Thursday, July 16, 2009

Thursday, July 16, 2009
Waning Moon
Pluto Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
No idea about the weather — wrote this the night before

By the time you read this, I should be well on the road to Maine for a combination of family stuff and work stuff. Will try to tweet or blog from the road if I can. There’s no internet where I’m staying.

I can tell you that lots of good food will be involved, as well as a much-longed for stop at Stonewall Kitchen in York.

Wednesday was just a lost day in oh, so many ways. I got a little work done, and two loads of stuff to storage.

I managed to get a client project finished, in spite of interruptions.

Some doctor’s office somehow managed to screw up their call forwarding or there was a line mix up or something and everything was going directly to my mother’s cell phone. I was on the phone with Verizon for AN HOUR AND A HALF and they couldn’t do anything, because these numbnuts that were calling their doctor couldn’t tell Verizon the correct name of the doctor or where the doctor was located so we could find another number, and Verizon insisted that the problem had to be fixed at the location. Only we couldn’t contact anyone there because everything went directly into my mother’s cell phone — and the number was nowhere near close.

On top of that, these dumb kumquats who called INSISTED that yes, we WERE the doctor’s office. They refused to believe that there was a screw-up in the line or a forwarding problem. I’m talking phone calls coming in every 30 SECONDS for HOURS. All of them rude, dumb, and mean.

I finally managed to get an outgoing voice message clearly stating the number, that we were NOT a doctor’s office and NOT to leave a message for a doctor because it wouldn’t be returned.

SIXTY SEVEN MESSAGES.

How fucking stupid can so many people be? I could understand one or three, but sixty seven?

I had to clean out the mailbox a couple of times because it was full, and my mom gets messages from people who actually hire her to dog and cat sit. It’s not like I could let the message box remain full until this problem is resolved — if it ever is.

I finally managed to trace down the doctor — why I can do something the phone company can’t is just beyond me — and found a fax number. I faxed the office, asking them to please fix the problem, and I also tweeted about it, hoping it’ll get re-tweeted often enough so somebody has a private number for this doctor and we can resolve this. In the meantime, the phone is off and I check it every few hours to erase the doctor’s messages. Because I am not being paid to be a damned answering service, and the message is quite clear about NOT leaving a message for the doctor.

My mom spoke before the City Council last night, at a public hearing. I was very proud of her (she’s eighty-four). And the misinformation and venom spewed at the Council by another senior citizen was just ridiculous. My mom and I crafted a formal letter to the Council setting out the correct information (that actually has basis in fact and documentation to prove it) and is easily readable, and, when it arrives at City Hall, will be a matter of public record.

The Stupidity Quotient has risen to a level with which I just can’t deal right now.

I definitely need a few days away!

Have pity on the cat sitter!

Devon