Have you ever just wanted to catch a frickin' break!?!
So I got Kraig an in-car GPS thing, as an early anniversary gift as well as a "thank you for getting nose surgery for me so I can finally sleep"...i did a crapload of research, and it seemed like Garmin with MSN Direct for traffic was the way to go.
Ummm, yeah. NEVER have I had a problem relating to finding anything...i'm right in the middle of San Diego and Los Angeles, two of the most major cities in the US. As far as I'm concerned, the whole world revolves around California (in case anyone cares, OC to LA is like..San Jose to San Francisco...)...
Well go figure. MSN Direct works perfectly in LA. In San Diego. Apparenly in NORTHERN orange county.
Going south, it stops in Tustin.
WTF.
This is of zero help for Kraig, who needs to know like 10 exits before that if he should get on the 5 or the 405.
Returning that sucker will be a bitch (online purchase), but I tried to find another GPS device that had good reviews AND had definite coverage in South OC and I couldn't find anything online. Oh and apparently this OC thing is a big mishap on MSN's part.
So...now do I return it, or do I have him keep in hopes that eventually they'll expand their coverage? In the meantime, it DOES provide real-time gas prices and movie listings...
Seriously MSN...you provide traffic updates for f*cking Riverside but you don't for OC?!
When will companies realize that they need to cater to me and my needs before those of others? Geezus.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Dear USPS....
Dear United States Postal Service,
I get that in the grand scheme of things, you're still just a governmental agency. I get that you have to raise the price of stamps, and I get that you have to be closed on Sundays and hours outside of business hours (which always surprises me, organizations that are purely service-based should work the OPPOSITE hours of people who work in the product industry. But whatever).
I know you've got some stiff competition with UPS and FedEx and that other one that starts with a "D".
I figure you guys took a hit when people stopped writing by hand and started emailing people. Seriously, if you think about it, that's probably ALOT of dough lost. But in return, you guys are making BANK off online sales. You guys get a decent chunk of my cash as a result of online sales I make.
I was so excited when you guys allowed people to print postage at home. And for times where I couldn't do that, your Automated Postal Machine Doodads that work 24/7 were also life saviors.
Then...this week...I discovered the stupid sticker you have on your mail slots for packages: anything over 13 ounces now has to be physically handed to a USPS counter person due to "security" concerns (really? Sounds like a fantastic challenge for some dude to create a 12oz bomb). Plus, just because you put a little sign on there saying "13oz only" doesn't mean someone with a 5lbs package of anthrax will stop and say "damn! So much for popping this baby in the mail chute".
I can't begin to explain what a pain in the ass this has been for me. If I have to actually be at a post office during your retarded hours, then I might as well not bother printing postage at home or through your so-called automated device.
One step forward, eight steps back...way to go USPS.
I get that in the grand scheme of things, you're still just a governmental agency. I get that you have to raise the price of stamps, and I get that you have to be closed on Sundays and hours outside of business hours (which always surprises me, organizations that are purely service-based should work the OPPOSITE hours of people who work in the product industry. But whatever).
I know you've got some stiff competition with UPS and FedEx and that other one that starts with a "D".
I figure you guys took a hit when people stopped writing by hand and started emailing people. Seriously, if you think about it, that's probably ALOT of dough lost. But in return, you guys are making BANK off online sales. You guys get a decent chunk of my cash as a result of online sales I make.
I was so excited when you guys allowed people to print postage at home. And for times where I couldn't do that, your Automated Postal Machine Doodads that work 24/7 were also life saviors.
Then...this week...I discovered the stupid sticker you have on your mail slots for packages: anything over 13 ounces now has to be physically handed to a USPS counter person due to "security" concerns (really? Sounds like a fantastic challenge for some dude to create a 12oz bomb). Plus, just because you put a little sign on there saying "13oz only" doesn't mean someone with a 5lbs package of anthrax will stop and say "damn! So much for popping this baby in the mail chute".
I can't begin to explain what a pain in the ass this has been for me. If I have to actually be at a post office during your retarded hours, then I might as well not bother printing postage at home or through your so-called automated device.
One step forward, eight steps back...way to go USPS.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Another Letter to the Editor
You and your husband don't have any computer nerd friends that can help you out?? Between Ray and I we fix our share of computers for friends. Sounds like a weekend fix'er upper. :)
Dude, this IS all we know thanks to people who are total techies (and i'd like to think that have a B.Sc. in Computer Science gives me some street cred myself)...this is the end result of taking PCs and hard drives and everything to every tech person I know, including my last company's IT department.
EVERY single one of the hard drives from all of our sources has completely gone to crap, i.e. stopped spinning...once that happens, you're outta luck.
I started researching external DVD burners so I can back this stuff up to a format that won't get jacked up (i.e. something without internal components that can get screwy), but then I think we're going to go with an external company that does data backup as a service. I was thinking Carbonite, and it turns out that at the memorial service I went to today I spoke with someone who said that they've been using Carbonite for over a year and they love it...so I think that's the way to go. Plus for $50 a YEAR...that's a pretty sweet deal for unlimited stuff.
Dude, this IS all we know thanks to people who are total techies (and i'd like to think that have a B.Sc. in Computer Science gives me some street cred myself)...this is the end result of taking PCs and hard drives and everything to every tech person I know, including my last company's IT department.
EVERY single one of the hard drives from all of our sources has completely gone to crap, i.e. stopped spinning...once that happens, you're outta luck.
I started researching external DVD burners so I can back this stuff up to a format that won't get jacked up (i.e. something without internal components that can get screwy), but then I think we're going to go with an external company that does data backup as a service. I was thinking Carbonite, and it turns out that at the memorial service I went to today I spoke with someone who said that they've been using Carbonite for over a year and they love it...so I think that's the way to go. Plus for $50 a YEAR...that's a pretty sweet deal for unlimited stuff.
Of Life and Death
Today I went to a memorial-slash-life-celebration for a friend's grandmother up in LA. I guess I'm pretty lucky that in my life so far I haven't had to go to that many services (the only true funeral-type that I went to was for a friend's boyfriend in highschool, Bryan i know you know who i'm talking about, and that was just bizarre 'cause I just went to the wake which no one warned me i'd see a BODY...anyway...), so the times I do go I tend to get emotional pretty easily.
I can truly say this will go down in history as the best memorial service ever. Not so much because of the surroundings or the food or any of that (although I'm pretty sure they snuck some crack into their sandwiches, I seriously inhaled at least a dozen, and it was all absolutely gorgeous), but because everyone had so much to say and their comments showed what an absolutely incredible woman my friend's grandmother was.
The best part I think was the video interview my friend's sister put together shortly before her grandmother died, which is absolutely brilliant...this is now the perfect excuse for me to get a camcorder (side note: were they super expensive in the past? My parents made it sound like a camcorder was thousands of dollars. I went on Amazon and you can get a decent Canon or Sony handycam for under $400. Then again, my mom made the Pizza Hut buffer sound like a month's salary).
During the services I started to wonder...if I died tomorrow, what would people say about me? Or 60 years from now, what would I have done with my life that could possibly make people speak so fondly of me like they did for my friend's grandmother? If i died tomorrow, people would say "Oh, she knew her TV trivia. She had an obsession with pop culture. She could win Vh1's Celebrity Pop Culture challenge. She donated $20 to the Donkey Rescue charity in 2007. She had high anxiety about paying off debt."
Sad, very sad people. So I think I'd like to make it a lifelong goal to live in such a way that my actions will be meaningful to others, that I'll be remembered for more than the girl who freaked out when her interest-only-no-cash-down-house plummeted in value.
Hmmm, let's see how long THAT lasts....
I can truly say this will go down in history as the best memorial service ever. Not so much because of the surroundings or the food or any of that (although I'm pretty sure they snuck some crack into their sandwiches, I seriously inhaled at least a dozen, and it was all absolutely gorgeous), but because everyone had so much to say and their comments showed what an absolutely incredible woman my friend's grandmother was.
The best part I think was the video interview my friend's sister put together shortly before her grandmother died, which is absolutely brilliant...this is now the perfect excuse for me to get a camcorder (side note: were they super expensive in the past? My parents made it sound like a camcorder was thousands of dollars. I went on Amazon and you can get a decent Canon or Sony handycam for under $400. Then again, my mom made the Pizza Hut buffer sound like a month's salary).
During the services I started to wonder...if I died tomorrow, what would people say about me? Or 60 years from now, what would I have done with my life that could possibly make people speak so fondly of me like they did for my friend's grandmother? If i died tomorrow, people would say "Oh, she knew her TV trivia. She had an obsession with pop culture. She could win Vh1's Celebrity Pop Culture challenge. She donated $20 to the Donkey Rescue charity in 2007. She had high anxiety about paying off debt."
Sad, very sad people. So I think I'd like to make it a lifelong goal to live in such a way that my actions will be meaningful to others, that I'll be remembered for more than the girl who freaked out when her interest-only-no-cash-down-house plummeted in value.
Hmmm, let's see how long THAT lasts....
Letter to the editor
I am a guy. I pick my toe nails, drink milk out of the jug and twist the bread and wrap it under to keep it fresh.
GOD i hate when people do that! The only way it stays fresh is if you're already 1/2way through the loaf. If you've only had a few slices, then the "tuck under" concept doesn't keep it fresh! That being said, the end piece can be used as a tab of sorts to maintain some level of freshness.
Bryan, I tottalllly remember our book idea...sadly I think it would have ended up what He's Just Not That Into You later became...
GOD i hate when people do that! The only way it stays fresh is if you're already 1/2way through the loaf. If you've only had a few slices, then the "tuck under" concept doesn't keep it fresh! That being said, the end piece can be used as a tab of sorts to maintain some level of freshness.
Bryan, I tottalllly remember our book idea...sadly I think it would have ended up what He's Just Not That Into You later became...
Monday, March 03, 2008
Oh, how times have changed...
This weekend I saw Die Hard, which I haven't seen in awhile. I love me some John McClane, but only in the early series...I wasn't impressed with Die Hard 4.
What cracked me up is how different today's work environment is from the 80s.
Here's how I figure work life went:
Neanderthals to pre-WW1: it was all dudes, and they ran the show
WW1 and WW2: women were stuck working out of necessity, not 'cause they had to prove anything
1950s: men took their pants back and women (in their infinite wisdom, which I wish stayed this way) were like "eff the workforce, if I gotta cook for you mofos then I'm going to do it on my terms...wearing a polka-dot dress and using my new Maytag oven"
1960s and 1970s: birth control pills REALLY take off, women are so high on drugs they think entering the work force is a GOOD idea (and so is the birth of the 2-income society. Just effing fabulous).
1980s: with the exception of coke, women are pretty much sober but realizing that if they're gonna be in the workforce, they want to be at the TOP of the workforce...if that means dressing like a dude, so be it.
1990s: dropped the coke, less shoulder pads, bright colors a la In Living Color Fly Girls, while the birth of the Sensitive New Age Guy emerges
2000: we all just blend into the same working drones
So back to Die Hard, which obviously took place in the 80s. The scene is some 1980-something holiday party. The Hot Chicks of the office were blond. The Smart Chicks of the office were brunettes with big massive glasses and bad perms. Both Hot Chicks and Smart Chicks wore scrunchies even if they wore suits. Men snorted coke on the job. This was pre-sexual harassment era, so people were free to express themselves through groping and desktop "activities". Everyone looked 'roided out thanks to massive shoulder pads. You could actually SMOKE in the office.
Did no one back then think ANY of this was just a LITTLE BIT EFFED UP?!
Even though I've seen the movie a trillion times, I completely missed this wonderful gem of a scene:
Hans: The following people are to be released from their captors : In Northern Ireland, the seven members of the New Provo Front. In Canada, the five imprisoned leaders of Liberte de Quebec... In Sri Lanka, the nine members of the Asian Dawn movement...
Karl: [mouthing silently] Asian Dawn?
Hans: [covers the radio] I read about them in Time magazine.
Alright, enough man...err, woman-love for John McClane...
What cracked me up is how different today's work environment is from the 80s.
Here's how I figure work life went:
Neanderthals to pre-WW1: it was all dudes, and they ran the show
WW1 and WW2: women were stuck working out of necessity, not 'cause they had to prove anything
1950s: men took their pants back and women (in their infinite wisdom, which I wish stayed this way) were like "eff the workforce, if I gotta cook for you mofos then I'm going to do it on my terms...wearing a polka-dot dress and using my new Maytag oven"
1960s and 1970s: birth control pills REALLY take off, women are so high on drugs they think entering the work force is a GOOD idea (and so is the birth of the 2-income society. Just effing fabulous).
1980s: with the exception of coke, women are pretty much sober but realizing that if they're gonna be in the workforce, they want to be at the TOP of the workforce...if that means dressing like a dude, so be it.
1990s: dropped the coke, less shoulder pads, bright colors a la In Living Color Fly Girls, while the birth of the Sensitive New Age Guy emerges
2000: we all just blend into the same working drones
So back to Die Hard, which obviously took place in the 80s. The scene is some 1980-something holiday party. The Hot Chicks of the office were blond. The Smart Chicks of the office were brunettes with big massive glasses and bad perms. Both Hot Chicks and Smart Chicks wore scrunchies even if they wore suits. Men snorted coke on the job. This was pre-sexual harassment era, so people were free to express themselves through groping and desktop "activities". Everyone looked 'roided out thanks to massive shoulder pads. You could actually SMOKE in the office.
Did no one back then think ANY of this was just a LITTLE BIT EFFED UP?!
Even though I've seen the movie a trillion times, I completely missed this wonderful gem of a scene:
Hans: The following people are to be released from their captors : In Northern Ireland, the seven members of the New Provo Front. In Canada, the five imprisoned leaders of Liberte de Quebec... In Sri Lanka, the nine members of the Asian Dawn movement...
Karl: [mouthing silently] Asian Dawn?
Hans: [covers the radio] I read about them in Time magazine.
Alright, enough man...err, woman-love for John McClane...
Damn you spam, damn you
I swear, whoever created spam should be shot. No wait, they should be forced to go through and personally be responsible for DELETING the spam that exists in my inbox....mutha effa.
So I have a bunch of random email accounts: yahoo, gmail, canada.com, hotmail, whatever...i have two yahoo accounts, one of them I used to use on occasion 10 years ago but now the only reason I even have it is 'cause it's my login for Amazon (that's where I was registered when I got married, and i've been too lazy to sync up that accuont with my regular yahoo email).
ANYWAY it's pretty much all spam, which on occasion I try to wipe out. Well I decided it's time to bring back that email account, and I'm going through all 3000 spam messages...problem is, I needed to filter out the ones from Amazon (that leaves Amazon.com, "auto-confirm@amazon.com", and the sneak peek emails i get from Cirque du Soleil)...
you'd think I'd be able to just select ALL and click SPAM, right? Sadly, no...yahoo email has some bug where it'll ask "are you sure you want to set all the mail to spam", if you select YES then nothing happens. So i'm trying to go through and highlight them all (using the new Yahoo Email format, where it looks like Outlook), but i'm on a crazy slow computer and the past HOUR has been spent trying to highlight a bunch, then click SPAM...
The slow computer is part of the massive computer problems we had way back when (see entry here)...it's actually gotten worse. Since I last posted, the "good" desktop PC's hard drive completely stopped spinning. So now i'm back on the crappy slow desktop PC, until I can either get an external hard drive or external CD burner to back up the personal info...after all the hard drive issues, i really want to get an external burner but those suckers aren't cheap (and i really don't feel like installing an internal burner onto this crappy PC only to later have to remove it and install it on the good PC).
Computer DRAAA-MAAAA...
Speaking of drama, some people make fun of me 'cause i'm in a book club. Y'all can suck my balls, at least I'm reading for God's sakes. Thank the lord for Meetup. Anyway, a whole bunch of stuff went DOWN...oh yes, people in the book club were ready to rumble. In the grand scheme it was all just chick drama, but it proves a few things:
1. Women are naturally drawn to drama. There's no effing WAY a guy's book club would ever have had this much drama. (Then again, no dude would join a male-only book club).
2. Women will bitch about ANYTHING.
3. Large gatherings of women creates nothing more than a clusterf*ck (i hate that word, but i can't think of a better way to describe it).
I wouldn't change items 1 through 3 for anything...
So I have a bunch of random email accounts: yahoo, gmail, canada.com, hotmail, whatever...i have two yahoo accounts, one of them I used to use on occasion 10 years ago but now the only reason I even have it is 'cause it's my login for Amazon (that's where I was registered when I got married, and i've been too lazy to sync up that accuont with my regular yahoo email).
ANYWAY it's pretty much all spam, which on occasion I try to wipe out. Well I decided it's time to bring back that email account, and I'm going through all 3000 spam messages...problem is, I needed to filter out the ones from Amazon (that leaves Amazon.com, "auto-confirm@amazon.com", and the sneak peek emails i get from Cirque du Soleil)...
you'd think I'd be able to just select ALL and click SPAM, right? Sadly, no...yahoo email has some bug where it'll ask "are you sure you want to set all the mail to spam", if you select YES then nothing happens. So i'm trying to go through and highlight them all (using the new Yahoo Email format, where it looks like Outlook), but i'm on a crazy slow computer and the past HOUR has been spent trying to highlight a bunch, then click SPAM...
The slow computer is part of the massive computer problems we had way back when (see entry here)...it's actually gotten worse. Since I last posted, the "good" desktop PC's hard drive completely stopped spinning. So now i'm back on the crappy slow desktop PC, until I can either get an external hard drive or external CD burner to back up the personal info...after all the hard drive issues, i really want to get an external burner but those suckers aren't cheap (and i really don't feel like installing an internal burner onto this crappy PC only to later have to remove it and install it on the good PC).
Computer DRAAA-MAAAA...
Speaking of drama, some people make fun of me 'cause i'm in a book club. Y'all can suck my balls, at least I'm reading for God's sakes. Thank the lord for Meetup. Anyway, a whole bunch of stuff went DOWN...oh yes, people in the book club were ready to rumble. In the grand scheme it was all just chick drama, but it proves a few things:
1. Women are naturally drawn to drama. There's no effing WAY a guy's book club would ever have had this much drama. (Then again, no dude would join a male-only book club).
2. Women will bitch about ANYTHING.
3. Large gatherings of women creates nothing more than a clusterf*ck (i hate that word, but i can't think of a better way to describe it).
I wouldn't change items 1 through 3 for anything...
Sunday, February 24, 2008
It's been awhile
I vowed to write more often and I haven't written in awhile. Funny how your brain goes into crazy overdrive after you give your 2 weeks notice. Friday was my last day, it was pretty emotional and the happy hour after was fantastic (okay, i'm biased since i was drunk as hell).
I sorta feel like I just got out of a relationship. One of those "oh, it's me not you" types. I love the people, but...it just wasn't for me. Not anymore. I'm not the same person as I was at the start of that relationship, and I've felt for awhile like we've grown apart. Still, I feel a little cranky like one feels after a breakup, like "oh, what could have been"...sigh.
In other news, I'm watching the red carpet...PLEASE Jon Stewart, be better than the red carpet crap...although dumbass actors didn't find Jon funny last time...I swear, Hollywood is the LEAST hip place on the planet. It's like you have to be a certified tool in order to make it as an A-lister. That excludes Steve Carrell and George Clooney, who seem pretty straight up.
Wow, Miley Cyrus needs someone to razor down her effing teeth, she looks like she's going to eat Ryan Seacrest.
Jennifer Garner irritates me to no end, but DAYAM she looks great.
It makes me feel good that Jessica Alba looks forgettable. Granted she looks better than anyone ever will pregnant, but still.
Heidi Klum looks so hot, I'd bone her.
I want Xenu to come down and stomp on John Travolta. Him and Kelly Preston irritate the crap out of me, she was digging for compliments when Ryan Seacrest said her dress was "road signal yellow" (or something like that) and she asked "Does that mean I can stop traffic?"...yeah honey that would work if you're 20, not when you're...well at least as old as Xenu.
Ohhhhh Faye Dunaway, she looks like a knockout for an older broad. See Kelly Preston, you need to see how Faye does it...Faye looks like she's ready for a romp in the back of a limo.
I sorta feel like I just got out of a relationship. One of those "oh, it's me not you" types. I love the people, but...it just wasn't for me. Not anymore. I'm not the same person as I was at the start of that relationship, and I've felt for awhile like we've grown apart. Still, I feel a little cranky like one feels after a breakup, like "oh, what could have been"...sigh.
In other news, I'm watching the red carpet...PLEASE Jon Stewart, be better than the red carpet crap...although dumbass actors didn't find Jon funny last time...I swear, Hollywood is the LEAST hip place on the planet. It's like you have to be a certified tool in order to make it as an A-lister. That excludes Steve Carrell and George Clooney, who seem pretty straight up.
Wow, Miley Cyrus needs someone to razor down her effing teeth, she looks like she's going to eat Ryan Seacrest.
Jennifer Garner irritates me to no end, but DAYAM she looks great.
It makes me feel good that Jessica Alba looks forgettable. Granted she looks better than anyone ever will pregnant, but still.
Heidi Klum looks so hot, I'd bone her.
I want Xenu to come down and stomp on John Travolta. Him and Kelly Preston irritate the crap out of me, she was digging for compliments when Ryan Seacrest said her dress was "road signal yellow" (or something like that) and she asked "Does that mean I can stop traffic?"...yeah honey that would work if you're 20, not when you're...well at least as old as Xenu.
Ohhhhh Faye Dunaway, she looks like a knockout for an older broad. See Kelly Preston, you need to see how Faye does it...Faye looks like she's ready for a romp in the back of a limo.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Letter to the Editor
How much damage could $22 do to your credit rating?
I had a score of like 760, and it brought me down to like 500-something.
It makes a HUGE difference, my score is more sensitive than others because i'm already being dinged for only having a few years of credit history. Fortunately my score went back up with teh other credit bureaus after a few years, except for Experian.
It made enough of a difference that I couldn't get on the home loan when we refinanced...hence why i had to get it back in shape for the Big Refinance 2009.
Bryan: i owe you an email still, i know!
I had a score of like 760, and it brought me down to like 500-something.
It makes a HUGE difference, my score is more sensitive than others because i'm already being dinged for only having a few years of credit history. Fortunately my score went back up with teh other credit bureaus after a few years, except for Experian.
It made enough of a difference that I couldn't get on the home loan when we refinanced...hence why i had to get it back in shape for the Big Refinance 2009.
Bryan: i owe you an email still, i know!
I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber, or own a dogsled....
I was surfing the web and was reminded of an old Molson's commercial:
Their marketing is sheer genius, I don't think they ever made a bad commercial. They made me want to drink beer and I don't even LIKE beer. You can't get a better tagline (for canadians) than "I AM CANADIAN"...and they've single-handedly managed to corner the beer market for Canada Day (the number on thing Americans do on July 4th is BBQ and watch fireworks. Canadians...drink and watch fireworks. No time to eat. No one said we were a civilized society.)
I really should have bought that lottery ticket yesterday. Around 1am I couldn't stand Kraig's snoring so I went down to the couch to sleep there, only to realize I was pretty awake because I had crashed at 6pm for a super long nap. Lo and behold, after watching some random stuff (and the rest of Cashmere Mafia which I should be shot in the head for enjoying), I discover that Ryan Reynolds is on Conan.
Sadly, he wasn't THAT funny like he usually is in stuff...but funny enough. And i was so tired i didn't care what he had to say.
Dammit really should have bought a lottery ticket.
Their marketing is sheer genius, I don't think they ever made a bad commercial. They made me want to drink beer and I don't even LIKE beer. You can't get a better tagline (for canadians) than "I AM CANADIAN"...and they've single-handedly managed to corner the beer market for Canada Day (the number on thing Americans do on July 4th is BBQ and watch fireworks. Canadians...drink and watch fireworks. No time to eat. No one said we were a civilized society.)
I really should have bought that lottery ticket yesterday. Around 1am I couldn't stand Kraig's snoring so I went down to the couch to sleep there, only to realize I was pretty awake because I had crashed at 6pm for a super long nap. Lo and behold, after watching some random stuff (and the rest of Cashmere Mafia which I should be shot in the head for enjoying), I discover that Ryan Reynolds is on Conan.
Sadly, he wasn't THAT funny like he usually is in stuff...but funny enough. And i was so tired i didn't care what he had to say.
Dammit really should have bought a lottery ticket.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Deux Semaines et autres histoires fabuleux
I don't like posting job stuff up on my blog but since this is pretty major I might as well alert the masses...I gave my 2 weeks notice on Monday. I won't list the new job details here, but it's in Irvine and i'm gonna be a project manager...for a totally different industry. I'm pretty freaked, tech writing I could go anywhere and figure the stuff out pretty quickly, but this is a brand new world for me. Eep.
Anyway, that was one of my "goals" for January/February, which thus also means that I've sort of put my other monthly goals on the side 'cause seriously, interviewing wipes you out. All that smiling and being peppy and acting like you're the most fabulous person on earth...it's like your own Miss America pageant. You dont' think of the TRUE answer to give, you think of the RIGHT answer to give, what they want to hear, all while looking flawless and flashing yer teeth.
Interviewing results in a very cranky Sabina. I feel like I need to get extra bitchyness out of my system to even things out.
In other news, check out the very bottom of the page...yes, the year's goal of 15K paid down on the home equity loan is almost down by half...and it's only February. The only reason I was able to pull that off was 'cause a CRAPPY CD i got a few years ago (seriously, the rate was only like 3%) expired, and i hauled ass yesterday to the bank to make sure they didn't roll it over into another crappy CD. Feelin' good.
To top it all off, I've been griping for years now about one dumbass sorta-error on my credit report...a stupid $22 water bill...recap: I paid my utilities with my rent...and they claim they didn't get the payment, i tried to get a hold of my old apartment complex to get them to have my back. Turns out, it got bought out and underwent a condo conversion, no one anywhere had any record I existed or lived there. So, even though i eventually paid it as soon as I found out about it (although i'm sure i already DID pay it, damn apartment people), it's been a huge ding on my credit score ever since. Other than that, my score is flawless...the only thing stopping it from being 850 is that I don't have a huge credit history in the US.
ANYWAY...i've tried disputing it and it's gotten me nowhere...well 2 months ago I did my usual "hmmm wonder what's up in my credit score report these days" and bought my reports again...and only one of the three bureaus still shows that damn alleged delinquent bill. I decided to attempt to put the smackdown again and filed a dispute. Those mother effers don't make it easy, they only give you like EIGHTY characters to state your claim. That gave me one whole sentence to pretty much say "The original bill was paid through my rent cant get a hold of them for proof" or something retarded like that.
Well, long story short: I won! Finally! Experian saw in my favor. Oh happy day! That's been a pain in my ass for years.
Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket.
Anyway, that was one of my "goals" for January/February, which thus also means that I've sort of put my other monthly goals on the side 'cause seriously, interviewing wipes you out. All that smiling and being peppy and acting like you're the most fabulous person on earth...it's like your own Miss America pageant. You dont' think of the TRUE answer to give, you think of the RIGHT answer to give, what they want to hear, all while looking flawless and flashing yer teeth.
Interviewing results in a very cranky Sabina. I feel like I need to get extra bitchyness out of my system to even things out.
In other news, check out the very bottom of the page...yes, the year's goal of 15K paid down on the home equity loan is almost down by half...and it's only February. The only reason I was able to pull that off was 'cause a CRAPPY CD i got a few years ago (seriously, the rate was only like 3%) expired, and i hauled ass yesterday to the bank to make sure they didn't roll it over into another crappy CD. Feelin' good.
To top it all off, I've been griping for years now about one dumbass sorta-error on my credit report...a stupid $22 water bill...recap: I paid my utilities with my rent...and they claim they didn't get the payment, i tried to get a hold of my old apartment complex to get them to have my back. Turns out, it got bought out and underwent a condo conversion, no one anywhere had any record I existed or lived there. So, even though i eventually paid it as soon as I found out about it (although i'm sure i already DID pay it, damn apartment people), it's been a huge ding on my credit score ever since. Other than that, my score is flawless...the only thing stopping it from being 850 is that I don't have a huge credit history in the US.
ANYWAY...i've tried disputing it and it's gotten me nowhere...well 2 months ago I did my usual "hmmm wonder what's up in my credit score report these days" and bought my reports again...and only one of the three bureaus still shows that damn alleged delinquent bill. I decided to attempt to put the smackdown again and filed a dispute. Those mother effers don't make it easy, they only give you like EIGHTY characters to state your claim. That gave me one whole sentence to pretty much say "The original bill was paid through my rent cant get a hold of them for proof" or something retarded like that.
Well, long story short: I won! Finally! Experian saw in my favor. Oh happy day! That's been a pain in my ass for years.
Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Another letter to the editor
Refinance Your Loan with the damn bank or lender...or whoever the f it is.
I think you have the (excuse me) balls to do this. And it works.
But WTH you can't lose.
Banks right now, and lenders, DO NOT want any more property. They can't handle it.
You walk in, get past the desk people and say you need to talk to someone with authority. Cry and tell them you are about to let the bank have your f-n house if they don't sit down and do some dickerin with you.
Take a picture of your home, tell them your ready to leave it with them and start all over.
Tell them you want some relief from this f-n mistake, that your upside down 70k or whatever and have to have some interest relief. Tell them your husband is against it, but you will leave him too. (This is a lie)
Walk in with a foreclosure sign, leave the picture with your phone number on the desk of the person you are talking to, and tell them you did not come to debate, you came to share your desperation and get some relief one way or another.
I gurantee you he will call you on your cell phone before you get home and say..let's talk. We don''t want your house.
(The further under water you are, the better it is for your bargaining power.)
Ummm yeah the flaw in your logic is that to do something crazy drastic i'd have to miss at least a single home payment...which I will never do.
And it's not like Countrywide doesn't have my income statements...we CAN afford our payments.
I also dont' want to get stuck in another crappy loan situation, which is exactly what people with bad credit (i.e. missed home payments) and foreclosures are getting in order to keep their homes and loans.
I have good credit.
I can afford my home...now...
My adjustable rate expires beginning 2010.
If i didn't have an interest-only loan i'd still be stuck paying principal, so that's what i'm doing now.
I'm not going to see if they'll call my bluff if I start missing payments (which would be necessary in your scenario for them to believe i'm in dire straits), scream i'm going to foreclose, then force them to give me another bizarro loan created only because of this crazy market.
People just need to hurry up and foreclose, so that other people can buy crazy cheap, and then things will even out. It's this slow awful death that's ruining things.
I'm not upside down in anything yet...i'm not selling, i'm just hoping to make it easier to refinance.
I would sooner beg my aging parents for money AND my mother in law before I ever miss a home payment.
I posted this here instead of in the comments section 'cause I started to write so much I figured it deserved a blog entry :)
I think you have the (excuse me) balls to do this. And it works.
But WTH you can't lose.
Banks right now, and lenders, DO NOT want any more property. They can't handle it.
You walk in, get past the desk people and say you need to talk to someone with authority. Cry and tell them you are about to let the bank have your f-n house if they don't sit down and do some dickerin with you.
Take a picture of your home, tell them your ready to leave it with them and start all over.
Tell them you want some relief from this f-n mistake, that your upside down 70k or whatever and have to have some interest relief. Tell them your husband is against it, but you will leave him too. (This is a lie)
Walk in with a foreclosure sign, leave the picture with your phone number on the desk of the person you are talking to, and tell them you did not come to debate, you came to share your desperation and get some relief one way or another.
I gurantee you he will call you on your cell phone before you get home and say..let's talk. We don''t want your house.
(The further under water you are, the better it is for your bargaining power.)
Ummm yeah the flaw in your logic is that to do something crazy drastic i'd have to miss at least a single home payment...which I will never do.
And it's not like Countrywide doesn't have my income statements...we CAN afford our payments.
I also dont' want to get stuck in another crappy loan situation, which is exactly what people with bad credit (i.e. missed home payments) and foreclosures are getting in order to keep their homes and loans.
I have good credit.
I can afford my home...now...
My adjustable rate expires beginning 2010.
If i didn't have an interest-only loan i'd still be stuck paying principal, so that's what i'm doing now.
I'm not going to see if they'll call my bluff if I start missing payments (which would be necessary in your scenario for them to believe i'm in dire straits), scream i'm going to foreclose, then force them to give me another bizarro loan created only because of this crazy market.
People just need to hurry up and foreclose, so that other people can buy crazy cheap, and then things will even out. It's this slow awful death that's ruining things.
I'm not upside down in anything yet...i'm not selling, i'm just hoping to make it easier to refinance.
I would sooner beg my aging parents for money AND my mother in law before I ever miss a home payment.
I posted this here instead of in the comments section 'cause I started to write so much I figured it deserved a blog entry :)
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Letter to the Editor
So with all the rate cuts there is no way you & Kraig could refinance into a better loan situation?
Nope, that's why I have to pay down my HELOC loan asap...our loan-to-home value is crappy (at least before it had gone up a little bit, the last home that sold with roughly the same floor layout was $70K less than what we paid). So...no refinancing and locking in a rate until I pay down the home loan. I wish I could refinance! I wouldn't have that damn ticker at the bottom of the page.
So the goal isn't to get into a "better" loan situation...i just want ANY loan situation that would be a fixed rate, which isn't going to happen at all with the current snapshot of our mortgage.
They're alot more strict about giving out refinanced loans...Carrie i'm sure can attest to that (she still had to jump through hoops and her home didn't go down at all and she's got perfect credit).
I just need to win the effing lottery.
Nope, that's why I have to pay down my HELOC loan asap...our loan-to-home value is crappy (at least before it had gone up a little bit, the last home that sold with roughly the same floor layout was $70K less than what we paid). So...no refinancing and locking in a rate until I pay down the home loan. I wish I could refinance! I wouldn't have that damn ticker at the bottom of the page.
So the goal isn't to get into a "better" loan situation...i just want ANY loan situation that would be a fixed rate, which isn't going to happen at all with the current snapshot of our mortgage.
They're alot more strict about giving out refinanced loans...Carrie i'm sure can attest to that (she still had to jump through hoops and her home didn't go down at all and she's got perfect credit).
I just need to win the effing lottery.
Monday, February 04, 2008
HELOC paydown status
Yee haw! Check out the very bottom of this blog...over 1/3rd of teh paydown goal completed! Plus I realized that I also need to start saving up well in advance for our property taxes (trying to scramble and pay off a $6000 property tax bill last minute is no easy task!) so there's 1/6th of that is put aside now as well.
Damn you crappy housing market...I will not go down without a fight.
Damn you crappy housing market...I will not go down without a fight.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Movie Review: Cloverfield
Today I saw Cloverfield. You know, the movie that had a big buzz because no one knew anything about it.
This should be easy. I couldn't stand it.
NOT because it wasn't entertaining...it was very entertaining, very different, great script.
I couldn't stand it because it was filmed in handy-cam format, a la Blair Witch. I avoided Blair Witch for this very reason...I get motion sickness pretty easily, and this movie was pretty brutal for it. The ENTIRE movie is filmed this way. The videographer is either drunk at a party or running for his life, both of which make for seriously shaky visuals.
If you have a strong stomach, then it was very good...there's not really an ending (Kraig and I differ on that. He thinks there is because there's a resolution between the love interest storyline...uh to me I need to know wtf happens with the bizarro monster plotline.)
Fortunately the theater was empty so I was able to push some of the armrests up and lay on my side while we watched it, otherwise there would have been a nasty mess on AMC's floor.
This should be easy. I couldn't stand it.
NOT because it wasn't entertaining...it was very entertaining, very different, great script.
I couldn't stand it because it was filmed in handy-cam format, a la Blair Witch. I avoided Blair Witch for this very reason...I get motion sickness pretty easily, and this movie was pretty brutal for it. The ENTIRE movie is filmed this way. The videographer is either drunk at a party or running for his life, both of which make for seriously shaky visuals.
If you have a strong stomach, then it was very good...there's not really an ending (Kraig and I differ on that. He thinks there is because there's a resolution between the love interest storyline...uh to me I need to know wtf happens with the bizarro monster plotline.)
Fortunately the theater was empty so I was able to push some of the armrests up and lay on my side while we watched it, otherwise there would have been a nasty mess on AMC's floor.
Friday, February 01, 2008
I love you YouTube
I hate 99.999999999999999999999999999999999% of what's out there on YouTube, but praise the person who posted this of Sarah Silverman singing...well you decide. Every time I see it I start busting up.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Damn damn damn DAYAM
This guy could make a movie about putting forks in one's eye and I'd still watch it.
Hmmm actually then again that sounds like a funny movie concept.
Hmmm actually then again that sounds like a funny movie concept.
Heath...
So Marlene asked me why id idn't blog about Heath Ledger...two reasons:
1. I already got all my emailing and freaking out done that day, i didn't really have anything to comment on.
2. I don't like the crap about "oh there were pills by his bed" (well no kidding, Kraig takes medication for his cholesterol before bed isn't that front page news?!) and "he was probably heartbroken over his separation from Michelle Williams" (really? He was dating Gemma Ward...i think a 28 year old hollywood actor can get over an ex girlfriend pretty easily)...
So Anderson Cooper summarized pretty much what I was thinking:
“For the last two nights we have reported on actor Heath Ledger. His shocking death is clearly a story a lot of people are interested in, but tonight we will not be reporting more on it. The truth is there is not really anything new to report.
The full results of the various tests done on Mr. Ledger will not be ready for perhaps a few weeks and there is very little new information. I have no doubt other networks will spend a lot of time tonight discussing his death and the various rumors about what might have caused it, but I am not a fan of speculation, so unless there is something really new to discuss we probably won’t be covering it anymore anytime soon.”
1. I already got all my emailing and freaking out done that day, i didn't really have anything to comment on.
2. I don't like the crap about "oh there were pills by his bed" (well no kidding, Kraig takes medication for his cholesterol before bed isn't that front page news?!) and "he was probably heartbroken over his separation from Michelle Williams" (really? He was dating Gemma Ward...i think a 28 year old hollywood actor can get over an ex girlfriend pretty easily)...
So Anderson Cooper summarized pretty much what I was thinking:
“For the last two nights we have reported on actor Heath Ledger. His shocking death is clearly a story a lot of people are interested in, but tonight we will not be reporting more on it. The truth is there is not really anything new to report.
The full results of the various tests done on Mr. Ledger will not be ready for perhaps a few weeks and there is very little new information. I have no doubt other networks will spend a lot of time tonight discussing his death and the various rumors about what might have caused it, but I am not a fan of speculation, so unless there is something really new to discuss we probably won’t be covering it anymore anytime soon.”
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Letter to the editor
Happy New Year, Sabina
I check your post now and then to catch up on life on the West Coast.
I had a pretty sorry post the last time I wrote WTF I felt bad and took it out on you. Sorry.
I hope you vote for Obama and not Hillary, or Romney and not McCain.
I wonder if you have ever heard of a pretty famous church near you...called Saddleback. I think they did something recently for all the folks during the fire...and I think Hillary spoke there, too. Do you know anything about Saddleback?
First off, this makes me an a-hole for ranting back. Please folks, don't apologize for the stuff you write to me...it's a free country. Hmmm, but it IS my blog. Ahhh well, don't apologize. If I don't like you, I'll just create a website dedicated to what a douche you are. So far that hasn't happened yet, so it's all good.
Yes, Saddleback is nearby...don't know much about it though...
I check your post now and then to catch up on life on the West Coast.
I had a pretty sorry post the last time I wrote WTF I felt bad and took it out on you. Sorry.
I hope you vote for Obama and not Hillary, or Romney and not McCain.
I wonder if you have ever heard of a pretty famous church near you...called Saddleback. I think they did something recently for all the folks during the fire...and I think Hillary spoke there, too. Do you know anything about Saddleback?
First off, this makes me an a-hole for ranting back. Please folks, don't apologize for the stuff you write to me...it's a free country. Hmmm, but it IS my blog. Ahhh well, don't apologize. If I don't like you, I'll just create a website dedicated to what a douche you are. So far that hasn't happened yet, so it's all good.
Yes, Saddleback is nearby...don't know much about it though...
Dirty Nasty
Well since everyone is all depressed over Heath, i figure this should cheer people up.
I remember scoping out Simon Rex back when he was a model...i dig superhot people who can make fun of themselves.
And Nick Swardson may very well be one of the funniest people alive.
I remember scoping out Simon Rex back when he was a model...i dig superhot people who can make fun of themselves.
And Nick Swardson may very well be one of the funniest people alive.
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