New Blog

I know I never ever update this blog... But I wanted to point out that I've not been just hanging out, doing nothing. Click the link above this post, or here:



This is my most recent project. Check it out and offer your support. If you like what you see, please subscribe.

Eventually, I will probably move my personal blog to this site, as well, and when I do, I will be sure to let everyone know.

How cool is this?

This morning, I just took time off from work on October 23 so I can sing for the Dalai Lama's interfaith prayer service. How cool is that? That is all :)

The end of the cell phone debacle

So, after a week of phone calls back and forth with the website LetsTalk.com and some phone calls to T-Mobile, I finally have a cell phone again.

Let's recap what I thought of LetsTalk.com. I think the company should be renamed to LetsNotGetYourHopesUpBeforeWeTalk.com. Don't believe the "Two Day" shipping promise, unless you have the plainest, no complications possible activation scenario. I had a contract with T-Mobile over two years ago, and this is naturally still in their system. So when Let's Talk sent my information for a credit check, they got an "Account Already Exists" error. They didn't tell me for over two days, so when I finally got the email saying there was a problem, it was Monday. The email instructed me to call T-Mobile to "reactivate" my account. Problem was it's been over two years, and my phone facts are different now than they were when I had the account (different number, different area, different usage plan, etc...). I call T-Mobile, explain the situation, and the guy says "Yes, I see your account. No, it doesn't have any issues. You need to call Let's Talk and have them process your order as normal." So I do.

Two days later, same issue. So I call T-Mobile first, and the woman was awesome. She actually called Let's Talk on my behalf and got my order moving. Kudos to her! Then I called Let's Talk, where they told me, "It's going under review, everything should be moving within 24 hours." Next day, I got an email saying my account was approved, and they expected to ship my phones on AUGUST 31 (I ordered on August 24).

I called Let's Talk back, explained that this had been going on for a week, and that if I had just gone to the store I would have left with a phone the same day. Waiting over a week and a half for a phone was unacceptable. To their credit, the CSR talked with a manager and said they would try to expedite my shipping.

And they did. It went out later that evening, and the details said Stacie's number had been ported correctly. However, my number was a completely different story--it looked like someone had mis-typed my actual number by shifting their hand one row of keys up on the number pad. I checked my original order, and I input my number correctly, so the error was on Let's Talk. So, Call Number 5 to Let's Talk Customer Service, where the lady said they would put out an activation error flag on my account and the issue should be fixed within 24 hours.

Stacie got the phones are around noon on Friday (which was good, because her phone number ported correctly the night before). She followed the T-Mobile instructions to check which phone was which and noticed my number was beyond FUBAR--it wasn't even the number Let's Talk told me was ported! Call Numbers 6 & 7 (I think the lady accidentally disconnected me the first time). Call Number 6's note read "Informed customer incident has not been open 24 hours; issue will be resolved with in that time frame." So, I waited.

When I got home, my number magically was ported. So, when Let's Talk said they would do something, they did it. But, not at a pace that is really acceptable in today's world. I also have strong concerns about their ability to make money as I understand their business model. I know they get commissions or referral fees for signing up customers and doing contract negotiations, but they received nothing for the merchandise they sent me, and I had 7 (!) calls to the customer service line. If every order works like that, they can't possibly stay afloat!

One thing I noticed, too, that there wasn't full disclosure when I ordered the phones. The $50 additional rebate (so, basically, I get paid to order these phones) only works if you keep the phones for at least one billing cycle, and you have to submit proof of payment of your first bill. That's fine, I understand that you can't pay us if you don't get paid, but that should be written somewhere before I order the phones thinking I can submit a rebate form as soon as I receive them.

Overall... The phones are a good buy (a steal, really), and the customer service was adequate. The actual service of buying the phones? Well, that left something to be desired. Would I do this again? Now that I have better informed expectations, actually, I would. But I would not expect to receive my merchandise in a matter a days, and I would make absolutely certain I had access to another method of communication during the time my order is being processed and/or shipped. They get 3 stars out of five (I just made up my own rating system) because the products are good, the customer service was good, but the service itself and full disclosure of how the process worked left something to be desired. I should not have had to call customer service seven times to get the process moving and to stay informed, but at least when I called customer service, the reps knew what they were talking about, were helpful, and were nice. Just understand that you get what you pay for when you order a less than free phone from a distributor whose business model is making money by paying you for using their business.

Call me on my celly...

We didn't want to do it, but we're going to. We actually signing up for cell phone service with a contract. Here's the deal: Stacie's phone broke Thursday night, acting really bizarre. It would turn on, cycle through the two splash screens, and then turn on and off about three or four times before dying completely. We checked the battery, checked the charge, checked the SIM card; everything, and yet nothing.

So, I set out to call our provider because this phone has to be under warranty since Stacie just bought phone at the beginning of June; plus, Nokia's database indicated the phone was still covered by the manufacturer's warranty. There was a 2 hour wait, so I decided to send an email asking how to proceed. I got a response back (after the two hour waiting period) that told me to call the regional provider's customer service line with the phone in hand the next day. I didn't take the phone to work on Friday, so I asked Stacie to take care of it; I told her that if they made her pay for a replacement to threaten cancellation.

Now, let me break with a side bar and explain something about my wife... She is the least customer-service-confrontational person I know. So, when she called and they told her the warranty was only good for seven days, despite what the manufacturer said, that was good enough for her.

She called me back and I called the carrier. The CSR who answered gave me the same cock-and-bull, and I dared them to call my bluff (I have nothing to lose--I'm not under contract, and we've lost all the benefits of having the regional carrier since we're not in their calling area any more). She transfered me about to an account management specialist (AMS), who, to her credit, tried to work with me. To replace Stacie's phone, they wanted $35 or for us to sign up for phone insurance at $3 per month (going up to $5 soon). I said that was unacceptable, given this phone is--relatively--new and shouldn't have broken so soon. The AMS said she couldn't waive the fee, but would give me a credit on my bill over the next three months to make up for it; or I could bring the phone into the regional carrier's retail store.

Therein lies the rub; you see, we are a good 2 hours from the nearest retail store of this particular carrier. I explain this situation to the AMS, and it becomes evident there is something else going on here. "Just where did you move to?" she asked. When I told her, and gave her a basic lesson on US geography in the process, she said "Oh..."

"Oh?" We then talked about the length of time we expect to be in our small, midwest college town, and the definition of "temporary" versus "permanent" in cell phone provider parlance. "Well you see," she continued, "you technically aren't eligible for our service anymore. If this hadn't happened, someone would have seen your usage on an exception report and contacted you to cancel your service anyway." "Oh..." So, I directed her that no action would be taken on the account at this time, and we'd be porting our numbers to a national carrier as soon as possible. She apologized again (again, to her credit, once I pulled the "I'm canceling" card, she tried to work with me), and told me the offer would be good for thirty days if I wanted to get another phone and just wait for the carrier to contact me.

So, then I started looking at phones and plans for the national carriers. There's really only three shows in town here: AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon. T-Mobile has towers here, too, but there are no retail locations. Problem is, I've been looking at this for a while in anticipation of a change (because, remember, we lost the benefits of being in the regional carrier's calling area--mobile to mobile being the most painful). We pretty much call the same 5 people, between the three of us, that the plan that seemed to make the most sense was the T-Mobile MyFaves for Families 700 plan. So, with no retail stores in the area, my options are limited. I can opt for a carrier with not as good of a plan; I can drive 40 miles to the nearest retail store; I can order over the phone or on the website; or I can use a third party website to order phones and service.

One of the reasons I haven't pushed to do this sooner is because all the national carriers charge an activation fee (a consequence of mobile number portability, I guess). For T-Mobile, the charge is $35 per line. That made me cringe. However, I surf over to LetsTalk.com at the suggestion of my office mate and notice I can get two pretty decent phones for free plus a $50 rebate (each), which more than offsets the cost of the activation. I figure, why not, there's no charge to me. I place my order for phones and service with T-Mobile, requesting to port my numbers from the regional carrier. I expect, with today's automated technology, that my order would be fulfilled pretty quickly; much to my chagrin, it's been two days and LetsTalk.com still says my order is pending acceptance from the carrier.

I do a quick search to see what the ratings are... e-pinions, bizrate, and cnet all give the site an 80% + approval, so it's not too bad. However, looking through the comments, it looks like it's hit or miss--they are either stellar... Or they suck. Most of the time, they're stellar, hence the 80% + ratings, but it's still rather disconcerting because I thought the process would be quicker. Additionally, they have this 2-day delivery promise... I hope that's true, because I could be some days without a phone if T-Mobile ports my number before I actually get my phones! We'll see how this plays out exactly; my office mate swears by them and I'm trusting him... Hopefully I won't regret it! But, you know that's saying: "If it's too good to be true..."

So I got mad.

I admit, I'm a bit of a geek. I like tech things. I generally understand well how programs and computers and gadgets work. I've coveted a Mac since I was first exposed to OSX. But, remember, I'm not of means. And, when it comes to buying a $1,500 piece of equipment, I'm even less of means. My dutiful little laptop keeps plugging along, though the batter has long since died a painful deal, and the laptop is now a glorified, tiny, desktop.

That, until about 5 hours ago became mired in the muck that is WindowsXP. It took my computer ten minutes to load just so it was functional. I was getting pissed. So, being of limited means, I did what any good user would do.

No, I didn't go buy a new computer despite the fact of having no money with which to buy a computer. I ditched Windows.

That's right, I'm now running a Linux box, because I got tired of how slow everything was when I tried to run Windows. I'm sure the slowness is a product of my machine's age (over 5 years), as well as the generally suckiness of Microsoft engineering that creates all kinds of muck that's loaded into memory, despite having uninstalled the depending program 2 years ago. So, I backed up my files that weren't on Stacie's computer or my USB drive (fortunately, I've been using the USB drive more and more), made sure I could find a suitable Quicken replacement, and tonight I pulled the plug.

So far, I'm happy. I'm on the internets, I have the software I need (still trying to work out that Quicken issue, though), and my computer does not run at the speed of a frozen suspension of sugar in molasses. My last big hang up the last time I tried Linux was printing, but I think that's been resolved now. AND, I have have my computer and Stacie's computer networked (though I think it's easier for me to see her files than vice versa). I'd say I solved that problem (albeit temporarily, until I just have to buy a new computer) for now. All for the cost of a $40 book--the free software was nothing to me, if I didn't have a reference for how to use it.

That, I believe, is the definition of frugality.

Tomorrow: what happens when good cell phones go bad.

A little bit of free

It's no secret, really, that the unit of "Stacie and I" is poorer (in monetary terms) than it was just a month and a half ago. So we are trying to do the best we can to make ends meet and enjoy a full life at the same time (see "The ways in which we amuse ourselves" here and "farmers market" at Buried the Lead). One of those ways is finding creative ways to save money while still allowing ourselves some of the services we're used to.

Take, for example, Long Distance calling. In our former life, we paid $10 per month for unlimited Long Distance in addition to the $30 per month comprehensive phone service package. The only two services we really used were voicemail and callerid, and if I had to make a long distance phone call, I didn't worry about it at all (so, $40 a month was what I paid for the convenience of making calls willy-nilly without actually thinking about what I was doing). We don't do that anymore--it was not really worth the added expense--and have instead opted for basic access with the option to use AT&T long distance at $2.00 per month for access and $0.05 per minute when you make a call. After taxes, our phone bill comes to an amazing $17 each month.

At this point, I'll bet you're thinking "Wow, Hal and Stacie are really trying to analyze the services they use so they don't over spend." Oh, contraire, mon frere! So, the latest situation is that I have to make a long distance phone call on Thursday, one that will probably last about an hour. We're starting to run dangerously close on our wireless minutes, and they don't reset until Sunday (cell service is another area, but that's a different post). This phone call will probably be pretty regular--I imagine that I'll have another 4 of these before I'm done by the end of this year. So, rather than spend the cell phone minutes (and risk going over) or the AT&T long distance minutes (at a cost of about $3.00 for the phone call, plus the $2 access fee), let me tell you what I did...

Skype is a great service. It allows you to make calls for about $0.02 per minute, or you can have a SkypeIn number, and it can act just like a regular phone (the caveat is that you must use a computer, unless you spend $150 for a Skype-enabled phone) for about $10 a month. I'm not sure if you still have to pay to make calls, but people can call you, and that's pretty cool.

So, anyway. I thought I would use this service, because this phone call should cost me about $1.26. That looks better than $3 to me, so why not. But, I didn't have a headset, and using my speakers and a microphone (which I already have) may not work so well for me because I might have to make this call at work. $15 later*, we come home and I log into Skype. Lo and behold, the lowest amount of credit I can buy (at least, as far as I can see) is $10. So, really, this phone call I could have made for $3 a home just cost me $25. I justify it in that I have multiple phone calls to make, and the headset has lasting utility... I guess I've got to work on this "frugal" thing.

How do you do about living and spending within your means?
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*Not to mention, that $15 headset really cost me $125, because we bought a mousepad (which, really, Stacie needed) and a desk. Because I gave my desk away thinking that I wouldn't have enough room in the new place. Ooops. But I like my new desk (though it won't get assembled until tomorrow night because it's just too late and the spare room needs some work before we cram yet another thing in it).

The ways in which we amuse ourselves

Because of the move to a smaller mid-western town in the pursuit of life-altering experiences that will ultimately make us happier, we've had to make some lifestyle adjustments. I've read two (three? two...) books since we moved, and I think Stacie and I have watched... *counting* 5 movies* and 8 episodes of Boston Legal?

You see, one of things we've have temporarily decided to forgo is Cable TV. If you check out Stacie's blog (see the link over to the right), she posted about this last week or the week before. It sounds like she's having a hard time with it (but it is, as she says, her "contribution to the cause."), but the truth of the matter is that I'm the one who is having a hard time with it. Used to be, on weeknights or Saturday mornings, I would flip on the tube and watch some FoodNetwork. Nothing seems to relax me more than watching people cook, or learning about the science of cooking (thanks, Alton). But, no go, and I've been complaining nearly every chance I get.

It is my own fault, however, because this is one utility that I have decided I wasn't going to install myself--I took care of everything else, this one is Stacie's. She has decided that we can go without a little longer. Besides, really most of the programs we have to watch are on broadcast, anyway, so when the Fall seasons begins, we can pull out our old rabbit ears and attach them to the wall or something. Given that I have an HDTV with a digital tuner, and assuming there are no major obstructions between here and the stations--and my fear is that the closest stations are in the next big city 50 miles away--we should have near perfect reception for those shows. (I know, you're dying of curiosity. The shows are "Boston Legal," and "Jericho" primarily.)

So what else have we done to amuse ourselves in this world devoid of any TV programming? I give you... PotterPotterMovie

Nothing is better than free entertainment, my friends.
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*Again, because I know you're currious: the movies are Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Dreamgirls, Little Miss Sunshine, Can't Hardly Wait, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch.