Another Day Online...

I watched a piece on the news last night. It was about an inmate at a local AZ. prison that got beaten to a pulp by other inmates and there were no guards or cameras around to witness it. This poor guy was literally whipped and kicked so many times that his face caved in and he eventually suffered permanent brain damage. Here's the killer, he was only in for DUI, but a repeat offender.

That's exactly how I feel today. After researching all the facts, this time, I put my Blackberry phone back on eBay and as a prevention, eliminated all of the undesirable buyers that I had listed in a previous post, except fat people, because I couldn't find any fat people that would actually admit it! They all claimed to be average or athletic builds. This time I did not use a "Buy it Now" price and patiently waited for the auction to play out. I got about 45 lookers but no bids until about 28 minutes before the auction was to end. Suddenly there was a guy from Ecuador that bid the opening price of $135. He got my attention, although I didn't understand why he was allowed to bid as he was not a resident of the United States. Out of nowhere, a neighbor came and asked me to help move a bookcase in her house, so forgetting all about my auction, I obliged. When I got back, there were 2 emails from eBay saying my item had sold and for $177.00. I was happy. I actually got excited, if you will? The oddest things excite me lately. 

Getting back to my auction, I look and see how it went and was sorry I had missed the action. The Ecuador buyer had a secret bid in for $145 if he was outbid and then there was a local boy that had a secret bid in for $175. Out of nowhere, this idiot comes along 9 seconds before the auction is over and bids $177. The $177 guy has no buying history and is supposed to be blocked from bidding, as I only allow buyers with good buying records and good feedback, but apparently none of that matters because this punk wins the auction. You may be wondering why I'm referring to him as a punk and other derogatory names. He immediately writes me an email, calling me young man and telling me he's going to get the money to me through Paypal as quickly as possible. I reply that I'll do whatever I have to, to expedite the transaction and to bare with me, it's my first eBay sale. 

The following morning, I sleep late and check my emails at about 11 AM. Nothing from my buddy Jerry Rogers (the crook) through Paypal! I text him, as he had supplied me with his cell number. He replies that he's going to do it right now. About 10 minutes later, he texts me this long story about how it's for his music director and will I please ship it to freaking AFRICA! He'll include an extra $75 for shipping and thanks for being such a good sport and he finishes every sentence with "man". Kind of like the slang that African-Americans use in the hood. I slowly do a meltdown... I'm now seething..... I'm so pissed off that there is no explaining it.... The bastards got me again!!!

Here's the deal. Every time this happens, I not only feel like a fool, but I also have to go through the bullshit system of eBay to get the money, eBay's commission, back in my account and all that eBay has as buyers are fucking crooks! This is 3 times now and that amounts to over $30. I do it through their system and have to wait 2 weeks in between listings and then I wind up having to call fucking Timbuktu India to talk to someone with an accent that doesn't really give a shit! Then the freaking survey comes and they want to know if I loved my experience on e-fucking-Bay? Excuse my language, but I'm fucking PISSED!

                                             PART 2

After 2 months of misery and constant calls to AT&T, they finally agreed to give me a $250 credit, so I could use that money to purchase a booster system for my Internet and it will also make my phone work. I talk to a few people about this and I learn this is a VOIP system which will only give me phone service and only at home. I have a cell phone because I want phone service home and away from home. Make sense? If I wanted service only at home, there are landlines available with a lot less grief. 

I call AT&T and tell them I don't want a VOIP system and they can take back the $250. The man says it's not for a VIOP system exclusively, it's for my grief. He was really very nice. By the way, I was chatting with the department called "cancellations". I wanted to cancel my contract with AT&T and switch to Verizon. He told me that unfortunately there was a penalty for early cancellation, BUT with my new credit of $250, I can apply that towards it. That leaves me a balance of only $55 due to them. 

I nicely and casually explained that I had lived up to our agreement, I paid my bill every month, it was AT&T that couldn't live up to their part of out contract and yet I'm going to be penalized. I asked if that seemed right to him? He said something that actually made sense to me. He said, "If it were me, I'd be happy to get rid of AT&T and move on for only $55"? I laughed and immediately thought of my first divorce! I paid through the nose and was just thrilled to do it! He also told me that the money was not for lost future service, but it was for the iPhone 4S, that I will be keeping.

Almost immediately I called Verizon and waited on hold for about 5 minutes. I needed to ask a question, I talked to Priscilla, the associate that answered my call. I explained that I was currently with AT&T but wanted to switch to Verizon. I have a brand new iPhone, so I'd only like service, no need to purchase a phone. She said to me that AT&T's phone will not work on their system, that I'll need to purchase one of theirs. I asked what I could do with my brand new iPhone that is less than a month old. You want to know what Priscilla told me? She told me I could sell it online!