Good day,bad day...

[Golden Knight]

Well the flickering lights should now be sorted, someone from the power company came out and looked at the black power box outside on the verge. Some part hand melted, fix now.

[fanuilh]

Something melted? Yow. Electricity is useful, and also dangerous. I'm glad it's fixed.

A few years ago when our heat pump bit the big schnitzel, our first clue was when it tripped the circuit breaker. The second clue was when we flipped the circuit breaker back on and sparks showered out of the breaker panel. It was pretty awesome. 'Course it cut off again immediately, but it sure was interesting for a second there.

[fanuilh]

Keep the batteries in your smoke detectors fresh. When the battery gets weak and the smoke detector in your bedroom commences to yelling intermittently to alert you of the low power situation at 4:30 a.m., it's just disturbing.

Otis didn't appreciate it either. Cats don't like surprises.

[Golden Knight]

I think it was a fuse that melted. The power box was to hot, should have been cooler, and a plant put next to it by a neighbour was to close.

I am glad it is fix as well.

[Boikat]

Registered for college yesterday. just under $1,000.00 lighter, and three books heavier.

Composition and Rhetoric 101 and 3D modeling so I can make add-on's for FSX and the "soon to be released" MS "Flight").

[Ariel]

[nightlock]

Bad week venting time:

G*************** f********* b************ school can't get it's wireless network act together. I dislike being online for a mere 3 minutes at a time.

[fanuilh]

Well. Today's highlight -- My boss/co-worker, someone I trusted, left me twisting in the wind and looking like an a*****e today. For the third time, regarding classes scheduled with an out-of-town instructor. Also in front of one of our members/business owners. Lovely. And then she said, and I quote, "Don't get snippy with me."

I explained that I wasn't snippy. I was angry. And there is a difference.

Stay tuned to see if I still have a job next week. And if I don't, that's okay. I can stay home and surf the InterTubes for less than it costs me to work.

[Anime Trekker]

Sorry, I haven't been at the forums for a while, but the Target store I work at is in the process of being remodeled (Target is the second lagest retail store chain in the US).

[Boikat]

I got back earlier today from a trip to the lovely town of Tyler TX. The reason for the trip was because the current GF gets crazy over water parks, and there was a "Special Vacation Offer" a few months back that involved passes to a water park.

I explained to her that is was nothing but a pro-mo for some real estate deal, and would be a waste of both our time, and my money. That didn't seem to phase her since there were free passes to a WATER PARK, GMG!!!!111!!!

The first thing that went arry was when they called up and wanted to schedule our visit the very next week, and it had to be Tuesday thru Thursday. Oops! Nobody said anything about the "vacation" having to be taken at any particular time, especially in the middle of the week. Beside, I can't just tell supervision that I'm taking Tuesday through Thursday off on Monday. The lady on the phone said that would be no problem, and for an additional $40.00, she could reschedule our tour. Oops! No deal! That would entale me having to call the Better Business Bureau, and the management at the Louisiana Boardwalk (where the "vacation" hawkers had set up their tent). Okay, they could waive the rescheduling fee, and I could attend during a weekend.

So, we set up a weekend of my choosing: that was for two weeks ago. That trip turned into a disaster since as soon as we arrived ath the hotel, my GF promptly got sick due to two things, eating too many buffalo wings, and withdrawl symptoms because her cell phone ran out of minutes, and I let her know that calling from the hotel room phone would cost, and be charged to my credit card. She didn't believe me and called the front desk to prove me wrong. That's when the nausea started (withdrawl symptoms).

So, back to S'port, and cancel the trip.

Rescheduled again, for this weekend. GF had to work, but just to get the idocy over and done with, I went all by my self.

I'm sorry if anyone out there owns a "Vacation Share Property", but after what I heard, what could you possibly have been thinking?

The monthly payment would be $450.00 a month, for 20 years, and I would be able to stay there one week out of the year, and gee, isn't that a great thing because I would be saving all kinds of money , instead of paying for a hotel or cabin for a week!

Either I wasn't understanding, or he wasn't explaining. He also said that I would be assured of a place to stay, whereas, there may not be a hotel or cabin available where I was going to on a "big" vacation. I don't suppose it occured to him that if I was going on a "big" vacation, I would book a room or cabin well in advance!

Finally, I got tired of the sales pitch. Earlier he asked me what types of places I would like to visit. I saids "Yellowstone, The Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Glacier National Park, The Badlands, places like that". So I went on the offensive, and asked him, "Where, around here at this "resort", can I see herds of bison, or elk, or go wolf watching? Where are the geyser basins? Where could I go, here at this resort, to stand on the edge of a cliff, have a mile deep canyon below me, and the next piece of level land five miles away? Where, in this part of Texas would I see 200 foot tall redwoods? Or a mountain made of solid granite, with half of it missing? Does this resort have any "hanging valleys" of glacial origin?"

His reply to that was, "But here, you're only two hours away from Shreveport. It takes days to drive out to those places out west".

"The journey is half the fun!"

After that, I think it finally dawned on him that this was a clear case of "No Sale", so he passed me off to the next guy, who was supposed to be just going to give me the cherished "water park" tickets. Instead, it was more sales pitch. He wanted to know if it was the price, and if it would work for me to have a "trial period" of 18 months, at $75.00 a month to think about it. I must have looked at him as if he was insane. I also do not think I have a "poker face", since he was up and out of there in a flash, since I didn't even have to say "No", to pass me off to the next guy.

Same thing, more sales pitch. Finally he asked if I had the funds for the downpayment. I said I had three times the down payment, but even then, "One, I'm not interested. Two, even if I were, I would be off my rocker to sign anything like this after a ninety minute tour.

I guess that was the tipping point. He gives me a sheet with some info on it, and tells me to go to the redemption center to collect my gift certificates and the $40.00 VISA gift card, and was up and away from the table without so much as a "Woop-dee-dee, and have a nice day."

Twenty years, at 450/month comes out to $108000.00, for a "Vacation Share" that you can use one week per year? Did I get that right?

I'm sure there will be a follow-up call asking about my "experiance" at the presentation. Won't that be fun? I think it will.

[The Master]

Timeshares aren't that good of a deal for most people. That one sounds quite expensive for only one week. Its a great deal for the company though...they get to sell that same condo 52 times. 450 X 52 X 12 X 30 = $8,424,000 in revenue over the next 30 years for that one condo. Not a bad racket.

[fanuilh]

I know people who've bought timeshares and they always, always regret it. For that much money you could, as you already said, Boikat, plan your vacation ahead of time, research hotels and package deals, and not be that much out of pocket. I never understood the appeal of timeshares, it always seemed like such a bad idea. Pay every month for something you can only use once a year? Even if you manage to trade weeks with another "owner" once in awhile? Really? Jeez.

Some of the people I know are trying to dump their timeshares on other people. And having no luck. Oh, well, it sucks to be them.

But if you can fend off the sales pitch sometimes you get some nice prizes. All I ever got was a travel coffee mug.