What Have You Got To Lose?

So, y'all know I love to save money and try to do so in each and every way I possibly can. I recently read on one of the money saving blogs I read that you should call your internet service provider every few months and see about getting a lower price, or a promotional price and once that runs out, call them again. I stored this little nugget of information in the back of my head and didn't think much about it again.

Last week my dear friend David stopped by my cubicle for a visit and told me about his recent call to DirecTV. Last year about this time, he called and complained about a gaming channel they were doing away with and so he threatened to change service providers and they gave him some free movie channels and $20 off his monthly bill for a year. This month, David’s promotional $20 off per month ended. So, he gave them a call and asked what they could do to help him out – times are tough, man! So they gave him $20 off per month for another year.

David inspired me to make my own phone call and so on Thursday night, I called DirecTV and asked them what they could do for me. After speaking with a third person, I was also offered $20 off per month for six months. I took the deal. The guy I spoke with said I could call back in six months and ask for it again. Then we continued talking because I had a question about an old receiver I wanted to send back. As a result of asking about the receiver, the guy I was talking with discovered I was being overcharged for a receiver that wasn’t being used and he gave me a credit. He could only go back six months on the credit so that was another $36.

The next day when I logged into my account, my bill, which is usually around $106 was only $45 for the month of April! Score! It was so worth the phone call.

David later called his internet service provider and ended up with $20 off per month of that bill as well. I haven’t called mine yet, but it’s on the agenda. In this competitive society we live in most companies will do what they can to keep your business and it will benefit you as well. So, pick up the phone and give your cable, dish, and internet companies a call this week and let us know your success stories!

It Happened Again

After arriving home late Saturday night, I still managed to wake up around 6:30 on Sunday morning. Since I didn't have any studying to do (we had a guest speaker during the Bible class hour), I decided to peruse iTunes for some Avett Brothers tunes. Seeing as how I didn't know very many songs at the show on Saturday night, I figured I needed to download some of their music so that maybe next time I will also want to jump up and down like Maria.

I found a set of songs I wanted to download but rather than smoothly downloading, I received an error message that the transaction had been declined. I looked at the card number on file at iTunes (my debit card) and it was entered correctly. Rather than try to figure out what was going on with this card, I just entered in the information for my credit card and the songs downloaded. Strange, yes, but not all that unusual as I had some problems with my card on iTunes around Christmas time because I had not downloaded any songs in a long while.

During church I received a phone call, but it was a 1-800 number so I didn't leave worship to answer it and to be honest didn't think much else about it after I declined the call. When services were over, I went to Publix to pick up a few things because I had to make some food for a funeral of one of our members. Then I went to Newk's to get some lunch for myself and tried to use my debit card (I had used my credit card at Publix) and the card was declined so I had to use my credit card. I had no idea what was going on, but I was concerned at this point.

On the way home, I stopped by the ATM to see if I could get some information. I selected a balance inquiry (even though I had checked my balance that morning and all was okay) and the transaction would not go through. I received a message that said to contact my institution and thought to myself, um, this is my institution.

I went home and ate my lunch and then prepared to call my bank. I realized I had a voice mail and checked it first. It was from the call I had received during church and was alerting me to possible fraudulent charges on my debit card. I called the number and spoke with a nice girl who went through all the recent charges with me and indeed they were all fraudulent, with the exception of the Pet Store where I had taken The Tide on Saturday morning to give her a bath. The girl canceled my debit card and told me to contact my bank about having a new one issued.

This morning, I went to my bank at 9:00 a.m. when they doors opened and spoke with another nice lady. She made sure my card had been cancelled (it had) and issued me a new one. She also filled out paperwork disputing the pending fraudulent transactions. There were far fewer transactions pending than I had been told about on the phone Sunday and the lady at the bank said that I will have to come back in and dispute those separately if they show up. I'm hoping they won't show up so I don't have to spend any more time on this matter.

So, for the second time in a month someone has stolen my card information. This is really becoming annoying. Thankfully this was stopped before it got out of hand. I don't know how the card companies know to notify you when there are possible fraudulent charges but I'm glad they do! The lady at the bank said someone could have hacked into the pet store information since that was my last transaction or a dishonest employee somewhere could have gotten the information and used it. She also told me she had some customers who had their social security number stolen and didn't know until they went to file taxes and the government would not accept their return because someone had already filed under their number! It's a scary and crazy world we are living in! Be sure and watch your information as closely as you can!

They Probably Thought I Had A Bad Time

On Saturday, St. Patrick’s Day, Jackie, Maria and I went to Birmingham to see The Avett Brothers at Boutwell Auditorium. We left Huntsville around 4:00 and headed south. Our plan was to find the location of the show (since we had not been to this particular venue before) and then find somewhere to eat.

We arrived in downtown Birmingham about 20 minutes to 6:00 and quickly found Boutwell. Then we went to The Fish Market and stuffed our faces with delicious seafood. The Fish Market is one of my favorite places to eat. You may recall my dad and I ate there back in December. We Parkers try to eat at The Fish Market as often as we can. Dinner was great and really hit the spot. I wish I had some more right now!

After we ate, we found a parking spot behind Boutwell and as we were walking towards the entrance we happened upon the Avett Brothers tour bus. Maria wanted to knock on the door and see if they were inside. She is a little head over heels for these guys. I can relate. As you may recall, I love Harry Connick, Jr. more than a little. We lingered around a little while and I took a photo of Maria and Jackie by the bus.

Once Maria resolved herself to the fact that she was not going to meet the band, we made our way inside and found our seats. There were a ton of people at the show, most of whom were in general admission. Thankfully we were in seats so we didn’t have to bump elbows with people young and old. A couple of guys from Mississippi sat in front of us and we talked to them before the show started. Once the show started a little after 8:00, the guys were being loud and having a good time and some people in front of them told them to stop being so loud. So, the guys moved and found somewhere else to sit. I mean, it’s a concert for crying out loud! I couldn’t believe those people complained or that the guys moved.

Maria and Jackie stood up the whole show and on the rare occasion Maria did sit down she jumped out of her seat five seconds later because the band started playing another song she loved. I sat the whole time and I’m sure the girls thought I wasn’t enjoying myself, but that’s not true. I am not as familiar with the band as Jackie and Maria and so I didn’t want to stand up and scream for songs I didn’t know. The few songs they played that I did know I enjoyed quite a bit. If it had been a Pearl Jam show I would have been 10 times worse than Maria was on Saturday night. There was a guy sitting next to me who kept bouncing his leg rather quickly and I almost grabbed it to make him stop on more than one occasion.

After the first encore, I went out for a bathroom break because I didn’t want to stand in line after the show. I stayed outside while they finished playing and met Maria and Jackie when they came out. We walked back by the tour bus on the way out but there was no sign of the band, much to Maria’s chagrin.

We made it back home around midnight at which point I promptly washed my face and went to bed. It was nice to get away for a night and I really did enjoy the show. Hopefully the next time I see them I will be more familiar with their music, but I doubt I’ll be as crazy as Maria!

At the tour bus

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Hope you all have a safe and happy St. Patrick’s Day. Jackie, Maria and I are headed to Birmingham for an Avett Brothers concert. It should be a good show and will definitely be a late night. Hope you have fun celebrating! Don’t forget to wear some green!

The Photo

As mentioned previously this week, we celebrated my granddad’s 80th birthday on Saturday. Well, not only did he receive some gifts, but I got one too.

My grandmother gave me a copy of a photo I have wanted for years. It’s a picture of my great-grandmother, Lizzie, standing in her back yard with her dairy cow. The photo was taken in 1940. The backyard she is standing in is my backyard now. Yes, a dairy cow once lived and roamed in my backyard. There was also once a well there and an outhouse. Clearly things have changed.

I don’t have a scanner, but took a photo of the photo to share with you here. Happy Friday!

Movie Experience and Review: The Lorax

Last Friday night, I joined Jackie and the kids for a viewing of The Lorax, based on the Dr. Seuss book of the same name. I have never read the book, at least I don’t think I have and I just realized I have a copy of it in my bookcase in a collection of books called Six by Seuss. Maybe I’ll give it a read here in a bit.

Anyway, Jackie had emailed me about going earlier in the week and I agreed even though the only 7:00 showing not sold out was in 3D, and y’all know how I feel about the 3D! Jackie went to the theater during the day on Friday to purchase our tickets because she was afraid it might sell out, which is now kind of funny when I think about it because the theater was pretty empty. Before I left to meet the gang, I got a text from Jackie. Ashlyn had asked if I was still going and when Jackie said I was, Ashlyn said, “Yes!” and maybe even gave a fist pump. I found that to be quite the ego booster.

I met the gang a little before 7:00. Ashlyn brought along a friend as did Troy and then another of Jackie’s friends and her son came along as well. We were quite the group; the adults in a trio, the girls in a duo and the boys in another trio all on one row.

The movie wasn’t too bad. It kind of dragged in some places I thought, but the kids really liked it and that’s all that mattered. I was a little drowsy from taking medicine before the viewing so that probably had something to do with hindering me from fully enjoying the show. The movie had a good message as well and that’s also important in today’s take everything for granted society. The best part I thought was the singing and dancing numbers. I seriously thought to myself that it would be fun to sing along to on the way to work or just when you’re cleaning house or whatever.

Sadly, nothing of great interest took place during the show. No one snorted or sneezed or talked loud or anything that I’m used to when going to the movies these days. After the show was over we all went our separate ways and I said a little prayer for Jackie who had to go home with Troy who had enjoyed an Icee during the show. Bless her heart; that was one hyper child.

So, if you’re looking for something to take the kiddos to, then check out The Lorax. They will enjoy it and you probably will too!

I Was Number Three

Yesterday was primary voting day here in Alabama –so exciting! I arrived at my polling location a few minutes before the polls opened at 7:00 a.m. I was probably the fourth or fifth person in line, but I was the third person to turn in my ballot; probably because I was the youngest person there and didn’t have to take 45 minutes to read everything on the ballot – including the 1,000 delegates listed.

It was a little chaotic when 7:00 a.m. rolled around. There was a new inspector at our poll and he looked as though he didn’t have a clue as to what was going on around him. He had a gaggle of old women working for him and they seemed like they didn’t know what to do either even though I know some of them have been working at this polling location for a good long while.

I had to point out my name to the lady checking identification and then the lady printing our name on the form couldn’t even see the name printed on the driver’s license; another lady had to read it out to her. Then she had to go retrieve her glasses so she could see. Finally I was handed a ballot and filled it out quickly since I already knew for whom I would cast my lot.

After work, I stopped back by the voting location because I wanted to give my name and information to the poll inspector and let him know I was interested in working future elections. My dad is the inspector at his poll and I am familiar with the process and would like to be a worker, plus extra money is never a bad thing. When I went in to talk to him, he once again looked like he didn’t have a clue as to what was going on around him. My dad’s precinct runs like a well-oiled machine; my precinct, not so much. Maybe one day I will get the call and eventually arrange a coup and take over as inspector. I have no doubt I would do a good job.

After my evening stop by the polling location, I headed home for the day. I had grand plans of returning to the gym, but spent most of the day sniffling and sneezing and decided to wait until Thursday to make my triumphant return to the bike. Hopefully I won’t gain 10 pounds in the next couple of days. The remainder of the evening was spent watching results come in. Most all of the folks I voted for won so it was a good night in my book. I guess the next election, if you don’t have a run-off in your precinct will be for city elections and you already know who gets my vote for mayor – the lovely Loretta!