The death and re-birth of a closet

The death (more like the murder) of our master bedroom closet has already been documented, here.

Someone…

(Angel cat)

(Devil cat)

…should have been more guilt-ridden than he was.  In other words, a tinge of remorse would have been appropriate.  (Yes, I know he’s a cat and kind of a cute one too! but that’s no excuse!)

How could that little guy have caused all this, wonders Tom…

The mess he caused extended beyond just the closet!

He’s gloating!  I swear, he’s gloating.  Or maybe marking his territory?

Lest he have the last laugh…

(Thanks, Peter!)

(And Tom – who spent the past two weekends on this, full time!)

Look at that, he’s trying to TAKE CREDIT! 

Duh.

Geeze, they did a study to answer that question?!

Home wrecker

This little kitty…

single-handedly pawedly caused this tonight:

Bad kitty.  Bad, bad kitty.  And it’s not the first time he’s caused mischief around here!

Our weekend just found a project.

To those attending next summer’s Menlo-Atherton High School “Classes of ‘74 to ‘76-ish” Reunion…

(…indicated here on Facebook…)

Let’s just acknowledge this little tidbit of wisdom (sent to me from a co-worker) and move on, shall we?

(Image via Google Images)

I was sitting in the waiting room for my first appointment with a new dentist.

I noticed his DDS diploma on the wall, which bore his full name.

Suddenly, I remembered a tall, handsome, dark-haired boy with the same name had been in my high school class some 30-odd years ago.

Could he be the same guy that I had a secret crush on, way back then?

Upon seeing him, however, I quickly discarded any such thought.

This balding, gray-haired man with the deeply lined face was way too old to have been my classmate.

After he examined my teeth, I asked him if he had attended Morgan Park High School.

“Yes! Why, yes I did! I'm a Mustang,” he gleamed with pride.

“When did you graduate?” I asked.

He answered, “In 1975. Why do you ask?”

“You were in my class!” I exclaimed excitedly.

He looked at me closely.

And then, that

ugly,

old,

bald,

wrinkled-faced,

fat-assed,

gray-haired,

decrepit

son-of-sea cook

asked….

“What class did you teach???”

Addendum to the United Airlines refund saga

In a follow-up to these two posts, I offer the following:

After posting a link to the above entries on my blog on United Airlines’ Facebook page, I received TWO calls within 12 hours from Rhonda, an apparently high-ranking United Airlines Refund officer.  (Ah, the power of social media!)

In a discussion with her, she explained that, because the credit card used to make the reservation (Elisabeth’s) and the credit card used to pay the change fee (mine) were different, they had no record of the 13-digit number, as it is normally “attached” to the reservation.  I was also told that CheapTickets, not United, was responsible for the itinerary through Canada (CheapTickets had insisted the exact opposite), and that they should have indicated the need for a passport… which they didn’t – at least not on any communication I saw in forwarded communication from Elisabeth. 

Rhonda very patiently  explained United Airlines’ position, and then, as a “gesture of good faith,” she offered to e-mail me a voucher for $150 to be used on UA travel.  Although I told her I’d prefer a credit to my Visa card, I accepted her offer and waited to see that voucher in my in-box.  It’s been three days and I just realized that, although Rhonda didn’t state so explicitly, she’s probably waiting to see this post before e-mailing me said voucher. 

Because you know what she’s probably thinking? ‘Ah – and damn – the power of social media!’

The continuing saga of the United Airlines fiasco

Remember this?

Well, we’re still embroiled in a dispute – and oh my, it’s getting dramatic.  And infuriating.  And ridiculous.

Behold:

E-mail #1, in response to my initial request for a refund:

Dear Carol Snider:

We have received your request in reference to ticket numbers 016 XXXX 732774, 016 XXXX 534585 & 016 XXXX 544949.

As per our investigation we found that ticket no. 016 XXXX 732774 was exchanged to 016 XXXX 534585 and then again exchange to 016 XXXX 544949 and used, however you were not charged any change fee. (Emphasis mine.)

We appreciate you choosing United Airlines and hope that we can welcome you onboard again soon.

Sincerely,

Devidas Sable
Passenger Refunds

UES/ca
Ref #: 11578508A
United Airlines Passenger Refunds

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

E-mail #2, my reply:

Hello,

We were ABSOLUTELY charged a change fee of $150!  Here is a cut & paste from my online Visa statement:

I am not sure what ticket numbers you are referring to, as I only know what changes were made to her ticket both before her travel day (she was sent an e-mail, indicating that her route had been changed) and on travel day when the agent found her another ticket.

For United Airlines to insist that we were not charged the fee I am requesting -- essentially calling me a liar -- is absolutely insulting. (Emphasis mine.)

Please elevate this to a superior and re-investigate your records per the description I submitted.  Please get back to me ASAP!  I  have already posted the beginning of this story on my blog (and the resolution is being awaited) and I can also  post on your Facebook page for all to see that I have been called a liar by United Airlines.  I will not post anything today, in hopes of a speedy resolution to this matter.

Thanks. I look forward to hearing from you very soon.

Carol Snider

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

E-mail #3, United Airlines’ reply:

Dear Ms. Snider:

We have received your request in reference to ticket numbers 016 XXXX 732774, 016 XXXX 534585 & 016 XXXX544949.

I'm sorry if you feel that we're not trying to assist you with a refund.  Since the charge is still not reflecting in our system, we're unable to confirm this amount.  As you have sent us a copy of the credit card charge, we do see that you were charged $150.00 on December 17, 2010. 

(Seriously, their charge isn’t reflected in their system?!)

However, we still cannot proceed with the refund as the charge number that reflects on the statement is incomplete.  We need the 13 digit ticket number starting with 0164 to view the reservation in our system.

I would request you to contact your bank/credit card company and ask them to provide you with the complete 13 digit ticket number. Upon receiving your reply, we will investigate this matter further.  Please forward this documentation using one of the following methods:

Mailing Address:
United Airlines Refund Department
P.O. Box 66282
Chicago, IL 60666
Fax: 847 264 3371
Email: Refunds@United.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

E-mail #4, my reply to United Airlines today:

Hello again.

I find it ridiculous that you have proof that 1.) we were indeed charged $150 by United Airlines on 12/17/10 and 2.) the 10-digit charge number DOES start with 0164.  (The number on the Visa statement is 0164066631.)  I did call Visa, per your suggestion, and they confirm that they only have the 10-digit number that appears on the statement.  As the ticket was electronic and the ticket number isn't indicated on e-mail correspondence, we do not have the 13-digit number.

BUT YOU DO, AND YOU KNOW IT. 

It is a number generated by United Airlines!  Visa only provides a portion of the number as a convenience for their customers.  You have the full number.

To make our refund contingent upon us knowing a number that was never provided to us, but you have, is ridiculous!  What are you disputing?  That we paid the $150 to United Airlines on 12/17?  We did, as proven by the statement below.  That my story is falsified, for some reason?  It isn't, I assure you.

Here is the full statement.  The 10-digit number is all Visa has:

Please escalate this to a superior and indicate a number I can call to speak directly to that person.

 
Thank you,
Carol

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OK, now I am pulling my hair out!   I am seriously ready to call our local news and see if they’ll cover this in their consumer affairs reports! 

Suggestions?

Tom’s famous!

This post recently cropped up on an English website. They linked to this and this page of my blog, showing Tom’s amazing home handiwork, both the shed and beyond. 

Now how do I get Sunset magazine to contact us?!

(Yes, the English website got the information wrong… but I straightened them out.  See the website itself for my comment.)

Neither rain, nor snow, nor gloom of night…

…can keep Shasta from her ball and her pleas for playtime.

Pathetic, isn’t it?