It's all good so far

This day should be the second attempt for the first full post travel day back in the office. Yesterday’s first day back was cut short by a power outage that occurred during lunch. Trekked the 10 flights up from the lunch room to the office and then back down. With a half day on my hands, I ought I would get some of those errands done that can only occur during working hours.

First attempt was to get the company truck inspected. Station 1 no inspection stickers in stock, at least that is what I understood from the Spanglish. To the house, answer a file search issue for Dad, then grab the Comcast box and head back out. NTB is experiencing a computer glitch that prevents the inspection machinery from working, so I continue to drive an un-inspected vehicle.

Comcast was a complete disaster. First waiting in line, pickup replacement box, and could it get it activated after two calls to support in India. Wait in line, return box for another refurbished, install and again we can’t activate. India is hopeless. Declare war and get routed to support in Houston. Their lies are much more colorful. An outage 15 miles from the house is preventing activation. I leave damned thing on all night. No activation as of this am. Box readied for return by sweet wife who will get high def cable card and I will buy new TiVo after work.

The saga continued. Sandra tried to pick up the card on Thursday which was the theoretical resupply day for the Comcast location. Of course they weren’t restocked. Got the TiVo and after a battle w the home network, I had it up and running.

Friday, after giving blood, I manage to get the truck inspected on the second try. Then to comcast. No resupply and no cable cards to be had. Before I leave the parking lot, I call their tech support to see if I can get a service truck to drop one at the house. Can’t do, can’t ship one overnight either. New promise, give them an hour and they will send truck by service center and drop a card off for me. On to work with this too good be true promise.

Get work lined out for travel and head home. Manage to complete another quest and get the USB replacement cable for the camera, then on to Comcast. After standing in line, we discover no one has ever had a service truck do this type of drop off. Counter worker can’t identify the liar from tech support or give me the name of the director of Houston Comcast office. She does call her manager who is trading supplies in another location and they are able to locate two cards. Manager promises to call when she gets to the store. Amazingly, she does call. I return to the store for the sixth time. They recognize me in line and call me up. There is the card. It takes some magic with the inventory accounting before they can release it. They promise to investigate the call center about false promises. They offer to give me 6 months of a premium channel for free. She offers
a premium movie. I counter with the Longhorn Network. She responds that we have already moved mountains but somethings are just impossible.

I spent a good portion of Saturday calculating what I need to render unto Caesar, This round Caesar doesn’t seem to be satisfied with t just an arm and a leg, it will more likely require a complete drawing and quartering. We will survive.

It is another one of those opportunities for accountability. I have been enjoying the benefits of a strong oil economy. It has allowed me put the daughter through school without accumulating student loans. There has always been something in the pot even with the three of us not watching the budget as we should. Now big uncle wants an additional tithe. So we will dig in and focus. One more growth opportunity to reflect on what is important and what is not.

Well I hesitated too long in resuming the last draft. That’s two that have been dropped because I did not follow up with the first paragraph. As I started this entry I realized that fortunately our routine had us back in the same location. What passes as Sugar Land cafe culture. I was even wearing black. We probably have become the wannabe but unhip euros. It’s especially unhip to be working on the blog in the husband exile chairs, watching a purse while she shops.

Spent some time checking an outdoor menu in the restaurant row outside the mall. Another good italian trattoria – haven’t seen their wine list yet but I can tell it will require more treadmill time; especially with the build your own risotto. I am hoping there is enough Tiger balm and glucosamine to keep the knees moving.

Had to get home to get cleaned up and commute out to Montgomery for an Eagle Ceremony. The fellow is one that I have watched grow up in the OA. He has made it to both National Service events and a NOAC. One more quiet servant leader being recognized.

The drive to the Eagle Ceremony was a new adventure.  There are times that the navigation system is just going to mess with you.  The location per Google Maps was a little over an hour away and used major roads.  What the map did not realize is that the road gets renumbered, twice.  Coming up from the south, I got to the mapped destination on time only to discover that there was no signage and no matching address.  Up & down the road.  Finally on the second time into a service station to work with the map, I opened a facebook entry and got a second set of directions.  Setting off again, I spent another 20 minutes looking up & down the north end of the road.  I then realized that the hosts were working even further north and made another correction.  Finally a sign, a dirt path, and a ceremony in sight.  It turned out that the ceremony was running late.  I was on time.

Nice ceremony and a chance to visit with some of my friends that I had not seen in a while.  Good to see how the younger ones were coming up.  Headed back home with only two u turns.