Magazines Part #3

Well, I finally got a web-cancellation availability from one magazine I was subscribed to, with a block where I could write in why I was cancelling (and I did).

The other one never gave me that option, or a phone number of anything. Just increasingly rude letters. The last one said that they were concerned they they couldn't fulfill my magazine order because I hadn't "paid my obligation, for the continued subscription I had requested".

I took their stupid letter and wrote on the bottom and all over the back of it just what I thought of their stupid continuous service plan, told them that I would never be a subscriber or buy their magazines again UNLESS they discontinued this wasteful, ridiculous plan that asked for payment for another whole year before they'd even given me HALF of what I'd paid for yet. I told them they weren't fooling anyone and that if they'd simply sent one renewal with their final magazine I'd have paid up and been a continued customer, now though, they have an angry, unsatisfied customer out there spreading the word about their stupid plan and how it demeans their customers.

I don't know about you, but if I bought ANYTHING and paid for a year, I would not turn around pay for another whole year's worth after 6 months. That way, I would be paying double the price when they hadn't even delivered half the product. No way. Today, consumers have to be smart and outspoken about unfair business practices. That's the only way things are going to change.

I stood up. How have you stood up to corporate greed, unfair practices, or ridiculous rules?

Football, fiction and fun...

Awaiting the end of the Giants/Packers game to see who will be facing the Patriots in the Superbowl.

Finished the 6th Women's Murder Club book in as many days. Good lord, I've been reading a lot.

I've also been having a lot of fun. My husband likes to look at you know, like computer stuff and truck auctions when he gets home at night, and when I've got a book to stick my nose in, I don't mind that his is in the computer. It's kind of fun. Better than sitting and staring at him...

We did have a great time Friday night at the holiday party for his work. We don't ever have a situation where we have to talk to people we don't know, let alone go out all dressed up. Either situation could be uncomfortable, but really, I thought we both did very well. I handled the 'work' question with probably less tact than normal, and I'm sure the lady felt like she was put off (which she was), but hey, whatever. I also handled the 'kids' question with delicacy and politeness. Not snarkiness. Yeah me :-) We were at a table where we were probably either the oldest or tied oldest, with another 2 obviously younger couples. One of the girls looked about 15 and like she was going to her junior prom, but was drinking like a champ so I assume she was 21.

The magician was lame, but I think it's just because neither of us has ever been wowed by magicians. Too much like circus performers. I had no idea we had that in common. Hey, I learned something about my spouse. Neat. Anyway, a band, a deejay, just about anything would have been better than a magician. Oh well. I tried not to look bored and clapped when everyone else did. I just don't give a flying leap how the ball gets under the cup or the never ending streamer comes out of your mouth. I want you to sit down and shut up. Is that mean? Oh well, tough!

We've had late nights all weekend. I don't see this as an exception. My husband has been glued to the computer and football since early this afternoon. I don't see that changing until the game is over and he's exhausted enough to quit looking at truck stuff. Could be a long night...

Bears beat Packers TWICE... yet cold WEATHER was to blame?...

I have to say that this is the LEAST likely and most PATHETIC excuse I have ever heard, particularly considering where this came from : the mouth of Brett Favre. That the WEATHER was to blame for the December 23 loss to the Chicago Bears. Sorry, Brett, so, yeah, it was cold and windy, but umm.. weather conditions were near perfect October 7th then? Oh, wait, you lost THEN too!

A commentator from Pro Football Weekly ALSO gave the Packers a nod, saying, it was just too cold for them, etc... Umm, hello? Dude? Can you read a map? Green Bay is NORTH of Chicago. They are known for snow and cold weather, and yet the Bears supposedly played better because... oh yeah, they're a GOOD TEAM. Sure, they have had some offensive issues, etc. But you can't tell me that 2 months apart from good weather to bad that for some random reason that the Packers just WUSSED OUT!

Bite me commentators, and Favre, take a look at your MAP for once before you speak! Do you spend too much time out of Green Bay to realize that the temperatures are a BIT colder there than in Chicago? Worst weather my ass. How about saying you got beat by a fairly good team and owning your OWN mistakes. Okay, thanks!

Bad girl, bad girl, whatcha gonna do, when they come for you. *Updated

Okay, so I was just really, really bad. Actually I just stood up to my old boss, who after I did all her work for a year, saved her ass when she didn't come to work, or didn't work while she was at work for 6 months while she was pregnant, and I got a mediocre evaluation from her when I was leaving (okay so it was 4 very goods versus all excellents. I was not happy.) Anyway, from what I have heard through the grapevine, she has let the place go all to hell, she comes into work late and leaves early, then asks if her workers get there on time (the other people in the building didnt miss that if SHE was there on time, she'd know if they were on time), asks other people in the building to spy on her workers, so see if they were talking to each other too much !?! What is it about the pot calling the kettle black? And so far about 1 out of the 4 initiatives that were scheduled to be done by now have been completed. Whatever, anyway, I pointed out that their website was down. The lady that updates the website told me that there had been server damage but it was up, and to check out the site, that the boss had said that to update the site, to take off all the old information and leave only something like *to be updated later, please come back* on it. And that the boss just wouldn't listen to her when she said that wasn't a good idea, that you have a hard time getting people to come back to a website if there's not SOME sort of idea as to what had been on there, the boss made her type the exact phrase in with her watching. Talk about micromanaging. Anyway, I emailed her and pointed out that perhaps her website person was right and that she should let her do her job. I got a request for a phone call. This is from a former boss mind you. And when I didnt call her within 2 hours, he he... get this... She wrote me this huge ass e-mail about how concerned she was and how she and the other lady were going to handle it. The most passive aggressive I'm threatening you e-mail I've ever gotten. Because I pointed out that her worker was telling her the truth and doing a good job. She could have just said, "thanks we're working on it" but did she do that, no! Whatever. I totally just blasted her back with this long drawn out email that told her I saw right through whatever hidden stuff she was trying to throw at me, that I'd be damned if she'd ever treat me that way again, and that basically I wasn't intimidated and as far as I was concerned, the subject was closed. I ended with a Merry Christmas! Sweet!

* Would you believe she tried to "alpha dog" me again? And she tried speaking for the other lady in the office, saying "if this is what a conversation with you is going to turn out like, WE are not interested" -- I told her to speak for herself, that if the other lady thought I was out of line, she'd tell me. Then I hammered her management style and passive aggessive nature. She's so blind to it that it's funny. Oh and I told her "no hard feelings" - cause I don't have any! Just thought I would share!

Overprotective mom your ASS is MINE! GROW UP!

how about this for news? some idiot parent (assuming mom) got pissed off because their pwecious wittle baby got scaa-wed by that big mean ho ho hoing santa claus at the mall so now santa can't ho ho ho anymore. He has to ha ha ha in a higher tone of voice so as to not scare the little kids. WHAT? Umm hello?

What in the hell ever happened to 1. deciding if your kid is even old enough to see Santa Claus and keep them away if not 2. accepting fault and bowing out if not 3.explaining what is going to happen to your kid so he knows what to expect ahead of time, and 4. accepting the consequences of YOUR actions and remind your child that Santa ALWAYS ho ho hos and again, there's nothing to be scared of.

I have an idea that this mom (again assuming no dad is going to just run to the mall to see Santa) was embarrassed by her kid's crying and wanted someone else to pay for her extreme embarrassment. Instead of accepting the fault for herself, and comforting her kid, she blames the situation and ruins the visit to Santa Claus for all the other kids ( this could spread beyond one mall to all the malls in a town, or to the whole country) - I rebel. More dignified and better moms unite and tell that one mom that blabs out that she's insane and her problems aren't the world's. Accept blame where you should. And overprotective mom - Your ASS is MINE! GROW UP! Accept responsibility. What are you going to do, sit during organized sports and get the whole opposite team thrown out because your kid gets injured? Are you going to force them to take specific classes during high school and college so that they don't learn about sex ed? Pick out their spouse for them? Name their kids and raise them too? Come on!

For God's sake don't ruin a fun time for everyone else. Please! Accept responsibility for yourself and YOUR ACTIONS! If it's your fault, not the situation, think it over! Don't make life a little worse for everyone else because you have a cob up your butt. You can't do everything for your kid. You need to learn that they will fail, they will get hurt, they will learn and get better. You either A. Don't want to take the time to talk to them or B. really are dumber than you look.

Save Santa! HO HO HO! Merry Christmas!

Boom! Voices of the Sixties

In Tom Brokaw's new book Boom! Voices of the Sixties he explains with the help of 100"class of 68s" what the legacy of the 1960's was. He mentioned on the Today Show that he thought in some ways, they went too far.

I have to agree. (Disclaimer, I havent read the book, I'm speaking of personal opinion) - I totally agree that radical changes have been made on behalf of the "civil rights" and "feminist" movements. However, these are the 2 areas in which I think that the FOLLOWING generations have taken TOO FAR. And in some ways, haven't gotten NEARLY ENOUGH out of it. There is a serious LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY in PASSING DOWN THE VALUES OF THESE MOVEMENTS! They were about EQUALITY people!

Yes, women have gotten SOME places with the feminist movement, they are ALLOWED in the workplaces not allowed before, but we still don't get paid equally, and a lot of the younger generations took a bad turn when using sex in the workplace to get ahead. That means that to get ahead THE REST OF US have to use sex- or we dont' get ahead. And that's not fair. It's become common that you wear low cut shirts or flirt with your boss to get ahead. In turn, the sexual revolution allowed for birth control and women's control over their own bodies. HOWEVER it has gone TOO FAR in that we have 11 year olds getting birth control handed to them free at their middle school with NO EXPLANATION OF HOW TO USE IT, COUNSELING, ANYTHING!!! What? That's not progress! That's here, let the little boys take advantage of you. Please, please get pregnant... you can handle it, after all you're 11! And we have college girls having sex with their professors to get grades and having sex with all of their classmates (to their future shame) to "get their satisfaction-it's their right to have as much booty call as they want with anyone they want and no one should call them names." The more sexual partners you have, the more likely you are to get HIV, AIDS, and any number of diseases. Where did the message get messed up? How did we go from "I, as an adult, have right over my own body" to "I'm going to use my body to get ahead and cheapen myself." And the older girls that do this tell their younger sisters and neighbors and friends to do the same. Kids. Just little kids. And when young teens, especially don't even know what "gettin their own" acutally means. Without thought to the consequences, responsibilities or emotional fall out.

It is up to US, the kids of the boomers, the grandkids of the boomers, to TURN THIS AROUND! Teach your kids about sex being for love, no matter what the media says. Teach them about their bodies being their own, that they are NOT currency, that sex in exchange for something is wrong. That you won't get anything by having a random person's baby. Or by being a baby daddy. That it will slow down their careers. It's true. Don't even try and tell me that no one had to take one day off of work for a sick child or not accept a job because they like the school district their kids are in. Or have to work in a lower job than you are capable of because you couldn't finish your education. Youngsters shouldn't have to make that choice. That's an adult decision - which is why kids shouldn't have kids. (And dont write me hate mail because you had a kid young - I'm not talking to you personally. You probably know better than anyone what it feels like to have this ideal turned against you.)

It is up to US to lower the teen pregnancy rate that keeps going up DESPITE the availability of contraceptives, and that starts early. In the home. Teach your girls AND boys about the adultness, the responsibility, the life changing events that happen when you enter that world. If they can't handle the responsibility - pay for their own birth control, pay for diapers, sit and talk as an adult with their parents about sex and consequences, or talk to a health provider, to their future partner about consequences what have you - then they aren't ready.

On the second front, the civil rights front. The ONLY negative things I see about this are #1 good people are afraid they'll be sued or beat up for an offhand remark that ISN'T racial in the slightest and #2 people are suing for "past discriminances" such as slavery that none of us in the real world in 2007 can do a darn thing about. No, we can't help you, like we can't help ourselves as descendants of American Indians that were killed off by the millions or the Chinese who built the railroads. Sorry, we just can't. Yes, I know there are still unfairnesses in this world. I have to deal with them too, but I am pulling myself from lower class to maybe middle class by the time my kids are grown by hard work. You do the same. And how about asking what people mean by a statement before automatically filing a grievance? It may have had nothing to do with anything, and you'd ruin someone else's life because you have too active of an imagination?

Again, the ideals have been taken too far, by the next generation who wasn't there, and who has inflated the ideals of peace and equality to something that it was never meant to promote. This isn't about greed. Or "gettin what's coming to you." It's about equality. And since black men are paid more for the dollar than white women, I'd say they got a little bit farther than women did. Not equal, not fair, but a little bit farther. And this was done by rational thinking, not by suing for ancient wrongdoings. How would Dr. MLK Jr. feel if he saw his own people trying to get rich the easy way instead of proving themselves? That's not equality.

Take responsibility for yourself. Make the good changes in your life. Live honorably. "It's better to be hated for who you are than beloved for who you're not."