Month: September 2005

Vacation Planning Blows

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I never thought planning a vacation would be so tiring, not to mention frustrating! I need to stop reading all the Disney-related sites and forums because I get conflicting information. Tuesdays are a bad day for this park, but Fridays are a good day for that park, and my head is going to explode because there aren’t enough days for me to pick the ideal one for each park. I doubt my grandparents did this kind of extensive research and I don’t remember not enjoying our vacations. Although as a kid waiting in line and navigating crowds don’t seem nearly as irritating than when you become an adult.

Even with cancelling our visit to Busch Gardens, I worry we’re not going to see as much as I’d like and the time will fly by too quickly. I’m really worried about being bored at night after the parks close. That seemed to happen a lot on previous vacations which is why we have Park Hopper tickets (since Epcot is open til 9 pm) and we’re bringing the PS2 and the laptop. I’d rather have too many options than hanging out in the hotel room flipping channels at 8 pm. One of the hotels we’re staying at has a 24-hour outdoor pool, so depending on the weather, that could be a nice time occupier.

I can’t believe how close the wedding is getting and I still don’t have an outfit picked out! I want something beachy like a long flowing skirt with a tank top, but I haven’t found anything I really like yet other than those two skirts I wrote about. Maybe the purple one with a white tank? I’m not a big fan of white clothing, but for the occasion it does seem appropriate (if you ignore my lack of innocence, heehee).

Talk about waiting until the last minute, right? I think I’ve decided to nix the bouquet since I don’t really have an aisle to walk up anyway. But I’m still not sure about hiring someone to do my hair or makeup. In the past I always felt overdone, so I might go the more natural route. On the other hand, if it’s possible for someone to work some magic and make me appear more attractive, then it would be worth the price. I am really dreading the photos; I’ve always been uncomfortable getting my picture taken because I think I look worse in photos than in person.

Fall TV Premieres

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Are you as excited as I am for the new season of your favorite shows to begin? Over the summer we got hooked on House M.D., so that’s definitely on our list along with Nanny 911 and the newest Fox show (that already started), Prison Break. I am a little iffy about Joey because it’s not nearly as funny as it could be, but I’d like to see where they are going with Joey and Alex hooking up. I was shocked and disappointed to see that Scrubs isn’t on the Fall preview, but relieved that it hasn’t been cancelled. My guess is it will return in January. I wonder if O’Grady and Home Movies have any plans for new seasons. Why do all the good cartoon series seem to go away before they’ve gotten boring? O’Grady is back on, but it’s only once a week and they are re-runs, and Home Movies completely disappeared from Adult Swim, yet they seem to be running endless repeats of Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

What shows are you looking forward to watching?

CategoriesTV

I love my library

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Canvas Library Bag Do you support your local library? I do. Well, kinda. Actually, I support the library of the neighboring town because I don’t like my town’s library. It is poorly designed, the selection is terrible, and they lost half the items I returned the first time I ever used them!

So I’ve been using the other library exclusively since last year. I’d consider myself a voracious reader as I visit the library at least once a week and read several books within a month.

One thing I like to do when I frequently use a library is purchase a canvas bag from them. I guess I could just use the bag I purchased from the library I previously used, but something about that seems wrong to me. Plus that money goes toward the library and I want them to do well so they will continue to have new books for me to check out.

When I think about all the books I’ve read in this year alone, I imagine it would equal hundreds of dollars had I purchased them. So $8 for a bag is nothing. This library in particular has an even better bag than the library in my old town because this bag is larger and it zips closed. I guess you could call me an organizational junkie, but I like this because I keep the library books on the bottom shelf of the table in our foyer and it looks neater with them hidden in the bag.

Rayovac Diffuser

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I almost forgot to mention the good customer service experience I had recently. It’s often easier to complain than to praise a company, so I want to give credit to Rayovac (also known as Remington) for their quick response to my issue. I mailed a letter to them in July regarding the diffuser on my hair dryer that kept falling off while I was using it, and less than a month later, I received a new diffuser in the mail. Granted, it did not fit my particular dryer (the circumference of where it snaps on is too small), but that means less to me than the fact that they cared enough to address my concern and make me a happy repeat customer (unlike Buy.com).

I’ve learned to live without the diffuser, so the hair dryer is still useful to me. Since there was nothing on the dryer to give me a unique identification other than what I already sent to the company, I didn’t want to waste their time sending back the part and letting them know it didn’t work. I’m hoping that when I buy a new hair dryer from them in the future the diffuser they sent will fit so I have a backup.

It just goes to show you that you can benefit if you contact a company about a problem with their product. I’ve had a DVD player, gym shoes, and a humidifier completely replaced by writing to the manufacturers. Granted, I would have liked if these things were fully functional to begin with, but instead of considering it a loss of my money, I made sure the company made it right. The worst a company can do is deny your request (like the evil Buy.com), so it’s worth it to give it a try.

Here’s the e-mail I sent in case you’re curious:

To Whom It May Concern,

I have used your Remington Vortex Ionic Hair Dryer exclusively for several years now, because I really like the diffuser (otherwise known as the jet cone in the use & care guide that came with the dryer) and have been unable to find one like it from another manufacturer.

However, I have a major issue with how the diffuser snaps onto the front of the dryer. Unfortunately, this piece is loosely fitted, and continues to fall off while I’m in the middle of styling my hair. I had to replace the last dryer I had because the piece fell off so many times that it cracked and wouldn’t stay on the front of the dryer anymore.

I’m now having this problem again on my current dryer. As there is nothing wrong with the actual dryer, and you do not offer replacement diffusers, I am extremely frustrated knowing that I might have to replace this perfectly good hair dryer for a new one just so I can have a diffuser that doesn’t fall on my foot and bounce off the floor while I’m in the middle of using it! I’m not sure who came up with this design, but they should have considered the fact that the diffuser loosely fits the dryer to begin with, so when it heats up, the plastic expands and contracts.

In any case, I am hoping you can help resolve my issue. Perhaps you can send me a replacement diffuser even though they are not for sale? I own a dryer that is listed under Models #V-2002. Enclosed is a copy of the front of my use & care guide for reference.

I look forward to your reply.

I thank you in advance,
Nicole [Last Name Here]