The Saga of Harry Potter or Why I Hate Amazon.com

We were promised, nay *guaranteed* delivery of Harry Potter by 7pm yesterday. 7pm rolls around and no sight of the book. I was busy (though at home) so I decided to wait to contact them until this morning. Their website is completely unhelpful - keep this in mind because it will relate to a comment from one of their (thankfully not in Bangladesh) "customer service" reps I talked to this morning. I can not access the order on the website. It's simply not there, in spite of the fact that I have received no less than 5 separate emails about my order. One this morning about 3am telling me the price dropped a dollar and I'd be getting a credit on my next statement (gee, a whole dollar?).

UPS HAS the shipment one town over and has since FRIDAY but, guess what? It didn't get delivered yesterday and there was someone home all day long too. So I try to get help via the amazon.com website and it's a complicated labyrinth of webpages with ZERO helpful information. I click on "contact Amazon.com" and, lo and behold, there is NO customer service phone number to be found. Why? They don't want you to have it because, and I quote "we're an internet based company". Well, golly gee, I never would have guessed. Don't you think an "internet based company" would have a HELPFUL website where their customers can get the answers they need in that case?

I finally found the customer service phone number on a website that was, you guessed it, NOT amazon.com. People have taken to posting their customer service phone number on various webpages because you can't get it from amazon.com (by the way, if you need it it's 1-800-201-7575). So after jumping through THOSE hoops, I call. I give the guy my order number. He wants to verify my email address. No problem. Then he wants to verify my mailing address. Okay. And my name as well. Mind you, I have now verified 4 separate pieces of "security" information for them.

Guess what?

It's not good enough. NOW I must jump through an additional hoop or these geniuses can not access my account. Now I have to figure out which credit card I used and give them the last FIVE digits as well as the expiration date. And they tell me they're doing ME a favor. All I want is my book and my money back. They guaranteed me something they did not deliver. But no, they can't help me. Oh no, until I give them the information they need for MY protection, they say, I'm out of luck.

After going round and round with them, I finally told them to screwthemselves and I'll call back later when I can dig up whichever credit card that MIGHT have been used for the order. And I am going to demand my money back as well as my damn book and then I am going to terminate my amazon.com account as soon as I have both.

I Heart Chocolate

I always knew chocolate was good for me, especially dark chocolate (which I love). And the darker the better, since dark chocolate has fewer processed sugars. And no, I don't plan on centering my diet solely around chocolate but it's nice to have some of what I've known all along be substantiated, even if it's just a little.

I Heart Chocolate

World Horror Con Update

I'm cancelling my trip to New York. I just got off the phone with the hotel. I'm still sick and, frankly, not feeling any better. No way I'm making the drive from Maryland to New York and I can't imagine giving the freaking flu to everyone at the convention. What a disaster that would be.

I'm crying like a baby right now. I'm SO tired of being sick all the time and I honestly can NOT remember what it feels like to be healthy and well. It's not just being sick, it's having to miss this convention that I LOVE attending and seeing people I really only get to see once per year. I am so disappointed right now and I just hate myself for not being able to get well.

So I'm having a meltdown. The weather has been freaking gorgeous and I can't even enjoy it. I can't do the things I love to do anymore because I just don't have the energy and everyone looks at me like I'm insane. Or like I'm making it all up. It's not all in my head.

World Horror Con

Next weekend is the annual World Horror Convention. This year it is being held in New York City, a mere 4-5 hour drive from where I live in Maryland. This will be my fourth year attending WHC as an artist. It is one of my "must attend" conventions because it is an industry convention.

I tend to enjoy WHC more than most other cons, when I am going as an artist and showing in the art shows. Few fans go to WHC because there is very little to interest them outside of some author readings and autograph signings. In general, the panels are geared toward industry professionals, amateurs and those who wish to be in the industry. The main focus is on writing and publishing. The artshow, however, tends to be small but fantastic. You have to be juried into the WHC artshow and I have to admit it is an honor to be included among these really talented artists. Especially an honor being one of the few purely digital artists who shows on a regular basis. They have definite opinions on the kind of art I do and, interestingly (and flatteringly, is that a word?) enough my name has been brought up by the jury panel in regards to 3D CGI and the potentials for the medium using software that is not considered to be "high end".

As usual, I am not ready to go yet. Tomorrow will be spent sorting through my artwork and deciding what to take with me. That's always fun. I have a print I need to take Monday to be matted (yes, Jeanette, this is your reminder). The woman who does the matting of my larger, odd-sized prints does a fantastic job. It's always such a joy to see her. I still need to pack and get the teenager to clean out my car (the trunk is full of her stuff) and then Wednesday I am on my way.

Wish me luck.

I rarely update. I know I should but I just don't. I hate putting my politics out there for the entire free world to see, especially when I rarely discuss them with people I know and happen to like. Part of the reason is there are just so many people out there who are waiting to jump on someone, anyone, and tear them apart for their beliefs. It's not that I can't handle it when someone disagrees with me. I enjoy a good debate as much as the next person. No, what I can not abide are people who think their opinion is the only viable opinion and instead of arguing their stance with logic they resort to name calling and high school grade insults. I left high school behind nearly twenty years ago and, honestly, have no desire to go back.

My best friend, Kate, has asked me more than once why I don't read or comment more in her blog. I do read it, though not every day and sometimes not every week but I do read. I even comment occasionally. The reason I do not comment often is not because of Kate herself or her politics (which I only occasionally disagree with and even then it's generally only on minor points). Kate has developed quite a following on her blog and the majority of them fall into the name calling/high school grade insult category. They simply can not abide anyone who may have an opinion counter to their own and, again, instead of arguing their stance with logic and intelligence immediately pull out the insult card. They'll argue and say that they only do this to the "trolls" who start out by being generally stupid and insulting. Granted, they've not done it with me, but I am still reluctant to post anything even remotely contrary to what they believe.

Does this make me a coward? Probably. Though I like to think of it as avoiding a headache for both myself and my best friend.

They Fight Crime!

They Fight Crime!:

"He's a superhumanly strong coffee-fuelled cop on a search for his missing sister. She's a supernatural motormouth queen of the dead on the trail of a serial killer. They fight crime!"

This link amuses me greatly.

MSNBC - Firm hits brakes on �road kill' candy

MSNBC - Firm hits brakes on 'road kill' candy

Because we all know our kids will grow up to be heinous animal runner overers.

Yes, I know that is not really a word.

A fun little meme

This is a fun and interesting little meme. I realized I've done some interesting things.

10 things I've done that you probably haven't.

1. Lost your driver's license and a major credit card and had it returned by a famous author.
2. Danced the hula in a luau in Hawaii.
3. Had artwork published by three different publishers.
4. Been hugged by Neil Gaiman.
5. Had someone ask for your autograph.
6. Developed a successful online RPG.
7. Been a ballerina
8. Wrote an article on sexual fetishes (with more to come!).
9. Have been a telephone sex operator.
10 Have been a telephone psychic

AIDS virus may hold key to cancer cure. 15/02/2005. ABC News Online

AIDS virus may hold key to cancer cure. 15/02/2005. ABC News Online

Wow. Just wow. If this works, what an incredible breakthrough it would be. To quote my friend Kate: If they're right ... the worst disease of the modern world may very well wind up being cured by the worst epidemic of the modern world.

Ha ha ha

Soles

I promise a 'real' update soon.

The Hell?

The New Birth Control Ban

Okay, you know, I can understand being morally against abortion. If all the pill was good for was preventing pregnancy, I might even agree in principal to the doctors and pharmacists refusing to prescribe or fill the prescriptions. However, I can not support any physician or pharmacist denying a woman what might just be an essential part of her healthcare because it might (it's never been proven scientifically from what I understand) prevent embryo implantation and they consider it a kind of pre-emptory abortion.

I'm not one of those foam-at-the-mouth type of feminists. I just want to live my life and have the option of choosing what is best for my body. I had a tubal ligation years ago and don't need the pill for birth control. I take it because I have debilitating menstrual cramps. The kind of cramps that leave me crying in bed for, literally, days. The thought that a doctor or pharmacist could, in some cases legally, deny me this enfurates me beyond belief.

Don't even get me started on the whole birth control aspect....

Very excited

I was presented with an awesome opportunity. One of my friends is having his first play produced in Boston in a couple months. The play is very visual and will have images projected behind the actors in certain scenes throughout the play. I've been asked to be one of the contributing artists for this. There's no pay in it (yet), there's just no budget for it. That's fine with me for a couple reasons. 1. They're very good friends (his girlfriend was one of my bridesmaids) and 2. This play has the potential to be *seen*. Not just in Boston too. This play is being submitted to the NY Fringe Festival, which is like the Sundance of live theatre, and the director plans to also get it into the San Francisco, and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, as well. So, the artwork will be seen and credited.

I told them I would do it, of course. I may even make it to the opening in Boston. I'm very excited. Even if it doesn't make it as a hit, it will be wonderful to work on a creative project of this magnitude with my friends.

Yahoo! News - 'Come Bite Me!' Right...

Yahoo! News - 'Come Bite Me!' Right...

Explain to me why a *lion* needed to be converted to Christianity? Oy.

Alcohol Accidentally Served To Students In Alexandria

nbc4.com - News - Report: Alcohol Accidentally Served To Students In Alexandria

It was mistaken for limeade... For some reason, that makes me laugh. Thanks Kate for finding the link for me when I told you about it in IMs.

Haven't updated here in a long time.

Just some filler until I get a "real" entry up.


What Color is Your Brain?
brought to you by Quizilla

This is a long overdue update of my journal. I had thought about keeping this private but I know that so many of you who do still read my journal actually care and I need a little contact with others right now. This post may ramble quite a bit.. I apologize for that in advance.There is so much happening and nothing at all at the same time. I am stressed to my limits. I need grounding. I need centering. I need a healthy outlet for my stress.

My daughter came out for her summer visit in June. It didn't take long for her to decide that she wants to stay here for the school year. Some of you will remember what happened two years ago. Those that do know that it wasn't pretty at all. My daughter is two years older now and feels able to stand up to her dad. She told my sister that, looking back, she can now see how he manipulated her two years ago into staying.She's told her dad several times she wants to stay here. He's being completely and totally unreasonable. He's SO not listening to her and completely disregarding her feelings. It's pissing me off that he's treating her like this and it's really starting to piss her off too. A lawyer has been put on retainer. This time I'm NOT backing down from the bastard.

Add to that her ex-boyfriend in Texas has gone psycho on us... it's not been fun. When she first came down here to visit this summer, his possessive behavior was very apparent. He was calling (what seemed like) every five minutes. He wanted to know what she was doing at all times of the day and expected her to call him when she left the house and when she came home, etc. etc. She told me he had been acting really possessively and said she had been thinking about breaking up with him. The impetus to break up finally came when she reconnected with the boy next door (okay, he lives three houses down from us but still). Well, things went from bad to worse. The phone calls got even more frequent and then his mother called my ex mother-in-law (who is the REAL person who's been raising my daughter not her damn father and she and I have become pretty close over the past couple years) and told her that my daughter was killing her son because he's depressed, he won't eat, etc. etc. Because, you know, my sixteen year old is responsible for this boy's happiness and well-being ::dramatic roll of the eyes here:: His mother even called me... at 1:00 in the freaking morning. You can imagine my reaction to her. We finally had to threaten to press charges for telephone harassment with him to get it to stop.It's not like I didn't feel for the kid. They'd been dating two years and I know what it's like to be 18 and in luuv. But he went from heartbroken to out and out psycho. Things had calmed down. He stopped calling all the time. They stopped fighting. Things seemed to be okay and they had begun talking again.

Wednesday I received a call from the ex MIL and said that he had left a bag of Shyanne's clothes on their front porch. Things she had left over at his house, including the dress she wore in my wedding two years ago (she had also worn it to homecoming this past school year). If all he had done was leave the clothes in the trash bag, that wouldn't have been a problem. But he didn't. Every piece of clothing in that bag was shredded. How scary is that?

Ex MIL is trying to get a restraining order against the kid (who is 18 now). Meanwhile she tells me that she believes Shyanne NEEDS to stay here because she's afraid of what this kid might do to her and, I can't say I disagree. You can guess what her father had to say to this. "I'll protect her. She'll be taken care of." I'm so enraged by this, I can't even see straight.

My daughter has been begging me to enroll her in school here. I can't without his permission and he won't give it. He says he wants to talk to her face to face. This sound fishy to anyone else here? What this tells me is that he can't wait to get his hands on her so he can try to guilt trip her and basically talk her into staying there.

My sister came up with the idea of having my daughter go out to visit her in Austin (just a couple hours from where he lives, even closer to where he works) and see if they can't get him to meet with my daughter so he CAN talk to her face to face. The idea was that if he does and sees she really IS serious about staying here, he'll finally listen to her and back off. My lawyer seemed to think this was a good idea. So, Shyanne is going on a plane in a few hours back to Texas.

My ex-husband went ballistic when my sister talked to him. Completely and totally irrationally ballistic. My daughter knows and I asked her what she felt about it. She said "he's being retarded". He's going to call her later this afternoon at my sister's. I hope she can be strong. She admitted this will truly be her first time to stand up to him. All I can say is I am scared to death of what he's going to do. Two years ago he ran off with her and hid her from me (my daughter told me his lawyer suggested he do that). I don't know what I'll do if he does that again...

So, that's it.. now you guys know why I'm being silent and why I'm so stressed out.

I can't make this stuff up

Yahoo! News - Smoker Ignites Portable Toilet Explosion

Kind of figures they were from West Virginia....

My friend Kate

Kate and I have been friends for several years now. We met years ago thanks to an RPG called DragonRealms. I did not know her very well at first but we instantly connected. We had lost touch for awhile and then, suddenly, found ourselves "meeting" again. Since we got back in touch, she's become my best friend in the whole wide world. I wonder if she knows just how much I really depend on her or just how much her friendship really means to me.

And then I read a blog entry like this one: The Original Musings: Indy Feis Results

I hate, absolutely hate that anyone had to go through the loss of a child. I hate even more that it was someone I care so much about. As a mother, I can only imagine the pain caused by it. I don't think I could have come through a tragedy like that and still be (at least mostly) sane. I had my heart broken by someone I loved 10 years back and had a nervous breakdown. I can't even begin to guess how she was able to deal with it and come to terms with the loss of her infant son. Kate has got to be one of the strongest people I know.

I love you, Kate. I just wanted you to know.

Origami Underground

Well, I guess if you get REALLY bored this could be a fun passtime, eh? Origami Underground

Lives in the Balance

I keep VH1 Classics turned on when I'm at the computer for background noise (that and I'm an avid music fan of music from the 60's on up through modern times). They're doing an artist spotlight on Jackson Browne, an artist I really liked back in the 80's. One of his songs really struck me as I was listening to it "Lives in the Balance" and I thought how apt it was for the time we live in now.

Most of my friends who know me know that I consider myself to be a patriot. I love my country even if I don't always agree wtih the way our government does things. In my mind getting Saddam Hussein out of power was one of the best things that could happen to Iraq, I just don't exactly agree with the way it was done. I didn't see it when it was happening but, looking back, it's so clear now.

Anyway, I thought I'd post the lyrics here that got me to thinking and realizing how relevent this song is now nearly 20 years later.

I've been waiting for something to happen
For a week or a month or a year
With the blood in the ink of the headlines
And the sound of the crowd in my ear
You might ask what it takes to remember
When you know that you've seen it before
Where a government lies to a people
And a country is drifting to war

And there's a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runs

On the radio talk shows and the T.V.
You hear one thing again and again
How the U.S.A. stands for freedom
And we come to the aid of a friend
But who are the ones that we call our friends--
These governments killing their own?
Or the people who finally can't take any more
And they pick up a gun or a brick or a stone
There are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

There's a shadow on the faces
Of the men who fan the flames
Of the wars that are fought in places
Where we can't even say the names

They sell us the President the same way
They sell us our clothes and our cars
They sell us every thing from youth to religion
The same time they sell us our wars
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they're never the ones to fight or to die
And there are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire