365 Days of Missing You

Not much to say here. It's all in my heart. We all miss you more than anything in the world. For me, that will never change...

Beware of Tuesday's Fat

January 12th marked the Feast of the Epiphany; the day where is is believed the three wise men presented their gifts of the Magi, (Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh), to the Christ child. In New Orleans, though, it is also known as the "Twelfth Night". It marks the beginning of the Dionysian festival of Carnival that lasts until Fat Tuesday; Mardi Gras; Carnival Day; Shrove Turesday or the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

Long has it been a South Louisiana tradition, to participate in this extended party from it's beginning to end. Unfortunately, in the revelry and ignorance that goes on during the event, (just watch COPS), young people have an increased ability to secure alcohol and drugs on a more relaxed scale. I have but one thing to say to the parents out there who truly love and care for their children...

Fight it. Fight it with all your heart. Fight it until they get mad at you. Fight it until they are positive that you care. Fight it without the beer in your own hand or while waving good-bye on your way to Pat O'Briens. If you love your kids and you want to avoid the chance of seeing him or her lying dead in a casket, have the good sense to understand that young people under the age of twenty-one have no business drinking alcohol. PERIOD. To show any tolerance in this issue places a misguided twist in these chldrens' minds that it is in some way permissible for them to drink. It's a two month period of vigilance and care.

But believe me... it's better than losing them forever...

Speaking of APPLE Trees...

Being an Apple fan but not of great financial means, I was interested when they came out with the I-Pod Shuffle. My sweetie got me one for my birthday in September. It was great, as I didn't have a radio in the car I was using, so I could have music on my commute.

In early December, it failed. I called Apple and they arranged for a replacement. It was, of course, necessary to provide my VISA debit card number to ensure the return of the defective product. It would not be charged if the unit was returned by the date specified.

Long story short, up to this point, got replacement; sent back old one via DHL. New unit had small scratch, but so what? Story over - no harm, no foul...

Right.

On December 20, Apple Store charged my debit card $75.04 for a I-Pod Shuffle that Karen only paid $49.50 for. In calling them, and after an hour and a half telephone torture, it was found that they THOUGHT I had not returned the unit. After supplying them with the DHL numbers, they found that alas, it was their mistake and they had found my unit. Apology-blah-blah. If I would then call Customer Relations, they would arrange to get my money back.

ANOTHER aggravating call and I was told that in 5-7 days I would get the money that they shouldn't have taken in the first place back. I was entirely pissed, but their robots can only answer with "We're so sorry" and "I know how you feel". Thoughts of Uncle Albert came to mind.

This morning, SURPRISE!. no money... SO, I called Apple. Amazing as it was, they had a problem with something being rejected on my refund and it had not been processed. But a supervisor had just seen the problem and arranged for my refund to be pushed through... in 5-7 days... Of course, this may have something to do with the time limit you have at YOUR bank for disputing a charge. I gave them the five days before I would go to my bank. Let's see what happens...

The moral of the story is... The bigger they are, the harder YOU fall.

At our shop I can refund a card charge IMMEDIATELY. The card processor may take a day or two to get it forwarded. Apple is so freaking big, I'm sure they can stretch anything the way they'd like.

If you buy Apple, beware. It's too bad, because if I had not seen or called in either instance, they would have made a fast $75 off of me. I wonder how many other people they screw like this?

Shame on you Apple.