Verizon

So the battle with Verizon begins.
I am not going to pay for a service that does not work, and more importantly, I am NOT going to pay to disconnect a service that - does not work. I don't CARE if there is a contract, any contract whose services are rendered useless is not an enforceable contract.

Verizon customer service?  No different.  I have heard the same BS from everywhere before.  They have their regurgitated puke memorized.  They spew it out to whoever is on the line with them. Yada, yada, yada.  It is also no different than any of these other companies that, when you first call, you give the computer all this information and then when you speak to an actual person? They ask you the same information.  Then you get switched to another person that asks you - the same information.

This is my first real confrontation with this company.  But I have this kind of thing down.  They are all the same. Or mostly the same.  After I heard the attitudes, I just decided to cancel the contract.  Of course, I knew there was going to be a lot of "conversation" to get to that point.  The first lady said yes, we can do that.  Is there going to be a fee to disconnect?  We will send you a final bill.  Is there going to be a fee to disconnect?  Yes, there is going to be a disconnect fee.  "Management, please".  I did not get a manager.  I got some kind of "specialist".  I didn't listen to her for more than 2 sentences once that became clear.  "I'm sorry, I didn't ask for a specialist, I asked to speak to management".

This went on, and on, and on.  The phone I was using finally ran out of power and that call was ended.

I called back. This time, I told the computer system I want disconnect, thanks.  3 people later, I am talking to some level of management.  He offered to replace the unit and remove this month's bill.

This is the preliminary stages.  My new unit will be Fed-Ex'd to me by Tuesday, since the weekend is here. If it works - everywhere I go - I'm good with it.  When I say that, I mean, anytime it says I have 4g or 3g access, I should have some kind of internet access.  If the blooming thing doesn't work here, in the Phoenix metropolitan area, what makes me believe it is going to work up in the mountains, where it shows they have coverage, but probably 3g coverage?

I want to throw in a gem here, that has nothing to do with Verizon wireless.  My son comes to me last night and asked for advice.  Okay.  He starts telling me about this girl that wanted to go out with him.  She smokes pot and she is "loose".  He didn't know how to deal with it, but he told her flat out that if she wants to "go there", he is not interested.  He's asking me if what he did was the right thing.

Wow.  Well, he says, you have dated a lot, how would you have handled that situation?  Ummm, son, I can't tell you how to live your life, but if you are asking me?  You did EXACTLY the right thing!  That boy has a destiny in the Kingdom of Heaven and he is intent on following hard after the Lord to the point that he - maybe tempted - but not giving into it.  Amazing.

Well, whatever.  Lord willing, tomorrow going to continue to do the finishing touches on the trailer.  I may have had a day off of work today, but it was a day full of work anyway.  I did take off the cover on the trailer light pigtail and found nothing that would show cause for why the lights aren't working.  Next is to check the lights themselves.  If the bulbs are good, then off to AutoZone to buy a light tester - you touch it to the power source and a light comes on if there is power.  Ahhh, and I just found an internet sit with the pigtail clearly identified on which location does what.

Very nice.

G'nite.

ben

Thwarted Plans

My plan to take off up to mom's property today was put off.  I would have already left by now and be 2/3rd's of the way up there - at least.
Instead, I get a call from Caleb yesterday proclaiming that the car has a water leak.
Okay.
Well, something has been making noise under there, but there are so many things so close together in that general area, it was impossible to tell what, exactly, was making the noise - at least impossible without buying a stethoscope.
Well, I do believe the noise issue has been identified: water pump.
Water is pouring the little hole at the bottom of the pump.
So, new water pump: $26.  Installation: $85.

Just arrived, the mechanic that is, full fledged into it.

But, too late now to make a trip.  Either do it tomorrow or just blow it off and talk with mom about it - she's going up on Sunday so she can tell me what's needed, if anything.

So, just waiting for this guy to get done so I can get started on the trailer again.  Shouldn't take too much longer to finish putting in the last piece of carpet.  Make a list of things I need and off to Walmart, dollar stores, wherever I can find stuff on the cheap.

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Yes, extremely long "interlude".  The man is done with the car.  I flushed out the cooling system again and put fresh coolant into it.  I then drove it for about 10 miles to make sure there are no problems. The noise that that car had is completely gone and there are no leaks.  The car is purring like a kitten and the AC is pumping out EXTREMELY cold air.

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Interluditis.
I went to town on the trailer.
1.  Good thing I had today off from work.
2.  Better thing I did not go up to the mountains today because,
3.  There is more to do in there than I realized.
But let's face facts, when you are attempting to work with carpet in such a small, confined area, it's going to be a hassle.  I have all day tomorrow to try and finish it up - though I am going back out there again in a while and start looking for what the problem might be with the brake lights not working.  I'm not necessarily sure that the dude that is going to haul it up there will want to do it without them working, but, money is money and I will be following right behind the trailer all the way up.

Anyway, I built a small table where another had been torn out by the previous owner.  It's just a piece of plywood with shelving hangers holding it up.  I will find a nice table cloth to put on it to make the ugliness of the plywood disappear.  There is no where else in that trailer where a TV can really go.  TV is not a priority, but I have the entire setup gathered and ready to go.  After I finish this entry, I am going to start making a list of the things I need to search out and get for it. I'm torn between buying plates and cups and all that or just getting paper plates and plastic throw away cups.  I'll figure that one out, though I will probably opt for throw away since I am not really going to want to hand wash a bunch of dishes up there.

I'm still a bit apprehensive that the internet is not going to work up there.  I am not having much luck down here, it's not working right again.  I live in the 5th largest city, whoops, the site I just looked at ranks it as 6th, well whatever - and I don't have internet access? No, that's not the problem.  It SHOWS 4G network on the device, it just isn't connecting again.  If this is a simm card issue again, I am going to start getting very annoyed with Verizon.  Which doesn't bode well for whoever I end up getting on the other end of the line if I start getting a bunch of BS dished out to me...........

It's starting to get a bit exciting for me.  I have always loved the mountains - well mountains with dense stands of tall pine trees anyway.  I have never gotten bored in the mountains, it is always an adventure to go out hiking and view nature in it's raw form without anyone else around - well dogs but that's different - I absolutely love it.  Sitting around the RV all the time is not going to be a happening event.  I will go on at least 2 hikes on any given day I am there.  I have one canteen, I guess I better get another with the dogs - though heat isn't as much of a factor up there as it is down here, still, humans and dogs get thirsty when exerting large amounts of energy.

Finally, mother is going to find that my presence up there is going to make her life a whole lots easier.  I will be cooking.  I will take her pickup and haul as much water as necessary.  You take the tank to a place that sells it and fill it up = with a water hose! ROFL!! It's funny because of the time it takes to fill a 500 gallon tank with a freakin' water hose, but whatever.  It's MUCH cheaper than having it brought in by a water truck, though I didn't know she would let me drive her truck until just recently.

Well I could talk about this all day long, but, I am in the middle of another break.  This has been a 3 part entry and it's done, make another one later if I want to yak on about it.  It should be apparent that I am definitely getting excited about all of this.

ben