so when i moved to houston three weeks ago and tried to get internet set up in my apartment there was snafu after snafu.
phone call to at&t #1: i am told i can't get internet turned on because the person who lived here before me hadn't turned their internet off and i was supposed to contact that person and tell them to turn it off. WHAAAT?
phone call to at&t #2: i am told okay, we can fix that problem, but someone can't come out to push some magic button or something inside your apartment that turns on the internet for a week. i wait the week.
phone call to at&t #3: that person didn't show up. at&t tells me it would be a whole nother week before another person could come out to push this button, and no they don't need to get into your apartment silly. who told you that? um, YOU DID. i ask to speak to a manager because it is THEIR fault that no one showed up, and i'm not waiting a week. i'm told a manager will call me. they never do.
phone call to at&t #4: the last person told me it would be a week but YOUR person didn't show up and i'm not waiting a week. they say okay, okay, someone will come out tomorrow. victory!
THIS PERSON NEVER SHOWED UP EITHER.
so i just tried to install the internet myself and it worked! i have internet! life is amazing again!
except i don't think at&t knows this. they have called no fewer than 5 times since then to try to reschedule the appointment where someone comes out to push the magic button. i've missed all these calls, and then just deleted the messages. my internet works! i'm not calling them back and sitting on hold. but i also haven't received a bill...so...who knows what is going on.
moral of the story: at&t's customer service: B.A.D.
Showing posts with label ranting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ranting. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
do yourself a favor. never watch the film gideon's trumpet even though (a) it stars henry fonda, and you like henry fonda, and (b) it's about a supreme court case - one that you're interested in. this movie goes so slowly you think it must be made for a 90 year old...but is only assuming an intelligence level of a 5th grader. DON'T TAKE 5 MINUTES TO EXPLAIN DOUBLE JEOPARDY AS IF I AM AN IDIOT. additionally, THIS MOVIE IS AN HOUR AND 45 MINUTES LONG, YET WITH SOME GOOD EDITING WOULD LAST ABOUT 30 MINUTES.
yet, i continue to watch it. what does this say about me?
yet, i continue to watch it. what does this say about me?
Friday, January 7, 2011
wow - a lot of interesting stuff in this article. the most interesting part to me? that these two women spent 16 years in prison for stealing $11. ELEVEN DOLLARS. now, i know that there may be other issues i'm not aware of here - you can go to jail for stealing $0 if you murder someone, for example, and i find that legitimate, but as far as i can tell from this article they just ambushed some kids and stole 11 bucks. is this our legal system in action - 16 years in prison for $11?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
grumpy day, part 2
i have this exact interaction approximately 100 times a day:
me: hi!
coworker who i'm passing in the hall: hello! how are you?
me: fine. you?
coworker: fine!
(sometimes i play the role of the second person. i am equally at fault.)
this has become a huge pet peeve of mine. can't we just say hello and not pretend to care how the other person is? because that's what it is: pretending. we don't answer this question honestly, and if we did the other person would secretly roll their eyes and think, "i was just being polite - i don't really want to hear all this." OR: can we ask this question only with purpose and really listen to the answer? "how are you?" has the potential to be a really important question, but it has been totally devalued.
[sidenote: in england they don't say, "how are you?" - they say "you alright?" but it comes out as "y'lright?" and it took me forever to figure out that they actually DO CARE how you are doing and i was being rude by giving my standard "fine" response. i once had a ten minute conversation with a person i'd never met before because he "y'lright?"-ed me and i took it seriously. i appreciate this. DO IT, ENGLAND.]
end rant.
me: hi!
coworker who i'm passing in the hall: hello! how are you?
me: fine. you?
coworker: fine!
(sometimes i play the role of the second person. i am equally at fault.)
this has become a huge pet peeve of mine. can't we just say hello and not pretend to care how the other person is? because that's what it is: pretending. we don't answer this question honestly, and if we did the other person would secretly roll their eyes and think, "i was just being polite - i don't really want to hear all this." OR: can we ask this question only with purpose and really listen to the answer? "how are you?" has the potential to be a really important question, but it has been totally devalued.
[sidenote: in england they don't say, "how are you?" - they say "you alright?" but it comes out as "y'lright?" and it took me forever to figure out that they actually DO CARE how you are doing and i was being rude by giving my standard "fine" response. i once had a ten minute conversation with a person i'd never met before because he "y'lright?"-ed me and i took it seriously. i appreciate this. DO IT, ENGLAND.]
end rant.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
people on my enemies list include:
john mccain.
don't say publicly that when the military leadership supports a repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," that you will vote for the repeal AND THEN when military leadership does exactly that, speak out and vote against the repeal. i know that you say that you are waiting for the official report from the pentagon, due at the end of the year. but i think you've changed what you stand for because you're trying to get reelected and that stinks. YOU MAKE ME GRUMPY, JOHN MCCAIN, and as the new york times said earlier today: i hope history shames those who support this (in)action by the senate.
(end rant.)
don't say publicly that when the military leadership supports a repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," that you will vote for the repeal AND THEN when military leadership does exactly that, speak out and vote against the repeal. i know that you say that you are waiting for the official report from the pentagon, due at the end of the year. but i think you've changed what you stand for because you're trying to get reelected and that stinks. YOU MAKE ME GRUMPY, JOHN MCCAIN, and as the new york times said earlier today: i hope history shames those who support this (in)action by the senate.
(end rant.)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
if you can't brag on your own blog, where can you brag?
i teach AP government and politics. i love it. i love how relevant it is to the students - it helps so much in getting them interested and excited about the course. i love teaching seniors, who you have to shelter very little from the realities of our government and our world. i love teaching at my school, where i have almost total control over how i teach the material. i have bright, interested, engaged, well behaved, kind, mature, funny students. i have a great job. (i can say this now, a full month into summer. i might not have said this six weeks ago...ahh, what time can do...)
all of my students are required to take the AP exam at the end of the year. it's a national exam taken by 220,000 students every year...i teach based on concepts set forth by the exam's creators (the college board), though with a lot of liberty to add projects and movies and current events in addition to it. the exam is scored from a 0 to a 5, 5 being the highest possible score - supposedly equivalent to an A in an introductory government course in college.
the first year i taught the AP course, i had 2 students who made 5s on the exam and 8 students who made 4s. and i was elated. i knew the kids were bright and should do well on the exam, and i would have felt like i'd failed them in my teaching if i didn't have at least one who scored a 5.
the second year i taught the course, i had 4 students who made 5s and 12 students who made 4s. i was even more excited - progress! i was getting better at teaching the course or motivating my students or i had brighter students or something. i know the students take the test - and i can't be entirely responsible for how well they do - but i do take seriously my responsibility to prepare them well.
this year, the third year i taught the course, i was feeling good. i felt like i was teaching the material more effectively than in the past, i had some really bright kids (though not necessarily that much brighter than in years past), but then i went to florida and graded the AP exam and i started to sweat. i could envision what my students would write for each essay question and i found out that some things i KNEW they would write weren't specific enough to get credit. uh oh. maybe they wouldn't do as well as i'd originally thought.
today i got my exam scores. and 19 of my students got 5s and 14 got 4s. i am losing my mind i'm so excited. 19! 19! 2 to 4 to 19! i am so so proud of them, how seriously they took the course, how hard they studied, how diligent they were. and proud of myself for the improvement i've seen in my students. all year i measure my success as a teacher by what i've done to make them more knowledgeable and more interested and more excited about politics, for helping them grow into responsible and respectful americans. today i measure my success by how well they've done on this exam. so i'm going to revel in their 5s for a minute. we'll be back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.
all of my students are required to take the AP exam at the end of the year. it's a national exam taken by 220,000 students every year...i teach based on concepts set forth by the exam's creators (the college board), though with a lot of liberty to add projects and movies and current events in addition to it. the exam is scored from a 0 to a 5, 5 being the highest possible score - supposedly equivalent to an A in an introductory government course in college.
the first year i taught the AP course, i had 2 students who made 5s on the exam and 8 students who made 4s. and i was elated. i knew the kids were bright and should do well on the exam, and i would have felt like i'd failed them in my teaching if i didn't have at least one who scored a 5.
the second year i taught the course, i had 4 students who made 5s and 12 students who made 4s. i was even more excited - progress! i was getting better at teaching the course or motivating my students or i had brighter students or something. i know the students take the test - and i can't be entirely responsible for how well they do - but i do take seriously my responsibility to prepare them well.
this year, the third year i taught the course, i was feeling good. i felt like i was teaching the material more effectively than in the past, i had some really bright kids (though not necessarily that much brighter than in years past), but then i went to florida and graded the AP exam and i started to sweat. i could envision what my students would write for each essay question and i found out that some things i KNEW they would write weren't specific enough to get credit. uh oh. maybe they wouldn't do as well as i'd originally thought.
today i got my exam scores. and 19 of my students got 5s and 14 got 4s. i am losing my mind i'm so excited. 19! 19! 2 to 4 to 19! i am so so proud of them, how seriously they took the course, how hard they studied, how diligent they were. and proud of myself for the improvement i've seen in my students. all year i measure my success as a teacher by what i've done to make them more knowledgeable and more interested and more excited about politics, for helping them grow into responsible and respectful americans. today i measure my success by how well they've done on this exam. so i'm going to revel in their 5s for a minute. we'll be back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.
Friday, May 28, 2010
i'm glad that 5 republicans are reasonable
yay hooray! the second step towards repealing don't ask, don't tell... i'm going to count mike mullen & robert gates speaking out and saying that congress should lift the ban on gays serving in the military as the first step. repealing the ban is moving in the right direction towards fairness and equality. and if qualified and passionate men and women want to serve and fight and die to protect our country, um, let's allow them to and let's support them along the way. i mean, duh, right?
do you know about my love affair with john lewis? well, i have one. and he said this last night:
"don't ask, don't tell - what does it mean? it didn't make sense then, and it doesn't make sense now. just like the military helped end segregation based on race, we should have put an end to don't ask, don't tell long ago. it is an affront to human dignity, and to the dignity and worth of every man and woman serving in our military. we cannot wait. we cannot be patient. we must end discrimination in the military and we must end it now."
and if i wasn't grumpy enough with john mccain, his opposition to this bill AND THREAT OF A FILIBUSTER pisses me off immensely. i'm starting to dislike john mccain to the same degree that i like john lewis AND THAT IS SAYING SOMETHING.
end of rant.
do you know about my love affair with john lewis? well, i have one. and he said this last night:
"don't ask, don't tell - what does it mean? it didn't make sense then, and it doesn't make sense now. just like the military helped end segregation based on race, we should have put an end to don't ask, don't tell long ago. it is an affront to human dignity, and to the dignity and worth of every man and woman serving in our military. we cannot wait. we cannot be patient. we must end discrimination in the military and we must end it now."
and if i wasn't grumpy enough with john mccain, his opposition to this bill AND THREAT OF A FILIBUSTER pisses me off immensely. i'm starting to dislike john mccain to the same degree that i like john lewis AND THAT IS SAYING SOMETHING.
end of rant.
Friday, May 14, 2010
seriously?
the humidity level in my office right now is approximately 99%. like, i can feel the moisture in the air. I AM NOT AMUSED. is something wrong with the air conditioning? my hair is starting to curl AND I AM INDOORS.
i love the south; i just require the humidity level to be under 80%. is that too much to ask?? i will relax my humidity standards in one month only: august. august is the worst month to live in the south. we all know it, so just make it as bad as you want.
when does summer officially start? my calendar tells me that it is june 21. laughable. the calendar has not been to georgia. i will label this post "summer" with reckless disregard for the calendar.
i love the south; i just require the humidity level to be under 80%. is that too much to ask?? i will relax my humidity standards in one month only: august. august is the worst month to live in the south. we all know it, so just make it as bad as you want.
when does summer officially start? my calendar tells me that it is june 21. laughable. the calendar has not been to georgia. i will label this post "summer" with reckless disregard for the calendar.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
rant for today
tell 'em, bob herbert!
when people act in ways that i find repulsive, i try to tell myself that they are doing the best they can. but sometimes i can't believe that. then i start to tell myself that people are crazy and you can't reason with everyone. some of the crazy tea party people? unreasonable.
(also, how will history remember a political party with the acronym TEA to stand for "taxed enough already"? THIS IS A RIDICULOUS ACRONYM. i realize that tea parties in the 1770s were for freedom from an oppressive government and these tea partiers now think they are working for freedom from an oppressive government, but seriously? it's was on a different level then. GET A BETTER NAME.)
end rant.
when people act in ways that i find repulsive, i try to tell myself that they are doing the best they can. but sometimes i can't believe that. then i start to tell myself that people are crazy and you can't reason with everyone. some of the crazy tea party people? unreasonable.
(also, how will history remember a political party with the acronym TEA to stand for "taxed enough already"? THIS IS A RIDICULOUS ACRONYM. i realize that tea parties in the 1770s were for freedom from an oppressive government and these tea partiers now think they are working for freedom from an oppressive government, but seriously? it's was on a different level then. GET A BETTER NAME.)
end rant.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)