AT&T Socks It To the Little People...Took My Money and Ran...

I am so frustrated right now!

My daughter has had an AT&T prepaid cell phone for three years now.  She pays for three months at a time most of the time, $25 bucks a hit.

She never used that much air time, it was an emergency phone, but to keep it alive you have to pay whether you use it or not.

This summer, in June, she received the notice that it was time to refill the phone.  She waited until July to pay, and paid at the end of the month, thinking she was within the 60-day period in which the phone would not be canceled on her.  She tried for a WEEK to make a payment, and the system gave her trouble, finally on July 30th she was able to get a payment into the system.

Well, they had killed her SIM card on July 29th according to one of the service reps.   Yet, the system took her payment, and a text response to the phone said it was applied to her account.

What the heck is THAT all about?

So...

I called customer service and went through their automated system a couple of times, it couldn't find the wireless number and after advising me to "dial" 611 from the phone (can't...it's dead, you dolts!) the service hung up on me.

We went to a wireless store, they couldn't help either.  But, they graciously allowed us to use their phone to call customer service AGAIN.  Talked to a real person who couldn't help, said she'd connect me with someone who COULD.  I told her fine, just don't put me in the automated system because it always hangs up.

I waited 20 minutes on hold, then got dumped into the automated system AGAIN.

I went home, and called customer service again.  The person who answered could not help, could barely speak English, so I asked for a supervisor, preferably one with English as their first language.  PUT ON HOLD AGAIN!

Finally, sympathetic person who spoke good English came on, asked me for all the information, then put me on hold AGAIN.  Many minutes later, she comes back and says I need to talk to the payment center in order to get a refund.

I waited on hold AGAIN.  Finally a pleasant young woman spoke with me for a bit, went and tried to process a refund.  After a few MORE minutes on hold, she came back and told me she was very sorry, but AT&T has a "no-refund" policy and she couldn't process it through.  The "system" wouldn't let her.

So.  I was not asking for a "refund".  I was asking for money that they took, and didn't give me service for.  In fact, they took the money after I was, by their action, NO LONGER A CUSTOMER.

And they won't give it back.

Well, a lot of AT&T higher ups are going to hear from me.  And, I will NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER again be an AT&T customer.

Bunny Grab - The New Tyranny

The idea that Americans are facing unaccustomed tyranny is uncomfortable. There are many events involving law enforcement that seem innocuous to the casual observer, but as we hear more and more of them we must begin to see these not-so-isolated events as something serious.

Recall with me the raw-milk raids on the Amish. Then think back recently to the massive fines threatened against a small family who sold a few to many bunnies.

Now there is the raid on a Colorado bunny farm in which a woman's life-work was stolen because of an anonymous telephone call to authorities by a group whose mission is similar to PETA...to liberate all animals to live "wild and free".

I got news for you animal rights wackos, "wild and free" is incredibly cruel. Watch a few nature documentaries and maybe you'll realize that captivity is a good thing.

Debe Bell of Six Bell's Farm has had her rabbits stolen from her by law enforcement, and those bunnies are now up for adoption at the Foothills Animal Shelter in Golden, Colorado. Ms. Bell has had no hearing, no trial, her property has simply been confiscated.

Wake up people! This cannot be allowed to stand! Does anyone care about freedom anymore?

Make some noise about this. It is simply wrong.

Thanks to Frugal Café Blog Zone and to Bob McCarty Writes for featuring this story. I haven't seen it anywhere else.

Go on now, MAKE SOME NOISE!

AHHH...JUST DISCOVERED...THERE IS A LEGAL DEFENSE FUND ESTABLISHED FOR MS. BELL:

donations can be sent to:

Responsible Animal Owners Defense Trust

c/o Joyce Holliday

PO Box 1287

Berthoud, CO 80513

Paypal donations can be sent here: Rabbitdefense@gmail.com

London Burns..

Some good stuff at Blackfive today.

One of the better treatments of the rioting that is happening in UK.

Click here to read it. And get ready for it in the USA.

Stock up on essentials, if you know what I mean.

The republican Mother: Rick Perry - The Establishment's Ace in the Hole

If you are even remotely thinking about supporting Texas governor Rick Perry for President of the United States, please think again. This man is dangerous to our sovereignty.

Yes, I think it is okay to love my country and want to keep my culture.

The Republican Mother has some excellent articles about Perry. Check them out: HERE and HERE and HERE and of course, HERE .

Check out the rest of The republican Mother blog. Great stuff there, she's become a regular on my rounds.

Pine Nuts From Costco Made My Taste Go Gross! Costco minimizes issue!

A very unusual thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I was at my local Costco, Albany, Oregon, shopping for a few things. I passed one of Costco's notorious sample tables on which were arranged little cups of Kirkland Pine Nuts on a red tray.

"Oh," I thought to myself, "I love pine nuts! I haven't had any in quite a while, they are such a luxury! Maybe I'll get some!"

I helped myself to a cup containing about 8 or 10 little nuts. They were a little different than the usual version, stubbier and rounder, not long and thin like puffed rice or ant eggs.

"Mmmm..." I thought. "What a treat!"

I didn't buy the nuts. I've been reading Dave Ramsey's books on financial peace, and he often says "Live like no one else now so you can live like no one else later". I decided that pine nuts were still a luxury that I could do without and made a mental notation to put the $15.99 in my retirement bucket.

And of course simply forgot about the details of the day.

Two days later, I noticed something very strange. I got a horrid taste in my mouth every time I ate something. I first noticed it while eating some mixed nuts. I thought maybe the nuts had gone rancid. I ate some fruit, which tasted awful. I ate some cheddar cheese...tasted strange to me. I finally realized it wasn't the food that was bad, it was ME.

My tongue felt like it was coated with soap, and everything was metallic. I thought I was getting sick, so I googled "bitter taste in mouth after eating". Lo and behold, the Internet trail is littered with the bodies of others who googled the same thing; I came to the conclusion,

COSTCO PINE NUTS DID THIS TO ME!!!!

Known as "pine nut syndrome" or "pine nut mouth", I found out there is a scientific name for the phenomena of bitter tasting mouth; "metallogeusia".  You won't find it in any of the online dictionaries, but google it and you'll find lots.  The Wikipedia article on pine nuts gives a pretty good run down on where it comes from, and there is a young woman from Singapore who has been studying the issue and did a graduate thesis on it.  She has a blog called "The Great Pinenut Mystery" (pinenutsyndrome.wordpress.com) in which she discusses the condition, the source, and the fact that retailers are dismissing the issue out of hand saying "we just aren't getting complaints about this".

That was my experience at Costco.  I emailed customer service from the Costco website to let them know this happened to me.  I received a prompt response informing me that my email had been forwarded to the proper department for further consideration.  This afternoon I received a telephone call from a lovely young lady who asked about my experience, told me Costco takes customer complaints/experiences very seriously, and she would make a record of this complaint.

I asked her if Costco was going to let other customers know that this could happen to them, she just told me that any customer could take their pine nuts back for a refund if they have a problem.

I responded by saying "but, they won't know it was the pine nuts that did this to them!  You should tell them!"  I told her about all the stories I'd seen of people who spent a great deal of time and money going to doctors, having doctors misdiagnose their conditions and putting them on expensive medication.  Nope, not going to put a notice out to their customers.  

So, I told her I'd blog about it and let people know.  I might write a letter to the local newspaper as well.  I think people deserve to have as much knowledge as they can get about something like this.  Many retailers are saying nothing because they aren't getting complaints.  Well, I am here to say, no one is complaining because it takes two or three days for this condition to start, and by then no one equates it with pine nut consumption.

Man up, retailers.  Costco, Trader Joe's, Albertson's, Kroger, and many many more.  There is a comprehensive list on  the Pine Nut Mystery blog.

Check it out.  And make your voice heard with the retailers who are substituting cheap, crummy pine nuts for the good ones.

Well What Do You Know...

I just got some blood test results back from my doctor. I've been wondering about some things affecting my family health, and one issue many family members seem to have is a bad reaction to wheat.

I have low levels of some celiac antibodies, and one of the lower-risk celiac genes. My kids probably got that gene and another from their dad. Studying up on it a little more.

Going to BEG for a gene test for my mom who has unexplained deficiencies in some vitamins, an unresponsive anemia, and hypoparathyroidism without any known cause.

I got trounced pretty hard for suggesting an 83-year old might be newly diagnosed with celiac disease. Not so unlikely now that she could have it. Then there is this. Not to mention the mouth ulcers she started having with the onset of her other problems. They didn't respond to any treatment, and lasted much longer than normal canker sores, and she was never one to have them anyway. Guess what? Looks like more celiac connections. Or at the very least, non-celiac gluten intolerance.

I'm praying her new doc (geriatric specialist) will dig in and do her best to help mom, not just write her off as an "old lady" and a "waste of time". If you are reading this, and a praying person, please, would you offer up a prayer for Mom? I will be in your debt.

Must See Video - Had Enough of Hope and Change???

Keep this going. I've had enough, how about you?

Religion of Peace and Sharia

I've been wandering around the Internet this morning, picking up tidbits of news here and there.  One of the issues that rises to the top today is the proliferation of stories about "honor killing".  For those who may not know, honor killing occurs mainly in that middle-eastern religion that...umm...I dare not name for fear of insulting it!

I'm guessing it's not the number of honor killings that is increasing, just the awareness.  And America had better become aware before it's too late, because the radical Islamists are bringing it stealthily closer to us every day.

My point here is to call attention to one story, in which is seems obvious that the American legal system is caving in to this religion.  Please read this story (***warning***  there are graphic pictures of a violently killed person) and also read this one.  OH, and this one, about a 13-year old girl brutally attacked by her cousin.

It is happening over and over again, and the mainstream media simply will not report it. If they do, they gloss it over and blame emotion rather than ideology.  It is the result of people who adhere to the ideas of sharia.


Then, please go read about the Sharia here.  Then decide if you can really believe that allowing the incursion of sharia law into the United States is really something we want to do.





 

Reading Again

I haven't read for pleasure in quite some time although the reading I have been doing for school is not altogether unpleasant. I am challenging myself to read more; not just read, but read with attention.

I have been inspired by my daughter, who loves to read and just completed her Bachelor's Degree in English. I am also inspired by my own literature course taken this past Spring. I read selections from a variety of authors, some of whom I liked and some of whom I didn't, but I enjoyed the analytical thought process I was forced to apply in order to get a grade. It is like exercise for the brain!

I didn't think I could do it at my age but I think there's some life left in my neurons, so now I am venturing out independently.

The first book of my new phase is Bleak House by Charles Dickens.  My daughter studied that one in a literature class and recommended it as a first go at Dickens.  Well, not really my first go, I did after all read Christmas Carol. 

I'll get some reading under my belt and maybe I'll blog a little about it.  So far it looks like a fun book.

The Cure That Kills

After a couple of days on the Cipro/Flagyl combination (actually the generics for those name-brands) I am in pretty bad shape.  Screaming headache, wiped out wanting to sleep all the time, not able to carry a lucid conversation, heart rhythms skipping all over the place.  I hope there's an alternative medication, I can't go a week like this.

I felt a whole lot better when I simply had the 101° fever and abdominal pain/pressure of diverticulitis.

Makes it all the more tempting to call my doc and beg them to cut out the offending part. If one were to ask me today about Paul's "thorn in the flesh", I would say it has to be diverticulitis.

Long Time No Talk To

It has been a while since I wrote.  I can't exactly say why, just very busy I suppose.  Being a full-time student and trying to look after my house and my animals is a hand full for sure.


I am discouraged today because I am back on antibiotics for diverticulitis.  I've managed well for 3 years, not had much in the way of trouble, this came out of the blue and I'm not sure why.  So this now puts me in the tiniest percentile of those who have a second diverticulitis attack.  Supposedly, it's only a tiny percentage of the ALREADY small percentage of those who have a FIRST attack. 

Wow.  I'm so fortunate!  I think I'll go sink a bunch of money in the lottery. 

Thinking I'll go see the gastroenterologist and find out about testing for celiac and wheat problems.  My son has a terrible time with the blistery rash on his hands that looks like either dermatitis herpetiformis or dishydrotic eczema.  Since he cannot afford to go to the doctor, I guess I'll be the lab rat.  I get the rash too, though not as badly as he.

Anyway, I feel lousy, in pain, low energy, and I'm off for now.

Just thought I'd vent a little, though I can see no one actually reads here!  I guess no one will come read if I don't write.