New Years resolutions

Okay so its been a while since I updated my blog and I have been meaning to but really have had nothing to blog about.

Well, for those of you who keep up with me, many know that I had a buddy move in earlier this year, he rented a room in the house and kept his dog in the back yard. Well, I got along with "Tom" just fine, but his dog, who is a 1 year old 100 lb bloodhound, was a different story. Totally unsocialized and crazy. I didn't want that dog coming inside, so a pen was built in the back yard, which the dog promptly dug up and destroyed the grass. I turned the other cheek, since Tom was indeed paying rent. I told Tom that the dog could come in during inclement weather (really cold, rainstorm etc) as long as he was given a bath first. Tom has quite a social schedule and was never really home in the evenings. So the dog stayed in his pen for probably 23 hours a day. On the nights Tom came home late, he would toss dog food out the back door and go to bed.

Now, where am I going with this? Well, last weekend, Tom moved out on Sunday, mysteriously. No Goodbye, no GFY, no see you later. Just gone. I got home and went and looked out the back porch, and the 'dog pen'/mud hole was missing all the cattle panel fencing. The T-Posts were still there (thanks Jackass), and the wood was still there. Missing was the dog house, and rubber mat and his BBQ Pit. This is strange, I went to his bedroom. Everything that was his was missing. Then into the bathroom. Totally cleaned out. I called three times, no answer from him.

Immediately, I started thinking "What did I do?" but I caught myself. I made phone calls to friends from church, and in my support network. They all had the same answer. "Its not you. Its about Tom. You did nothing, This is all about him." So after calming down about the situation, I went to bed, and the next day, arrived at the office to find a "Dear John" letter in my email. Basically stating that he wanted to move out because It wasnt fair to me because I didnt want the dog inside, and wasnt fair to the dog because he was in the mud. Well, Good luck with that buddy. So I know, this was Toms way of avoiding any kind of confrontation or situation that would have arisen. Personally I couldn't see the situation getting out of control, but who knows.

So, I talked to a good friend that night, who usually calls me out on my thinking patterns/errors. I was really upset and agitated at him because I told him that I planned on "letting go" of the situation. He pointed out to me (much to my chagrin), that I way too often let people take advantage of me. And I was thinking to myself, "What the hell is this guy talking about? I dont let people take advantage of me!" Well, less than 24 hours later, this statement would fufill itself.

To be continued.....

So its time for another call center post.

So one of my vehicles is financed with GMAC. The company that thwarted bankruptcy through the 2009 year of the GM and Chrysler massive fails.

I have planned on replacing this car, so I called to try to get some info on how long it takes to get the title after I paid the note off. Well, I hear a series of clicks, and immediately know, I'm getting routed to an overseas call center. Great.....

Hilarity ensues, and in the end, I write this letter to GMAC. Not that anyone there will ever read it.....

GMAC Automotive Financing
P. O. Box 380901
Bloomington, MN 55438

ATTN: Michael A. Carpenter

RE: Your overseas Call center

Dear Mr. Carpenter,

I seriously doubt you actually read this letter, probably a ‘problem solver’ will contact me on your behalf. However, I want to express to you the displeasure I have with dealing with your foreign call center. I have twice contacted GMACFS to get payoff and title information for the vehicle that I have financed with GMACFS. Both times, I have been transferred to the India call center. And both times, I was unable to understand the employee who was assisting me on the phone. The first man on the phone did not understand at all what I was trying to accomplish, and kept trying to talk over me. The second person put me on eternal hold and I got tired of waiting and just hung up.

Does GMAC have any US call centers that can help? I am selling my car and buying a new one. I will not seek GMAC for credit if the proceeds of my loan are used to fund an overseas call center. How does GMAC expect to serve their clients if the people that they hire cannot understand the customers needs and if the customers cannot understand the people on the other end of the line?

All I want to know is, how quickly, after paying my vehicle off, can I receive the title from GMACFS? I have a person who is interested in purchasing my vehicle. They are buying the car for more than payoff, so they are issuing me a major bank check. I plan on depositing the check, then once it clears, paying GMACFS the payoff amount. I would like to know the fastest way to make this happen so that the buyer can get the title in hand and register it in their name.

Every answer from the call center was to go to the DMV and transfer the title. How do I do that if GMACFS still has the title? Do you guys offer an expedited payoff/title option?

I sincerely hope that my words reach someone other than beancounters that would rather anger customers by sending them to a phone bank on the other side of the world, nobody on either end of the phone can understand what is happening.

Would GMAC consider serving their US customers with US employees, who can effectively communicate with, and understand our needs without frustrating everyone to no end?

I am sorry to say, that this is my first and last loan experience with GMACFS.

Sincerely,
redassaggie00

Fall is in the air

Well Fall is starting to peek its way in. For the first time in many years, I feel like I haven't 'dipped' into my annual funk that I usually get into when we get the first cold snap.

This time of year marks an odd point in my life, once a year. The same time that I was laid off from the first job out of school, and my spiritual journey and finding out who I really was. Don't get me wrong, we never went to church as kids, not because we didn't believe in God, my parents just never went. When I got to A&M, I started attending church with friends, and I felt so much more complete, a good 'balance' if you will.

It wasn't until late 2001 when I really started feeling something else, something that I hadn't experienced, maybe ever. And in the most turbulent chapters of my life, serenity.

Last week, our pastor had an excellent talk about 'waking up' and God being there, finding him there with arms wide open, and for me, it was a very moving talk.

You can listen to it here.... Check out the 10/10/2009 talk.

So today, as I write this post, I look back at my life today, all my friends, all my family, my church family, and life in general, I have to smile. Sometimes its so easily to be discouraged. In my 30s, thirty lbs overweight, single, working a job that tests me every day, and walking this journey, but I'm not alone. He is there. Thats one thing I know I don't do enough, I don't trust in God, and know that he has great plans for me. I perpetually try to drive the bus, and I know I just need to sit back and let God drive.

Sorry for the 'heavy' post, just had to get that out there. To end in the words of singer Gary Allan, "Life ain't always beautiful, but it's a beautiful ride."

Netflix...whats going on?

This may be a well known occurrence in the world, but this is the first time I saw this.

Last night I put a netflix envelope next to my front door so I would remember to take it to work today to drop in the mailbox.

Thats when I noticed, the return address is to Austin....All of my movies have come from the Houston center, since thats close to where I live.

Check it out:


So I have heard of Netflix throttling the DVD rentals, and they also got in trouble for it a while back.

Is this another sneaky way of getting around that?

We'll see.

Life on Autopilot

Ever feel like you're on autopilot? I realized for the past few weeks, that everything has been really going well.

I'm trying to maintain a "conscious contact" with God throughout the day, giving stuff to him that I can't handle. Its working well for me. I'm much happier at work (even happier when I leave), and everything is copasetic. This week, I just feel like everything is the same over and over. Go to work, go home, go to mens group, go to church, work on cars, etc. I look back at this month, and I've done LOTS of stuff. Had Dim Sum with friends, worked in the yard, harvested watermelons from my garden, went and visited friends I haven't seen in forever, helped at church, saw my grandpa. The list goes on. Maybe next week will be better eh?

I have lots of friends that I talk to now and then, but a lot of them are married and have families now, and can't hang out anymore. I do have a few handful of married friends who are allowed to get away for a while and go hang out and do stuff with, but its sad to see the loss of those friends that are under obligations of a family now. Maybe I'll understand one day.

On the romantic side of things, theres not much to report. I had a few dates with a girl my friends set me up with, but she's got a LOT of baggage, more than I care to deal with. Don't get me wrong, I've had my share in the past, and I have had LOTS of grace extended to me, but I had to realize that it was her, not me, that had issues. So, I moved on, once again. I can remember last year at this time, was Hurricane Ike. I was in a relationship that my friends warned me was not a good idea, yet I pursued it anyway. 3 days with the same person and no power can really show ones true colors.

Anyway, I have made amends, licked my wounds, seen my therapist, and I feel like I'm ready....but for what? Ready for another relationship? Ready for life?

Maybe the right answer is, whatever God has in store for me.

More Child care funnies

In honor of my Friends J and L who have a new bundle of Joy, I give to you the baby care pics I never posted....These are tips for J, who is a first time dad...

GM, out of bankruptcy and smelling like....a Cadillac?

So GM has pulled itself out of Bankruptcy.

Whoopdeedoo. You guys know I tend to like American brand cars. Fords mostly. The stuff that GM has put out has been lackluster at best. I was in a rental Impala for ten days while my car was in the shop and it was the worst car evar.

Now GM has decided that its going to come out with some fragrances....

The star reports that GM is coming out with a line of smell good stuff.

I don't know about you, but usually the smell of a Cadillac conjures up the smell of old people, moth balls, stewed prunes, and the like. Apparently GM thinks they can do better than that. Now if they had a fragrance like "CTS-V" that would be better, but Cadillac brings to mind grandpas 93 Fleetwood.

I guess I can't fault them, I mean, the Mustang has its own line of fragrances.