Scream!

As regular readers of this blog know, for the past week or so I've been making the big (for me) transition from a slow Internet connection and even more backward cell phone connection to Comcast high speed Internet connection (I have a need for speed) and the big switch over to iPhones.  My, that was a long sentence.  I'm sure I'll hear from my old friend Lar who will helpfully point out to me that I'm writing this blog posting like an old, tired man.  Well, guilty as charged.


So here's the deal, I had no problems with switching over my Internet connection from the slow Verizon DSL connection.  I expected problems with Comcast because when I moved here four years ago I had horror story with my Comcast dealings.  But that is history now because they redeemed themselves by their  professional, friendly and efficient manner in which they hooked me up to the Internet.  


One down and two to go.


The next hurdle was purchasing the iPhones and getting my and Bill's phone numbers "ported" (switched) over to the new Verizon iPhones.  With the help of my friend Don V., that procedure went fairly smoothly.  Time consuming but successful.


Two down and one to go.


Ah ha.  Now for TracFone.  I really don't want to rehash all the gory details because my head will explode but I will say I just got off the phone with TWO different TracFone customer service reps.  


Now here was my situation, which I didn't consider all that complicated.  All I needed to have done is new phone numbers assigned to my TracFones.  Yes folks, I intend to keep my TracFones as backup in our respective vehicles.  They're handy little phones and besides, I have zillions of minutes accrued on them.  Backups for emergencies never hurt. I saw no logical reason to ditch my TracFones even though I am totally in love with my new iPhone (Bill is another story which I will tell in another blog posting, it's too complicated to spread that manure story here.)


Two days ago I made my first call to TracFone.  I got a woman who had a heavy Spanish accent.  I didn't understand her and she probably didn't understand me.  After almost two hours I gave up.


Yesterday I call again and get a different person.  We go through entering all the multiple codes.  Anyone who has had a TracFone knows that you have to enter codes like this:

0382877403298572347162399847362510948376249

Several times!

Mother of God.  No, I AM NOT exaggerating.  

Yesterday my portable phone ran out of power while we were in the midst of trying to find out why the new phone numbers weren't working on my (mine and Bill's) TracFone.  

So this morning I started all over again.  Another two hours and this time I got someone who I could understand ("Derrick").  We were almost done (yes, after entering all those codes) and he decided that I needed new SIM cards.  As I said, we were almost done then my phone cut off! 

 YES! IT CUT OFF AGAIN!  NIGHTMARE ALLEY!

I call back.  I ask for Derrick so I can pick up where I left off.  Oh no, that won't work.  TracFone can't transfer phones within their buzzing sweatshop that I hear in the background.

Yes, I HAD TO GO THROUGH EVERYTHING AGAIN!  

The bottom line is she is sending me another new SIM card for Bill's phone also.  

Now I await the mail.  At least I know how to take the phone apart and remove the battery and the SIM card.  Both reps had me do that this morning in addition to reading (and my typing) all those multiple numbers in my poor little cell phones to try and get them to work. I am no longer intimidated by taking the back off of my TracFone.

So here's where I stand folks.  I have the fast Internet connection now with Comcast.  I have our iPhones and they are wonderful.  Now to teach Bill who resents me teaching him anything because he likes to lead in this partnership.

And I await the new SIM cards from TracFone in the mail.  Me and TracFone aren't done yet.  I have two Case Numbers and I have to call them back when I get the SIMM cards.  Oh joy.

I promise, my next blog posting will be somethings sexy and interesting.  I know this rehash of my four hour torture this morning was no fun reading but I had to get it off my chest or else I would explode.  

Not me but of my friend Lar last night when I was testing my FaceTime function on my iPhone with his iMac at his home - I'm using this picture because it is exactly how I feel right now - do I owe you anything Lar?

The Day After the Day After

Not much going on today except frustration. First I thought I would be a nice guy and visit my friend who is slipping into the fog of dementia. I suggested taking him for a ride to the beach and sit on the boardwalk on this sunny day. Just as I was about to out the door I got a call from a friend of mine in Florida. I take the call which results in me getting out the door late. I call my friend and tell him I'm going to be late. He says "Okay."




So I call my friend and tell him I'm going to be late. When I get to my friend's house he opens his locked door and says "Didn't you get the call?" I said "What call?" He said he called my house and told Bill that he and Jim "weren't feeling well." Uh, not "feeling well." This came on all of a sudden?



Bill may have called me but I had my new TracFone cell phone off. So I didn't get the call. It didn't matter anyway because I hadn’t set up my Voicemail. And that is another frustration of the day which I will go into later in this blog posting.  Sit down and stay a spell.  This is a longer than usual blog posting.



So since I'm there I walk myself in the house (I'm that way.) However I could sense his apprehension. I sit down and he look warily at me. What? Then Jim comes out of his bedroom in his bathrobe. He looks around and says "Who am I? Where am I?" I guess it's true, they're not feeling well. Now remember this is Jim of the 165 personalities. Not one more or one less but 165 personalities. He doesn't know who he is or where he is.  Oh yes, he doesn't acknowledge my presence at all.  But this isn't anything unusual.  That's what he usually does when I visit my friend.  I'm the invisible man. 


I hear the Twilight Zone theme playing faintly in the background. These people are crazy, absolutely crazy.



I'm not the smartest guy in the world but I do know when I am an unwelcomed guest. So I get up to leave. My friend says "I'm sorry." What for? For feeling "not well?"  So, as Jimbo wanders back into his bedroom like a nightwalking scarcrow, I decide to split this joint.  I know when I'm not wanted.  Feeling sorry for myself (feels good sometimes but not today), I head for the front door and slip on my shoes (which I always take off when entering anyone's house.  Don't ask.  It's just something I do. Maybe I'm nuts.)



So this is the deal folks. Jim, my friend's partner is a nut. A certified, guaranteed nut.  On top of that he is very possessive. He probably threw a hissy fit when he learned that I was coming over to take his Significant Other out for a ride. To quote Steve Martin "Well, EXCUSE ME!" Folks, this isn't the first time this has happened. But I'm afraid it's going to be the last time. THE LAST TIME.  I am tired of this.  So tired. 



I leave. When I got home I get an earful from Bill because I didn't have my cell phone. As I said before it didn't make a difference because my voice mail wasn't set up. So what do I do? I attempt to set up my voice mail. That is easier said than done.



I set up my voice mail then I call it from my land line to test it. Then I turn on my TracFone to see if I can retrieve my voice mail. By the way, any of you reading this blog who have TracFone who didn't have a problem setting your voice mail and want to tell me that.....forget it. It doesn't do me any good that you didn't have trouble. I'm glad you're special and DIDN'T HAVE TROUBLE. I DID.



So I call my Voicemail. Immediately I get a message that reads something like "You have activated the feature to retrieve recently deleted voice mail messages. Go to the main menu and press 311." What? First I didn't ACTIVATE anything. Secondly, how about retrieving my voice mail?



While I'm playing with this my minutes are disappearing before my very eyes. I try it again. I get the same message. Again, I try it. Again I get the same message. This time I wait until the end of the message and it gives me two options. Either to press 1 to hear the message again or to press 2 to "continue." "Continue" sounded like a good option so I pressed 2. Now I get a message saying "I can't hear you." WTF? I'm in a loop. I go through the whole routine again, and again.  I'm definitely in a loop and I'm the only one losing because my minutes are disappearing as fast as a cabbie's meter reader goes up.



My minutes are still disappearing. When I started out I had 242.50 minutes. Now I'm down to 219 minutes and I'm no farther along that I was when I started out other than I am tremendously frustrated.



Then I make the momentous decision, I call the TracFone Help line. Omigod. As I expected I get someone in India who I can hardly understand or hear. She goes through her whole menu of test options. I'm constantly saying "What?" "I don't understand you."



This comedy continued for about forty minutes until she finally wrote up a ticket for their technical department. She said it would be fixed in four hours. Uh huh. It will take longer than that. I've seen this movie before.



After I'm done and hang up the phone (thoroughly frustrated and irritable by now) I think "What about Bill's phone?" Here we go again. I call his phone and leave a message. I turn his phone on and, sure enough, the same "You have activated the retrieve recently deleted messages" feature.



Oh yes I did. I called TracFone again. This time I get someone I can actually hear and understand most of what she is saying. But she is also following a script. I have to jump through all the hoops all over again to get to the point where she writes up a ticket for their technical department. This all take another 45 minutes or so. I've been on the phone since a few minutes after 12 noon and it is now almost 3 o'clock. All this because I thought I would be a nice guy and take my friend who is headed toward La La Land on a Sunday afternoon ride to the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach.



Ever hear of the saying "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished?" You have you say? Well, that's what happened to yours truly today. I should have just stayed home and scanned some more slides into my computer. I could have taken a walk outside on this rare, sunny, beautiful day. Then take an afternoon nap. After the nap go outside and check out my backyard before the sun goes down early again today (I hate short days.) Then maybe come in and annoy Bill some before I get on my computer again and try and figure out why I can't go to the "Home" key on my FB account when I'm on AOL but I can when I'm on my MSN account. Frustration, frustration, frustration. 



In the evening I would have dinner then a Netflix movie. Yes, that's what I should have done. But I didn't. But alas, the day wasn't a total loss. When I got on my computer a friend sent me an Instant Message telling me how hot a recent picture that I had posted of myself (part of my Oldie Goldie scans for the genealogy album) was. Hey, nice to hear. Of course that isn't me now but still it was nice to hear.

Maybe today wasn't such a bad day after all. It is amazing how one little compliment can dispel all the negativity that was generated today.  Thank you Cousin Norm.

Movement

Today I made some movement on some outstanding issues that have contributed to my frustration of the past few weeks. One was finally resolving the problem I had with TracFone to have my old phone number transferred from Verizon to TracFone. Since buying my TracFone on November 17th, I have encountered nothing but a scripted response from the TracFone customer service desk in India every time I called about why my phone number wasn't ported to my new TracFone. Of course it didn't help that every time I called I got an Indian who sounded like he was talking in a well and I could only understand every fifth word. Trying to get these guys off the script in front of them was my challenge this morning. Well I can report now that my phone call this morning actually got a person that I could understand. She took care of the problem and I now have a TracFone from which I can make and receive calls.




This will save me about $80 a month. I had a Verizon Wireless Family plan for 700 minutes a month. I rarely used more than 30 minutes a month. Verizon offered me no other options other than this plan. They even had the nerve to offer me an extra 100 minutes a month if I would sign a new two year contract. No thanks Verizon.



My next goal was to end the contract I was obligated to for three years when I built this house. That charge was $31.95 a month for the security system. I don't need a security system where I live. Fortunately I live in a safe neighborhood. But I was obligated for three years because the company wired my house. That obligation is finished and I'm saving another $31.95 a month.



My third goal was to renew my prescription for my prostate medicine with the VA. I made that phone call this morning and I got through! The medicine is on its way.



Then, feeling like I was making progress I jumped right into addressing my Christmas cards. This year I'm sending out photo cards that I got from J.C. Penney last month. Yes, I am sending my visage to a select few friends on my Christmas mailing list. I've been sending photo Christmas cards for years now. I wonder if any of my friends have saved all those cards. It would be interesting to line up those cards from the oldest to the most recent to see the aging process of Ron.

So here I am this morning making progress on my Christmas cards. I had 60 cards. After addressing 40 envelopes I realized that Penney's only supplied me with 40 envelopes. Oh my. Now I have to make another trip to Dover. That's a 39 mile trip one way. Running short of envelopes was another snag in an otherwise smooth running morning. However, I won't let this little snag throw me. I have dental appointment scheduled next week in Dover. I'll kill two Santa Clauses and get my teeth cleaned and pick up the remaining 20 envelopes.



Tomorrow the goal is to put up my Christmas decorations. Progress, it's wonderful. I might even attack that room in my basement that is still full of unpacked boxes from my move three years ago. I’m on a roll.