Archive for the 'California' Category

Customer “Service”

Published by kindli on September 24, 2008 in California, adventures and gavin post. 0 Comments

“Kendra”: I will be happy to answer your questions regarding AT&T services. I specialize in setting up new phone accounts and High Speed Internet service.

you (Gavin): Hello, having some trouble finding out what services would be available at ******, Sebastopol, CA 95472

you (Gavin): The “closely” matching results are in some cases about 120 miles away

“Kendra”: What services are you looking for?

[”I specialize in setting up new phone accounts and High Speed Internet service,” Those, of I wouldn’t be talking to you would I?]

you (Gavin): DSL without a standard POTS line

“Kendra”: The only way to place an order for the direct dsl is through customer service. What state do you live in?

[Right, the website I was on for placing an order was clearly fake. As for what state, lets see, ah yes I just told you that.]

you (Gavin): California

“Kendra”: The number for California is 1-866-593-0724

[I wonder what would happen if I said I didn’t have a phone, given you know, I’m trying to setup phone service.]

[So I tried that number and it didn’t work]

Demon Kitty & the Onion Thief

Published by kindli on August 12, 2008 in California, garden, photos and townhouse. 2 Comments

Yesterday Demon Kitty came over to visit us. I’d been out watering the yard and I left the screen door open.  

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When I came back inside, DK was basking in the sunlight cleaning himself.

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we drove 800 miles and never left the state

Published by kindli on April 21, 2008 in California, adventures, car, family, friends and travel. 1 Comment

Abilene looked like an abandoned ghost town at 7:45 on a Sunday morning. The only sign that life might have once existed there was a plastic bag blowing across a parking lot. We were the only car for a good ten minutes as we worked our way to the highway.

On the bright side, there was no traffic until about an hour outside of Dallas so we racked up the miles. A grand total of over 800 in all.

We met Amanda and James for brunch at Bailey’s Breakfast Brunch Lunch not too far from the airport. They recently moved into a new apartment and Amanda was excited they’d “just” gotten a microwave.

At around 1:30 we dropped off our rental, took the shuttle to the airport and started the joyous process of going through airport security. At DFW they’re trying out a new method of air-poofing to test for explosives, and they have a new x-ray system where you can leave your liquids and laptops in their bags. The new x-ray system is nice, the air-poofing is a little strange.

About an hour or two we got to our gate a voice came over the loudspeaker, announcing that the flight was over booked and they were offering vouchers to people to take a later flight… which is how we ended up in Dallas this time.

Gavin and I looked at each other. Before I could say anything, Gavin said “No. No way.” So we flew back to SFO on our regularly scheduled flight, complete with Babies in Surround.

Dulce picked us up from the airport, and after dinner in Palo Alto, Gavin drove home. It was his turn to drive, after all, I’d driven the 800+ miles all over Texas.

Christmas Tree Rooms and other Abominations

Published by kindli on April 13, 2008 in California, adventures, car and townhouse. 2 Comments

Gavin and I have learned a lot today. We spent the afternoon driving around North West Santa Rosa looking at Open Houses.

We started the day off driving past garishly colored cookie-cutter town homes. Next, we investigated an offer that included the koi in the pond (they’re easy to keep, all you do is “Change the filter once a month and feed them every few days”). We toured a poorly renovated home (it was purely a cosmetic renovation: it ignored over half the windows needed replacing and the sink enamel was waring off, and they put carpet in the bathrooms). We walked through a $999,000 home that boasted an attached granny unit, three garages, custom cabinetry, and solar panels on the roof (it had an odd floor plan). We finally ended our adventure looking at another renovated home with a poor floor plan.

Not one house we pulled up to screamed “BUY ME I’M AMAZING.” Some had rather unique layouts, “Christmas Tree Rooms” and weird snaking maze like hall ways. It is never a good sign when you ask a Realtor “What is this room for?” and he responds “I’m not sure, but I think it could make a nice Formal Living Room.”

“Formal Living Room” aka “The Christmas Tree Room.” The room with the nice furniture that is never sat upon (reserved for Visits from The Queen), and where the Christmas Tree is Prominently Positioned in front of the large (usually bay) window so everyone on the street can see how lovely it is. The room is used once a year, to open Christmas presents, and to store extra coats during holiday parties.

Everyone wanted to know our price range, and of course, they had something that could meet our needs “perfectly.” Right now “need” is a strong word. Even if we were to get a three-bedroom (+ bonus room) home, at least one of the bedrooms would remain blissfully empty, and the “bonus” room/3d bedroom/“Christmas Tree Room” would become an office.

Gavin looked around and saw poor lay out, and things that needed to be fixed. I looked around and saw cleaning nightmares, odd laundry room locations, and yard work. We both noticed kitchens.

After a hot day of driving around, we pulled into our garage, opened the door to the kitchen and were greeted by a cool blast of air - we don’t have an AC, the first floor stays naturally cool. It’s 82 outside and 72 inside, absolutely wonderful. All the homes we looked at either had their ACs running over time, or were stifling hot. We’re in no hurry to move.

GavNav’s TomTom

Published by kindli on March 27, 2008 in California, adventures and car. 2 Comments

Yesterday afternoon Gavin got a new toy: a TomTom GPS. We’d been talking about getting one for a while now, and our up coming trip to Abilene seemed like as good an excuse as any. Gavin spent most of the evening fiddling with it, and this morning he proudly displayed it on our windshield.

Gavin was quite excited by every little feature: “See, it shows us the street names!… It shows us how fast we’re going!… It’ll tell us if we’re going over the speed limit!” Most importantly, as long as you can see the sky it can tell you where you are, so if I take another adventure into dead cell-phone territory I can find my way home.

This morning, when we pulled into the parking lot Gavin offered to set the device to “go home.” That was all very nice, but I wasn’t going to go directly home. “It’ll recalculate for you,” Gavin replied as he set the device.

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The Mallards in the $500,000 House

Published by kindli on March 20, 2008 in California, adventures and fun. 0 Comments

This morning we saw the Mallards crossing the street, again. They stopped traffic and waddled unconcernedly from the house to the park.

Gavin and I have seen them do this several times now. At some point between 8:45 and 9:15 in the morning, the Mallards hop off the sidewalk, waddle and go for a romp in the park. Sometimes I am the unlucky one who has to stop for them, sometimes I am lucky enough to drive past as they are hopping up onto the grass.

As we watched the Mallards in their morning routine, Gavin excitedly pointed out that they cross the street in front of the house with the FOR SALE sign.

The house in question is on the market for about $500,000, a real bargain for the area. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2 car garage, remodeled kitchen, and a pool. It is quite nice, we’ve seen photos of it online, and if the price was to drop substantially, we might consider it.

We are fairly certain the Mallards are living comfortably in the backyard, possibly enjoying the pool, and taking a morning stroll to the park every morning. Gavin pointed out the ducks could easily jump the fence, or squeeze through/around it. The backyard would be cozy and reasonably safe from raccoons and other annoying creatures.

The Mallards spend their days in the park, so it is unlikely they’ve ever been around on a house tour. The house is unoccupied, so there is no noise or light to disturb them. There are also no humans or house pets to intrude on their little slice of paradise. They also might have found away to access the pool.

The Mallards are enjoying the $500,000 house. I wonder if the House’s Future Owners will enjoy the Mallards.

apartment hunting for Nick, not for me

Published by kindli on March 13, 2008 in California, adventures, apartment, family, townhouse and travel. 0 Comments

On Wednesday Nick and I drove around Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park and Cotati looking at apartments. We looked at five or six total, and drove past countless more in greatly varying condition. They were all in the same price range but what was offered varied greatly.

Of all the places we visited, only two did NOT automatically assume that Nick and I were an item. I tried to make it quite clear that he was looking for an apartment NOT we. I suspect part of the reason they thought we were an item is because I asked a lot of questions, and peered in the closets, laundry rooms, and cabinets. I also commented to Nick about kitchen layouts, bathroom proportions, and the alloted closet/storage space.

I remember last year when Dulce and I went apartment searching. Dulce asked all sorts of questions I didn’t think to, so I tried to do the same for Nick. I asked about websites, brochures, electric costs, water costs, what was/was not included, washing machine rental, parking, mail location, security, accent walls, furniture rental, etc.

Consequently Nick has a stack of apartment brochures, copious notes, and an increasingly well worn copy of the San Francisco/Silicon Valley Apartment Guide (we picked up a copy of it before we started our adventures).

Today Nick and I drove around Sebastapol and discovered several small apartment complexes, and several condo/townhouse groupings. None of them offered much information, or a way to find much information. We also came across several very very very large homes, I told Nick that if Gavin and I could ever afford such a place he was welcome to rent out the “granny unit” (many of them looked to be the size of the townhouse we’re currently renting).

I am quite excited to say that we did not get hopelessly lost, slightly turned around, maybe, but we always found our way back to 12 or 116. There were no random accidental detours through Occidental/Gurneyville/Graton and the back hills filled with cell-phone-dead-zones, I made sure of that!

parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

Published by kindli on March 7, 2008 in California, family, hobby, photos and townhouse. 2 Comments

I’ve been busy potting, weeding and beautifying the garden. Dulce came up Wednesday. We went pot shopping, rounded out my herb garden and played in the dirt. 

 

adventures in Graton

Published by kindli on March 2, 2008 in California, adventures and family. 1 Comment

Today Dulce and Stephen drove up to help us celebrate Gavin’s birthday (which is tomorrow). We went to lunch in Graton, and then drove around enjoying the beautiful weather. 

Dulce continued assisting us on our quest to find the perfect plant to hide the unsightly water meter. I think we’ve finally found one: I don’t know what it’s called, but I’m not supposed to over water it, and it should do well in the shade. Now to find the perfect pot to keep it in. Gavin thinks yellow would be a good color.

We also got some starter plants for my herb garden: parsley, oregano and thyme. I’m hoping to add basil, dill, and possibly mint to the mix so I can stop buying them at the grocery store. 

After the repotting was complete we sang an enthusiastic round of “Happy Birthday to Gavin” and cut into the carrot cake, iced with maple-cream cheese frosting.

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Have a fantastic day Mr. Tele-marketer

Published by kindli on February 7, 2008 in California and adventures. 2 Comments

Attention Tele-marketers (or inside-sales people, whatever you want to call yourselves), if you’re going to call be prepared.

I have done inside-sales and worked with people doing inside-sales. There is an art to it, you do your research, you look up your potential person, you have their information, if it is a company or school you look up their website and have some factoids that can support your sale. If its an individual, have some statistics about the product readily available and ask to confirm the information you (should) already have.

Have a phone that works, if your phone connection is bad I won’t be able to hear you. Yes, it is *your* phone that is at fault, ours works just fine. If you say hello five or six times, then clearly your phone has issues. I heard you, but you weren’t listening.

Clearly explain what you’re offering before you start asking for details.

About details, you should know my city, state and zip code. I should not have to give them to you, and if you don’t already know my home address, don’t bother calling. I’m not going to disclose that information over the phone, especially when you haven’t explained why you’re calling.

Don’t sound so shocked when I ask *why* you want the information. The connection on the phone is bad, and don’t be more surprised when I tell you I’m not interested. We already canceled our local paper subscription (grocery cart theft made the front page, thrilling reading let me tell you), and they have crazies who call to try to get us to re-subscribe.

Your 30-day free trial offer sounds sketchy, especially because you don’t seem to know where Sebastapol is, you don’t know my name, and you don’t already have our address.

Have a fantastic day Mr. Tele-marketer, good luck duping someone else out of their information, you will not dupe me!