Dichotomy...

Dear Activision and/or Metallica,

Why does Guitar Hero: Metallica come out on 3/29? I mean, that's a great date and everything, being the anniversary of the day I married my wonderful wife, but why would you release a game on a Sunday? If it came out today, you know I could spend Friday night through the wee hours of Monday playing it before having to return to work. But instead, I'm just not going to buy it until I actually have time to play it. Take that opening day numbers! You couldn't release on a Tuesday like everybody else? You had to be different? Why? I still don't get the Saturday midnight release. Please explain your logic to me.

Sincerely,
Rev. Adam
'tallica fan since 1993

p.s. Please send me an autographed copy of the game. Pretty please?

Posted by Rev. Adam at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments

5 minutes of automated voice prompts and 5 minutes of being on hold later...

Me: Hi, I'd like to cancel all my Cox services please.
Elisa: Sure, I can help you with that. May I ask why you're discontinuing your relationship with us?
Me: We're moving into a new house and we'll be using Verizon FiOS for our provider.
Elisa: Oh, well, we're sorry to be losing you. Does Cox service that address as well?
Me: Yes, but I'm not interested. FiOS provides more HD channels, more movie channels, more sports channels, faster internet speeds, and more phone services for the same price as your bundle package.
Elisa: Well, actually, that's not true if you look at what we provide you today. They only have one pricing tier for HD service *blah blah blah sales pitch blah blah blah* and we provide a 12/5 internet connection.
Me: First off, I've never come anywhere close to those speeds and we're getting 20/20 with FiOS. Second, they offer the same number of channels as you do, but include Starz in their movies package, which you charge extra for. They currently have more HD channels than you do, and their numbering scheme makes sense - you just add 500 to the regular channel number. And like I said, for the same price, we're getting more.
Elisa: Well, if you add up all those extras to their bundle price, the savings disappear quickly!
Me: Listen, I already ordered everything, I know what it costs per month, and it's the same as what I'm paying you right now, but they provide more services for the same cost. Please stop trying to sell me on Cox and just disconnect my service.
Elisa: What if I upgrade you to our higher tier internet at no charge for 6 months?
Me: Just cancel my service please.
Elisa: Is there any way we can get you to stay? You're one of our most valued customers.
Me: Why? Because I pay you so much money every month? Just cancel my service please.
Elisa: Okay, but if you change your mind in the next week/month/year, let us know what Cox can do for you!

I know customer retention translates into bonuses for these people, but when I ask you to cancel my service, I shouldn't have to ask 5 times. Just do what I tell you and don't try to convince me that I'm getting screwed by another provider. It's petty and makes you sound desperate, especially when you're wrong.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 2:38 PM | Permalink | Comments

Does anyone have any info on sleep patterns? More specifically, I'm trying to figure out how long each stage of sleep typically lasts. Really, I'm just looking for some kind of explanation as to why, every night for the last week, I've woken up almost exactly 4 hours after falling asleep. I'd say stress or nightmares or apnea or something if it weren't for the incredible regularity of it. And I'd say environmental, but as my bedtime varies, this phenomenon follows suit. If I go to sleep at 11, I wake up at 3. Last night after the 6OT 'Cuse/UConn game, I went to sleep at 2 am and woke up at 6. So I'm attempting to figure out what's going on in sleepyland 4 hours after I've arrived there, and why I keep getting kicked out. Any ideas?

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments

Friday morning at 8:55, I got a phone call from BOA that they needed some other piece of information. Cause, you know, filling out a form and getting a third party's signature in two hours is no problem... But we got it done and submitted with about 5 seconds to spare before our scheduled 11 am closing. But because of the delay, we had to push closing until 3. Not a huge deal in the end, but certainly very stressful and completely unnecessary. Why they only realized they needed this extra form 2 hours before closing is beyond me.
So now we're in full-on homeowner mode. We've already been to Home Depot for some supplies and we spent last night painting. More of that tonight and then we're packing like crazy until the movers come on Saturday morning. I think we're put together a decent plan for the week to make sure everything gets done, the real trick will be sticking to the plan!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

Also, I'm sure you've noticed that I've been posting less frequently. I still like having a blog for when I really want to ramble endlessly about things, but for more day-to-day activities, I tend to use my twitter feed.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

Things have been busy busy busy. We close on our house tomorrow, which I have to admit I'm more than a little nervous about. I've been told by everyone on our end that everything is in place and good to go. So despite several panic attacks over the last week, I'm trying to remain calm and just expect that everything is going to work out smoothly. We're in the process of securing movers for next weekend (at 27, I'm totally over lifting everything I own into and out of a truck), and scouring craigslist for some decent used furniture to fill in the gaps in our current hodepodge collection.
Work has me swamped, both literally and figuratively. But at least I'm being well compensated for my efforts and I really feel like I'm beginning (after almost 6 months) to get a handle on what it is I'm doing. I think other people are starting to realize that too and are giving me more leeway to do things on my own as well as additional responsibilities. Not to mention the 10% pay raise that I recently got! As for the literally swamped part, I spent the last week of February at a lake in central Florida about an hour northwest of Orlando doing some array testing. The handful of things I wanted to test worked out great, so for my part, the trip was a complete success. For everyone else involved, the trip was a complete failure. This new design they're testing was bound to have issues, and I can't believe that they got the Navy to buy off on it before it was fully tested and agree to put in an order to support all future boats. That's downright scary. So while I feel bad for the other parties, at the same time, initial failure is probably the best longterm result for the Navy because it destroys this other guy's credibility, preventing him from making dangerous decisions like this in the future.
On the other hand, the weather was superb down there all week, and there was a lot of hurry up and wait situations, so I got to enjoy the scenery, wildlife, and clean fresh air. I even had an opportunity to swing back down to Orlando to see Brian, Matt, Tim, and Margaret for dinner. unfortunately, I wasn't well enough organized to work something out with Nikki also, which is too bad. I owe her better than that since she was one of the few friends who came to my wedding. Anyway, we had dinner at Cuba Libre on International Drive, which was pretty good food, though very slow and slightly overpriced. Emily and I have been talking off and on about going to Disney World before we have kids. I haven't been since I was in 3rd grade and I don't think Emily's been since high school. Maybe next winter when we've recouped some of our downpayment...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments