And We’re You’re Off!! I’m coming! 3/12! 🙂
Happy Trails! 🙂
Have a safe trip Susan and everyone else! I’ll see you March 12! 🙂
P.S. If you can’t make it on February 26 and you still want to go, you can come with me on 3/12/14. 🙂
In just a few short days, we (Susan and You and I ) are leaving for 65 days. We will be visiting first, Japan for about a month. Then, after about a four hour lay-over in China, we’re off to Australia for about another month. We will be returning home on May 1st, 2014. Not to worry, someone will be staying at your home, your pets will be well cared for, your plants watered, newspapers and mail will be picked up, neighbors will be watching your home and the police will be doing several drive-bys day and night while you are gone. You are covered!! 🙂
I trust by now, your bags are packed, and you have your passports. You will need a Visa for Australia. Are you are ready to take a lot of pictures and do stuff and share stuff to send back to everyone else that are NOT going! 🙂
For our current time here in New York or where you live and for Japan & Australia, ‘Google’ or search:
What time is it in New York What time is (Where You are) What time is it in Kyoto, Japan What time is it in Sydney, Australia or see: http://i-imagine.biz/News.htm (clicking on the link above will open a new tab on your browser. Just close that page when you are finished there or use your back button to return to this page)Please confirm your attendance, in advance…that would be with an, RSVP.
There are some transportation issues, but do not be concerned. We hope you like alternative modes of travel? Do not worry, we’ll pick you up. Will a Limousine Be Ok?
We’ll pick you up at your home and drive you to your nearest airport.
Don’t like flying commercial? Don’t like long lines? Don’t like crowded spaces? We understand, but we can only do, the best that we can do. Once you arrive at the airport, please accept our sincerest apology. We’re sorry, but a private plane is the best that we could come up with.
Relax, chill, chill-lax, have a drink or two or a few. Not to worry, you don’t have to drive (fly the plane). And there is a full professional medical staff on-board to revive you, just in case you suffer from massive excitement or EXTREME HAPPINESS! 🙂 Take pictures of yourselves having a great time and post them instantly to all your social media sites and just imagine all your friends and family (all those by the way, that decided not to come with us) drooling! 🙂
Watch a movie. Read a book. Have some good conversation. But we also want to apologise for the space. You will not be crowded like on commercial flights! 🙂
Don’t have a thing to wear? Forget something? No problem. You can order whatever you need on the plane and it will be in your room, when we arrive!
If you get tired from shopping or IF having too much of a good time just wears you out, no problem.
So sit back, relax and enjoy yourself while we ‘Gather Together!’ The Gathering Place goes global and we’re off to…
And don’t worry, we will get you home! 🙂
—— Dahni
If you have not already sent in your RSVP, got your passport in order, have your Visa for Australia and you are not packed and ready to go to Japan and Australia, then all I’ve got to say to you is…
Most of us have a cell phone and many of us have smart phones. If we have had these for awhile, we understand 2 year contracts and upgrades. For example, the approximate cost of a new iPhone 5s is approximately $649.00 for 16GB (gigabyte) of storage for an unlocked phone. So a new contract or an upgrade is about $199.00. The full price of the phone is absorbed over the two years under contract.
I have an iPhone 4s and my wife Susan, HAD another smartphone. She had problems with it shutting down all the time, so she called customer service and they sent her a new phone with a return box for the old phone, which she promptly shipped back. Then she received confirmation that the old phone was received, BUT they said it had water damage, so she would be charged for the new phone. After days and weeks and representative after representative, they would allow her to return the new phone. She then had to purchase an older model ‘dumb’ phone on Ebay and we downgraded her data plan. This was inconvenient, but Susan decided to just deal with it for awhile because, we were eligible for upgrades the 28th of the Month of February, 2014. Then she was notified that they did not receive the new phone back ON TIME. They had the phone, but according to them, it was not sent on time. So, we were billed for the new phone that she no longer had.
After days and weeks and representative after representative, Susan had done everything she was told to do. This person said this, that person said that, this was wrong and that person was not authorised to say/do that or no one ever followed through with what Susan was told. You get the idea, this was a huge mess! FINALLY, the new phone was taken off our bill.
We were told that we could upgrade early (about a week before our contract ended). We are leaving the country on 2-26-14, would not be in this country on our upgrade date and we wanted to take and use our new phones while on our trip.
On 2/13/14, I called a corporate store of our carrier to give them the details of our situation and to set up an appointment so we could upgrade early. As it happened, the person I spoke with on the phone, was the store manager. If anyone was knowledgeable of company policies, surely it would be him! He was, BUT what he told us was not what we were told by corporate customer service. Our only choices were:
1. to get some other phone we did not want, pay $27.00 per month and trade them in later, for what we wanted when we return to the ‘states.’ 2. keep our existing phones and plan until we return to the ‘states’ 3. Pay an early termination fee, for both our phones and switch carriersBy the way, Susan’s early termination fee would not be based on the ‘dumb’ phone she owns and has right now, but on the smart phone she no longer has, because it was returned to the carrier, months ago. Why? Because that is the contract we signed.
Needless to say, Susan had HAD IT! She was livid! She was so angry when she left the house to go and babysit 3 of the grand kids, I was concerned for others on the road that might cross her path! 😦
Susan was definitely ready to go to another carrier! I called one and explained our situation, wants and needs. They would be able to help us with everything we wanted and needed and would even pay us back for any early termination fees, charged to us by our current carrier. First, to change carriers, I needed to find out what our early terminations fees would be.
So I called our carrier and reached an automatic messaging system. I was given several choices to choose from including, ‘other.’ I chose ‘other.’ After to being asked to state my question, I responded with, “Early termination.” I was so quickly connected to a live person, it almost made me dizzy! 🙂
I was connected to a ‘real person’ in the ‘Customer Retention Department.’ And she really spoke my language very clearly. The lady was extremely nice and professional. She pulled up all our files and could see every single note and name of person, the dates and every call made by us or from them to us, about our situation. She apologised profusely, for all the confusion. I will give the carrier this, they certainly did document everything! The problems lie in different policies from the corporate office, from a corporate store and from failure to follow-up by anyone that we had spoken to in customer service previously. Based on perhaps 100’s to 1,000’s of calls each person might make in a given day, it is quite easily to become overwhelmed or to easily forget one call as you move to the next one. And I suppose it is easy to overlook the notes on your screen too.
But, as this all turned out, we were able to upgrade early, get the phones we wanted and needed and are happily signed on, for another 2 year contract with the same carrier we have been loyal to, for years. We had never really had a problem before this. So, we are all happy now and waiting on our new phones to arrive by FedEx around Tuesday next, with a promise call the same day, from the same lady that helped us. Once the phones are in , we will just need to call and activate them and all our data, pictures, apps, contacts and etc. will be instantly transferred to the new devices. We are now, just waiting on fulfillment of these promises, but at this moment, I have no doubt that they will be.
So what is the point of this long post? What could it mean to you? First, I’m not sure how many devices you may or may not own? But for us, we have three. I’m not sure what you pay monthly, for just your one phone, but again, we have 2 smart phones, and a MIFI . A MIFI is a portable WIFI hotspot device so we can use our laptop and un-tethered 1st generation iPad, for Internet access if we are traveling and/or not able to connect to a FREE WIFI hot spot. So, just remember that no matter what you may pay for one device each month, multiply that amount X three for comparison. This amounts to 1,000’s of dollars per year to the carrier.
If you find yourself in a similar situation as we were or if you are having problems with your carrier, call them up and if asked or prompted, tell them you are considering changing carriers and you want to know what your early termination fees would be. If you have not already called ‘Customer Retention,’ I am quite confident that you will quickly be connected!!! They really don’t want to loose your business. Well maybe they might not care if all you mean to them is a few hundred dollars, but our 1,000’s certainly got their attention! I’ll go back to the last statement – “They really don’t want to lose your business!” If not from a monetary value, then at least from a public relations point of view. Sad, but true, complaints sometimes are louder than praise!
Please understand, our motivation was NOT to ‘guilt’ our carrier into giving us what we wanted/needed. Our motivation was NOT to intimidate our carrier that if they didn’t do what we wanted/needed, we were going to another carrier. Our motivation was NOT to get something for nothing or anything special! All we wanted/needed was, what we want and need. Thankfully, it looks like what we want and need will come from our existing carrier. I just received a text confirmation (while writing this post) on my existing phone, that our new phones have been shipped and are scheduled for delivery on Tuesday, as promised!
The numbers to customer retention may not be published, known to you or readily available from your carrier, BUT THEY HAVE ONE or MORE!!! Just call customer service and tell them you are interested in cancelling your service or you are just wanting to know what your early termination fees would be. Make sure you use or say the words in red, bold italicised text as above. I can almost guarantee you will be, almost instantly connected to a live person in your language, at the corporate office and customer retention.
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by Donnie Hayden © 2014, all rights reserved
For our: Dear friend Janet and our Dear niece Jenny
I am not exactly sure if I got the four little Jenny Wrens, pictured above, for my wife Susan on Valentine’s Day or for me? 🙂
But I thought they were so cute. There are four different little Jenny Wrens pictured in four different poses. I did not have the heart to break up the little family, so I brought them all home to live with us! Think Spring everyone! 🙂
Jenny Wren – is an expression that our friend Janet had not heard of before. So this post in part is, for you Janet. 🙂
Jenny – is the first name of my brother’s oldest daughter, our niece. So this post is also, for you Jenny. 🙂
Jenny Wren – was the name our Mom called this little common wren with the uncommon song.
Jenny Wren – Is a light brown colored, but somewhat washed–out looking little bird that is attracted to the bushy tangles of the garden. Except for off–white undersides, which cannot be described as bright even on the sunniest of days, the House Wren is decidedly a very nondescript looking bird. But what the “Jenny” wren, as my Mom used to call her, lacks in visual attraction, she most assuredly makes up for in song. She is one of the earliest arriving spring songsters. You will know Spring has arrived when little Jenny Wren is back home by singing her sweet song loud and clear. She bubbles and warbles soft and low and works up just like a tea pot on the stove. Little Jenny Wren boils over in song.
Jenny Wren – A beloved character, in a Charles Dickens’s novel. She’s the little disabled doll’s dressmaker who brightens the pages of ‘Our Mutual Friend,’ Dickens’s last completed novel, in 1864.
Jenny Wren – A little bird (a wren) in the 1919 children’s book by Thornton Waldo Burgess (January 14, 1874 – June 5, 1965). Burgess was a conservationist and author of children’s stories. He loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years in books and his newspaper column, “Bedtime Stories”. He was sometimes known as the Bedtime Story-Man. By the time he retired, he had written over 170 books and 15,000 stories for the daily newspaper column.
“Jenny Wren, the little saucy wren that builds near your home.”
from the book: ‘The Burgess Bird Book for Children’ by Thornton Waldo Burgess
illustrations by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
Listen to her sing!
Jenny Wren – A song by Sir Paul McCartney, ‘Jenny Wren,’ in 2005
Jenny Wren
“Like so many girls, Jenny Wren could sing
But a broken heart, took her song away
Like the other girls, Jenny Wren took wing
She could see the world, and its foolish ways
How, we, spend our days, casting, love aside
Losing, sight of life, day, by, day
She saw poverty, breaking up her home
Wounded warriors, took her song away
But the day will come, Jenny Wren will sing
When this broken world, mends its foolish ways
Then we, spend our days, catching up on life
All because of you, Jenny Wren
You saw who we are, Jenny Wren”
© 2005 by Sir Paul McCartney, all rights reserved
Note: The solo is played on an Armenian woodwind instrument, called duduk (pronounced due -duke) and is a first in pop music history. It is played by Venezuelan born, world winds specialist & multi-instrumentalist Pedro Eustache. Susan and I had the privilege of hearing and seeing Pedro perform live at a Yanni concert. He is an incredible and a versatile musician. The duduk is an ancient instrument with hauntingly beautiful sounds.
We use these sites and applications primarily because, we want to connect to family, friends, associates and others we would like to be connected with. How many of us use just one of these? How many of these do we use, two or more? Well, even just one requires some investment of our time. Add other sites and apps and we add or multiply our investment of time. Would it be beneficial to us if we could SAVE TIME?
Taking a clue from Twitter, the following is an introduction to Social Media Basics, on navigating through all this ‘stuff’ as expediently, effortlessly and efficiently as possible. Twitter was based on the exchange of quick communication by allowing, only 140 characters per ‘Tweet.’ If we did the same thing with all the rest, we could certainly SAVE TIME!
Oh, before this begins, I should point out a few things about Tumbler. Young people like Tumbler for two primary reasons. For one, they believe it is about as secure as anything can be online. Tumbler allows its users to be basically, anonymous. Be honest, had you ever heard of Tumbler or knew anything about it until now? Pretty effective at being unknown yes? That’s why young people like it. In fact, it is the most popular platform for those under the age of 25. And there are several well-knowns that use it like, Lady Gaga. It was the first platform to publish the blog of President Obama.
Tumbler supports animated .gifs. when other sites like FaceBook do not. Also, gifs are far easier to view on mobile devices than video. Ten seconds of reaction shot — or a PEE act — make a big difference in expressive power! Sounds pornographic no? Yes, Tumbler has it and they will not release exactly how much. Tumbler is kind of anti-blog. Users are not looking to spend a lot of time developing content or looking for an audience. Whereas our use of other social media platforms are to find each other, Tumbler users don’t want to be known so much or found. They just want to connect with their real friends and their real friends know who they are.
On FaceBook, we may find that our parents, other family, friends and associates are all connected. Maybe we have a son named Jack and a Daughter named Jill? Just as long as they check in once in awhile, everything seems OK. Jill, for example, might post a picture of herself studying with the text that simply reads: ‘Studying.” While everyone else is chatting among themselves as if Jill is still participating (listening), Jill could open another tab on her browser and log onto Tumbler as: Alice or say, ‘Love Princess.’ On Tumbler, son Jack might be known only to his friends as Fred or maybe as, ‘Stud of Studs.’ Anonymity, OMG YES (except to their real friends)! That’s how they like it!
So, if you are a parent or a caregiver, know where you kids are, where they connect, with whom they connect and what they are sharing! And also know that they understand how to be in two places at the same time! If they are logged onto Facebook, you’ll know. You can mention their name or send them a message and they will most likely respond. But what you cannot know, see and hear is, what you can’t know, see and hear!
SOCIAL MEDIA BASICS[1]
(somewhat based on 140 characters)
For more information, you can always check the several search engines or just Google: PEE.
If you are well informed and you would like to help others, you can publish content to the popular online reference such as: Wiki-PEE-dia. 🙂
If you are interested in sharing your original content with the world or your world (whatever size of an audience it might be), you might try blogging, a.k.a., weblogs or just call them, online journals. A working title might be:
My Journey of a 10 Million Pees, Begins with a Single Drop
by I.P. Freely
or
Outback Footprints to the Outhouse
by Willy Makeit
with illustrations by Betty Dont
If you desire even more, nearly-instant-connections, there is always ‘the video chat’ online or by way of smart phones. There are such apps as: Line, Google Chat, Skype, FaceTime and others. These will allow one or more to share a visual pee with others, in digital-time.
Then again, there is this last possibility. Do you know what? I have never, ever found a bathroom that did not have a door! 🙂
Please do not misunderstand me. I like social media. I use social media. I’m all about freedom of expression and freedom of speech. We all should pee freely! 🙂
But those doors on the bathrooms are there for two reasons:
1. Some things are meant to be private and should remain private. I don’t want to watch you pee and I don’t want you watching me either!
2. Bathroom doors lead to something personal and satisfying. No technology or no amount of ‘on-line,’ can match the personal satisfaction of real-time! Ahhhhhhhh! 🙂
[1] Based on: ‘A Concise and Almost 140 Character Primer on Social Media Tools’ – © 2010 to 2012 R. Wang & Insider Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.
Google +, YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumbler, all my other social media peeps and my blogs,
Ordinarily, you are my first go-to to check with, for everything relevant and important to my life. Yes, you are often first on my list when I wake (even while waiting for my first cup of coffee). And you are many times the last on my mind when I go to bed. But I have decided to do something NEW, IMPROVED and DIFFERENT!
Instead of finding out from you first or telling you first, I’m going to concentrate on the old-school methods of communication. I’m going to pick up the phone and call my family and friends that live too far to visit. Instead of calling people too close to call, I’ll actually go see them. And instead of sending an email, text message or some social media message to my wife Susan that is in the room right next door to me, I’m going to actually walk over there and tell her I love her first, before everyone else finds out about it. We can like social media, our gadgets and technology, but they are all really just things. Things are made to be used, but people are made to be loved.
Luv Yah,
for: Susan
