Song of the Day

Here's my song for the day. It's stuck in my head... and for once, I know why.

Confused
by Jack Johnson

Well he's not necessarily trying to say that he minds it
But someone plays evil tricks on that kid
Well he's not necessarily trying to say god can't be trusted
But someone plays evil tricks on that kid
And certain situations scream for deviations
But somehow he always gets stuck in the middle
Of this and that and man he should try less
Because every time he's rejected man he loses affection

But don't we all, don't we just got to give a little time
Maybe give a friend a call instead of making him confused
What a terrible thing for you to do
What an awful thing for you to say
What a terrible thing for you to relay

Well i know some people's they got a little less than nothing
But still find some to spare
And other people got more than they could use
But they don't share
And some people got problems man
They got awful complications
Other people got perfect situations
With no provocation

But don't we all, don't we just got to give a little time
Maybe give a friend a call instead of making him confused
What a terrible thing for you to do
What an awful thing for you to say
What a terrible thing for you
Confused
What a terrible thing for you to do
What an awful thing for you to say
What a terrible thing for you to relay

A new bed

Yay!

Travis showed up last week and moved in with us. W00t! He brought with him his first month's rent which made it possible for me to finally buy a bed! Yay! Went to craigslist and found a king-size bed with solid wood headboard and footboard, and a firm pillow-top simmons' mattress for $200 total.

It was humorous loading all of it on top of Jose's car... and I totally forgot to take a picture of it. Damn! Oh well, imagine a Ford Focus wagon with a king size bed taken apart and strapped down, piece-on-top-of-piece, to the top of it.

Went to the beach the evening Travis arrived. It was alright but I wasn't in a very good mood. I guess I'm still flushing my soul of some of the negativity it absorbed in the past. Gettin' a little better about it tho. Workin' on it!

Let's see... bought some groceries... played a little "Neverwinter Nights Gold" (since I never finished it before), watched some movies, played on the internet, spent Sunday pretty much in another plane of existence, and just generally relaxed for once. It was much needed after all the shit with the airline.

Wall-E is out now. Hoping to go see that soon. Tomorrow is pay-day. Life is decent.

Well, back to work.

Peace

Screw Air Travel

More than likely, anyone who's done a fair bit of air travel has one of these stories. Well, here's another.

I redeemed Delta SkyMiles for a reward ticket to fly from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Chicago, IL. The ticket was round trip from 6/26 to 6/29. The reservation was made on 6/24 ... so the airline chose to levy a $75.00 convenience fee and $7.50 for some other tax or fee or some shit. I wasn't happy about it.. but there wasn't much else I could do given the situation. I didn't pay for the fees... a friend did.

Now, I originally wanted to fly from 6/27 to 6/29. However, I couldn't find the right airport/date/time combination to get me there for the miles I had. I found this other option would get me there a day earlier, but still get me there within my award miles.

I had been trying to find a solution for this air travel for three days before I stumbled on to this flight. So I was pretty stoked. But in the confusion of flexible schedules, etc. I forgot I had set the ticket for departure a day early.

I show up at the airport and obviously can't get on the plane. When the mistake is revealed, I feel like an idiot and worked with the ticket counter associate to try to find another way to get there. It was either another awards ticket on Monday (whoops... missed my weekend window so that's no good) or almost $1000 for a ticket. Needless to say, didn't go to Chicago.

While still in Ft. Laud, (I live in Port St. Lucie), I spoke with the agent again about a refund. He said all I had to do was call and they would return the miles to my balance and refund the money.

I got back to PSL and called. The lady at Delta not only told me that I wouldn't be getting my $75.00 redemption fee back... but that it would cost an additional $100 to return the miles to my skymiles account!!

This is what I call predatory business practices in a distressed economy. Here people are already strapped as it is... leisure travel is something of a luxury compared to a few years ago... and they are actually planning to CHARGE me.. TWICE... for a FREE trip I didn't even get to take?!

Well, not this girl. As a result, I am boycotting air travel from now throughout the natural end of my days unless it is an ABSOLUTE emergency. I'll drive, take a train, a bus or a ship before I will put myself in a flying tin can again.

Now, I'm repaying my friend for the money... losing my miles... and still not going anywhere. Was it my mistake? Absolutely! I don't blame them for me mis-reading the date of departure. But to look at a long-time air customer and make those requirements... is just insane.

UPDATE: I got the miles back... but I didn't get the money back. Bastards.

Starting Over

I should probably be alarmed that I'm blogging again.

Those who have nothing to say typically are pretty wise and happy people (or so I've been told). Based on my own life experiences, I'd have to agree with that particular saying.

An old friend of mine told me once she only wrote in her journal when she had something to say and it usually wasn't very fun stuff to write about.

I've decided to challenge that particular notion. I'm choosing to write about my life and it's various twists and turns, not for pity or self-aggrandizement... but to just record my life... as it is... no frills, no philosophy... just stuff that happens, why it happens and how I feel about it.

I have won some, I have lost some. I have won BIG ... and I have lost big. I've learned to discern truth from fiction, sincerity from falsehoods and right from wrong as it applies to my life.

Here, I'll detail them.

These are all new stories from here on out. No past stories, old journal entries about the way life used to be and yadda yadda, blah. No point in digging up the past and pointing out how ugly it is... we already know how things rot in the ground. But at least they can provide good nutrients for future things. :)

So, if it interests you to read these things... great, I hope you get your internet dollar's worth. If not, please consider finding me and pulling me away from the keyboard and buying me a drink. I'll pay you back... I'm good for it.

Peace.