Uh oh, T-Mo

23. September 2009 by [JP].

Background information.

I’ve been a customer on and off since 1998, when I used Voicestream prepaid.
My current personal account was opened may of 2008, and out of contract since april of 2009. I’ve averaged $95.00 per month in services throught this contract.

I’m a second class citizen (Flex pay customer) not because of any past due wireless bills (EVER) but because of medical bills that i’m slowly paying.

In addition to my personal account, i’m also responsible for a business account that has 6 blackberries and 2 windows mobile smartphones, which averages about $900 monthly, all lines are out of contract.

And i’m pulling ALL of them from t-mobile, because i’m officially pissed off.

Friday, I ordered a Mytouch. Dispite giving them the promo code for Kickoff24, I still was unable to get it for the 99.99 pricepoint. I ended up paying $200 for the phone, and renewed for 2 years.

Monday night I recieved the phone. Charged it overnight and was using it since this AM.

Problem #1. Despite the fact that this (El Paso, TX) is a major metropolitan area, as well as in the top 100 largest wireless markets, 3G is still not fully rolled out here. In fact, El Paso is listed as fully covered by t-mobile, HOWEVER, less then 30% of the city (Geographically) is actually served by t-mobile 3G equipment.
Again, T-MOBILE LISTS THIS CITY AS HAVING 3G COVERAGE, HOWEVER LESS THEN HALF OF THE CITY IS COVERED BY PHYSICAL 3G EQUIPMENT.
… At my parents house, which is near the center of the city, in an older, upper middle class neighbohood (understand, we’re not in the middle of nowhere, or at the edge of a fast growing city) there is no 3G coverage. Heck, at their westside store, there is no 3G coverage.

Problem #2. My phone, when it was taken to a 3G area today rebooted 6 times. One of those reboots caused it to hang on the green spash screen. A battery pull reset the phone to normal, and i disabled 3G because of it. During troubleshooting, they determined the software version was up to date, and the phone was likely bad. They advised me to do a factory reset, which resulted in a lockup at the splash screen again. They said to take it to the store for a possible swapout. No problem, took it to a store. They agreed that the phone itself was defective, however, since it was ordered thru telesales, they couldnt swap it. They made the phone call to care for me, handed me the phone.

Problem #3. The rude agent at care informed me that in order to get a replacement, i would have to:
-Ship the phone back at my expense.
-Wait until its recieved and processed.
-Be billed for a new phone to ship to me ($22 if i wanted express).
It was unacceptable to me that i’d have to PAY for a replacement for a failed device AND be without a device for at least 2 weeks

Problem #4. I called to cancel this contract and return the phone. I was told that they can replace it, and offered me a $50 credit for the inconvenience. However, when she tried to process the replacement, she was told that because i’m in the 14 day buyer’s remorse period, that theres no way to replace it, i’d have to send it back. Again, at my expense, and i’d be without a device for 2 weeks or longer. Oh, and it might take up to 60 days to refund my credit card for the price of the phone, and longer for them to issue a check for any positive balance on the account.

Fine. I’m packing and shipping this piece of crap back tomorrow. I’m calling VISA and filing a chargeback for the purchase price (Defective equipment/not as described) and letting them deal with t-mobile for me.

I’m also posting this thread on a few forums to get the information out there. Its a sad day that a formerly good, customer-oriented company like t-mobile has policies that made it that hard on the customer.

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Had an AWESOME road trip.

16. September 2009 by [JP].

And now that i’m back…

…At least back in El Paso.
Might as well sum up my trip.

Didnt want to take i-40 because of construction. I figured that i’d either take the old highway, or come down to El Paso and see Zach for a bit, then head out. Apparently there was some really bad weather on highway 60, so I totally said no to that idea, i dont want to be in bad weather on a mostly deserted highway.
Ended up hitting Las Cruces with rain nipping at my heels. Filled up the fuel tank completely, and went across to the starbucks to look at weather and radar maps. Julia came to meet me briefly, and we plotted Nessa’s birthday gift (evil look).
Rain came down HARD and knocked out power to parts of Cruces, and it was getting worse, so at a light spot, i headed out. I cancelled the El Paso idea, because they were getting hit hard with a thunderstorm as well, and was going to cross THRU las cruces to get to i-10 and head west… but because of the power outage, the main road thru town was a parking lot, so I managed to u-turn over a median (and watched an ambulance behind me do the same thing, but less gracefully) and get back on the interstate headed north to albuquerque. I exited at Hatch, and took the old highway to Deming, then got on the east/west interstate and kept on going.
Grabbed a soda and 15 bucks worth of gas in South Tucson so I could get to Phoenix, because Sam’s in Tucson would be closed by the time i got there. Made it to Ashley’s and slept with kittens attacking my feet.
The next day, when I woke up, she had left keys for the apartment and the outside gate by my phone, so I went off to aquire food, fuel, and wash the bird crap off the jeep (because i parked under a tree)
Got a cheeseburger and a big ass soda for breakfast, washed the car, and got about half a tank. Then I managed to find a record store selling advance tickets for the show, and went and got a pair. Of tickets. Ashley and I went to lunch at the small burger joint by the building she works at, then I wandered when she was at work.
When she got off, we went to Starbucks for coffee (and a blueberry strudel muffin) to relax for a bit, then went to a Sportsman’s store so she could see and handle the pistol that she wants to get.
Later on that night, went to Josh’s house, then went to In and Out Burger.
Saturday morning afternoon, we got up, showered and got dressed, filled up the Element (15.9 gallon tank!) and headed to Flagstaff. Got hit with heavy rain on the way up there, stopped at a Starbucks in the middle of nowhere to pee, and get assorted caffinated drinks, then kept on going. More heavy rain, more lightning. When the rain cleared, I saw smoke in the distance in the mountains in the general area of where there had been some lightning activity, so I called AZ DPS to report it. Apparently, they had a previous report of a lightning strike in that general area, but i was able to narrow it down to a much smaller area to check, and they were going to send crews.
Got to Flagstaff, located the park, parked, and enjoyed a few of the early bands. I pretty much just lay down in the grass and enjoyed it, she wandered a bit, and we both got up and got closer to watch Thriving Ivory.
Had dinner in Flagstaff at Mia’s recommendation, then headed back to town. She went to sleep, i went to wander around Phoenix for a while.
Sunday was pretty much a lazy day. We drove to that part of Scottsdale so she could buy a phone to replace hers, and grabbed a cheeseburger while we waited.
Monday, I set off to Apache Junction to nose thru court files and records for a bit, then came back to Phoenix, had a late lunch with Josh and hung around there for a while before heading back to Ashley’s.
Tuesday, ate lunch with Ashley at the pizza joint next to the burger joint, then I went to get gas, then got lost headed out of town. Eventually got to Tucson, topped off my tank, and headed towards Cruces. Stopped at Julia’s house to steal back my jacket that she borrowed on thursday, got a cheeseburger, and headed home to El Paso.

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Cute gas station chicks cause moral dilemmas.

21. August 2009 by [JP].

Theres a chick.

At the gas station.

Named gas station chick.

Well, i’m sure shes not actually named gas station chick.

However, gas station chick is what she is referred to in conversation.
Mostly conversation between me, julia, and occasionally julia’s girlfriend, whom gives better advice then julia’s “dude, ask her to meet you in the cooler”

Shes rather cute. In a rather abnormal way. Which I find rather attractive. In a rather really attractive sorta way.

Herein lies the issue.
She works at a gas station.
No, thats not a bad thing.
However, it does mean she works with the public.
And the public, as a whole, is stupid.
Idiotic, obnoxious, self-absorbed morons.
Most of which she deals with every day, for 30 seconds at a time.
Which means, i’m sure shes heard every stupid pickup line out there.
Face it. Shes an attractive female type.
Thus, im sure every penis-controlled jackass has probably made some attempt at her at every possible moment.

So crap. What should I say?
I dont think “Hi, i’m not a penis-controlled jackass, but i’m still making an attempt” would be a good line at all.

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Medics down…

4. July 2009 by [JP].

Just heard over the radio that an ambulance from the company I worked for briefly (the one i didnt like) rolled over while responding to a call. Both crew members were unrestrained (stupid) and were being rushed to the trauma center as level 2 trauma patients.It doesnt surprise me.
They have the worst employees… generally they get whats left after the other two private companies, the city, and the hospitals attract the better employees.
They have piss-poor equiment, all their rigs are hand-me-down used ambulances, most pushing well over half a million miles on the chassis.
Its poorly maintained equipment, their “garage” was the worst i’ve ever seen.
Their training practices are downright scary. The ONLY driver’s training that I had to do was go to defensive driving, so their insurance rates would be lower. No EVOC, no on the job training. Good thing I came from a good company who gave me all the training I needed.

With the way that company is run, i’m surprised they havent killed any employees yet.

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Mmmm…. Bob’s.

3. May 2009 by [JP].

Ever since the second episode of In Plain Sight this season, i’ve had a craving for Bob’s Burgers back home in Albuquerque.

They filmed a segment of it at one of the locations, however with fake logos, menu boards, etc.

Today, I was in that part of town, so I got some shots of what the place really looks like.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Hey. Its been a while.

29. March 2009 by [JP].

Sorry.
Its been hectic.
And A LOT has happened.
Maybe I should say ALOT, so someone corrects my spelling/grammer.
I mispelled “grammar”, didnt I.
Oh, I also misspelled “misspelled”
As you can see, i’m not changing it.

Lets review.
Came back to Albuquerque.
Dripping coolant for some reason.
Went ‘froading.
Parts for the AC are in.
Emailed someone really important that email from the previous entry.
Got her response and advice.
Realized that I should have asked her sooner.
Realized that someone really important to me will always watch over me… much like I watch over so many others.
Went ‘froading.
Ate meat at TGI Fridays, and saw Corey.
Corey is domesticatated. She wears normal clothes and even has a blackberry. Its weird.
Met some new friends.
Went ‘froading.
Went to Moriarity… twice.
Went ‘froading.
Watched “Twilight” (shut up)
Found new friend of mine under the jeep.
She was trying to find out where the leak was coming from.
Ha. Handy new friend.
Finally went to the casino for BBQ night.
And gambled.
Stupid newfangled slot machines with the buttons and screens and lights and credits and points.
I miss “put the money in, pull handle, spin spin spin, lose money, walk away”
Now its like put your card in, then the money, then buttons, then more buttons, then spin, then hold, then spin, then if you win, print a ticket out.
Started out with $15.
Left with $45.25.
Go me.
I dont really gamble though. So its not like i’m doing it again anytime soon.
Um. Went ‘froading on the way home.
Went to walmart.
Sent a email to the stupid ebay lady.
I mean shit. Within 12 hours of the auction ending, she sent TWO invoices and FOUR payment reminders.
Paid the ebay stuff we won for the company.
Choked on raisinets while driving, and nearly crashed into a statie (oops)
Came home.

Tomorrow:
-Go to non-profit i like, take and install the equipment we’re donating.
-Install CB antenna. (Yee haa, 10-4 good buddy)
-Go ‘froading.

Monday:
-Renew jeep registration. Oops.
-Pay rent.
-Wash jeep.
-Go ‘froading.

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Kids these days…

13. February 2009 by [JP].

I stopped off at a gas station to get a powerade. This girl, about 13 or 14 was sitting on the curb, looked like she was waiting for someone.
When I came back out, she asked if she could use my cell phone. I reached into my pocket, and handed her 50 cents, and she looked at me like i was crazy or something. I pointed at the pay phone, and she said “Oh, I dont know how to use one of those”

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Update.

21. January 2009 by [JP].

I came back to Albuquerque last week, after spending most of the last few months in El Paso with my family.

The most important thing was, I needed to go to the hospital, get stabilized, and checked out.

I had a few symptoms of an impending crash, like dehydration, and I had several (and by several, i mean over 100) xanthomas all over my body, which indicates a potential high cholesterol condition.

Still havent gone to the hospital yet…

Ok, so basically, heres the deal.
If I walk into the ER, they have to, at the least, triage me, and determine if i’m stable. Thats the law.
However, with the hospital overflowing like it is, i’ll be in pre-triage for easially 10-12 hours, possibly even 24.
The problem with that is, since, without any major symptoms, i’ll be low priority in pre-triage. Another problem is, I’ll be exposing myself to EVERYTHING else in that room, and with my immune system, i dont want that.

I cant go to another hospital, because my doctors are on the staff at UNMH, and it be like starting over, and pretty much every other ER around here is full anyway.

I’m making the decision NOT to go in via ambulance, because, not only will the hospital make me wait in triage if I come in without symptoms, its a waste of a medic unit, rescue, and engine, that probably has better and higher priority calls to deal with. Plus, again, since i’m asymptomatic, its not really needed.

My doctor’s staff is going to try and get me in as a direct admit, bypassing the ER, but since the hospital is at capacity, that could be a while.

So… i’m just kinda keeping on, keeping on…

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Merry Christmas.

25. December 2008 by [JP].

Heres my take on the whole “happy holidays” bullshit that we’ve pretty much come to, to try not to offend anyone.
Screw you, the easily offended.
I celebrate the holiday of Christmas.
Therefore I shall wish you a Merry Christmas.
If you are offended, kiss my ass.
If you are Jewish, I expect you to wish me a Happy Hanukkah right back, and i certainly wouldn’t be offended. If you wished me a happy Yule, Solstice, Kwanzaa, or Boxing Day, I’d smile, and wish you a Merry Christmas.

So. Merry Christmas.

Oh, and have a Happy New Year too.

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Post-wreck jeep rebuild.

30. October 2008 by [JP].

The new fan is in today. Its getting installed in a few hours when the temps drop and I can work outside. (more of the underhood temp then the outside temp)

HID bulbs come in tomorrow. I picked up the housings to install them, i’ll do it tomorrow.

Also, tomorrow, I need to take pictures and send the report to the insurance company so they pay for the last of the stuff… Push bar, and healight mounting/header panel.

Grille shell and grille insert were ordered today, shall be here in about a week, need to paint the grille shell white, and the insert charcoal grey to match the bumper and trim.

Ordered mesh inserts for the grill, and they’re getting painted charcoal too.

I got a really nice wiring harness off Amazon, for both the low beam hids, and for the high beams, it was a combo harness with the correct plugs on both sides. Keeps me from having to make two, and wire them both across the grille. On sale for $25 so that was sweet.

The last few things I need to order are new high beams, replacement off-road lights, and a new push bumper. Still trying to decide which push bumper to go with this time around, either the same brand, or another one.

HID headlights are in, and after some issues getting them properly installed, they’re working, although I still need to tweak the alignment a bit.
I’m not as impressed with the 50watt hids as i’d thought id be, I dont see much improvement over what a 35watt kit would have given me.
However, after a discussion with a car customizer, he said to replace the D2R bulbs with D2S bulbs.
R type bulbs are designed for reflector assemblies, and have a shield around part of the bulb, where S type bulbs do not.
He said, on the Nissan Z, which is where the projectors in my retrofit came from, that replacing the R with S bulbs makes a big diff, so i’ll try that later… Not sure why Nissan uses R bulbs in projectors anyway, probably to comply with US DOT spec on output.
I’ll order some S bulbs with the next insurance check, probably also go with a slightly bluer tint, from 4500K to 5000K as well.

Grille arrived today.

When I bought the jeep, i specifically wanted a Laredo trim package, to avoid the problematic computer controlled climate system, and to get standard cloth seats rather then leather.
Laredo trim comes with a chrome grille like this:

I played with some paint variations with it, starting with all black first:

then going with a black and white paint scheme that made it look like the 2004 version

finally settling with the outer shell painted white, and inner grille painted black, with some thicker trim to make the black stand out…

which is what it looked like when it was hit.

The 2001-2003 Limited and Overland trim versions have a body colored grille, with black inserts, and chrome rings, like this:

I’ve decided I like that the best, so I ordered a paint to match 2001-03 grille with the chrome rings.
Im painting the shell white to match the jeep, and the inner grille charcoal to match the front bumper, rear bumper, and the rest of the side cladding.

This weekend, i’m pulling the smashed bull bar off the front, removing the bumper, fixing the dent in the bumper from the previous hit and run crash, painting the bumper charcoal grey to match the rest of the trim, painting the grille and insert, and putting it back together.

Few remaining parts im waiting to arrive are the headlight wiring harness, grille mesh inserts (still contemplating if i want them or not) high beams and fog lights

I still need to order a new push bar… still trying to decide on a brand, plus brackets for the HID off road lights.
Need to buy the replacement HID off road lights locally.
Need to order S style hid bulbs for the headlights.

And I believe thats pretty much it for now.

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