A look back

I was tagged by Mike for this self-reflective little meme. I'm not going to tag anyone, just because I'm not, but if anyone else likes the idea and wants to run with it themselves, please be my guest. It's a fun exercise in memory and it's interesting to see what stands out most clearly when you look back over the decades.

20 Years Ago:

1. I got my first-ever C for a project I did for my fifth grade teacher, Ms. Pasadena. I took a map and used Playdoh to show features such as mountain ranges and faults. It took me about 10 minutes. I deserved a C.

2. I wanted to be a pediatrician, which was among the more popular choices among my class, along with “professional football player” and “actress.”

3. My aunt got married and all of my cousins came to visit. At some point, they ganged up on me. I cried because my feelings were hurt, but then felt like an idiot because I thought I was too old to cry because my feelings were hurt.

4. I got my first bra. My grandmother called it "cute."

10 Years Ago:

1. I rented and lived in an apartment all by myself, for the first time.

2. I celebrated my 21st birthday over margaritas with my then-boyfriend. It was summer, so my friends weren’t around. It was definitely a dud of a 21st birthday.

3. I had no clue what I wanted to do after graduation, except that I didn’t want to move home under any circumstances.

4. I finally started getting to know the people that, ten years later, I would refer to as "my college friends."

5 Years Ago:

1. I was LOVINGLOVINGLOVING law school -- my friends (definitely), my classmates (mostly), my professors (mostly), my classes (mostly), and New York (definitely) -- even though I spent long hours in a windowless basement room toiling as a journal editor and playing endless games of Snood.

2. I was single for the first time in an eternity, and enjoying every second of it. (Oats, they were sown.)

3. I had my first exposure to law firm life as a summer associate. Two of my advisors left the firm before the summer was over, but they swore it had nothing to do with me.

4. During the summer, I lived with two of my best friends from law school in a house with a ping pong table, a dart board, and a deck. We were happy as clams (or blue crab, which we ate a lot of).

3 Years Ago:

1. I moved back to New York (a) because I liked it better than DC after all and (b) to be with the Cute Blond Vegetarian Boy From Idaho. Or vice versa.

2. I hiked Lookout Mountain with the CBVBFI. It is his favorite place on earth, and was my first major overnight backpacking excursion. Also, my first trip above 5,000 or so feet in elevation.

3. We decided that geography would not be a deal-breaker. In many ways, this was a formative moment for us.

4. I watched the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile from the sidelines, and decided that I would run it the next year. (I don't think I'd run ten miles collectively in my entire life before this day.)

1 Year Ago:

1. Best. Wedding. Ever.

2. We spent the summer traveling around South America and Southeast Asia instead of a taking a "proper" honeymoon.

3. We moved to Nashville for my job. Even though we were far from everything and everyone, we tried to adjust and embrace life in the south.

4. I spent my first major holiday ever away from the home where I grew up. But instead we had a Thanksgiving for the ages with a group of friends in Nashville.

So Far This Year:

1. I ran the Nashville Half Marathon.

2. We went to the Kentucky Derby and Graceland.

3. I saw the CBVBFI (minus the V, as I succeeded in converting him) through our first major medical emergency, when he had an emergency appendectomy a few days before our anniversary.

4. I mowed the lawn for the first time in my life. Ever.

Yesterday:

1. I got up at 4:45am to catch a flight back to Nashville.

2. We made plans for a weekend jaunt to London in December.

3. I had a massage that caused mild hallucinations, it was that good.

4. I passed out at 8:30pm watching an episode of The Wire.

Today:

1. I finished a huge work assignment. (Whew.)

2. I wore a new pair of brown peep-toe heels.

3. I started feeling a little sniffly and popped some Vitamin C.

4. I had a lamb chop for dinner.

In the Next Year I’ll:

1. Host both of our families for Christmas at our house in Nashville, and hopefully finish crocheting that tree skirt in time.

2. Finish this job and decide what (and where) to go next.

3. Travel. Maybe a road trip out west?

4. Floss.

All kinds of GRRRRRR

This is the post where I pretend that I write for Consumerist. Also, just a warning, there may be some YELLING.

If you’ve been reading along at Strawberry Beret, you’ll know that last week I had a positive customer service experience as the result of my blogging travails. Here’s hoping I can go two-for-two. This time, however, my ire is directed at goddamn Comcast rather than a little local restaurant, so I’m not pulling any punches and adding in asterisks or trying to conceal anyone’s identity. In fact, I’m going to try to use Comcast’s name as many times as humanly possible, Comcast. Yes you, Comcast. Goddamn Comcast.

Also, this post is being typed out by my two little thumbs on my itty bitty iPhone keyboard. (Which is the fault of goddamn Comcast, obviously.) So, should I happen to write "goffdanb Convast" at some point instead of "goddamn Comcast," you’ll understand. And still know who I’m talking about. Finally, because of goddamn Comcast, posting here and at SB will be light this week. Enjoy it while it lasts.

I called goddamn Comcast to change our cable service. We had the $100 "triple play" bundled bullshit package with eighty zillion cable channels that we never watch, a phone line that we never use, and the internet that we use all the time. So it seemed to make sense to try match our package (and our financial investment) to our actual usage, no?

But here’s just how detached from reality Comcast’s pricing scheme is: to downgrade to just internet would still cost us $60 a month. Which is ridiculous, obviously, as the internet represents a small fraction of all the services that we had been paying $100 for. BUT!!! If we got limited cable along with the internet, that together would cost $55. HUH? You’re going to give me more, but I pay less? Clearly, there is no rational connection between the $60 rate and the actual cost of providing internet service, if you can give me the same service PLUS LIMITED CABLE for $5 less. (Never mind that the $60 rate I was quoted on the phone is a far cry from the apparent bait-and-switch rate of $20 advertised on the internet.)

Despite the certain knowledge that the pricing is a scam and that Comcast depends on the inertia of customers like me who would rather pay a few extra bucks than deal with switching to another provider, I gave in to the inertia and agreed to the $55 rate for limited cable (even though I’m not exactly sure what that is) and internet.

So, just to be completely clear and to put this in algebraic terms:

Old plan = internet + a zillion cable channels + phone
New plan = internet + a few cable channels

The difference between old plan and new plan? Subtract the phone, and subtract most of our cable channels. But internet stays the same. Or should stay the same. This much seems clear, doesn’t it?

Well, I called to change my service on Saturday. I was told that they couldn’t change the cable until Thursday. No sweat. They weren’t going to bill us for those days, so who cares? But as soon as I got off the phone, my internet went all wonky. I tried all of the usual tricks, but nothing worked. I then spent the better part of Saturday afternoon on the phone with Comcast (mostly on hold) trying to figure out what the problem was and how to get it fixed, because for some of us the internet a necessity for survival.

The explanation I finally got was confusing, and the problem was never resolved. Apparently, it has to do with the fact that there is an "outstanding order" to change my cable service. There is some sort of "code" that has been changed and doesn’t "match," and it will not be fixed until Thursday, when they switch my cable from the big mama package to the limited package. (Actually, not only did they say that it will not be fixed until Thursday, but they also said it CANNOT be fixed until Thursday, which I absolutely do not believe.)

Now, I admit that, from a technical standpoint, I have no idea what I’m talking about, and if I’m totally wrong about any of this and someone wants to edumacate me, please go ahead.

But here’s what I don’t understand. MY INTERNET WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO CHANGE AT ALL. I had internet before the change, and I’m supposed to have it after the change. Why not in the interim between now and Thursday? Why did they have to go fuck with some code so that I am stuck without the internet for five days? (Which, by the way, I am clearly not going to pay for, but that’s another battle for another day with another goddamn Comcast customer service rep.)

I tried again on the phone today, and got nowhere. So here you have it.

Comcast, are you listening?!?

FIX. THIS.

Biding time

Whoa. It's been almost two weeks. Sorry, dudes. There is a post in the hopper, it'll be out in another day or so, promise. Meanwhile, I posted a bitter restaurant review over at Strawberry Beret, so go read that if you're looking for something to keep you busy.

There is only one answer

Question #1:
What happened to that box of mushrooms from my CSA?

Question #2:
Where is that funky smell in my car coming from?

A belated BlogDay to you

This is a little late, because I de-interneted by choice over the holiday weekend after coming dangerously close to ODing on Democratic National Convention coverage last week. (It's safe to say that I am probably the last person in the universe to have learned about BristolGate.)

But anyway, it is certainly better late than never to say that I am BEYOND THRILLED to be the recipient of a recommendation from Newscoma in honor of BlogDay 2008. In case you don't know her, Newscoma is one of the first bloggers from the region that I discovered and started reading religiously upon moving to Middle Tennessee. I am in awe of this woman's ability to draw comments from the likes of Robbie Rist (that would be The Brady Bunch's Cousin Oliver to you) and appreciate her thoughtful musings on her career, life, and family in small-town Tennessee. Not to mention that her description of Rhino Legs as "uncensored and unapologetic" is the best compliment I could hope to receive, as that pretty much sums up everything that I've always wanted Rhino Legs to be.

So! A meme! I have been tagged! I shall participate, even if my participation is slightly half-assed because I am two days late and I'm so tired that even Jon Stewart is isn't able to hold my attention very effectively right now.

What is BlogDay?
BlogDay was created with the belief that bloggers should have one day dedicated to getting to know other bloggers from other countries and areas of interest. On that day Bloggers will recommend other blogs to their blog visitors. With the goal in mind, on this day every blogger will post a recommendation of 5 new blogs. This way, all blog readers will find themselves leaping around and discovering new, previously unknown blogs.

What will happen on BlogDay?
one long moment on August 31st bloggers from all over the world will post recommendations of 5 new Blogs, preferably Blogs that are different from their own culture, point of view and attitude. On this day, blog readers will find themselves leaping around and discovering new, unknown Blogs, celebrating the discovery of new people and new bloggers.

BlogDay posting instructions:
Find 5 new Blogs that you find interesting
Notify the 5 bloggers that you are recommending them as part of BlogDay 2008
Write a short description of the Blogs and place a link to the recommended Blogs
Post the BlogDay Post (on August 31st) and
Add the BlogDay tag using this link:
http://technorati.com/tag/BlogDay2008 and a link to the BlogDay web site at http://www.blogday.org

So yes. It is not August 31, because I'm late, as I've already explained. And I've only listed three blogs below because they were the three that jumped immediately to mind, and I'm too pooped to come up with two more to link to right this second. Also, these aren't technically new to me. (Half-assed, I tell ya.) But, without further ado:

1. The Wide Wide World. Follow the James family -- Dani, Craig, Caroline and Conor -- on their year-long trip around the world. I so admire these four for leaving their regular lives behind to share the experience of a lifetime together.

2. Overflowing Brain. Katie has been through hell and back again in the last few years dealing with some medical problems the likes of which I can't even begin to fathom. But even as she deals with those problems, she keeps a sense of humor and doesn't lose sight of what's most important to her -- her (new) husband, her education, and her future.

3. Alosha's Kitchen. Melissa blogs about food but, unlike most food bloggers, makes no bones about the fact that she just started cooking a few years ago. Her refreshing voice and curiousity about food make her a great read. That, and she's got the best first name EVAH.