Prejudice Exposed

I am fired up about this, and I just can't seem to let it go! I just had the most horrible customer service with a supposedly reputable company which for the sake of ruining their reputation and making people think twice about using their services, I won't mention their name...AOL!

Here's the story...I have an account that I keep open and only leave a couple of dollars in at home. Mainly in case of emergency, but also so that my mother and family can deposit their usuall birthday or Christmas cash for the boys with ease since they bank there as well. It was also the first account I ever opened, so I am somewhat emotionally attached to it...but I digress.

My sister just started college and needed Internet access, but the phone company could not install DSL for a few weeks, so she decided to use the "free" AOL account in the interim. I allowed her to use the debit card from the aforementioned account to set up the account since she only needed it for 12 days on the "free" trial.

My sister is very detail oriented, so she spoke to 3 different reps who ASSURED her that the card wouldn't be charged and they only needed the number on file in case she went over the minutes. She also wrote down the confirmation number after she closed the account and was assured by 2 additional reps that NO CHARGES WOULD BE MADE TO THE ACCOUNT.

I received my bank statement, and lo and behold, not only is there a $9.95 fee, but of course an overdraft fee of $33.00!!! So OF COURSE, I immediately got on the phone to see what the hell happened. After about 11 reps, 4 supervisors, AND a letter to the Manager of Billing Operations & Services, of course I get the $9.95 back, but they don't give a DAMN about the overdraft fee they created!

And you see, my gripe isn't about the fee, because I'm sure my bank will reverse it, but there is a principle in this matter which I tried to communicate, and do you know that when their...well..."could not speak English-well"ians...who couldn't understand what I was saying and/follow my line of thought, they hung up on me? EACH ONE!!! I was also highly frustrated because for one, they have long wait times and a ridiculous voice activated promt, secondly becaus I had to keep asking them to repeat themselves because I didn't know what they were saying either!!!

So I had to pause for a moment yesterday after I asked, "Do you have ANY reps and or superivisors in the United States, and how do I reach them?!?!" Tera, that is not right!

Blogland?

Go Shawty...It's Ya Birthday!

Hello Blogland...today, February 2, 2008 is the day that my mother celebrates 8 YEARS of SOBRIETY!!! I am VERY proud of her and pray that the good Lord keeps her on this path for the rest of her life.

This is (TRULY) the day that the Lord has made... let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

What's In A Name?

Okay my friends out there in Blogland...I have been struggling with something for the past couple of days, seriously, so I thought I would solicit your input/feedback.

I beat myself up for years for my children having different fathers. My mother would always try to console me and reduce my dissonance by pointing out the fact that I was with W's father for 5 years, and D's father off and on for 7...thus, if the relationships MEANT something, I shouldn't be so hard on myself. It took me a while, but finally, I got over it.

Now my new dilemma...how much does a name really mean? Before Christmas, my son W had not seen OR heard from his father in 3 1/2 years, and D's father...well, we kinda see him when we see him, but if you can remember from previous posts, he has been in a relationship with one of my (ex) closest friends of 13 years+, and in my estimation (among MANY other things) can't teach the children much in the way of values...he lives by the "Every Man for Himself" creed, and from my point of view may do more harm than help by actually being a consistent part of the boys' lives.

And you want to know the kicker? I am elated that I have moved away from Ohio, because if either of my boys attended schools in that particular school system, their names alone may have severe implications with regard to teachers' perceptions of them the older they got.

So I ask you...am I stressing too much over this? I know that all of us at some point have made some choices that we may not necessarily be proud of, but have to live with them our entire lives, and I feel this may be one (or two of them).

Back to Matters of the Heart soon...I just really need your input on this.

WNG Meme By Way of NoR!!!

I know I know, I promised to do this shit days ago, but I've been busy at work (imagine that!!!), my computer at home had been down for 2 weeks, and you know what, my brain has been rather scattered!!! But anywho...NoR has once again tagged me for a wonderful meme thusly, I must perform duties as your fellow blogger...Enjoy!




…(two names you go by)…
1. Tera
2. Tie between Tizzy and T-Dub

...(two things you are wearing right now)...
1. My jeans that make my booty look oh so licious!
2. My kick ass brown leather boots!

...(two things you would want (or have) in a relationship)..:
1. Honesty...yeah, I know it's quite a stretch
2. Love

...(two of your favorite things to do)...:
1. Spend time with my sons
2. Relax

...(two things you want very badly at the moment)...:
1. Mucho dinero
2. A private jet (and of course a sexxxy pilot!)

....(two pets you had/have)...:
1. (As a child), Weasel
2. Snowball...I no longer enjoy the pleasures of owning wildlife!

...(two people you think will fill this out)...:
1. Nina (shut up, it should be easy, you've already done it in e-mail!)
2. Susan (she's the only one other that NoR who cares when I'm gone!)

...(two things that you did last night)...:
1. Made room for my new furniture
2. Prayed

...(two things you ate today)...:
1. Athenian Broiled Chicken from my favorite Mediterranean restaurant
2. Pizza

…(two people you last talked to)...:
1. My mother
2. My cousin

...(two things you're doing tomorrow)...:
1. Going to D's basketball game
2. Working

...(two longest car rides)...:
1. Atlanta
2. Myrtle Beach

...(two favorite holidays)...:
1. My Birthday (you skeptics shut the hell up!)
2. Christmas (that's when I can take the most days off and get away with it!)

...(two favorite beverages)...:
1. Kool-Aid
2. A good Margarita/Daiquiri

…(two people no longer alive who you'd like to talk to)...:
1. My Grandmother
2. My Aunt

Tagging Nina and Susan.....back to Matters of the Heart next week!!!

Matters of the Heart I-Self

As all of the holiday ado is done, resolutions have been made, and folks get back on their daily grind, I decided to stop for a moment and think...how do I begin my New Year? Do resolve to budget better...to take on a hobby...to be less busy...to curse less...to exercise more...to diet? I mean, that's what most people do right? When I woke up yesterday, I thought about it a bit...and then I called my good friend T---that's when the dust settled. I will begin this New Year dealing with Matters of the Heart.

I moved to Kentucky 2 years, 3 months, and 1 day ago. As I reflect upon my life during that period, I realize that although gradual, a sort of transformation has, and is taking place. I'm not the person I used to be. Given the chain of events in the past couple of months, I had to stop and ask myself..."How would Tera a year ago have handled it? Tera 2 years ago?" It was then that I realized that I am not the same, negative, impulsive, aggressive, chronic complaining, and sometimes nasty person that I once used to be. Now don't get me wrong, I am a good person by nature, and there are dozens of people in my social circle who can attest to that. It's just that there were times in my life and certain events (many of you have read about and/know about quite a few) which required me to build a wall and pour concrete around my heart.

I know it is a process, but it was 2 years, 3 months, and 1 day ago that I began to chisel away.

Today, I know that I am a better person...I feel like a better person. Self is a matter of continuous improvement, and I am sure that my esteem (which had at one point hit an all-time low) will improve tremendously as I deal with this particular matter of the heart---Self.

In comments, your thoughts? Your New Year's Resolutions?

W and D At It Again!

NoR's last comment in my post was "Bah Humbug..." my sentiments exactly. Christmas is Tuesday, and on top of having to buy a new car, I am going to have a big fat doctor bill to pay! Let me elaborate...

I am getting out of the shower last Friday, and I hear a God awful scream coming from W's room. I scurry in (half naked of course), to see blood erupting profusely from W's head! You see the boys decided to fight over a Pokemon card album. W punched D, so D decided to hurl a Nerf Blaster (which is almost as big as he is by the way) at W's noggin. After sending W to the restroom (hey, I have cream colored carpet!) and wailing D's ass (if you are an employee of Child Protective Services, please ignore the last comment), I made haste to see how bad it was. Blood always flows from the head in abundance it couldn't be that bad right? WRONG!

When we got to Immediate Care and got him cleaned up, there was a HUGE hole in his head! They used a 2 1/2 inch needle to numb him for stitches...he was screaming, I was hysterical, and crying (I excused myself for a moment...especially since I'd just asked him to be brave), and D was in utter fear of what might happen to him as there would surely be a consequence.

I made him watch every moment of the shots, the 5 stitches...the whole 9 yards. I'm sure he's traumatized, but hey...he has to realize that there are consequences for such bad choices in life.

So there you have it! I was going to get into the story about D asking me what a "virgin" is this weekend, but this is getting too damned long...That'll be in my next post.

In comments...who's gonna start the pool betting on what my next tragedy will be?

Woo-Woo's Meme By Way of NoR!

NoR stays on me like white on rice when it comes to posting. She goes above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that I am still alive, breathing, and kicking. I guess too much time has lapsed between posts, so she has decided to tag me. My trip down memory lane was very nice and brought a smile to my face today, so I accept my tag with pride and hope that you all enjoy as well!

Link 1 is a little bit of FAMILY: More Afraid Now Than Ever
Link 2 is a little bit of FRIEND: A Blog Post on Blogs
Link 3 is a little bit of YOURSELF: Calming Nerves and Relieving Tension
Link 4 should be YOUR LOVE: Alas!!! The Boys at P&P!
Link 5 can be ANYTHING YOU LIKE: 10 Little Known Facts

*** INSTRUCTIONS: ***

1. Post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. The posts have to relate to the 5 key words given below.

2. Tag 5 other friends to do this meme. Try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know them each a little bit better.

I Tag...Shit! Half my frapping blog-roll has gone off to Neverland! Hopefully you 5 take the challege...no pressure!

Nina (Just shut up and do it!)
Belle (It may prove to be quite therapeutic)
Susan (How could I exclude my sister from another mother?)
Cyber D (You are winning my heart over slowly with Gyuss in a close second-where in the hell is Dagromm???)
Kofi (I hope you partake-you always have such interesting posts)

3. Don’t forget to read the archived posts and leave comments.