The Sunday Post ~ "Verizon You Suck" Review

Last year I wrote this post about my woes with Verizon FiOS and their customer service.

What I didn't include in that post was after we got FiOS, Verizon simply couldn't find it in their heart to send us a bill. Nope. Instead, they would just disconnect the service at the end of the month and charge us $30 to reconnect our service, plus the bill. We called and called and called begging them to send us a bill. I'm really not sure how they think you can pay a bill if you don't SEND a bill. Apparently, they have something against paper. Or the US Postal Service. I'm really not sure.

It took us SIX MONTHS for Verizon to straighten out that we "wanted our bill mailed to us." Really? Really.

That was FiOS. Bring on Verizon Wireless.

Now, I've had a cell phone with them since 1994. That long. It was a phone that Grandma and I shared. So, I have a long standing relationship with this company.

Back in 2004 we had some serious issues getting our two cell phones straightened out. It took months, but everything finally got fixed and has been great since.

UNTIL I UPGRADED MY PHONE.

God forbid I should want to get a smart phone and pay more to Verizon every month for the privilege.

Here is the situation.

I have a cell phone and Grandma has a cell phone. Together, the two lines were on a Share Everything plan (not the current version- an older plan from 2006). The two lines were on Grandma's bill along with the other services she receives from Verizon. Everything comes together on the Verizon One Bill.

In September I got the new iPhone 5. This required me to add texting and a data plan. My best option was their current Share Everything plan. $60 for the plan, $40 for the phone connection and $30 for Grandma's phone connected to the service. Then they charged us a $300 connectivity fee... for UPGRADING OUR SERVICE WITH THE SAME CARRIER!!! Not only that, but Grandma is still using the same old phone, and they still charged to migrate her number to the new plan.

Okay great. Fine. Whatever.

As you might have guessed, I no longer live with Grandma. And since we decided to change the plan, the plan was for me to receive the cell phone bill at my house.

Enter Verizon's inability to figure this out.

New plan. New owner of the line. New address. Not hard, right?

Wrong!

October
They sent the bill to Grandma. I called to straighten it out. They said it was all taken care of.

November
They sent the bill to Grandma. I called to straighten it out. They suddenly claimed that One Bill is a separate company and that it's One Bill's fault and that we have to call One Bill to straighten it out. One Bill laid the blame back on Verizon (hey guys, you all work for the same guy!). The swore it was straightened out.

December.
Suddenly the bill is a whooping 300+. I call to straighten it out. Nobody knows why the bill is so high. Verizon tells me that One Bill is double charging for the cell phone and not to pay it. Instead, we should pay the statement for the wireless when we get it.

I also made the point to walk into a Verizon Wireless store to speak directly with a person and try to get the cell phone in my name and the bill sent to my house. The clerk was playing a video game on his phone and huffed when I walked in. He acted very put out by my presence. I told him what I wanted. He said. "Our computer's broke." I asked what I should do. He told me angrily to go find some other Verizon store and didn't offer where those locations were. He basically threw me out of the store. He was rude, mean and extremely unhelpful.

January.
Another high bill- way over the actual 140 it should be. Oh, and we've yet to receive a paper statement for the wireless portion of the bill, but One Bill is still charging for the wireless. We wonder why- maybe we're over on something? (But at 200 minutes, 30 texts and less than 1G of data we're under everything on the number).

February.
I get an email from them that I owe 300 and need to pay it. They don't send a bill. When I click the link it takes me to a website to set up an online Verizon account that I don't desire to do. I call them to request that they send me a paper bill. (Why is this a big deal? Send a paper bill so you can get paid!) They won't let me do anything with the account because I'm not Grandma and it's not my line. Wait, what? So, I straighten everything out.

Then two days later I get a call from Verizon that my service will be shut off at midnight unless I pay them 300 immediately. I informed them that the bill had already been paid (It had. A check for that exact amount had been sent. Also, that bill is not due until the 17th of February. This was last week). They didn't care, they insisted I pay it AGAIN immediately because One Bill hasn't been sending them the money for the wireless that One Bill has been charging. Oh yeah, and we're still not getting paper statements to be able to pay the wireless portion of the company, even though One Bill insists on taking our money.

So, I try to talk through it, but Verizon customer service refuses to deal with me until the bill is paid again. So, I pay the bill again, this time over the phone.

Now they're willing to work with me. Now they tell me that "Assumption of Liability" never took place. (That's Verizon speak for possession of a telephone line- as though having a line is a bad thing and you're liable. Yep.) So, we go through that process-again. Mind you, that we went through this process 3 other times in attempts for me to take ownership of my phone number, including Grandma and I conference calling Verizon so we were both able to speak with the reps.

They promise me that everything is now straightened out.

Oh, and the very next day I received my first paper statement from them. In February for a service started in September.

The process of upgrading my plan has taken 9 phone calls, a trip to the store, 15 hours and over a thousand dollars and is probably still not fixed.

Spare yourself the trouble and NEVER get Verizon.

January 8, 2013 ~ Beauty and the Billy

Billy hasn't been sleeping so Thursday after school we fixed a Mediterranean plate for dinner and sat down in front of the tv to watch a movie.

Billy always chooses Cars but I prattled off the list of movies and he picked Beauty and the Beast instead. I was surprised because he only likes computer animation.

We cuddled up on the sofa to watch the movie.

He really got into it. Daddy called from "At Kit" (you figure out what state that is) and Billy asked me to get off the phone because he was watching the movie. Then Grandma called and again...

He found parts to be terrifying, especially the wolves and Beast when he was angry. But he was completely mesmerized.

I let him stay up ten minutes past bedtime to finish the movie. I told him this and that he had to be extra good for the privilege.

He responded, "okay Mommy. But after we watch Cars. Also, not my bedtime." (Said with a finger in the air).

January 8, 2013 ~ Raining On Whistles

This morning Billy decided to take his two new whistles to school with him. He got them last weekend at a birthday party. Thanks Kiki! Billy often takes toys with him in the car on the way to school because, you know, that 5 minute ride is a long one.

This morning it was whistles. Very loud whistles. VERY.

It also happened to be raining outside. Not a hard pour, and not the anticipated snow. Just a cold, light rain.

Billy was walking out to the car in this cold, light rain blowing on his whistle. He shuffled along. Let's face it, he was stalling because he didn't want to go school.

Suddenly he started sobbing.

"Billy what's wrong?"

"It's wetting my whistle!" he bawled.

[Pause]
Yes, he really said that exact phrase.
[/Pause]

I burst out laughing.

"But Mommy, the rain is wetting my whistle. My whistle is wet!" He cried, hurt by my sudden outburst regarding a few drops on a plastic toy.

He was distraught about that darn rain wetting his little whistle. Finally he gave up.

"Mommy, you take it. It wet. I no want it."

Drawn In Thursdays: Things Kids Do #20

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A true story from Wednesday.

February 5, 2013 ~ ravens fans

The celebration continues with more purple.

The Big Game Hightlights

Yep, I'm behind on posting again. Can you blame me? We've had a big weekend around here.

First, we had a birthday party on Saturday, so that took up pretty much all day.

Bring on Sunday. We had a number of friends/young parents over. Six of us were University of Delaware grads, not only rooting on the Ravens, but QB Joe Flacco who also went to our school. Go UD!

Billy was go excited to root on the Ravens. He got to stay up for the whole game, even with the additional 35 minutes lights out break in the stadium.

There were actually plenty of people at the party, but I'm only showing Billy. He and Cub played for most of the game. The funniest was them combing My Little Ponies together. Yep, that happened.

Well, yesterday was a major day of rest. He was tired. VERY tired. I mean, he stayed up until 11:30 to watch the Ravens win!

We're still in shock. And purple. But mostly shock. Did the Ravens really win the Superbowl? Why yes they did!

How, you might ask, did I get that photo? Well, my work let us have time off for us to go to the parade and rally. So, we walked the 2 miles to the stadium in the bitter cold. I didn't bring Billy. It was crowded and, well, bitter cold.

But the rest of Baltimore showed up!

Yes, that is the stadium at capacity. It was so full that the crowds on the stairs prevented us from being able to leave the bleachers until the event was over. And that was only the crowd in the stadium. The crowd along the parade route was insane. Thousands upon thousands of fans. A sea of purple and black. Actually, swarm is probably a better word than sea.

And yes, Billy is wearing his Ravens gear today. HE wouldn't have it any other way.

January 31, 2013 ~ Purple Friday

Gearing up for the game.

It's the last Purple Friday of the season, and a rare on at that. This is only the second ever Super Purple Friday. Billy is ready. This is Purple Friday, New Orleans style.

(What's Purple Friday you ask? In Raven Country we support our favorite football team by wearing purple every Friday during the football season until the Raven's season ends. It's typical to see jerseys on Fridays too. During playoffs Ravens fans go all out in purple.)

Drawn In Thursdays: Things Kids Do #19

Click to Enlarge

A true story from this week.

January 29, 2013 ~ Let's Paint a Picture

There was no way I was going to *take* a picture, so let's paint one instead.

In the middle of dinner Billy said to me, "Mommy I have to pee" just as I heard a loud gushing sound.

No worries! I brought spare clothes this time! Only, they were damp from a spilled sippy cup in the bag. Damn! But I Was in luck! Threw them into Grandma's dryer. Only problem was, Billy had to sit around without clothes for 20 minutes.

So, picture this:

Billy, in a yellow sweater that's too big for him with nothing on his bottom half. He wanted to wear shoes, so he put on Grandma's tennis shoes- on the wrong feet. Then he walked around the kitchen that way, dragging a stuffed elephant in a beer box through a sea of spilled newspapers that he had created.

And that folks, is a worth AT LEAST a thousand words.

January 28, 2013 ~ Chocolate Soup

While waiting for dinner to cook I served Billy a special treat. I had made dessert and decided to let him eat it before dinner instead of after.

It was chocolate pudding.

Billy loved it. But he insisted it wasn't pudding. It was "chocolate soup". And boy did he like it. Moreover, not only is it yummy to eat, it's awesome to paint the table with!

And no, I didn't take a photo of the pudding art.

January 27, 2013 ~ Mow the Snow

A day late and a dollar short...

It snowed this weekend. Finally! Billy has been itching to go play in the snow. What he really wants is to go sledding. He has a book about sledding. And Grandpop gave us a sled. But, alas, you can't sled on grass.

Well, it wasn't enough snow for sledding, but at least it didn't rain immediately after, so we were able to go out and play.

Billy opted to wear his new hat. This one matches his pink hat, only I haven't made ears for it yet. As you can see, sans ears it still works as a hat.

He insisted even before we went outside that he fetch his lawn mower.

He wanted to "mow the snow". He mowed until his little nose turned red.

Then we went inside for hot chocolate.

He's had hot chocolate before and didn't really take to it, since he doesn't really like anything warm or hot. I am often putting food in the freezer to make cold whatever I just heated up. But after playing in the snow and the opportunity to eat marshmallows, he was willing to try "warm chocolate".

Highlights from this weekend:

~
Buddy got a haircut. Billy thought this was the funniest thing in the world. Dogs getting haircuts. Really.

 ~

Billy was playing with a toy train made up of blocks. He pulled all of the blocks off of the base and announced, "The train is naked! Naked train, naked train!"

~

Daddy made stir fry for dinner. He refused to eat the chicken. He pulled out the chicken strips and put them on the table. "I no like squirrel," he said. He decided Daddy had cooked squirrel (to my knowledge Daddy has never cooked a squirrel.) We asked him where it came from. He informed us it was the squirrel from Grandpop's attic that we were eating. (See the Thanksgiving weekend 2012 post.)

~

The Sunday Post ~ Sears Portrait Studio Review

So, this Christmas we decided to do a family portrait. Just when I was looking for a photographer I found a deal through LivingSocial for the Sears Portrait Studio. It was $35 for a $159 package. Convenient AND cheap... what more could I want?

The portrait session went well. I made the appointment. We showed up, had our pictures taken and then got to look at the digital photos on screen and choose the ones we wanted.

Now, this $159 package included the session, 4 8x10s and 2 10x10s. That's it. And when I say that's it, I mean it. The picture CD was an extra $100 which I opted out of. Extra print sheets were $20 a piece (that would be an 8x10 or smaller sizes ganged up onto an 8x10 photo paper).

Unexpectedly, they told me that the photos would take a week to come in. I hadn't expected this. With digital photos it's easy to print from just about anywhere. So, I had planned on walking out of there with my pictures. No such luck. They gave me a date and time for pick up in about a week- cutting it close for Christmas.

I arrived at Sears at the appointed time to pick up the photos. I was told that they had changed their computer system and that the photos actually wouldn't be ready for another week. Firstly, any IT guy that decides to change over a computer system in the middle of the holiday rush should be fired on the spot. There is no reason why it couldn't wait until after the holidays and was, I'm sure, only an excuse and not really the truth. The photos would not be ready in time for gifting and I was told I had no recourse.

I came back after Christmas to get my photos, all six of them.

Had I paid the full $159 I would have been royally pissed. Seeing that I only paid $35 and that I am able to retouch photos myself, I was less pissed. I basically paid the girl to snap a couple of photos. But there was no correction to the photos at all. In the future I'll just pay my wedding photographer at $200 an hour for a portrait session. That price comes with the CD and the retouching.

Okay, so what was so wrong with the photos?

1. The backdrop was wrinkled and had red fuzzies or stains on it.

It's true. Now, I didn't save a copy of what the photos looked like with the original backdrop. I wasn't planning on writing a blog post about my experience, but some friends talked me into it. But had I not had the ability to retouch that out I would have been very upset about an extremely wrinkled backdrop behind me. It looked like an unlaundered bedsheet. And I'm not talking about the draping, I'm talking about that sheet having been rolled into a ball and stomped on by a herd of angry toddlers wrinkled. I can hang up a wrinkled and stained bedsheet at home. Why do I need to pay Sears to do that?

2. The lighting was all wrong.

Now, I wasn't expecting award-winning work from the photographers at Sears. Let's be honest, here. I fully walked into it not expecting to see Ansel Adams standing there. But if you're going to snap a portrait, you have to have decent lighting. In some photos the exposure was too dark and there was no light on the face, but instead almost back-lit. In others, the lighting was so strong the colors are blown out.

Allow me to present three examples, keeping in mind that the "originals" already have the backdrop retouched to remove the majority of the wrinkles and the red stuff. The top photos are the "original" and the lower photos are the retouched ones. Remember that these are 8x10- they look different small in the blog post, so click on them to see large.

Example #1:

Example #2

Example #3- That Wrinkled Mess- look closely

I would not go back and I would not recommend Sears Portrait Studio to anyone that I liked. Maybe even people I don't like.

Fortunately, I didn't lose too much on this package and I can fix it myself, but others are not so lucky. 

Buyer beware!

January 25, 2013 ~ Snow!

Billy wanted to help shovel. This was Daddy's solution.

January 24, 2013 ~ The Calm Down Song

Okay, I'm way too busy to draw Drawn In, so bear with me. You'll just have to wait until next week.

In the meantime...

Billy was out of control yesterday, as Grandma can attest. He was wild, tired, and tantrumatic (that's like traumatic, but full of tantrums).

He refused to go to sleep and wanted me to sing to him, but he was too wild even for that. So I made up a song on the spot.

I said, "hey Billy, want to sing the 'Calm Down' song?"

"Yes!" he shouted and bounced up and down. (Dear Lord this child is wound up).

To no particular melody and remember I made it up on the spot:


Let's calm down, let's calm down
No more running all around.
Let's calm down, let's calm down
No more shouting all around.

Let's calm down, let's calm down
It's time to sit ourselves down.
Let's calm down, let's calm down
Everybody CALM DOWN.


Well, apparently this song is so amazing (to a two year old) that he made me sing it to him eight times. That's right- eight times. But you know what? He calmed down!

January 23, 2013 ~ Lucky Number Seven

I've known for awhile that Billy can count... to two.

I make him count out 20 seconds when he goes into time out. Here's what it usually sounds like:

"One, two, four, eight, nine, ten, fourteen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, fourteen, nineteen, twenty!"

Three and five are always skipped. The other numbers are hit and miss.

Well, Billy was helping me empty the dishwasher and he was counting out the number of Billy plates there were in the top rack (those would be the plastic plates). I asked him to count all of them. He counted out six and he was right! (and he didn't skip numbers).

So, testing this new-found knowledge of numbers I asked him to count the cups. Fourteen. Um... okay, maybe six was just a lucky guess.

Well, Daddy asked him to actually count out the cups just on one side of the dishwasher.

"One, two, three, four, five, six..., seven!"

Yes, there were actually seven and he counted them out correctly. I'm not saying he's got this counting thing down yet, but two out of three ain't bad.

January 22, 2013 ~ Gone Purple

In honor of the Ravens going to the Super Bowl, this blog has gone purple. We'll be purple at least until the Super Bowl and if we win? Much, MUCH longer.

Billy loves football, Billy loves the Ravens. So, it's appropriate.

As Billy would say, "Go Ravens!" "Go Flacco!" (actually, he says 'go, flag, go') "Go Rice!"

He has no idea what this means, but he loves to cheer them on anyway. and he'll gladly show you how to kick a football or throw it across the room. He's pretty good. Watch out Flacco, Billy might want your job some day.

Billy even know that the number 5 is Flacco's jersey. He specifically requests to wear his Flacco shirt between his two Ravens shirts. Yep. I've inspired a life-long football fan. I couldn't be prouder.

GO RAVENS!

January 21, 2013 ~ Proof of Pink

Billy wears pink. And I promise that no one will mistake this child for a girl.

January 20, 2013 ~ Pony Rides, Lollipops, Cupcakes and Ravens

Sunday was a jam-packed day of activity.

We started the morning with a trip to the Horse Show with Miss A. She's big into horses and Billy loves them too. I am happy that she wants to share her passion with him. He wanted to ride the ponies, so we did. Then he got a lollipop. You would have thought it was the best day ever. Maybe it was...and it was only just the morning! Billy also clapped for the first time that I've seen. I don't mean baby clapping. I mean sitting ringside and clapping at the appropriate moment when the horse jumped over the jump. It was terribly cute.

After nap it was off to a gymnastics birthday party. Billy clung to me like a spider monkey. He wouldn't let me put him down. He was so terrified. And these were all of his classmates. He sees them daily. But still, it was a lot to process. Finally, he warmed up and went to play.

Blogger is having issues and won't let me insert a photo. Photo to come here.

Then after the party we went over to Cub's house to watch the Ravens game. The boys got to stay up for the whole game, because, let's be honest- we were going to leave the TV to go spend a half hour getting them down. Nope. Forget it. Better to just let them watch.

Billy really got into it. He doesn't understand the game yet. But when the adults screamed joyfully, he did too, running around saying "Go Ravens!" "Go Flacco!" and "touchdown!!!"

AND... Billy only had one accident this weekend. So thrilled with him. He pooped in the potty like a big boy. He asked when he had to go potty and held it until we got to the potty. He even (when naked just before bed) went and pottied by himself in the dark bathroom and came and got me to tell me he peed. And I can't blame him for the one accident. It was right after the Ravens won the game. Honestly, I was so excited I almost peed my own pants!


Highlights from this weekend:

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"Mommy, I reach up and touch the stars and moon. But I need ladder first."
~

~
"Mommy, when you say 'no' to me you make me sad."
~

The Sunday Post ~ Real Men Wear Pink

Have you ever seen a little boy dressed in pink? Probably not.

Boys don't get to wear pink. It's off limits, too girly, a total no go. Sure, girls get to wear blue. No one complains if a little girl is dressed in blue. But a boy in pink? For shame.

What will become of that little boy if he wears pink? What if he's becomes to girly? What if he grows up with a permanent fondness for pink? Have you ever stopped to wonder about this? (Okay, probably not).

But I have. Why?

Well, Billy's favorite color is pink.

We go to the store and he wants the pink one. I have to tell him, no honey, boys don't wear pink.

Well, here I am at an impasse. Billy wants his own knitted hat. The one in the previous pictures was a gift and has gone on to its recipient. So, now he is without a knitted hat to wear. I happen to have a ton of different colored wool laying around and let him pick the color he wanted. He wanted pink.

What to do? Intervene? Tell him no? Break his heart? Or make him a pink hat...

Well, I compromised. I made him a pink hat and I am now making him a blue hat. He can wear both. And I won't tell him no to pink.

Why?

Plenty of grown men wear pink. Daddy certainly owns a number of pink shirts and ties. So does Grandpop. So, if grown men can wear pink, why not a little boy? Tell me that. The truth is that real men wear pink. And now so does Billy.

January 19, 2013 ~ Big Red Race Car

Billy tried out his car on the street for the very first time.