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February 20, 2005
Shopping!!!!
Its been a few days since Ive written and being that gay.com is down (no chatting for me this morning) I would write a bit about the weekend. Josh tells me I havent updated in a while (although I updated Thursday and for some reason his browser didnt refresh it).
To begin with, my taxes went into my account Friday morning and Ive been on a non stop spending spree. Josh says I out did him which is hard to believe. Ive seen him shop before lol. It feels good to be able to spend money while I can. There are quite a few things (as Ive mentioned before) that I wanted and havent been able to afford just yet. I figure if Im going to do it, now is the time, even though Ill be laid off in 6 weeks. If I dont buy the stuff now, then I most likely wont for a while.
So to start off, I ordered my Mac-Mini Friday morning first thing (priorities hehe). I decided to get the 80 gig hardrive instead of the 40. Just seemed more logical for $40 extra. I have to say, the beginning of my relationship with Apple didnt start off well and I was a bit irritated.
The total with tax came to 788.80, however when I looked at my checking account after, it showed they authorized 800.63 along with (2) $1.00 authorizations. Although the difference isnt much, I still dont like the fact they authorized more than what the charge was so I called.
The first person told me it was in case there were adjustments that needed to be made, such as additional items. This wasnt a good answer for me, so began transfer number 1. The second person said there was nothing they could do and there went transfer 2 and 3. Finally the fourth person (whom I requested so I could complain) gave me another answer for the higher amount. She told me that their "system isnt capable of calculating the tax and is only an estimate so it will calculate the highest tax in the nation".
If I wasnt already running late for work I would have argued but instead I accepted it (still unhappy with the answer) and hung up. What I would have liked to have said (and I wrote a letter) was "You are Apple and known for your more expensive and so called superior computer systems. You mean to tell me that a company that manufactures such great equipment, doesnt have an authorization system that will authorize the correct amount of sales tax for the city of San Francisco which is only an hour and a half away from where your headquarters is?". Yeah its a long sentence but its what my thoughts were at the time (still are).
So the worst part that sits in my mind is not the amount but the cause itself. I was told "no one has complained about it before". Well let me be the first then. My bank holds that amount until a charge goes through. If you dont charge the account until the order is ready to be shipped (3 weeks), then you are holding money of mine that doesnt need to be held. I dont care if its $13 or $1300, its the fact that it is held and shouldnt be. I would much rather them charge the account the whole amount so that it comes off hold and shows as a charge. They should also advise customers that order online that the amount authorized may be higher based on this info. It just seems like good business to me.
Ok, so nuff about that lol. Im still anxious to get the new computer. So now the rest of the spending. Because the Mac-Mini doesnt come with a monitor, keyboard, or mouse, I needed to shop for those items. The monitor was easy. I bought a 19" from my roomie for $40 - Thanks Ste3ve *smile*. As for the keyboard and mouse, I wanted to go wireless to accomidate the internal bluetooth. All the combinations that I saw seemed way too expensive and after hours and hours of research and reading, I finally decided I would go with an Apple USB keyboard (which has 2 built in USB ports and works as a hub), along with a logitech wireless bluetooth mouse (8 buttons... what will I ever do with them all). The keyboard will use one of the 2 USB slots on the computer, and Ill have one left along with the 2 on the keyboard. This will allow me to plug in my printer, camera, and my web cam.
I also needed speakers which I found a 6pc surround sound set on ebay like the one I already have so I bought it. Its used but it said excellent condition and the seller seems to have a high rating so I figured why not. Im very happy with the system I already have so it would only make sense to get a second one for my room and for the computer. With everything, this computer is now costing me about a grand lol... So much for the "affordable" Mac. But just the same, its still a Mac which will be great for my photo work.
Along with all of that, I bought a futon which will be delivered tomorrow after work. I went with an inexpensive frame (since it will eventually just be spare room use) and a better mattress. The frame itself looked as sturdy as the other more expensive ones but was just a bit more basic. It was sitting in the back of the showroom, which from my experience in selling mattresses and futons, is where they put the ones that have a much lower mark up. Im confident I got a good deal and saved money to compensate my computer necessities.
So thats been my spending spree. Im currently working on my budget so I can pay Josh for the phones, and also in about a month, get some accessories for them. What I looked at already would run about $90 for a holster and bluetooth headset. That should be affordable the beginning of April. After that, I will be done spending extra money which will be perfect since my severance will run out the second week of May.
This brings me to unemployment. I called both the CA office and the NY office since I have wages in both states during 2004. First off, the NY office was MUCH nicer and MUCH more helpful than the CA office. What I found out is that because of my first two quarter wages being in NY, I am entitled to NY unemployment. If I dont use this, I will lose it because every quarter I start, a quarter drops off in NYS. With this I would also be eligible for CA unemployment after NY runs out.
Here's the delima. I could use NYS and get a lower weekly rate (only about $20 but its already much lower than my current salary), and survive (barely). Once that runs out and if still needed, I would be able to file a claim with CA. If I find work before that, my CA benefits will still be in tact in case for some unforeseen reason, I need them.
The other option would be to go the way I planned and file a claim with CA and receive the higher weekly payment (about $150 a week lower than my current salary) and do what I originally planned out which was to take some training classes and put myself at a higher standard for when I do want to enter the job market again in August. Problem is if I use my CA benefits and start a job that lays me off again, I wont be eligible at that time for any unemployment at all. its a tough decision and I guess Ill have to work out the details in a budget format on excel as I seem to be addicted to lol. Can budget money but for just cant save lol.
So thats where Im at. Yeah, long entry but if you made it this far, youve made it to the end. Congratulations if youre not asleep lol. Your prize will be in the mail shortly (however in the fine print it says Im under no obligation to actually send anything more than an email saying thank you).
Peace and best wishes and happy Sunday
Posted by Des at February 20, 2005 07:57 AM
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