Toys 'R Us, Friends We Ain't

Leah and I discovered today that we now have a newfound dislike for a store that we really never really shop at that much anyway: Toys R Us. Nicholas received two duplicate gifts for Christmas, but they were both very common items that were most likely available at any place where toys are sold for 1-2 year old children. One was a "Little People" set and another was a Playskool or Fisher Price item (I don't remember which).

So off we go to Toys R Us. Nice, big, bright poster instructing those with returns to head to the EXIT door for further direction--I guess this was part of the post-Christmas prep. We begin to see signs that say, "A receipt is required for all returns, exchanges, refunds, and store credits." I'm thinking, "OK, nobody in their right mind would expect cash if they didn't have a receipt, but surely a store credit/gift card would be possible for a NEW, UNOPENED product that they carry anyway." The lady says, "Nope, that's been our policy since June. You must have a receipt." Well, OK then.

For the most part, I partially understand the philosophy. From working customer service at Kroger, I acknowledge that people can get, shall we say, crafty, when it comes to returns and find lots of creative ways to beat the system (e.g., steal something at one store and get a refund for it at another). But most places that I know (Target, Wal Mart), have a system in place where a person cannot abuse this type of system. And then there's the element of subjective authority given to the customer service personnel--You can't bring a Christmas decoration back in mid-January, and you can't accept something that isn't in your store's system (because you obviously don't sell it).

But how customer UNfriendly is this? If I'm giving your store a sellable $20 item and then buying 20 or maybe 30 or 40 bucks worth of stuff, isn't it worth your while to accept my return? Take my driver's license number or address or phone number or what have you--it's 5 days after Christmas, for goodness sake--it's not like I'm making a living by doing returns.

And what makes this even worse is I called and asked for a manager. I just voiced my concerns about the draconian policy not being customer friendly, and the manager says, "That policy is handed down from corporate . . . but it really protects us as well as you." I say, "Did you get a receipt with everything you got for Christmas?" He replied, "No, but I'm 24 years old, and not trying to return something to Toys R Us." After making one more comment, he very matter-of-factly said, "Sir, there's nothing I can do for you." Maybe so, but do me a favor and at least pretend to give a rat's posterior.

So guess who accepted our return (with some conditions, of course), and got an additional 15-20 bucks of Christmas cash tonight?? Bullseye, that's who.

Holy Blog Updates, Batman!

Yep, you're not dreaming. It's an update. Holy cow, it's been 4 1/2 months! I'll save the excuses . . . let's look forward, shall we? But much as gone on since my last update (who'd a thunk it?), so I figured it was time to try to get back in this thing. Heck, Steve's booted me from his blog roll, but Scott and Jeff have remained steadfast and maintained a glimpse of hope on theirs. Scott did, however, send me an email with the subject of "You've dropped off the face of the earth." No intentionally, dude. Should you be working on getting your Ph.D. a month sooner or something? : ) On to the updates . . .

Mergers I see that Blogger and Google have followed in the footsteps of peanut butter & chocolate and Regions & Amsouth. I sign on today and get all this "We're moving your crap to Google!" and "If you don't have a Google account, you can set one up now, but rest assured your stuff is safe!" type messages. Uhh, OK. I guess I'll figure out if I like this move as time goes on.

Mi Casa No Mas If you had a Favorite set up for our other blog, http://goingtoarlington.blogspot.com (and I'm guessing you probably didn't), it's now time to delete it. Because, as of right now, we ain't going. We're still hanging out in Cordova and mourning what could've been on Milton Meadows Dr. Oh well. Bottom line is that we couldn't sell our house in time to lift the contingency on the already-finished new house, and somebody came along with the cash who could close sooner. At last report, there still wasn't anybody moved in, which add some suspicion to our already questionable analysis of the situation, but it falls squarely under the category of "Can't do anything about it." We had two almost-contracts on our existing house, but never could really get a deal done. We will most likely try once again after the first of the year, looking to move to a newer area of Bartlett, Lakeland, or Arlington. We just don't wanna pay King Willie's taxes, and being that Nicholas will be starting school in 4 years, education is now a consideration.


Nicholas Visits the E.R. Throughout his entire first year of life, Nicholas was an incredibly healthy baby. Aside from scheduled "well" visits to the doc for checkups and the dreaded immunizations, we virtually had no other reasons to hang out with Dr. Scott, our pediatrician. As we knew it would eventually, our luck ran out on Dec 1. Nicholas starts running a fever around 101 early in the week. On Tuesday, Leah takes him - the all-too-common upper respiratory infection. Ears are fine, personality seems to be fine, everything else is OK..."Here's a prescription to thin some of that crud out, and keep giving him Tylenol." As the week went on, his fever remained fairly constant...Going from 101 to almost 103. Calls to the nurses line were borderling repetitious--"Keep doing what you're doing, keep him cool, give him Tylenol, watch out for dehydration....Go the ER if it seems any worse." Called two different members of our family that are in the medical field to get their opinion, and got no response from either. Guess it's time for first time parents initiation. By Friday afternoon, Nicholas's eyes had been watering most of the day, he was very lethargic, and fever was still high. Off to the E.R. we went. Fever is a sign of an infection, but at this point everything from the flu to pneumonia was possible. He was indeed dehydrated. The hardest thing I had to endure so far happened that night. In attempting to draw blood and start an IV, here's my son, essentially in a straightjacket that restricts his every move. You can't explain it to him, and he looked so mad, helpless and frustrated as he glanced in my eyes, as if to say, "Why are they doing this, Daddy?" They got blood but couldn't get an IV started. Let's poke around and fish in this hand, and then try yet again in the other hand. I finally had the leave the room--I just couldn't stand it. As it turns out, blood work and chest xray were normal. On top of the upper respiratory infection, both of his ears were severly infected, and he was dehydrated. A couple of hours worth of fluids and some intravenous antibiotics, and he was an entirely different child. Ended up with ear drops, eye drops, and a liquid antibiotic, but over the next few days him coming back to life was a very welcome sight.


Me and My Suzi I'm now the proud owner of a black 2004 Suzuki Volusia, known the motorcycle parts catalog as a VL800BK4. After I settled on the model I wanted, I joined a very active online forum/owner's group: http://www.volusiariders.com Holy cow, what a wealth of information. Actually found my bike through the site, buying it off of a guy in Faith, NC, who was nice enough to meet me in Knoxville one Saturday and do the exchange. Still made for LONG day, but it was fun in a very goofy way and a day Leah and I won't soon forget. I've learned so much from Volusia owners around the U.S., Canada, England, and Australia. No pictures of me sitting on the bike quite yet (it's hard to sit on a 550 lb bike AND take your own picture), but here's a picture of it in Rossville, TN, in front of the Memphis Shades windshield plant (yes, their product is on my bike).

Biking really is a lifestyle, but it's also a community like no other. In the 6 months that I've been a member, the forum has had 2 raffles/donation drives for a couple of members who went down and suffered serious injuries (one guy was hit by somebody who ran a red light, and might lose his leg because of it). Keep in mind that most of those donating have never met the person they're giving to, but because they share a passion is reason enough. Since I've been riding, I've stopped twice in my truck to check on a biker who was sitting on the side of the road - just to make sure they didn't need a phone or a wrench or a few bucks. And I feel certain that I'd get the same treatment one day if I'm ever in the situation . . . That's just the way the comraderie is between those who ride. For any riders who stumble on this blog--Ride Safe, and keep the shiny side up!

I'm thinking about starting a motorcycle-themed blog (no comments from the Peanut gallery), documenting everything from rides to weekend trips (yes, I'm planning some--to meet other forum members, of course!) to adventures in customizing my bike (known as "mods" in bikerspeak--as in modifications). I've already put on a light bar (wired directly into an auxillary harness in the headlight bucket), Cobra highway bars, a Kuryakyn brake pedal cover, and a Stebel 132 dB air horn to upgrade the stock one (which entailed removing the gas tank for the first time). See what I mean?


Out With the Videos, In with the Drugs On Friday, October 13, I found out that my tenure at my job would be over in a week. Would've been there 7 years in February, but it wasn't to be. A major loss of revenue for a service-oriented company meant that the sole method of reducing overhead came in the form of staff. I was the 3rd to be let go, and a 3 or 4 more have been let go since. The fact of the downsizing wasn't a surprise, but for the previous month or two I just didn't know when my number would be called. I don't really have any ill feelings towards them . . . I hated to leave, obviously, but it was a great place to work and it presented me an opportunity to accept a greater challenge or take a hard look at what I want to do with my life. As it turns out, I got a job referral from one of the executives that I used to work for, and am now the IT Manager for a company that manages pharmacies for acute and behavioral health hospitals. The responsibilities are a bit more involved than what I came from, but it has presented a challenge like no other: my predecessor passed away in early October and thus there wasn't anybody to really train me or explain the network setup. But they needed somebody and I needed a job, so it was a good match. And now I have a Blackberry Pearl, so I get to feel like one of those pompous little yuppies with the latest new toy.


That's the high points of my update for now. I'm sure more will be forthcoming.