2025 1st Quarter Recap

Posted on

01/25 (Sat) – We attended a LEGO train show at the arboretum.

01/27 (Mon) – Deactivated/deleted all my X accounts because F you know who.

01/31 (Fri) – Decided The Pink Stuff is a scam. I’ve owned it for years and I’ve yet to find a single thing it can clean better than the other products I own. In fact, it barely cleans at all. If someone knows what I can use this stuff for, please let me know, because it was a waste of money as far as I’m concerned.

Got a photo of the Rock Dove (aka city pigeon) that started showing up recently. We decided to name him Vinny (and as time would go on, he invited his friends and we’d have up to 8 of them at a time under the feeder).

02/01 (Sat) – Finally found a use for my E.T. TV tray from the 80s – to hold my Sonic order while I eat in the car.

The Philly Cheesesteak at Sonic is pretty good, by the way.

02/02 (Sun) – Put out a new welcome mat. I realized I didn’t have any for that time period between Christmas and spring, and this one suits my sentiments exactly.

02/04 (Tue) – Loving these pretzel twists from Trader Joe’s. Not quite the same as the ones Sonic sells, but still quite good when made in the air fryer.

02/14 (Fri) – Celebrated Valentine’s Day like the romantic couple we are by getting Mexican takeout (ironically from the same place as last year) and finishing the Dexter prequel, Original Sin.

02/15 (Sat) – Went to an ice hockey game at an arena close to home. A longtime friend and her sister are on a team that was playing an exhibition game that night. Joe and I sat by her husband (who happens to also be my ex from the mid-90s haha), his friend, and their two kids. It was nice getting out of the house for an event even though I hate going out at night. It’s also really cold inside the arena so I was so happy to get home and under the covers with my heating pad to warm up my cold feet! It was nice seeing everyone, though. I met my friend, her hubby, and her sister in the 90s on a BBS; and while the friend and her hubby have been to our house for a game night, I hadn’t seen the sister in decades.

02/16 (Sun) – Had to contact Discover to get a new account because someone got ahold of the card # and was making fraudulent charges labeled as Apple.com

02/21 (Fri) – Migraine City! That is what this month has felt like as I’ve had one every week. Typically I get at most two in a month so this is concerning. Not sure if it’s due to tight muscles in my neck, dry eyes, or hormones, but it’s annoying nonetheless especially because over the counter headache medicine isn’t making it go away like in the past, so they last two days.

02/24 (Mon) – Had my longtime ComEd electric account hijacked because someone can’t do their job correctly. Apparently someone in the same town called to put electric in their name and somehow ComEd wasn’t listening properly and changed my account instead of the correct address that has the same number but a totally different street name (that doesn’t even sound like ours so how they made the error I’ll never know). They couldn’t reinstate my old account so I had to get a whole new account # too. So annoying!

02/25 (Tue) – Received my new Discover card and had to go through all my auto-pay accounts to update the payment information. At least it was relatively warm outside (60 degrees) so I could open the windows and listen to the birds.

02/26 (Wed) – Had to contact Amazon a second time about getting a refund for a gift I returned over a month prior. When I spoke to them the day before they assured me they would process the refund, which they did, but they shorted me $4.42 for some reason, so I had to get them to fix the error. They acted like they were doing me a favor which infuriates me. I returned the item. I got confirmation I returned the item. The confirmation also listed what was paid for said item. So why didn’t they refund the full amount in the first place?

02/28 (Fri) – Tried to get Paczki from a local bakery called Hannah’s that everyone on Facebook was raving about, only to arrive and find they had two flavors available and wouldn’t have any others until later. Call me crazy, but as a bakery shouldn’t you have all items available upon opening? We left empty-handed because I didn’t want to give them our business. We got some Paczki from Caputo’s for $2 each and were labeled as also being from a local bakery but they were quite dry and I didn’t care for them.

03/02 (Sun) – Tried a Burger King iced coffee for the first time and wow, it was not good. I asked for a plain iced coffee but I swear it tasted subtly like mocha to me. In any case, for almost $3 I’d rather get an iced coffee from McDonald’s; it tastes much better and is only $1 via the app deals.

Although now that I’ve found the perfect products, I’d rather just make iced coffee at home.

03/03 (Mon) – Had a new hot water installed. You can read about that debacle here.

03/15 (Sat) – Visited my parents for the first time in nearly a year. It was actually a pleasant experience without Brother #2 there (which is why we chose a non-holiday timeframe). We worked on everyone’s computer (what else is new haha), got some food from the local Burger King (the location of my first job in the 90s), enjoyed some of my mom’s food as well, and played a game called What’s Your Like?

03/17 (Mon) – Made corned beef and cabbage in the crockpot for St. Patrick’s Day. We splurged this year by getting Vienna from Woodman’s which was $27.79 but it was the most tender cut of meat with almost no fatty pieces.

It was a bit on the saltier, side, though, so if we get it again next year I might rinse off some of the spices (the meat was marinated in it instead of having a spice packet).

03/21 (Fri) – What the hell happened to McDonald’s Shamrock shakes? They are awful now! We usually get one every year, but missed out last year, so I’m not sure when they changed the formula but I will not ever get one again – it tasted medicinal.

03/24 (Mon) – Learned our association hired a new landscaping company. I really hope they actually stick to a schedule and not show up on random days multiple times a week making noise with their leaf blowers like the last company.

03/29 (Sat) – Joe’s son, E, and his girlfriend, A, paid us an early afternoon visit. I made chicken salad sandwiches for lunch which they really seemed to like. So much so, A wanted the recipe (apparently neither one had ever had chicken salad before).

03/30 (Sun) – Paid a visit to West Branch Forest Preserve to get some fresh air where I was finally able to photograph a Brown Creeper!

We timed our visit perfectly – it had rained in the early morning and started to drizzle as we made our way back to the car. We stopped and picked up Bibibop on our way home.

The next morning someone posted about a loose dog they saw about four miles from the preserve. The dog looked a lot like the dog we saw that afternoon. The lady with it didn’t have a leash on the dog, so now I’m wondering if it just got ahead of her and lost, or something happened to her. I had been tempted at the time to tell this lady to leash her dog, but I don’t think it would have made a difference.

Notable series this quarter:

Shrinking (Apple TV) – We finished season two which I thought was even better than the first season. We binged it hardcode during Apple’s free preview weekend.

Dexter: Original Sin (Showtime)

I wasn’t expecting to like this prequel but Patrick Gibson really picked up on Dexter’s mannerisms beautifully. The actors playing a young LaGuerta, Batista, and Masuka looked a lot like their older counterparts as well. We were hooked and had to stop ourselves from binging it too quickly. Once we were finished we were inspired to watch the original Dexter series which we fell in love with all over again. There was so much we had completely forgotten in the two decades since the series originally aired. And while seasons 5-8 weren’t as good as 1-4, overall it’s still an 8/10 for me.

Hot Water Heater Installation

Posted on

We had our water heater replaced yesterday. Unlike last time, we planned it. While it hadn’t failed, it was 14 years old, so it was just a matter of time. We chose ABT since they have good prices and employees. And while I liked our installers (D and R), once again I’m reminded why I get so anxious about such events.

Things started off poorly when I was informed by the head guy, D, that the wall cabinet had to come down for them to do the work. I was rather dumbfounded, because that wall cabinet was there in 2007 when the last water heater was installed and I don’t think the plumber touched it, and he was working by himself! Now, I could be wrong, but if he did, he certainly treated it better than these guys did (more on that in a bit).

Shortly thereafter, I was also informed that due to the existence of a check valve on the line, ABT was required by code to install a thermal expansion tank (I believe the check valve was installed a few years ago when the village put in a smart water meter). However, ABT didn’t have one with them and would have to come back to install that part at a later date for cost ($50). When I told Joe, he asked if he could swing by Home Depot to buy one and have them install it and they said yes and showed us what to get (which just so happened to be what Joe was looking at). Within a half hour he dropped it off (one of the perks of working so close to home). We saved $20, but more importantly, having to empty the laundry room a second time (although I confirmed the cabinet would be able to stay put on the second visit).

After the old heater was removed, the head guy asked if I wanted to clean the area so I used the Shark handheld to get rid of 14 years of cobwebs and dirt. The water was off by then so I couldn’t mop the area, but I did have a spray bottle of just water that I used to wet some paper towels and do a quick wipe of the floor. It was by no means perfect, but you can’t really see anything back there once the new heater is in place anyway.

As for the cabinet, I did not realize that the way Joe put it up originally, using something called Molly Bolts, hindered the guys’ ability to reinstall it the same way because they didn’t say anything to me. Apparently, once disconnected, the bolts fall into the wall so you have to use new ones. I’m guessing either they didn’t have any, didn’t want to do it that way, or felt it would be better to use screws into the studs. Regardless, I wish they would have at least ASKED me! Because I would have told them to leave it alone and Joe could have put it back up later. Now it sits a bit to the right and higher than before. I’m short enough, so I don’t like that. Not to mention the wall looks bad around it, and they left a misplaced screw in the wall which also looks bad. Oh and the bins I had sitting on top of the cabinet barely fit and scrape the ceiling. UGH!

In addition, the linoleum tile was scratched to shit in some places and one tile in particular has a very dull spot on it now. Whether Joe did that when moving the washer and dryer, or the installers did, I’m not certain, but this is why I hate having work done. It’s like no one is careful with the surrounding finishes! I’ve made notes for any future work in that room since people cannot be trusted to be careful in other people’s homes.

Oh, and the new water heater is louder that the old one because of course it is. All appliances seem to be louder these days because they’re made with cheaper parts and less insulation to equal more profit for companies and less contentment for consumers.

My Birthday

Posted on

I’ve always disliked my birthday due to how cold it is outside and this year was no exception. There’s so much pressure to do something special to celebrate but the options are scarce because I can’t do what I would like the most – spend time in nature – and I also don’t want to gather somewhere indoors and risk catching something. I’ve gone five years without catching COVID, or any illness, in fact, and I’d like to keep it that way. What I went through in 2019 will forever be imprinted in my mind, and I suspect it was triggered by a virus, so I’d rather avoid all the viruses as much as possible and not risk becoming chronically ill.

Needless to say, we didn’t do anything special this year other than grab some birthday freebies from various fast food places. I’ve noticed over the years that most places have gotten stingier. Beef Shack gives you a $5 off coupon as if they don’t send those out regularly. Starbucks is still giving a free drink of any type and size, but only on your actual birthday. I keep bamboozling myself by trying one of their coffee drinks and hating it every time, including the pistachio latte I tried this year. The only thing I truly like on their menu are the shaken green tea lemonades but I’m usually not in the mood for one when it’s freezing cold outside.

I told Joe I’d rather he just go into work next year since it was a wasted day off. Either that, or I want to be on vacation somewhere warm since I will be turning 50 and should probably celebrate that depressing milestone. It doesn’t even need to be exotic so long as it’s above 60 degrees. Maybe we’ll finally make it out to Arizona to close his parents’ safety deposit box.

In any case, much like Christmas, I felt depressed on my birthday and was happy when it was over.

Stupid parents for getting pregnant in March…

December Recap

Posted on

We both got our passports in December, although mine came over a week after Joe’s even though my application was submitted prior to his.

We also had to pay a $35 speeding ticket that was issued for the day we went to Lincoln Park Zoo in October. Apparently there are speed cameras all along Irving Park Rd. Now, Joe was in fact speeding, so I’m not angry about that. What I am angry about is they sent a warning a few days before sending a ticket for the same day. How is it a warning exactly if you’re still going to issue a ticket? Yes, they were for different locations, but all part of Irving Park Rd. If you’re trying to warn people about the strict speed limit on a particular road, shouldn’t they get a free pass for that entire day, thus getting enough time to actually receive said warning? Seems logical to me, but not to the city of Chicago, thus rendering the “warning” useless. I saw on Reddit where people were saying the whole speed trap near parks is a bunch of bullshit anyway because the city is loose on the definition of a park; it includes an empty lot that happens to have grass on it. In any case, we won’t be taking the “scenic” route home again. It not only takes longer with all the lights, but the traffic is pretty heavy, which makes being able to “speed” pretty hard to begin with (he was 6 mph over, which is the bare minimum for a ticket).

12/02 (Mon) – Put out the new Christmas welcome mat we snagged at Lowes in November.

12/04 (Wed) – Watched my Spotify Wrapped and wasn’t the least bit surprised that my top two artists – The Cure and Sofi Tukker – haven’t changed.

12/05 (Thu) – Put up the Christmas tree, and I mean that loosely because the lights and ornaments didn’t make it on the tree until 12/14.

12/07 (Sat) – My bestie’s birthday party. Always a fun time because her friends are fun to talk to, as is her brother, well usually. But for some reason he felt the need to go on what felt like a ten minute lecture about why he doesn’t like The Cure, because of Robert Smith’s voice in particular, after I mentioned they were my favorite band. It was rather uncomfortable, but K and I had a good laugh about it later because he truly didn’t mean to be offensive.

We had Shake Shack for lunch earlier in the day. It was our first visit to the relatively new location in our neighborhood, thanks to a “deal” through T-Mobile Tuesday, if you can call it that. Even with a free burger each, our total OOP was still $12 for two burgers, fries, and a lemonade. Regular price would have been nearly $30! Totally not worth it, either. None of the food was all that great, so I can’t see us ever going there again.

That morning I finally located the Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes ice cream at Dollar Tree of all places.

I had to reach out to the manufacturer, Hudsonville, to ask if they were being sold because they weren’t listed on their site, or on Walmart’s site, and they used to be a Walmart exclusive. They replied back with a list of stores which did not include Walmart. I’m glad, because I’m still boycotting Walmart. The last time we shopped there was in early June. If they don’t care to respond to my feedback about my poor experience in their store, then they don’t care if they lose me as a customer I guess. Although to be fair, I will probably buy more leggings from them at some point since so far I like their No Boundaries brand of leggings the best. But I’ve done my best to not buy anything else from them whereas we used to shop there at least once a month. Suck it, Walmart!

12/09 (Mon) – Won 100 stars via the Starbucks For a Year sweepstakes which was enough for a free handcrafted drink (which Joe used for a latte on 12/28).

Found the best cold brew coffee (which only our local grocery store, Woodman’s, carries) which pairs perfectly with Aldi’s peppermint iced mocha “coffee” which tastes more like flavored milk. It gave me just the right amount of peppermint without aggravating my acid reflux and I didn’t have to deal with Dunkin who can’t seem to make a good iced coffee these days if their lives depended on it.

Also learned there had been a Happy Endings podcast that was now on Spotify.

Very timely, as Joe and I just finished a re-watch of Happy Endings. Every time we watch it I’m so sad it was cancelled after only three seasons. Or more like two and a half since the first season was shorter than normal. They were truly ahead of their time. It’s no surprise that some of the writers on that show also wrote for my favorite show of all time, Brooklyn Nine Nine.

12/10 (Tue) – I’ve been searching for a green hoodie, so we went to Savers for the first time in probably a year. It was a total bust. We looked at clothing, as well as other items, and nothing was appealing. Painted Tree and Half Price Books were a bust as well.

The way they lock up the expensive vinyl records at HPB really bugs me.

See how narrow the slot is to flip through the records? Like they couldn’t have made that bigger but still small enough to stop anyone from pulling out a record. Plus they pack the box so full it’s difficult to even look at each record. I don’t bother with that box anymore because it’s too infuriating.

Tried some discount chicken strips (thanks to T-Mobile Tuesday) from Popeyes. They were pretty good, and easy to reheat in the air fryer. The breading on them reminds me of Long John Silvers, although the boneless wings (without sauce) taste even more like LJS’ chicken planks.

12/14 (Sat) – We decided to have a Polish feast for lunch, so we visited two different Polish delis to collect all the good things at each. I wish the deli closest to us had the best food, but unfortunately thus far the only thing they have that is better than the one further away is their stuffed cabbage. And truthfully, I think my own stuffed cabbage rivals both places. Too bad I’m so lazy about making it!

Finally finished the tree. Decided to switch things up this year with multicolor lights, a hodgepodge of ornaments, and the tree collar flipped opposite than usual.

12/18 (Wed) – I heard a rumor that Costco is switching to Coke products in their cafe. Guess I won’t be getting food from them anymore. I know I’m the minority, but I love Pepsi and it’s getting ridiculous how hard it is to come by a good fountain Pepsi these days. Culver’s had the best before they switched. Taco Bell’s is watered down garage. What a bummer.

12/19 (Thu) – Baked maraschino cherry chocolate chip cookies for the first time. While they didn’t come out looking anything like the recipe, they were quite tasty, so I will be making them again. In retrospect, I should have known something was off looking at the recipe photo.

Without red food coloring, there is no way to make the cookies that pink color. And there’s also no way with the amount of cherries called for to get such a large chunk of them in a cross-section. False advertising!

The recipe made 50 cookies, so I put some in the freezer along with the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I baked earlier in the month (in order to give some to my bestie for her birthday).

And this is what they actually looked like:

I think it’s safe to say looking at Nintendo’s year in review that I am not a console gamer.

I do enjoy playing the Nintendo Switch, so I’m not sure why I do it so infrequently. I play Disney’s Tsum Tsum game on my phone and iPad quite often, though. It’s too bad Apple doesn’t do a gaming year in review. I’d be really curious to see how much time I spend playing that game.

12/20 (Fri) – I quickly became addicted to these mini cranberry orange bisconies from Costco.

Although I think they should be called scuffins instead because they’re more like a cross between a scone and a muffin and not a biscotti and a scone like they claim. The funny thing is, I suggested we try them because Joe likes the cranberry orange Belvita biscuits, but I think I ended up liking them more than he did.

We decided to stay home on Christmas Eve this year instead of going to my parents. There were multiple reasons for this, not the least of which feeling depressed over Wookie’s absence, and getting anxious over the thought of being on the road during a time when people are more abt to drink and drive.

I made my famous three cheese grits casserole for breakfast and for early dinner we pulled leftover mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and cranberry sauce from the freezer (originally made at Thanksgiving) and added a 1.5 lb pre-sliced ham.

It was so good! Flavorful, not too fatty, and easy to heat up by the slice. I swear we’re just going to get one of them moving forward even if we have company in future years. It was plenty for several people.

Christmas Day was much of the same after we exchanged gifts, including watching multiple movies. I got Joe some grey sweatpants (IYKYK), a set of silicone tool trays, and a pour over coffee maker. He got me two bird shirts (which I’m going to exchange for a different fit), a bird calendar, and a set of 30 something buttons featuring The Cure.

After all the electronics spending recently (computer, TV, iPad) we decided not to go crazy on a present exchange this year.

Dinner was nearly identical to Christmas Eve except with the addition of green beans.

12/27 (Fri) – Got annoyed with Amazon’s subscribe and save which thought it made sense to double up on one of my items just because I kept pushing back the delivery. I assumed when I changed the delivery date it would be smart enough to know that was for a single item and not to send me two, but I guess it is more profitable if they pull that crap instead, right? Needless to say, I cancelled the subscribe and save on that as well as one other item that I probably don’t need on a strict schedule either.

Once my Paramount+ and Showtime discounted rate ends in February and we’re finished watching the latest Dexter prequel, whichever comes later, I am once again cancelling Amazon Prime. It’s $144 annually for what exactly? Free shipping you can get if your order is $35 or more even if you’re not a Prime member? Sure, you get Prime Video, but half the stuff in there is an extra rental fee and they now play commercials before a movie and multiple times during unless you pay them even more money. F that! There is nothing I need to watch that bad that I can justify paying them so much. We managed last year from March through November not having Prime and we can do it again. When I signed up it defaulted to the monthly subscription so I’m fairly certain we won’t be stuck with them a full year.

12/28 (Sat) – Found out I was one of the winners of the fall photography contest held by our birding club. The prize was bragging rights.

That afternoon we went to my bestie’s place to exchange Christmas gifts. I got her multiple items, but the funniest is she got me the complete series of Brooklyn Nine Nine on DVD, which I almost got for her, but I know she hates getting up to change discs, so I gave her a USB drive with the entire series on it instead, amongst other TV shows she likes. She should be able to watch them through her PS5.

12/29 (Sun) – Picked up some Christmas lights that were 50% off at Home Depot. We grabbed a few different style/lengths to try as a replacement for the ones we had around the patio door all year before I had the audacity to take them down in early December to put up multi-colored lights instead. When I put the previously flawlessly functioning lights back up, they wouldn’t turn on. We couldn’t find a loose bulb, and replacing the fuse did nothing. Such a bummer as they were the perfect length (approximately 25 feet). The replacement we ultimately chose to use (an incandescent set) are only 21 feet in length. I just didn’t care for the LED set (which was 28 feet long) because they seemed so bright even though they were a nice warm light. I cannot stand the pure white light LEDs that some people use.

I reached my reading goal this year with only two days to spare!

I always start the year out strong, even getting ahead of schedule, but once the weather warms up it goes downhill because I’d rather be out in nature or editing my photos. Next thing you know I’m behind on my reading and feel pressured to race through books to reach the goal I set. Therefore for 2025 I’m going to set a really low goal of 10 books so that I can enjoy reading when the mood strikes me without any self-induced pressure. I want to enjoy reading and not feel like it’s a chore.

12/30 (Mon) – Cleaned our seed bird feeder after hearing there’s an avian flu going around. It seems to be primarily affecting waterfowl, but the feeder needs regular cleaning anyway and it had been three weeks since I last did it. I don’t want my lovely birds getting sick!

12/31 (Tue) – Joe picked up a Mike’s Hot Honey pizza from Lou Malnati’s and we enjoyed a movie. Afterwards we flipped through some of the streaming services that were broadcasting live New Year’s Eve content, but it was all terribly boring, including Peacock’s year in review show hosted by Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson. The fireworks around the world broadcast was interesting for a short time, but overall it was lame. Joe was falling asleep on the couch by 9:30 and we moved upstairs where he went to bed while I surfed online and chatted with my brother until the fireworks died down around 12:30 am. And I wish nothing but stubbed toes every day in 2025 for the person who thought blowing off more fireworks at 1:15 am was a good idea.

Notable movies this month:

The Advent Calendar (2021) – Really enjoyed trying to guess where things were going in this Christmas horror movie.

Secret Santa (2018) – Yet another horror film centered around the holiday. This one turned brutal, but it was also quite engaging.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) – Most people are familiar with and have seen this movie before, and I thought I was one of them, but it turns out I only remember the very last part of the movie and don’t think I had ever seen the movie from start to finish. It’s quite good.

Carry-on (2024) – Were there are a lot of inaccuracies between airport operations and how planes work? Yes. Was it engaging regardless? Also yes. And honestly, isn’t that the ultimate goal of any movie, to be entertained? And I was.

Juror #2 (2024) – This one really made you think what you’d do in the main character’s situation. My biggest gripe was how they left the ending open to interpretation.

Ricky Stanicky (2024) – I’m really loving John Cena in comedic roles, and this movie was no exception. Sometimes a stupid fun comedy is just what you need.

They Came Together (2014) – I was recently listening to Max Greenfield on the Happy Endings podcast when he mentioned working with Jason Mantzoukas on a movie. I took to IMBD to track down the movie in question which was this. It seemed familiar, but also not, and had a lot of actors I like so I gave it a shot. It was a little more slapstick-y than I care for, but still entertaining enough. The most disappointing part was how normal Jason Mantzoukas’ character was in it. He truly shines when he plays an insane person.

iPad Saga

Posted on

I never thought purchasing an iPad would be so fraught with drama, but thanks to Costco I will never order another Apple product from their website again.

My 7 year old iPad Pro 10.5 from 2017 has seen better days. Operationally speaking, it’s still running fine, but there are bright spots appearing on the screen in multiple places and according to what I’ve read, indicate the screen is basically coming apart and will fail at some point. In addition, the battery inside is original which means it has to be charged daily just to have enough juice for me to watch YouTube while walking on the treadmill and play Tsum Tsum and browse Reddit in the evenings.

Much like with the reasoning for buying a new TV before our current one fully kicked the bucket, I decided now would be a good time to replace the iPad and save a little money. I was originally looking at the most recent iPad which was discounted to $500 from the original price of $600. Then Joe pointed out that the iPad 10.9 10th generation from 2022 was on sale at Costco for only $250. Considering what I use my iPad for, did I really need the latest and greatest for twice as much money? No.

They were offering the iPad in two colors – blue and silver. The blue was available in our local warehouse, but the silver was not. I looked into it, and unlike with iPhones, you can in fact see the color of the iPad even with a case on it, so I definitely wanted the silver one as it would look better with a purple case. I ordered it from Costco’s website with a promise I’d have it in a week.

Cue the nonsense… aka the timeline of how everything went down:

Ordered the iPad on 11/22 with an estimated delivery date of 11/29.

Chatted with Costco through their app on 11/30 when the iPad was still showing as scanned by the carrier with no further movement. Was told they’d escalate the issue and I’d hear back in 48 hours.

Called Costco on 12/02 when I did not in fact hear back in 48 hours. They claimed they were still working on the issue and someone could call me in 48 hours.

Called Costco again on 12/06 after not hearing back from them. Guy who answered was super rude and didn’t want to help, telling me the only thing he could do was issue a refund. When I pushed the issue, he said he could issue an exchange order. I asked him what that was, and he literally replied, “it’s an exchange order”. Like WTF? I said to him, “can you explain to me what an exchange order actually involves?” and then he finally explained that it marks the original order as not received and a new order is issued.

Costco called me on 12/07 and the very nice and helpful lady explained to me that they could not issue the exchange order until the silver iPad came back in stock. She said they could keep checking the status on their end, but I would have better results if I kept checking myself and called them as soon as it was back in stock. I wasn’t happy about having to monitor their website for them, but at least the woman was trying to help the best she could.

Called Costco 12/10 when I saw the silver iPad was back in stock and was told they would issue the exchange order right away. The woman I spoke to was quite friendly, but I should have been wary when she remarked “I cannot seem to do my job right today”.

Called Costco 12/13 when I still hadn’t received a new order number. The agent (Kendall) wanted to argue with me when I said I don’t understand why Costco is making this my problem. She wanted to know how they were making the issue my problem and I had to explain to her everything I had gone through up until that point and how I had to keep an eye on their site and call them to get anything to happen. She then agreed that they were in fact making this my problem.

She put me on hold to talk to someone else and came back claiming they were going to “push the exchange order through”, as if they were doing me a favor shipping me the item they already charged me for weeks prior. I think they screwed up and didn’t want to admit it.

One of the things the agent mentioned prior to putting me on hold was that Apple requires them to do certain things before issuing a replacement iPad. But that’s Costco’s issue and the carrier who supposedly picked it up but lost it, not the customer’s!

Furthermore, I could maybe understand that stance if the iPad had actually shipped and showed as having been delivered. Then it would make sense that Apple (and Costco) would not want to send a replacement before doing an investigation to make sure I wasn’t committing fraud, but everyone could see it either didn’t move from the warehouse at all, or the carrier picked it up but never scanned it into their system (which is what the agent who called me on 12/07 claimed). From my perspective, there was zero movement on the item because it showed a tracking number issued and nothing further. So given that information, they should have shipped out a replacement immediately instead of playing games and making me jump through hoops.

Luckily the next day I did actually get an email with a new order number and finally received my new iPad on 12/18.

Never again, Costco, never again!

—

When it came time to unbox and set up the new iPad, I ran into an issue.

I used a new to me method where I placed the old and new iPads next to one another to transfer data over which I thought was much easier than plugging it into my computer, loading iTunes, and having to choose between starting from scratch or restoring from backup (of which there was none as I guess I had never backed up my old iPad in iTunes, whoops).

A few days later I decided I really should back up the new iPad, but when I plugged it in and fired up iTunes, I was presented with this screen.

I was so confused. Did this mean I had no choice but to reset everything anyway? Or just never be able to back my iPad up? I was upset over the prospect. I cancelled out of the screen to see if iTunes would recognize the device since it was registered to my account, but it would not.

After some internet research, I learned choosing “set up as new iPad” simply allows iTunes to interact with it. The language on that screen is so misleading and they should fix it, or at the very least explain what it will do.

I was a bit anxious choosing that option, even though the internet assured me it would be fine, but they were correct, and I was then able to create a backup. Whew!

—

I would like to also point out it took some getting used to the new iPad because it’s thicker and the aspect ratio, coupled with the difference in border around all the edges, makes a lot of things appear larger on the screen.

Old iPad vs new iPad