Virgin Cell Phone Has It's Head Up It's Ass

I have to say that I have never felt this negative towards a company for producing a crappy product but moreover really shitty customer service.  My winner in this category is...........drum roll please..... Virgin Mobile.

Virgin Mobile, where 16 emails, tweets, postings on Facebook can get me the one person that I want to talk to; the Team Leader. Apparently, you can talk to one of these, if they really exist, but I have serious doubts.  I'm that one customer that never yells, screams, uses foul language or anything, I stay calm when I have a problem but I also believe that I should have a voice when I have a genuine complaint. But not with this company.

I sent them an email on their own site and was told, after explaining to them for the fifth time, that I just wanted a Team Leader.  And then I received a response to which I was informed, at that point, that I was obviously in the wrong. They have Team Leaders, they thought by throwing me a little credit that this would fix things AND I should be grateful that they did that for me, that their service was exemplarary and that, they went out of their way to help me.  I kid you not, this is what the email said. I was really flabbergasted. I have never had a company TELL ME that they provided me with great service, am I the consumer that pays the bill or are they?

The funny thing is, after the email beratement that I received where they said they did actually have Team Leaders, they didn't mention any thing about me being able to talk to one.  No response other than what you see above. Apparantly, I will be told what to do as a customer and should shut my mouth.

Virgin? I don't think so. You've been fucking people over for a long time now.

Traffic Source Phonies : Slam The Spam

This post is just to let people know that they can add any traffic source spam that is posting fake statistical page views on your blog.  I know this is a problem because I was hit with a couple which was annoying because I can't figure out how to get rid of them and from what I have read, the best thing to do is not click on them when you're reviewing your audience stats.  Its' parasitic link behavior.  My 2 that I noticed are listed below.   Please add yours so we can all stay informed.

kallery.net

filmhill.com

August 12th:

UPDATE: Found several more on my site again and then find these also posted by another blogger whom I hope they don't mind me mentioning them, they were good enough to share, So thanks to :



http://thethankfulmomandwife.blogspot.ca/2013/03/bloggers-beware-of-adsense-watchdog.html

Cheers!
MoneyPenny

USA Proposes To Charge Canadian Cross Border Fees

The USA Government has it in their sites that possibly charging people to cross the border from Canada to the USA may be charged a fee.  This is so counter-productive to those cities that are most effected by the reliance on outside money to support their economic structure and foundation that I wonder if those in the USA are smoking what we call BC Bud.

Obviously, you either don't need the money or you have no clue about supporting the businessess in those areas.  With so many Canadian families that cross-border shop it would be unfathomable to deter any entry and what about those that have family there? Are they too going to be forced a fee just to go visit?

I think that someone went to Costco and got pushed out of the way when they were trying to buy a gallon of Milk. I saw those people from British Columbia who were there shopping on the news. You have right to be pissed off but this, wow. Why not just ban us from buying Dairy Products.
 
Maybe the USA should have started this with Mexico rather than Canada. If they did this maybe they would have a lot less people crossing from that side of their country too.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/proposed-u-s-border-crossing-fee-for-canadians-draws-anger-1.1248504

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/22/us-border-crossing-fee-homeland-security_n_3131960.html

Blogger Template Not Updating Format Changes

This post is for anyone who is like me and was frustrated because my Blog lost the ability to update customizations to my template.  I noticed that there are thousands of us and that we haven't had much response to this issue.

I found one person that said you should backup your blog (no kidding) before making any changes and then try saving it under another template design, Save it and then go back in and restore your old one. I tried that, it didn't work.

Anyways for anyone it may help I am inviting you to post your Blog if you have instructions on how to change Design, use HTML or CSS. I had to start over again from my last backup.  Ugh!

I am still researching and trying to build some links that may help with going back in and re-vamping your template:  PLEASE ADD TO THIS LIST in the comments section if you have any helpful hints.

I found this site the most helpful for me since I'm really not savvy at writing code. I am a beginner so maybe it will help you too!

http://www.betatemplates.com/

Rhodies From Richmond

Another beautiful day to see Spring 2013 doing its best to wave boldly and remind us of renewed life and growth. This Beauty is in the complex where I live, I am so impressed with the sheer size of these buds.

The Lower Mainland of Vancouver has the right mix of weather to coddle the Rhododendrons to bloom. Staring in the beginning of April each year, the annual budding begins and as you can see, they can grow well past 6 inches height.

The blooms are breathtaking, my eyes not wanting to leave the area, I feel like I am somewhere Tropical.  This is why they are truly magnificent, because they can bring your thoughts into forming an opinion you could be somewhere like Bali rather than the Liquid Sunshine Capital of the Earth: Vancouver, British Columbia.  By the way, I love Vancouver, I just get tired of hearing the "Sunshine" remark as a way of trying to pretend that the weather can be a real downer sometimes. Sigh.

If you love these flowers as much as I do feel free to make a comment or share a photo or your blog. I am posting this on the fly, and will be adding a floral arrangement that I made last year for a Birthday Party in April for someone in my Family. It just makes sense to use these babies.  These pictures were taken in Richmond, British Columbia. You can Rhodies all over the Lower Mainland of our Province. Want a picture, send me a line and I'll email you a copy, your free to use it if you ask. Would love to see someone do a painting of one of these or give me a picture back of one of your favorites too!

Temporary Foreign Workers and Canadian Youth Unemployment

With many recent outbursts from the Canadian public on the claims, whether founded or not, and allegations of the corporate face of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), mining companies such as HD Mining, Tim Hortons, McDonalds, A&W for hiring of temporary foreign workers when it's obvious that Canada has a high unemployment rate, especially for our Youth. I felt compelled to post so I could ask some questions. Something was missing in the articles specific to  the stories. Al

I wonder if  you're willing to go face-to-face with those companies rather than posting a rant about Stephen Harper, politics and government agencies.  If you are the person who applied for a job with a company and didn't even get a call, why am I not reading about You?  You are the most important factor here.

To give you an idea of why I am stating the above:

I read a recent article that states the Youth in British Columbia has an unemployment rate of 14.5% and the Student I read about was from SFU (Simon Fraser University). He spoke that he wasn't getting even a response from sending out his resume, but I wonder what companies he is sending it to?

Is it one of the names on the list of 4000 employers that says they are being forced to hire temporary foreign workers? 

Who are you?
What company did you apply to?
Tell me your story, I want to know.
 
And for those that make a comment, let me know if you went to your MP (Member of Parliament) or are you just typing comments of your outrage on the keyboard? MP's are there for a reason, use it.

This post is to open conversation not to hinder it or to invite hateful remarks. And if you own a company and you have used this program, go ahead, I want you to have an open dialogue too!.

1500!!!

Just wanted to say I looked at my stats today, while some hit the millions I am happy with small steps since I just blog with my experiences and love to share whatever comes to fancy. So, thanks for making my day and taking a look.

You're Awesome, who ever you are!.

Apps and Omelettes

Today, I made some decisions, to clean up my act, I mean apps.  Of most recent, I had let go of Facebook as I didn't find it useful any longer. I can say that when I was forced off work for a while, it kept me somewhat sane. albeit for a few people telling me I had no life(yeesh), but I had to admit that sometimes I was posting utter crap such as cute pics of animals and smarmy-ass signs but had nothing else really to say.

Onward I forged, and today, I decided to clean up my Twitter account. Removing the majority as we have changing interests.  I initially got Twitter as another way to try to stay in touch with my child, who has grown in the cell-phone, texting, computer era.  I wanted to stay on the pulse of what was going on.  And then I realized that it's a waste of time; you've become that stalker-parent.  At which point I stopped following them altogether.

I do agree that Twitter is for people that are promoting their businesses or careers, hardly a place for someone like me who has no interest in either of those areas.  I don't own a business any longer and my career, well let's just say that I have no interest in gaining a "Title", I did that already.  It didn't make me a better person, it did however increase my working hours from 10 hours per day into more like 16. Not worth it.

Having said all the above, sometimes you just stumble upon a blog, a person or a google-hit that make sense and you sit back and actually read what this person is sharing with the world.  I happened to be going through Tweets and the title of Glenn LaPointe's post is what caught my eye. I thought maybe he was anti-omelette, but apparently not.

http://lifehappenswearahelmet.blogspot.ca/2012/11/i-am-not-going-to-write-about-omelettes.html


Have a read, his blog title says it all:

Life happens...wear a helmet

Cherry Blossoms Baby!

First Bloom Cherry Blossoms

Thought I would just post a little note about a sight I came to see today coming home from a rather dreary day at work. My commute requires me to shlep through the darkness where I try to focus on the streetlights to gather my visual focus of the morning before my coffee kicks in. Every step sometimes feels like cement has been added to my shoes, however I should point out that Mother Nature can tap on you on the shoulder like she did for me today.

Soft Pearly Pink Cherry Blossoms Stars

I arrived home and most times I'm caught up in my own world and tend to look down while walking but for some weird reason I had a sudden urge to look up, don't know why, just did.  And there they were!

They have opened with a tenderness of soft pearly hue of pink, our Cherry Blossoms, even their name is soothing.

I am always amazed how complex every blossom is and how it appears that a tiny star has fallen into a flowery cup and as it landed, tiny fingerlings with crimson tips appear to be stuck in mid-explosion.  Spring is definitely here.

Although the day was still slightly dark out when I took these pictures, it still made me feel great.  I found myself not worrying about what was going on in my world and instead got lost in ours. 

Sometimes, it's a difficult task to keep ones' chin up but I have to say that this time, it was worth it.