Here's a shocker...

A couple weeks ago I was informed by a friend and former co-worker that one of the partners I worked with in Los Angeles had been arrested. (Please read the article - it's the shocking part.) He was my company-assigned "mentor" and his ex-wife was my hairstylist. So, yeah, I knew this guy a little better than most employees know their supervisors. The day I read this article I was in complete shock and could not function for about an hour. After that hour I was able to do some work, but the shock carried on for a few days.

In other news... I'm going to see John Mayer live in concert tomorrow night! I was able to score floor seats without having to sell my soul. They were surprisingly affordable. I'm stoked! (Yeah, he can be an ass sometimes, but can't we all?)

Peace and love.
J

Corporate Bullies: An open letter to Bally Total Fitness

Hi, I'm back. I know, it's been a while. I did make the necklace for Marilyn and took a picture to post here, but I'm at work so I'll do another post from home so you all can see it.

Anyway... I'm attempting to cancel my gym membership because my new job has a workout room at the office that I can use for FREE! ... and I probably used my membership 40 times within the last 3.5 years. Worst and most expensive "investment" I've ever made. Probably comes out to $200 per visit. UGH. So, on top of me hating that they made me sign a 3-year contract that you can't get out of unless you DIE, I hate Bally because they are making it totally impossible for me to cancel my membership. Did I mention I hate them?!

And now, my open letter to Bally Total Fitness:

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To: Bally Total Fitness Member Services
P.O. Box 1090 Norwalk, CA 90651-1090

From: J

Date: December 2, 2009

RE: Cancellation of membership (#xxxxxx)

I need to cancel my membership (#xxxxx) to Bally Total Fitness as my new employer has a workout facility in our office that I may use at no charge. I am past my initial 3 year contract, and it is my understanding that I am now month-to-month. Therefore there should be no problem in cancelling my membership.

I attempted to cancel my membership both through the BTF website and by phone. I received NO response to my request via the website form. I called the number provided on the website, and was provided no option to cancel “just because”. The only options given are moving to an area with no club within 25 miles, medical reasons and “buyer’s remorse”. So after selecting both of those options (during two different phone calls), I waited through all the inapplicable info about mailing in letters to get to the part where I could select to speak to a customer service representative. Then I was informed that the wait to speak to someone was longer than 25 minutes, so I would be put in a queue. I found that to be quite ridiculous, so I hung up and called my local club. They informed me that I can only cancel my membership by calling the corporate office. I called the corporate number again, sat through the inapplicable messages again, and was then told by the automated system that the wait to speak to someone was more than 30 minutes, so the call was dropped. 5 minutes later I called back and received the same treatment – call dropped. So I submitted a second request through the BTF website. Then I attempted one more time a half hour later… same thing.

This is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable “customer service”. Like every other service provider, you should at least allow an option to request a cancellation through your website. A request that you should actually respond to and act on. And dropping the calls of people who call in to corporate is unbelievable – first you require that I call corporate to cancel my membership, and then you make it absolutely impossible to get through to someone at corporate. At least provide the option for callers to leave a message for customer service to return. But I imagine if I did finally get to speak with someone, I’d get stuck with a sales person who will give me a long spiel attempting to convince me to not cancel my membership despite the fact that I don’t want to hear it, and don’t need a membership any longer, AND have every right to cancel since my contract is up. I know how these things work… I have dealt with pushy sales people before. And I don’t want to deal with this now. My membership needs to be cancelled and it needs to be hassle free. And at this point, I will NEVER consider membership with Bally again due to your horrendous “customer service”.


********************************************************

I hope you all never have to deal with this crap, but we all know that's wishful thinking. Oooh, I should totally write a letter to the BBB too. They listen!

Peace & love.
J

I met my prince charming an @sshole

I found a coupon code for eHarmony which got me a 3-month subscription for only $29.99! This is a crazy good deal because the usual cost is $59.99 for ONE month!! I'm about 2 months into the subscription now, and I've only communicated with two guys. One guy I just started "open communication" with today. The other guy, the prince charming, named Todd initiated communication with me on Labor Day. I wasn't sure that I'd be attracted to him based on his pictures, but we emailed back and forth during that week and even talked on the phone one night for 2 hours! He was funny and we obviously had enough in common to have easy conversation for 2 hours. He asked me out for that Friday night. I accepted, and we went to the San Francisco Giants game.

I had fun, and he was nice and funny, but totally cheesy. Sometimes that's good, but sometimes it's annoying. And good Lord, it was TOTALLY obvious that he thought I was hot and he was like so lucky to be out with me. haha. Very odd for me because that never happens to me. When we first met at the train station, he came up and he was grinning from ear to ear and he was like, "It's nice to meet you." I was waiting to pay for my parking, so I said "it's nice to meet you too" then he repeated it. And after I paid, we walked away from the pay station and he said it AGAIN. and continued grinning like an idiot. And then I said, "You wanna say it again?" He knew I was joking cause we'd joked on the phone and via email.

Then on the train ride there were no open seats so we had to stand. He kept staring at me, smiling, and he continued to all night. It's nice he thought that I'm so gorgeous, but seriously, calm the frick down and stop staring at me. Oh, and I was 100% not attracted to him.

When we were walking to the stadium he told me that I look great, and then as we were walking up the stairs to our seats, he was walking behind me and said, "Yeah. You definitely look great" (as in he was checking out my ass). I was annoyed - definitely not cool for a first date. I'm looking for someone with a little more class. So I stepped into an aisle, turned around and said, "Excuse me?!" and motioned for him to walk ahead of me.

When we were sitting and watching the game, he kept trying to touch me... touched my knee a couple times when I was joking and said something stupid and then put his arm around me for a quick side hug when I realized in the 8th inning that BOTH teams (not just the Giants) were wearing red hats (in honor of 9/11).

On the train ride home we ended up in seats facing each other and he continued to stare at me. At one point I said, "What?" and said, "I'm just looking at you." Awkward! When we were parting ways he said, "So maybe I'll see you again soon?" and I said, "Maybe." and he was like, "Oh? Well, I guess if I ask right!"

But, I did have fun, so it wasn't a total loss.

I didn't hear from him that weekend, so I thought I'd gotten off easy. Nope... Wednesday night I got an email from him:

Subject: Hiya

From: Todd

To: Julie

Hi Julie,

I was left with the vibe that you weren't really into me (if I'm wrong, let me know) and since I haven't heard from you, I figure that was what was going on, but I wanted to thank you again for coming out to meet me. I did have a good time. :-)

~Todd

*********************************************

From: Julie

To: Todd

Hi Todd,

I did have a good time as well, but I did not feel any chemistry. Thank you for the fun evening! Best of luck to you in your search.

Julie

*********************************************

From: Todd

To: Julie

You're welcome. As a helpful hint, it's nice to show thanks on the date, or offer to pay something for the evening (especially if you didn't feel chemistry).

~T.

*********************************************

From: Julie

To: Todd

I'm sorry you didn't notice, but I did say thank you multiple times during the evening. And you didn't really allow me an opportunity to pay for anything as you paid for the game tickets and train tickets before I arrived, and then made the offer to get the food on your own. I'd be happy to send you money to cover my portion of the evening. Just let me know what your address is and how much it was.

And as long as we're offering helpful hints, try not to make your date uncomfortable by staring at her or making comments that she looks great while you're walking behind her (and obviously commenting on her ass).

*********************************************

Seriously?!?!? RUDE!!!

Here's hoping you are either in a relationship or don't have to encounter a loser like this in your dating adventures!

Peace and love.

J

WTF El Torito?

The scene: Last week. Happy hour at El Torito Grill & Bar.

My friend and I split part of the bill on our cards.

My share = $23.18.

His share = $26.

Amount charged to my card per my bank statement $49.18.

Amount charged to his card per his statement $0.

Looks like maybe his card was declined after the fact so they charged my card for his portion... wtf?! Is that allowed? What's weird is that his card was initially processed because the POS created a receipt for him to sign... and I know they didn't swipe my card twice because I only have one charge on my statement; not 2.

In the mean time, I'm waiting for El Torito to call me back. And my friend is cool about it. He said he’ll bring me cash tomorrow.

Peace & love.

J

Don't even get me started: Car Insurance

After yesterday's post, my dearest blog friend reminded me that she's an insurance agent, so I just had to type out all the gory details of my nightmarish experience to see if she had any advice. Now that I've typed it all out, I'll share it here so that you may learn from the mistakes.

*******************************************************************

My insurance is nearly $200/month for the following reason(s):
I got in a car accident in January 2008, I went to the chiropractor twice. I paid a total of $120 out of pocket for those 2 visits. My claim adjuster (with Unitrin Direct) asked if I had any medical expenses, so I told her that I had gone to the chiropractor. She said, "Send us a copy of the bill and we'll reimburse you." I said, "Are you sure? Will my premium go up because of this?" She said, "No." When I moved to San Jose I let them know of my new address, and they said that my rates were going up a little because the neighborhood was a worse one than where I lived in LA, which is a LOAD of crap.

Because of that little rate increase my dad suggested that I shop around to see if I could get a cheaper premium. (Here's where my dad gets some of the blame.) I didn't really want to because I liked Unitrin Direct. They handled my accident claim and a prior vandalism claim very well (except for not disclosing the truth about paying the chiropractic bills, which I go into below). I don't know WHY I went against my gut, but I did and I shopped for new insurance. I got a way lower rate (through my new insurance agent, which I'd never had before), so I moved over to Mercury insurance. I paid the down payment and then a couple weeks later, I get a notice that they didn't know I had a bodily injury accident, so they have to raise the premium. I told my insurance agent, so he went and found me a better deal at Allied Insurance, which I accepted and paid the down payment for, but sure enough I got a letter from them a few weeks later with the same story... I had a bodily injury accident. So I argued with EVERYONE that it was not a bodily injury, it was a chiropractor visit because I was sore. No one cared. Still an injury, they said.

My agent suggested I call Unitrin Direct and request subrogation - I pay them back the $120 they reimbursed me for the chiropractic visits, and they remove the "bodily injury" classification. Nope, the medical claims lady says, subrogation is not allowed in California. I said, "Why would my California-based insurance agent tell me to ask you about it if it's not allowed??" and she just replied, "The bodily injury is in the California state records. Even if I take the money back, you can never remove the fact that there was bodily injury reported in your claim."At this point I was BEYOND PISSED and I wrote to my agent:

James:

I'm sure you can understand that I am not happy right now. I left Unitrin Direct with a 6 month premium of $855 because you said you could get me a premium lower than that. I understand the problem with Mercury, but I was under the impression that you would have confirmed that issue would not arise again with Allied Insurance, but here I have gotten a letter from them saying that "effective inception the 1/12/08 accident has been added to the policy" and the premium increased from the quote of $782 to $1,106.

I called Unitrin Direct and they cannot reinstate my previous policy because it has been longer than 30 days. The premium they quoted me just now is $1,107.90 for six months, which is just $1 more than Allied. I spoke with two people and they both said there is absolutely nothing they can do; the quote cannot be adjusted. So now I'm screwed and either way, my insurance premium has increased and I'm paying an additional $500 a year. Not exactly what I was looking for when I went shopping for a new policy. What can you do to resolve this?

Julie


Apparently he couldn't do anything, and now I'm stuck with a six month premium of $1,106. Shit. And that is why I had an absolute fit on Tuesday when I had a fender bender. All I could see was dollar signs.

Moral of the story: if you like your insurance company and you've been with them for a couple years and your gut says "don't shop around", DON'T!!

What size do I wear again?

I'm pretty darn sure that women's clothing sizes have been shrinking. I know this for a fact because I have evidence of it in my closet. I have a suit jacket in my closet that I bought in 2001 when I interviewed for my first "corporate" job. The tag says that it's size 10, and it still fit last year. I have since gained a little weight (which is going away thanks to Weight Watchers), and it is too tight to button. It doesn't look horrible... I can still put it on; I just can't button it, but as it's from 2001, it's a little out of style, so I went in search of something more stylish and something that fits better. I found a suit jacket at JC Penney that I purchased. It's size 18. Are you kidding me?! According to my experience and the two jackets in my closet, today's size 18 is the approximate equivalent of a 2001 size 12.

I find this really, really bizarre considering that every other day there are stories on the news of the obesity epidemic. So people are getting bigger, but everything else is shrinking... clothes, airplane seats, (and I had other things in mind, but now I'm having a brain freeze). I just went to Lane Bryant to purchase some slacks there. I wear a 14, which is the smallest size they carry. They have since changed their sizing, so I wear a size 1 there! So in my closet I have a size 18 jacket and size 1 pants. Go figure.

Peace and love.
J

Harasser Update

I called the SJPD to file a police report and the officer said that I could fill out a form online or he could fax or mail a form for me to fill out and return. I opted to file the report online. Who knows if anything will happen. I may as well just change my phone number because I have a number with a different area code from where I live because I kept my phone number from college (on the Central Coast of California). My grandma has been asking if I'm going to change my number now that I've moved back to Nor Cal. I didn't plan to since it's the only number I use and I have it listed on my bills, credit cards, subscriptions, insurance, etc. But I guess it is inconvenient for all my friends and family to have to dial a long-distance number. My parents won't call me from their house; they always use their cell phones. It'll be an inconvience to change my number, but at least I won't be awakened at night by some pervert.

Also, it's weird, yes, but I'm not really grossed out by this guy and what he's doing. I'm just annoyed that he keeps calling and totally curious as to who it is. I blame our whacked culture for my desensitization. I guess I've seen Dateline's "To Catch a Predator" too many times. :(

J

Not happy

I've had enough! It's been 5 months now that I've been getting calls from a withheld number between 11pm and 12am. I have received a few around 2am, 3am, etc. Every time I answer I can hear a guy breathing. I usually hang up after saying hello a couple times. After a month or two, I started hitting ignore, but I'm not happy about that as my outgoing voicemail message contains my first and last name.

Tonight (just 15 minutes ago) I received another call. This time I decided to stay on the line until he hung up. I also wanted to make sure I was actually hearing breathing and not just repeated white noise. I was on the call for 3 minutes before he hung up. Conclusion: Pervert was masturbating. Um, yeah. I just called AT&T to see if they could figure out what the withheld number was and they told me that I need to file a police report for harassing calls and then the police department will subpoena my phone records. OR... the lady said I could change my cell phone number.

Effing LOVELY!

J

Quite possibly the most absurd thing ever

The client's office I'm working at this week has 4 very wide parking spaces in front labeled "Visitor". My co-worker and I have been parking in those spots all week because we are, after all, visitors. Today the accounting manager asked that we no longer park in the visitor spots.

Why?

Because the CEO parks his fancy-ass Mercedes (or BMW... I didn't pay attention) in a visitor spot and he doesn't want any cars parked next to his because he's afraid his precious little car will get scratched.

Wait. I'm sorry. WHAT?!

WTF?! Are you kidding me? Dude, my car probably cost 1/4 of what yours cost, but I don't want to scratch your car as much I as I don't want my car scratched. And it's not like the parking spots are narrow. I seriously parked at least 3 feet away from the car. Wow. Just wow.

I mean, how can you live your life like that? How could it be satisfying to buy such expensive things that you waste your time that they're going to be dinged? I can't imagine that he'd ever drive it anywhere other than to the office where he has a super wide spot directly in front of his office window so he can keep his eye on it. Ridiculous!!

/rant/

Property management did apartment inspections today at my complex because the Housing Authority is doing inspections next week. The property manager called me this afternoon and asked, "How many people live in your apartment?" Apparently the person who did the inspection thinks TWO people are living there. I said, "Just me. I have no idea what would give him the impression that two people live there. I don't even have anyone who could be living with me." Is it because my apartment is FULL? Is a single person not supposed to have as much stuff as i do? Is it because I have a queen size bed? Am I supposed to sleep on a twin even though I'm a 5'10" adult? No idea... I only have ONE toothbrush in the bathroom...

Yesterday when my property manager was taping letters to the doors alerting tenants that they'd be doing an inspection, she wrote on mine, "Please turn your porch light off when not in use." My porch light has a sensor on it so when it gets dark, it comes on. So I flip the switch in the morning so that it comes on in the evening and I can SEE to unlock my front door. and when it's foggy and dreary out, the damn light comes one before the sun sets, so i guess i have no choice, but to NOT turn my porch light on until AFTER i unlock the front door. I'm paying for the damn electricity. Why does she give a shit if the light is on??

I wrote her the following email this evening:

Hi [property manager],

I want to address your note about my porch light. I had been flipping the switch on in the mornings so that when it gets dark, the light will come on and the porch will be lit when I get home from work around 6 or 7. Unfortunately on days like yesterday when the sky is overcast and darker, the porch light comes on earlier than dusk. I would also prefer that the light be off during the day in order to conserve energy, but as there is no other light between my apt and apt 5 (like the one upstairs) it gets pretty dark in my little corner. Would it be possible to get the porch light on a timer or perhaps change it from a darkness sensor to a motion sensor that the porch is illuminated at night when I get home from work? I have no doubts that the complex is safe, but safety cannot be guaranteed and I don't want to take any risks walking into the dark porch area.

If you need to reach me or would like to discuss on the phone, I can be reached at xxx-xxx-xxxx.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Thank you!

Julie

Murphy's Law

Since I've finished studying (hopefully. I still haven't gotten my exam score yet) I've decided that I'm going to start being more creative, reading more, eat healthier, and go back to the gym. Today was finally the day that I decided to go back to the gym. I logged no more than 12 minutes on the elliptical machine when I got a sharp pain in my lower back and could no longer take deep breaths. yeah, wtf?! Believe me, I was going slowly in an effort to NOT hurt myself since I haven't worked out in months. Apparently my efforts weren't successful. I found some trainers and told them about my situation to see what their thoughts were. The front desk girl suggested that I was dehydrated and the trainer thought I'd either popped a rib out of place or pulled a muscle. He showed me some stretches to do, which I did, but they didn't make the pain go away completely. So, I got in 12 minutes of exercise. I think my body hates me.

Reality?

I am SO over all the stupid, new reality shows that are coming out. Television producers must be smoking some major crack these days. Celebrity Circus, Wipe Out, I Survived a Japanese Game Show. You have GOT to be kidding me. I will not watch any of these shows. I seriously cannot believe that new reality shows continue to be rolled out. I thought that it would be a phase, but apparently the American people are not yet tired of all the lame, unintellectual bullshit. Just one more thing to dumb the people down and keep them in front of the television. I wish it would all just go away.

J

An open letter to the people of Los Angeles

Haven't you seen the insurance commercial with the extremely rude guy getting pissed off at everyone and the narrator says, "You don't act like this in your everyday life; why act like this in your car?" Ummm... yeah, I'd say you have NOT seen the commercial.

A couple things:

1. The world is NOT ending! IT'S CALLED RAIN!! Contrary to popular belief, the rain does not cause your brain to fail. If you calm the frick down, you can drive the same way you usually do, just add some caution and be a tad bit slower. And when I say a tad bit slower, I really mean it; no need to slow to a quarter of your normal speed!
2. Yeah, that stick coming out the left side of your steering wheel is a blinker; a turn signal if you'd prefer. USE IT!!! My personal belief is that if you don't use it, you're an inconsiderate @$$hole who has no regard for other life forms. Appropriate times to use the signal would be when you're turning or want to switch lanes. If you don't use it, I have no warning that you're coming and I'm likely to hit you or get really pissed off! Also, it's kind of THE LAW to use it!!
3. If I turn my blinker on to signal that I'm coming into your lane, it is totally unacceptable for you to speed up and honk at me. The blinker serves as a polite notice to you that I'm coming, so don't be an inconsiderate @$$hole and express your anger via your horn.
4. And that brings me to your horn. The entire purpose is to let someone know if there is impending danger. This means that it should be used to warn someone that they are about to hit you or somethings else or about 20 seconds after a light changes green if the car in front of you has not started moving. It is NOT there so you can use it to express your unending anger, hatred, and frustration. We're ALL frustrated. We're in LA. and we're driving. This means:

• Do NOT honk at the car in front of you immediately after the light changes green. That one virtue? It's called patience!!
• Do NOT honk at the cars not going because there are cars in front of them - perhaps blocking the intersection. Yeah, people block the intersection. Laying on your mother-effing horn is not going to open up a portal in space in time that will miraculously cause those cars to move so you can get through the light.
• (But come on people, at least pay attention and try not to block the intersection - especially you double-long-accordion-extended buses; you @$$holes purposely block the intersection far too often.)
• Do NOT honk at someone who pulls forward a little to far past a stop sign - guess what... they're STOPPED... probably means that, surprise, they actually SEE you and are waiting for you to pass before they drive further!!

Moral of this long-ass gripe post: BE CONSIDERATE! Realize that we're all in the same situation, and we're all trying to get somewhere, and we're all frustrated.

WTF?

Ok, seriously!? I'm just gonna express a little frustration here... I am single. I have been single pretty much since the beginning of time. (Ok, maybe not the beginning of time, but the beginning of my life.) I'm feelin like I'm ready to end the forever-ness of my singledom. I'm surrounded by non-single people. People who are married. People who have been together for years and most likely will get married soon. People who have just met "the one" for them. People who are my age and having babies. The fact that my Grandparents ask, at every opportunity, whether I have a boyfriend and when on earth am I going to give them a great-grandchild?, makes me feel sometimes like something is wrong with me. This is absolutely absurd because I know full well that I am a great person, nothing is wrong with me, and despite the fact that I lack certain domestic skills, I will make some man very happy some day.

So anyway... Because all the fantastic men I know are already in relationships and my friends apparently don't know any single men, I may have signed up for a couple of websites that serve to connect the soul mates that may never have otherwise met if this fantastical thing called the internet didn't exist. Not havin so much luck with that. I have met a couple guys, spent some hours on the phone getting to know people, even gone on a date or two. I have yet to meet someone who qualifies for a fourth date. It's not that no one is interested in me, or my profile I should say, it's just that I seem to be attracting people who apparently have not read my profile. When I specifically indicate that I'm looking for someone between 24 and 32 who leaves within 50 miles of me and is preferably slightly taller than my jolly-green-giant-status self, it is NOT an invitation for 45-year-old 5'8" divorced fathers of FOUR kids living in GEORGIA to "wink" or "smile" or send me their profiles. Seriously?! WHAT in God's good name ever gave these men the slightest idea that I would be willing, at the age of 25, to move to Georgia and be a step-mother to 4 children!?!!!! It totally baffles me, and creeps me out completely. And I would expect that 45-year-olds would know how to spell, construct a sentence, etc, want to create a profile that appeals to women. I hate to be completely shallow, and I don't think this is completely shallow, but if I have taken the time to learn proper spelling, grammar, and syntax, please honor me with the same. Is that too much to ask?

Where, oh where art thou, my tall, dark, handsome, spelling-bee-winning prince charming?

Until you arrive on your shimmering, white horse,
Peace and love.
J

P.S. Grandma, lay off!! If I could go to a Super Target and pick of the man of my dreams, believe me, I WOULD!

My crazy life

Sometime in April I was told that come May I would be working on a confidential fraud engagement somewhere near San Diego. Here's the timeline...

End of April: I find out I'll be in SD May 7-11 and 14-18.
May 3: I hear they won't be ready on Monday, May 7. Plan to be there Tuesday instead.
May 7: I hear they won't be ready on Tuesday. Plan to be there Wednesday instead.
May 8: I hear they won't be ready Wednesday. Plan to be there Monday, May 14. (at this point, I decide I can go to the grocery store. I had no food since I thought I was leaving town for 2 weeks.)
May 13: I don't want to have to sit in traffic for 100 miles on Monday morning, so I choose to leave Sunday night. I drive down to SD, leaving West LA at 6pm. I arrive at the hotel at about 7:45.

I go to the front desk to check in, and the girl at the desk tells me, "Your reservation was changed to the 16th." (The Manager on our engagement was taking care of the reservations and paying for them all on her credit card as the hotel is ~$200/night.) I think, "hmmm, I checked my email yesterday, but not today. I would assume that if something changed since yesterday someone would have called me." I call my Manager to see what's going on, "Oh no!" she says. "You didn't get the email I sent you last week saying that we're having to push back our start date again?! I am SO sorry. I sent it to you Wednesday or Thursday. You didn't get it? The client's numbers aren't right, and at the earliest we'll find out on Tuesday IF and WHEN we can start our fieldwork. I'll definitely be calling you with schedule changes from here on out."

Yes, good idea.

So I turn around and drive back to West LA. and for some God awful reason there's traffic in Orange County and LA between 8 and 10 p.m. on a Sunday night. I get home at 10:30. Next time, I'm calling the manager before I pack my suitcase and drive 100 miles. and on top of all this madness, I'm taking my audit exam in a week and a half. 4.5 hours of potential study time wasted in So Cal traffic.

J

It's cold!!

I know we're having record lows all over the state, but is it really necessary for me to have to wear a scarf inside my apartment? It's cold! My gas wall heater broke some time between April and October, so the gas company gave me a red flag (back in Oct/Nov). When I reported this to my landlord he said that they'd rather not fix it and he gave me 2 space heaters to use for the duration of my lease.

I found out at Christmas that it's illegal for the landlord to refuse to fix it. According to California Health & Satety Code, an apartment is legally uninhabitable if the gas and heating facilities are not properly working. I wrote a letter to the landlord and mailed it earlier this week. He should have had it by yesterday, but of course I haven't heard from him regarding that or the email I sent on Tuesday.

The space heaters are OK. They do the job (to some degree), but I'm sure my electricity bill is going to be much higher than expected. For some odd reason I get billed by the LA Department of Water & Power (DWP) every two months. My last payment was Nov. 30, so I'm expecting a bill any day now... Today the space heaters are not doing that great of a job fighting off the cold. I'm wearing my sweats, socks, slippers, and a scarf and my hands are cold. Can't exactly wear gloves while using the computer and turning the pages of my CPA book. Let's hope my landlord takes action soon!

J

Bitter...

This morning things were going really well for me. I got to sleep in a little bit, my co-worker called and reminded me of a conference call at 8am that I totally would have missed because I thought it was at 10, and my apartment was much warmer than yesterday morning. THEN... I took the trash to the dumpster which is right next to my car port, where I found shattered glass everywhere. For some delusional reason I just thought, "Hmm, bummer. Wonder where that came from?" And then I looked up and saw my poor little Civic with no window and no stereo. I truly gasped in horror (and muttered a couple explitives - ooops, sorry.) Yes, my window was broken, my glove box and center console ransacked, and my stereo ripped from the dash. Yes, it was an after-market, and no, I had not removed the face plate because it's so darn finicky that it took 5 tries to get it back on once removed. I guess I'm partly to blame for it being stolen. Better to waste some time putting it back on than taking a day off work, paying my $100 deductible, and filing a claim with my insurance company. I sure hope my insurance premium doesn't go up...

My neighbor's BMW was also broken into, but he had moved it before I went to the carport. I just saw all the glass on the ground on his side of the parking area. I HATE, yes hate, people who steal!!! It's unbelievable. Anger and bitterness wells up in me when I think of the guy standing at my car, jamming his screw driver into my window, bending the metal frame of my door, breaking the plastic molding, scratching the paint and the plastic interior, covering the interior of my car in thousands of tiny shards of glass, and bending the plastic mount just to rip out my measley $160 stereo. Come to think of it, he did manage to find the remote control for it and take that too... I wish WISH that I could stumble upon this bastard out in some flea market selling my stereo and give him a piece of my mind.

On the other hand, I am thankful that he didn't take my CDs or my sunglasses, that he didn't cause more damage than he did, that my insurance is going to cover the loss, and that I was able to find a shop to replace my window TODAY. The insurance was trying to tell me they could set me up with an appointment tomorrow or next week. ?!?! I'm sorry, is my car not sitting, vulnerable out in the open with a broken window for the elements to damage and other thieves to take?

Merry Christmas.