Grrrr!
Not wanting to update WordPress to Gutenberg!
A message to the out of touch politicians
A fellow writer friend of mine posted this today on Twitter. It’s an article by Stephen King that addresses the unfairness of our governments tax policy. King always seems to be able to put things in a way that makes me say “Damn, I wish I could’ve said that.” Enjoy, disagree, discuss…?
Stephen King: Tax Me, for F@%&’s Sake!
Waiting…
I decided to move some work related files off my web host and onto my laptop. I need to start building things locally. I don’t like using my personal resources for these types of job. It was necessary in this instance though. Let me just say one thing…my Internet provider sucks.
Being stuck out here in the Mojave Desert it’s my only option. But it’s so damn slow. I started the transfer of files about 45 minutes ago. But instead of going down, the que of files to move keeps going up. At this rate I should be done around bedtime in 5 hours give or take. I want to move, I hate this, it’s not conducive to running a business. Verizon and other providers need to get off their collective butts and expand services out here. But I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Though there have been rumors of something coming soon, I have yet to see evidence of it.
Capital One Sucks!
Today started off bad and just got worse. As I said before I woke with depression and anxiety already running rampant in my body. I kept thinking “Okay, just relax, things are not that bad.” But then I proceeded to pay my bills. This sent me on a roller coaster journey. I logged in to my Capital One account to pay my car payment. I was ecstatic to see that my balance on my loan as of today $526 and change. I was proud that even though times are tough and I’ve been unemployed for the longest period ever in my life, I have been doing my damnedest to see that my car payments are made and my only mode of transport is taken care of.
So, I go to make an online payment. But as usual the Capital One website is “Unable process my request at this time.” So I call the 800 number and make a $410 payment. Another feeling of “Woo hoo!” until… As I’m finishing the call the guy on the other end says as of today your balance is $800 and change which will be reduced by todays payment. WTF? The Capital One Account website said I only owed $526 and change? I calmly ask the rep why there is a discrepancy between my account on Capital One’s website and the computer that the rep uses that says I owe $800+. The rep start digging but can’t give me and answer. So again I say “All I would like would be an explanation, please.” I didn’t curse or lose my temper. As I kept pushing the point the rep says to me “Sir, this connection on the phone keeps dropping out and I’m going to have to disconnect this call.” And he then HUNG UP ON ME!
So I immediately call back and got a new rep and I explained what happened on the previous call and also that I was NOT HAPPY! So repeat the above. And I’m then told the explanation is that the telephone reps go by “their records” meaning Capital One, and the $409 left on the account is what I now owe. I ask “Isn’t the Capital One website your records as well? Why are the two different?”. She says well I can mail you copies of the records I have here. To which I say “Yes, and I can send you prints of what I see on YOUR website. Is there a person I can talk to in a higher position or an email address to where I can send my inquiry?” The rep says “No!”. The call ends.
So in closing let me say that Capital One Bank SUCKS! I treated them with respect never once losing my temper or raising my voice. The banks which we the public bailed out with $700 billion do not care that they are screwing us. We the little people don’t seem to matter to them in the least.
This is not over! I vow to get this straightened out. Capital One SUCKS!
EDIT: A bit of clarification
Paper bill I get in the mail says one amount
CapitalOne.com amount due is double the amount of the paper bill
Amount I paid was double the online amount.
Conclusion: CAPITAL ONE STILL SUCKS!
Not the first, but…
I was watching Star Trek (The Original Series) last night. It was the episode “The Enemy Within”. You know, the episode where there is a transporter accident and Kirk (and a poorly costumed alien dog) are split into two separate versions of themselves. One is weepy, weak, and uncertain of himself. The other is the “Evil Twin”. It truly is Shatner overacting at his finest, see the scene where “Evil Kirk” proclaims “I’M CAPTAIN KIRK! It’s Shatner gold.
As I was watching the show I noticed something that raised a question for me, and let me say I did a quick Google search, I’m not the only person on the web to ask this question. But I’m asking it anyway.
Why the hell does Captain Kirk have concealer make-up in his quarters? Seriously, he uses it to cover scratches on his face after trying to have his way with Yeoman Rand. In order to hide the evidence that will distinguish him from “Wimpy Kirk”, he finds make-up on his dresser and uses it.
I knew he had a toupee and girdle, but make-up? But I jest. This is one of the best episodes of the original series.
A New Year
I wish I could decide what to say. Maybe I’ll just stop writing all together. Can’t get past the feeling of being useless.
A place to vent
I’ve been home for a little over a year. While I’m happy to be with family I can’t say it has been a success. I’m still looking for work in a terrible economy. California’s Unemployment is up to 12.9% according to last week’s figures.
I accidentally lost my website domain due to a lack of communication. Hopefully it will be rectified in the next week or so. But I will use this site to say what’s going on in my head.
It’s late, I’m tired. I’ll write more later.
Job Seeking
Nobody reads this site but I’m going rant anyway. I’ve been seeking work since August of 2008. As the economy has crashed I have watched job opportunities dwindle from 60 to 90 a week to a dozen on a good week. I sit here doing odd jobs for people to make spending money. I read job web sites and career blogs every day. I have been to Los Angeles a half a dozen times (an expensive trip, it’s 250 mile round trip) to look for work.
I’m not losing faith, I will find a job. I just don’t know where or when yet. What is frustrating is knowing that I have 18 years of experience in my field but since I don’t have a degree, I get passed over for jobs. It bothers me because I know I could do most of the jobs I am applying for in my sleep. I have tried to go back to school. It was going well until I had some major life changing events happen that resulted in me moving 3500 miles back to the west coast. I also had to put school on hold till I can get my life settled.
I had an experience today which really made me angry at the way the system works. I logged onto a new site for career path analysis and advice Path101 Alpha. I used the site’s resume analysis tool thinking would give me some usable advice, HA! after loading my info it tells me that my carreer experience and expertise are reasonably high in value. But since I don’t have a big network of contacts or a degree I rated half of what I should have when all four categories were averaged out.
My beef with this is, it’s just a straight average of the categories. This doesn’t seem scientific or helpful at all. If I were a company hiring people, I would want good people with tons of expertise and experience over a PIECE OF PAPER any day.
Don’t get me wrong education is important and I kick myself for not pursuing it earlier in my life. I was lucky I got a great job at 22 working for a military contractor. I started off as a data entry operator and by the time I left two years later I was cataloging flight test films in a huge database that I helped design and construct. I moved to Seattle and got an even better job with a Fortune 300 company managing their Human Resources Information Systems, a fancy name for another huge database that I helped design and implement. I did all of this without a PIECE OF PAPER saying that I went to college. These are just 2 of a number of great jobs I have had.
It is my belief that if you are going to build a social site to look at and compare the areas of expertise, education, experience, and networking, these things are not all equal in value. Expertise and experience in my opinion count for lot more than education. Networking is a useful thing to have and in my work life it also given me access to many of the job opportunities I have had.
You may not agree with me, that’s okay. But think about this, our tax dollars are being used to give billions of dollars in bailout money to financial institutions. This money is theoretically to jump start the U.S. economy. But while the citizens in this country struggle with job loss, foreclosures, and just being able to put groceries on the table, companies like AIG give millions of our tax payer bailout money as bonuses to incompetent executives who manipulated the system for greed and caused this country to fall into a major economic crisis. Some of these executives are no longer employed by AIG. I’m certain, although I haven’t found proof, that every one of these executives had a PIECE OF PAPER that says they went to scool. Meanwhile, John Doe on the street is literally “on the street” because he’s losing his home. Companies need to start looking for and rewarding experience and stop giving fortunes to incompetent boobs.