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Starbucks Card Swap
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Starbucks & Gift Card Swap
- Hits: 1342
I'm looking to swap Canadian 2010 Olympic Starbucks cards (unused, uncharged, unregistered) for any foreign Starbucks cards with a unique local design. So, for example, the card above is obviously Canadian, looking to swap the same for cards from other countries - Ireland, for example (The Dublin Card), or Taipei or Japanese Starbucks cards that have designs not used elsewhere. Don't ask why. But if you mail me your Starbucks cards with your address, then I'll mail you an equal number of the above.
Helicopter Pilots have big heads
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 1902
I've been selling off my belongings. Not all, but the recent move and staggered unpacking have brought to my attention the gross surplus of furniture and useless possessions that clutter my life.
And before I have to move again I'd like to pare them down to the essentials. A set of 4 leaded glass doors, a gift from a friend who had no use for them, moved 4 times with me before I figured out that I didn't have any use for them either, sold on Kijiji for $220.00 to a young Russian couple refinishing their house. An old hoosier top sold for $50.00 to a older plump dealer who will take it and mark it up to $300 or $400 in her Antique shop. I'm not bitter, I'm just glad it's gone. Then there's the table, a 30's or 40's hardwood dining room table with ornately carved double pedestal base and quarter cut walnut veneer, cheaper than an Ikea table made from laminate pine and yet not a single call. And the helicopter pilots helmet, a bargain I picked up at a garage sale, that too should go, I'll try for $100.00. I've already humiliated the kids as much as I can with it, wearing it on walks and bicycle rides, now someone else should have some fun. With a very little bit of effort it would make a great Boba Fett helmet.
After a couple of weeks somebody calls about it and I'm surprised that it's been found, ready to bargain I describe it to him, he agrees it's a helicopter pilots helmet all right, but it's only a medium and somehow he infers that this isn't what he's looking for; he hums and haws, really what he needs is a large, helicopter pilots have big heads...
Scumbag Landlords
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Rants
- Hits: 2178
Telus and Scumbag landlords on the same day.
My previous landlord, I'd had my reservations. He'd been a little odd, bought the house as an infill, let me stay on a month-to-month basis, but there was something dodgy about him....
Still, you shouldn't be judgmental, and so when the eviction notice came I moved out, all out, and called him on March 1st and left a message to advise him of my new address and let him know if there were any problems with the way the place was left he could call me and I'd fix them.
No returned call.
And so on March 19th, having checked the landlord-tenant act for Alberta and discovered I'm 9 days past due on my Damage Deposit I call and leave a message with a secretary, I explain I'm inquiring about the status of my damage deposit, leave my phone number and address again.
I've never had a problem getting a damage deposit before, but I'm having suspicions that this may be the first time. It's a cool $1000.00, which, while not the end of the world, is a little bit much to be thrown away for nothing. Or to be squandered on drugs by a sleazebag landlord.
Wednesday, March 24th, no returned call, no message on my machine, no cheque in the mail. I call the landlord again, he answers by accident. Curt, he tells me that he paid my electricity bill. This seems odd, why should he pay my bills? It was an old one he explains, he'll show me the receipt ... and then tells me about a mattress on the side of the house, I should have it moved.
It's not my mattress, I explain, It was left by the previous downstairs tenants.
His final argument?
"Are you sure you paid us the damage deposit...didn't you just get it back from the previous landlord?"
Now this is funny, because when I first met them, the first day they took over the property, in front of me they called their lawyer and demanded the damage deposit be transferred over to them. In front of me. They spoke to their lawyers, confirmed the word of the law, then threatened legal action if the damage deposit wasn't transferred over within 24 hours.
And now the halfwit is trying to make me doubt they even have my damage deposit.
He relents, he's a busy guy but he'll meet with me on Saturday to discuss it.
Now really, there's nothing to discuss. When I finish the conversation I call Enmax to check to see if there have been any inexplicable payments on my account, there are none. If there were it would by implication have him opening my mail, which would be a separate trial, but equally damning.
Moving shit from one pile to another
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Who's Your ISP?
- Hits: 2878
Today was the deal-with-internet shit day.
I resolved to leave Shaw upon my eviction from the previous house. I'd had enough, would disconnect my service, went down and paid my bill and asked for a disconnect. They advised me they needed thirty days notice to disconnect me.
Now of course they don't. They can disconnect you in 30 seconds or less, if they're so inclined, but they weren't and so I was stuck for paying for thirty days service they knew I wasn't going to use.
They make a fortune off of unorganized schmucks like me. Inwardly fuming, but what can you do? And so I pay the bill and future date my disconnect.
After I moved it dawned on me that, still being a customer, I probably still qualified for their move program, and so called them and arranged for an installer to come out and reinstall Shaw at my new address.
Which they did, except there was a problem with the internet that day and so the installer told me to wait and eventually it would come on by itself.
As you'd expect it didn't, and a call back to Shaw revealed other issues and they promised to send another installer out to correct the issues.
Which he did the next day, and after an hour and a half of his troubleshooting and installing, and if I didn't mind the computer being hooked up in the bedroom I was all ready to go.
Which I did mind, but after an hour and a half, plans for the day and my daughter slowly being ruined, and the resolve to quit Shaw after my 30 days notice were up, I simply accepted.
SO I'm learning and I get the jump on my departure from Shaw by calling Telus and ordering their high speed internet. I'll overlap them, that way I won't be out of internet.
They have a great promotion, 6 months at $10.00 per month, $45.00 less than Shaw, no contracts or commitments, and it would seem they can get the setup done in my living room/office, which is, after all, far more convenient than having it in the bedroom. They book me a service call for Wednesday the 24th of March.
Now I've never had problems with Telus, really, although I know by reputation and from conversations with their brighter employees that really it's no different than Shaw. Same shit, different pile. But maybe I'll get lucky.
The modem arrives after a day, impressive.
But at 11:00 today, waiting for the installer to show, I get impatient and call to confirm that there is to be an installer to show up.
20 minutes wait to speak to a person. 20 minutes. And when I do I ask him if he'll confirm that I have an appointment for an installer to show up today, but he hums and haws and wants to discuss the parcel that arrived for me in the mail, wants to know if want to try to set it up now, wants to know if I have multiple jacks in the house (shouldn't this be on their computers?), and after 10 minutes of discussing dollar store splitters and my limited technical knowledge I manage to get him to confirm that an installer will be showing up in the 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM timeslot.
I assure him that I'll be fine, that's all I wanted to know. I somehow got the times wrong, I was expecting the installer between 9:00 and 11:00.
I wait until 12:00, 12:15, still no installer.
I call Telus again, they're having a problem with their phone lines, they give me a number to call for internet assistance.
Promising.
I call the internet number and wait, again, after talking through their automated voice message machine, another 15 minutes to speak to a human.
I ask about the installer. Where could he be? Hopefully he hasn't been hurt, should I call 911? The agent puts me on hold for another 5 minutes. She comes back. She too wants to talk about my package from Telus, do I want to set up the package with her? I tell her no, I just want to confirm that an installer is coming out....hold again....back...yes, an installer should be coming out, there's an appointment booked....Is he coming out I ask her again, but she wants to talk about splitters and setting up my new modem....I ask the uncomfortable question again, is there an installer coming out, if so when, if not, why was I told there would be?
Hold again.
And it dawns on me, I've switched companies, but I've really just moved the same shit into a different pile.
When she comes back she informs me that no installer will be coming out.
I wonder how I got so confused. I confirm the appointment, yes, it's there, but no installer will be showing up.
I set it up myself. It's easy enough, there was a splitter in the package, as well as cable and all sorts of noise filters and Ethernet accessories. And the internet works fine, as good as Shaw's, certainly, and I'm on the bottom package of Telus and was previously on the Top package at Shaw and so far have noticed no difference whatsoever in speed. And as an added advantage, the Telus modem has a wireless router built in, so no messy cables or additional fiddling with connections, so, despite themselves, their incompetent customer service, inordinate wait times and their no-show installers I'm happy.
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