Archive for April, 2009

April 28th, 2009

My Netbooks Blue Screened!

I got to do something today I haven’t done in awhile.  My 5 year old little cousin had to stay home from kindergarten today because she was running a fever, so this morning I got the call asking if she could stay with me.  Her fever was barely over 100, but it was still to high for school so I said yeah.

Luckily she isn’t one of these kids that turns into the devil when she’s sick.  She normally whines around a little, but she mostly curls up on the couch with her blanket watching cartoons.  This time she slept most of the morning, and by lunch time her fever had broke.  When she woke up she was a totally different kid, and you could tell she felt so much better.

I fed her lunch then told her she could watch a movie while I finished up my work, and she asked if she could help me.  I gave her my old broken laptop, and she pretended to pound out the list of stuff her boss needed immediately, and it was so adorable to watch her.  At one point she threw her hands up and in her little kid voice she said “Oh no my netbook just blue screened!”

I burst out laughing because it made me think about all the different things my own kid will pick up just by hearing me say them all the time, and that’s totally one of those lines I could hear one of my kids saying.  Of course her “netbook” instead of “notebook” was totally adorable, too.  I’m sure she doesn’t know there really is a difference between netbooks and notebooks, but she’d totally look cute toting around one of those mini netbooks.

Her Dad took half the day off, so when he showed up to pick her up about 30 minutes ago I told him about it, and he said her favorite game to play is “pretend to be Daddy on the computer”. I can only imagine half of the stuff she comes up with to do, and I can’t wait for the day our baby is hanging out with me in my office doing cute little things like that.

CategoryEntertainment, The Fam | CommentComments Off

April 22nd, 2009

PayPal Rant

I’m so ill with Paypal right now.  My Paypal debit card expires in 8 days, and it looks like I’m not going to have my replacement card in time.

Back in February, on the 24th actually, I received the email from Paypal telling me they would be sending out my new card so that I would receive it before my old card expires.  I was to give it 6 weeks to arrive, and if it didn’t show I should contact customer support.  At the same time the reminder popped up on my “To Do List” inside Paypal to activate my new card.  It’s been there since driving me nuts every time I login making me wonder where my new card is.

Two weeks ago on the six weeks mark I called Paypal customer service to inquire about my new card.  I was told by someone who barely spoke enough English to deal with me that she didn’t understand why I received the email in February because my card had only been mailed out 4 weeks ago.  She even accused me of “misreading the email date”. Ok I’m not exactly an idiot here.  I know if the email arrived in my inbox in February or March.

Today yet again marks 6 weeks according to the customer service woman’s time frame, so I yet again called Paypal.  I went through the whole spiel about my card not arriving, getting the email in February, offered to forward a copy of the email, explained my last phone conversation with customer service, and it got me no where.

I’ll give you 3 guess what the customer service guy said in broken English, and I’m sure you’ll get it right on the first try.  “I’m sorry, mam, but you were misinformed.  Your card was mailed out 2 weeks ago when you called, and you should be receiving it within the next 4 weeks.”

Seriously Paypal?  Why do you have to make this so difficult?  All I want is my replacement card so my hosting account isn’t put on hold temporarily when my card expires!

Someone else mentioned to me she had problems getting Paypal to issue her new card until she finally gave up and used the lost or stolen card option to get a replacement.  I’m giving them until the end of the week then I think I’ll try that route.

This is seriously getting old!  First Paypal supposedly randomly selected my account for a temporary hold while they checked things out last week, and I didn’t know about it until I attempted to purchase a rubber stamp. The “transaction cannot be completed” threw me off since my card wasn’t denied, so I called Paypal and was told I was randomly selected for an account hold and check…something I’ve never heard of them doing before. Now I’ve got to deal with this, too!

Trust me Paypal, I would totally ditch you if a majority of my customers as well as companies I work with had some other option to pay me.

CategoryBad Business, Rant | Comment1 Comment »

April 21st, 2009

Brain Fog Has Hit

I feel so bad that I’ve let my blogs slack off so much lately.  We’ve had a lot going on including some family issues that have prevented me from spending much time online.  I also haven’t exactly felt like being online much.  I’ve just been going through a “blah stage”…at least that’s what we’re calling it.

Today I’m trying to spend a good bit of time online because I’m trying to come up with a design for the Literacy Association’s website.  I promise my mother-in-law I’d design the new website as my contribution to the cause.  I also try to donate books, but the website is something I know I can definitely contribute each year.  The problem is I’m having a really hard time coming up with a design today.  I’ve got the pregnancy brain fog, and it’s making it hard to concentrate on anything.  I’ve been throwing around a few ideas for a couple hours now, but I don’t have anything solid.  I’m honestly making it a lot hard than it should be because this should just be a simple website.

Oh well I’ll throw what I’ve got on the laptop and show it to my mother-in-law when we head over there later tonight. Right now I think I need to take a break, walk outside for some fresh air, and just enjoy this sunshine we’ve got going on today. Maybe that’ll help me clear my head a bit so I can get back to work.

CategoryMiscellaneous | CommentComments Off

April 6th, 2009

Too Much Time On Facebook

I have come to the realization that over the past couple of weeks I’ve spent way too much time on Facebook.  I know lots of us spend way too much time there, but for me it’s different because I’ve never really liked Facebook.

I was the girl who stuck with Myspace even after all the teeny boppers started driving us crazy and my friends started jumping ship.  I felt like if I already used Myspace to connect with friends and family members I didn’t need to jump on the Facebook bandwagon.  I had signed up back in the day when a college email address was required, and I really hadn’t liked it.

Even today I find the layout horrible, the site way too buggy, and I complain about wading through hundreds of app requests for things I’m not interested in and invites from people I don’t know.

I’m proof that just because you don’t really like something doesn’t really mean you won’t waste time on it anyway.  Now I find myself logging in to check on family members who I thought would never turn on a computer much less connect to me on Facebook.

CategoryMiscellaneous | CommentComments Off