Friday, July 27, 2007
Not bad, eh?
And this is before we know how to use the thing. There will be a huge learning curve.


UPS sucks, Costco sucks ten time more
Does that answer the big question? No, despite the fact that today is actually the estimated delivery date for my long awaited camera, it did not arrive. Now I get to wait another whole weekend for it.

And this part was not without it's drama too. You may have imagined that I've been visiting UPS tracking, monitoring this thing every day. It looked to me like it was slow going. Then last night the camera finally completed it's trip from Illinois to Richmond. Before I went to bed tracking said arrived in Richmond, and was in transit to Fishersville, which is the distribution center closest to us. So I thought, OK, we might actually be getting it tomorrow. So this morning I check tracking, expecting to see, Departure Fishersville, out for delivery. But no, hell no. All it says is Arrived in Richmond. No mention of Fishersville anymore. I mean, what the hell? Did they leave it off the truck? To top it all off the tracking page still says across the top of the page "On time for delivery Friday, February 27" Asshats.

Now I get to wait ALLLLLLLLL weekend again. A weekend I'm spending with my brother's family, perhaps swimming, perhaps going to another lawn party. I must try to ignore the fact that these are stellar photo opportunities that I could be enjoying with my new camera.

To reiterate for the sake of the search engines, Costco sucks, Costco sucks, Costco sucks, Costco sucks, Costco sucks, Costco sucks, Costco sucks, Costco sucks, Costco sucks, Costco sucks, and UPS sucks for not providing on time delivery.

(For those of you who's first thought is "get a grip." Yes, I can see that in the perspective of world events, not getting my shiny new expensive camera doesn't even rate. But from my perspective, this is something I've wanted for a long time, had put off for various reasons, and finally committed to doing. I made a large expenditure (for us) which adds to the stress and anticipation of the situation. Now I seem to be cursed. From my perspective it's all I have going on and it looms pretty large. So if you think I'm overreacting, or being a baby, well then...you're obviously not me.)

UPDATE: My life is nothing but drama today. The UPS guy, who knows us well, came and went without my camera. I asked him "Do you have anything for me?" Just this (work related) package, he said. Maybe Monday. Then M comes down and asks if UPS has been by. Yes, and no camera. I grouse about having another shit-ee day and it's a madhouse at work and I'm in a bad mood and he's probably thinking "Please, oh, please don't take it out on me." As he leaves to head back to work I promise him I won't take it out on him. So I enjoy my noon snack and type out the above screed. A few minutes later he shows up with a package in his hands. A UPS package. Which was dropped of at the store. For me. It's my camera. SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

So I take back all my comments about the suckage quotient of UPS, they delivered on time. As far as Costco goes, they still suck for what they did to me last Wednesday. However, don't expect me to have the courage of my convictions and never go there again because I have no choice. Two businesses depend on it. I figure it's like relationship with a real person. They piss you off sometimes but you do eventually get over it. I'll just be resenting them and giving them the stink-eye for a while.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Sandman wins...
Emma stayed with Grandma today because Mary had to take her husband to a doctor's appointment. I arrived to pick Emma up around 4:40 p.m. This is what I found. Her sleeping bag and pillow were laying right on the floor in front of her. Grandma said Emma was determined that she wasn't going to take a nap. She finally passed out at 3:45 p.m. I sat around and chatted with Grandma for another 45 minutes or so to give Emma a chance to sleep because I really didn't want to wake her. My child always wakes up with a smile unless you wake her up. I wanted to be on her good side when she got up. Unfortunately by 5:40 she was still asleep and I needed to go. I woke her up and sure enough, she was not happy about it. When I got her home I bought her off with some Wonderpets. I prefer to think of it as distraction rather than bribery.


It's here...
The field guide, not the camera. As a matter of fact, there's been nothing added or changed on UPS tracking since the 21st. They really are trying to kill me.

Sunday, July 22, 2007
There she is again...
M says she's a bit crippled in one leg, but runs perfectly. It's only when she's walking that you see a hitch in her giddyup. I hope she enjoys the summer and takes off for the hills in the fall. Otherwise she'll be toast when the rednecks show up for hunting season.

This IS summer, right?
It hit the high forties last night. When I got up around 8:20 a.m. it was still only 50 degrees. It was 68 in the living room. I could only take it for a few hours and then I had to roll out an oil-filled radiator heater to warm the room. The pool climbed from 68 degrees in the morning to 74 by late afternoon. No swimming today.

M always jokes that our county has two seasons, Winter and July. I think July is kind of blowing it this year.
It's here...
The camera bag, not the camera. *sigh* The good news is the camera did ship on Friday, like it was supposed to. It's traveled from California to Illinois so far. Estimated delivery is Friday, but I'm really hoping they'll do better than that. Wish me luck.