It seems that wherever you go, whatever you do, and whatever you buy; customer service promises you that they will help you, even if they have to go that extra mile.

It seems that wherever you go, whatever you do, and whatever you buy; that same customer service promise turns out to be one big solid puck of BS.

I was supposed to take my 7 year old to a music festival, this week.  Not just for enjoyment, either.  I was going to help a band called Paris Oroborus with their merch table... AND I was supposed to be their keyboardist for the show they are scheduled for on July 5.  My total take for the week was going to be a cool $1180.  Not a bad week's work!  All I had to do is find a way over to Bushnell, Illinois.

Using our stimulous package money, I called for a rental car.  All I had to do is make sure that a $300 deposit was available on my card.  No problem!  So, two weeks ago, I booked my rental car.

Today, I went to pick that car up.  As it turns out, the rental car company changed their policy within this two-week period to where they now take a $400 hold out on my card.  I didn't have the money for a $400 hold.  I budgeted the trip around the $300 hold. 

After arguing with them for an hour about how they should inform their clients about policy changes after a reservation has been made - especially if the policy change requires more money to be spent! - I gave up and went home.

I will not be going to the music festival.  I will not be making my $1180.  All because of this non-existent thing called Customer Service.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am sick and tired of being pushed around by companies.  And from the research I have done regarding the other customer disservices I have experienced, there is nothing that can be done about it.  We're the little guy.  The companies call the shots.  The customer is no longer right.  And nothing can be done about it.  Might as well get used to it.

+ruined

As most of you know, I have really gotten into photography, lately.  To become more competitive in the photography business, I was able to get myself a digital SLR (single lens reflex) camera body, so my clients can view their images before purchasing.  That way, they know that they are satisfied, before they spend a dime.

As I now have a digital body, I am able to practise my photography without having to worry about the expense of film.  All of this practise has really helped sharpen my abilities.

The images I shoot are 10.1 megapixels (much too large to post on this blog), and I am not wanting to downsize my images, at this point.  That said, here are some links to the full sized images that I have been shooting.  I'll start off with two of my favorite pics:

My oldest daughter at the park (portrait)

Rose In Glass Vase (still life)

Much more to come!  Enjoy these images.  And if you or anybody you know has a need for some photographic services, leave me a message.  Have camera... will travel wherever you need me (especially if those places include tropical locations!!!). :)

+ruined

I read a story about a man who received an e-mail from a banker in Nigeria who needed to transfer $11.5 million US to the United States, immediately.  If the recipient of the e-mail would allow this African banker access to his bank account, the recipient would enjoy a 30% cut of the $11.5 MIL.

Suspicious, this e-mail recipient contacted his friend - this friend, an expert in Internet scams.  The scam expert warned his friend that he should stay away from this offer, as there is a good chance money would actually be lost in the transaction.

Not heeding the expert's instruction, the recipient of the e-mail contacted this Nigerian banker to ask how to proceed.  To make a long story short, the e-mail recipient lost $2500 in the initial stages of the transaction.  A call was placed by the e-mail's recipient back to his Internet Fraud Expert friend to cry about the lost funds.  The reply by the Expert was, "You should have listened to me".

But that's not all... the fraudster was able to convince the e-mail recipient that the $2500 loss of funds was a mistake.  All he had to do is continue as instructed and the money would be sent, as promised.  Of course, another large sum of money was lost in that second transaction.

This e-mail recipient was fooled a total of 5 times... losing large sums of money with each transaction.  HE WAS FOOLED FIVE TIMES!!!

Why do we do things like this?  Are we so greedy that we would risk everything to get that promised pay off?  Or, are we so trusting of our fellow humans that we blindly follow, trusting that our faith in man will have positive endings?

I trust very few people.  And apparently, it's for a reason.

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In October of 2007, I had a friend pass away.  To this day, I still have not found out exactly what happened.  My friend's wife avoids disclosing the reason in every way possible.

All I know is that they threw a party to celebrate a dream job my friend had landed.  Sometime during the celebration, my friend's wife looked over toward my friend who had become unresponsive.  He was pronounced dead by the time the medics arrived on the scene.  This brings up a couple of theories, but I never did learn the details behind his passing.

Here we are, 8 months later.  During that time, she started dating another guy.  In fact, she started dating this guy within 2 months after my friend's passing.  They just married the other day.

On one hand, the fact that she started dating 2 months after my friend's passing (and getting remarried within 8 months) is absolutely ridiculous.  She did not allow herself the proper mourning period.  On the other hand, the classic vow is, "'Til death do us part".  Death divided them, meaning she is technically not doing anything wrong by moving forward.

I don't know exactly what I think of this.  It just seems a little odd to me.  What do you think?

+ruined

In my senior year of high school, I took an acting class.  One of the most fun classes I've ever had the joy of taking.  In that class, we learned the fine art of the Stage Slap. 

The Stage Slap is simple, really... you swing with the hand closest to the audience in an upward direction.  Swoop your hand within an inch or two from your victim's face.  When your hand is at the closest point, use the hand that is away from the crowd to clap your leg (do so as subtly as possible).  What you have is a slap that will look really realistic.  In fact, only the few people who like to watch your stationary hand will even know what you did.

Toward the end of the school year, I performed in the high school production of "I Never Saw Another Butterfly".  I won't go into the plot... if you're interested, feel free to look it up.  In the production, I played the father of the main character (the main character's name was Pavel).  Midway through the production, I had to slap Pavel's face, because Pavel curses during the Sabbath.  My stage slap somehow turned into a real one.  I left a bright, red hand print on the side of Pavel's face.  The *CLAP* resonated through the audatorium like a sour note.  The room fell silent, except for a single, whispered voice from the back of the room which simply exclaimed, "YES!"  As it turned out, the "YES!" came from the ex-girlfriend of the gentleman I just coldcocked.

After the play, my acting coach congratulated me on the most realistic stage slap she had ever witnessed.  I played along.

The moral of the story?  There is none.  It just makes me smile to know that I was able to smack a guy who I found to be a thorn in my side and get my back patted by an authority figure for doing so.

Life is grand.

+ruined

Sure... maybe you are not a fan of the decisions the Republican party has made in the past eight years.  But think of it like this... at least the Republican party has the capacity to MAKE decisions.

If the Democratic process to even elect a candidate is this long, drawn out, full of controvercy, and all out poorly organized, how exactly do you think it will be when you elect a Democrat into the office of Commander In Chief?  We really do not need this for our country, right now.  We need a party who will be able to make a decision... period.

Let's do the nation a favor and ignore the Democratic party this time around.  Who knows... maybe in 4 years they will figure themselves out and be ready to lead a nation.

Just a though.

+ruined