Murphy Needs the Boot

It is an experience common to all men to find that, on any special occasion, such as the production of a magical effect for the first time in public, everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Whether we must attribute this to the malignity of matter or to the total depravity of inanimate things, whether the exciting cause is hurry, worry, or what not, the fact remains. - British stage magician Nevil Maskelyne

In the "anything that can go wrong" corner....

When Mom tried to move into her apartment yesterday, they told her the date was wrong. It wasn't 7/7 as her move in date, but 7/8. Never mind that she had all her deliveries scheduled for 7/7, and I was there with a full UHaul that needed returning by 3 pm.

Speaking of UHaul -- their $19.95 deal for the small truck? Not so great a deal. It's $19.95 for a "day" (and it's not even a full day), plus $0.79/mile + you have to fill it up with gas or get a $30 fueling charge PLUS pay $4.49 / gallon. After all was said and done, one trip with a half full truck going very few miles (24 miles) ended up costing me almost $60.

THEN, when the apt complex finally agreed to let her move in (and offered us an empty garage to put stuff until the apt was ready -- it needed to be cleaned), we realized the UHaul "pod" that she'd filled and had shipped with ALL her other stuff hadn't shown. She called (Three times to finally get a human) and they started with, "We don't have that pod here." When she insisted, they said, "Oh, well, we have it but don't show you called to scheduled delivery." When she mentioned that the final charge was ALREADY on her credit card, they finally said, "It was a mistake on our end." and will deliver it today.

The problem with that, is today was supposed to be MY day to spend alone and working like a dog to get caught up on all the stuff I'm so far behind on. DH and DD will be out boating and I would have no interruptions.

Now, I'll have to go help Mom unload her pod.

Of course, as it turns out that may not be such a big deal because, when I got up this morning, my internet was down. I called tech support and they confirmed an outage in our town, with NO ETA on when it will be fixed. No worries, I can hook up my mobile hotspot on my phone right?

When I went to hook it up, it popped up with a "To use this service, you must subscribe for $30 / month." WTH? No one ever mentioned this to me. EVER. And I specifically told the guy at the phone store that one of the biggest reasons I was getting the phone was for THIS reason. He failed to mention that it was a promotional offer...

I called Verizon and talked to "Joe" who apologized profusely, but basically said there was nothing he could do. It was what it was and that's all there is to it.

So... I sat here for a good 30 minutes deciding whether or not I wanted to subscribe. I finally did (hence the ability to post this blog), but I'm still steaming.

So not only is my full "alone" catch-up day not a full day because of UHaul's screw up, but I don't have reliable, high-speed internet to work on all the stuff I need to. The mobile hotspot it nice, but it's a lot slower than my usual home internet and it's incredibly frustrating.

Folks, I'm telling you right now -- Murphy has moved in and is a very unwelcome guest.

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Your Tropical Fruit Flavor is Mango

Your heart is carefree, wild, and irresponsible. You let your heart lead you, even when it leads you astray. You love freedom above all else. You think everyone could do with some liberation. If someone plays hard to get with you, it makes you all the more interested. You love a challenge. You love to talk for hours - whether it's sharing a story or teaching someone something.

What's Your Tropical Fruit Flavor?

Um... not really -- and more, I don't like mangoes.

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