Dustin's Brain Dungeon

It's Movin' Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 26 May 2009 01:15:00 +0000

I know the timing on this makes it seem like I'm jumping on the Rock Chick's bandwagon, but I promise this is something I've been thinking about doing for MONTHS. But...I'm moving my blog to my own domain!

It just so happens that the domain "braindungeon.com" was available! Sooooo, I made the purchase and got it all set up today! I haven't moved it over yet, so if you happen to try to find it before I do, you may get an error message, but I promise it won't be long before I get everything moved over.

I know I've been pretty quiet lately, but I have a feeling that's about to change because of some things that have been on my mind. So, if you like my blog, and you wouldn't mind, if you subscribe to my blog here, please visit my new site and subscribe there. Currently the actual URL of the blog is http://braindungeon.com/blog but you can also get there by going to http://braindungeon.com

I hope I see you there!

Energy Drinks

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:19:00 +0000

Dear Stacy's friend who works at a convenience store and sent a whole case of energy drinks with her to our office as a promotional thing:

I want to thank you for your generosity in thinking about Stacy and the people she works with. Working in an office all day long can actually be quite draining and sitting in front of a computer all day can literally make people lose all will to actually even move their fingers to type...I think that's why voice recognition software was created. Having liquid energy in 16oz cans sitting in our office fridge is hugely convenient.

Anyway, while I am appreciative of the gesture, I thought I would let you know what happened after consuming my first 6 cans during my lunch hour yesterday.

First of all, I was mildly amused by the moniker of "Earth Shattering Energy" on the can...at first. After the third can or so, I realized that this was no "amusing" matter. Truth be told I am a little concerned that my internal organs may not stop violently spasming. I probably should have stopped after the 5th can as the MRI at the ER last night revealed severe bruising of my brain. They asked if I had been in an accident of some kind because it was like my brain had bounced around in my skull violently for hours. I guess it's a good thing they're low-carb...imagine if I'd had all that sugar too!!!

Also, did you know that one serving of that energy drink has 100% recommended daily values of Niacin (B3), 190% of B6 and 180% of B12? Did you also know that there are 2 servings per can? I guess consuming 1200% of B3, 2280% of B6 and 2160% of B12 in under an hour throws your vitamin balance a little off. I couldn't touch a computer for the rest of the day because my body actually absorbed all the A's, C's, D's and E's off every screen and keyboard I came in contact with. Imagine that! I had the energy and will to work, but COULDN'T!

I did some reading on the symptoms of overdosing on B vitamins, but there is one side effect that I suffered that I couldn't seem to correlate and was wondering if you'd heard of it. After about 2 hours and 8 more cans of energy drink, the two separate hemispheres of my brain seemed to begin operating independantly of each other...and without regard to my willful operation of the finer motor functions of my own body, my right arm ripped my left arm clean off my body and started beating me in the face with it. I ran around the office screaming for help, but no one would come near me. And when I say "ran" I'm using the term loosely. My left leg ran, but my right leg stubbornly stood in one place so really I was just spinning around in circles. Have you ever beaten yourself in the face with your own dismembered arm while spinning in circles and screaming? Apparently others see that is "crazy." The blows must have been pretty forceful too because, although the bruising and cracked bones in my face will heal quickly, I am still having trouble finding the middle and ring fingers of my left arm. I think it is important to note at this point that my right arm was the prosthetic one.

As I can generally be a little crazy at work, it took a while for anyone to realize just how serious a reaction I was having. I must have told them over and over I really needed help, but apparently it was coming out as "FADA BADA BADA BADA BLUH BLUH BLUH FFFF THBBBBBB". While this isn't completely unusual for me in the office, this time I hadn't been on a tech support call for the last hour.

Lastly, I thought it interesting to note that until the final 4 cans yesterday I thought the term "jumping out of my skin" was just a euphimism. Did you know seeing a living human body with no skin can actually make people vomit? Although it probably didn't help that my skeleton wasn't much support for all the meat because it had vibrated to almost complete liquification.

Anyway - sorry to go on and on, but I just wanted to thank you again for thinking of us. Aside from the missing fingers, the doctors seem confident that I will be mostly back to normal after a heart transplant, brain surgery, and after they reapply my skin and re-attach my left arm. I look forward to trying the other flavors of that energy drink!

A Nifty Little Tool

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 22:17:00 +0000

I am sure that this is true for most, if not all, iPhone users - that is that I'm always on the lookout for apps that I can get some good use out of. Early on, one of the things I found myself frustrated with was the inability to post to this blog from the Blogger website in mobile safari. To my amazement, even the iPhone app for Google only opened up Safari which wouldn't allow me to post a blog in blogger (unless I am just clueless as to how it works).

A few weeks ago I purchased iBlogger which would supposedly let me create posts for my Blogger account. Unfortunately, I just can't get it to work. I got it to work on a Wordpress blog, but every time I tried to get to this Blogger blog, iBlogger would just crash. I am confident that the developer can solve the problem, given some time. I only reported the issue last night.

I was going to just wait for a response, but I accidentally came across another app called SkyPetr Lite. I was searching to see what apps existed out there that provided access to Skype. While I found something earlier today that did just that, I was curious what else was out there.

Needless to say, I downloaded SkyPetr Lite (which is free). It's meant for use with MySpace, YouTube, and of course Blogger. I haven't checked out the first two yet, but this post has been successfully and entirely composed using SkyPetr Lite.

The only downside I have seen so far is that you are required to register an account with SkyPetr before you can sign in and access the other items. I am not sure I understand that logic other than a means of getting your email address.

Nonetheless, for now I am ok with it. At least I was able to compose this post on my phone!

Proof Positive!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 02:55:00 +0000

I came across irrefutable proof that an Apple is not always a good alternative to Windows:

Ok...so here was the scenario:

I was working in yet another one of our new restaurants and what you're seeing in this picture is what will eventually be a drive-thru window. The drive-thru windows have not yet been installed, so the wooden structure is the solution to keep the windows "closed".

Anyway, out of nowhere, I had this idea to go buy an apple from the convenience store next door (yes, they sell fresh fruit in this convenience store), set it on the window sill and snap a picture and make a joke out of it.

I had another caption I was going to try. "This is what happens when a construction foreman overhears the technical team discussing the possibility of installing an Apple instead of Windows."

Either way, I really thought this was hilarious...I think I laughed about it all dang day....hope y'all get a chuckle out of it!

The Wall Handle Explained!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:24:00 +0000

I showed my last blog post to a co-worker and she used THE GOOGLE to find the mysterious handle...(why didn't I think of that???)

Anywho - here it is, in all its glory!

So what is it? It's a handle that you can put on walls or in showers without the need for drilling or screws! DUH!

If you so desire to check out their website since I did use the image off their website, it can be found here.

Now if only I could get the doggone context of the whole infomercial in order, I might win back some of my sanity!

More Silence - And Then Came the Infomercial

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:04:00 +0000

Here I am! I've been busy and busy and busy and well...something came up that I just HAVE to share.

For the past week, I have been visiting several of our restaurants before opening time and at closing time to perform some updates to the databases in their registers. This is a fairly arduous task and has been the cause of some sleep deprivation I've had this past week. Every day I have been up some time between 3AM and 4AM (for those of you who are particular about it, that's Central Standard Time), so that I could be in the stores and have the full process completed before they opened their doors at 6. THEN, I would visit a store at 10 and perform the updates and get out of the stores around 12 or 1 (again, central standard time).

There was also work to be done during the day, and I did my best to catch some Z's when I had some down-time, but 2 things kept that from happening: 1) I have a very hard time sleeping during the day and 2) People have a very hard time calling me without making my phone ring. So...even if I did happen to doze off, my phone would ring within a few minutes and wake me up. Even sleeping at night was tough this week because of all the thinking involved in getting this done right - it was hard to turn my brain off when it was actually time to sleep. So most days I was on less than 4 hours of sleep and even one day I was on 1.5 hours of sleep.

I'm not sure why I'm telling you all this except for maybe it sets the stage for the kind of mood I was in this particular morning.

You see, Friday night was the first night I was able to get more than 4 hours of sleep. I probably would have slept until 9 or 10 had my phone not rang at 7:20. I had also taken my pain medicine the night before so I was pretty groggy. But...all in all, I was in a decent mood because I was going to GO HOME (3 Hour drive from where I was).

So I go down for a continental breakfast and sit down with a bagel, some yogurt and a banana. I turn to the large, flat-screen tv mounted on the wall which has the sound turned down. I am watching what appears to be some kind of shopping network or something. I can't really tell what's going on since there's no sound, but usually, one can deduce what's going on in an infomercial, right? WRONG!

There are two people on the screen. One man and one woman. The man appears to be the informercial salesman and the woman appears to be the infomercial oooooooh-and-aaaaahhhh person. I see the man take something that looks like a large phone receiver and stick it to a wall. When I say it looked like a phone receiver, I mean it looked a lot like the photo to the left, except the color was white, there was no cord, and the round parts were much bigger. It looked like some make shift wall-handle. My first thought was, "Oh, yes - because I've always wanted a handle...ON MY WALL!!!!" Funny, yes, but I thought I'd continue watching to see what the purpose for this phone-receiver-looking wall-mountable handle might actually be.

No such luck. The man moved on to another bizarre task. He took 4 or 5 rectangular and brightly-colored sponges and put them on the table in front of the woman. He then takes a chef's knife (as pictured to the right) and presses down on the stack of sponges. I think "Oh - the guy is going to cut sponges with a knife...but what's with the handle on the wall?"

Patiently I wait for the answer to the wall-handle question and continue to push down on the stack of sponges and nothing happens. Well, the sponges compress but there is no cutting going on.

So the guy reaches over and starts sharpening the knife. I think to myself, "Ohhh....he's going to sharpen the knife and THEN cut the sponges. He's selling a knife sharpener! But what's with the handle ON THE WALL????"

So he finishes sharpening the knife and presses the knife down on the sponges. This time quite a bit harder. I'm thinking "If pressing harder did the trick then how am I supposed to know if your sharpener worked, bright guy?"

But, once again, nothing. The woman is smiling and nodding and saying something, but I don't know what. For all I know she could be saying, "If you keep trying to cut the sponges, maybe people won't notice the large plastic handle on the wall right next to me!"

So the guy starts sharpening the knife again. If it's an informercial for the knife sharpener, this is not going well.

So he takes his twice-sharpened chef's knife and pressed down really hard on the sponges this time he starts sawing at the sponges...NOTHING! The woman picks up the top sponge and looks at a tiny cut in the top of it and looks like she's impressed that he was actually able to cut a small slit into the sponge. I'm thinking "Yay, he sharpened it enough to cut a SPONGE; NOW I can use it to cut MEAT! NOW WHAT'S WITH THE HANDLE ON THE WALL?????"

As if to press my insanity over the wall handle to new levels and confuse everything that makes up my mental capacity, the guy then reaches over and picks up a generic can of cola and a square of carpet. "OHHHHH...", I think to myself, "He's selling SPONGES. He's going to make a mess and clean it up!"

So the guy proceeds to dump the entire contents of the can of generic cola onto the square of carpet that is now sitting ont he counter right next to the sponges in front of the woman. "I called THAT!"

Nope!

He then reaches over and picks up a large chamois and starts mopping the cola up off the carpet. At this point I'm thinking "Ok, so the guy is nothing more than a raving lunatic who wants to cut sponges and when that doesn't work he has to throw a tantrum by dumping his soda all over the counter and then feels guilt-ridden enough to mop up the mess...BUT WHAT THE HECK IS WITH THAT FREAKING HANDLE ON THE WALL?????????"

I am sorry to report that I have no idea what that was all about. I don't know why the guy dumped out the soda and mopped it up. I don't know why he tried THREE TIMES to cut a stack of colorful sponges. In fact, had the sound been on, I'd almost be willing to bet that he tried to cut the sponges the woman remarked "WOW! Those are some TOUGH SPONGES!!!" and then he would have replied, "Yeah...too bad they can't clean for CRAP! So here's a chamois!!!"

And...I.DON'T.KNOW.WHY.HE.PUT.A.HANDLE.ON.THE.WALL!!!!!

Please...PLEASE...one of my readers out there...PLEASE tell me that you've seen this infomercial and can fill me in on what it was all about! My mental wellness may very well depend on it!!!

Another Month Later...

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 13:25:00 +0000

Wow! Where has the time gone???

What a silly question. I didn't intend to start my post by contradicting myself, but I got to thinking about that question as I was typing it and thought to myself, "Time doesn't go ANYWHERE!"

I know - I'm a goof. But it's true, you know. Time doesn't go anywhere. Time "stands still" if you will. Time is one of those things that everyone has and you can't save it or store it. You can just use it or waste it. Hopefully how you're satisfied with how you're using your time.

I really didn't mean to go there. How drab!

Anyway - it's been yet another month since my last post. What's Dustin been doing? Where has Dustin been? What's been on Dustin's mind???

Lots.

I've spent quite a bit of time doing the new-store-opening thing. It can be pretty stressful to work on opening 2 restaurants at the same time. And all I have to worry about is the technical side of things! I did develop a new favorite saying during these last two openings, though. I can't really remember what the circumstances were surrounding my comment, but the conversation was surrounding the completion of the equipment installations and whether the employees were ready for the store to open or how they were handling the opening or something. I made the comment "I only installed the equipment. I didn't install the employees." It elicited a laugh and all was well.

A few weeks ago, I jumped on the iPhone bandwagon as well. I have to admit, I was kind of a nay-sayer when the iPhone thing started happening. I saw the phone, I thought it was kinda cool, but really...what was the big freakin' deal???

It's a heck of a phone, that's what!

Seriously - this thing is fantastic. I have only downloaded 2 paid apps, and everything else I have on my phone I downloaded free. I haven't jailbroken my phone and I don't know that I intend to because so far, I'm happy with what I can do with it.

So, I've been working, iPhoning and that's pretty much it.

OH - except for one thing...I just want to whine a little bit about my xbox 360. It got the Red Ring of DEATH. That's right - my xbox 360 died last week. Well - I'm not 100% sure WHEN it died. All I know is that after about a month of no use (because I've been out of town too much to watch movies or play games), we were going to watch a DVD on it last weekend and got the dreaded red ring. The one that lights up 3 of the 4 quadrants with red light and basically means "general hardware failure". It's not as big a deal as it could be because Microsoft declared about a year and a half ago that anyone experiencing this problem within 3 years of the original purchase date will have the problem fixed at no charge because apparently they screwed up when it came to putting these things together properly.

We boxed it up and sent it out yesterday. They told me it'll be 2-3 weeks before I'll see it again. It could be worse, but now we have to move a DVD player in from a different room to watch our DVDs - and it won't be as good because our other DVD player doesn't have composite video or HDMI so now I'm so spoiled that just watching it with a regular dvd player is going to disappoint me...lol

Anyway, I guess that's all I have to say for now. I just thought I'd check in and let my fans (really, Dustin...fans?) know that I'm doing well and have just been really busy. Hopefully I'll be around a bit more for a little while and you can hear more from me really soon!

Oh - and happy December 21st everybody!!! Today is the shortest day (daylight hours) of the year. The sun will start shining longer starting tomorrow! (Well, for those of you in the Northern Hemisphere anyway...)

A month of silence rewarded with laughter

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 02:40:00 +0000

Oh, how silent I've been!

The last y'all heard, I was whining about our truck. Well, the truck got fixed and worked fine for a while. Got stuck again yesterday, but it didn't stay stuck this time, so I am not sure what to think.

But...I decided to see what's been going on in Google Analytics since my last post. And I got a good hearty laugh. It was amusing to me when I saw that Obama scary frightening Halloween actually brought someone to my blog. But the gut busting laughter came with dancing monkey basketballs brain.

WHAT THE HECK??? Dancing monkey basketballs brain. That is so incredibly nutzoid that I can't even imagine what would have possessed someone to type that into Google. What's worse is that there are over 1.2 MILLION search results for that!!! And...of ALL THINGS...I am search result NUMBER TWO. That is just freaking awesome!!!

So what has the last month held for me? Well, mostly work and Chiropractic care. I have been visiting my Chiropractor (also my wife's uncle...so since my back cracker is my wife's uncle, I affectionately refer to him as Uncle Cracker) on a regular basis trying to get some relief from my ever-persistent, never ending sciatic nerve pain and back spasms. The good news is I have been feeling a little better. I have actually had some good days in the past month (by good days I mean days where I didn't necessarily feel like I was in pain all day long). The bad news is that there may not be much more relief than that for me.

You see, another MRI was ordered for me. Turns out my back is getting worse. I guess I am not as closely related to Superman as I'd like to think. All the bending, heavy lifting, and other stupid crap that I think I can somehow do without making my back worse (despite the fact that it DOES put me in excruciating pain) is actually making my back worse (DUH!). So I have to start being a whole lot more careful. Dr Uncle Cracker said I need to avoid lifting things that are over 25 lbs (the computers I order from Dell for our new stores are 25.04 lbs in shipping!!!) I need to avoid doing the things that cause me pain.

It is tough to do that. It's hard to avoid doing things that cause you pain when just about everything you do causes you pain. It's also frustrating to know that you SHOULD be able to do certain things (like help carry some heavy stuff), but you can't because it causes you pain. Right now I am having to do some travelling for work, and it's difficult because the road trips are hard on my back and so are the hotel beds. But...gotta do what I gotta do. I'm going to try to find some good lumbar support for the car and a good mattress topper of some kind for the hotel beds.

So anywho...I just thought I'd post a quick note to let y'all know how I'm doing. I know I've been pretty quiet lately, and it's been mostly because I've been so busy during work that when I get home, I just want to veg out. I haven't had much motivation to blog lately. But, we'll see if I can get back on track.

I'll leave you with this...I found this to be particularly hilarious. I'm not even going to give it an intro other than that...just visit this site.

What The...

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:23:00 +0000

TRUCK!!!

Saturday started off semi-normally (except for the fact that I can't seem to sleep past 5:30 after getting up at 3:00 all week long.) I am overall pretty well exhausted and just trying to let myself relax after a very grueling work-week. I just played around on my laptop for most of the morning knowing that I should be doing something productive but just too tired to care.

Crystal's dad shows up to begin helping us work on getting the trim back in place (because we tore it all up when we put down the new laminate flooring). Pretty close to this juncture, Crystal reminds me that I need to take the dogs to the groomer. I don't particularly care to pay someone to groom my dogs, but neither of us is up to doing it, so the appointment was made. I'm gathering my wits and preparing to head out and Crystal is gathering the dogs to prepare them to go out, and Crystal's dad is hauling trim out the the back yard to begin cleaning it off and pulling the nails out. My friend calls me to let me know he's just about ready to come paint the nursery for us...

All seemed to be going ok...

I get in the truck. I turn it on...are you ready for this? Our new (used) Mazda Tribute decided it didn't want to leave the house yesterday. It started just fine, but when I put it in reverse, it would not move. One wheel...ONE WHEEL...would not turn. My first thought was "did I leave my laptop bag under the wheel?"

No wait...that's what I thought LAST time...

THIS time, my first thought was "Oh no...not again!"

And, just for the record...it's the SAME WHEEL.

I called the dealership and, long story short, they said they'd tow it in, give us a vehicle to drive until they figure out what's going on with what they already supposedly fixed.

So...right now we have a brand new 2008 Ford Explorer with Sirius Satellite Radio and Microsoft Sync sitting right in our driveway. It's temporary...and if it weren't for the fact that the only reason it's there is because our truck is in the emergency room, I might be happier about it.

But...it is what it is...

And I think we're going to get a new license plate...

I'll let y'all know all about that if/when we get the new plates in!

Walking is Good for the Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:14:00 +0000

Ok, I have been relatively quiet since the last update about our truck. Mainly because this week has been pretty busy for me. I have started seeing a chiropractor for my bad back and had other things going on in the evenings that just kept me from being bloggy.

That's ok, except that I just had a chance to catch up today with The Rock Chick's blogs about Mental Illness Awareness week. Unfortunately, participating in awareness week is a one day thing for me since today is the "last day". BUT awareness isn't just a one week thing. It's a forever thing.

The fact is, mental health is a MAJOR factor in your over-all health. Unfortunately, in many cases mental health "issues" are perceived by people as weaknesses. People are sometimes ashamed or afraid to seek help because they don't want to admit their weakness. IT'S NOT A WEAKNESS!

I can attest to this because I've been there. I have been so depressed that nothing else in the world even mattered anymore. I was ashamed to seek help because I just KNEW I was strong enough to get through it all by myself. Unfortunately, I was only deceiving myself. It wasn't a matter of being strong. It was a matter of being willing to accept help. My wife, my boss, and my friends could all see that I needed help, but I was too stubborn to go get it. I didn't even realize just how much it was effecting every aspect of my life until my boss (for emphasis only, not a "real" threat) threatened to grab me by the throat and drag me to a doctor. The fact was that due to my chronic back pain and ever-persistent sciatica (old Army injury), and the stresses going on with my job (and my perceptions of the need for absolute perfection in everything I do), I was ABSOLUTELY MISERABLE. Talking to someone helped. I should have done it sooner. In my case, I did not need medication - but different people heal in different ways.

I believe there are many possible factors for issues with mental health to include physical, emotional, spiritual, chemical, and so on. The brain is a very complex organ and just like you can have illnesses relating to the heart, liver or kidneys, you can have illnesses relating to the brain. Sometimes medication helps, sometimes meditation helps. It depends on what's going on up there, but awareness is the first step to help. For the sake of those who might find that they themselves need help, SEEKING HELP IS A SIGN OF STRENGTH, NOT WEAKNESS! For those who know people who might need help, being informed can help you help them get help (wow...how many times can the word help be used in one sentence???).

So, in the spirit of grabbing the Rock Chick's hand in spreading awareness about mental health and mental illnesses, I am encouraging everyone out there to be aware. Her own daughter is going through some battles with anorexia and bipolar disorder. If it weren't for Rock Chick's awareness, the consequences of her daughters battle could have ended up so much more severe! SPEAK UP AND SPEAK OUT! Stop on by her blog and let her know you're tagging along!

It's Good to Know When to Fold

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:07:00 +0000

It's time for yet another (and final!) truck update!

I was having kind of a long day today. All in all, it wasn't horrible, but long nonetheless. At about 4:00, my cell phone rang. It was a number that wasn't in my contact list, but I recognized it all too well.

It was the dealership.

In the two seconds or so that it took for me to recognize and subsequently answer the phone, I had several thoughts go through my mind. "Is it actually ready? Will there be another delay? If so, what will it be this time? Can I ever be patient with these people again? How many sentences are going to go through my head before I answer this dang phone?"

So, I answered. I half expected it to be the service manager or sales manager. It was neither. It was the service guy that I started dealing with from the very beginning. I did a pretty good job at not sounding irritated when I answered. I figured, it's a new day, a new week....let's see if I can cut them some slack.

Well, the guy was calling to tell me that my truck is ready. I light-heartedly asked him if he was sure. He said yes. I thanked him and told him I'd be by to pick it up this evening. I also asked him what my total was going to be (I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to get charged for that airbag).

You might want to make that you're seated for the next little bit. No, seriously...sit down! Ok, I know most of you probably are sitting down, but if you happen to be reading my blog post on your phone or something while walking then sit! If you happen to be reading my blog post on a phone or laptop while you're driving, then put it away and come back to it later...THAT'S NOT SAFE!!!

Ok, anyway, so I asked him for the total.

"Well, as far as I understand...we're taking care of it for you."

HUH? That was unexpected!

I wasn't sure what to say. For a moment, I was actually speechless. I stammered for a second and then said, "Well, I didn't expect that!" and he said "Well, I'm sure this has been a frustrating experience for you, so we're just going to go ahead and cover it for you."

I was a little shocked. A lot shocked. I got off the phone and called Crystal to tell her about it. I suddenly didn't feel quite right about it. I felt like either the guy misunderstood what he was told or that I needed to at least call back and offer to pay for the brakes - since that part was my fault to begin with (at least I think it was).

For the record, let's cover what was being done and roughly the cost:
Initial reason for going in:
Wheel wouldn't turn and airbag light was on - Estimated cost of repairs $550.
Eventually, they found the front rotors needed to be replaced. Add $200
They forgot to add in the key I needed to buy (outrageous cost for a key!) $150
New airbag when the original fix for the airbag light didn't work $300

If you do the math there, that comes out $1200! So...$1200 for brakes that got screwed up (likely my fault from driving in salt water), a key I SHOULD have gotten when I bought the thing, and airbag stuff that (if you ask me) should be covered by the warranty I purchased.

Relatively speaking, I'm sure this was a small write-off for them. But it was a big deal to me.

So I called back and asked to speak to the sales manager or the service manager. Both were busy and couldn't come to the phone. I spoke with dude again to make sure he was relaying the information to me correctly. I asked him if there was some mix-up or confusion because it was only the airbag I wasn't supposed to be paying for. He assured me that the whole bill would be covered. I asked him to have the service manager call me back when he could.

So the service manager called me a short while later and I said something to the effect of "Look, I appreciate what you're doing here, and if you REALLY want to do it that way, then great, and thanks! But I'm not trying to get something from you for free. I want to make sure we're doing this fair."

He basically said, "I don't see it that way at all. We really dropped the ball on this from the very beginning and every step of the way. It's been nothing but a nightmare and a headache for you and I think that you shouldn't have to pay for it. You just bought the car from us, and already had to have service for something that shouldn't have even come up. Hopefully, we'll be able to earn the right to do business with you again in the future."

Wow. I really was stunned. For the record, I really DID feel that I shouldn't have to pay for any of this. I never would have said that to him, though (unless he directly asked me). I really wasn't trying to worm a free repair here. I had just had it with their lack of customer service. But - my opinion has changed now.

Not that he bought me off or anything like that. I mean, it may sound that way, but to me it's been all about customer service from the beginning. I have a motto about customer service and that is "Always treat your customers like you'd want someone to treat your grandmother." It works for people who don't hate their grandmother...LOL. To me, good customer service means doing EVERYTHING you can do to satisfy your customer, even if it ends up costing you money.

If you had asked me last week, there is NO WAY I would have said I was satisfied. However, the gesture they offered today was significant. The fact that they decided to do that without any prompting from me, in my opinion, is stellar. I wouldn't say I'm satisfied with their service department in general, but I would definitely say that their service manager will do what it takes to fix the situation.

So, the experience as a whole may have been nothing but an absolute nightmare, but in the end, they did what they had to do and, I have to say, have earned a chance to do business with me again in the future. Not without caution, mind you - but they have definitely earned one more shot.

I guess it pays to voice your opinion!

Google say WHAT?

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:58:00 +0000

I'm getting more search engine traffic!

Though - I'm not sure that's something to be proud of. Of course, this site isn't really about anything in specific other than me posting my thoughts and rants and ravings and whatnot. But Google helped get my site some attention with the following search terms:

ant online warehouse (no quotes) - oooooooh...not good for antonline. Though I show up as number 15 for this search, it certainly wasn't a happy post! I still have such a bad taste in my mouth for them that I would absolutely advise AGAINST purchasing with them. They don't have their act together people! You can't reach the people who contact you and they treat you like you're stupid!

Still not holding a grudge...PFFFFFFFT.

And the other search term that brought me some traffic...

dusty turn on hold again (with or without quotes!) - ummmmm...I have no idea what this person might have been looking for. I think they may have just...I dunno...randomly typed a few words into Google and...wow. WHAT? The worst part is that I show up as NUMBER ONE for this search...go ahead, try it! You know you want to. If you haven't already you're just being stubborn...no seriously, you can type it without quotes and I'm number one. You can type it with quotes and it says "No results found..." and then shows the results without quotes. I just don't understand!

Ok, so that was a little fun.

You know - for being just a "fun little blog" I sure have got some wide-spread traffic! I mean, ok...it's probably no big deal. But when I first turned on Google Analytics on my site, I truly anticipated that I'd see a hit here or a hit there and just, you know...whatever. But so far I have gathered traffic from SIXTEEN states and FOUR countries outside the United States. Sure some if it may just be people who happened upon my site and then happened away from my site.

Perhaps it helps that I've started posting more frequently. Whatever it is...I find it really cool.

Anyone else using analytics that has found themselves in awe of what they are seeing?

Most Frightening Halloween Display EVER

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:38:00 +0000

Before I post this I have to say:

Rock Chick - I PROMISE...I got these pictures BEFORE your "We the People" post!

I went to Walgreen's yesterday to pick up some stuff Crystal requested and when I walked in I saw something that made me ~~turn around and run screaming from the building~~ walk out to my car and get my camera. Observe what I am calling the most frightening Halloween display EVER!

I swear this isn't photo-chopped people! Go ahead...click on it...blow it up...take a good close look at who's standing next to Freddy and Jason! AND THE SCARIEST IS ON BOTH ENDS! LOL!

I wish I knew if the person who set up this display was being snarky or if they were just thinking "they are dolls, put them all together." Either way...I found it HILARIOUS.

Everything is Perfect!

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:45:00 +0000

No, not really.

I got the phone call yesterday morning from the dealership. Apparently the passenger's side airbag needed to be replaced for some reason. They he told me that there IS a safety warranty, but it's only up to 60,000 miles. Which our truck is way past (just a little under 80,000). SOOOO, it is going to cost $265 to replace that airbag (no charge for labor) and $23 for freight and because airbags are considered hazmat, they wouldn't be able to get it there any sooner than next Monday.

NEXT MONDAY!!!

Uncool. Very very uncool.

I got off the phone and boiled for a bit. I called the dealership and asked to speak to the sales manager who was trying to help me get through all this. He was on the phone, so I didn't get to speak to him. I left a message to have him call me back.

A few minutes later, the service manager called me. He said "What can I do to make this right?"

I told him, "I'm not sure there is anything you can do at this point! I'm so sick and tired of this crap. You guys can't get my truck done, you keep charging me more money. I'm not saying you're doing anything dishonest but this is the stereotypical auto shop horror story!"

He then tells me that he's going to see what he can do to get me a discount on the airbag. This offers me little consolation.

"Discount?? You know what? I hesitate to say this because this is NOT how I am. I DO NOT believe it trying to get things out of people for free. I am NOT about shorting you money. BUT, if I have to pay for that airbag, then forget it! Give me my truck and we'll call it done. I'll take my truck AND MY BUSINESS elsewhere!"

He tells me that he'll look into it and see what he can do and call me back.

Then I ask about the sales manager. I figured that since it was the sales manager I had called for, that I ought to get to speak to him. Apparently he's sitting across from the service manager for this call. I ask to speak to him.

I basically repeat everything I said to the service manager. I let him have it about how frustrated I am and how I just can't fathom the fact that they put this vehicle through all kinds of tests to make sure it was safe for the road and that I haven't even had the truck for 3 months and the airbag needs to be replaced. I exclaim how furious I am that the extended warranty I purchased since this vehicle was sold to me "as is" didn't cover something as critical as airbags. It's not as if the vehicle was in an accident...THEY JUST STOPPED BEING OK!

I repeated my comment about taking my truck elsewhere. I told him to figure out what he had to figure out, but that if I have to pay for the airbags then I'm done. I have absolutely had it and I would rather take my business elsewhere.

"Woah, wait a minute," he says, "You don't have to pay for the airbag. It's covered by your warranty."

I told him that's not what the person told me earlier. I told him he'd better get his story straight because I was specifically told that it was NOT covered and that I was going to have to pay an additional $300 to get it done.

He says he'll look into it and call me back.

Apparently, I finally got their attention.

I got a call less than 5 minutes later. The service manager called and simply said, "Your airbag is NOT covered under the warranty, but don't worry about it. We'll take care of it for you at no charge."

I thank him. I apologize for getting rude and explain that I'd just been pushed beyond my limits. He says he understands and can't blame me. He then says, "Well, I hope this doesn't ruin our chances of doing business together again in the future."

I told him, "To be perfectly honest with you, IT DOES! BUT because you're taking care of me now, MAYBE there's still a chance we'll do business again in the future.

So, there you have it. I had to blow up at them to get their attention. It's sad, really, because I hate being that way.

So Frustrated...

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:30:00 +0000

...I really don't even want to post about it. But I'm going to because, well, I've come this far with the story, you may as well know the current status.

Still. No. Truck.

You read it right. In The Rock Chick's most recent blog post "Listen Up", Rock Chick talks about the incredible frustrations she is having with the people who won't listen to her when it comes to her daughters battle with an eating disorder and, as was recently diagnosed, bipolar disorder. While the issue with my truck is nowhere near the magnitude of what's going on in her life, there were two sentences in succession that, at this point in my truck story, I feel I can really relate to.

She said, "When I spoke calmly, my words were tossed aside by the supposed experts. If I yelled and screamed (because nobody seems to listen when one speaks in a calm tone), clearly I was the dominatrix of a mother trying to control every aspect about my daughter’s life."

Ok - so I can relate to it except the part about being a dominatrix of a mother...

They say (and for the most part I truly believe) that you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. However, when I called (they did not call me!) the dealership this afternoon to find out the status on my truck, they told me that they found (surprise!) another problem. Apparently the thing they did to "clear the code" on the airbag system only cleared one code, it did not clear the other - so the light is still on.

First of all, when were they planning on telling me? Why did I have to call an hour before their service department closed in order to get this information when they had known for 3 hours already. Secondly WHY IS THIS SO FRIGGIN' HARD???

I understand that things don't go as expected; I understand that there are unforeseen issues that come up. I do. I really do. But they KEEP telling me that my truck will be ready "tomorrow" and it keeps getting put off and I keep having to probe to get that information. It's RIDICULOUS.

I have been very patient so far and very calm and very collected, but they are coming dangerously close from going from "not-so-happy" Dustin to "I'd-rather-jump-off-a-sky-scraper-and-get-my-eyelid-caught-on-a-rusty-nail-than-to-piss-him-off-again" Dustin. I admit, in the privacy of my own home, I probably do not exhibit the highest levels of patience, but when I am dealing with people out in the world, I try to be as patient as I can. But these people are wearing me very thin. I even reminded them that I have been very patient up to this point and that I am trying my best to remain patient, but that my patience is running out.

They've had my truck for a week and a half and they can't get it finished. I came real close to telling them just to forget the rest of it, to close the work order and give me my darn truck - that I would take my business elsewhere to get the rest of the work done and send them the bill.

*Sigh* I guess life happens sometimes. I guess I ought to feel fortunate that I can even afford to have a truck, or a roof over my head, or two dogs that are absolutely nuts. I ought to feel fortunate that I have a wife who loves me and a steady (although sometimes frustrating) job and food to eat every day. And I am thankful for all of these things. Thankful for these things and so much more...

...but this dealership is making my blood boil...

oh, and P.S. - Rock Chick, I will continue to keep you and your family in my prayers!

SURPRISE!

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:45:00 +0000

NO TRUCK!!!

*Sigh* well, I feel like being nice about it because the guy sounded so apologetic when I called for an update, but apparently getting the brakes fixed on our truck was so time consuming that they couldn't find time to finish the whole airbag light problem. According to the manager, the part for the airbag light thing came in, but not until later in the afternoon. They got whatever needed disassembling disassembled, but they're not quite ready to put it all back together yet. Perhaps they really just forgot how...

So, we will supposedly get the truck back tomorrow. I know they're doing me a favor by fixing my truck, but why do they have to forget that I'm doing them a favor by giving them my business? It's just so frustrating.

On a much less serious note:

I'm not sure how many of my readers are also readers of my wife's blog, but I know there's at least a couple of you out there. For those of you who are NOT my wife's readers, it might behoove you (did I really just use that word?) to check out her post about the 11 boxes of the same thing and get a laugh when she talks about her paranoia of clicking submit incorrectly. She said in her post:

"Pushing that submit button, you must understand, sends a jolt of panic up and down my spine and I click it as quickly and as lightly as I possibly can so as to not awake the multiple-click-submit-button-dragon, angering him and causing him to charge my credit card multiple times."

Well, we were talking about that post today. Of course, knowing my wife, I knew she was being silly and creative and funny. What I DIDN'T know was that she actually is a little paranoid about that submit button! The sites always say "CLICK SUBMIT ONLY ONCE" in big bold letters and it makes her nervous that she's going to do it wrong. She literally clicks it as quickly and as lightly as she possibly can to avoid being misinterpreted by the submit button!

I thought that was funny. So I said, "you seriously do that?"

As if to justify her neurosis, she goes on to say, "well, you have to be careful because what if you lose control of your finger..." I REALLY don't know what she said after that because I was lost in a fit of uncontrollable laughter! I could not stop laughing at the image of someone losing control of that blasted finger that clicks the mouse!

Crystal, I love you with all of my heart...but you need help! Especially if you are having problems with occasionally losing control of your fingers!

I admit there's a chance that you "had to be there" in order for that to be as funny as it really was...but what's worse is as I'm posting this, she's STILL trying to justify that you just never know...it COULD happen!

Pink Jeep License Plate

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:30:00 +0000

That's the ONLY Google search that has resulted in a hit on my blog so far. As I told you before I went ahead and installed Google Analytics on my blog so that I could see what's going on with my blog and I was actually kind of impressed. Ok, so I'm not reaching the masses, but I really kinda thought that I was really only typing for me and like 2 readers. (One of those readers being my wife!)

So after a little waiting I finally saw that I had a Google search bring someone to my blog. What I had to say about that abomination of a Pink Jeep obviously wasn't what they were looking for because, according to Google Analytics, their average time on my site was 00:00.

I was just looking at the rest of the information and I am, I have to say, really astounded! So far, have had hits from 10 states within the US and 3 additional countries! I'm an INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTAR!!!

Ok...so maybe I'm not an international superstar, but I'm definitely getting more exposure than I thought!

I just have one question...WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE???

It's enough to turn a man paranoid to know so many people are looking in but so few are actually saying anything...it's like they're sneaking up on me...

Dancing Monkeys - the explanation

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:39:00 +0000

I feel as though I owe it to my readers to explain my wife's comment on my "bloggy ideas" post about dancing monkeys.

In case you didn't get to see her response, she said, "I think you should blog about dancing monkeys. Because obviously, they are a driving force to your madness. And then blog about how awesome I am."

You see, I was on the phone with a good friend of mine the other day and I can't remember what spawned me saying this, but I said, "DANCE, MONKEY! DANCE!" I think we were talking about our respective difficult days at work or something and while he was telling me about his day I said it as if I were the organ grinder making his day so difficult.

Well, he let the comment go, but later on in the conversation he said something that made me say it again. Then he said something that indicated disappointment and I said, "CRY, MONKEY! CRY!" I guess I was in a weird mood, but then he said, "That sounds so familiar! Where did you get that?"

I said, "as far as I know, I made it up." Turns out - I didn't.

Ok, so maybe I DID come up with it all my own, because the Google searches I did for the phrase "dance monkey dance" came up with stuff I had never heard of. Over 37,000 hits for the exact phrase "dance monkey dance"!!! Looks like there's games, videos, all kinds of stuff. I could hardly believe it! I was so very disappointed. I was astonished. I was perplexed. I was driving my wife nuts with my absolute awe over the fact that "dance monkey dance" was such a widely used phrase on the internet.

Oh - and my wife is awesome! :-)

Row Row Row Your Truck Gently Through the Gulf...

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:35:00 +0000

Well, we heard from the dealership what was wrong with our truck.

Apparently the brake rotor rusted and locked. Bad mojo. To make matters worse, the front to rotors were rusted as well and were in danger of having the same happen. They needed to be resurfaced.

Ok - we agreed to have it done.

I was thinking about what on earth could have caused that to happen. We've only had the truck for about 3 months and out of nowhere the brakes rust up on us? What gives?

The Gulf of Mexico - that's what!

Hurricane Ike missed us by a long shot, but we still saw a storm surge in the Gulf which resulted in some flooding on the northern edges of town. In fact, we went driving around to see what the beaches looked like and ended up driving through some of the flooding that occurred. I was so proud of our 4WD truck that wasn't gonna get stuck in the water! (no cars were stuck in the water...)

Well anyway, after that we went home, parked the truck and left it there for about a week. (I drive a company vehicle for work and Crystal was working hard at home on her jewelry that week). As it turns out...salt water and metal don't mix too good! I'm pretty sure that the fact that we drove through the salt water and didn't rinse the truck off before parkin' it was the cause of the problems.

So 3 rotors needed to be resurfaced. Oh - and we needed to have the little sensor for our airbags or something replaced because the airbag light had been coming on and staying on for about the last 2 weeks. Worst of all, none of this is covered by the warranty we purchased with our truck. All in all - it was gonna cost around $500.

Now let's recap what we learned so far - "unlucky" license plates: bad. Salty brakes: bad. Local dealership: loses trucks and doesn't call back: BAD!

I fear I'm going to sound like Paul Harvey...

And now for the rest of the story...

It was Monday when we found out about the actual cause of the wheel being so stubborn. They said that the truck would be ready to go Tuesday afternoon. Not so bad I guess considering all that's happened so far.

We got on with our busy lives and realized on Thursday that they still hadn't called. WHAT FREAKIN' GIVES?

Thursday they tell us it'll for sure be ready on Friday by 2:00. I have my doubts, but plan to actually show up at 2 and have a little one-on-one with the service manager about the severe lack of "service" we'd seen thus far.

Friday at 1:00 I get a call. "Mr. Braindungeon Dude, [not really what he said, in case you didn't pick up on that all by yourself], I have good news. You're truck is almost ready."

This doesn't sound like good news...otherwise, why the call? I chime in, "But...?"

"Well the thing is..." and he goes on to explain that the front left router was so badly corroded that they had to "cut too deep" to be able to resurface it. It's now too thin and must be replaced. I kinda saw this coming a mile away...I have had it happen before on another car.

He goes on to say that they can replace just the one router, but they recommend if replacing one front router, go ahead and replace both. He reassures me that they won't be charging me any extra for labor but tells me that to replace one router will be an extra $100 and to replace both will (amazingly) be $200. A question suddenly comes to mind. I remember talking to this guy when this all began about the fact that we need an extra key. This magical key costs $50 just to purchase, but $100 to program. (Why even bother telling the price without programming...I mean seriously...???)

I want to know if that was included in the original work order, because now the dollar signs are just flashing past me like crazy and with the lack of customer service they've provided, I can't stomach the thought of paying over $850 bucks for all this. Not only did he forget to work the number into the original work order, but now there's yet another due date for our truck...MONDAY.

I calmly...coolly...but sternly say "before we talk any more about money...let's talk about facts." and I start pointing out every single instance where their customer service has been less than worthy of the moniker.

The conversation went on for a while and I ended up setting an appointment to actually meet with the service manager. Before I am able to get out there, I'm sharing this story with someone I work with who happens to know the General Sales Manager there. He calls him up and let's him know what's going on. This guy calls me back and does his best to assuage me and offer to rectify the situation by paying for a rental car for the weekend. I decline and tell him I don't need it. I bring up the key issue and he offers to throw in the key. He asks if that would make the situation right.

I begin to think about this and say to him, "I would love to get that key and not have to pay for it, but I'm not sure that I can justifiably say that would make me a happy customer. I'm not trying to put you out of money, I'm trying to resolve a customer service situation. At this point, I'm not sure I will ever return to your service shop."

We decide that I'm going to think it over and call him back. Ultimately, I decide that since I had a need with my truck that they did not fulfill, then fulfilling this other need I have with my truck at their expense is a fair trade. I mean, come on...$150 bucks for a key??? lol

I still wasn't sure that I was comfortable with that. I was, after all, still not sure I was going to go back there and I didn't want to come across like the key was "the key" to solving the situation. I decide to go and discuss it with him face-to-face before giving a final answer.

When I show up, he greets me pretty warmly. He's not a "typical" sales guy. He's friendly, Has an honest look to him and genuinely, and sincerely is apologetic for all that's happened. He tells me that he's gonna throw in the key anyway at his cost (before I get to tell him I'm going to accept it) and says that he is personally going to follow this task to completion. It can't happen until Monday because the parts that need to be replaced need to be ordered.

We have a friendly conversation about customer service and he asks me to consider giving them another chance in the future. I tell him that I most certainly will consider it, because I feel he has done everything he can to rectify a situation that he only came into at the last minute.

So there you have it. Hopefully you'll hear from me on Monday that we have our truck back. I haven't sworn off the dealership (at least not yet!). And I learned a valuable lesson in chemical reactions between salt and metal.

Perhaps it will all go uphill from here...

PS - I added a feed counter to my blog - I HAVE 11 SUBSCRIBERS VIA FEED! Check it out in the upper right hand corner. I can now officially stop using the "(s?)" when I refer to my readers!

PPS - James really can read...so he says...

Nothing, Something, and an Email Update.

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:47:00 +0000

If anyone read my "please help me" blog and didn't comment - SHAME ON YOU! Just kidding...

But now I have to explain someone. That is - James.

Before I go any further, I want to point out a new feature on my blog. I owe the idea to...well...whoever came up with it. But I owe COMPLETION of the idea to both Anna and James who commented on my last post. Of course, James was just being sarcastic. I'll bet he didn't even know he was saying something helpful. But, thanks to Anna letting me know that I could get the code for enabling E-Mail subscriptions to my blog. Now if you look in the upper right hand corner (go ahead and look now) you can type in your email address and get updates to my blog! Anna, I'll see what I can come up with for your blogging ideas, but for now, I have to continue with my verbal thrashing of one of my best friends from high school.

Depending on how you know me, you might already know who James is. If you don't know who he is then before I go on this tirade about his comment on my "please help me" post (link above if you haven't seen it), I want to make it clear that this is a friendly tirade. It's typical of our sense of humor and friendship and now that I know he's visited my site, "it's on!"

All seriousness aside, James is one of the most fluent sarcasm masters I know. And by masters, I mean that was even his major in college and he got his masters in sarcasm. But I guess that's needed in order to teach! That's what he does...he teaches. And I know he had to hone his sarcasm skills in order to teach because I remember the teachers WE had!

James commented that I should continue to blog about having nothing to blog about. Sorry, James. That idea was already used in television. I think it was called "Seinfeld" and you can now catch it in syndication.

He also commented that when he looked at his reader it would tell him that that there was a new blog post about not having anything to blog about. I'm pretty certain that this "reader" is one of his students. James can't read. He has someone he picks out to do his reading for him.

His comment about emailing people when there's new information on my the feed from my blog was intended to be completely sarcastic (trust me, I know him), but little did he know that I can actually do that! And now I have. James, have one of your students put their email address in there so they can let you know when there's more "nothing" on my blog.

He also mentioned using text messages to update people when there's an email about there being a feed about there being more on my blog. This was just a defense mechanism trying to not let on that he can't read. That was actually code for "You should call me when you have a new post! But if it's after school hours, you'll have to read it to me!"

The fact that he mentioned Morse Code is just a façade. It's a fluke he actually mentioned a legitimate, albeit antiquated, method of communication.

Ok - I think I'm done for now.

James, thanks for letting me bully you on my blog. Although you may not have seen it coming, I'm sure you'll take it in stride. In fact, you might even have one of your students type up a blog for you in vengeance!

I'm guessing his comments actually spawned from the fact that I posted a message on my facebook account saying that I had posted a blog looking for ideas on what to post. Hey! In my defense, I was trying to get the word out to the people that I know that I am looking for more ideas on what to blog about. I'm also looking for more exposure, so if you think you know someone who would enjoy my writing, feel free to pass along a link!

Bring on those ideas!

HELP! I need bloggy ideas!

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 01:30:00 +0000

Ok, so I installed Google Analytics to give me some idea as to whether or not I am actually getting any traffic. Turns out I am...a little.

That's ok, my blog isn't really meant to just reach out and grab the world just yet, but I found it interesting that I had readers in Texas, Illinois, Indiana, New York and Arkansas. (Most of those were in Texas, and by most I think it was like 9 out of 13) HA!

Anyway, it occurred to me that I have been REALLY silent and that was mostly because I wasn't sure that I had anything post-worthy. That's when I decided that I ought to see what my small circle of readers (yes, you can make a circle out of 13 people! Just ask Altell, they do it with 5) would like to hear my thoughts on. So what I'd like (if you would be so inclined as to assist me here) is to find out if there's anything that you'd like to mention and see how I might respond about it. Depending on the topic, it could be anywhere from humorous to insightful to downright boring, but it's worth a shot!

I'm really hoping to get some interesting ideas to post about and I'm not sure what to expect (if anything!) but it's going to depend on all y'all! (I know...I talk like a Texan). PLEASE give me ideas. I'm begging. I WANT to blog. I LOVE to be creative...but apparently my creativity is dependent on others. I do have one request though...please keep the topics clean.

By the way, I want to say, real quick, thanks to Anna who posted a comment the other day on one of my posts suggesting that I add a feedburner link to my blog. I have done so, and hopefully I did it right so I don't screw up my page, but in the upper right hand corner you should have a "subscribe" link. So if you subscribe to blogs, SUBSCRIBE TO MINE! :-D

I checked out some of Anna's stuff and it's worth a look, especially if you are artistically inclined. I especially liked looking at some of the pictures she took.

Additionally - I have shortened the amount of my blog that will show in readers. I kinda did this in hopes that people might be more inclined to actually visit my blog (so I'll know you're out there!) and maybe choose to leave me a comment. I hope this doesn't upset anyone, but if it does, please let me know...I don't want to drive away any of my few readers!

Anyway - let me know if you want to get inside my braindungeon and see what's lurking around!

Lost

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:20:00 +0000

"Lost" is one of my favorite TV shows. Just the word "Lost" however, is NOT one of my favorite words.

In case you haven't already read my post about what happened with our new (used) truck, you might want to read that first.

Ok, so to follow up: The tow truck had gotten to our house in the afternoon. I thought about calling the dealership right around 6:30 or so to see if they'd taken a look at it yet. By then it would have been there for at least a couple of hours and there was a distinct possibility they'd have had time to run the diagnostics on it. I decided, however, that because it WAS toward the end of the day, I'd give them til the next morning before calling.

Well, shortly after I posted yesterday, I called the dealership to see what the status was. I was a *little* perturbed when they couldn't seem to find me in the system. I explained the situation to them about my truck getting towed to them for diagnostics. They put me on hold. I waited. For a long time. I was now growing more irritated. Ten minutes on hold without so much as a "we're still looking" is quite frustrating.

Someone came back on the line "Service, who are you holding for?" I explained AGAIN the situation. I got put on hold AGAIN. This time for not as long tho...someone else picked up the phone and said "Service, who are you holding for?" I, once more, explained the situation and was put on hold AGAIN. Very shortly afterward (we're at a total of 15 minutes on the phone now) someone picks up and said "Hello, sir?" I had muted the phone at this point because I was talking to my wife about heading over there. In the amount of time it took for me to hit the unmute button, the guy hung up.

Ok, now I'm pissed.

I call back. I explain that I got disconnected. I got put on hold again. CRAP! Oh wait, no, they came back more quickly this time...

"We're still waiting for your truck. It hasn't arrived yet."

WHAT???

Ok. Not cool. I tell them that's not possible. I explain the timing and how it should have been there for at least a couple of hours yesterday. Nope. They explained that when they closed up shop at 7:00pm the night before, it had not arrived.

Ok, now I'm BEYOND furious.

I call my wife. I ask for the number to our insurance company (who provided the tow truck in the first place). She tells me she has the number for the wrecker company responsible for towing the car. I gladly accept the number and mutter something about someone losing their job and threatening jail time.

Now I call the wrecker company and in a not-so-nice voice, but not the "irate customer" many dread, I explain that I had my truck towed and the dealership claims they never received it. I am given yet ANOTHER number. This guy is apparently the one who was in charge when my truck was towed.

I call him. I'm a little less kind than the previous call, but still maintaining at least a modicum of composure. I explain the situation and his initial reaction is that the dealership it was towed to is pretty bad (nation-wide) about receiving vehicles towed in, but never recording that they received them. He says he'll call the dealership.

I get a call from the wrecker guy, he says (really...his words) that they performed a "miracle" and "magically" made my truck appear. I can understand his sarcasm since he apparently has problems with this dealership a lot, but it was not appreciated in my mood. Whatever...I tell him thanks.

I get a call from the dealership. "Good news! We found your truck. The work order WAS in the system. Everything WAS done right. The wrecker guy gave the keys to the wrong person. I couldn't find your truck on our lot because it was already in the shop!"

Bull. Whatever. I don't care, just diagnose the problem and call me back with a solution. Of course, that's not what I said...I thanked them and asked when I should know something. They indicate that it shouldn't be long.

Well, it WAS long. I called 3 hours or so later and they still didn't know anything. I said "So the diagnostic still isn't finished?" He said "I'm not saying that...it's just not ready. It's not in the computer yet." Right...and asking the technician who was looking at it is just too hard. I asked when they close. Four o'clock. Good. So I should at least know something in the next 2 hours. NOT. They never called and I was wrapped up in something at that particular moment in time (4:00) so I didn't get a chance to call them back to find out what the heck was going on with my truck.

So...my loyal reader(s?) - I don't know as of this moment why the rear wheel on our new (used) truck won't turn. I may also swear off this dealership. I have been known to completely and utterly avoid companies that give me service that I consider less than adequate.

Oh well. I guess it'll eventually work out. But - I thought maybe you'd be interested to know that the saga continues.

Some Saturday Morning Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:18:00 +0000

This has been one heck of a week. Just about every day ended with me in a terrible mood for some reason or another. There were a couple of moments that all seemed ok with the world.

Earlier this week I came home from work and sat down in one of my patio chairs to just...sit there. Enjoy the cooler weather that followed Hurricane Ike into Texas. I came really close to blogging about how nice it was outside, but my phone wouldn't let me log into blogger...so I didn't.

My in-laws just closed on their new house. I went for the grand tour. It's nice. I already have plans (with my father-in-law) to wire up their house for networking and even (if I can get my mother-in-law on board) install a projection screen with a projector and surround sound for a REAL theater experience! LOL. Ok...so that last one is not likely to happen.

I also, for the first time in my life, watched a few episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus last night. Sometimes I can appreciate British humor, though sometimes I am left just shaking my head in bewilderment. What really struck me as "funny" was the fact that for a couple of minutes on this episode last night, there was a conversation taking place almost entirely in French. I'm not sure which is funnier...the fact that I still remembered enough French from high school to understand the entire conversation OR the fact that I was actually laughing at what was taking place because it was funny! British humor in French...now that's classy!

Oh, did I fail to mention that they were not translating the French conversation? That made me wonder just how many people in England speak/understand French. Later on in the same episode they had conversation in Russian. But they chose to translate the Russian. Which is good for me because I know VERY LITTLE Russian. I learned how to say a couple of phrases while I was stationed in Korea...but nothing complicated.

I think the culmination of horrifics this week, however, was basically the whole day yesterday. While I won't bore you with all the little details, one story line from the day is worth noting. Our new (used) Mazda Tribute decided it didn't want to leave the house yesterday. It started just fine, but when I put it in reverse, it would not move. One wheel...ONE WHEEL...would not turn. My first thought was "did I leave my laptop bag under the wheel?" Yeah right...that would have crushed my laptop bag real quick! My next thought was "could someone have blocked the wheel or something as a gag?" I've seen more bizarre, so it wouldn't have surprised me. My next and final thought before checking to see what was in my way was "Oh my gosh! Is a CHILD under my truck???"

I was on my way home from work the other day and there were some kid's playing in the front of one of the yards. A ball inevitably flew into the street followed by an oblivious child followed by a parent stopping the child. I actually had seen it coming because of the circumstances, so I didn't even have to slam my break...I was already slowing down when it all happened.

Because of this experience, I couldn't help but wonder if somehow at 7:15 in the morning there was a child under my truck and THAT was keeping me from moving. I knew it was irrational, but I checked anyway.

Thank God...no child under the truck.

I couldn't find ANY reason that the wheel would not turn. It was the passenger side rear wheel that was the culprit. I thought maybe it was the parking break stuck on that wheel somehow...I played with that...didn't fix it. I thought through a list of things to check try...breaks, 4-wheel drive, how about going in drive instead of reverse...NOTHING WORKED.

This vehicle did NOT want to move.

Throughout the course of the day, we called and scheduled a tow truck to come take it to the dealership for diagnostics...I wonder if Dr. Gregory House works as a mechanic too. It was going to be a while before the truck showed up...oh well, what can you do?

How about laugh...like a maniac...when they call to tell you that the tow truck got a flat tire! Not only did our truck not want to leave the driveway...it was now using its supernatural telekinetic abilities to flatten tires on tow trucks!

So they sent a different truck and it was going to be a while again...the tow truck finally showed up right as I was getting home from work (I drove a different vehicle). Apparently tow trucks aren't really set up to pull vehicles from the back. He chained onto the tow hitch on our Tribute and started to pull. It was his only option for pulling from the rear.

I was concerned. I was afraid that during this maneuver to get the truck onto his tow truck, that rear wheel was either going to start turning again and I'd look like fool (but still send it to the shop because...well...duh!) OR the wheel was going to snap clean off. Neither happened. Our stubborn little Tribute fought the pulley every inch of the way onto the tow truck. But the driver of the tow truck emerged victorious.

I don't know the status of our truck now...I need to call the dealership. But a small fact maybe worthy of mentioning...

I'm NOT superstitious. I don't believe that numbers have some supernatural ability to cause good or bad "luck". It may be interesting to know, however, that our new (used) truck just got its new (new) license plates a few weeks back...and they contain a number that many would consider "unlucky".

Gotta be coincidence...

Who's That Off in the Distance?

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:23:00 +0000

Oh wait, it's me!

Ok, so, wow. Long time since I last posted. Two months since my last post...almost three since my last "real" post. I know I'm rambling to almost nobody, here, but I still feel the need to catch up...with...myself?

It's been a hectic few months. Work has been busy, so there hasn't been a WHOLE lot of social life going on. (oooh...ending a sentence with a preposition - I'm DEvolving!) I took a trip to Utah in August to visit with family I haven't seen in upwards of 12 years. The reason for the trip was actually the celebration of my Grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. Their anniversary is really in September, but since it was easier to get everyone together in August - that was the month we got together!

So - I saw my parents and one of my brothers and his family for the first time in almost 3 years. I saw my Grandparents and some of my aunts and uncles for the first time in almost 8 years. And I saw most of the rest of my family whom I hadn't seen in 12 years! Including my "little" brother. I use quotes because he's 4 years younger than I am and the last time I saw him, he was a short little runt of a 12-year-old whose biggest accomplishment in life was tattling on our sister and getting her in trouble. Now he's a gargantuan (4 inches taller than me) 24-year-old who spent 2 years on a mission in Taiwan, has learned to fluently speak Mandarin Chinese, and has even recorded for Disney (he plays cello).

Since I came back, I've been working a whole lot more. Mostly because the company I work for just opened up a new restaurant. Since I'm the lead on all the techie stuff that goes in (registers, computers, cameras, etc) that means a lot of long hours. But the opening was a success a couple of days ago, and aside from working out a few kinks, I think I'll soon be able to move on to other projects.

In the interest of not making this TOO long (I think that ship has sailed), I'll mention one other thing and send you, my loyal reader(s?), off to do thy bidding. Last weekend, I got back from work and just felt the need to get out of the house. I convinced my wife that we should get out and maybe take some pictures or something (we both enjoy a little photography). So, we got in her new (used) Mazda Tribute (4 wheel drive, baby!) and went down to the beach. (Our first time on the beach in 4 wheel drive!) We snapped a few pictures of the water, the birds, and of us! One picture turned out really well and neither of us could believe it actually came out good! Because of my back injury from my military days, this shot hurt pretty bad afterward...but it was so worth it. Check it out.

So, anyway, I suppose that's it. In case you care, I updated my profile with a new "about me" and a new "random question" and had a little fun with it, so feel free to check it out. Drop me a line and let me know I'm not just talking to myself and hopefully I'll post again soon...sooner than 2 months!

This Just In...

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:43:00 +0000

I know...it's been a while. But I've been busy...

Running for President...

Tell all your friends! :-)