Okay, I bought my iPod for the sole purpose of running. After receiving it, I immediately started jogging and was in heaven for a week and a half.
Suddenly, this week, now that my energy has improved and I've started running faster and longer, the iPod is starting to fail me. Monday, mid-way through a great run, the dang thing shuts off. I had to run down a big old hill all the way home with no music. Wednesday, same thing... only now I'm even further from the house.
Yesterday, I was somewhat more prepared. Around the same general area, the iPod shuts off again. This time I'm able to reboot it and I start off running again. Why does it shut off again. I reset again, but now I'm paranoid, so I'm running back down that big old hill with it in my hand. On top of that, one of the stupid earbuds starts to fall out of my ear. I lose the little foam covering and now it won't stay in at all. The workout was miserable and ruined because of my trusty new iPod.
What to do, what to do? Send it back? Well, after two days of online research, I've discovered that this is a KNOWN problem and MANY runners have the same difficulty. Sending it back will not help. Apple guarantees 25 minutes of skip-free jogging (that's how long the memory buffer lasts). The only trouble is, there doesn't seem to be a clear or consistent solution. The message boards suggest any or all of the following:
1) Buy an Incase Belt for the iPod
2) Defragment or optimize the iPod's hard-drive (there are mixed reactions to this. Some say it's unnecessary, some say it will actually harm the iPod, other's say it's fine)
3) Run with the iPod in my hand
4) Exchange the 40G iPod for the iPod mini that is smaller and better suited for physical activity
5) Format playlists that are 32MB or less
I don't know if any of these solutions will help, but I must try something. Jogging without music is no fun.
Okay.. I'm steaming? Why? I'll tell you. On July 21st, Robyn and I go down the our local Hecht's store in Annapolis, MD to purchase the remaining items on our wedding registry. We were prepared to pay the entire $2200 or so by check. We went that day because we'd get 10% off our total if we did it by the 22nd. The lady in the store was very helpful.. she retrieved all the items we needed while we just sat and waited... But she insisted that we open a Hecht's credit account that day, so we could get an additional 10% off of the total. Sounded like a good idea at the time. Little did I know that we'd be paying for that decision over a month later....
The Hecht's credit account would only give $300 to new customers, so we wrote a very large check to put CREDIT in that account on the store clerk's suggestion. Only to find out that the Hecht's credit wouldn't give us access to that credit until the check clears. So the store clerk says to come back in a few days so the check has time to clear. I kept an eye on the bank and see the amount taken out of our account... and I check the Hecht's account and see that it's available.. Or so the online account thing says.
When we get to the store, the store clerk tells me to call the credit department to verify the funds are available and they tell me that it takes 14 days... We didn't want to wait 14 days so we decide to stop the check and pay for our stuff with our debit card.
The damn store clerk says we should buy gift cards and apply them to our credit account so we can still take advantage of the 10% discount. Well, we were a little leary then, but go along. There was some trouble again with Hecht's credit because the store clerk tried to charge more than we bought with the gift cards... She and her manager gave us the impression that the original check amount and the gift card amounts were unavailble. I started gettig steamed at this point. But it turned out it was still the check amount. The manager suggested that if I could wait, that I shouldn't stop the check because it would flag our credit rating.. So we decide to wait to August 3rd and request a refund of the check amount then. I did this and they tell me it will take ANOTHER 14 days for that to process. Oy Vey! So much for buying that $1000 media cabinet from Pottery Barn anytime soon.
Well... Two Weeks and some change passed and I still didn't see a check in the mail.. So I call to find out what was going on. The Customer Service guy stills me, the approval went out on the 16th, so a check was cut on the 17th, and would be mailed on the 18th. What it takes a whole day to do each step. Hmmm.. what's that 6 hours to put check in envelope, 6 hours to seal it, 6 hours to stamp it, and 6 hours to put it in the mailbox?
Okay.. so if it's mailed on the 17th, I should have it in what 5 days. Well, as of today August 26th, it's not there. So I call my good friends in the Hecht's credit depart up and they tell me that it wasn't sent. Why? The guy is not sure why it wasn't sent, but he put in a request to send me a letter explaining why it wasn't sent. I don't WANT a LETTER... I wan't my money! They've been holding my money hostage for over a month now all because I decided to spend over $2000 shopping there one day?
So the guy gets back to me and says ACTUALLY checks get mailed out in the middle of the month and the end of the month.. So my check should get mailed out tomorrow, the 27th and I should get it in 7-10 days.
Yeah, Right! Someone I fully expect to be on the phone with these characters again. To heck with Hecht's...
I can't believe that I wrote complimentary reviews of the Hecht's employee's while I was being attended to originally. I will be finding an outlet to complain to shortly.
Hmm.. you think if I owed them money on the credit account. They'd let me get away with this crap? "Well, I only write checks at the end of the month, so you'll have to wait to next month to get the money".
Since buying an iPod, I've been listening to music a lot more lately. I got the iPod to use when I go running, but I've found myself playing it when I walk to work, wash the dishes or fold laundry.
This brings me to theme songs, ala Ally McBeal. When I was in my twenties, my theme song was a house song called Just Let go by Petra. The hook was essentially, "Just let go, hey there, just let go" with a pulsating beat behind it. Nothing complicated, but it was jaunty and upbeat.
I haven't really had a universal theme song since then, even though I liked the idea when it was re-introduced to me on Ally McBeal. Now, I've come to realize that I have theme songs for different occasions.
My writing theme song is Make it Happen by Mariah Carey. "If you believe in yourself enough, and know what you want, you're going to make it happen... make it happen." It summarizes my feelings about my writing career.
My jogging theme song is Beautiful Life by Ace of Base. It has nothing to do with working out, but while I'm out in the neighborhood, enjoying trees and nature and sunshine, I bask in the fact that it is a beautiful life. "You can do what you want, just seize the day. Whatcha doing, tomorrow's going to come your way. Don't you ever consider giving up, you will find, oooh, it's beautiful life, oh oh oh oh, it's beautiful life, oh oh oh oh." Song lyrics always sound a bit lame when type them out, but you get the idea.
My relationship theme song is This Will Be by Natalie Cole. "This will be an everlasting love." We have other songs that are "our song" but we have come to the agreement that this is the song that makes us feel upbeat and happy about each other when we hear it.
Hmm... but I still don't have a theme song for life. Still thinking about that one. I'll get back to you.
Hey, today John and I have been married for 4 whole months. Cool!
So far, marriage is great. We've done a lot to fix up our happy home in the past 4 months. I never get tired of his company. He just gets cuter every day... I have to say, marriage is the best!
I'm doing a miserable job keeping up with my writing. If anyone in the world is reading this journal, come on over to my writing journal to encourage me to keep working. Or in this case, START working.
Too bad no one is reading THIS journal. :)
I was out of work all of last week. After all that time, nothing much has changed with my condition. Between the doctors and health insurance I'm just about ready to give up on ever feeling completely well. It's more of the same old same old, so I won't go into it.
Weight Watchers is out the window. Last week I was sick (too sick to go running) and I had my period. I also had to up the meds that are making bloated... so fat is just a way of life for now. I hope to still eat healthy foods and try to keep running when I up to it. But hard core dieting seems useless until I can change things.
I'm tremendously behind at work. I know have a week to publish my newsletter and as of today, I only have one article. For some reason I'm not stressing about it. I'm just trying to do the best I can.
I've done zero writing in the last week and my writing group meeting is tomorrow. I'd really like to quit my job, so I have to find some way to motivate myself to get these chapters done.
We had a video-viewing party of our wedding video Sunday. A few people came over and we got to show off all the painting and redecorating we've done. As an added bonus, the house is spotless. I hope we can keep it that way for a while longer (neither of us are neat-freaks) because it's so nice to live in a clean house.
Today is my mother's birthday! Shout-out to Mom!
And he is funky!
The Prince Concert Thursday night was fabulous. This man really knows how to put on a show and he doesn't disappoint the fans.
Clearly, he put on this show to please his fans because he did all his greatest hits. He started the show big with Musicology, When Doves Cry and Let's Go Crazy.
He was set up in a round so the view was great. We had good seats on the side near the front. The show was very interactive and he really showed new sides of his personality singing a very funny song about getting in trouble for telling his lady "If you want to talk, do it during the commercials" and "if you have a headache for 17 months go see a doctor, something's wrong".
He danced like a maniac and truly looks like he hasn't aged a day. His never fails to give constant props to his band. And they were brilliant. The lighting and staging were gorgeous and the music sounded supreme. The audience sang along and everyone was having a great time.
I'll never miss a show when Prince comes to town from now on. He gives your money's worth and then some.
By the way, how lame am I for promptly losing my free CD ten seconds inside the MCI Center!
Yay, I just bought an iPod.
To tell you the truth, I'd paid no attention to the iPod craze until last week. It was an impulse that I knew I had to indulge. I wanted to start running but I was tired of burning my CDs to cassettes so I could hear my workout mix. The iPod is the answer to all my music dreams. Not only can I carry around my entire CD collection in one compact little device, but I can also carry around the millions of MP3s John and I have collected. It also makes the walk to work more pleasant.
Even though I'm still figuring out how to use it, I'd say it was a smart investment. I've been jogging twice already this week, so it's more than serving it's intended purpose. iPod = losing weight.
Thursday, August 5th, I asked to work at home because I've still been really sick and the new medication isn't working at all. In order to get new medication, my doctor wants me to have special enzyme and genetic testing to make sure it won't make me sick (like most of the other meds for Crohn's Disease). This has to be done in a hospital, so I took the day to get this taken care of.
John planned to go to work late so he could take me. So, I go to the hospital and the Out-Patient Testing clerk tells me the order isn't signed by the doctor and if I don't have pre-authorization the test could cost me $1,800.
So I call my doc, she calls my doc, she faxes the form... all this stuff and no response. I sit there and 45 minutes later I get a return call. Doc's secretary tells me to go home while she figures out what the problem is. Hours later after calling the office a few times, I find out that recently they've started requiring a doctor's signature, but this is new to them. Also, she promises that her contacts swear I don't need pre-authorization and I WON'T be billed for the testing. She gives me a name and number to confirm this.
Long story short... instead of faxing the new order to the hospital later that day, she puts the script in the mail. I stayed home for nothing.
So Monday comes and so does the doctor's order. After work John got the doctor's order from the mail, picked me up and took me straight to the hospital. I went back to Out-Patient Testing like I did last time only now there was NO ONE there. We sat there for a while and then started calling around the hospital. No help. We finally went back up front and they told us I had to be admitted up there. So more rigamarole with the "your HMO might not pay for this and it's a million dollar test and do you have authorization."
I told the girl that I went through this last week and my doctor's office called around and assured me that I don't need one. I'm already angry from sitting around all this time.
She fills out a billion forms and sends me back to Out-Patient Testing. No one there still. John decides to run an errand since we had a friend coming over later and we were running out of time. He leaves and the plebotomist (blood-work technician) arrives.
Now she has me filling out more paperwork. And am I sure that the insurance will pay? Yes? Are you sure, because it's an expensive test...
I lost it. I told her to give me the testing kit and the paperwork back, I'm leaving. So I left once again without getting the testing done. I called John and he came back for me. I was so frustrated, I just cried and cried and cried. HMOs suck. Health care sucks. Everyone vote for Kerry/Edwards in November. At least they want to fix this kind of madness.
On impulse, I decided that I just had to have an iPod. This was not a frivolous desire, mind you. There was a higher purpose for this purchase. I'm steadily getting too fat and the iPod will allow me to listen to music while I jog. See the logic, here? iPod + Me = Jogging. Jogging + Me = Losing weight. Hence: iPod = losing weight.
Now that I've explained the reason behind my needing my new iPod as soon as possible, I'll explain why FEDEX sucks. I paid extra for shipping so Apple would send my iPod in two days instead of in 5 days for free. My package was due to arrive Thursday morning and I watched the shipment tracking closely. Something was delayed and they changed delivery to Friday. Sigh. Okay, I can be patient for one extra day.
The package arrived in Crofton at 9:00 AM Friday and the tracking stopped there, despite my checking for updates every few hours. Last I heard it went from Crofton (10 minutes from my house) to Baltimore (far from my house).
Needless to say, it wasn't there when I arrived home. I called. FEDEX was very nice on the phone. They said they didn't know what happened and will have dispatch call me direct. Fast forward to 10PM. No response from FEDEX, so I called again. Yes, I was extremely pressed to receive my iPod.
They guy on the phone, Muhamed, was very nice. The package went back to the Crofton station at 7PM. The station closed at 8PM. Hello? Where was my return phone call... I could have picked it up.
Not to worry, they'll deliver it on Saturday. Not. They didn't even attempt to deliver it. I got back home from a day of errands only to find it was still at the station (yes, after a 3rd phone call). It's 4:30 the station closes at 5:00. John broke the sound barrier getting us there 4:50 on the dot.
I asked the stone-faced clerk why my package wasn't delivered. Response? I don't know. Gee, thanks for all you help.
I got my iPod, though. But, through no help of FEDEX. Next time I'll save my express shipping money. When in doubt, use UPS!