Finding Kit Kat's Car Dealer

Kit Kat had to take her car into the shop for a recall. Momoko and I suggested she just drop the car off. This morning we got up early to do that. When we got to the dealership, her dealer was nowhere in sight. She thought she knew where it was. Unfortunately they only had Honda maintenance there. Oops.

I told Kit Kat to just call up her dealer. That helped us get to her dealership. There was only one dude in the back of the showroom. Apparently the dealer next door for another manufacturer does the maintenance. So we dropped the car off and headed to Chik-Fil-A for breakfast.

Today I also had our handyman come to work on our house. The toilet on the main level was leaking. That was a severe pain. The faucet in the kitchen dripped sometimes. We also had some preventative maintenance done for the dishwasher. Once the handyman arrived and he got started, Kit Kat and I returned to the dealership to get her car.

I grabbed some lunch to go and returned home. Kit Kat and Little Kat went out to brunch. We now know where the closest dealer for Kit Kat's car is located. And a bunch of small things in the house have been repaired. Was a busy but very productive day for our household.

Taking Kit Kat to Work During Christmas

Kit Kat had to work this weekend, like almost every weekend. Things were a bit different though. Stars Wars just came out. Plus it is nearing Christmas time. She thought she would not be able to get a parking spot near her work. So she needed a ride to work. I somehow got volunteered.

The drive to Kit Kat's work was not bad. It is the same path I take when I go to community college. However once we got close to the mall, I saw why Kit Kat needed a ride. Parking was pandemonium. Kit Kat could see that the area where employees are supposed to park was full.

We waited in line to get off the road and into the main parking lot. They had closed off vehicle access in front of Kit Kat's work. There is a drop off point in front of the Cheesecake Factory restaurant next to Kit Kat's building. I let her out there.

The fun was not over year. I had to get out of the parking lot. There were lots of people trying to find a space. And there were lots of cars trying to drive around. Getting out was almost as hard as getting in. Luckily, Little Kat said he would pick up Kit Kat after work.

Mattress by Mail

Little Kat needed a new mattress. He really wanted me to order him one from a company that only sells them online. That seemed suspicious. However his friend had one. Little Kat said they had a 100 day money back guarantee. In the end, I gave Little Kat the money and let him buy the bed. He said he would fully take care of any returns.

The day the mattress arrived, Little Kat had to go to school for his final exam. I heard a knock at the door. I went up and found a delivery guy needing a signature. I signed, and he brought out a good sized but heavy box. I dragged the thing inside. It was Little Kat's mattress heavily compressed.

Little Kat got a memory foam mattress. I thought it would not provide good support. But when I tried it out, it seemed pretty stiff. I guess for beds you call this firm. He said he was fully satisfied with the new mattress. The cost was comparable to what I would have paid at the local discount store. So no worries there.

Today Little Kat and I borrowed my brother's truck and transported his old mattress to the county dump. Goodbye Serta. Hello new online mattress. We took a chance and it actually turned out okay buying a mattress online.

Mattress Shopping

Little Kat has a custom bed. There is no frame. Instead there is a wooden base that has drawers in it. Optimizes space in his room. Previously the center of his bad caved in. He slept on top of it for a while. Then he complained. We repaired the bed by nailing some plywood on top. However there was some damage done to his mattress. He lived with it for a while. But it is now time for a new one.

I had Little Kat drive us to the local deep discount mattress store. He checked that it was still in our town. When we arrived at the location, some other store had taken over. I got on the phone with the store. Apparently they moved down the street. The sales guy told me to use Google maps. I told him to just give me verbal directions to his store.

Once at the store, they tried to get Little Kat to spend time on their mattress analyzer bed. No time for that. I told them to show us all Twin XL beds, starting with the cheapest ones. We had to go into the back room for the really cheap ones. Little Kat and I both found one that was barely acceptable.

Then we walked out into the main showroom. We tried a couple more bed, increasing in price. Little Kat found one that was good. The sales dude quoted me $1100+ for it. Too high for my budget. I asked him what his best price was for the bed. He called his manager, who said he would give me the deal of a lifetime at $699. Closer to what I want to pay. I estimated they could go down to $550 for it.

Little Kat and I went home to mull this over. He had another idea for a bed. He had heard good things about an online seller of custom beds. His friend has one of them. We looked them up online. They had a money back guarantee. I was suspicious. The Better Business Bureau had not rated them yet. Momoko also did some research about found customers complaining about the lack of follow through with their guarantee.

In the end, I provided Little Kat with financial backing. And he purchased the bed online. Let's hope this is the right bed for him. If not, he may have to learn that companies are hesitant to refund your money. There is often fine print where you end up shelling out some bucks. Little Kat said he would live with that, and cover the cost and hassle of any returns himself. Good luck Little Kat.

FIAT Dealership Failure

I have had my new FIAT 500 automobile for about almost two months now. When I left the dealership, they put temporary tags on the car. Strange because other dealerships can provide the permanent metal plates immediately. Oh well. This was a small dealership. The finance guy said he would call me in 2 to 3 weeks when I could get my permanent plates.

A month after I left the dealership, I sensed trouble was brewing. Nobody called regarding my license plates. I called the finance guy up. He said he had my plates, and could overnight them. I would have to sign for them by noon the next day. Of course the plates never arrived.

The following week I called the finance guy. He backpedaled and said they don't pay extra to deliver plates on the weekend. He also found out they did not make the delivery signature required. Somehow the plates got lost in delivery. The guy offered a UPS tracking number and proof of delivery. I told him I did not want any of that. I just wanted my plates.

I called my sales guy, and tried to contact the general manager. Some manager stand in called me back from the dealership. All I got from him was more nonsense. He wanted to provide me with a tracking number and chalk this up to a communication failure. There was failure all right. Customer service failure.

I was not overly upset that the shipper lost my plates. But I could not believe the dealership would hire a third party to deliver my plates, and then send me to whoever they hired to sort out the mess. They should have cleaned up the mess themselves. Eventually I got my permanent plates, just as my temporary ones were about to expire.

These jokers at the dealership requested that I give them all 10s when the manufacturer contacted me about how well the dealership did. They were lucky I did not give them the lowest marks available. I might still contact the manufacturer to let them know they local dealer is screwing up and giving the brand a bad name.

Vacation Provides Movie Opportunities

Momoko and I went on vacation this week. Just the two of us. I ran to the ATM before we left. I gave both the kids some cash so they could eat out while we were away. We left early so we could see a movie before we checked into the hotel. We saw Thor. It was great. There was some construction en route to the hotel. We made it though.

Our room was at a hotel. However you had to exit the atrium area to get to our room. It almost felt like a motel room. Inside it was fine. Momoko wanted to check out a new casino. She tried to get some cash at the ATM. The ATM told her to take the money. No money was found. A second ATM refused to disburse any cash either. The soul of the world did not want us gambling.

We eventually did get money and make it to the casino. It was weak. No slot machines that we liked. Momoko blew through $20 really quick. Then after her second $20 was almost gone, she hit it big. We got out of there with our cash.

Momoko was supposed to drive us to the mall to see another movie. However due to Black Friday, she opted to take us to a local theater. It was small but had assigned recliner seating. Justice League was just ok. I was hoping to see the Legion of Doom in the film. No luck there.

Momoko got sick the last day we were on vacation. We decided to check out early in the morning and get home so Momoko could recover.

Repair Visit Foiled

Today was the first day of my vacation. Had to get up early. Scheduled a repair guy to look at our dishwasher this morning. The repairman called to get my model number. Then he called again, saying he had to go buy a part. He did not get to the house until 3+ hours after the scheduled time. At least he got here.

When the repair guy looked at the dishwasher, he declared that there was no power to the dishwasher. That was news to me. It had power the last time we ran it. Checked the breaker box. No circuits tripped. He showed me that the electrical wire that leads into the dishwasher had no current. He recommended I have an electrician figure out this problem, then call him back.

I called my handyman and scheduled a visit for next weekend. Then I alerted the family. Momoko and Kit Kat both asked whether the secret switch was turned off on the dishwasher. WTF? I had Little Kat show me where this switch was. Sure enough, the power was manually killed to the dishwasher. Let's hope the repair guy can return tomorrow to figure out the problem.

Dead Dishwasher

Momoko complained that the dishwasher was smelling bad. Plus sometimes it would leave the dishes greasy with some film on them. Not good. I took an action to get a service guy to look at these problems. Been very busy at work. So this task got put on the backburner.

Then Momoko had to do the dishes again. There was water at the bottom of the dishwasher. Little Kat instructed Momoko to just run the load again. After a minute or two, I heard the beeps that signal the end of a dishwasher run. Oops.

Turns out the dishwasher will not drain the water, and will not run. We get an error code. I called up the manufacturer. They are doing recalls and are booked all month. Called a couple local repair shops that are authorized by the manufacturer. One of them is coming out Monday.

For now we eat on paper plates and plastic utensils. Drink out of plastic cups. This weekend we will eat takeout for dinner. No need dirtying pots and pans that need to be hand washed. I am hoping the repair guy can fix this appliance.

Winter Camping Day 2

Kit Kat woke us up at 4am. I was already awake. She said Little Kat was not doing well. Momoko let him lay in her warm bed. We decided it was time to cancel the camping trip. There were many challenges. It was dark. It was cold. It was the quiet hour at the camping ground.

We packed up what we could fit into the two cars. It was not everything. Then we drove back home. Little Kat took a shower and went to bed. Momoko tried to get Kit Kat to help with her flat tires. Kit Kat bailed and went to bed. I helped Momoko fill up the tires and we got Subway breakfast sandwiches.

My brother had his truck serviced. When he came up, Kit Kat woke up. The four of us returned to the camp site. We broke down the tents. I returned what little firewood we had to the camp site shed. We tossed the trash including a broke down chair. Barely fit all the items in the back of Momoko's car.

We stopped at Dairy Queen on the way home. It was still delicious. I drove us home. Got a lot to unpack tomorrow. The tents and tarps are still wet. Kit Kat's car has not been emptied yet. Not a great vacation.

Winter Camping Day 1

I woke Kit Kat up early. Her can was showing some type of maintenance symbol. Turned out her tires were low on air. The kids and I proceeded to pack Momoko's car and Kit Kat's car full of camping gear. Momoko took a half day off work. We were off on our trip.

Stopped for lunch at Dairy Queen. Strangely enough they did not have burgers on the menu. I had a shrimp basket. Everyone else had chicken dinners. We split up after that. The kids made it to the camp site before us. They had gone on foot in search of the bathrooms.

The kids located their tent off the pad until they say that was prohibited. Little Kat tried to start a fire using a log teepee. It did not work. The flame went out. The wood and kindling was damp. We had to fan the flame to get dinner cooked.

Turned in early around 10pm because that is when the quiet hour began. It was already very cold.

Cleared for the next Phase in my Career

I had been on a project at work for around 15 years. Work on this project spanned me working for a couple different companies. This project is finally started to wind down. There are other systems that are supposed to take over. They plan to shut the project down. My project told me a few years ago that they no longer had a position for me.

I did find a cool project to get onto in my company. They said they needed a long time (2 years) to clear me to get onto the project. Until then, they said I needed to find some other work. At my company, you are usually on your own to find your next project.

I did find another group to work for. Unfortunately they had no needs for programming. I advised them for a while. But I was done with them in less than 6 months. I started looking around for more jobs. Even started looking outside my company.

Eventually I found my current project. They did have some programming needs. But this project sucked. Ended up doing things like working on the weekends. Get calls before I start work each day. And I get calls long after I leave for the day. This project is just totally unmanaged. And this results in just a bad time.

Last week I heard back the cool project I talked with about 2 years ago. They said their customer was ready for me to come work on their project. I need to work out a few details such as leaving my current project. But I am very excited to move onto the next phase of my career. Don't know a lot about the job. They told me to study up Certified Ethical Hacking to prepare for it.

Do The Work to Save Money

My neighbor came by today. She said her phone bill with the cable company was getting too high. So she switched to Vonage. However her phone was not working. She said that Vonage said some thing needed to be connected up. My neighbor did not know how to do that. She asked if I knew.

I kind of know what Vonage is. You have an Internet connection. They give you phone service over that Internet connection. But I don't know any specifics. I told her the person that needed to help her get her phone working was her phone provider - Vonage.

Now I am all for cutting costs by switching providers. I do it myself from time to time. However you got to be ready to do all the work associated with the switch. Unfortunately I cannot go help someone out to save a buck or two. That's the wrong way to roll.

Right now I am in the middle of switching my Internet service provider. It is a tiresome task. Got to switch all the printers in the house to use the new router. It is on the list of things to do. Eventually I will get around to it. Time is money.

Cable Company Failures

As part of moving into my basement, my brother took over the cable bill. Right now that also comes with Internet service and free HBO. We changed the service into his name a couple months ago. However these cable jokers keep sending me the bill.

I called up the cable company. They said there was nothing they could do. I would have to return to the physical store to get the billing fixed. My brother and I went to the closest store. My GPS could not find the address. Neither could MapQuest. Google showed me a map of the place. I figured the route out on my own.

The rep at the store told me he had no place to enter the name for the billing. He said I needed to call the main office. Oh no. The main office told us to come there. We were not going to leave the store without this resolved. The nuclear option would have been to cancel all the service.

I called the cable company while in the store. I told the guy on the line that either he or the dude in the store needed to fix this. The guy on the line said he was not sure why the store rep could not resolve the problem. However he promised that he fixed it.

Terrible customer service. We are only using them because their price is right. Otherwise they are a bunch of bumbling fools for service and support. Still might switch to another provider if the bill keeps coming to me. There is only so much incompetence that I can take.

Volleyball Surprise

My buddy from college and I went out last week. I thought he said he wanted to drop by our alma mater to see the girls basketball team play. Sounded weird. But I am down for an adventure. When he dropped by my house, he clarified that he wanted us to visit his graduate school to see their volleyball team play.

Traffic was bad. We arrived after the first match started. Parking was tough. We waited for some people to leave so we could scoop up their parking space. Luckily we brought my little car and we could fit easily.

My buddy is a student there. He could get into the sports event for free. He had to buy me a ticket. Seemed a bit pricey for women's volleyball. But hey. He was paying. We found good seats over in the opponent's section of the bleachers.

We saw his college win the first match. Was some exciting play. Then his team won the second match too. At "half-time", a lot of people got up and walked around. I was hungry. But I did not see any concessions. The opponent mounted a third match assault. But it was not enough. My buddy's team swept them 3 games in a row.

Kit Kat Gets a New Car

Momoko had a doctor's appointment early in the morning. She brought us home some Chik Fil A for breakfast. After that we emptied Kit Kat's car, and headed to the dealership. The took a look at Kit Kat's car. But they would not offer full price for the trade in. We decided to buy the Mitsubishi Mirage anyway. They gave us some temporary tags. We took both cars to CarMax.

The CarMax experience was quick. Sold the car to them and Momoko got a check. Kit Kat was sad. We at least kept her vanity plates. Time was ticking. We returned to the new car dealership. They gave us a permanent registration for the car. They also put our old plates on the new car. Was really really getting late.

We called Little Kat to pick us up some Chinese food. I went to work as soon as I got home. Luckily I had some Chinese food. This was well into the afternoon so I was hungry and behind at work. Kit Kat and Momoko proceeded on to go to the bank and run other errands. The adventure of buying Kit Kat a new car is finally over.

Finding Kit Kat's Next Car

It was getting late in the game to get Kit Kat's car. We had an appraisal for her old car that would expire very soon. The Nissan Versa Notes were too expensive and the Nissan dealers shifty. It was time for a family trip to CarMax.

We found the Honda HRV roomy enough even though it was small. Momoko could buy one for herself and give her CRV to Kit Kat. Unfortunately, Kit Kat did not approve of that plan. I saw a 2011 Nissan Versa there. Too many miles and too old. Brought back memories of the last time we went car shopping with Kit Kat.

In the end, Momoko did not want to buy Kit Kat a used car. I said we could go look at a Mitsubishi Mirage. Momoko thought it looked too small based on the pictures. I said that we learned from the CarMax trip that nothing beats sitting in real cars in real life to know how they are.

Kit Kat drove us through many back roads to get to the Mitsubishi dealer. Their cars were parked tightly in their lots. The sales guy let us take the car for a spin by ourselves. We all fit in the little thing. It struggled with acceleration. But Kit Kat swore that it took turns very well.

Too bad we did not bring Kit Kat's old car in so it could be appraised by the dealership. The sales guy did not offer us the online price due to us not qualifying for some incentives. But the walk out price was the best around. hands down.

We decided to go home and think about the purchase. It did not take us long to determine we wanted that car. Since it was late, we would have to return the next day. That is a story for another blog post.

Nissan Bait and Switch

We went looking for a car for Kit Kat. Found one online that was cheaper than her Honda Fit. But it seemed equivalent. I called them up to see if I could get the advertised price from the Internet. They said no. A manager would have to give me my actual price. I asked to speak with the manager. He said he would call me back in 5 or 10 minutes. He did not. I should have known something wasup.

Eventually I got a quote from the salesman. We went to the dealership. Test drove the car. It was good. Asked if they would match the CarMax appraisal value for the Honda Fit. No. They tried to low ball us. All right. Then I asked if we could just buy the car outright without the trade in. They came up with some high number for the price. I told them I was previously given another quote.

The sales guy said he just passed on the quote from another manager. I asked to speak with that manager. Apparently that manager was out of town for the week. WTF? I told them I would go check around with other dealers. On the way home, I got a call saying that they could match their initial verbal quote. Too late. They failed.

I am not going to support this bait and switch marketing. Maybe we will have to pay more somewhere else. I would rather give my money to an honest car salesman, if there are any that deal in Nissans.

Viva Italia - Fiat 500 Pop

I had my Fiat 500L four door car appraised by a dealer. They said they would give me a lot of money if I sold it to them. Good news for me. However, this meant I was not going to give my current car to Kit Kat. I then went in search of a new car for myself.

Now I always wanted the smaller Fiat 500 coupe. I found the cheapest offer for a new one online. The dealer told me the price I saw online was the price I would pay. No tricks. I brought my old Fiat over there and test drove the new one. It was fine. They would not pay me what I was previously offered for my old car. That's okay. I just bought the new Fiat coupe outright.

Then I had my brother drive me back to the dealer to pick up my old car. Went to the other dealer and quickly sold the thing. All in all, it cost me an extra couple thousand to get into a brand new car that I like. This was only possible because the new car dealer was desperate. They shaved a whopping $7.5k off the MSRP for me.

Now I got a brand new car. It has the Italia option. That means there are the colors of the Italian flag on the side of the car and on the seats. The side mirrors are painted red. There are stripes going down the side of the car. I would never pay extra for such nonsense. But it does set my car apart.

So the only thing left to do is find a new car for Kit Kat.

Musical Cars

Kit Kat's car is having some problems. Momoko does not want to keep paying for repairs. What are we to do. I think I have a solution. I bought a used car. It is a 2014 Fiat 500L. It runs okay. Got navigation built in. Also has an aux port to jack in an iPod. Comfortably seats 4 people. Might be time for me to pass this car on to Kit Kat.

What we will legally be doing is having me sell my Fiat 500L to Momoko, who will then let Kit Kat drive the car all the time. I will then go buy another used car. Maybe a Fiat 500 two-door coupe. I can get a 2015 edition with super low miles for just over $12k. I think it will be a fun car to drive. Not very practical for our family. But perfect for me when I go to school or on local travel for work.

I told Momoko I could give her the super family rate when I sell her the car. Pretty much will sell it to her for half of what I could get if I sold it to the dealer. We are hoping Momoko can sell Kit Kat's broke down car for at least that amount, if not more. That way Momoko pays no out of pocket costs. Kit Kat gets a car that should last for at least another 3 to 4 years with minimal maintenance. I get to choose another car to drive.

Only downside is that I need to come up with $12k for my newly acquired car. Some of that will get offset by the money Momoko gives me for my current car. If this was the only car money I had to dish out, I would be fine. But Little Kat is driving a low mile super old vehicle right now. He loves it. But it is nearing the end of the road. I will probably have to buy Little Kat another car to drive when his dies.

Kit Kat Car Trouble

Kit Kat went to happy hour with Momoko. After that she planned to drive straight to work. Momoko said that Kit Kat's car was acting up. The "check engine light" was one. Kit Kat drove the thing to work. However, Little Kat had to meet her at work and escort her home in case her car stopped working.

The next day, Little Kat and Kit Kat took the car to our mechanic. As usual we planned for Kit Kat to use my car while hers was in the shop. And I would borrow my brother's extra car. This is happening too often. Time to figure out the end of life for Kit Kat's car.

Momoko considered buying Little Kat a new car this time. Then I could let Kit Kat drive my second car. That did not work out on many fronts - too much money for a new car. Plus Little Kat loves my other car. Now we are thinking I will sell my current car to Momoko for Kit Kat to use. I will go get myself another car.

Dining Failures Abound

Dinner is cooked by Kit Kat, Momoko, and Little Kat. They split the week up. I have other weekly chores to make up for not cooking (cutting the lawn, raking leaves, etc). Recently there have been some screw ups with dinner. There was a hot dog night without mustard. Then there was baked potato soup night without cheese.

Three strikes and you are out. I am not going to let it get to there. Time to implement a new process for managing the ingredients that go into dinner each night of the week. Tomorrow we start. All cooks need to submit a menu with detailed ingredients required. Then they need to shop. Afterwards there will be a check that items purchased match the required list.

This is just phase one. The basics. Later we will tackle staples that are shared among multiple chefs. Also will eventually need to address scenarios where ingredients are used up during meals other than dinner. This should not be too big of a problem. Organization and diligence will overcome the slack here.

Traffic Trouble

Today is my class night. We only meet once a week. So I have to make it count. I got to work early. Made sure to knock out the high priority tasks so I could leave on time. When my boss told me to take care of some extra tasks at the end of the day, I alerted him that Monday's are school nights for me. Therefore, no working late on Mondays.

Kit Kat came home from her work day job. She told me the route to my college was jammed up. Apparently a dump truck lost its payload when it crashed. Momoko also called me up and warmed me about a garbage truck backing up traffic on my route. Ouch.

I decided to take the long way to school. It is also fraught with traffic. But at least it is a predictable slow route. Momoko got me some nachos on the road. I ate them while I waited in traffic. Not easy. Not recommended. But I had no time to stop off for dinner due to my detour.

I did end up making it to class on time. I knew other students would be trickling in late. A lot of people take the road I do to get to college. I was glad I got there on time. The instructor was walking us through some challenging topics in class. These topics would help with my lab and next week's quiz. Plus it is essential knowledge for my field.

The End Draws Near for the Monte Carlo

Little Kat went shopping with Momoko this weekend. When they came back home, they had bad news. The car I let Little Kat drive was acting up. I just dropped $1300 to fix assorted problems with it. The thing already leaks when it rains hard. I thought this might be the end.

We took the car to the mechanic. They were closed. I tried to get a car rental. They were closed too. So we just parked the car in the mechanic's parking lot. Little Kat returned today to ask the mechanic for an estimate.

I started thinking about what I would do next. I previously had three cars. But I got rid of the Scion xB. Little Kat and I both drive a bit for school and work. We make full use of both of my cars. Wouldn't you know it? This was the week Kit Kat wanted to borrow one of my cars when she puts hers in the shop.

So I thought perhaps it was time to get a two door Fiat 500. I love how it fits in any parking space. Little Kat prefers a coupe or sedan that has a trunk. Then again, I always wanted to have a truck to haul stuff. Momoko things a Nissan Altima would be good for Little Kat to drive the family around.

Turns out the problem with Little Kat's car was a broken ABS wire. Total cost is $370 to repair. I am going to fix it. However the writing is on the wall. I need to prepare for the purchase of another car. I should have done that when I offloaded the Scion xB.

Fire Pit Causes a Tumble

After dinner, Momoko suggested we go out and enjoy our fire pit. The weather was chilly for September. Little Kat had set up the pit with newspaper, kindling, and logs. We all went out and sat around the fire. I brought a drink with me. The wicker table was not stable enough to put the drink on.

When the fire was roaring, I went in to get a cushion to put on the wicker chair I was sitting in. A lot of the smoke blew my way. I shifted my weight to flip the wicker table to see if it could be secured underneath. I heard the chair make a funny sound.

I did another motion in the chair. Nothing special. I heard the strange noise again. Both front legs of the wicker chair gave out. I tumbled backwards. Luckily I was okay. The chair, however, was put in the garbage pile for a future trip to the dump.

Kit Kat did not join us at the fire pit. She was out with her friends celebrating a birthday and going to a play downtown. Little Kat searched for sand to put out the fire at the end. Not finding any, he resorting to spraying down the fire with water from the hose.

Goals at Work

At work, I am supposed to submit yearly goals. These are then used to gauge how well I do during the year. This past year, I think I just copied whatever goals I had from last year that seemed doable. My boss responded and said I should add another goal to "grow my professional network". That means get out there and meet people outside of my project team.

It took a while to get back to goal setting. But I pretty much added what my boss asked. Now I had to make some progress on that goal. The year is already 66% done. My first stop was my community college. Surely there is some type of club with tech people different than myself. All I could find was the Cyber Defense club.

There didn't seem to be much info online about the Cyber Defense club in general. I found a phone number to call about clubs in general. But nobody picked up. Instead I shot out an email to the contact for all clubs. Turns out the president of the Student Government Association responded to my email!

The Cyber Defense club had gone defunct. But the faculty member who sponsors it was thinking about trying to restart the club. Not sure if I want to get in on the ground floor here. I want to find an established organization and infiltrate its members to meet my work goal.

I did find a promising lead. There is a meet up that focuses on independent game developers in the area. Unfortunately they meet when I go to lunch with the family on the weekend. Might have to skip lunch to crash their meeting.

Good Times at the Office

On my last project, I used to go into the company office around once a week. Sat in a big conference room with the same couple people. They were all cool. One of them emailed us all, proposing a get together lunch. I was down. I voted for us meeting in the same conference room we used to work out of.

I got up early and headed to the office. Had not been there in over a year. Was surprised that they started locking the front door. Keep the riff raff out? I saw my peoples. But my old team lead was not there. I suggested we go to my favorite local Ruby Tuesday's restaurant. Choice approved. They did not have the sliders special. But I got a burger and added the salad bar anyway.

Took off from work early. Headed over to my college campus. It was weird that the bookstore allowed us to roam the aisles full of textbooks. They only had used copies for my class. Then I tried to get a parking decal for my car. Had to run back to the parking lot to find my license plate number for the form.

I thought I might need to sit for a picture to get a new ID. Turns out I could use the old one. They just put a sticker on top that indicated I was enrolled for the current semester. Not too shabby. I am prepared for the school semester now. Next time I might choose Chegg to rent my textbooks like all the other kids. Feels like a waste when my company foots the bill for new textbooks though.

Change in Vacation Lunch Plans

We packed the night before to be ready to leave the hotel. Momoko and I were waiting around for the appointed time when the fire alarms went off. We grabbed all our bags and walked down the stairs. We waited for the kids to meet us at the car. After loading it up, I went to check us out of the hotel. Apparently they were testing the smoke alarm lights.

Little Kat filled up Kit Kat's car with gas. Some dude pulled next to us going the wrong way at the light out of the gas station. Little Kat managed. He did need some prodding from Momoko on the drive home for things such as his lane ending or cars trying to get on the highway in front of him. Little Kat thought it was unfair he had to drive such a long distance to our lunch location. It was what he agreed upon.

We were looking forward to eat at Dairy Queen. It was way too crowded. We instead went to a local diner. They had a salad bar with whole boiled eggs and pickled beets. We all got lunch specials which included dessert. The whole family was stuffed from lunch. Kit Kat took over the driving. The car ride home was bumpy because of the faulty shocks on Kit Kat's car. We survived.

The house looked just like we left it. My brother had set out the trash and recyclables successfully. I took a nap in my comfortable bed at home. And Momoko took a hot shower. It was good to be home. This is essentially the end of summer vacation. Luckily I scheduled up a week worth of training at work. I needed it with all the extra hours I am working on my current project.

Under the Boardwalk

Initially we planned to go to breakfast to start our first full day at the beach. But Kit Kat worried about the crowds on the boardwalk. So we had Little Kat drive us there first. Kit Kat had purchased a beach hat for Momoko. She brought it to our room. The kids sprayed sun tan lotion on. We headed for the parking at the end of the boardwalk.

I was surprised that hardly anyone was parked there. But the people came out from somewhere to be on the boardwalk. Momoko got a large Orange Julius from DQ. The kids immediately responded by buying dippin dots ice cream. Kit Kat could not find this monster decoration she purchased here in past years.

The kids left us to search for a sweatshirt for Kit Kat. I spied on a cop car at the edge of the boardwalk. A black young man got on a long skateboard. The cop came out immediately to confront him. The skateboard was screaming at the cop, and threw his hat down on the ground after handing over his ID. More cops came and I thought this guy was going to be arrested. He was let off with a warning but continued to skate and yell at the cops.

It was a long wait for the kids to get back. We were only sitting on a bench on the boardwalk. But it was hot. Eventually they returned right about when I thought we needed to call them up and tell them to hurry up. Kit Kat got a custom sweatshirt with the breach town logo for the season.

Momoko was very hot. She thought we could skip our breakfast shop and head somewhere she could get a salad. I talked her out of that idea. Little Kat took us to the breakfast place that specialized in crepes. Little Kat opted for a cup of coffee. Momoko got charged over $3 for it. I was missing my sour cream initially for my omlette.

Afterwards, Momoko had Little Kat drive the family around for her to shop for a bag. When we got back to the hotel, neither Momoko nor my key worked in our room. I had to get them rekeyed. Another fail from this hotel. They must have entered the checkout date wrong.

Car Issues on Way to Beach

Next week school starts up. So the family took a small beach vacation to celebrate the end of summer. The morning that we left, I went out and collected the yard clippings and set them out for the next day. We had planned to drive an hour or so and get some lunch. But Momoko was too hungry. Kit Kat drove us to the local McDonald's for some dollar menu grub.

On the highway I immediately noticed some problems with Kit Kat's car. It did not take the bounces well at all. Maybe some shocks problem. The power window at my seat was broken. Later we found that the air conditioner only lasts for an hour or so and then stops cooling. Also, Kit Kat's phone she used for navigation overheated and turned off.

The real bummer was that the Sonic we planned to visit for lunch had permanently closed down. We needed to take a 20 minute detour to find another Sonic. The hotel we stayed at was new for us. The kids were on the third floor with their own room facing the bay. Their front door was tough to open.

Momoko and I stayed at a beach front room. But there were two lamp posts with huge light balls outside our balcony preventing night views of the ocean. Plus there were assorted palm trees obstructing our view. The ocean was far away as well due to a deep beach.

We went to our favorite restaurant for dinner. They did not have the Italian sub I was hoping for. They were very busy but we got seated immediately, albeit at a booth instead of a table. Momoko told everyone to order only what they could eat. She ended up not eating her tossed salad. Fail. I told the family I detected our waitress was from Uzbekistan.

Clothes Washer Woes

Today I had to wash our bed sheets. Played some video games while the washer was running. I heard a loud noise. Went over to see what was up. The washer was unbalanced. I moved the heavy water soaked items around a bit. The washer kept having problems. I ended up moving the sheets to the dryer.

Next up I washed some whites. The washer has the same problem. Something is amiss. The washer is old, but not that old. I might be able to get someone to repair it. That might take a long time though. I might just go out and buy a new washer. We use the thing a lot in our house.

I am going to have my handyman over to fix a couple things in the house. Maybe I could add a washer installation to the list.

Shirt Shopping

Little Kat complained that he needed new shirts. We scheduled a time today to go shopping at JC Penney. Even though it is the weekend, I had to work today. So Little Kat and I went out on my lunch break. I made Little Kat drive to the mall.

There was some concert going on across from the mall. Lots of foot traffic getting in our way. We made it to the mall and headed straight to the big and tall section. I told Little Kat that Momoko recommended he get a long shirt to cover everything up. He was unsure if it should be an XL long or a 2XL long. He grabbed some of each and determined he is 2XL long.

Little Kat did not want tee shirts this time around. He wanted some polo and dress shirts. He got two plaid dress shirts with short sleeves. These button all the way up and have a collar. He also picked up one polo shirt. The retail prices on these shirts was quite high, running $50 to $60 each. Luckily they were on sale for 40% and 60% off.

When we got to the register, the employee rung us up and there seemed to be an additional 20% off. I did not argue with paying less. We made the purchase and came home in what seemed like record time. The only obstacle was even more people lined up across the street for a concert.

Let's see how often Little Kat wears this new style of shirt. Little Kat said we should try ordering online from Amazon next. I am always nervous buying clothes online. Last time I bought Little Kat some shoes online, I had to return them. Nobody has time for that. But if we could make it work, it would save the trip to the mall.

Heat Wave Makes Mowing Tough

This week, the news said it hit over 100 degrees locally. Today I had to work out in the yard. I knew I was in trouble when I was getting too hot and tired just cutting the front lawn. I wanted to quit. But I had to press on. Powered through the fatigue and pain.

I ended up cutting the whole lawn. Weed wacking was brief. I struggled to bring the grass clipping bags to the curb. Inside the house, it was cool. But internally, my body was hot. I made sure I had plenty of fluids.

Went upstairs to take a shower. I was struggling to get the shower done. Then I laid down in bed. I was breathing really hard. I just could not get cool. Momoko turned on the ceiling fan in the bedroom. I kept tossing my pillow around to cool my head. Eventually I caught my breath. Much later I cooled down.

What am I supposed to do? Maybe split up the front and back yards into two separate days of mowing like my friends? Or perhaps I should do a little bit every day to build up my endurance. Who knows? I don't want to just hire somebody to cut the grass when it is hot. This is my only real exercise.

New Gerbils This Summer

Kit Kat asked if it was time for us to buy new gerbils again. I questioned the kids. Seems their chores were not in order. I overlooked some of that when they were busy with school and work. But if they don't have time for chores, adding gerbils will only make it worse.

So Momoko documented the minimal set of weekly chores that must be done by Little Kat and Kit Kat. After a week of monitoring them, it seems they are back on track. Kit Kat went out to spend the weekend with her old college dorm mates. So it was up to Little Kat and Momoko to get the gerbils.

I was going out to eat with a friend for a late lunch. Momoko and Little Kat picked up three new gerbils (one for each of Momoko, Little Kat, and Kit Kat). They purchased a new plastic igloo to serve as the gerbil house. They also bought a new wheel.

These new gerbils are not too small. They seem comfortable with humans. Although they do get spooked by sudden noises or movements. At least two of them love and fight over the wheel. It is fun to put a large fence around the center of the living room and see them run around on the carpet.

Kit Kat's gerbil is the escape specialist. That bugger got free three times on the first day it came to our house. It will be a handful.

Recliner Chair Shopping

My recliner in the family room has some problems. When I try to lean back in it, I hear a wicked creaking sound. The recliner has lasted for a while. I originally bought two of them for $300 each during a super sale at a reputable furniture store. I guess it is time to replace them both.

Momoko and I set off on a recent holiday to go furniture shopping. I decided to start with a store I saw a circular ad for. It had the cheapest recliners. We had to go into a bad section of town to get to the store. I tried to use my car GPS to get there. It could not find the address.

So as I near the turn to get onto the store's road, I get in the wrong lane. We enter a shopping center with cheaper stores like Atlantic grocery. This shopping center parking lot was treacherous. Then we get on the right road but in the wrong direction. Finally we arrive at the store.

The store had no air conditioning. Just a lot of fans blowing. The sales staff was friendly. The recliner I saw had no assist in getting back into the upright position. Too hard to do that manually. They had a more expensive power recliner. But it went from upright to fully reclined - no in between, so no sale.

The sales consultant sent us to another discount furniture store. They did not have power recliners on display. I did sit in a nice loveseat which is part of a seat that includes a power recliner. The problem was that the cost for the recliner was about double what I want to pay.

Momoko and I took a break before driving to an upscale furniture store. We ate some burritos and chile con queso. Sat in about 15 power recliners at the upscale store. I only fell in love with one of them. The problem was that the cost was 4x what I wanted to pay.

Back at home I found my recliner problem had mysteriously gone away. So for now I am going to hold tight and look for sales. I will eventually need to break down and buy some new furniture. Just not today.

All Vacations Come to an End

Our grand vacation eventually had to come to an end. Grandma leaves for work at 7:15am local time. So we planned to wake up at 7:00am to say goodbye. I woke up at 6:00am, thinking it was still 5:00am local time. Oops. The iPhone displayed local time, not my own time zone. We saw grandma off to work.

Then we packed up the rental car and said our last goodbyes. Filled up the big Chevy Suburban SUV gas tank. It did not cost as much as I thought it would. Then I dropped Momoko and Little Kat with our luggage at departures. I took the rental back to the rental lot and took the bus to the airport. We checked in with ease.

For brunch we ate at a deli inside the airport. Little Kat opted for a sandwich with double meat, but could not finish the thing. What a waste. At least Momoko was paying. This was a full flight. Still, Little Kat decided to get a window seat by himself in another aisle. It came down to the last few passengers.

I had the window; Momoko had the aisle. Hercules comes down the plane along with a little old woman. Luckily the woman say between me and Momoko. The flight made record time. It even had to circle around over the bay/ocean while waiting for clearance to land. And land we did with a bang. Such a hard landing that the old lady beside me was praying up a storm.

Everyone was at work when we arrived home. So we took a cab ride home. It cost over $60 but was worth it. The cabbie was a wild drive who talked on his cell phone and read the paper while driving. I still tipped him because he got us home quickly and probably has a tough job overall. We were glad to see my bro and Kit Kat when they got home from work.

Movies Like The Accountant

I had a goal to watch a bunch of movies while we were on vacation. We saw Transformers in person at the theater. The sound went out during the last 5 to 10 minutes. Momoko complained and got us free readmit passes. We returned to see Wonder Woman. Now I know why Diana is so strong. I won't reveal any spoilers though.

We watched a whole lot more movies at the grandparents' home. They had a questionable program that could download movies to watch on the smart TV or PC. The audio was terrible. And sometimes the picture was dark. But we saw hits like The Founder, The Accountant, and John Wick 2.

The night before we left for home, Momoko ordered up a huge amount of Chinese food. Little Kat and I drove across town to pick up the food. When we got home, we found out the bums forgot to give us our soup. I called to complain. These fools would not credit back the cost of the soup. So I had to drive back over to pick up my soup. I won't be returning to that establishment. You know I hate substandard service.

Little Kat and I were asked to move a credenza into one of the bedrooms. We were also asked to mount a TV to the wall. I rejected the idea of mounting the TV. We were on vacation, not work study. When it came time to move the credenza, I found it to be a daunting task. The thing would not fit in the narrow hall unless we turned the thing on its side. It had heavy contents inside. Plus there was another piece of furniture made of real wood on top that we also had to move.

Little Kat and I got the job done. We got cut up trying to drag the heavy items into Momoko's old bedroom. Next time I am definitely going to strongly recommend hiring some day laborers to do the dirty work. Yeah I moved my share of furniture in my life. But that was a task for when I was in my twenties and maybe thirties. No need to get our hands dirty and our backs strained when there are hungry guys out there willing to do so for some greenbacks.

The Big Vacation Begins

It was time for our big summer vacation. Went to visit the grandparents. Kit Kat drove us to the airport. Turns out our flight was delayed 4 hours due to weather. I needed to get to the rental car office by midnight at my destination. I was cutting it close.

I skipped baggage claim. The family could handle that. I ran to the bus that takes you to the rental office. There were no seats left on the bus. Guess everyone else was late too. I was the first one off the bus. Asked the lady near my rental car company front desk if she could rent me a car. She said the rep from my company was sitting down behind the counter.

The rep tried to upsell me to a larger SUV. No thank you. I just want the one I reserved at the rate I was quoted. I was sent outside to the parking lot attendant. Turns out they did not have my size SUV in stock any more. He gave me a free upgrade to a Chevy Suburban. I even got to pick the color (black).

I drove the car rental back to get Momoko and Little Kat. They were waiting in front of some other airline. I picked them up and we ate a late night / early morning meal at Denny's before arriving at the grandparents' house.

New Siding for the Shed

I had been noticing that the paint on my carport shed was all peeling. So at the end of last year, I asked my handyman to repaint the shed. He told me he could do the painting. However it was the wood itself that was the problem. Paint would not solve my issue. He recommended that I have him put new vinyl siding on the shed.

This was not a high priority task. I had my handyman build a closet for my brother. Then I had him install a new window A/C unit in our bedroom. Finally it was time to get to the shed. My handyman had to order the siding. He came and installed it. Turns out he must have misestimated. There was not enough siding to finish the job.

Like I said, this was not a priority job. So I waited for my handyman to order some more siding. After a while, I got tired of looking at the job half done. Therefore I called my handyman and asked him to step up the pace. He came this week and finished up the siding. It looks really good. The doors were the only part of the shed that had not peeled. But to match the nice finish of the siding, my handyman painted the doors.

Now my shed looks brand new on the outside. My other large shed already has vinyl siding on it. I should be set as far as sheds are concerned.

In Search of a Pizza Joint

I had worked all weekend. Then I put in some more overtime yesterday. It was time to take a small break from work. Momoko was off too. So I decided we should go out to lunch together. I had seen a local pizza place advertising on TV. That is where I wanted to go. Momoko resisted the long drive to the location that was advertised. She found a closer one. We headed out with Momoko behind the wheel.

We were doing well until we got to the street that the pizza joint was on. They had closed down a lane, making traffic really slow. Then we pulled up to the strip mall with the restaurant in it. There was no parking in front, and only minimal parking on the side. We arrived to find a total of 6 seats in the whole place. Guess it is a take out joint.

Momoko ordered a pizza plus some fried mushrooms. I tried to get one sub. But they said they no longer carried it. Instead I got an Italian sub. We picked up some 20 ounce sodas from their fridge. Strangely enough, they were not cold. The mushrooms came quick with some ranch sauce on the side. My sub also came quick. Momoko waited 20 minutes before going up to ask what the heck happened to her pizza.

The food was expensive. It was far from home. The food did not taste special, just run of the mill sub/pizza shop stuff. I don't think we will be returning. We have some sub shops closer to us. Their service, in general, is sub-standard. For those with better service, their subs are not too tasty. It is hard to find superior food combined with superior service. I guess we just have to settle for the tasty food.

Late Shift

I have recently heard about this cool movie/game called Late Shift. Initially it started playing in movie theaters. However the audience got to choose the path the story takes. They voted on apps running on their phones. Majority wins to control the direction of the movie. I watched a dude play though one run of the movie on YouTube.

The back story is that you are a late night attendant at a garage. There are a lot of fancy and expensive cars parked down there. At least in one version of the movie, you get mixed up with some guys that need to steal a car as a getaway vehicle for an even bigger heist.

I was hoping this was a game I could buy. Indeed it seems it will be in the future. Coming soon to the Xbox One, Playstation 4, and maybe even PC. For now I only seem to be able to buy a version from Apple as an app. The app is free, but it requires an in game purchase of $4.99 to run. It might just be worth it.

Paying Tolls the E-Z Way

I got tired of waiting in lines at the toll booths from the last two trips my brother and I took. The real pain was watching the cars with E-ZPasses fly by in the E-ZPass lane. So I finally broke down and ordered some passes for the family. I opted to get the kind you attached to the inside of your windshield.

Installed mine and tested it out right away. Little Kat installed his in my other car. Just gave Momoko hers today. She did have some trouble since there is some metal embedded in the top of her windshield (maybe for satellite radio or something). We will have to test out the alternate location she used to place the pass.

We are thinking about a beach trip late this summer. Should be a good time for the whole family to enjoy the fast lane at the tolls. Kit Kat is taking a long trip this summer too. I bet she will benefit greatly from the pass. I had to give her the printed directions for installing the device, since she was not in the car when we attached mine to my car.

Activities on a Holiday

Everyone except my brother had off for Memorial Day. Momoko thought it would be a good time to see Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Kit Kat had already seen it with her boyfriend. So Momoko, Little Kat, and I woke up early to see it at our favorite theater. The theater was not opened when we arrive. So we parked and waited.

Before the show, Momoko and I ate pretzel bites with large cheese cups. I had a couple cups of jalapenos to top it off. The show was pretty good. Answered some of the questions from the first movie. Speaking of that, Momoko bought the DVD so we could review the last movie.

Afterwards I had planned to take us to lunch. Little Kat bowed out, so I drove him home. Then I tested my new EasyPass on the highway. I was a bit shocked that the toll road I took had no toll booths. I guess they somehow captured and billed my EasyPass. We traveled to the west to get some Fuddruckers.

Back at home, I caught up with laundry. Me and Kit Kat switched days on the weekends to accommodate her new work schedule. I went outside to finish my yard work. It rained after lunch on Sunday. I chopped a bunch of overgrown shrubs and branches. When I was cleaning up, I could not find my saw. Turns out I tossed it into the can with the branches.

Finding a new Electrician

I had our handyman install a new window unit air conditioner in the bedroom. Now the room is cool. However between the A/C in Little Kat's room, the lights in the two upstairs bathrooms, and the lights in the bedrooms, our circuit is overloaded. The breaker trips in the most inopportune time.

Now I used to just call the local servicing company. A nice electrician would come out and give us some deals. However the electrician was not entirely competent. I heard him get electrocuted a couple times. Plus he had a hard time with switches.

So I have been on the lookout for a new electrician. Found a reference by word of mouth. Sounded like a small operation. Two of the guys came out. They measured the current in the two circuits in question. They proposed running two more wires to the top level to even out the load. They said their boss would give me an estimate.

I waited a week and did not hear back. So I called the boss. He did not pick up. I called their main office. They said they would email me a quote. Finally I gave up on them. What do you know? I just got a quote from them. Not sure if I trust them if they have trouble following through with a quote. But the price is right.

Celebrate Good Times of Summer

Today was Little Kat's last day of the college school semester. I had my final last night. So at lunch, I decided that Little Kat and I should go out to celebrate. Little Kat was agreeable if I would drive to wherever we were going. I chose Sonic. It is far away. But it is delicious.

When we arrived at the restaurant, they only had car hop parking spaces. We parked in one and walked inside. Some dude came to take our order. He was really slow entering it into the system. He made at least one mistake with Little Kat's drink.

I got the double cheeseburger. And Little Kat got the coney. We both had slushes to drink and tots for a side. Donald Trump was on the TV giving a press briefing. The order came with Little Kat's name on it since he ordered first. Little Kat and I both got brain freezes from drinking the ice cold slushes too quickly. They provided Sonic mints without us having to ask.

Here's to a relaxing summer without school.

Going to a Gas Dryer

This past weekend, Momoko and I went shopping for a gas dryer. Our current dyer runs. But it does not dry well. Sometimes we need to restart a load a couple times to ensure the clothes do not turn out moist. At the store, I focused on simple non-digital controls. Plus I made sure I liked how the door opened. The positioning of the front door handle was key. I also needed easy access to grab the clothes out of the dryer.

I chose a dryer and said I would pick it up myself. The sales guy had a hard time keying in the gas version of the dryer. He kept getting the wrong total at checkout. Afterwards, Momoko celebrated with a pretzel from Auntie Anne's at the mall. I asked my bro if I could borrow his truck. He agreed.

Today was the first day I could pick up my dryer from the store's warehouse. Of course my manager scheduled a meeting for lunch. I decided to go to Roy Roger's for a very early lunch, attend my meeting, then head to the warehouse. The warehouse was clear of customers when I arrived. I got my dryer loaded on the back of my brother's truck and got home as quick as possible.

Some kid was walking in my neighbor's yard when I drove up. That was suspicious. It also meant I could not leave the dryer out until my brother came home. Luckily Little Kat was home, having skipped college today as usual. I measured and found we would need to bring the dyer in the front door. I backed up the truck up to the front door. Had a small delay as I had to spray a wasp and pull down its nest from the front door.

Little Kat and I worked smart. We used a dolly to roll the dryer around. We also slid it inside its box down the steps. Only other surprise was that Little Kat had borrowed my brother's dolly and left it at Momoko's school. Luckily we have a second dolly that made things much easier. Now I just need to get my handyman to install this thing.

Statistics on People Getting Degrees

I read a report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) about statistics on schooling. The EPI is a non-profit organization that looks at economic trends that affect the working class in America. The best stats I gained from their report was the percentage of people who achieve degrees. Now they slice and dice those numbers all kinds of ways. I was most interested in the numbers for people aged 25 to 54 years of age. Here are the rough percentages:

10% did not finish high school
25% got just a high school diploma
25% took some college classes
25% got a bachelor's degree
15% got an advanced degree

What I like to do it turn those groups into a rolling percent of how many people you have surpassed, just by achieving a degree:

Get a high school diploma to have surpass 10% of the people.
Just attend college to surpass 35% of the people.
Get a bachelor's degree to surpass 60% of the people.
And get an advanced college degree to surpass 85% of the people.

Seems like the bachelor's degree is the sweet spot. It will put you in the top half of the population based on schooling alone. I am always looking for an edge to set me apart from the next guy. When you have extra credentials, it is easier for someone to give you a job (and a higher paying one at that).

Trip Down Memory Lane

The window air conditioning unit I bought last summer has already died. I called the manufacturer and they said they could replace the unit. They shipped it to an appliance store downtown in the big city that I live near.

I borrowed my brother's truck and headed down to the appliance store at lunch time today. Used GPS to get me to the neighborhood. The store was well marked. But there was absolutely no parking. I parked in a liquor store and used the dolly to bring my broken A/C unit into the store.

Made the switch and drove to their warehouse building to pick up my unit. On the drive down, I passed the site where I used to work during college. I drove this same road when I used to get lunch from there. As I got further into the city, I went by the neighborhood of a guy I knew from computer camp.

The neighborhood right by the appliance store was a bunch of small duplex homes. The appliance store looked like it had been there a while. The inside was done up really nice to sell the wares. The warehouse had a bunch of delivery trucks outside. There were also large empty cardboard boxes with packing Styrofoam.

Newpaper Delivery Triple Failure

I subscribe to the big city newspaper. Get delivery weekdays and weekends. This past Saturday, we received the advertisements for Sunday. However there was no Saturday paper. I called up the newspaper. The automated system said it was too late for me to receive a newspaper.


I opted to speak with a rep from the company. They said there was no way to get today's paper delivered. However I was promised it would be delivered the next day. Turns out I never got the paper. This is the first level of failure.


So I called the newspaper back. I explained what had happened so far. The rep said they would let the carrier know. WTF? I don't need a message send to my carrier. I need someone to resolve my problem. Level two of failure has been met.


I got the newspaper rep to at least credit me for the missing paper. These guys charge a lot for newspaper delivery. And they keep increasing the prices. Then I spoke with a manager. Told them in addition to delivery problems, their customer service essentially sucks. I was given the number of the supervisor of the carrier.


Tried to call the carrier supervisor. Some guy answered the phone. He asked who I was, and only said I could leave a message. Never got a call back from that supervisor. Level three failure, here we come. Finally the next day I get a note from my carrier saying that someone may be stealing my paper.


Stop the nonsense. I have lived here 10+ years getting the paper delivered and have never had the paper stolen. Plus what are they trying to say? Somebody picked out just the Saturday paper from our plastic bundled delivery, but left us with just the Sunday ads? I don't think so. If my brother did not insist on keeping the newspaper delivered, these guys would have been fired a long time ago.

Frigidaire A/C and Company Fail

The window unit air conditioning in our master bedroom would not turn on this year. The thing is not that old. Momoko is making due by turning our ceiling fan on high at night, plus leaving the bedroom windows open. This will only take us so far as the temperature increases this season.

I called my handyman. He said he could not repair the unit. But he recommended I call the manufacturer. I called Frigidaire. They said I would get a call back from their back offices in a couple days. Did not happen. I called back again. They said the previous trouble ticket was set up wrong. I was told I would get a prepaid bank card since I ordered the unit online.

Since I was going to be getting a bank card, I went ahead and ordered a replacement A/C unit. Figured I could use the bank card for other things. I did get a call from Frigidaire's back office. They said there was not going to be any bank card. They were going to ship a replacement A/C to a store in a nearby big city. I just need to bring in the defective unit.

What a fail. This company is all mixed up. And they are essentially making my life difficult. I would just prefer for their crappy A/C units to work so I don't have to bother them. But no such luck. I am going to end up with an extra A/C unit since I went ahead and bought a second one.

Perhaps the thing to do would have been to go with another manufacturer. I am doing that as I am buying a portable A/C unit for the interim.