Acer Rant Chapter 2

I get a very nice man overseas who quickly tells me his ID number.  I explain the problem and he is "so very sorry".  He has me do some things - which promptly takes me back to the same process that the computer got hung up on every other time I turned it on.  I tell him that this looks like the same screen - he assures me that it will work now - just to let it run.  Thanks for calling!
You know that the screen got hung up in the exact same place.

I'm now mad not just at the computer but customer service.  I call back.  Voice service  recognizes my phone number and quickly asks me if I am calling about the same problem.  I angrily tell "her" yes.  She then asks me (and I'm not making this up) if I would like to buy an extended warranty.  I assure it I do not.

I now get a woman who is "so very sorry" that things aren't working out.  She will help me. She notes that the fix the other gentlemen gave me didn't work but she will see what can be done.  She takes me through another process which takes me back to the same file that keeps stalling the process.

I ask her if this normal - to go into eRecovery.  She assures me that it is.  I reiterate.  I ask her very clearly if she is saying that when I buy an Acer computer and plug it in it is supposed to go into eRecovery.  She admits that no - they aren't supposed to do that but it is okay.  I tell her that we are back at the same screen I have had since I started trying to use the machine.  She assures me that it will take 40 minutes for the install to finish.

I suggest to her that 40 minutes for a computer to load one file is evidence of a problem and that she can't seriously expect me to accept that.  I then tell her that I had already let the computer sit for an hour on this screen and nothing happened.  She is "so sorry" she can see how this would be frustrating.  She is going to check with her supervisor.

The fix is this - they will send me a start up disk that will fix the problem.  It will take 5-10 days.  She sounds cheery.  I realize that in her world this probably sounds pretty good.  I am really annoyed that Acer has outsourced their customer service to people who have to hand out BS like this all day to snooty Americans - me included.  But I say it anyway - "5 to 10 business days is not acceptable - put me through to your supervisor".  Oh.  She will need to register me to do that - I explain that I have already registered on line.  Oh, that's a different file - she needs my info.  It gets better...

Acer Rant Chapter 1

I know that I have been remiss in writing on my blog!  But now I have something I need to write down so I have it recorded and I may as well share it here....

My IBM Thinkpad is pooching out.  No worries we bought a used replacement.  Didn't realize that the company that we had relied on for so long was actuallyclosing a week or so after we bought it.  They unloaded a Dell on us thta did not have enough memory.  I   I was ready to scrap it if memory would cost to much but C went ahead.  Well the computer worked like a dream with the new memory - though the overall design is pretty cheap compared to the Thinkpad.

Well - it just pooched out less than a week later.  The hard drive has crashed and I don't think there is any point in even doing more diagnostics then what I have done.  So we are going to try to at least recover the price of the memory from the tech - we have given him enough business in the past.  In the meantime I see an ACER netbook on sale at Best Buy online.

Now I usually walk away from these deals because I figure they are loss leaders - they won't have any and they will try to upsell me.  But it looked like a good deal and I checked around the Internet and the overall feedback was generally good.  We need easy access to email and Internet and something to take notes on.  Then we can reinvest in getting the old desktop up to snuff.

It comes today and C plugs it in.

It automatically goes into something called eRecovery.  This doesn't make sense to me but I'm not too up on these things.  An hour later it is stuck on a file and not doing anything.  I reboot - same thing again.

I go online on the rickety desktop and manage to register the netbook so I can call customer service and see what is up.  You know where this is going -

The customer service voice mail is infuriating.  "She" keeps asking me for a Serial Number that is located on the "label".  I keep giving it to her but she doesn't like it.  Its only supposed to be 11 numbers and mine is much longer.  I repeat "Operator" in varying tones of anger but "she" refuses.  She will not let me talk to an operator as there is a charge to speak to customer service if I do not have a SN.  I can call the other 1-800 line and speak to a service representative for a fee.  Yah, right.  I call her a bitch - pissed that I'm calling a computer anything and hang up.

After taking the battery out of the netbook I find a SNID number which I can also use.  I call "her" back.  She recognizes my phone number and does away with the small talk except to ask me for the SN/SNID.  Finally!  I am put through to a customer service agent.

Entertaining the Pastor

I had a parishoner come by and offer to take me to Timmies.  Now I had done a challenging sermon where I gave everyone a piece of paper with decisions that come out of a tough parable with the offer to meet with me at Timmies to chat about faith and questions and what not.

Not being experienced in drawing people out I floundered a bit but determined that other than one specific discussion there really wasn't anything that created this visit - until she mentioned that she had been to the elders and they suggested she visit me.  I don't get the impression it was for her benefit but for mine!!  There seems to be a concern that I'm alone and because of a medical issue the head elder and his wife have been busy and also it is haying season.  I've never thought of a pastor as particularly requiring care so its nice but so unneeded.  Especially when I had put all of my clothes on the line so had to to go Timmies in my track pants and a light sweater - its all I had left that wasn't wet!

I saw a bear!

I saw a bear on the road back from Timmins.  I didn't get close enough to investigate.  There was a truck on other side of the road pulled over and I glanced over to see if they were okay and I saw a little bear just coming out of the ditch next to the truck.  At first I thought maybe he was hit but I think maybe he was just wandering.  I don't know much about bears - I know he was not a cub but maybe a year old?  I wanted to turn around and go look but I figured its not good to disturb them and all kinds of traffic pulling over probably desensitizes them to people and cars.  Besides I wasn't too thrilled about him have stretch up against my little Aveo.  I probably have the tiniest car in town - there are a few back roads that I wouldn't want to tackle after a big rain!

The Groups in Town

After hearing someone in Tim's mentioned "the farmers" with a bit of a scowl in his voice I realized that there are more groups here then I first imagined.

The three obvious ones:  First Nations, French, English.  The French go to French school so you won't likely run into them because of course so many things we do are related to school.  But even there, there is a break out of French Roman Catholic and French.  The Roman Catholic also have their own school.  First Nations seem to exist on their own in some unclear way.  I have a feeling its a larger symptom of Canada.  They are hear but I really don't know much about them and I certainly can see a difference in culture that makes others irritable.

But now I have to add the farmers.  Of course they know each other through their agricultural connections.  But then there are two that I know of  The Christian Farmers Association and the mainstream Ontario Farmers Association.   I didn't realize how different the farmers are until I noticed that our church holds its nursing home service at 2:30 when it is our turn while the rest of the churches hold it I think at 6:00.  We can't hold it at six because of milking.  So again there is something that separates our church from the other non-farmer led churches.  I don't think other churches know why we insist on holding it so early and the last time we went the nursing home didn' know we were coming.  I wonder if people think we are being difficult by marching to our own tune!

Its a wonder any of us talk to each other at all! 

Life in the really slow lane.

Each day I think "what will I do today?"   I can go to the library to study or do it at home. Or go to the lake for a swim.  Or grab a freshly baked doughnut at the local bakery.  Gee, I can even do it all!

Went swimming the other day in our lake.  I couldn't stand the heat one more minute and putting all self consciousness aside decided it was time to take advantage of the opportunity.  The lake was a bit cold but delicious.  I just paddled around for about half an hour and I ended up feeling cooled off for a few hours.  Now I know why people say "Go soak your head!".

Really interesting at the beach.  Lots of teens.  A few parents with toddlers and a few adults.  I'm not sure where the 20 something set is - I don't think there are any.  If there are they are never where I am.  Tim Horton's seems to be the place for the over 50 crowd.  The local brunch place seems to attract the 30 - 40 group.  How you get all of these people into one event beats me!

Polar Bear Rocks!

I found a local radio station.  Very local.  The music is a bit eclectic - old time country, new country, light rock.  I laughed all morning at the song they played - look at the lyrics:

Constellations – Felicia Lyrics


With her cigarette lips and soldier tits
yeah, they stand at attention with her hands on her hips…
shes got a crocodile smile and switchblade style
yeah, she’ll stab you in the back with her fingernail file..
stays cool as you come so uncomfortably numb
as you drop to the floor with the flick of her tongue..
shes got her hand on the wheel and one on the stick
yeah she’ll put you in gear with the twitch of her neck…
oh Felicia babe i think i really really need ya
So sexy when you’re working on your knees girl......

Now it is actually a very catchy tune - but I'm not convinced that the person who picked it intended it for the morning show.  Especially since the other tunes were early country - we're talking low production values.  This tune was followed by a very old version, probably original of  "Please Release Me, Let Me Go"   I later saw the irony in that and laughed harder.   I believe in  "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." 
 
The other song was "Put My Little Shoes Away" by Hank Snow - lovely tune about a dying child.  I didn't even stay to drink my coffee in Tim Hortons - grabbed my coffee and went down to the lake to listen.  I also love the local advertising.  Hey you can listen to it online:  http://www.cpbrfm.com/
 

Glories of Clotheslines!

First off, let me say that 6.99 for a bag of clothespins is ridiculous!  I was looking for clothespins because they have just replaced the washing machine at the parsonage and I am thrilled because now I can wash my clothes at home and hang them to dry.  I haven't used a clothesline for probably 25 years - and then only when my Mom was doing the wash.

I have always but my private wear with the assumption that only my husband would see it - not that there is anything spicy to see - but rather that odd colours, polka dots and stripes that cheer me up look a little clownish.  I figure ER staff have seen it all so didn't worry about that possibility.  Its a funny contrast - blue and black and grey clothes with these bright undies flapping in the breeze!

Elmer Fudd and Porky Pig Are Different People

I just remembered as I was watching Bugs Bunny. Bugs is one of my favourite characters – as a child I was fascinated by how smart he was. I now understand this to be wit and cleverness.

I was watching Elmer Fudd the day before and Porky Pig today and I suddenly remembered (I figured this out once before sadly) that they are completely different characters. For crying out loud they are not both pigs even. For some reason as a child I think I thought that Porky Pig was the hunter Elmer Fudd when he wore clothes. This is why I can never be put in a police line up. I’m lousy with faces and names. Can you see the resemblance? They are both short, pink and have a problem with speech. That’s close enough for me.

Now you know why I can't keep anyone's name straight!

Ministerial Meeting

It was great – there was a BBQ for the ministerial group (the pastors in the area who meet) so I got to meet them for the first time “off duty”. It was really interesting – over half are women. Well, that’s not completely true – there is a priest who didn’t come and a pastor who won’t join in because he does not belief in women in office. Its too bad because I’m sure he could do with a place to pray and such.




It was fascinating trying to guess the denomination by the person. I was really off on one or two. Everyone’s about my age or a bit older which is a nice switch too.



They meet every Thursday for prayer. Every Thursday. I was surprised – in Toronto they tend to meet once a month. And they are offering food for sale for Canada Day for the assistance program (diaconal money for those of you who understand the lingo). I was really impressed to see pastors doing this administrative work. They are super busy just like in the city but are busy with more direct contact things.



Some were more friendly then others – I think there may be one or two who aren’t sure what exactly my role is. I’m not a pastor but in a pastor’s position since the church doesn’t have one.