. I've tried, but they interfere with my typing (75 wpm) and with making frames. As it is I slice the nails with the chopper blades when making cuts on the frames.

On another finger related note, I burned the daylights out of my thumb and fingers on my left hand last night. Never grab a metal handle just out of a 400* oven to hold your pizza stone while cutting your pizza. No blisters, I guess I got them under cold water fast enough. However, I had 150 frames to make last night and the burns were making that difficult. I sent Craig to the office supply store for some "finger condoms" (or whatever they are called) and in the meantime concocted some finger protectors out of rubber bands and duct-tape. It amused me so I thought I would share. They actually worked better than the finger condoms since those only came in Med-LG and didn't fit on anything but my thumb.

Mr. Chew's Mini-Me.

Mr. Chew


Lil Jon

Flickr issues?

So... Our photo hosting site seems to be having some issues. The thumbnail images of our sets and links are not the photos we've uploaded (i.e. they are someone elses pictures). Some of them are not-so-nice. So, if you've been to our site(s) and seen something nasty (I have), please be aware that it is an error with Flickr and not a picture we posted!! Yikes.

Happy Chinese New Year of the Boar

This weekend I spent in Chicago with my sister, Kevin, and my mother. We went to the Museum of Science and Industry for a symposium which Kevin was on the panel of and to see the Body Worlds 2 exhibit. Museum was crowded (as usual) and we didn't get to go to any of the exhibits because my mother is slow. We enjoyed the symposium and found it quite informative. We then spent 2 (hot) hours in the Body Worlds exhibit. No picutues allowed, look at the link, it was very interesting. By the time we finished in Body Worlds, the main museum was closed and we (except my mother who rode in the wheelchair we rented so we could progress faster than a snails pace) were exhausted.

Today we headed over to Chinatown to celebrate Chinese New Year. The year of the pig starts today. My mother is a pig. (HA!) Mother was exhausted from the walk from the car to the train and the train to the parade, so she went into the resaurant and had tea and spring rolls while Laurie and I stood and watched the parade. It was about 26*F but still quite fun. Afterwards we had lunch and were glad she held a table because the line was out the door (literally). Great food, good company, nice day. (Tradition has it that the dragon comes into the restaurants and markets after the parade. We were right in the middle of the action for this! It was great!!

One thing here is not like the others...

You can see better if you click on the picture and then select Original size.

I was searching for squirrel pictures (long story) and stumbled upon these results.

Not having a good day.

We were broadsided in the parking lot of Craig's work this morning when a SUV was going too fast and couldn't stop at his stop. We had the right-of-way and were going only about 5mph and couldn't move in time because the lot was slippery. Chewie was in the backseat (belted in, of course) and had glass from the rear passenger window rain down on him when it blew out. The SUV had a slightly bent bumper and a furious driver. He, of course, blamed me. If I may point out in my defense, his truck would not have ripped the metal of our car if he had been going the speed limit (of 10 mph) or lower (since conditions warranted that). It would have just dented if he had been. We're all fine (other than being pretty irritated that our new car is smashed up.)

Update: Our insurance company found us to not be at fault (and was appalled that this much damage was done in a parking lot!) so we don't have to pay our deductible. Yeay!

Mad Dog! Mad Dog!

Our little escape artist is mad because he is now pulling a small tire attached to his leash around whenever he is out. He's made a try for freedom 3 times in 48 hours and now has to be supervised every time he is out until we can make some alterations to the fence. Nice of him to choose the coldest week of the year.

He is stewing in the middle of the yard.

Mr. Haskins is pleased.

Mr. Haskins received the computer back from CrappyComputer.com. Of course, it was addressed to Greg and shipped to the wrong address, but when Mr. Haskins took it home at lunch and opened the box, it did have a fixed computer inside. Mr. Haskins cannot complain too much.

Mr. Haskins and Greg shall play RuneScape together tonight while Mr. Haskins sits inside in the recliner instead of outside in the garage workshop.

Dear Mr. Haskins,

Thank you for contacting Crappy Computer Technical Support. I am concerned with the issue you are having with your computer and wish to resolve them very soon. I understand your concern regarding your laptop that shutdowns spontaneously. I will be glad to assist you but since I need to set up a service for your laptop. I would like to inform you that the information, which you have given, does not match with our records. (You don't say...)

My reply:

This email was sent to me after I filled out a request for warranty support
on my computer. However, I am not Mr. Haskins as the email is addressed to. Blah, blah, blah, providing correct contact information in detail, blah, blah.
Thank you,
Melissa K...

Their rely!

Dear Mr. Haskins,

Thank you for contacting Crappy Computer Technical Support.

Thank you for contacting Crappy Computer Technical Support. I apologize for the delay in response to your e-mail. We currently have a backlog of e-mails and are working hard to answer all of them in a timely manner.

I understand your concern regarding your system that is not recognizing the AC power and randomly switches to battery. Please be assured I am here to assist you.

Blah blah blah.

Mr. Haskins, we appreciate your patience in regards to this matter. If you have any further inquiries, you are welcome to write back to us. Blah, blah, blah, your inquiry number is 123456, blah, blah, blah.

Thank you for choosing Crappy Computer.

! ! ! Is this reply - where they still call me by the WRONG NAME - supposed to make me feel confident enough to pack up my $1500 piece of useless machinery and send it to them (via DHL on top of it - don't get me started...)??? ! ! !

AAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!

So right this moment Craig is on the phone with crappycomputers.com trying to get service on my laptop. I asked him to do this for me because I have an extremely low tolerance for the "customer service" representatives who treat you like a complete moron when you have to call for service.

My laptop has been not recognizing the power supply on a consistent basis. It will work for a little while, then it will drop the AC power and run on battery until it shuts itself off. Its been getting worse and worse until now it won't even charge. We know what the problem is. The particular model has a class action law suit against crappycomputers.com for this exact problem! Essentially, he is sitting thru the garbage they will make him do before they say, "You'll have to send it in [[and be without it for 6-10 weeks]] for repairs."

The following is from my end of the overheard of the conversation.

First he sat on hold for about 10 minutes. Now he got a rep and she went thru the initial blah-blah nonsense. Then she told him to get a hairdresser and "blow out" the insides of the machine. (My input: Umm, as if I don't do that with the computer compressed air every few weeks).

Next she asked if the power light is on on the power supply. (Yes, and it has been on on BOTH power supplies we have!) Have you changed the location it is plugged in at? (Uhh, yeah).

At this point, I would have lost all patience with the dialog and would probably be gritting my teeth to keep from screaming at her. Anywho, he is still on the phone and I am irritated enough from just overhearing the conversation that I am ending my post now.

OH WAIT - new "C.S.R.". Yeah, I would really be irritated. Yup, they are having me send it in using the cheapest ground method of shipping they can provide, they'll keep it "5-8 business days", then of course another week of ground shipping to get it back to me. Sigh. Hopefully, I'll be able to get it to work long enough to copy my files (again) onto my spare computer in my garage workshop.

Gotcha Day.

Tomorrow is Gotcha Day for "Sweet Baby Chew". I have a friend with an adopted daughter and they celebrate the day they adopted her with Gotcha Day. I like that. I can't believe it's been a year and we've gone from this...




to this...


to this...


to this...


to this...


to this...


And finally to this...

Strange.

While buying Craig's Christmas gifts from his Amazon.com wish list, I came upon this. Notice the bottom right corner where it tells me what other customers bought when purchasing the items I purchased. Also strange is the "Your viewing history" because I have not viewed any of the products listed. I actually checked that I didn't log into the wrong account somehow!!

Update: apparently Craig had logged into this account and searched for gourmet foods such as Kobe beef. Unknown to us, there is a porn star with the name Kobe and the boob links are a result of this. At least, that's his story... :) (Just kidding, of course! He is much more likely to be searching for food than "fun".)

My dogs have some stiff competition!!

OH. MY. GOODNESS. THIS. DOG. IS. CUTE!!!!! My boys better be carefull or their cousin may take over this blog!!

Painfully adorable!

This is Lil' John. My sister and her boyfriend adopted him last weekend. He is 6 pounds - their cat is 20 pounds.

Is it worth it?

This...





...makes the lack of sleep and leg cramps every night worth it. How can you make two dogs who are SO ADORABLE move?

Rockin' Around The Christmas Meme

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Of course!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wrapped.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White, non blinking.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Um, no.

5. When do you put your decorations up? IF we put them up - we've had a puppy twice in the last 4 years over the holidays; puppies eat decorations - we put them up between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert): Mashed potatoes! (also my sister's green bean casserole, she makes her own mushroom soup for it!)

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Staying at my grandparents house.

8. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? One. However, I always open and rewrap my gifts because I can't stand the suspense.

9. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? White lights. Silver and white ribbons with snowflakes. Silver and blue ball ornaments and most other ornaments are clear.

10. Snow! Love it or Dread it? We have a 1 year old Husky, I've been longing for snow for 6 months! Now, ask me again in 2 or 3 months.

11. Can you ice skate? Absolutely. I grew up in Wisconsin. I played hockey with my dad pretty much as soon as I could walk!

12. Do you remember your favorite gift as a child? I once had a Barbie who tanned when you brought her out in the sun. Unfortunately, my neighbor threw her up on the roof of the garage and by the time she was rescued she never recovered from the "burn".

13. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Spending time with family and friends. I also enjoy giving gifts.

14. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Cherry pie. I know, I know, but I don't care for pumpkin or pecan pies much (I can only tolerate a sliver - and I mean sliver of each).

15. What is your favorite holiday tradition? We've made a holiday tradition of having Chinese food (Joy Fong to be specific) for dinner on Christmas Eve.

16. What tops your tree? A big clear/silver snowflake that lights up. Remember Craig, we retired the Santa last year.

17. What is your favorite Christmas Song? O Holy Night. (My favorite version is sung by Billy Gilman, but I like most renditions.)

18. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum: Yummy!

Happy Birthday Mr. Chew

Chewie is a year old this month. To celebrate, we tried allowing him the freedom of sleeping outside his crate last night. He behaved like the good dog we know is hiding in him. However, imagine sleeping on a queen sized bed with two (not skinny) adults, a dog pushing 80#, and a dog pushing 70#. Needless to say, I am sore and tired this morning. But the cuteness was worth it.

When will the ground freeze?!?!

It snowed this morning. Then the snow turned to slush and the slush turned to rain. It hasn't gotten cold enough for the ground to freeze solid yet. This is the result.

Customer Service?

Anyone who has ever worked in retail service of any kind knows the phrase "the customer is always right". If you have read my 101 things about me, you will see that I have worked many different types of jobs. I try to be kind and understanding with employees at places when I need issues resolved. Most of the time, the problem isn't the persons fault and they don't need to be treated poorly because someone else didn't do what they were supposed to do. I also understand that larger companies have "steps" they have to follow to resolve issues. I'm ok with that too. That said, here is some correspondence I have been having with one of the major shipping companies which we use at my work. (I've left off any details; company info, names, tracking numbers).

The issue: Essentially, I had a customer who didn't get a shipment of live crickets we shipped a week ago. I tracked it and found it had scanned as being picked up, but never left the local hub to make its way to the destination. I promptly reshipped the shipment using a different carrier and sent the following email to the customer service for the MIA package so I could get a credit for the shipping we paid.

The 1st email: This was picked up on 10/24/06 at 3:44pm, however it has not been scanned since then. This was a live product which is dead by now so please credit our account for the shipping. If you have any questions, please contact our account rep: john.doe@CrappyShippingCompany.com

The response from "customer service":
Thank you for contacting CSC.
I apologize for your inconvenience. Unfortunately, this shipment has no positive disposition. Currently, an all station trace is being conducted. I strongly advise you to start the process of a loss claim and I can initiate it for you. Please provide the value of this shipment.
Thank you for using CSC.

A few things I'd like to point out:
1) What does "no positive disposition" mean? Can't she just say, we've lost your package.
2) I believe that I stated the shipment was dead, so why waste your manpower searching for a box of dead crickets. You'll smell it in a few days anyway, believe me!
3) By emailing your stupid customer service, I ALREADY was initiating a claim on the package. Duh, that is what the email was!

Finally, my email to our account rep:
Hi John (doe),
I am not trying to be a pain. That said... Am I not being clear in my requests to customer service? It seems like they read the first sentence (if that) and then ignore the entire rest of the request. Should I be requesting these in a different manner? I am becoming irritated with having to bicker with the customer service department.

I flat out said that the product was dead and all I needed was a credit for the shipping. I don't care if the package is ever found; I had to reship it already. I understand that we take a risk shipping a live product and I never request a credit on the actual product that is doa - only the shipping on a package that never arrived (or was not delivered within the published transit times).

Anyway, will you please have a credit issued to our account for the shipping on this MIA package? Thanks! Happy Halloween!

John Doe promptly replied, apologized and sent the issue(s, this was the 2nd one in 2 weeks) to a higher up service department. Sadly, I don't even care about getting the money back for the shipping. I am just being petty because we have at least a dozen of these service failures a week with this company. If I have to waste my time dealing with mad customers, tracking, and reshipping then THEY are going to have to waste time doing the same thing! Last week my coworker called John Doe and had him send our ENTIRE bill for a week back to the billing department to be reworked because they dimmed (used box dimensions rather than actual weight) all of our ground shipments, thus charging us several pounds extra on each shipment. I've heard other horror stories about this company from other farms. How do these places stay in business? It's just sad.

INTERVENTION!!

We need to have an intervention for Mr. Booker. Mr. B seems to have become a bit bulimic since a visit to the vets office early this summer where she informed him he was becoming a bit chunky.

A little history... Booker was a stray who was picked up on the streets and brought to the pound. He was rescued by the local ASPCA and then adopted by us when he was around 6-7 months old. He started out as a purge eater - he would eat every kernel of food in the bowl all at once and then promptly vomit it all up. The vet said it was probably from having lived on the street and not having regular meals waiting for him. She suggested we feed him in small amounts many times a day. We called it first breakfast, second breakfast, third breakfast, first dinner, etc... (That's how Hobbits eat isn't it?).

Eventually Mr. B became a grazer and ate a few bites here and there without the regular vomiting. We thought that adding the puppy might bring back the binge and purge eating, but it hasn't - until this recent trip to the vet.

Booker has become a huge fat pig of a dog. We have to pull him off the food dishes so the puppy can get a few bites before Book vacuums up all the food (and then throws it up). When he hears the tinkle of food hitting the aluminum dish, he'll comes out of a dead sleep and lumber over to fill up. When the puppy decides to eat, Booker will sneak over (yes, sneak! We warn him not to if he starts to get up an we see it, so he sneaks.) and shoulder the puppy out of his way so he can eat it all.

The moral of the story? If you are a vet, don't tell the dogs they are getting a bit chunky. It gives them a complex.