Hello movie night!

Recently my wife and I signed up for a netflix account. Only a couple weeks into we are loving their service. I was at first concerned about recieving and sending the DVDs through mail, but their service is quick and it keeps you informed through email updates. It is great relief seeing the emails confirming they have recieved the DVD back and the email notifiying me that my next in queue is in the mail.

My queue is already nearly 40 long however if you are also a netflix user add me as your friend and if you have movie recommendations let me know! You can add me by clicking here.

By the way, my first movie was the Devil Wears Prada. It is a great movie and anyone in a demanding job or working long hours can relate.

GeekSquad Frustrations

Once upon a time my wife was going to go back to college. With her taking online courses and my need for ‘net time we decided to buy her a laptop. I thought it would be sound purchase but it has only caused frustration and regret….many of which stem from the poor service I have recieved from GeekSquad. Here is a short list of my many frustrations with their service:

1. My wife can no longer talk to them - the first time the laptop started randomly shutting down my wife went in to get it repaired. She later called me up that day in tears because they told her the problem was due to her use and it would cost 350 dollars to remove viruses and malware she installed. The next day I took in the computer, explained the situation, and within 15 minutes they created a ticket to have it looked at and later replaced the hdd at no cost.
2. Poor records management - whenever I take in my computer I have to give them a list of ways to look up my service records. I have taken in the computer 4 times for repairs but without me providing additional information they normally can’t find more than two occasions. This is greatly due to me moving because of work and changing phone numbers, but isn’t there a better way to reference my information…I do bring in my plan number.
3. The run around - once the computer is in for repair it is the run around to get a status and find out what exactly went wrong. Often it starts with someone from GeekSquad leaving a voicemail. I then call the number they provide and then get sent to a variety of contacts each with no clue why I was directed to them. When I ask to escalate the issue I normally just hear silence on the other end.
4. Current situation - my current situation reminds me of the service you recieve at oil change shops. I sent in my computer for repair. They fixed it, confirmed everything was working, and then had to send it out to replace the keyboard because a key was missing. Now GeekSquad wants 400 dollars to replace my optical drive due to some mysterious gel that killed my optical drive. I am so frustrated now I don’t know what to do, but I have no plans to spend nearly the same to buy a new desktop to fix this troublesome laptop. I have exchanged emails with GeekSquad and they have sent me pictures. You can check them out on my flickr page.

My year without pop…tips after 1 month

Pop, Soda, A tasty carbonated beverage…call it what you will but my body has now been free of it for a whole month. I have tried several times before to kick habit and up to now they have all failed horribly. Even a month into it or as I like to say it 1/12 of the way to my goal a ice cold Mountain Dew still tempts me from time to time. But I have developed several methods to avoiding breaking down and cracking open a tasty cold one.

1. Realize how much money is wasted - drinking pop is an expensive habit. Even if you are smart shopper you are easily spending a buck a day on pop and over time that is a lot of money that can be spent best else where.

2. Be health conscience - the truth is drinking pop is unhealthy (even Diet Coke). You have your sugar rush and crash and there are a number of studies that show the stuff does not belong in your body

3. Disable your purchasing power - even after running the numbers on how much it costs the habit is still there. Pop is easy to purchase so you have to remove your purchasing power. This means talking yourself out of stopping into the gas station on your way to work, avoiding the aisle at the grocery store, and not carrying change with you at work.

4. Find a replacement - much like smokers pick up chewing gum or biting pencils find something else to drink. My drink of choice has been Lipton’s green tea with citrus. The stuff tastes great and from what the bottles says it is better for me too. Now that I have opened myself up to new drinks I am also drinking a wider assortment of teas and I have also upped my water intake

5. Get support - it is hard to do anything alone and sometimes you just need one other person to encourage you to keep on going. Let people know you are kicking the habit and I have found most will encourage you naturally and tell you how they wish they could do the same.