http://www.blogger.com/html?blogID=4316350785635987648 Cave Dwellings: Getting Assertive
Cave Dwellings

Buckhorn Creek, Lake O' The Pines, Jefferson, TX

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Getting Assertive

  Yesterday we had a day of making decisions and dumping some poor service contracts. I may have mentioned that we came home to zero TV’s  that were working correctly..Actually it had nothing to do with the TVs, but the Satellite receivers.  We have Direct TV service, and when we are on the road we take one of the receivers with us, plus the dish.  We had a feeling that the receiver we took with us on this trip was beginning to fade…and it  did…it faded into oblivion when we got home. The one we had for our living room TV was getting tired also. I had called Direct TV and they gave us no help..Even our son-in-law, John (who is a total electronic geek) called and he didn’t get anywhere either. Plus, they wouldn’t give us any deals to upgrade to HD…So….Sunday evening Den got online and signed up to switch us to Dish Network( because they would give us HD TV for only a sign on charge of $50. ) OK….sounded good. We went to bed Sunday night feeling great about making a decision to pull the plug on Direct TV…and figured we would call and cancel them Monday. Hang with me, this gets better.

  We got up Monday and Dish Network called to set up the date to come hook us up. So now, Dennis needs to call Direct TV to cancel our service.  (Are you following all this “Dish….Direct….Dish…Direct….” ? I’m not even sure I am! ) HOLY COW!!…(and they almost had one)…Boy, did they ever change their story!! They didn’t want to lose us as a customer (we have been with them for 7 years), so they offered us a deal even better than Dish Network. But before re-signing with Direct,  Den had to call Dish and cancel the set up he had just scheduled.  Surprisingly we had no problem…So then Dennis called Direct TV back and they scheduled us for Tuesday morning to set us up with HD. Whew!! It was like pulling teeth!  If I hadn’t been so happy, I may have gotten aggravated by the fact that you have to put their nose to the wall to get things done.  Just threaten to dump their service and they are all sweetness and great deals…Lesson learned???…Never take the first offer for anything, and…..threaten, threaten, threaten…

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There is something exciting about seeing a Direct TV van in your driveway…and a brand new HD receiver on your roof..They had to put it there due to the many trees to our South.  Now all we need is the actual flat screen HD TV..That will happen tomorrow I have a feeling…there is a NASCAR race this Sunday.

I may have also mentioned , (probably in really bitchy words), that our land line telephone was suppose to be hooked up last Tuesday. Well…. then they  moved it to Thursday. Well… as of yesterday, we still had no home phone service.  So, while I was in a especially “testy “mood,  I called and canceled our home phone service, with Den’s blessing.  Den and I figured, hey, we both have cell phones….and we will save ourselves a $40 monthly bill by checking them off our list. Boy, did we make some swift and cutting moves yesterday!!! Don’t mess with the Cave People!!

After the TV guy left, we went up to our local nursing home to visit our nephew, Scott. He had throat Cancer about 6 years ago, took the radiation, and is Cancer free now…However, the radiation on his throat cooked some of the vertebrae in his spine, causing them to disintegrate, and he is now in a wheel chair..plus , he hasn’t been able to eat or talk since then either.  Sometimes it takes a slap up along side the head to make us realize how very fortunate we are. Scotty’s predicament was my slap.  I cannot imagine going through all of the nightmare he as been through.  He is only 46 years old. I have to say, though, he seems to handle all of it.  He zips around on his battery powered wheel chair, watches all of the White Sox games (unfortunately he is NOT a Cubs fan) and all the NASCAR races on TV….He writes down stuff he wants to say to you, unless it is a profanity,  I can read his lips for that…When we went up there, he was outside watching for us.  It is a gorgeous day today, and he gets outside whenever he can. As I said, it certainly puts a new perspective on life for us all.

I am short on pictures this blog and I have rambled on waaaaay too long.  I will try to get some photos of our historic little downtown area and post them on Thursday’s blog. Our town evolved due to the railroad tracks that came through here ,and the downtown buildings run parallel to the tracks…We even have a gazebo and an Opera House…I will get some photos and post them next time…Thanks for tuning in!!

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