Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Debt Reduction Scam
Whenever you receive an email, telephone call, a letter or see an ad stating your credit card bills can be cut in half, don't you believe it. It's not true. In truth and in fact, it's a big fat scam. I know first-hand. I was caught in it. I bought the scam hook, line and sinker. I was desperate and it sounded wonderful to be out of debt. You're asked how much you can afford to pay monthly and how much you owe. You're told your debt can be reduced by as much as 50% and they would negotiate settlement on your behalf. I was in such a desperate and emotional state that I talked myself into believing what I was told. That's the dangerous point. After three months of no contact with "Mr. Debt Reduction Company", I did some preliminary investigation and discovered this outfit had a "D-" rating with the BBB. Actually, a good friend did the prelims - I was too distraught and numbed. I was horrified and after the sobbing and emotional stage was over, I gathered what was left of my pride, pulled up the good old boot straps and began bankruptcy proceedings and to dig my way out - one baby step at a time - otherwise, it would be too overwhelming and would stymie me. You're never too old to be fooled. Actually, the longer you live, the more scams you uncover. Please share my story with others so they can be on the alert. Advice: Investigate before leaping - it if sounds too good to be true, it is. By the way, I was legally advised that filing a lawsuit would be fruitless since the scamming company is located in Arizona. Of course, I could hire an attorney in Arizona if I knew one but, then I'm filing bankruptcy. Will an attorney represent me for no fee? Over and out at this blogging..to be continued with updates of my progress from time-to-time.
Any helpful feedback anyone?
Any helpful feedback anyone?
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The Parking Guy
Methodist Hospital has two parking structures for employees, but the north one is inaccessible because of the construction of a second tower for patient rooms. In the meantime, employees have The Parking Guy.
The south parking structure is pretty easy to park in for the night shift, but starts to fill up between 6 and 7 a.m. By 8, when the day shift has arrived, all spaces are taken and The Parking Guy and his assistants go to work. They double park the new arrivals behind the cars on one side of the aisle and place a ticket on each windshield. As people leave during the day, they move the double parked cars into the newly vacant spaces. No matter when you come and go, The Parking Guy always seems to know the location of each car and every open space. He also can associate every employee with his or her own car by sight. His most spectacular feat comes at about three in the afternoon, when all the double parked cars have been moved into spaces. He then takes all of those car keys and walks around the hospital, unerringly handing the correct keys to each employee. Affixed to your keys is the parking ticket from your windshield with a notation on it to tell you where your car is now parked.
How does this guy know everybody? How does he keep from confusing my grey Saturn with the other grey Saturn that looks just like it? In a place where nursing students and chaplain interns come and go every three months, how does he learn the new employees and their cars within a week of their start date?
Every job has its complexities and difficulties. Every job that exists is worth doing the best you can. It may not sound like much to be The Parking Guy in a staff parking structure in a mid-sized hospital in a suburb of L.A., but it's pretty special when you really do it well.
The south parking structure is pretty easy to park in for the night shift, but starts to fill up between 6 and 7 a.m. By 8, when the day shift has arrived, all spaces are taken and The Parking Guy and his assistants go to work. They double park the new arrivals behind the cars on one side of the aisle and place a ticket on each windshield. As people leave during the day, they move the double parked cars into the newly vacant spaces. No matter when you come and go, The Parking Guy always seems to know the location of each car and every open space. He also can associate every employee with his or her own car by sight. His most spectacular feat comes at about three in the afternoon, when all the double parked cars have been moved into spaces. He then takes all of those car keys and walks around the hospital, unerringly handing the correct keys to each employee. Affixed to your keys is the parking ticket from your windshield with a notation on it to tell you where your car is now parked.
How does this guy know everybody? How does he keep from confusing my grey Saturn with the other grey Saturn that looks just like it? In a place where nursing students and chaplain interns come and go every three months, how does he learn the new employees and their cars within a week of their start date?
Every job has its complexities and difficulties. Every job that exists is worth doing the best you can. It may not sound like much to be The Parking Guy in a staff parking structure in a mid-sized hospital in a suburb of L.A., but it's pretty special when you really do it well.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Caught in a Scam
Yes, I was scammed. Never thought it would happen to me but, it did. I was sure hopeful this wasn't a scam. Much to my dismay it was. What destruction to my finances! In desperate times I made one horrendous mistake - trusting a debt reduction outfit. It took a phone call from my attorney friend to advise me to close my bank account and reopen a new account. I've done this but it will take about one month for everything to settle. In the meantime, I will be able to sleep at least a few more hours a night. Suggestion: Check out these sorts of businesses and report them, I believe, to the Better Business Bureau. What a shame that there are such lowdown scroundels.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
How Things Change
When I first moved to Claremont, California in 1995, the way you got there from the west was to take the 210 freeway to its end in LaVerne and get on Foothill Boulevard, otherwise known as Route 66. As you drove down Foothill eastward towards Claremont, there were quite a number of businesses, but also a lot of open space and one huge plant nursery on the south side of the street which probably took up an acre or more.
During the fourteen years that I lived in the Claremont area, I watched businesses spring up along Foothill Boulevard. Supermarkets, gas stations, fast food restaurants, townhouse complexes and gyms appeared, and the open spaces became few and far between. It was some sort of progress, I guess.
Now when I drive into the area, I still get off the 210 at Foothill, although the freeway was extended years ago and I could take it all the way into Claremont. The recession has not been kind to Foothill Boulevard. Businesses are closing and townhouse complexes have been left half-built. The big Ford dealership on the north side of the street has been closed and it looks empty and sad.
I'm sort of hoping that someone buys the land of the Ford dealership, rips up the concrete and puts in a huge plant nursery, the kind of business that exists in a place where land is cheap and you can take up all the space you want. Progress is fine, but there are some things where I'd prefer regression.
During the fourteen years that I lived in the Claremont area, I watched businesses spring up along Foothill Boulevard. Supermarkets, gas stations, fast food restaurants, townhouse complexes and gyms appeared, and the open spaces became few and far between. It was some sort of progress, I guess.
Now when I drive into the area, I still get off the 210 at Foothill, although the freeway was extended years ago and I could take it all the way into Claremont. The recession has not been kind to Foothill Boulevard. Businesses are closing and townhouse complexes have been left half-built. The big Ford dealership on the north side of the street has been closed and it looks empty and sad.
I'm sort of hoping that someone buys the land of the Ford dealership, rips up the concrete and puts in a huge plant nursery, the kind of business that exists in a place where land is cheap and you can take up all the space you want. Progress is fine, but there are some things where I'd prefer regression.
Amazing Can Happen Anywhere
The plan was to return one book and renew another. A quick trip into the library and then on our way to all of the other pressing Saturday afternoon errands. Two steps into the library foyer changed our plans completely. We heard the sounds of musicians tuning their instruments and like ants to sugar were drawn into the little just outside the main library meeting room where the clarinet choir from Caltech prepared for a free Saturday afternoon concert. Eleven musicians played clarinets of all types ranging from an E flat contra alto to the larger than life B flat contra bass. Their selections ran the gamut from the Overture to the Marriage of Figaro to an arrangement of the folk melody Shenandoah. Their cheeks puffed and sometimes their instruments squeaked. From our second row seats in a room with not very many rows, we witnessed the intensity and devotion and effort the members of the Clarinet Choir had for their art and for this performance.
Their performance ended and after an intermission of no more than a minute or two the CalTech Slide Rule Trombone Choir took the stage. Jeremy Yager played in both choirs. I don't know Jeremy Yager but I will remember him for a long time. He was the B flat contra bass guy and then he picked up a trombone and added the low notes to those pieces, too. He's a pretty amazing musician.
None of our other errands got tended to yesterday afternoon. They'll wait. They probably weren't that important anyway. What was important was the fact that we tossed the to do list and for an hour enjoyed music performed with passion. Here's to public libraries and amazement.
Their performance ended and after an intermission of no more than a minute or two the CalTech Slide Rule Trombone Choir took the stage. Jeremy Yager played in both choirs. I don't know Jeremy Yager but I will remember him for a long time. He was the B flat contra bass guy and then he picked up a trombone and added the low notes to those pieces, too. He's a pretty amazing musician.None of our other errands got tended to yesterday afternoon. They'll wait. They probably weren't that important anyway. What was important was the fact that we tossed the to do list and for an hour enjoyed music performed with passion. Here's to public libraries and amazement.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
So It's Come To This
National Public Radio has for years given us breaking national and world news along with stories from business, politics, health, science, technology, music, arts, and culture. I know this is true because I listen to NPR and because the NPR website says so.
Imagine, then, then almost euphoria with which I greeted a recent segment on National Public Radio.
The Better Marriage Blanket.
Winters in central New York can get pretty dark and cold. Such conditions often leave people with time on their hands. This is apparently what happened to the couple who developed the above mentioned product. They bought a piece of clothing made of a carbon fabric and designed to protect soldiers from chemical warfare. How they discovered their alternate use for the fabric is unclear. At any rate they did discover that while wearing the article of clothing, their farts were odorless. One thing led to another as these things on short, dark, cold winter days do, and they bought a whole lot of those articles of clothing, cut them into squares, and made a blanket.
Somewhere along their marital journey they had apparently hit the skids of bliss because of their farts smelled really bad. So they made their blanket out of this chemical warfare material to save their marriage. It has not only saved their marriage, it is well on the way to making them millionaires.
In answer to the NPR interviewer's question of why a blanket why not pajama bottoms or shorts, the husband of the newly discovered marital and financial bliss team responded because you just never know what you're going to sleep in but you always need a blanket. Made sense to me.
The blanket apparently requires little maintenance. From the interview I also learned that the couple during their test period forgot about upkeep and after about a year of use simply threw the blanket in the dryer. It came out fresh and ready to once again absorb the worst the couple had to offer.
The blanket until recently was advertised on television. Those ads were pulled because the sales company couldn't keep up with the demand. Now you either have to go to the website, watch the youtube video, or go out and find your own chemical warfare outfit and make it into a blanket.
The ads and the interview on National Public Radio appear to focus only heterosexual couples. That leaves me with the understanding that either same sex couples aren't bothered by smelly farts or - probably more accurate - the farts of same sex couples don't stink.
The only question remaining in this current marketing phenomenon is why the couple bought a piece of clothing designed to protect soldiers from chemical warfare in the first place. And of even greater concern is why was the original purchase just for one such piece of clothing?
Oh, wait, I remember. Their marriage was already on the skids because of the fart situation so buying just one piece of protective gear was part of the whole downhill slide.
Life can be really complicated at times.
Imagine, then, then almost euphoria with which I greeted a recent segment on National Public Radio.
The Better Marriage Blanket.
Winters in central New York can get pretty dark and cold. Such conditions often leave people with time on their hands. This is apparently what happened to the couple who developed the above mentioned product. They bought a piece of clothing made of a carbon fabric and designed to protect soldiers from chemical warfare. How they discovered their alternate use for the fabric is unclear. At any rate they did discover that while wearing the article of clothing, their farts were odorless. One thing led to another as these things on short, dark, cold winter days do, and they bought a whole lot of those articles of clothing, cut them into squares, and made a blanket.
Somewhere along their marital journey they had apparently hit the skids of bliss because of their farts smelled really bad. So they made their blanket out of this chemical warfare material to save their marriage. It has not only saved their marriage, it is well on the way to making them millionaires.
In answer to the NPR interviewer's question of why a blanket why not pajama bottoms or shorts, the husband of the newly discovered marital and financial bliss team responded because you just never know what you're going to sleep in but you always need a blanket. Made sense to me.
The blanket apparently requires little maintenance. From the interview I also learned that the couple during their test period forgot about upkeep and after about a year of use simply threw the blanket in the dryer. It came out fresh and ready to once again absorb the worst the couple had to offer.
The blanket until recently was advertised on television. Those ads were pulled because the sales company couldn't keep up with the demand. Now you either have to go to the website, watch the youtube video, or go out and find your own chemical warfare outfit and make it into a blanket.
The ads and the interview on National Public Radio appear to focus only heterosexual couples. That leaves me with the understanding that either same sex couples aren't bothered by smelly farts or - probably more accurate - the farts of same sex couples don't stink.
The only question remaining in this current marketing phenomenon is why the couple bought a piece of clothing designed to protect soldiers from chemical warfare in the first place. And of even greater concern is why was the original purchase just for one such piece of clothing?
Oh, wait, I remember. Their marriage was already on the skids because of the fart situation so buying just one piece of protective gear was part of the whole downhill slide.
Life can be really complicated at times.
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