Still Frozen In

Cabin Fever

OK. First, thanks to Hsack for his suggestion. I am not capable or in any way motivated to mess with html, and my fiance has got plenty of other projects percolating away and doesn't need to step in.

When I went to edit this piece, the photo of the overwater bungalow in Bora Bora once again showed perfectly. I am going to forego photos here for the time being, and patiently wait to see whether the new JS develops any similarity whatever with the one I had learned to use.

It is snowing here again. Big whoop.

Just What I Need

...Another addictive website.

From the time I was able to see over the dashboard (long before car seats were needed) I have loved to look out the windows or better windshields of a vehicle in motion. No idea why. But some of my happiest moments come from driving across unknown territory and looking out the window, whether it was Helsinki to the Russia border, or travelling the back roads of Poland going from one castle to another, or an eight hour tour of Iceland by tourbus.

And so when a website was linked which provides an "out the windshield" view of a truck driving around the US, I was almost immediately "hooked". OK, yesterday it sat, unmoving, in a truck stop in NJ while the snow melted, but today it is traversing toll booths and bridges and headed on its way from NJ to Utah. Perhaps some of the fascination derives from the fact that I have personally driven at least twice in each of the fifty US states, plus a fair number of places outside the US.

Anyhow, you are warned it may be addictive, but enjoy. http://www.bigrigtravels.com/

Comments

It has come to my attention that quite a few (well 4 or 5) people have not been able to leave comments here. This distresses me because I love comments. I have just gone and re-set the settings. They do not need to be moderated. They should show. No fuzzy word is needed. And anybody on earth can leave a comment.

As I have mentioned before, here and elsewhere, my own comments here sometimes do not post. If that happens, simply add your name to the end of the post and try anonymous. Try more than once if needed.

It is 1122am. The cleaners have gone and most fortunately, they totally ignored my admonitions to skip the shelves, which now glisten. Yes, it will take me awhile to find my remote controls etc, but boy is this place clean! Now I have to warm it up again; huddling under my Scotland blanket currently. [It was got when I first met Westy and I exchanged too much American currency, so had to spent British money before going back to the states.]

Got me to thinking about this whole Illegal Alien thing a bit. Of the people who came in with mops and buckets and scrub brushes and sponges and vacuum cleaners and worked for hours on end without a break, none of them spoke English. I wonder how many out-of-work software engineers would do the same. Or kids between their Sophomore and Junior years at college.

The common “wisdom” is that these people do the work Americans won’t do. I never denied that they are hard working, not after watching them carrying one railroad tie on each shoulder as I tried to drag one along the ground when c**** did his retaining wall for his swimming pool and I was supposed to be ‘helping’.

Before they left, they made my bed (!) and darned if they didn't find and replace a couple of screw tops on the glass jars in the bedroom where my loose change (sorted by denomination) finds its way when I come home and empty my pockets.

Gracias people!

Hello readers. Today has been somewhat better. It was the first day since my return from Fin Towers South when I was not forced to endure strangers in Fin Towers North.

The garbage pickup got rid of a lot of the stuff that the cleaners had bagged up, as well as dozens of ceiling tiles from the playroom which were ruined beyond repair.

Tomorrow, the cleaners return to try to attack the inner sanctum. That should finish their tenure and clear the way for the return of Dry Cleaning Dude, whom I definitely like. My Hudson Bay blankets came out looking sensational.

Then come the painters. This time I am given to understand, they will NOT paint every room and hall in the same white color. OK by me.

Damn Dell

On JS I have complained, bitterly, several times about the totally crap customer service afforded to those of us who elected to purchase their Dell laptop extended warranty in-home service contract.

Hold times of over an hour were not uncommon. Finding a tech who was fluent in English was.

Imagine the brainstorming session recently. "Hey guys, we are getting thousands of complaints about our customer service being crap. How should we improve it?"

"Well, how about we turn it into a marketing tool, and we now sell "premium" customer service with guaranteed answering in two minutes and service center in North America"?

Eight cleaners in the basement today. Might be a good time for a realtor to come appraise the place.

Dry cleaning guy comes tomorrow. All clothing, bedclothing, rugs and drapes are targets.

Are we having fun yet?

Five people have been cleaning my house for six hours now, almost non-stop.

It is a mixed blessing. The house has never looked so good, but I may never find anything of mine ever again.

They will be back again tomorrow.

Have not heard from adjuster after 4 hrs, so called local state farm and was given 1-888 number for claims. Called them and listened carefully because their menu had changed, did not know the 7 digit number for the party I wanted and then was put on hold because ALL the agents were helping other customers. Called local agent back and told her I had listened carefully to the menu because it had changed, explained I did not know the 7 digit number of my party and was too busy assisting myself with windex, paper towels and loads of laundry to hold and suggested it might be a good idea of THEY could pry out an eta for an adjuster.

Here We Go Again

A New Year has begun with quite a bang. I have had to leave the warmth of Dixie and the Blogger I love so much to return to a frozen yard and oil-filled house. Bills await.

I do hope some of my former JS readers will wander by and say hi.