Cell Phones - Again

Well, I finally gave up on the cell company I was using. The phone I had for a while and actually worked, stopped working one day. The screen just gave up. They sent me a new phone, and transferred the minutes. I had to re-program the phone with numbers and such, but it actually had a camera on it and seemed like a good phone. Until it stopped working.

I called the company and they said to take out the battery and then put it back in and try the phone. It turned on. So far so good. It kept going off. I kept having to take out the battery and put it back in and turn it back on. The month turned over and I didn't get my monthly minutes, so I called them.

Strange calls started coming in when I got that new phone, too. I'd get these calls from a 503 area code all the time. I never could catch the caller, but the messages were all from some kind of sales or marketing outfit. I'd ask one to stop calling and another number would start. I reported them several times to the DoNotCall website, but they just rotated. I never had calls from these numbers before - only on this phone. I just ignored them as much as I could. They wasted minutes, though, which pissed me off.

One time, the phone was actually on because I was using it that morning, and I forgot to turn off the ringer, and it went off during class. Of course, it was that damned marketing company and by the time I actually answered it, they were gone.

Well, my last call to the cell company was a nightmare. The idiot on the phone kept me on the line for over an hour and I had to leave for the Dentist. I had an appointment, and I had to leave. He just kept saying I needed to stay on the line.

Finally, I just set the phone down and left. Screw him!

I came back, 4 hours later, and the phone was still live. He'd continued to have me holding all that time. What a creep! And I never heard back from them. They never sent me the phone replacement I requested, never a call back to see how things were going, nothing!

So, after another month of dealing with it, I charged the phone late last week. I unplugged the charger and set the phone on the table. The next morning, same thing - no signal, no nothing. The phone was turned off and would not turn on. I took out the battery, put it all in a box and sent it back to the company.

I enclosed a letter telling them to cancel the service. I'd either do without a phone or find another carrier.

This is why I NEVER give out my cell number. I can't keep a phone more than 6 months. Why bother? When someone needs to call, either they will get my answering machine or the cell. That's just the way it is. I forward my home phone to my cell when I'm out overnight.

Well, for a few days I'll be without a cell. No biggie. I've been without one before. I'm shopping the services. Who has roll-over minutes? How much is the service for what I need? What services are available for how much? Stuff like that.

I don't want ANY advertisers, I don't want junk text messages. I don't want to talk to anyone about who I want for President, or what I think about some political issue. Just leave me alone. I won't tell you anyway.

Do. Not. Call. My. Cellphone!

Respect!

I am a Christian. However, I'm also a Sabbath-Keeper. In many ways, I identify with the Adventist church, but in others, I do not. Of all the sabbath-keeping churches, the Adventists are the only ones I found that contain and spread the Grace of Jesus Christ.

So, I was invited and went to a Women's Tea at a local Christian church that a friend attends regularly. She invited me last year, but I got sick and could not attend. At our table, there was a woman, M, who asked a lot of invasive questions about how I met my friend, that I did not wish to answer. My friend answered them, and this bothered me. The woman had no business asking such personal questions.

She then went on to ask about my beliefs, which I shared, and my business, which I shared. She wanted to argue with me about the Sabbath, and tried to quote me chapter and verse, which I turned against her. The Bible is very clear on this for me, and I won't be swayed.

So, she turned to the other topic, my business. She wanted to know how much I charge, and I told her that the information was on the website, and gave her my card.

Mind you, this was ON the Sabbath, so money is not a topic I cared to discuss. I don't shop, answer e-mail, or practice any business on the Sabbath. I will worship, rest and honor my God in the best way I can, including going to a church I don't normally attend with a friend for breakfast and worship.

M pressed me again about my pricing later, and I said it was Saturday, and I again referred her to the website. She said "Oh, I get the JOKE" and totally pissed me off. She did apologize later, but this kind of closed-minded thinking and dissonance in the Christian system is rampant. Nobody can agree on anything, and everyone is convinced they are right. Even me.

If she should contact me to build a website for her, I will price the work very high, to encourage her to find someone else. A person who does not respect my privacy or beliefs, is not the kind of person I want to have as a client.

Extended and Expanded - Lost more Privacy!

Bush signed an extension and expansion to the Homeland Security bill, and now can peek at all the email I get from around the world is now fair game. The Dems and Reps both folded to the idiot in the big chair.

Who cares if they have to stay a couple of extra days - God Forbid! Bush veto a bill he doesn't like. Hell - WHY DID WE ELECT THESE BOZOS??? Who is going to stand up that idiot??? I can understand why some folks are calling for his impeachment. Maybe we should impeach and recall everyone in Congress!

I'm just fed up with this. I run websites - by nature an international business. I answer questions online a lot - why should I put up with this invasion of privacy?

Yeah, they limited the bill to 6 months - It only takes 1 MINUTE to completely change the world. Just ask any pregnant woman!

Get out of the White House, Mr. Bush!!! Take Cheney with you! I don't want either of you lying, cheating creeps in control of my country.