Our phone started working again almost right after I blogged the other day. It hasn't been too bad since then, other than a couple of dropped calls. Our cell phone is working very well and we're quite happy with Telus right now.
Tonight, about 5 minutes ago, the cell phone rang.
Me: "Hello?"
Girl on other end: "Hello, is Benjamin Gitter there?"
Me: "No, what's this about?"
Girl: "I'm calling to confirm your phone line installation for July 6th."
Me: "WHAT!??!?" *insert maniacal laughter "Um, we have a phone. Who did you say you were?"
Girl: "I'm calling from Rogers. We have an order to install a phone line for July 6th."
Me: "No, no you don't."
Girl: "Didn't you request to switch over?"
Me: "Oh, you don't know the half of it. Can you tell me if this is a porting request?"
Girl: "Let me check. Oh, yes, it is."
Me: "Well, you can cancel that. It took 33 days and 7 cancelled/missed appointments for us to get any home phone service from you guys and we gave up on porting this number. Thanks anyway."
Girl: *silence*
Let's hope she cancelled the request successfully. This is truly unbelievable. I wonder if Rogers is really the Canadian government in poor disguise. The inefficiency and stupidity do seem familiar, n'est-ce pas?
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Monday, Monday....
By 5pm on Friday afternoon we finally succeeded in getting the Virgin number ported to the (cheaper) Telus cell phone. To compensate us for the lengthy delay (from June 11-June 22), Telus is giving us free caller ID and upgraded voice mail on the phone for the length of our contract. They are also giving us 3 free months of calling, plus unlimited local calling for 2 months, although the unlimited local calling isn't really a special promotion.
By this morning at about 9:30am, our Rogers home phone stopped functioning. It cut me off during a conversation with my mother and then Ben couldn't even get a dial tone. A few minutes later, I called a friend and our conversation was also cut off. We currently have no dial tone. That's right. You read that correctly. We have NO DIAL TONE.
Ben's on the cell phone now attempting to call Rogers. I suppose this is what I get for commenting to a friend last night that since our issues have been more or less resolved with a lot of things and I didn't know what we'd do this week.
By this morning at about 9:30am, our Rogers home phone stopped functioning. It cut me off during a conversation with my mother and then Ben couldn't even get a dial tone. A few minutes later, I called a friend and our conversation was also cut off. We currently have no dial tone. That's right. You read that correctly. We have NO DIAL TONE.
Ben's on the cell phone now attempting to call Rogers. I suppose this is what I get for commenting to a friend last night that since our issues have been more or less resolved with a lot of things and I didn't know what we'd do this week.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Virgin won't Telus what's going on - does it ring a Bell for you, Roger?
An employee from Virgin Mobile called this afternoon to say that she was getting back to "Benjamin" after speaking to him last week. She left a long message with two phone numbers to call to ensure that the Rogers order has been cancelled since apparently this is still a problem. Please note that today is the 50th day of our occupancy of this house.
Ben called the first number, only to find out that "the number you have dialed cannot be dialed from your calling area." He called the other number and now apparently we are waiting yet again for Telus to successfully port the number since the issue may have been with either Rogers or Bell.
How dumb do these people think we are?
Ben called the first number, only to find out that "the number you have dialed cannot be dialed from your calling area." He called the other number and now apparently we are waiting yet again for Telus to successfully port the number since the issue may have been with either Rogers or Bell.
How dumb do these people think we are?
Scene: The IRS on a sunny Friday afternoon
*Ring ring ring*
*Ring ring ring*
What's that? No-one's answering the phone at the IRS on a Friday afternoon? No problem, we'll try the other number.
*Ring ring ring*
*Ring ring ring*
Oh, what's that? You're sorry for the delay? All agents are busy right now? The next available representative will take our call? Sure, when will that be? Next week!?
*Ring ring ring*
What's that? No-one's answering the phone at the IRS on a Friday afternoon? No problem, we'll try the other number.
*Ring ring ring*
*Ring ring ring*
Oh, what's that? You're sorry for the delay? All agents are busy right now? The next available representative will take our call? Sure, when will that be? Next week!?
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The first day of summer
I think it could be off to a promising start. Both Hertz and Fry-Wagner managed to refund our money onto the VISA cards today. So now we just have to fight with Hertz about the exchange since it was their error in the first place and the money was refunded at 6% less than it was taken out. That should be interesting.
The movers (Fry-Wagner) wouldn't refund any of the exchange but we knew that going in. Actually, this current refund went through at a whopping 0.003 more than the first refund amount. I'm still frustrated at how long any of it took but at least it's done before our current VISA bill is due!
The cell phone saga is just pathetic. Telus is now telling Ben that the problem is on Bell's end and it will take another 24-48 hours to resolve. Unbelievable. Since we know that the number will be active for another 120 days, it's actually very tempting to just cancel the cell phones altogether and then re-assess in the fall. We could still pick up messages from the Virgin, but we couldn't make outgoing calls on it.
On a funny note, Rachel likes to ask "what o'clock is it now?" as a way of finding out the time.
The movers (Fry-Wagner) wouldn't refund any of the exchange but we knew that going in. Actually, this current refund went through at a whopping 0.003 more than the first refund amount. I'm still frustrated at how long any of it took but at least it's done before our current VISA bill is due!
The cell phone saga is just pathetic. Telus is now telling Ben that the problem is on Bell's end and it will take another 24-48 hours to resolve. Unbelievable. Since we know that the number will be active for another 120 days, it's actually very tempting to just cancel the cell phones altogether and then re-assess in the fall. We could still pick up messages from the Virgin, but we couldn't make outgoing calls on it.
On a funny note, Rachel likes to ask "what o'clock is it now?" as a way of finding out the time.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Groundhog Day, or the story of our cell phone
Once upon a time there was an innocent cell phone. It was owned by Virgin Mobile who turned out to be a subsidiary of the original big bad wolf, aka Bell Mobility.
When it came time to port the cell phone's number to another phone, rebellion struck. Apparently amongst the cell phones of the time, it was not customary to transfer the soul of a cell phone (in this case, its identity number) to another body.
The humans who owned the Virgin made numerous phone calls to Virgin, Telus (the new company) and Rogers (the evil empire whose sole purpose seemed to be thwarting potential and actual customers).
Virgin said Rogers had a request. Rogers said the request was cancelled. Telus said Virgin said there was a problem. Too bad Virgin was telling the humans otherwise.
On the 10th day of the inter-telecommunications battle, the humans upped the ante. After calling Virgin to learn that there were no longer any holds or other requests, they called Telus in an attempt to activate poor 519-691-5974 in a sleek, shiny new model.
The Chretien-like people on the other end of the phone spoke neither official language well. On the ninth day of the conflict, one such individual informed one of the humans that the number would be ported within 24 DAYS. Of course said individual meant 24 HOURS, but what can you expect from offices located deep in the heart of Quebec?
At approximately 12:40pm on the 10th day of the conflict - the narrator wishes to interject that this refers to TODAY - one of the humans called Telus again. 80 minutes later, he is still on hold after being repeatedly told that there are no managers available. 519-691-5974 has been activated with Telus for outgoing calls only at this point. The humanoid at Telus claims that now BELL has a porting request on the number and that it will be required for the humans in London, Ontario to call Bell and request that this order be cancelled.
According to Virgin, the answering machine will be active for another 120 days even if no more money is placed in the account.
Telus is now trying to pass the buck. It's not going to work. There is no try, only do. In this inter-telecommunications vs. humans conflict there can only be one possible outcome.
Stay tuned for the results.
When it came time to port the cell phone's number to another phone, rebellion struck. Apparently amongst the cell phones of the time, it was not customary to transfer the soul of a cell phone (in this case, its identity number) to another body.
The humans who owned the Virgin made numerous phone calls to Virgin, Telus (the new company) and Rogers (the evil empire whose sole purpose seemed to be thwarting potential and actual customers).
Virgin said Rogers had a request. Rogers said the request was cancelled. Telus said Virgin said there was a problem. Too bad Virgin was telling the humans otherwise.
On the 10th day of the inter-telecommunications battle, the humans upped the ante. After calling Virgin to learn that there were no longer any holds or other requests, they called Telus in an attempt to activate poor 519-691-5974 in a sleek, shiny new model.
The Chretien-like people on the other end of the phone spoke neither official language well. On the ninth day of the conflict, one such individual informed one of the humans that the number would be ported within 24 DAYS. Of course said individual meant 24 HOURS, but what can you expect from offices located deep in the heart of Quebec?
At approximately 12:40pm on the 10th day of the conflict - the narrator wishes to interject that this refers to TODAY - one of the humans called Telus again. 80 minutes later, he is still on hold after being repeatedly told that there are no managers available. 519-691-5974 has been activated with Telus for outgoing calls only at this point. The humanoid at Telus claims that now BELL has a porting request on the number and that it will be required for the humans in London, Ontario to call Bell and request that this order be cancelled.
According to Virgin, the answering machine will be active for another 120 days even if no more money is placed in the account.
Telus is now trying to pass the buck. It's not going to work. There is no try, only do. In this inter-telecommunications vs. humans conflict there can only be one possible outcome.
Stay tuned for the results.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Frogs and the IRS
There is a small plague of baby frogs in our front yard. Egypt, anyone?
The IRS is also claiming that I owe them $163 in taxes despite the fact that we are TAX EXEMPT.
Anyone want to trade places for awhile? ;)
The IRS is also claiming that I owe them $163 in taxes despite the fact that we are TAX EXEMPT.
Anyone want to trade places for awhile? ;)
Just another June day...
We picked up our free microwave yesterday - it's a Panasonic and supposedly the wholesale price was $140!! We have yet to unpack it, much to Ben's chagrin. I still need to empty out the microwave shelf to make room for it.
To make up for the microwave coming in, one of our new living room chairs left yesterday. On Sunday night, I noticed that there seemed to be something rattling around in the side of one of the armchairs. Someone from the store came out to look at it yesterday, and it's been taken away for repairs.
We're still waiting to hear about compensation for the headboard on Rachel's bed not fitting into the frame since the holes were drilled in the wrong place.
We now have confirmation from both the movers and the rental car company that they will be refunding us. As to the exchange rate, we'll be fighting with Hertz and I have a feeling that it's a lost cause with the movers.
As for Rogers.... they're still messing with us. Apparently now our last phone porting order has been cancelled. (I should hope so - we asked for this to happen over 11 days ago!) Virgin and Telus are now going at it trying to port the cell number to a Telus cell phone. Since Virgin is a subsidiary of Bell, Bell is involved too. In fact, Ben is currently on the phone with Telus attempting to figure out why the number hasn't been ported yet. Don't all hold your breath at once on this one!
To make up for the microwave coming in, one of our new living room chairs left yesterday. On Sunday night, I noticed that there seemed to be something rattling around in the side of one of the armchairs. Someone from the store came out to look at it yesterday, and it's been taken away for repairs.
We're still waiting to hear about compensation for the headboard on Rachel's bed not fitting into the frame since the holes were drilled in the wrong place.
We now have confirmation from both the movers and the rental car company that they will be refunding us. As to the exchange rate, we'll be fighting with Hertz and I have a feeling that it's a lost cause with the movers.
As for Rogers.... they're still messing with us. Apparently now our last phone porting order has been cancelled. (I should hope so - we asked for this to happen over 11 days ago!) Virgin and Telus are now going at it trying to port the cell number to a Telus cell phone. Since Virgin is a subsidiary of Bell, Bell is involved too. In fact, Ben is currently on the phone with Telus attempting to figure out why the number hasn't been ported yet. Don't all hold your breath at once on this one!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Unbelievable yet oh-so-true
Telus says that they can't port our number until Rogers cancels the order.
Rogers says that it'll take 24-48 hours to cancel the pending order even though we initially requested it last Thursday.
Virgin says that until Rogers cancels the order they can't release the number.
Rogers says that the order has been cancelled.
Virgin says that because we still have phone service with Rogers (albeit our home phone) the order can't be cancelled.
Jane says that this is exactly the kind of thing that makes her want to go live in a secluded community somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Ben concurs.
Rogers says that it'll take 24-48 hours to cancel the pending order even though we initially requested it last Thursday.
Virgin says that until Rogers cancels the order they can't release the number.
Rogers says that the order has been cancelled.
Virgin says that because we still have phone service with Rogers (albeit our home phone) the order can't be cancelled.
Jane says that this is exactly the kind of thing that makes her want to go live in a secluded community somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Ben concurs.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Still off the charts!
Rachel has been off the charts since birth and her belated three year check-up today was no exception. She is 41 inches tall and weighs 37 pounds! I guess we'll be moving into size 5 for the fall/winter if this keeps up.
Sadly, my doctor seemed to think that a minimum of 10 hours of sleep was plenty for a three-year-old. Rachel usually gets 10.5-11 but her idea of a good sleeptime is 7-6ish.
Sadly, my doctor seemed to think that a minimum of 10 hours of sleep was plenty for a three-year-old. Rachel usually gets 10.5-11 but her idea of a good sleeptime is 7-6ish.
Monday, June 11, 2007
I forgot
I forgot to mention that Ben could not set up our Rogers e-mail accounts in part because the technician who set up our internet access wrote down incorrect information for us. So now Ben has to call Rogers tech support again. That should be fun.
The kitchen people are funny
When we met with the person at the kitchen place last summer to choose cabinets and counters, we were told to e-mail him the dimensions of our appliances. In October, we sent off an e-mail outlining the dimensions of our microwave.
Much to our surprise, when we moved in last month, we found that the shelf was too small to accommodate our mammoth microwave. We commented on this to the person who came out to install our pantry shelves and he made a note on our file.
Today Ben received a call from the kitchen people offering us one of two solutions:
a) They will replace the cabinets & counter with the appropriate sized shelf
or
b) They will buy us a new microwave and install lighting under the cabinets for free.
Hmm. Which option do you think we plan on picking, especially since this would give us both meat and dairy microwaves?!?!?! We checked with the salesperson at the model home and she confirmed that the cabinet lighting usually runs about $700-800. She also commented that we wouldn't necessarily have an exact match if we changed cabinets since it wouldn't be from the same lot.
So things are slowly coming together.
Much to our surprise, when we moved in last month, we found that the shelf was too small to accommodate our mammoth microwave. We commented on this to the person who came out to install our pantry shelves and he made a note on our file.
Today Ben received a call from the kitchen people offering us one of two solutions:
a) They will replace the cabinets & counter with the appropriate sized shelf
or
b) They will buy us a new microwave and install lighting under the cabinets for free.
Hmm. Which option do you think we plan on picking, especially since this would give us both meat and dairy microwaves?!?!?! We checked with the salesperson at the model home and she confirmed that the cabinet lighting usually runs about $700-800. She also commented that we wouldn't necessarily have an exact match if we changed cabinets since it wouldn't be from the same lot.
So things are slowly coming together.
Rogers strikes again!
This afternoon we decided to go to the mall to see if Telus could port our Virgin cell number to a cell phone since Telus generally has cheaper/better plans than Virgin. The nice employee at Telus was very helpful and confirmed that yes, he could do that and it would take up to 2.5 hours to activate after we left the store.
This sounded pretty good. So did the Telus guarantee that you'll speak to a live human being within 5 minutes of calling their tech support line or you get credit for the time spent waiting! We went ahead and signed up since with this plan we get the following:
*200 minutes/month
*unlimited nights/weekends starting at 6pm
*the ability to either add long distance minutes or pay as needed for them
To compare, our current Virgin plan has the following:
*200 minutes/month
*20 cents/minute for any overage
*no long distance unless we separately top up and maintain a balance
About 20 minutes after we left the store, we got a call on the Virgin from a Telus representative stating that he could not currently port the number since Rogers had a pending order for June 18th still in their system! Ben was told that he would have to call Rogers to straighten this out, and that then he could call Telus and the number would be switched right over.
Wait. It gets better.
Ben called Rogers as soon as we got home. The first person he spoke to told him that our Virgin number was showing up in their system as an OPERATING ROGERS HOME PHONE NUMBER! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
The second person confirmed that she had no clue what was going on.
Finally, Ben was told that it just takes a day or two to fully cancel an order within the system (we requested the cancellation last Thursday since we had never requested the June 18th install date in the first place!). Be patient and it will be cancelled. Sure, and will a pig fly over my house while we're at it?
Our Rogers cell phones were cancelled this afternoon without penalty, so now we just have to talk to Manager Bob about further compensation for the money we spent on the cell phones (Rogers and Virgin) last month and the aggravation of waiting 33 days and 8 appointments for home phone service. (As an aside, the Telus employee was very impressed that we were able to get out of our Rogers contracts penalty free. When he heard our story, he was astounded.)
In other news, I had an e-mail from the movers stating that they are still working on our file but anticipate crediting us the full amount within a day or two. It still won't change the fact that the exchange rate has dropped substantially since we initially paid at the end of April, but at least it's something.
This sounded pretty good. So did the Telus guarantee that you'll speak to a live human being within 5 minutes of calling their tech support line or you get credit for the time spent waiting! We went ahead and signed up since with this plan we get the following:
*200 minutes/month
*unlimited nights/weekends starting at 6pm
*the ability to either add long distance minutes or pay as needed for them
To compare, our current Virgin plan has the following:
*200 minutes/month
*20 cents/minute for any overage
*no long distance unless we separately top up and maintain a balance
About 20 minutes after we left the store, we got a call on the Virgin from a Telus representative stating that he could not currently port the number since Rogers had a pending order for June 18th still in their system! Ben was told that he would have to call Rogers to straighten this out, and that then he could call Telus and the number would be switched right over.
Wait. It gets better.
Ben called Rogers as soon as we got home. The first person he spoke to told him that our Virgin number was showing up in their system as an OPERATING ROGERS HOME PHONE NUMBER! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
The second person confirmed that she had no clue what was going on.
Finally, Ben was told that it just takes a day or two to fully cancel an order within the system (we requested the cancellation last Thursday since we had never requested the June 18th install date in the first place!). Be patient and it will be cancelled. Sure, and will a pig fly over my house while we're at it?
Our Rogers cell phones were cancelled this afternoon without penalty, so now we just have to talk to Manager Bob about further compensation for the money we spent on the cell phones (Rogers and Virgin) last month and the aggravation of waiting 33 days and 8 appointments for home phone service. (As an aside, the Telus employee was very impressed that we were able to get out of our Rogers contracts penalty free. When he heard our story, he was astounded.)
In other news, I had an e-mail from the movers stating that they are still working on our file but anticipate crediting us the full amount within a day or two. It still won't change the fact that the exchange rate has dropped substantially since we initially paid at the end of April, but at least it's something.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Rachel's Wild Imagination
On Friday morning, Ben took Rachel to the Children's Festival while I stayed home to try to finish up our taxes. (Yes, I'm a slacker. No, we don't owe anything so it's ok that I haven't filed yet.)
They played a game where you got to pick up a duck and turn it over to see if/what you won. Rachel ended up choosing an inflatable hammer. Apparently she picked this over a ball. Since we already have lots of balls, I'm glad that she didn't bring another one home!
The inflatable hammer has taken on a little life of its own though. Apparently it's named Megan (Megan, I have no clue why Rachel is naming a hammer after you!) and it gets put in time-out in the spare room frequently. Yesterday morning Rachel kept putting it in there with a scarf (blanket), closing the door and saying that she'd be back in a bit to check on her. The funny thing is that we don't actually do time-outs with Rachel but I guess she's heard of the concept somehow!
Regardless, apparently Megan is a very bad hammer because she is still in time-out right now even though Rachel left last night to go to Toronto for the day with Grandma and Grandpa.
They played a game where you got to pick up a duck and turn it over to see if/what you won. Rachel ended up choosing an inflatable hammer. Apparently she picked this over a ball. Since we already have lots of balls, I'm glad that she didn't bring another one home!
The inflatable hammer has taken on a little life of its own though. Apparently it's named Megan (Megan, I have no clue why Rachel is naming a hammer after you!) and it gets put in time-out in the spare room frequently. Yesterday morning Rachel kept putting it in there with a scarf (blanket), closing the door and saying that she'd be back in a bit to check on her. The funny thing is that we don't actually do time-outs with Rachel but I guess she's heard of the concept somehow!
Regardless, apparently Megan is a very bad hammer because she is still in time-out right now even though Rachel left last night to go to Toronto for the day with Grandma and Grandpa.
Friday, June 08, 2007
THE PHONE IS ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THE PHONE IS ON!
THE PHONE IS ON!
WE HAVE A DIAL TONE!
THE PHONE IS ON!
IT'S ON!
IT WORKS!
WE HAVE A PHONE!
That's all.
THE PHONE IS ON!
WE HAVE A DIAL TONE!
THE PHONE IS ON!
IT'S ON!
IT WORKS!
WE HAVE A PHONE!
That's all.
A bolt of lightning
The Rogers man called at about 2:15 to find out where our house is. He arrived a few minutes later. Nice fellow. Seemed horrified by our story.
As Jeff (Rogers man) set to work, he quickly discovered that he needed to re-wire some things. Then he told us that because our builder put cable and phone wires in the same hole, he couldn't set up those jacks but he explained how we could do it ourselves. To be fair, he did offer to do a baseboard jack but recommended against it for aesthetic reasons. He was able to set up the two jacks in the kitchen and living room.
We weren't too concerned since all we wanted was a working phone and Ben knows how to wire things if necessary.
After Jeff was done with his initial set-up, he headed out to his truck to activate our phone within the system. At that exact moment, there was lightning and thunder, and the power flickered off and on. Apparently this created problems with the transmission to Rogers' main system in Toronto (or it may have been just another cosmic fluke) and now our order is stuck in the system until someone there decides to release and activate it.
In English? WE STILL DON'T HAVE A WORKING PHONE LINE IN OUR HOUSE.
Supposedly it'll be activated magically within the next 24-48 hours. Jeff left us a number and some information just in case this doesn't happen. Just in case? Who's he kidding?
Shabbat Shalom indeed.
As Jeff (Rogers man) set to work, he quickly discovered that he needed to re-wire some things. Then he told us that because our builder put cable and phone wires in the same hole, he couldn't set up those jacks but he explained how we could do it ourselves. To be fair, he did offer to do a baseboard jack but recommended against it for aesthetic reasons. He was able to set up the two jacks in the kitchen and living room.
We weren't too concerned since all we wanted was a working phone and Ben knows how to wire things if necessary.
After Jeff was done with his initial set-up, he headed out to his truck to activate our phone within the system. At that exact moment, there was lightning and thunder, and the power flickered off and on. Apparently this created problems with the transmission to Rogers' main system in Toronto (or it may have been just another cosmic fluke) and now our order is stuck in the system until someone there decides to release and activate it.
In English? WE STILL DON'T HAVE A WORKING PHONE LINE IN OUR HOUSE.
Supposedly it'll be activated magically within the next 24-48 hours. Jeff left us a number and some information just in case this doesn't happen. Just in case? Who's he kidding?
Shabbat Shalom indeed.
A phone? Could it be?!?!
Last night at about 6:30pm, we received a call back from Bob the Manager. He told Ben that they were still working on our case but that he was basically willing to do whatever he needed to do to satisfy us due to everything we've been through over the past month. We let him know that we wanted to cancel our cell phones without penalty, and that we just wanted to get 2 digital phone numbers since neither one of us believes that Rogers actually has the capability to port our cell phone number.
Surprisingly, Bob was ok with that. He told us that Amy (another of his "top reps") would call us at around 8:30pm in order to set up the appointment and take care of the cell phones.
Sure enough, Amy called just a little after 8:30pm. She managed to get us an appointment for TODAY between 2-5pm. She suggested that we don't cancel the cell phones until Monday just to be safe, but that she would arrange it so we're not paying for an extra month since our billing date is the 9th.
This will be our 8th appointment in 33 days. I say that EIGHT IS ENOUGH. Who else thinks that we might finally get our phone this afternoon?
Stay tuned for the results.
In other news, the UMKC payroll issue has been resolved. Apparently they did withhold Ben's pay to compensate for overpaying him in March and April. We still owe them $45, but that's not a problem at all.
Surprisingly, Bob was ok with that. He told us that Amy (another of his "top reps") would call us at around 8:30pm in order to set up the appointment and take care of the cell phones.
Sure enough, Amy called just a little after 8:30pm. She managed to get us an appointment for TODAY between 2-5pm. She suggested that we don't cancel the cell phones until Monday just to be safe, but that she would arrange it so we're not paying for an extra month since our billing date is the 9th.
This will be our 8th appointment in 33 days. I say that EIGHT IS ENOUGH. Who else thinks that we might finally get our phone this afternoon?
Stay tuned for the results.
In other news, the UMKC payroll issue has been resolved. Apparently they did withhold Ben's pay to compensate for overpaying him in March and April. We still owe them $45, but that's not a problem at all.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
It's Zed, not Zee
Ben just called Hertz to find out where the e-mail of our invoice was. Apparently they heard Ben spell out f-e-s-t-i-zee-o instead of f-e-s-t-i-v-o. Now just think - if only Americans knew how to really prounounce the last letter of the alphabet, we wouldn't have had this problem!
It will apparently still be a week or so before the Hertz accounting department gets around to contacting us regarding our issue.
In other news, Rachel's new bed doesn't actually fit together. As far as we can tell, the headboard should be able to be screwed onto the frame. Too bad the holes in the headboard are a couple of inches higher than the frame. We've called the store and they are trying to figure this one out. The store is in St. Catharines. The bed is in London. I really hope they don't try to tell us that we need to bring the bed back to them. That just would not go over well right now.
It will apparently still be a week or so before the Hertz accounting department gets around to contacting us regarding our issue.
In other news, Rachel's new bed doesn't actually fit together. As far as we can tell, the headboard should be able to be screwed onto the frame. Too bad the holes in the headboard are a couple of inches higher than the frame. We've called the store and they are trying to figure this one out. The store is in St. Catharines. The bed is in London. I really hope they don't try to tell us that we need to bring the bed back to them. That just would not go over well right now.
A possibly positive update?
On our way down to St. Catharines this morning I took a call from Janice, who explained that she was calling on behalf of her manager, Bob McCurdy. She said that they were working on our case to determine IF the Virgin number can be ported. (Does anyone else think that the entire corporation of Rogers is run by hamsters on wheels?) However, she indicated that Mr. McCurdy would be calling us this evening to update and she seemed receptive to at least extending our free voice mail on the Rogers cell phones until we can get a land line.
We're still planning on finding a way to get out of our cell phone contracts with Rogers. To be honest, I hope that they CAN'T port the number. If they can't, they won't have a leg to stand on regarding our request to get out of our contracts without penalty.
We're still planning on finding a way to get out of our cell phone contracts with Rogers. To be honest, I hope that they CAN'T port the number. If they can't, they won't have a leg to stand on regarding our request to get out of our contracts without penalty.
This shouldn't have come as a surprise either.
This morning I thought I'd get ahead of the game and pay our Rogers cell phone bills online before it's time for Ben to call them at 8am to start the process all over again. Despite expecting compensation, I do recognize that the bill is due tomorrow.
Here's what I got on my screen after registering our account and clicking on "make a payment":
• We are currently experiencing system problems. Please try again later, or call one of our Rogers e-Care repesentatives at 1-877-343-5745.
Here's what I got on my screen after registering our account and clicking on "make a payment":
• We are currently experiencing system problems. Please try again later, or call one of our Rogers e-Care repesentatives at 1-877-343-5745.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Time for a post about Rachel
Tonight is Rachel's first night in her real "big girl bed". She's been sleeping on a mattress on the floor since she was eighteen months old. We bought a bed frame in December and picked it up a few weeks ago. Although Rachel loved playing on her bed during the day today, she was a bit reluctant to go to sleep tonight. She only came out of her room once though, and she was mollified by her new "elephant blanket" which is really a small pillow sham that I hadn't gotten around to putting on a pillow! She also liked that Carle (big blue elephant named after Eric Carle) could sit on the bookcase headboard and reach down to lick her face with his trunk. ;)
Anyway, we just went in to look at her and she looks so big in her big bed. Where did the past three years go?!!?
Now for the funny part: Rachel used to really love her pink bear, Grry, but over the past year or so she's relegated him to least favourite playmate on the bed. Apparently it's because he's not an elephant. I say that's not his fault, but what can we do? Grry still gets to sleep on the bed at night with Rachel and the elephants and she would miss him if he wasn't there, but it's a rare occasion when Grry gets to come down and play during the day.
This afternoon I heard maniacal giggling coming from Rachel's room. I went in and saw that her comforter was a bit messed up by one of the drawers in the frame. I asked her what was going on, and she told me that she'd put Grry in the drawer. "Can he come out to play?" I asked. "No, he has to stay in there at daytime," she replied.
Apparently Grry can come out of the drawer at night. Poor maligned Grry. He's such a nice pink bear. He was Olly's best friend before Phil, Tina, Big Tina, Horton, Finger Elephant, Ballerina Elephant, Hula, Carle, Sarah, Big Sarah, Cuddle Elephant, Ellie, Purse Elephant, Dumbo, Lumpy, Trumpet, Peanut, and Sela.
For all of you who are reading this, NO MORE ELEPHANTS PLEASE!!!!!!
Anyway, we just went in to look at her and she looks so big in her big bed. Where did the past three years go?!!?
Now for the funny part: Rachel used to really love her pink bear, Grry, but over the past year or so she's relegated him to least favourite playmate on the bed. Apparently it's because he's not an elephant. I say that's not his fault, but what can we do? Grry still gets to sleep on the bed at night with Rachel and the elephants and she would miss him if he wasn't there, but it's a rare occasion when Grry gets to come down and play during the day.
This afternoon I heard maniacal giggling coming from Rachel's room. I went in and saw that her comforter was a bit messed up by one of the drawers in the frame. I asked her what was going on, and she told me that she'd put Grry in the drawer. "Can he come out to play?" I asked. "No, he has to stay in there at daytime," she replied.
Apparently Grry can come out of the drawer at night. Poor maligned Grry. He's such a nice pink bear. He was Olly's best friend before Phil, Tina, Big Tina, Horton, Finger Elephant, Ballerina Elephant, Hula, Carle, Sarah, Big Sarah, Cuddle Elephant, Ellie, Purse Elephant, Dumbo, Lumpy, Trumpet, Peanut, and Sela.
For all of you who are reading this, NO MORE ELEPHANTS PLEASE!!!!!!
Defeat? No, DePhone.
Haha.
Ben just called and cancelled the digital order. Much as we want the phone, we're afraid that we are going to get stuck with the Rogers cell phones. We don't want to pay for 3 cell phones and 2 land lines. That's ridiculous.
Here's how his conversation went when they transferred him to the analogue phone department:
Ben - "Hi. [explains story]"
Rogers lady - "I'm sorry, we're closed."
Ben - "But I'm speaking to you."
Rogers lady - "Yes, but we're closed to Ontario customers. We're only open to Alberta and British Columbia customers right now. You'll have to call back tomorrow."
And so the wheel of fate spins on.
Ben just called and cancelled the digital order. Much as we want the phone, we're afraid that we are going to get stuck with the Rogers cell phones. We don't want to pay for 3 cell phones and 2 land lines. That's ridiculous.
Here's how his conversation went when they transferred him to the analogue phone department:
Ben - "Hi. [explains story]"
Rogers lady - "I'm sorry, we're closed."
Ben - "But I'm speaking to you."
Rogers lady - "Yes, but we're closed to Ontario customers. We're only open to Alberta and British Columbia customers right now. You'll have to call back tomorrow."
And so the wheel of fate spins on.
Addendum
While speaking with Melody, she indicated that the promotion we were offered was a mere 4 months of free long distance instead of the year of half-price long distance we were offered along with 6-7 months of free local phone service. She added $40 "for all we'd been through" and said it was the best she could do.
It's almost comical.
It's almost comical.
Wow. Just wow.
Just to re-cap, it's June 6th. 43 days ago we placed our order for a home phone.
Late this afternoon, Ben finally got through to a Rogers employee who explained that they had resolved the problem with our order and they had re-set the appointment for JUNE 13th! Um, NO!??!?! Ben was on the phone for about an hour before I had to take over since he was teaching.
I was given several options including a)wait for June 13th since the order was set up to go through (yeah, right), b)cancel the order entirely or c)cancel the existing phone order and be transferred to someone to set up a digital phone line.
We have given up on ever getting the cell phone number ported to our home. Had Rogers admitted in the first place that they couldn't do it, we wouldn't have purchased 2 cell phones from them on a 3 year contract (because they push it on you. Grr.). We'd have kept the Virgin and let them install our phone lines over a month ago.
After being transferred through a couple of people, I was put through to Melody from Newfoundland. She was helpful and nice. She didn't get her phone for THREE MONTHS. But SHE lives in Newfoundland. (Ok, that's still no excuse...) She set up a digital phone order for....
*drum roll please*
TOMORROW MORNING BETWEEN 8 AND 11AM!!!!!! She has given us two new numbers since we need to pay for "distinctive ring" in order to have me listed in the phone book as well as Ben.
She then suggested that I could call the wireless department to receive compensation. We would like to give back the phones and not pay the $400 APIECE cancellation fee. We would not have gotten these phones if we'd had any inkling that Rogers wouldn't/couldn't come through with porting the Virgin number.
So Ben called the wireless department and was put through to a lady who could not seem to pull up his file at all. After being on hold for about 15 minutes, he was cut off. He called back and reached Nicholas, aka the most unhelpful "manager" ever. Nicholas was extremely good at talking past the points being presented:
Nicholas - "But you've used 2000 minutes on your phones."
Jane - "Yes, but you have access to our record and you can see that the majority of those calls were to Rogers."
Nicholas - "So you're saying that all of those calls were to Rogers"
Jane - "No. You're choosing to misunderstand me. I'm saying that the majority of the calls were to Rogers."
*repeat for a few minutes*
Jane - "So can you transfer me to someone who can help me resolve this to our satisfaction? I'm sure there is a compromise here somewhere."
Nicholas - "It will not be resolved tonight."
Jane - "Oh? Why is that?"
Nicholas - "The decision will not change. It will not be resolved tonight."
Jane - "So you're saying that it could be resolved tomorrow? Are you really trying to tell me that resolving this is dependent on the day I ask?"
Nicholas - "The decision will not change.... blah blah blah"
Jane - "You're very good at dealing with irate customers, but I assure you that we are not going to back down on this after all that we have been through. May I have your last name please?"
Nicholas - "I'll give you my employee ID but the situation will not change."
blah blah blah.... blah blah blah.... blah blah blah....
The thing that really irritated both of us was that Nicholas was repeatedly telling Ben that first of all, it was only a couple of cancelled appointments, and second, Rogers Wireless is a different department so it wasn't related. Um, ok.
Ben has left another message for Manager Bob in Ottawa. The thing is, I don't totally disagree with Nicholas the Robot Employee. But I fail to see why I should now have to pay for three cell phones and 2 home phone lines. We need the Virgin number because it is our business number. We need both of our names listed in the phone book because we have different last names. We don't need the Rogers cell phones now but we certainly did need them when we were stuck paying 25 cents a MINUTE on the Virgin prepaid phone! I should add that I was chastised by Nicholas for getting a couples plan (2 phones & lines) instead of one. He seemed to think that we'd used a lot of talk time. Well, sure. When you call Rogers every day for at least an hour a day that does add up.
***********************************************************************************
No word from the movers.
Hertz failed to e-mail us the detailed invoice we requested but I took great pleasure in filling out an online survey complete with detailed comments, my name, phone number and a request to contact me. I bet that Hertz couldn't understand the .ca extension on my e-mail address.
Late this afternoon, Ben finally got through to a Rogers employee who explained that they had resolved the problem with our order and they had re-set the appointment for JUNE 13th! Um, NO!??!?! Ben was on the phone for about an hour before I had to take over since he was teaching.
I was given several options including a)wait for June 13th since the order was set up to go through (yeah, right), b)cancel the order entirely or c)cancel the existing phone order and be transferred to someone to set up a digital phone line.
We have given up on ever getting the cell phone number ported to our home. Had Rogers admitted in the first place that they couldn't do it, we wouldn't have purchased 2 cell phones from them on a 3 year contract (because they push it on you. Grr.). We'd have kept the Virgin and let them install our phone lines over a month ago.
After being transferred through a couple of people, I was put through to Melody from Newfoundland. She was helpful and nice. She didn't get her phone for THREE MONTHS. But SHE lives in Newfoundland. (Ok, that's still no excuse...) She set up a digital phone order for....
*drum roll please*
TOMORROW MORNING BETWEEN 8 AND 11AM!!!!!! She has given us two new numbers since we need to pay for "distinctive ring" in order to have me listed in the phone book as well as Ben.
She then suggested that I could call the wireless department to receive compensation. We would like to give back the phones and not pay the $400 APIECE cancellation fee. We would not have gotten these phones if we'd had any inkling that Rogers wouldn't/couldn't come through with porting the Virgin number.
So Ben called the wireless department and was put through to a lady who could not seem to pull up his file at all. After being on hold for about 15 minutes, he was cut off. He called back and reached Nicholas, aka the most unhelpful "manager" ever. Nicholas was extremely good at talking past the points being presented:
Nicholas - "But you've used 2000 minutes on your phones."
Jane - "Yes, but you have access to our record and you can see that the majority of those calls were to Rogers."
Nicholas - "So you're saying that all of those calls were to Rogers"
Jane - "No. You're choosing to misunderstand me. I'm saying that the majority of the calls were to Rogers."
*repeat for a few minutes*
Jane - "So can you transfer me to someone who can help me resolve this to our satisfaction? I'm sure there is a compromise here somewhere."
Nicholas - "It will not be resolved tonight."
Jane - "Oh? Why is that?"
Nicholas - "The decision will not change. It will not be resolved tonight."
Jane - "So you're saying that it could be resolved tomorrow? Are you really trying to tell me that resolving this is dependent on the day I ask?"
Nicholas - "The decision will not change.... blah blah blah"
Jane - "You're very good at dealing with irate customers, but I assure you that we are not going to back down on this after all that we have been through. May I have your last name please?"
Nicholas - "I'll give you my employee ID but the situation will not change."
blah blah blah.... blah blah blah.... blah blah blah....
The thing that really irritated both of us was that Nicholas was repeatedly telling Ben that first of all, it was only a couple of cancelled appointments, and second, Rogers Wireless is a different department so it wasn't related. Um, ok.
Ben has left another message for Manager Bob in Ottawa. The thing is, I don't totally disagree with Nicholas the Robot Employee. But I fail to see why I should now have to pay for three cell phones and 2 home phone lines. We need the Virgin number because it is our business number. We need both of our names listed in the phone book because we have different last names. We don't need the Rogers cell phones now but we certainly did need them when we were stuck paying 25 cents a MINUTE on the Virgin prepaid phone! I should add that I was chastised by Nicholas for getting a couples plan (2 phones & lines) instead of one. He seemed to think that we'd used a lot of talk time. Well, sure. When you call Rogers every day for at least an hour a day that does add up.
***********************************************************************************
No word from the movers.
Hertz failed to e-mail us the detailed invoice we requested but I took great pleasure in filling out an online survey complete with detailed comments, my name, phone number and a request to contact me. I bet that Hertz couldn't understand the .ca extension on my e-mail address.
A sense of humour indeed
Blogger.com just deleted my entire post. Fortunately, it was brief. Here's a re-cap:
I just received a call on the Virgin cellphone from a sweet, innocent lady who wondered if I had time do a survey on Rogers Communication. I just laughed! It turned out that she didn't actually work for Rogers, as I found out when I briefly explained how she was calling me on a cellphone because Rogers had failed to show up for our SEVENTH appointment in the last 31 days.
If I hadn't been on my cellphone with limited minutes, I think it might have been fun to do the survey.
I'm still laughing.
(This is incredible. Now blogger.com is in on the conspiracy too because it just failed to post AGAIN!)
I just received a call on the Virgin cellphone from a sweet, innocent lady who wondered if I had time do a survey on Rogers Communication. I just laughed! It turned out that she didn't actually work for Rogers, as I found out when I briefly explained how she was calling me on a cellphone because Rogers had failed to show up for our SEVENTH appointment in the last 31 days.
If I hadn't been on my cellphone with limited minutes, I think it might have been fun to do the survey.
I'm still laughing.
(This is incredible. Now blogger.com is in on the conspiracy too because it just failed to post AGAIN!)
I'd bang my head on a brick wall, but I'd probably crack more bricks!
This morning Ben called to find out why the Rogers people didn't show up. Since our order was showing in their computer as "pending", the employee transferred him to someone in the work order department. Too bad that person is currently on vacation so all Ben got was a voice mail. We'll dig up Bob-the-manager-in-Ottawa's number and call him a bit later about this.
Ben also confirmed with the Hertz manager here that there is a copy of the return on record in London showing a May 4th drop-off. After finding this out, Ben called the Hertz office again to discuss our refund. It was reminiscent of my experience with Expedia back in 2005:
Ben: "I spoke with the manager in *London and they have a form showing that the van was returned on Friday May 4th. I'd like to discuss getting my refund processed."
Hertz Employee: "You can send it in to us and we'll review it."
Ben: "No, you don't seem to understand. The London location has written proof that the van was returned on the 4th. There is nothing to review."
Hertz Employee: "You can send it in to us and we'll review it. We also need proof of your departure from London."
Ben: "My departure from London!??!!? I LIVE IN LONDON!"
Hertz Employee: "We need proof that you left London on the 4th. It can be a plane, train or bus ticket."
Ben: "I didn't leave London. I live in London. Are we speaking the same language?"
(yes, he actually said that as I laughed way too loudly in the background.)
In the end, Ben asked to speak with a manager. The employee tried to dissuade him, then supposedly went to look for one only to return and tell Ben that there weren't any managers available right now.
Yes, it's only 8:45am.
*Yes, Ben made the employee aware more than once that he was talking about London, Ontario, CANADA. Besides, if the Hertz employee really thinks we drove the car to England that's fine by me. That'll just lend more credibility to OUR story!
Ben also confirmed with the Hertz manager here that there is a copy of the return on record in London showing a May 4th drop-off. After finding this out, Ben called the Hertz office again to discuss our refund. It was reminiscent of my experience with Expedia back in 2005:
Ben: "I spoke with the manager in *London and they have a form showing that the van was returned on Friday May 4th. I'd like to discuss getting my refund processed."
Hertz Employee: "You can send it in to us and we'll review it."
Ben: "No, you don't seem to understand. The London location has written proof that the van was returned on the 4th. There is nothing to review."
Hertz Employee: "You can send it in to us and we'll review it. We also need proof of your departure from London."
Ben: "My departure from London!??!!? I LIVE IN LONDON!"
Hertz Employee: "We need proof that you left London on the 4th. It can be a plane, train or bus ticket."
Ben: "I didn't leave London. I live in London. Are we speaking the same language?"
(yes, he actually said that as I laughed way too loudly in the background.)
In the end, Ben asked to speak with a manager. The employee tried to dissuade him, then supposedly went to look for one only to return and tell Ben that there weren't any managers available right now.
Yes, it's only 8:45am.
*Yes, Ben made the employee aware more than once that he was talking about London, Ontario, CANADA. Besides, if the Hertz employee really thinks we drove the car to England that's fine by me. That'll just lend more credibility to OUR story!
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
No title required
It's 8:03pm. Do you know where your phone line is? That's good, because you're one step ahead of us!
Here's the thing. On Sunday, Ben called to confirm the order and was told it was good to go. On Monday, Ben called to confirm that they'd bring the correct equipment since our builder put phone wires and cable wires in the same hole for two of the rooms. Today, Ben called to confirm and was told for the third time that it was set to go. He also went in to the Rogers store at the mall this afternoon and had them confirm it.
What can we do but laugh and anticipate even more compensation? I would imagine that now it'll be another 10 days or so while they supposedly wait for Virgin Mobile to release our number and Bell Canada to put the phone line in. Whatever.
Here's the thing. On Sunday, Ben called to confirm the order and was told it was good to go. On Monday, Ben called to confirm that they'd bring the correct equipment since our builder put phone wires and cable wires in the same hole for two of the rooms. Today, Ben called to confirm and was told for the third time that it was set to go. He also went in to the Rogers store at the mall this afternoon and had them confirm it.
What can we do but laugh and anticipate even more compensation? I would imagine that now it'll be another 10 days or so while they supposedly wait for Virgin Mobile to release our number and Bell Canada to put the phone line in. Whatever.
In case anyone is really wondering...
It is currently 6:16pm (I know that I have to change the time setting on my posts!) and no, Rogers has not shown up. They have precisely 1 hour and 44 minutes until I will expect them to pay my cell phone bill that is due on Friday. Actually, I kind of expect that anyway.
Hertz update again
Ben finally reached a person at the London Hertz location tonight. Of course the man remembered seeing a minivan with Texas plates when he came in first thing on Saturday May 5th. HA! He explained to Ben that they can't physically close out an order on a US car and that they had to call the rental location in Iowa to have them do it. He also told Ben that sometimes they have trouble getting through and his guess is that the call wasn't successfully placed before Monday May 7th. Even though it was explained to the Iowa people that the van was returned on Friday May 4th, they still processed it wrong.
Ben is supposed to call the London office again tomorrow morning to speak to a manager regarding our options for getting our money back.
This is making me re-think writing the kind letter to the manager in Cedar Rapids praising her employees. However, I don't know who processed the return, so I'm sure I'll still write the letter.
Ben is supposed to call the London office again tomorrow morning to speak to a manager regarding our options for getting our money back.
This is making me re-think writing the kind letter to the manager in Cedar Rapids praising her employees. However, I don't know who processed the return, so I'm sure I'll still write the letter.
We should have told him that North Bay isn't on the coast.
But no, we were nice. We didn't have the heart to tell the seemingly kind moving truck driver from Oklahoma that no, he had not seen the ocean. We should have torn his fantasy to shreds.
Apparently he is claiming that we were unable to accept a Friday delivery due to our car troubles and the customs office being closed so he had to charge for waiting time and that is why they are not refunding the additional $800. Um, no. His story to us was always that he had to deliver his load to North Bay on Friday. Initially he wanted to deliver our goods on Thursday. Right, that would have worked well since we didn't even take possession of the house until the Friday! Then he wanted to deliver on Saturday but we had been told that was optional and we could refuse delivery. While we would have liked to take delivery then, we couldn't get across the border in time to sign customs papers with him before the brokerage office closed on Thursday.
I have e-mailed the moving company in Kansas explaining our side of the story. I have also indicated truthfully that we have documented pretty much every aspect of our journey home. We have an unrelated eyewitness who will confirm the story if he knows what's good for him!
For the record, it's physically impossible that he could have delivered his load to North Bay on Friday and made it back to London the same day to drop off our things. Even if he started unloading at 8am (which I believe is the earliest they start) and he left North Bay by 10 or 11, Mapquest says it's a 5hr45min drive to London. I don't think so.
I wish I was surprised by this, but sadly I'm not.
Apparently he is claiming that we were unable to accept a Friday delivery due to our car troubles and the customs office being closed so he had to charge for waiting time and that is why they are not refunding the additional $800. Um, no. His story to us was always that he had to deliver his load to North Bay on Friday. Initially he wanted to deliver our goods on Thursday. Right, that would have worked well since we didn't even take possession of the house until the Friday! Then he wanted to deliver on Saturday but we had been told that was optional and we could refuse delivery. While we would have liked to take delivery then, we couldn't get across the border in time to sign customs papers with him before the brokerage office closed on Thursday.
I have e-mailed the moving company in Kansas explaining our side of the story. I have also indicated truthfully that we have documented pretty much every aspect of our journey home. We have an unrelated eyewitness who will confirm the story if he knows what's good for him!
For the record, it's physically impossible that he could have delivered his load to North Bay on Friday and made it back to London the same day to drop off our things. Even if he started unloading at 8am (which I believe is the earliest they start) and he left North Bay by 10 or 11, Mapquest says it's a 5hr45min drive to London. I don't think so.
I wish I was surprised by this, but sadly I'm not.
Expect frequent updates
Ben just got off the phone with Hertz and apparently the van return was processed on Monday May 7th even though we returned it on Friday May 4th. They would like us to fax a gas receipt proving that we filled the van with gas in London on May 4th as "proof" that we returned it that day. Um, ok. How is that proof of anything other than buying gas? It won't be a problem to fax them a receipt as soon as I can find it in our mess of an office, but it's kind of ridiculous. Jumping through hoops, anyone?
Ben is going to keep trying to call the London Hertz office to see if he can straighten it out from this end since he was told by the man at the Hertz office here that he would only be charged for two days.
To be fair, he is also calling our insurance agent to find out why we have yet to be charged for car insurance and he will also be calling our banker to find out why our mortgage payment wasn't taken out of our account on Friday.
And to think I once wondered what people in their 30s did.
Ben is going to keep trying to call the London Hertz office to see if he can straighten it out from this end since he was told by the man at the Hertz office here that he would only be charged for two days.
To be fair, he is also calling our insurance agent to find out why we have yet to be charged for car insurance and he will also be calling our banker to find out why our mortgage payment wasn't taken out of our account on Friday.
And to think I once wondered what people in their 30s did.
Fun things to do while the countdown to phone service is on
1. Check online VISA statement.
2. Gasp in horror when you confirm that moving company has screwed you by seriously only refunding $700 of the $1500 they were supposed to refund.
3. Watch head spin as you notice that the Hertz rental car bill has finally been posted:
7 May 2007 HERTZ RENT-A-CAR CEDAR RAPIDS IA 1,284.54
1177.51 USD @ 1.0908
4. Wonder why it only showed up on June 5th when the posted billing date is May 7th.
5. Wonder how it is possible to have been overcharged this much for something unless we were NOT given a flat rate.
6. Contemplate the many ways to diplomatically tell Hertz where to shove it if they actually charged us per kilometre from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to London, Ontario.
7. Realize that having a phone would really help in resolving these conflicts.
8. Look at clock and see that it is currently 6:57am, which is still 1 hour and 3 minutes away from the start of our 12 hour phone appointment window.
9. Wonder if it's too early for chocolate.
10. Contemplate tearing hair out which would make it that much easier to cover if we end up Orthodox one day.
2. Gasp in horror when you confirm that moving company has screwed you by seriously only refunding $700 of the $1500 they were supposed to refund.
3. Watch head spin as you notice that the Hertz rental car bill has finally been posted:
7 May 2007 HERTZ RENT-A-CAR CEDAR RAPIDS IA 1,284.54
1177.51 USD @ 1.0908
4. Wonder why it only showed up on June 5th when the posted billing date is May 7th.
5. Wonder how it is possible to have been overcharged this much for something unless we were NOT given a flat rate.
6. Contemplate the many ways to diplomatically tell Hertz where to shove it if they actually charged us per kilometre from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to London, Ontario.
7. Realize that having a phone would really help in resolving these conflicts.
8. Look at clock and see that it is currently 6:57am, which is still 1 hour and 3 minutes away from the start of our 12 hour phone appointment window.
9. Wonder if it's too early for chocolate.
10. Contemplate tearing hair out which would make it that much easier to cover if we end up Orthodox one day.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
While we're at it...
I just looked at the copies of our US tax forms (yes, I will eventually file our Canadian taxes for 2006!!) and noticed that our accountant accidentally put Ben's address as our former KS apartment. I wonder if we'll ever see that refund cheque...
I've e-mailed the accountant to see what we can do.
Could this get any more comical? Stay tuned.
I've e-mailed the accountant to see what we can do.
Could this get any more comical? Stay tuned.
That didn't last long.
And so it came to pass that on the 31st day of possession of the house, a kitchen cabinet door fell off. (Please note that we had to submit a 30 day form of everything that needed to be fixed.)
The stage is set.
Ben called Rogers this morning to confirm that we do indeed still have an order in for Tuesday. Apparently our all day appointment is from 8am until 8pm. Ben confirmed that we are getting our phone that day and that they are even aware that they need to bring special equipment since our builder put the cable and phone wires in the same spot in the wall (hence a special plate is required). We are apparently even going to get our second phone number at the same time that our cell number is ported over to the home number.
Could our ship really be coming in? Stay tuned for the results of "Jane & Ben vs. Rogers" - coming soon to a blog near you!
Could our ship really be coming in? Stay tuned for the results of "Jane & Ben vs. Rogers" - coming soon to a blog near you!
Friday, June 01, 2007
Almighty Treehouse?
Heard tonight after Rachel's bedtime Shema & prayers:
"Thank you for Mommy & Daddy and all my family and the food we eat, the warm bed we sleep in and the tv we watch. Amen."
And she only watched 2 shows today!!! (The other stuff is all typical - Ben and I were both highly amused that she figured out how to word the tv thing so it sounded just like the other things.)
"Thank you for Mommy & Daddy and all my family and the food we eat, the warm bed we sleep in and the tv we watch. Amen."
And she only watched 2 shows today!!! (The other stuff is all typical - Ben and I were both highly amused that she figured out how to word the tv thing so it sounded just like the other things.)
Thoughts on kashrut before the sun goes down...
Many of our friends and family members have expressed curiousity about our change to keeping kosher so I thought I'd blog a little about it here. Although many Jews will say that there are different levels of kashrut (keeping kosher), I beg to differ. Either you are keeping kosher according to Torah or you are not. Yes, I know that black-and-white views aren't usually popular nor are they always accurate but in this case I think it's pretty clear.
Let's take the person who doesn't (knowingly) mix meat & dairy inside the home but orders a cheeseburger out at a non-kosher restaurant. Is that person keeping kosher? No. Is that person taking a step towards kosher eating by not mixing meat & dairy sometimes? Sure.
Kashrut is more than *what* you eat. It's also the preparation process. So if I go out to Jack Astor's and order the Grilled Chicken Peppercorn Rigatoni with no chicken and bacon, all I'm really doing is ordering a vegetarian version of a meal that is still treif ("forbidden", non-kosher). While it's a step, it would be false to claim that I'm doing anything more than eating kosher-style. Believe me, I wish that the above statement was not true!
I could write a novel but I have dinner in the oven and the sun is going down shortly. For now, I'll go ahead and sum up the practical points, ie. what our family plans to do.
Since our move home to London, we are keeping a kosher kitchen. We have separate dishes, pots/pans, utensils, tableware, etc, etc for meat and dairy foods. We are only buying products with kosher certification on them (more on that another time). The exception to that would be fresh fruits and vegetables which are permissible after washing well and making sure there are no bugs! (Um, hopefully we ALL do that!) Since we only have a double sink, we're washing dishes in plastic basins in the sink so as not to mix. I've designated separate cupboards, fridge shelves, pantry space and counters for both meat and milk. For amusement factor (but also for practicality!) the island has been dubbed the "neutral zone." If you're not sure what to do with something in our house, put it in the neutral zone! The only food prep that will ever go on there is cutting fresh fruits & veggies with our one lonely pareve (neutral, ie. neither milk nor meat) cutting board and knife.
We're asking people to not bring food to our house. We're also bringing our own food if we're out for the day since we've made the (huge and very difficult for us) decision to stop eating out. That said, did anyone else know that there is now a kosher pizza place in Niagara Falls? We went there last night with a friend and it was surprisingly good! Sadly, there are no kosher restaurants in London.
What about eating at other peoples' homes? Now comes the "fun" part... while we're not sure how this will play out practically speaking, we've decided to go "whole hog" (hahahahaha) with keeping kosher. So, no, we can't eat at your house. Even if you buy and/or prepare kosher food, it's not kosher if it's cooked or served on your non-kosher dishware. Remember, it's the process as much as the product.
While we don't want to create an awkward situation with family/friends, we also don't want to compromise our ideals and values. I'm sure there's a solution out there somewhere involving myriads (I love that word!) of disposable cookware, plates & cutlery.
In the meantime, feel free to offer us a glass of water at your house. We'll gladly take one, especially if this heat wave continues!
Let's take the person who doesn't (knowingly) mix meat & dairy inside the home but orders a cheeseburger out at a non-kosher restaurant. Is that person keeping kosher? No. Is that person taking a step towards kosher eating by not mixing meat & dairy sometimes? Sure.
Kashrut is more than *what* you eat. It's also the preparation process. So if I go out to Jack Astor's and order the Grilled Chicken Peppercorn Rigatoni with no chicken and bacon, all I'm really doing is ordering a vegetarian version of a meal that is still treif ("forbidden", non-kosher). While it's a step, it would be false to claim that I'm doing anything more than eating kosher-style. Believe me, I wish that the above statement was not true!
I could write a novel but I have dinner in the oven and the sun is going down shortly. For now, I'll go ahead and sum up the practical points, ie. what our family plans to do.
Since our move home to London, we are keeping a kosher kitchen. We have separate dishes, pots/pans, utensils, tableware, etc, etc for meat and dairy foods. We are only buying products with kosher certification on them (more on that another time). The exception to that would be fresh fruits and vegetables which are permissible after washing well and making sure there are no bugs! (Um, hopefully we ALL do that!) Since we only have a double sink, we're washing dishes in plastic basins in the sink so as not to mix. I've designated separate cupboards, fridge shelves, pantry space and counters for both meat and milk. For amusement factor (but also for practicality!) the island has been dubbed the "neutral zone." If you're not sure what to do with something in our house, put it in the neutral zone! The only food prep that will ever go on there is cutting fresh fruits & veggies with our one lonely pareve (neutral, ie. neither milk nor meat) cutting board and knife.
We're asking people to not bring food to our house. We're also bringing our own food if we're out for the day since we've made the (huge and very difficult for us) decision to stop eating out. That said, did anyone else know that there is now a kosher pizza place in Niagara Falls? We went there last night with a friend and it was surprisingly good! Sadly, there are no kosher restaurants in London.
What about eating at other peoples' homes? Now comes the "fun" part... while we're not sure how this will play out practically speaking, we've decided to go "whole hog" (hahahahaha) with keeping kosher. So, no, we can't eat at your house. Even if you buy and/or prepare kosher food, it's not kosher if it's cooked or served on your non-kosher dishware. Remember, it's the process as much as the product.
While we don't want to create an awkward situation with family/friends, we also don't want to compromise our ideals and values. I'm sure there's a solution out there somewhere involving myriads (I love that word!) of disposable cookware, plates & cutlery.
In the meantime, feel free to offer us a glass of water at your house. We'll gladly take one, especially if this heat wave continues!
It's June! It's June! It's June!
A friend commented to me that hopefully June would be a better month than May was for us this year. So far I'd say it's holding true.
Yesterday - the last day of May - we discovered that the university didn't deposit Ben's last pay. However, we have yet to pay them back either so hopefully they're figuring it all out. Ben left messages for people and is waiting for them to return his calls. We also discovered that the movers apparently refunded HALF of the amount that they initially had told us would be refunded. Again, we are playing phone tag.
Cell phone tag is expensive. With any luck we will have a real phone on Tuesday. (Stop it! I can hear all of you laughing!)
However, today - the first day of June - we got our apartment deposit cheque back along with an unexpected refund from our insurance company in London since our home insurance ended up being cheaper than previously expected. We also got TWO packages in the mail & Rachel had a great time at the gym class we tried out.
Here's to the blue moon... may it be an end to the craziness!
Yesterday - the last day of May - we discovered that the university didn't deposit Ben's last pay. However, we have yet to pay them back either so hopefully they're figuring it all out. Ben left messages for people and is waiting for them to return his calls. We also discovered that the movers apparently refunded HALF of the amount that they initially had told us would be refunded. Again, we are playing phone tag.
Cell phone tag is expensive. With any luck we will have a real phone on Tuesday. (Stop it! I can hear all of you laughing!)
However, today - the first day of June - we got our apartment deposit cheque back along with an unexpected refund from our insurance company in London since our home insurance ended up being cheaper than previously expected. We also got TWO packages in the mail & Rachel had a great time at the gym class we tried out.
Here's to the blue moon... may it be an end to the craziness!
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