Dear So and So

And on the topic of funerals... I didn't know the gentleman well, just to say hi and chat a bit at coffee hour at church. But everyone who knew Charlie knew his dog Bitsy (an elderly black lab). He didn't bring her to church on Sundays, but did to his bible study on Tuesdays! Bitsy was included among the survivors in the obituary in the newspaper, and quietly sat in her reserved pew at the funeral this morning. She even came forward at communion, and received a blessing.

There was something else notable at the funeral: a pair of armed, uniformed fish and wildlife officers. Charlie had been a lifelong hunter, and had long worked with the dept of fish and wildlife on a variety of programs, so the officers had the honor of carrying the urn. Guns and a dog in the cathedral, what a day. And there are supposed to be real live camels showing up for Epiphany tomorrow...

Oh, I'm so sorry for your losses.

I received the news that my high school typing teacher died last month, and even though I hadn't had any contact with him since I moved away from that school in 1974, and he married his widow after that, I was moved to send her a card. When my 12-year-old self learned that typing was a required subject I thought it was silly ... how wrong I was. Next to reading, there's NOTHING I learned in school that I've used so much in my life as typing. What an outsized influence that man turned out to have on my life.

I can relate to the above, Oak. A few months ago, one of the Social Studies teachers from my middle school (the one I went to, not the one I taught at) died. He was not my teacher, but I knew him from student government. He was my former boyfriend's teacher and coach. I often thought this man disliked me and viewed him as typical jock guy. I also thought he was old when I knew him.
Turns out, he had worked for very many important social justice causes for his whole life. And he was the same age as my dad, which means he was in his forties when I knew him. I messaged my former boyfriend, as he lives in another state, and he was quite upset when I gave him the news. I guess my 13-14 year old self saw things in a rather distorted manner.

Dear makers of treadmills and other cardio equipment:

Don't you realize that the calorie counts you insist on showing are incredibly inaccurate? The only way it would have a chance of reflecting reality is if the user keeps her hands firmly placed on the heart rate sensors at all times, which of course is not practical when running. And anyway, why do you think that even an accurate calorie count would be of any use? If you're eating real food (food that doesn't come out of packages with (inaccurate) calorie listings), you're not going to really know how much you're taking in.

If you feel you must make calorie counts available, how about hiding them down some menu and leaving the display space for something useful like pace.

Dear hip, HA! You tried to scare me by making be think I was in for more surgery. Joke is on you sucker, you're getting more PT. And I just might go to the acupuncturist too, so there.

(I was sent up to Stanford to see a new ortho doc yesterday, I had an MRI a few weeks ago that showed a labral tear in my right hip. I was sure I was in for more surgery. Turns out he feels the majority of my problem is with a couple of different muscles - off I go for 8 weeks of PT. I'm absolutely thrilled, I did not want more surgery. New doc says 90% of the time, labral tears do not require surgery. Yay me.)

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Originally Posted by snapdragen

Dear hip, HA! You tried to scare me by making be think I was in for more surgery. Joke is on you sucker, you're getting more PT. And I just might go to the acupuncturist too, so there.

(I was sent up to Stanford to see a new ortho doc yesterday, I had an MRI a few weeks ago that showed a labral tear in my right hip. I was sure I was in for more surgery. Turns out he feels the majority of my problem is with a couple of different muscles - off I go for 8 weeks of PT. I'm absolutely thrilled, I did not want more surgery. New doc says 90% of the time, labral tears do not require surgery. Yay me.)

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Woot! I'm glad you can take a less invasive route. I hope PT sorts you out!

Whew! Hope the PT goes well, Snap!

Dear Snap's Hip,

The rest of us know it's best not to mess with Snap. What took you so long?

~ SK

Dear Household Laundrymaid,

How could you be such a knucklehead and put my brand new Sporthill pants in the dryer?

Dear grad programs,
Please, no emails with the subject line "Your application to Program X at School Y" that say "We got your application and everything has arrived." I'm pretty sure my heart stopped when I got the one from my first choice. :rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snapdragen

Dear hip, HA! You tried to scare me by making be think I was in for more surgery. Joke is on you sucker, you're getting more PT. And I just might go to the acupuncturist too, so there.

(I was sent up to Stanford to see a new ortho doc yesterday, I had an MRI a few weeks ago that showed a labral tear in my right hip. I was sure I was in for more surgery. Turns out he feels the majority of my problem is with a couple of different muscles - off I go for 8 weeks of PT. I'm absolutely thrilled, I did not want more surgery. New doc says 90% of the time, labral tears do not require surgery. Yay me.)

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I just saw this - SO glad that it looks like PT will take care of your hip. Yayyyyyyyyyyyy!

Dear company that I asked for an informational interview 3 years ago,

Too little, too late. I've moved on.

Good luck to you.

Dear Apple:

I am SO not happy that my new (4 week old) iPad has rather suddenly started draining its battery very quickly and generating massive amounts of heat. I'm not pleased that I wasted 2 hours doing what your techs told me to do over the phone last night (while not doing my homework), that your genius bar now told me didn't have a shot in h3ll of fixing the issue. I am REALLY not pleased that I have to start all over with my device NOT from backups because you think that your operating system has corrupted itself in the 4 weeks I have owned the device. Or maybe it's an app - you're not sure - but they *shouldn't* be able to do that according to you. That's right - I get to set up each and every preference again, get all of my email accounts and calendars set back up, re-look up all of my wireless passwords, website passwords, etc., install each app separately, and hopefully get all of by data back on the iPad from iTunes separately. That *might* fix the problem - but you aren't even sure of that. Are you gonna do my homework for me while I waste all of this time on a device that outta be working? We purchased your products because they're supposed to work and they were supposed to *help* me with my classes.

Signed,

Wish I had stuck with paper and pencil

Is it a new ipad (the retina display one--I don't remember the number of the model) Blueberry? I was told outright that the new ones have battery overheating issues and it was suggested that I get the non-retina display model). Take it to the store and demand a refund or replacement--they will deal with you in person.

Dear Body, or is it Mind I should be talking to,

will you please just figure it out and start working normally again? This random, unpredictable veering between lots of energy, and not being able to sleep or relax, and being so wiped-out you fall asleep at dinner parties is getting old. It's not that much to ask. Nights are for sleeping, days are for working, late afternoons are for getting a little exercise.

I have the 4 - which is not supposed to (from what I've heard) have as many problems with overheating as the iPad 3. We actually went to the store last night - that's where the "you must factory reset the device and start over" plan came from. They refused to talk about refunding or replacing because the "battery test" they performed showed no issues (and I do have Applecare +). I really, really wish they would offer me a refund at this point - I'm so far beyond frustrated. The odd thing is that it was fine - until it suddenly stopped getting good battery life and and started overheating. But - we went with Apple so my DH wouldn't have to be tech support. And now - I'm really quite disgusted at how they're handling it (which I patiently explained last night).

Any tips for getting them to offer a refund?

Is there another Apple Store in your area? I've heard that support can really vary from store to store.

That stinks. Hope you get it resolved soon.

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Originally Posted by Blueberry

Any tips for getting them to offer a refund?

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It was the 4 that I was told had the battery overheating issues, not the 3. I got the 3 because it was cheaper and the overheating comment helped me decide.

As for getting a refund, actually I don't think they would do that, but a replacement is certainly a reasonable solution. Keep talking to them. I have had success saying, "if you cannot help me resolve this problem, please tell me who is in a position to resolve it." It sucks to have to be a persistent, firm and somewhat biatchy customer, but eventually they might cut their losses and give you a replacement. I have had to put that hat on to resolve issues with my homeowner's insurance and a a lemon-dishwasher replacement recently--both were resolved in my favor, but it took alot of work! Keep going up the line. Start by calling the store manager today (ask straightaway for the manager) and calmly explain the situation, that you are disappointed with the product and the service, and that you want it resolved with a replacement right away so you can get on with your busy life. Being disappointed seems to work for some reason. You could always pull out the attorney card, too.

Go girl! Fight injustice wherever you find it, even at the Apple Store!

Well, DH has a 3 and he got me a 4 for Christmas ... so we'll see which one explodes first ... :eek:

Tulip-

Thanks for the pep talk - I needed it today!

I wonder if you have the 2? When I bought mine in December, the only options were mini, 2 and 4. The 3 had a retina display, the old connector and, from what I hear, worse overheating problems. I wish they would actually differentiate the models a little more to make it easier to keep track of.

DH is going to monitor it - he thinks he can figure out what is causing the problem if it's software. The sucky thing is that Apple basically told me they think iOS has developed issues, and that that's what's causing the problem. So - who knows if it will happen again or not (they say unlikely - but they don't know why it happened this time).

Well that's pretty unusual, for Apple to admit to a (fairly major IMO!) flaw in their OS before they have a patch for it! Hopefully there'll be a patch soon...

Dear new bike,

I'd like to love you. I'd like a chance to love you, but as soon as I bring you home the weather turns crappy. Go figure.
However, prepping you to be ridden...AAAAAAAAAAAARGH.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Blueberry

Tulip-

Thanks for the pep talk - I needed it today!

I wonder if you have the 2? When I bought mine in December, the only options were mini, 2 and 4. The 3 had a retina display, the old connector and, from what I hear, worse overheating problems. I wish they would actually differentiate the models a little more to make it easier to keep track of.

DH is going to monitor it - he thinks he can figure out what is causing the problem if it's software. The sucky thing is that Apple basically told me they think iOS has developed issues, and that that's what's causing the problem. So - who knows if it will happen again or not (they say unlikely - but they don't know why it happened this time).

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RIGHT!! I have the 2. The guy at the store said the 3 overheats. I can't keep them straight; I'm a late-adopter. So sorry for the confusion. I hope you get it fixed or replaced soon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lph

Dear Body, or is it Mind I should be talking to,

will you please just figure it out and start working normally again? This random, unpredictable veering between lots of energy, and not being able to sleep or relax, and being so wiped-out you fall asleep at dinner parties is getting old. It's not that much to ask. Nights are for sleeping, days are for working, late afternoons are for getting a little exercise.

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At the risk of projecting my own health problems onto others, you might want to have your thyroid levels checked if you haven't already. Sorry you're not feeling good!

Thanks, indy :-) I think it's just a lot of stuff to think about that's doing it. My brain tends to overload... Once I start ticking off the to-do things on my list it usually calms down. But I will keep thyroid levels in mind if this lasts.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lph

Thanks, indy :-) I think it's just a lot of stuff to think about that's doing it. My brain tends to overload... Once I start ticking off the to-do things on my list it usually calms down. But I will keep thyroid levels in mind if this lasts.

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Gotcha. Maybe a bit of nightly meditation or gentle yoga could help you calm down before bedtime.

Dear real estate gods,

Please let tomorrow bring an offer on our condo.

That's all. Thank you!

My fingers are crossed, Emily!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by indysteel

My fingers are crossed, Emily!!

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Ditto!

Thinking good thoughts for you, Emily.

Got it! We are countering, but we're not that far apart, so I am very hopeful.

Thanks ladies! :D

Once it all goes through, how long until you come home?

Yay! Keep us posted.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you, Emily!

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Originally Posted by Pax

Once it all goes through, how long until you come home?

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We would be back in the US in March. Waiting for their response to our counter-offer. Hoping!

Thanks for all the well-wishes, friends.

Ooooh, I just saw this - good luck!!!!

Emily-

I just saw this too! Best of luck - crossing my fingers for you:)

Happy dance!

Our agent just called -- the buyers have accepted our counter with no changes (I knew we were too nice!), so we have a contract! Woo-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for your support, all. Of course, it's not over until closing, but I'm feeling really good right about now. :p

Yippie! Congrats, Emily!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by emily_in_nc

Happy dance!

Our agent just called -- the buyers have accepted our counter with no changes (I knew we were too nice!), so we have a contract! Woo-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for your support, all. Of course, it's not over until closing, but I'm feeling really good right about now. :p

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Yay!!! Sending you smooth closing vibes. ;)