Musings

It's been about six months since I've posted here regularly, so I think it's about time to admit that this blog is dead. I keep my LJ account because I participate in some communities and I like to read the posts in my friend stream, but you won't see any new posts here.

If you simply MUST know what's going on in my life, I'd invite you to visit The Lactivist Blog or to subscribe to the feed for my bento blog - Bento Yum.

Still in computer hell, and still running about five bentos behind, but had a few moments before bed to post these ones...

Larger pics and full details by clicking on the bento name or the photo...

Bento #40 - Toddler Bento


Bento #41, #42, #43 - Picnic lunch for me, Elnora and Emmitt...


New Bento Gear!

Just started getting into bento a few weeks ago but only had a Mr. Bento and some random things I found to use for sauce containers. I'd been craving REAL bento supplies, but being stuck in Central Ohio, there's not much to be found. (and eBay is insanely expensive)

One of my Lactivist blog readers lives in Japan though and was kind enough to go shopping for me. She spent about $60 on bento supplies (and another $55 to ship, eek!) but hey, I pretty much never splurge on fun stuff for me. :) Besides, Greg says that bento has made his lunch much more fun than it usually is, so it's giving both of us a little extra joy.

Here's what she sent:

7 Bentos, 2 snack boxes and a napkin holder...



Tons of accessories...



To break it down to more detailed info...



Above: 3pk animal stencils, tulip shaped hot dog cutter, 3 pk of onigiri molds (bear, boy, boy), 3 pk sushi roll mold, tiny metal cutters (dog, car, fish) and small plastic cutters (bear, rabbit, dog.) The metal containers says "The best excellent food is homemade cakes in the after" on the packaging. :)



Above: Four pack of animal sauce containers, two fruit spread containers, Mr. Monkey and Ms. Monkey mayo containers, two shaker bottles.



Above: Box of sushi grass, 80ct triangle foil dividers, 25ct oblong divider, 15ct mini heart foils, two packs of cute animal food dividers.



Above: Two water bottle wraps (one with a shoulder strap), two sets of napkins (one says "loverly strawberry"), straw cleaners, twisty straws, Hello Kitty twisty straw, a Hello Kitty cup and a screw on lid that turns any water bottle into a squeeze bottle.



Above: Orange two-tier bento with mini-chopsticks in the lid and an orange bento belt.

I have no idea what the capacity is (I'd guess about 450ml total) or if it's microwave safe.



Above: Each box is 340 ml and oddly, they'll stack on top of each other. Microwave save without the lids.

The box on the left reads:
"Thank you god. I'm so grateful for having made friends with Rascal, my precious friend."



Above: Snap-tight lid with two dividers inside. (360ml capacity, microwave safe) So glad she found this, I really wanted a HK bento for Elnora for play date days.



Above: Side snap lid for two-tier bento. No idea what the capacity is (or if it's microwave safe.)



Above: My absolute favorite of the boxes. Front says: "We are passionate about lunch communication. The lunch is a good day pastime." 500ml capacity, microwave safe.

Box is sitting on the napkin that wraps around it.



Above: 2 tier "Lube Sheep" (ROTFL!) blue box with dragon fly design.

Top tier 330ml
Bottom tier 250ml
Total: 570ml
Microwave safe without the lids



Above: Two "Wonder Leo and Cutie Monkey" snack boxes. 220 ml each. Ku-Ma, Wanco, Pyonta napkin box.

(Because Judy asked if this blog was dead and while the answer is yes, I figured I'd post anyway.)

Ran across this quote today. It's about a month late, but it's still worth posting.

From http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/911myths/4213805.htmlPopular Mechanics...a quote from Rosie O'Donnel while she was ranting on The View:

"While saying she didn’t know what to believe about the U.S. government’s involvement in the attacks of Sept. 11, she said, “I do believe that it’s the first time in history that fire has ever melted steel. I do believe that it defies physics that World Trade Center tower 7—building 7, which collapsed in on itself—it is impossible for a building to fall the way it fell without explosives being involved. World Trade Center 7. World Trade [Center] 1 and 2 got hit by planes—7, miraculously, the first time in history, steel was melted by fire. It is physically impossible.”"

Why yes Rosie, it IS impossible for fire to melt steel.

We know this is true because we have to hire people to harvest the steel girders that grow spontaneously in nature...

Rats...but not in the way you think.

I have ALWAYS wanted to serve on a jury. I think it sounds interesting and it would be neat to get to see the court system at work. Unfortunately, the only time I ever got called was while in college (and I was called for a jury up in the Youngstown area) so I wasn't able to go.

Until this week. Yep...I voted, I got called for jury duty. Unfortunately, this is a time period when I simply cannot serve on a jury. Apart from being self-employed and dealing with the financial hardship of going (though we could deal with that as long as it wasn't a super-long trial), I'm the primary caregiver of two children two and under. Even that *might* be doable if I could convince my mom to come down four times over the next four months in case I had to go.

But I'm also a nursing mom. That pretty much knocks me out of the ability to go. Emmitt will not yet take a bottle...and it's actually not uncommon for breastfed babies to forever refuse the bottle. (Which obviously makes it difficult to be separated.) Even if he would take a bottle, there's the issue of having to take a 15 minute break every 2-3 hours to express milk and then finding a place to store it. It's just not practical.

Thankfully, up here in Delaware county, being a nursing mother of a child under the age of 2 is "viable reason" to be excused from duty. I just called in and they said to simply fill out the forms and to make note that I needed to be excused for the above reason and that they'd give me no problem. Kudos to Delaware county by the way for understanding the needs of nursing families.

So I guess I have to hope that maybe in five years or so I'll get called again and can actually go serve.

Haven't seen the print version yet, but Dennis tells me that it's the top story of the Metro section with a huge picture. Yay!

Here's a link to the print version of the story.

Well, the kids and I made the AP Wire. It turns out that about 800 moms gathered at 36 airports across the country. It's all over the news, including great coverage on NBC4 and Channel 10 news here in Columbus. (I'll post links if they put the video online.)

Here's how it went, with pics. :)

Things went amazingly well, especially considering that we just started getting organized on Sunday evening. I'd spent all day yesterday contacting local media and was feeling a little depressed that no one called me back, but decided to go for it anyway.


I knew that things were looking up when I heard 610 WTVN mention the nurse-in during their news break while I was driving to the airport. Then I arrived and found a reporter and a photographer from The Columbus Dispatch waiting for us. Within moments of starting to speak with the Dispatch reporter, the Channel 10 (CBS) news crew showed up...followed by a news crew from Channel 4 (NBC) and a photographer from the Associated Press. Better still, we ended up with 12 nursing mothers (most from the AP Village forum here in Columbus) and 18 children gathered from about 10am to around 11:30am.


Overall, it went very, very well. I was the first to arrive, which was good since I needed to unload two kids and the media kits. As I was doing so, the Dispatch reporter came over to interview me. He asked quite a few questions including how I got involved, why I was there for the rally, how I felt about the Delta issue and so on. While he was speaking with me a representative from the airport showed up. I introduced myself, shook hands with her and assured her that we weren't there to cause any trouble and that we'd be staying back against the wall and out of the flow of pedestrians.


That's when she told me that the airport requires a "permit" for any protest and that I'd need to file the proper paperwork and then wait the 24-48 hours for things to be approved. "We'd like you to leave" she said.

I looked at her and replied "Well, we're not here to protest. We're simply gathering on CITY property to LEGALLY breastfeed our children in a show of support for nursing moms. We will NOT be leaving, but we also won't be doing anything to cause problems."

She looked at me, she looked at the reporter standing there listening.

"Well, how long will you be here?"

"I expect for about an hour or two."

No response. She simply walked off. ;) She then proceeded to hover about 25 feet away for more than an hour, shooting us not very happy looks. But...she didn't make a scene nor did she try to call the cops.

I have to think that the four news crews standing there with us might have had something to do with that.


Ultimately, NBC and CBS each interviewed several moms and the reporters and photographers took TONS of pictures. The CBS and Dispatch reporters (both men) were exceedingly pleasant and stuck around for quite awhile making conversation and asking questions. The NBC reporter (a woman) was nice enough while interviewing us, but one mom saw her roll her eyes as she and her camera man finally walked away.


The story ran on the noon CBS news, though I haven't seen it yet. It's also up as a "breaking story" on the Dispatch site, but I expect the full version will show up tomorrow. I'll be sure to post updates and links as I find them. In the meantime, here are a ew pictures taking by me and by Rachel of the AP Village forum. I expect to have more photos to post later.

Most people that know me know that I'm a big supporter of breastfeeding. I exclusively pumped breastmilk for 14 months for my oldest daughter and am currently nursing my 7 week old son. I've also been actively involved in donating to and promoting our local milk bank. I even run a blog aimed at educating people about breastfeeding and milk banking.

But this week things took a step up. As of tomorrow, I will officially be a "lactivist." I've spent the past two days organizing a local group of moms to take part in the Columbus version of a national "Nurse-In" against Delta Airlines. Moms across the country will be gathering in front of Delta ticket counters to peacefully, but poignantly make a point by nursing their children en masse.

Why?

Because a few weeks ago on a Freedom Airlines/Delta flight, a mother was actually KICKED OFF the plane while it was at the gate because she was nursing her daughter and refused to cover up with a blanket. That's right, kicked off.

No matter that in Vermont (where the flight was) a woman has the PROTECTED legal right to breastfeed her child in any location that the mother is otherwise authorized to be. No matter that the mom was sitting in the second to the last row of the plane in a window seat with her husband in the aisle seat. No matter that the ONLY person on the plane that had a problem with it was the flight attendant...the mom and her family were removed from the flight simply because the mom refused to make her child eat under a disgustingly germy airline blanket.

Freedom Airlines and Delta Airlines spent the next few days issuing statements to the effect of:

"Moms are welcome to breastfeed on our flights, though they may be asked to cover up with a blanket. The woman was offered a blanket, she refused."

and...

"Yes, we may ask you to cover your child up with a blanket...if that causes a problem, may we suggest that you bring a bottle with you?"

Finally, after more than a week of negative press and publicity, the company issued a Clinton-like mea culpa that blamed the entire incident on a "young and inexperienced" flight attendant. No personal apology has been issued to the mother herself.

So, in a show of support, myself and more than a dozen (starting to look like more than two dozen) other Columbus moms and moms-to-be are heading to Port Columbus tomorrow at 10am to meet up and to nurse our children.

I've never practiced civil disobedience before. Should be fun. ;)

This is just...well...weird.

From MSNBC:


A 68-year-old man who almost accompanied Cory Lidle on his fatal flight in New York City last month died in a plane crash in California on Tuesday.

According to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Bob Cartwright, whose friend and personal pilot died in the plane crash that also killed the New York Yankees pitcher, and two other men died when their private plane crashed into the shoreline of Big Bear Lake, near Cartwright's mountain home in Sugarloaf, Calif.


Some strange example of "fate" making sure he didn't miss his time to die, or just a bad example of a guy that's friends with some pretty bad pilots?

...like finding out your parents sued the GYN for child support because you were born...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061115/od_nm/child_compensation_dc_1

From November'06

and...

From November'06

Bri gets a train and I get coal?

Dear Santa... Dear Santa, This year I've been busy! In July I gave denl42 a wet willie, then I took it back (-5 points). In February I didn't flush (-1 points). Last month I helped redridinghoodie hide a body (-173 points). In May I helped soy_jeff see the light (8 points). In August I caught a purse-snatcher who stole judybright's purse (30 points). Overall, I've been naughty (-141 points). For Christmas I deserve a spanking! Sincerely, thejenn1

Write your letter to Santa! Enter your LJ username:

Feel free to copy to your own blog and link to it in the comments, or to just cut and paste and answer in the comments here if you'd like...

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside/outside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk.
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe.
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised/ing children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

...because listening to two kids trade off screaming sessions for hours on end is almost enough to drive someone mad even when that person desperately WANTED them.

Someone that didn't want them and ended up with that...would likely jump off a bridge.

Maybe it's just me, but I find this article to be a little...well...full of more drama than might be fitting?

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/15867215.htm

A Dallas Cowboys wide receivers-passing game coach filed a personal injury lawsuit Thursday against a McDonald's restaurant in Texas, alleging that his wife and au pair found a dead rat in their take-out salad in June, court documents show.

Todd Haley, his wife, Christine Haley, and their au pair, Kathryn Kelley, are suing the restaurant and its franchise owner, Ken Lobato and KBL Group, for a minimum of $1.7 million in physical and mental pain and anguish, alleging that the restaurant was negligent in preparing the salad and failed to have safeguards against rodents.

and

The women ate a few bites before they uncovered what they later determined to be a stiff young roof rat on its back, with its whiskers intact and its mouth agape. The women gagged and vomited repeatedly, the lawsuit alleges.

and

The women say they are haunted by this knowledge and fear that they may have caught a disease.

"This tremendous horror translates into continuing gastric disaster," the suit states.

The women have had difficulty keeping food down and can no longer go out to eat, the suit states. They are forced to prepare their food "from scratch . . . allowing themselves to see each ingredient placed in the dish they are cooking," the suit states.

Haley was breastfeeding her 6-month-old when she ate the salad and fears she may have passed the child a disease through her breast milk. She switched the child to formula, which caused her "mental anguish," the suit states.

While neither woman has tested positive for any disease, both have been in counseling and anticipate about a year more of therapy, the suit states.

Todd Haley has suffered the "loss of consortium" - the companionship and support of his wife - the lawsuit states.

I mean granted, I'd puke my guts out too if I found a rat in my salad...but switching my baby to formula to "protect" him from the bubonic plauge that has NOT been found to be in my system? Suing for $1.7million for pain and suffering? Filing against McDonalds for "loss of the companionship and support of his wife"

It just all seems...well...kinda fishy to me.

I also love the part where we're supposed to feel so sorry for them because now they have to "prepare their food from scratch" so that they can see what ingredients are going into it.

Again, gross? Yes. Sue-worthy? Perhaps. Worthy of THIS MUCH TRAUMA? Doubtful.

I just got a spam email with the subject line "Home Based Jobs. Full-time and Part-time."

Here's what it said...

"Mr. Sikes contented himself with tying an imaginary knot under his left ear, and jerking his head over on the right shoulder; a piece of dumb show which the Jew appeared to understand perfectly. He then, in cant terms, with which his whole conversation was plentifully besprinkled, but which would be quite unintelligible if they were recorded here, demanded a glass of liquor.‘Perhaps I am,’ replied Sikes; ‘I should think you was rather out of sorts too, unless you mean as little harm when you throw pewter pots about, as you do when you blab and—’‘Are you mad?’ said the Jew, catching the man by the sleeve, and pointing towards the boys."

Umm....wha?

From an email sent by Meijer:

Meijer is leading the industry to a new level of consumer cost savings and our new program covers the leading oral generic antibiotics with a special focus on the prescriptions most often filled for children. The following can be obtained for FREE (No insurance card required) at your Meijer pharmacy, with your doctor's prescription:

Amoxicillin
Cephalexin
SMZ-TMP
Ciprofloxacin
Ampicillin
Penicillin VK
Erythromycin

Prescription must be picked up at store in person. Maximum 14 day supply at normal dosage. List may be subject to change. Not valid with any other offer.

What the Experts Say...
National health experts say that 40 percent of children who see a physician leave with a prescription. 'When appropriately prescribed, antibiotics are the leading tools to treat sick kids," said Dr. Herman Gray, fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics and president, Children's Hospital of Michigan.

More info here...

Now...I think this is fantastic in that people who really NEED the abx will be able to get them with no strings attached and at no charge. That's fantastic when you combine it with the fairly high availability of free medical clinics in our area. Low-income families are going to now have a MUCH easier time treating infections that they otherwise might not have been able to afford to treat...that will lower overall health problems and will help avoid more costly bills when people get even sicker and end up in the ER.

HOWEVER...a few things concern me...

1.) 40% of children leave with a prescription? Holy crap! There is NO WAY that I believe that that number is even remotely accurate of "appropriately described." Firstly because FTMs are known for taking their kid to the Ped at the first sign of a sniffle and secondly because even when you consider people that are actually sick...there's no way that 40% of them have infections that need to be treated by abx instead of time.

2.) The fact that these antibiotics are now FREE makes me think that doctors will be even MORE likely to prescribe them just to make parents happy. With no barrier to receiving them, I've got to wonder how many parents are going to be PLYING their kids with free antibiotics just because they can. There's clearly a general misunderstanding of how these things work and many MANY parents and adults are of the "the more the better" mindset when it comes to things like antibiotics.

Again, I'm happy to see them being made available to those that will actually need them, yet can't afford them, but I do worry about the potential negative side effects of a program like this.

Cause I'm playing with Google's new online Picasa albums and cause these two pictures are cute...

From 10-2206

and

From 10-2206

I was just emailing Dennis about creepy, creepy guy that Bri and I saw at lunch today and figured I'd go ahead and post it to my blog.

We went to the new "tea house" in Sunbury to check it out. Good food, but creepy environment.

First this old lady answers the door...picture your stereotypical white haired old lady from a movie...she "looks" grandmotherly, but if she pulled out a meat cleaver, you wouldn't really be shocked.

So she takes us to this teeny tiny room with four tables in it and seats us. Within seconds this guy appears as if from no where. He looks JUST like the guy that said he killed Jon Benet Ramsey. If this isn't weird enough, he starts talking and he talks SUPER soft, like Michael Jackson. Throughout the meal he continues to appear as if from no where and to STARE at us.

He brought Nora a high chair, then stood there and looked at us while I put her in it and continued to stand there and look at us for like four minutes before he walked away. At that point, I said to Bri 'umm...that guy is creeping me out' just as Bri looks at me to say 'I think he's a serial killer!'

He came back a ton of times to see if we wanted tea. Bri finally ordered some, which he brought. She said "I just wanted a cup, I don't need a whole pot" and he says, in his weird soft voice "well it can only be made in a pot!" then stands there and stares again for multiple minutes. That happened any time he had to have anything to do with us. Including when he brought me the check, then stood over my shoulder staring at me while I wrote the tip amount in. (Despite my doing the requisite fumbling of the papers while waiting for him to walk away so that I could write in the tip amount...)

As I was filling out the tip he says to us...

"Are you ladies from around here?"

I started to say "I live up on High Street, but my brain went "no!!!!" so I said "yeah, I live around the corner". Bri refused to make eye contact with him and just sort of whimpered. (not that I blamed her...)

He's the type of guy that if the news showed up at my door step to interview me I'd have to say "Well yeah, actually, the first time I met him I thought he might be a child molester/serial killer...can't say as I'm surprised."

Ick. I get chills just thinking about him. I bet he keeps someone in a pit in the basement of that building.

Funny thing is, it wasn't just the guy that was creepy...the lady was creepy in a way too. In fact, at one point Bri was talking about someone's food that she doesn't like and she made the comment "it's so bland and boring" just as the woman came into the room. Apparently the woman made some "face" that Bri saw and I didn't, then she immediately rushed to the table to find out what it was that was "bland and boring." Bri kept saying over and over "no...honestly, I was talking about so and so's food...THIS food was DELICIOUS!"

I swear, the secret ingredient in their tea is probably people. They keep them locked up in the basement...

Oh, the food was really good though. :)

Ok, it's apparently just NOT my week for customer service calls from companies.

Yesterday, there's a knock on my door. Emmit was being crazy fussy, Nora had just gone down for a nap, and now the dog is going ballistic. I would have not answered it, but sometimes it's easier to answer and send the person away than it is to let them keep knocking while I try to get Roo quiet.

So I answer. This lady stands there looking at me because Roo is barking. I say "I'm sorry, it's not a good time, I've got a fussy newborn, my two year old is supposed to be napping and the dog is going to bark as long as you are here."

Woman says "That's ok, I just came to tell you about this great offer..."

I roll my eyes

Woman: "We're visiting all the Time Warner customers that have basic cable to let them know that we're going to upgrade them to full cable for 30 days for FREE!"

Me: "I'm not interested, I don't have time to call and cancel anything and I will forget, now I need to go."

Woman: "Oh, you don't have to worry about canceling, we'll call YOU to remind you."

Me: "Look, the dog is going to wake up my daughter, I have to go, I do NOT want the change."

Woman: "No, but it's for free."

Me: "I DO NOT want you to change my service."

Woman: "I can see this is a bad time, I'll come back later."

Me: "No, do not come back, do not change my service."

(Nora starts to scream from upstairs because she's now been woken up, at which point I shoot this woman eye daggers of death)

Woman: "Yeah, I'll come back another time."

Me: "Great, thanks for helping wake up my kid. Now LISTEN to me, I said DO NOT come back, and LEAVE my service as is." at which point I start to close the door.

Woman: (walking away) "Ok, I'll come back later."

*sigh* So I went in, got Nora up, fed Emmitt, and 30 minutes after I got everyone calmed down, I called Time Warner, told them what happened. They apologized and said that yes, I would have had to cancel the service. Thankfully the CSR was nice and said she would make a note on my account that my service should NEVER be "upgraded" without my calling to ask for it and that no one else shoudl come by the house.

If that woman comes back, I'm sicking roo on her.

So today... I get a phone call from Sprint (err...Embark.)

"Hello! I'm ditzy girl from Embark! We've got some new service offerings and I'm calling to see if I can help you save any more money by making sure you have deals as good as our new customers."

Me: "Ok, thanks!"

Her: "Hmm...the computer seems to be really slow today....don't know why these won't come up.... pause....silence....looooooooooooong pause.... ok, there it is! So, I see that you have our high speed internet and you are paying $19.95 a month for that. Looks like they lowered the price for you back in April, don't know how long this price is supposed to stay in effect..."

Me: "uh huh..."

Her: Blah blah blah blah blah...that's a good price, I don't think I can really beat that. So let's look at your service offerings...you've got phone plan X with unlimited long distance and features x,y and z...you're paying $29.95 a month for that. Oh, I'm sorry, it looks like that's the best deal that we have right now...I could switch you over to plan Z, which would only cost you an extra $2 a month, but the only feature you'd get added is call forwarding..."

Me: "yeah, no need for that."

Her: Blah blah blah...looks like you probably are already paying the lowest amount possible...I'm sorry, but I really don't think I can help you out today.

Me: (thinking) Then what the heck did you call me for you moron? Like you can't check my service prices before you make the call so that you aren't wasting both of our time????

Me: (actually saying) Oh well, thanks then!

Her: Well I hope that we'll be able to continue to offer you great service at great prices...blah blah blah...

*sigh*

I know customer service is going down the tubes, but come on? Stop coming to my house and calling me! If I want/need your help, I'll call YOU!