Surrounded By Devices

Could be worse!

I have never been a big proponent of all the devices and new technology that tends to dominate the lives of many. I have never gone out of my way to buy the biggest and best phone, computer, etc. Overall, there are a few things that I use on a daily basis (namely my work computer and my cell phone) and everything else doesn’t really matter. This is why I was so surprised when I looked around this weekend at all the devices that fill our apartment.

While I really only use my phone and computer, I also have a small stockpile of old laptops teetering on  shelf in the office closet and a few outdated mobile phones that my wife and I haven’t used in years. And that is just the beginning as between the two of us we also have several tablets, cameras, and other ancillary items that we used briefly at one point or another for work. For not buying a whole lot of technology we sure have a crap load of it floating around.

It just seems like these things have accumulated around us without us knowing about it. We each have 3 or 4 generations of computers, 2-3 cameras, 1 or 2 old phones, and three tablet between the two of us. Many of these items just kind of hung around and fell into disuse like the island of forgotten toys and most of them were remnants of previous employers and previous incarnations of our hobbies (i.e. game systems and cameras). I guess that is the down side of employers allowing me to keep my computer (and being a bit of a packrat).

Other items that are orbiting the clutter have been either free (Kindle, Nook) of really, really inexpensive (several laptops, Wii, no name tablet). Of course, all of this doesn’t include the random little pieces of antiquated hardware like portable CD players, old iPods, and portable dictionaries. Kind of makes you think about doing a little extra cleaning and getting all of this crap out of our living space. While none of the items are particularly large of taking up any significant room individually, when you add them all together it does take a toll on the limited space that we have in our apartment.

Never took notice of the latest devices but, over time, they just seem to accumulate. They all work, sometimes the old ones are preferred over the new ones, but are they worth the hassle of storage and the random times that we pick them up and use them? I guess I will just have to keep closer track of whether or not I pick them up and put them to work. If not, I will have to salvage what I can off of them (this is mostly regarding computers) and find the best way to get rid of them (possibly at long range). This could get interesting.

Easy There Gus Gus!

My post for the day is a simple dedication to my wife. While there are countless ways I could embarrass her with the words I chose to write below I am not going to do that. Contrary to the content of many of my previous blogs I am going to be very simple with my words and just write what I am feeling without blathering on and on and on like I just did. So here we go…

My wife, who better be reading this the day it gets posted, is having another birthday today. Seems like there are one of these days every year… we could get old really fast if we keep up this pace. So far we are sticking to the plan of growing older together and that is just fine with me.

I know that I can frequently be a major PITA but, for some reason, she sticks with me year after year. Maybe that just makes me interesting or eccentric. I doubt it. But there are times when I am completely serious, a time such as this when I say with all my heart, I love you!

While the last couple of birthdays have not been very good I am glad that I am able to make this year a little better. Not quite where I would like it to be but there is definitely progress being made. I hope that all subsequent birthdays continue to be sweeter or at least until we hit that tipping point when neither one of us knows how old we are or who we are for that matter.

I am incredibly proud of my wife who has pushed through many obstacles, beyond the ones that I have previously discussed, and has been determined to pursue the career that makes her happy (think of it as staying on the yellow brick road). The job that she looks forward to going to every day and that she is darn good at. I am immensely happy that has become a reality.

I am glad that we have spent the time together this year creating memories and seeing the world around up is a different way. There have been many changes this year but ones that needed to happen to bring us to this day and to bring us closer together. Our life seems to finally be getting back on track and that, I think, is the best gift that I could possibly give my wife on her birthday (I still tried using a coupon for it but it didn’t work).  

 

Happy Birthday Samantha! I love you!

Being A Cheap PITA Can Keep You Sane

Right now money is tight and I try and watch what we spend. Most of the time its easy while other times it can be hard. There are a couple of things that make it very easy to keep a firm grasp on every penny.

The schedule that I keep has me sleeping for much of the normal waking hours so it is a time that I don’t have to think about what needs to be picked up or purchased. All I think about is sleeping. It also delays the purchase of items to make sure they are really needed rather than a simple want or desire.

The other thing that makes it easy are the people that either call me (despite the fact that I know for certain that I am on the National Do Not Call Registry) or send me generic letters. Especially when they can’t even get my name right… if you want me to even listen to your request get my name right first. Also, when I answer the phone you better be ready to go because if you stutter you leave yourself open to me venting all my frustration and anger on you.

You may not even have done anything wrong, you may be a damn fine individual, but I’m going to let you have it. To me, telemarketers offer a great service to society… free therapy. If I have to deal with the BS system that your industry employs you are most certainly going to deal with mine.

This is not something that works for everyone but it works for me and I feel much better afterward and, in fact, I actually saved some money rather than having it cost me anything. Please also note that this works particularly well when you call them back (after they fail to leave a message of course), let them tell you why it was so important for them not to leave a message, and let it rip. Again, I am willing to put in a couple minutes of effort for a free stress release.

Now, on the other end of the spectrum, you can try to sell them something. I don’t care what it is or even if it’s real, just keep talking and don’t let them get in a word and sell, sell, sell. It’s a great feeling when you get a telemarketer to hang up on you and an even better one when you get them interested and let them know that “unfortunately, we just sold out. Can I call you back at a later time?”

In both my own experience and the tales told by many others I know that make these types of calls in a diverse cross section of industries, this is an old fashion sales method that is going to provoke these types of responses and those who do this for a living expect it and understand it. In fact, about 3/4 of the people with whom I spoke, prefer these types of calls because it keeps the person on the phone so that once they stumble in their retort it opens them up to be sold again. "It is all part of the game" is the common justification of the process and this is why they requested I write this post.

Personally, this process is it has kept my wallet close and my sanity closer. And I don’t even have to mention a do not call list to make the solicitations stop. Maybe this is why I was never a fit for the sales field… I enjoyed these types of calls and the back and forth fun that you can have with them. But, in the end, I enjoy being on the other side of the phone too much. Of course, it could simply be that I have a tendency to be a PITA.