rhia_starsong: (Default)
So, my family has finally finished joining the 21st century--Mom and I bought the iPhone 5s today.  I had a 3G once a long time ago, so not such a big deal (although after years of having nothing but a basic phone since, it sure is nice), but Mom has never had anything more complicated than a phone that dials and maybe takes pictures that she never figured out how to use.  So we'll see.

Buying the damn things was a big ordeal, though; they were only on sale at Best Buy; okay, fine, we also had a cashback thing through the credit card company for buying online if you go through their portal; nice, right?  Yeah, until you go to order.  First, it turns out you already have to have a plan from your phone carrier that works with smartphones before you can order, so we had to call Verizon and do that first.  Okay, fine.  We had some nice stuff from them, including waiving the activation and upgrade fees.  Neat.  So, you would think we're home free and can order the phones, right?  Not so much.  Best Buy's website tried to charge us the upgrade fee Verizon had already waived.  When we contacted Best Buy, they told us they couldn't change it.  So we'd have to buy in the store, thus missing out on the cash back.  So we called the card company to see if they would give it to us anyway, since it was hardly our fault Best Buy's website sucks.  No dice.  Mom and I had gone out to Best Buy at lunch, and it turns out we should have just bought them then, because the store didn't charge for anything but the phones themselves.  Go figure.  So I'll be setting up Mom's phone tomorrow, not that it will take much time.

Still, I'm very excited to finally get rid of the old flip phone.  We both got the space grey colour, so we'll have to get different cases to be able to tell them apart.

Since our president gave us today off (originally only tomorrow was a paid holiday) I had time to do this, as well as make a key lime pie this morning (yes, it was very good!) and other holiday stuff.

Hopefully all of you will have a wonderful winter/summer celebration of your choice (or have already done so), and we'll see you in the new year.
rhia_starsong: rule,britannia (britannia)
It's a good sign when they start giving you more work, right?  I'm kind of brain dead these days after working on SBA liquidation plans.  The trouble is, they're long and not all that complicated unless you haven't been working on that loan very long (at all).  So I'm taking loans that I have maybe a passing familiarity with and am trying to detail our plan to liquidate the assets left, how the borrowers got into the state they're in, etc.  Fascinating, but very time-consuming and filled with 'I have no idea if that's what they're looking for, but whatever' moments. 

Right now I'm working on one where the obligors haven't given us any financial information (P&L statements, balance sheets, nothing) since loan origination in 2006.  And of course, since they're tens of thousands of dollars behind on their loan and also in delinquent property taxes up to their eyes (the IRS actually froze their accounts at one point), they're no longer talking to us.  So I'm having to guesstimate whether these people have anything other than the houses they put up as collateral for us to bother with.  It doesn't look like it.

But.  I have done one of these and have another to follow.  That's good, right?  I sure hope so!

At home, we went and got our Christmas tree on Saturday last, and got it up and all the 10,000-plus lights on it on Sunday (around watching the too-exciting Panthers game!).  Nice, but then that night we discovered the tree stand had been leaking onto our carpet (it went right through the protective mat) all day.  So the tree was sitting in the middle of the living room the last few days, waiting for the carpet to dry.  Dad had to pick the thing up, lights and all, to get it out of the stand and into the new one.  I went out on Sunday night to Lowe's to get a new one at 7:30 and it was already below freezing!  I want hazard pay for this. ;)

Mom and Dad are headed out of town this weekend, which is why we were in a bit of a hurry to get the lights on, as it takes both me and Mom to do it.  But the tree is the only decoration we've managed to get up so far.  I think it's going to go a lot slower this year with me working.

How are you doing, dear flisters?  It's been raining here since last night; the kind of really cold soaking (hovering around freezing or just above all day) that makes it miserable out.  I nearly hydroplaned off the road on the way in this morning, but lived to tell about it.

rhia_starsong: (kitty!)
Well, here we all are, still alive; guess that'll put a temporary halt to those doomsdayers and save me from having to hear about stupid shit that doesn't make sense or matter--oh, wait, the news still reports on Congress.  Oh, well.

I had lunch and shopping with a friend yesterday; we had our customary Chinese from our favourite local place, and then did a little shopping in the rain.  It's turned cold (for here) now, though--the mountains might be getting some snow, I think.  Fortunately, I live about two hours south and east of the mountains, so it's just clear, windy, and cold here.

Happy Winter Solstice/Non-doomsday to all who celebrate such things!  It's hard to believe that there are only four days to Christmas.  We have a little bit of a light load under the tree this year, as we seem to have mostly given each other gifts during the year or bought things that the other person already knows about.  Although, Dad and I just decided to wrap a couple of those anyway, just to have more things under the tree.

I've been enjoying the holiday cards from friends and relatives.  It was funny, though; a couple weeks ago I got my first Christmas card of the season, and it was from the White House!  The cards, in case you haven't seen a picture of them, feature the First Dog, Bo, with a cute little scarf playing in the snow in front of the White House.  It's a really pretty painting.  The card will be going in the same envelope with the stuff I got from when my elementary school class wrote to the president back in the day.  I don't know what the other kids said in their letters, but I distinctly remember asking for a picture of Socks the cat.  I got both an autographed picture of President Clinton (ho-hum when you're that age) and an 'autographed' picture of Socks, which delighted me.  Of course, being nine, I didn't really know that they're signed by a robo-pen, but I still have them in the original envelope nearly twenty years later.  I'm still not sure how they managed to get a cat to agree to an ink-print of his paw, as just about every cat that's ever owned me would (rather justifiably, I think) claw you for that, but whatever.

In case I'm not in a posting mood in the next few days, I'll go ahead and wish all who celebrate a Merry Christmas and everyone a peaceful year to come.

rhia_starsong: (Default)
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, and to those who don't, peace and happiness. 

We've had a beautiful Christmas so far; it started yesterday with my Panthers beating the pants off the Buccaneers here at home.  It was the best they've played in at least two years.  And how about Cam Newton and all his record breaking?  Yes.

Then we caught the end of the original Miracle on 34th Street, the one with Natalie Wood.  I thought it was the one where the little girl proves the existence of Santa Claus to the court by taking a dollar bill and circling the words 'In God We Trust' to say that if the federal government believes in the intangible existence of God, why can't the state believe in Santa Claus?, but apparently that wasn't it.  Maybe the remake?  IDK. 

Today has been nice; we got up and did the presents and stockings, had our special Christmas morning breakfast, and now Mom and I are doing our team cooking thing where she cooks and I help/clean up along the way.  We've got Christmas music on because Dad's in the back yard in this duck blind he uses to hide from the songbirds and photograph them.  He's hoping our male Baltimore Oriole comes back while he's out there with his camera and a lens that's so big I called it Hubble and he decided Edwin was better (it's not; who thinks, 'Oh, Edwin, like Edwin Hubble'?  No one.).  So that's about it.  Hope everyone's having a good day.

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