Hate a Local Business Week

My company has a program, "Love a Local Business". I love this program because it let's me recognized comapnies that have gone out of their way to give me good services. Too bad that this week, it seems like all my local and no-so-local businesses all seem out to screw me.

First, we have Julian Roberts, Tax Accountant and Lawyer. DO NOT USE THIS MAN. I gave him my receipts to do my taxes back in the first week of Dec. It's almost 3 months later and HE STILL HASN'T FINISHED MY TAXES. Not only that, but every time I call the office, no one has any idea who I am, they promise to find to find out what's going on and call me back and they never do. So then I have to call again. Plus, the bookkeeper they farmed my stuff out to keeps finding "one more thing" to do. I swear she's dragging this job out on purpose so she can bill more. In the meantime, the Franchise Tax Board is garnishing both my and Mr. Mac's paychecks even though we clearly don't owe them money but they can get away with it because we haven't filed.

Then, to tied us over until we get this tax stuff straightened out, I sold some of my stock. I selected the option to have a check mailed to me. I ALWAYS check this option. It's free and the least work. But every time, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney does not send me a check but deposits the money into my account. So I sold the stock Thurs. morning and it's already Monday and I don't have my check. I will have to call tomorrow and make them send me a check. And I won't get my money until more than a week after I sold my stock even though they had the money pretty much immediately.

Next, is AT&T uVerse. I set up to record the Olympics. I had no indication that they would not record. But twice now, I've come home to find that nothing is recording. Last Monday it was because of conflicts, but we canceled some stuff and checked and it was supposed to record and nothing else is recording. So it just didn't record. (This also happened to 4CCs. Just didn't record.) What kind of a dumb-ass system doesn't tell about potential conflicts in your recordings and allow you to manage them so what yo want to get recorded gets recorded?

And let's not talk about their sucky network that doesn't allow shows to playback without stuttering and which takes 10 minutes to load a page sometimes.

It's not just businesses. Everything else is going wrong too. I lost my Garmin multisport computer -- just $280 down the drain, that's all. And yesterday I did a really big workout and my bike computer didn't record it properly so I don't have any idea how I did.

I wonder what else can go wrong this week.

The Grounding

MacBoy and Mini-Mac BOTH got grounded within days of each other.

Mini-Mac was just a fight over her room. But MacBoy really screwed up. He took his car out for a drive even though  he's had no lessons and only has a learner's permit. Then he got caught and drove the car over a curb and burst three tires and dented three rims.

It's going to cost him $1300 to fix his car and he's grounded until the end of the year.

Save the date - Nov. 21, 2010

No, no one is getting married... but I'm doing my first Ironman event on Nov. 21, 2010 in Tempe, AZ (suburb of Phoenix) and I'd love it if any of my family and friends who could make would come out to support me. You'll get a Team t-shirt, if you do!

I haven't named my team yet or decide on what color for the shirts but I think they should be as bright and obnoxious as possible. I noticed other friends & family doing this at IMAZ this year and it really helps the athletes find their supporters out on the course.

RIP Chase

One of our chinchillas died today. It's very strange because he hadn't been acting weird or anything and we have no idea what caused it. He was just laying on the bottom of his cage stiff as a board looking like he was trying to run, only on his back.

It's not a good memory for our Thanksgiving, that's for sure.

Everyone is very upset as he was the Good chinchilla -- the friendly one with lots of energy. Ariel, aka Ms. Crankypants, is still going strong. She's finally gotten used to us and actually lets us pet her. A bit. On the head only. She still fights when we try to get her out of the cage, but it's still progress even if slow.

On a good note, our dining room table is actually cleared off so we can start eating off it again. It's only been about 3 years since my business took it over.

Damn economy

Mr. Mac got a raise. Good. But he also has to do an involuntary furlough day once a week for the indefinite future. Bad.

MacBoy is licensed

MacBoy got his learner's permit. So the roads of Northern California are no longer safe!

(Heh, he'll be so happy to read that.)

We're going to Vegas

Okay, Mr. Mac and MacBoy are going. It's for MacBoy's birthday. He wants to drive to Vegas, see "Love" at the MGM Grand, and drive home. MacMadame said it was okay if a parent went and she's busy the two weekends he wants to go. Plus he doesn't want his punk kid sister to go so someone has to stay home with her.

But no she has to go to the SJ Rock 'n Roll Marathon and she's not happy about that.