sharshakov’s Neighborhood

Go forth and fill your libraries with media.

Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so amazing and patient. You are the reason I love Vox.

~daisy

I was just told that the Amazon Conduit will be fixed by tomorrow. I will post here as soon as I get word that it's back up and running.

I know this has been frustrating and I am sorry there wasn't more I could do to make it less so. I really appreciate your patience though.

Cheers,

daisy

Bad news. As many of you have probably noticed, the Amazon Conduit was not fixed in the last week's release. Unfortunately, there was an undetected bug that is preventing the conduit from working.

We are working on this bug fix and hope to have the Conduit back up and running this week.

I will keep you posted.

Thank you for being so patient.

~daisy

Blog Action Day

6 comments

Blog Action Day is every October 15th, when blogger are asked to post something about a single issue to show our strength and conviction as an online community. It's a great way to feel connected to the greater good, and the participation of so many bloggers to support the world's leading non-profit organizations is something you can do to help, right now. By blogging today, you're supporting some of the world's leading non-profits and sharing your voice for change.

This year's topic is climate change, and we'd love to read your thoughts on the topic. If you participate, leave us a link to your post in the comments, so we know to check out your post!

Go to www.blogactionday.org to learn more, get a badge for your blog showing your participation, and see some ideas for your post on climate change.

Can't wait to read your posts!

~ daisy

A couple job changes ago, I made the unfortunate mistake of not watching my 401K.  This happened just before the market tanked and like many people, my portfolio reduced itself like a bulimic model on Atkins.  After make a mental note to take care of this, forgetting to do so, making another mental note, repeat a few times, I decided to pay someone else to watch my money.  One of the people I train for marathons with actually does this for a living.  I won't mention the company name because for the most part, Fred has done a fantastic job of securing my investments and making me money, although really, there wasn't anywhere else to go but up.

However, when it comes to dealing with paperwork, his crew is a giant FAIL.

Issue 1:  My benefactor's social security number.  He and his assistant were adamant that I provide the SS# for the person who, in the event of my unfortunate demise, would get my money (less their processing fees, I'm sure).

I could have taken the path of least resistance and asked my mom for her SS#, but I was feeling like quite the Dark Angel that day, so I asked a question of the admin, the exchange went something like this:

Me:  So can I make anyone I want my benefactor?

Admin:  yes, I just need their social.

Me:  anyone at all, even if they are not a relative?

Admin: of course.  Who did you have in mind?

Me: How about Tony Blair, former prime minister of Great Britain...what do you think his American instituted savings plan social security number is?

Admin:  [deer in headlights look] uh....

Me:  I'm guessing the geeks in Benefits at Edward Jones Corporate push you to get socials because it makes their life easier, but I'm guessing there are procedures for beneficiaries that don't have social security numbers.

Issue 2:  last time I checked, it was the 21st century and there was a big todo about saving the planet.  Yet I get constant paper mailings for every transaction, update, etc involving my account.  I went to the website,logged onto my account and opted for paperless everything.

I still get paper mailings.  On my last visit to their office, I asked, begged, pleaded with Fred's new assistant (I guess I broke the old one) for paperless everything.  She assured me that it was taken care of...yet I still get paper mailings.

Issue 3:  I decided to take my savings account that was earning me a whopping $12 a year in interest and buy some savings bonds which would bring in more yield.  Fred raved about how our mutual friend is doing this and she loves getting a check every few months, especially now that she is underemployed.  I said sign me up. He kept boosting about how I'll get a check.  So I didn't think to explicitly ask "when I would see that check!"

Fred backpedaled and said that since I didn't ask for one, he assumed it would go into the new account he opened for me -- which comes with another layer of paper generation.  I said I wanted the interest check to put some of the money back into my now depleted savings account in case of an emergency.

Fred suggests we do a direct deposit to avoid having to request a check from corporate, which is all the way in St Louis and couldn't possibly get it to big bad Chicago for 5 days as it would arrive via horse drawn carriage (what did you think the Budweiser Clydesdales day job was?). 

Naturally I had to fill out more paperwork.  First, the phone call from the Admin.  She asked me the account number I wanted the deposit made to and the routing number, which I was able to look up electronically using this thing called My Bank's Website.  Then she printed the form and faxed it to me, adding that she couldn't print the form before inputing the routing number because the software doesn't let her print blank forms.  Brilliant!

I get the fax from her and after filling it out, I send it to the fax number she provided.  It is their office number main line!  I look at one of the 7846 business cards that Fred has sent me over the year and none have his fax number on it.  His corporate website has a listing for each account manager but no fax number.  I decide that I'm done playing and put the form in an envelope and mail it to them.  I figure I'm in downtown Chicago, they are in downtown Chicago, the Post Office will get it there by tomorrow and Fred will hear about this and wonder what happened.

A week later I get a letter with a check that I have to deposit into my account. 

The Amazon Conduit will be working again on October 15, 2009. Thank you to everyone for your patience.

Have a great weekend,

daisy, Team Vox

I've been a member of the Ray Meyer Fitness Center at DePaul Unversity's Lincoln Park campus since 2004.  It was a great deal at the time: a gym on the way home from work with a discounted alumni membership rate.  All I had to do was pack my workout bag in the morning and get off at Fullerton Brown line stop after work, go work out, and get back on.  At first I was even able to complete a workout and get back on the EL within the same 2 hour transfer window.  But the workouts got longer as I'd include a spin class.  That prompted me to switch to a monthly CTA pass.

Over the years, things have changed.  Though my office is located near all of the major El lines, I don't take the brown line to work anymore, so it's not as convienent to take it home and stop at the gym -- especially if I leave my car at the blue line station in Irving Park.  Also, the gym mostly caters to students, not alumni nor other non-student members.  This is evident by the elimination many of the late evening spin classes. 

So after realizing that I hadn't been to the gym since Febraury, I called and asked about cancelling my membership.  You can't just do it over the phone, you have to fill out a Membership Cancelation Form (MCF).  The lady who took my call offered to fax me the form.  About a day or two went by when I realized I didn't receive the fax.  I called back and asked for someone to fax me the MCF.  This went on for a couple of months.  I'd periodically remember that I wanted to quit the gym and would call and never receive the fax.

I decided to drop in one Sunday afternoon before going to mass since my church, also DePaul, is across the street.  Alias, the Membership Relations part of the gym was closed at the time I got there (about 90 minutes too late).  No one could find the MCF form although a nice polish kid did try to help.  I started to count this as one of those times when it would be helpful to speak the langauge of my ancestors, but it turns out it wouldn't have made a difference because he couldn't find the form. 

I politely suggested that putting the form on the website might be 1) useful, 2) 21st century and 3) a FUCKTACULAR idea. His response indicated that he had drunk a full gallon of the corporate cool-aid when he said "oh the reason we don't is because we have it right here where you need it when you want it".

 "but you don't have it here," I pointed out.  he smiles and shrugs his shoulders while checking the same file cabinet for the fourth time to see if the MCF has magically appeared.

Flash forward to Monday.  I called the gym again for the MCF.  This time it actually arrived at my fax machine!  I filled out the form and tried to fax it back.  I'd hear the busy signal and the report sheet would come back busy/no response.  The thing about cancelation is that if you don't do it by the 15th of the current month, you are charged for the next month.  I'd be able to use the gym but since I'm not using it now, it's kinda a moot point.  I was determined to get this resolved, so I called and asked if their fax machine was, in fact, working.The lady who answered -- same voice as the one who promised to always send me the fax -- said it was working.  Let's call her name is Trudy.  I explained my issue and Trudy suggested I try it again, and added, if it doesn't work I can email it to you. 

I know what she meant, at least I hope she meant that I could email her a scanned document, but if not, I'm not sure how her emailing me something would help.

After trying to send the fax several times over the next couple of days, I called back and got the same lady and asked if I could scan the MCF and email it to someone.  She said sure and gave me an email address.  This is on a Friday afternoon and With the 15th of the month deadline drawing near, I could just see my email sitting in someone's junk/spam folder.

Finally, at the end of the day, I get an email that say:

Icarus,
I am out of town until Tuesday, I will have Trudy follow up with you regarding your cancellation.
 
Thanks for letting us know.
 
Nancy

 

Now I'm thinking that the fate of membership, whether or not I will be charged another month's dues, depends on the skillset of Trudy, the lady who couldn't or wouldn't fax me the MCF all these months.  The lady who thought the problem with her fax machine could be solved by emailing me.  I'll be lucky if I don't get charged twice each month from here on in!

While heading home I entertain a wild thought:  there's a scene in the movie Reality Bites where Winona Ryder sets camp at a gas station and offers to pay for everyone's gas in exchange for cash.  I start to figure out if there is a way I can do this with my gym membership.  Maybe just send homeless person after homeless person into the gym to use the shower and take advantage of the complimentary towels!  Alas, I recall that they check my gym card against a photo they have on file.

The good news is that Monday I did receive an automated email from Campus Recreation:  "We received your request for cancellation. Your membership will expire on 7/31/09. "  The bad news is I've gained some extra pounds and could really use a gym to work out at right about now. 

In my last Team Vox post, I let you know that we're aware that the Amazon conduit is broken and that we're working to fix it. Many of you want to know when it's going to be fixed and I'm so sorry I haven't gotten back to you about that sooner.

Unfortunately, I don't have an exact date to give you, but rest assured, the Amazon conduit will be fixed in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, I'm about to finish my latest book and I could use a few suggestions as to what to read next, so... if you don't mind, let me know in the comments what's on your nightstand and/or what book you think I absolutely must read next.

Thanks! :)

daisy

So the other night I squeeze into the only available parking space on my block.  On the plus side, it was in front of my building, but on the down side it was an extremely tight fit.  However, with some patience and mad skills, I managed to get into the spot without even tapping either vehicle in front of me.  The car in front of me was lined up right behind the Tow Zone sign so there wasn't much leeway there.  But the vehicle behind me -- which i recognized as my condo secretary's PT Cruiser -- seemed like it was trying to save two spots with one car. 

I have no emperical proof of this, but it is a semi-common practice in my hood.  Call it the all-season's dibs.  I once saw a guy park his car on an almost empty street yet position it in a way that it wasted the space in front and back.  I asked him if he was aware of how he was parking and he said "yeah, I'm saving a spot for my wife who gets home after 10 [pm]."  It was 6:30pm.  He explained, unsolicited, that he was puerto rican and therefore a citizen who pays his taxes and is entitled to a parking space.  But the really kicker was that he pointed out which house was his on the block and, when I checked it out later, found that he has a 3 car garage, which he probably rents out for extra cash.  God bless America.

Anyway, back to the present.  I happened to look out my window and see my neighbor and his wife do a car swap.  They moved their PT Cruiser and replaced it with their mini-van.  I thought, "perfect, now I should have more room when he gets done parking."  That was a premature thought because I checked a few minutes later to discover the buttmunch parked as close to my car as possible, leaving 5 ft behind his mini-van.  Maybe he thought the car behind him would leave.  The old guy who owns that car usually only moves it for street cleaning purposes but maybe, just maybe, at 10:45pm, he would suddenly decide he needs to satisify his crave and hit the ole White Castle or something.

I thought about knocking on his door and politely asking, "WTF were you thinking?", but no good would come of it.  Buttmunch didn't have time to do a good job of parking because he had to hurry up and get to our common deck and start sending up a lot of second hand cigarette smoke toward my open windows.  I'll just have to hope that I'm not in a hurry to get to work tomorrow and ding his car while trying to get out of the tight spot.

Some of you may have noticed that right now you cannot add books from Amazon to your Vox library. Giving people a glimpse into what's on your night stand is important to many of you, so I just wanted to reassure you that we are doing our best to get this bug fixed. I'll keep you posted.

So sorry for the inconvenience.

Hope you have a great weekend!
daisy