January 31, 2008
I’m an instant gratification kind of girl. I want results, and now please, ok? When I submitted my chapter 1 homework for my statistics class online last night, I was excited to see it graded within two hours. (I was even more excited to see the comments from the instructor on the assignment saying “Outsanding! Perfect score!” Kudos to my husband, the tutor.) I’ve got chapter 2 due on Friday, and we’re stuck on the last question, so I posted a question to the profession on the online discussion board for the class last night. She still hasn’t answered it, and none of the other 25 students have chimed in either. The assignment is due tomorrow night, and I’d rather not be working on homework at that point, considering I’m done except for this single question.
(I have to create my own data sets - 2 of them in fact - and then put one on a regular frequency table and the other on a grouped frequency table. The twist is that she stated to use a max of 10 scores, and grouped frequency is best used, per the book, on 15 or more scores. I don’t get it. Anyway…)
And my other class…there’s no gratification there, instant or otherwise. I submitted a paper online Sunday (the due date) and haven’t heard a thing back yet. I’d like to know if I’m on the right track BEFORE I start my outline for my research paper.
I’m also bent because the statistics teacher has got chapter 3 work due on Monday, but the forms and questions to submit said work won’t be available until tonight. I guess that’s her way of saying enjoy a few hours of statistics this weekend? I could be done with it if I had the questions to turn in!
4:13 pm
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Ah….there’s nothing like starting your day by talking to three clueless customer service reps, and then writing a poison pen letter to the company they work for.
I purchased a textbook online this week for Jim, and paid for next day air, which cost me an extra $56. (Ouch!) The book should have arrived last night, and it’s still not here. I called UPS and was told some adverse weather in Missouri held things up, and that I should contact the seller for a credit. Okey-dokey!
I called the online bookstore this morning and explained things to them, and how even as of last night, the UPS tracking indicated the package was on time and would be delivered on 1/30. The first customer service rep informed me that since the delay was due to weather, my shipping fees would not be refunded or credited. Hmm. That hardly sounds fair, since the returns and refunds information in my confirmation emails doesn’t mention weather delays, and it wasn’t brought up when I selected next day air either. I asked to speak to her supervisor and got transfered to the team leader, a.k.a customer service representative #2.
She stated that the weather refund information was located in the F.A.Q. on their website, cause of course, EVERYONE reads that before ordering things online, right? She told me I should have read it before calling in…oh, I’m sorry, am I BOTHERING YOU? Keeping you from a morning smoke break? Oh, and “shopping elsewhere from now on is your prerogative”. Huh? Did she just tell me it was ok to take my business somewhere else? Isn’t she supposed to try and KEEP business for her company?
She transfered me to customer service representative #3, who was a supervisor. Finally, I was cooking with gas! Eh…not so much, since this one was only willing to give me a $10 credit on the shipping. Actually, her first option was to give me a $10 credit on a FUTURE order, and I pointed out I don’t need more books now. She reluctantly said she’d credit me $10. Wow, a whole $10?
Let’s recap, shall we?
I spent $300 on books in this store in a single week, over the course of 2 orders, paying for next day shipping twice. I’ve spent over $100 on shipping alone, and they offered me $10 to make up for the delay. I get that it’s not THEIR fault - weather happens. But policies need to be clear and upfront so you know they’re not going to refund you in advance. And the willingness to let me shop elsewhere? With customer service reps like these, it’s no wonder half.com is doing a booming business!
I’m currently writing a letter which will be sent to the company big-wigs. Even if I don’t get a credit, they can definitely identify some training needs from my experience.
10:04 am
Filed under Bitchy-Poo
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January 30, 2008
While we were in Amsterdam this month, we had the chance to visit the Anne Frank House, or Anne Frank Huis as it’s known in Amsterdam. I’ve always been fascinated with Anne Frank, the Holocaust, and World War II in general, and since I was unable to visit a concentration camp on this trip, I was extremely excited to be able to see the house instead.
I’ve probably fail at putting it into words, but it was definitely one of the most overwhelming experiences of my life. Not “getting married” overwhelming, or “having a kid” overwhelming, but overwhelming in the sense that I was standing in the same place where people hid for 2 years in order to save their lives. Standing and walking around in the same place where this girl wrote in her diary, not knowing what would happen to her family. It was an amazing feeling and I felt as if I had stepped back in history.
I can’t share any pictures of the inside of the home unfortunately, because it is a museum now and taking pictures isn’t allowed. I did snap some photos of the outside of the Anne Frank House and they’re on Flickr. The outside is very nondescript, and had it not been marked with a sign and the entrance to a museum, we might have walked on by. We actually had trouble finding it because there was no one outside, waiting in line.
Let me back up though - we left our hotel and walked across town, through Dam Square, and down Raadhuisstraat, which turns into Rozengracht. Once we got to the church at Westermarkt, we turned right and walked down Prinsengracht to the museum, which is located just south of Prinsengracht 263, the address of Anne’s House. The museum foundation has purchased the homes next to Anne’s in order to build a museum and offices in which to run the museum from, but the Frank house remains as it was back in the 1940’s. You enter into a museum display area, and then into the house, walking through the lower levels first, where Otto Frank’s business was run during their time in hiding, and then up the leg breaker of a staircase to a room at the back of the building. There’s a doorway built into the walk, with a bookcase covering it up. This is the doorway to the secret annex.
Now, some of you may have heard this story with a secret attic. The family didn’t really hide in an attic, it was more like an addition at the back of the office building that was only accessible by this staircase. The annex looks just as it did on August 4, 1944, the day the family was taken away by the Gestapo. Anne’s movie star pictures are on the wall, there is one small toilet for 8 people to share, and the windows are covered with heavy blackout curtains. It was literally like stepping back in time. Each of the rooms in the annex and the office is marked, giving information about the people who worked in the offices downstairs, and the people who hid upstairs. Videos play showing the co-conspirators telling their own story of how they helped the 8 in hiding. One in particular, Miep Gies, is still living! She’s going to be 100 years old and she not only provided the family with food during their time in hiding, but she found Anne’s diary when they were taken away and saved it for Otto Frank.
At the end of the tour, you exit the house and enter the museum, where videos are shown of the concentration camps that victims ended up in, and actual records of the Frank family from the camps. As you probably know, Otto Frank is the only one who survived, and he decided to honor Anne’s wishes to become a famous writer by publishing her diary, with minor edits.
When I returned home, I pulled up the official Anne Frank Museum website to show my children the pictures and stories. 
It was there that I found this picture, taken when Nazi troops entered the city of Amsterdam. It was an eerie feeling to recognize the street in this picture as being one I had just walked down, and as a street just one block away from Prinsengracht 263. The church in the center of the frame, with the tall steeple and trees, is in a photo I took here, behind the flower market. The street looks very much the same today, and never before have I felt such a sense of history as I looked at a photo. Looking at it now almost gives me the shivers, to know that I’ve stood in the places where history happened.
Anne Frank’s House was easily the best thing I saw in Amsterdam, and probably the highlight of all of my travels across the world. If you’re ever in Amsterdam, you can’t miss seeing the house.
3:51 pm
Filed under Going Places
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January 29, 2008
I can’t believe I forgot to mention this. I’m the worst mother ever!
While we were in Amsterdam, an invitation came home to attend an art gallery put together by the school board. Matthew is a featured artist in the event, and the awards ceremony is tonight. We’ll be off in a bit to attend the gallery viewing, and the awards ceremony is tonight as well. He doesn’t even know what piece of art he’s got in the showing - isn’t that typical of a little boy? He told me though, with all the sincerity and seriousness he could muster, that he’s a great artist, and whatever they’re showing must be good.
4:57 pm
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I mistakenly thought that when we bought a new house, we’d enjoy some maintenance free living for a few years. Nothing needs to be fixed to added to a brand new house, right?
Wrong. We started by painting every single room in the house, over the course of 4 days before we even moved in. We’ve added towel bars and hung pictures, and my husband created a small patio out of paver bricks just outside our lanai. We had a company do landscape curbing around our trees and shrubs, so what’s next? I’ve got two projects in mind:
- Adding more closet shelving. The builder standard is to install one shelf in each closest - even in our huge master bedroom closet! The lack of storage is ridiculous.
- Putting up crown moulding in the main rooms of the house.
- Ripping the carpet off the stairs and replacing it with hardwood to match the first floor of our house.
None of these jobs are really something Jim can conquer on his own. The shelving, maybe, but with both of us in school, it would be much easier to hire out the work to someone providing day labor services. With the construction market in a big slump here, there’s got to be out of work carpenters and tradesmen who would happily take on jobs like mine, provided they could find a new job daily or weekly.
That’s where Hire A Helper helps people like me, and people who need reliable work. I can log into the website and find someone in my area willing to do work, and receive an instant quote. Each helper has a profile page, where you can learn more about a person (maybe they used to work in construction, or owned a tile business in another state?) and even see reviews from other customers. To me, that’s the most invaluable part of this whole prospect. It’s virtual word of mouth, and I can see if someone completed their past jobs in a satisfactory manner? Did they clean up the job site when done, or leave a job unfinished?
When you select a helper, payment goes through Hire A Helper, which means you’re not out cash if you’re not happy, or a helper doesn’t show up to do the work. In essence, the site acts as an escrow service, making sure that both parties are happy with the work before payment is made.
Hire A Helper isn’t just for construction work and handy man jobs. They also provide moving help, something I could have used before! HireAHelper.com is endorsed by Realtor.com AND Moving.com, which speaks volumes about the level of service they’ve provided to past customers. If you’re interested in working with the company, they’re happy to have you. Set your own hours, your own rates, and be your own boss! You pay only a small fee to HireAHelper.com to cover credit card processing and for listing your profile on the site.
4:11 pm
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I live in an area of retirees and families - there’s a ton of new construction and families in the area, complete with stay at home moms and dads who are free during the day when the kids are in school. So why, when I just hit my local voting precinct at 3pm, was I the only person under the age of 60? Not only that, but the line was OUT the door. This is why people don’t vote, and why retirees are the ones determining who our next President will be. They actually CARE about voting, unlike most of my generation, judging from the lack of young people at the polls.
When I finally got inside, I noticed things had changed from the last time we voted. Previously, you went to separate lines according to where you fell in the alphabet, and signed into a book once you presented your photo idea. Now everyone goes into the same line, where your drivers license is scanned into a special computer, and you sign electronically to get a receipt, which gives you the correct ballot.
My polling place had TWO of these computers, both being operated by two little old grannies, both sets moving like a herd of turtles. In fact, no one working at the polls had any sense of urgency at all. Here’s my suggestion to the polling authority for the county - more computers, and people who can put a little hustle into it. It took me less time to vote (selecting a candidate for President and voting on an amendment to increase the homestead exemption here in Florida) than the time I spent in line OR at the computer getting scanned and signed in. While most of the people in line didn’t mind the wait, treating it like old home week and a chance to catch up with your friends you haven’t seen since the last V.F.W. dance, I minded. The freedom to vote should come with a guarantee that you don’t need to wait more than 10 minutes in line to do so.
I think my sister has the right idea, voting by absentee ballot. (Hmm, is that what people my age are doing, in order to avoid the nonsense at the polls?)
3:30 pm
Filed under Bitchy-Poo
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January 28, 2008
We’ve got a car loan or two, and unless we buy our children their own cars, we’ll probably have a few more car payments in a few more years. Catherine will be driving in 3 years, and Grace will be a year behind her. Currently, both of our car loans are through a credit union I belong to, and they do something a little funky - they offer all of their members the same rate for a car loan. You’ve got to have semi decent credit of course, but provided you do, you’ll get the same rate that I was offered. It’s a good rate, but I’ve noticed recently that a few banks were offering a better rate, and who doesn’t want lower car payments?
You know how those companies on TV offer to get your mortgage quotes from 4 big lenders? RateGenius.com does the same thing, except with cars. Give them your info, and they find the lender with the best deal. You don’t have to waste time filling out multiple applications at different sites online, because they shop the loan around for you. Complete the refinance process electronically, and watch your payments go down!
The best part? Free to you! You don’t need to pay them a thing to start saving money each month.
7:59 pm
Filed under Daily Happenings
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While we were standing in line at the grocery store tonight, I noticed my son staring at the tabloid magazines on the racks surrounding us. He recognized Jamie Lynn Spears and started tugging on my arm to tell me who she was. I asked him if she knew why she was on the cover of the magazine, and he read the headline, stating that Jamie Lynn was pregnant. His eyes widened, and he said, “I sure hope she treats her baby better than her Britney does!”
Isn’t it sad that even an 8 year old can recognize Britney’s complete lack of parenting skills? I tell ya, did you ever think you’d be calling Kevin Federline the more responsible parent out of those two?
7:54 pm
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At dinner earlier this week with the kids, talk turned to planning our next family vacation. Catherine suggested a trip to the British Isles, Grace wants to return to Tennessee, and Matthew would like to go to France. I don’t foresee any overseas travel in our immediate future, and apparently, neither does Jim, because he’s proposed returning to Canada. Since we saw Ontario and Quebec this past summer, he’d like to take a flight to Vancouver and see the Canadian Rockies. He had a friend who went last year and enjoyed it quite a bit. The mountains my kids have seen thus far aren’t anywhere near as big as the Rockies, so I’m sure my little flat landers would be taken with them.
In the winter of course, there’s skiing and other snow sports to keep you busy, and in the summer there’s hiking, biking, boating, and more. Just outside of Vancouver is Hell’s Gate, where you can take an airtram over the white water rapids below. Since Matthew didn’t like the Maid of the Mist at Niagara (too wet) perhaps he’d like a birds eye view of rushing water instead?
7:49 pm
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My 2nd class started today, plus I had an exam to test out of a required computer course. What a doozy! I know a lot about computers, the internet, and the assorted Office products, but my knowledge has come from trial and error, and I don’t know the technical terms for anything I do when working in Word or PowerPoint. The exam, which was online, really dug into the nitty gritty aspects of those programs, using the official terminology for EVERYTHING. What a freakin’ nightmare!
Of course, I passed. But for 37 minutes, and 65 questions, it was a nightmare.
My statistics class started tonight. I loathe math, and would be quite happy to never use math again in this lifetime. I wouldn’t be taking this class if it weren’t required. I’m happy to have Jim as my in house tutor. He’s taken all sorts of advanced math, like statistics, calculus, and trigonometry. He’s even PASSED those advanced math courses, which makes him not only handy to have around, but the only tutor I can afford after dropping thousands on tuition and books!
7:37 pm
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