1. I took last Monday off for Passover/Easter thank you for your understanding.
2. I wrote a piece for Assay Journal about a non-fiction panel I attended. Click here to read.
3. I was interviewed for a Finance Blog, Golden Girl Finance, Click here to read.
4. I posted a blog post this morning but it somehow got dated April 1st, Click here to read.
5. I am just going through the copy edits for my new book, out in Oct and available for pre-order, Click here to order. It's been in the top 50 for motivational books all week (sitting at 42 right now) and it's not even out yet so we have high hopes.
Have a great day and hope to see you next Mon with new material that will be correctly dated (unlike this morning's April 1st piece). I thought April fool's day jokes were supposed to happen on April fools.
Monday 29 April 2019
Monday 15 April 2019
Not: A Tale of Three Ubers
1. I Am Not Gina
I walk out of the train station onto a busy street. I see my Uber in a black Camry.
I get in and he takes a left, and says Just to confirm, you're going to Northern Ave?
I'm like No, I'm going to - Shit. Did I put in the wrong -
Wait. He says. You are Gina?
(I am Not Gina.)
I burst out laughing, he chuckles politely and pulls over to the curb.
Thank you for not killing me! I shout as I grab my bag from the trunk.
2. I Am Not Learning My Lesson
Later that same night I walk out of the hotel and my Uber is waiting for me in a white GMC.
I get in the back seat.
Who are you looking for? I ask because now I'm getting smart.
Guy turns around.
I'm not an Uber he says.
Oh my g-d I'm so sorry. I got into some guy's car and he is not even an Uber driver.
I jump out faster than you can say Check the license plate next time.
3. I Am Not The Only Tim Horton's Fan
I check the license plate before I get in.
I was upgraded to a Lexus due to availability.
I tell Uber driver about myinability to correctly identify a moving vehicle misadventures.
You think you have problems he says.
This morning I picked up a girl from Texas who missed her flight home, couldn't find her friends, had no data plan, packed only summer clothes and was severely hung over.
(Oh man that does not sound good.)
What did you do with her?
I drove her around for about 20 minutes.
And then?
I let her use my phone.
And then?
She still couldn't find her friends.
So then?
I did the only thing I could think of
Which was?
I dropped her off at a Tim Horton's and wished her luck.
I walk out of the train station onto a busy street. I see my Uber in a black Camry.
I get in and he takes a left, and says Just to confirm, you're going to Northern Ave?
I'm like No, I'm going to - Shit. Did I put in the wrong -
Wait. He says. You are Gina?
(I am Not Gina.)
I burst out laughing, he chuckles politely and pulls over to the curb.
Thank you for not killing me! I shout as I grab my bag from the trunk.
2. I Am Not Learning My Lesson
Later that same night I walk out of the hotel and my Uber is waiting for me in a white GMC.
I get in the back seat.
Who are you looking for? I ask because now I'm getting smart.
Guy turns around.
I'm not an Uber he says.
Oh my g-d I'm so sorry. I got into some guy's car and he is not even an Uber driver.
I jump out faster than you can say Check the license plate next time.
3. I Am Not The Only Tim Horton's Fan
I check the license plate before I get in.
I was upgraded to a Lexus due to availability.
I tell Uber driver about my
You think you have problems he says.
This morning I picked up a girl from Texas who missed her flight home, couldn't find her friends, had no data plan, packed only summer clothes and was severely hung over.
(Oh man that does not sound good.)
What did you do with her?
I drove her around for about 20 minutes.
And then?
I let her use my phone.
And then?
She still couldn't find her friends.
So then?
I did the only thing I could think of
Which was?
I dropped her off at a Tim Horton's and wished her luck.
Monday 8 April 2019
We Try Harder
J rents a car at the airport.
Drives to meeting. Parks in empty lot. Has meeting. Walks through empty lot and gets back into car.
Drives back to airport and drops off car. Does not even stop for frozen custard which seems like a pity because when in Rome. Although in Rome it would probably be gelato or sticks of dripping fruit. But here, it's frozen custard. Which he doesn't stop for.
Gets call from rental agency.
Car has ding on left side near bumper.
Uh-huh.
And we blame you.
It wasn't me. I drove to meeting, parked in empty lot and drove back to airport. To be honest, I didn't even stop for frozen custard.
Well there is no note on the file that there was a ding on left side near bumper. It is not displayed on the pre-rental inspection sheet.
Uh-huh.
And we blame you. You owe us $1500.
It wasn't me. I will not be paying for damage I didn't do. I understand that this wasn't caught on pre-rental inspection. Guess someone screwed up. I didn't ding the car.
(Six months of emails, phone calls and repetitive conversations).
Hi, this is the Collections Department of the Car Rental. You owe $1500.
No I don't.
Yes. You rented car on such and such date. Car was returned. Ding was discovered on left side near bumper. It says here you didn't even stop for a frozen custard.
I understand all of that. However. I did not ding car and I will not be paying $1500.
But the car was returned with a ding. And you were the last person to drive it.
J has an idea. He says to Collections: How about if you check who had the car before me? Maybe their pre-rental inspection was more thorough and the ding was caught.
Good idea. Collections verifies pre-person's pre-rental and calls back. No luck. The ding did not appear on the previous person's rental. However, the record does show that they stopped for a cone of butter brickle.
J has another idea. Look. He says to Collections. I travel a lot for business. For the past 14 years I have exclusively used your car rental company. If you look in my past records, you will see that three years ago I was in an accident with your car and I took responsibility and paid what I owed. In this case I owe nothing.
In fact. Why don't you look up how much I have spent with your company? You will see what a loyal customer I am. You will see that I rent cars from you all the time. I go directly to my destination and then back to the airport. I am very straightforward. If you continue to harass me about this $1500 that I don't owe, I will never rent from you again.
Thirty minutes later, Collections calls back.
Hi Mr. J. It's Collections we have decided to waive the fee thank you for your business goodbye.
What J Thinks the Key Complaint Lesson Is
1. J thinks that the main point is that he changed the conversation. What was initially an argument over $1500 in damages that are probably paid for by Car Rental Insurance, became a conversation about $6000 or more in annual revenue generated by J's business travel.
What I Think the Key Complaint Lesson(s) Is (Are)
1. If you are a loyal customer, mention it during your negotiation it will give you leverage.
2. If you are really willing to stop doing business with the company, mention it during your negotiation, it will give you leverage.
3. J knew his limits and what he was willing to pay so he held strong during all the back and forth.
4. Sometimes if you refuse to pay an unfair charge, the issue will get escalated on their end until the person who calls you is authorized to negotiate or in this case waive the fee entirely.
5. Frozen custard while definitely worth the detour can be a distraction from the greater issues.
Drives to meeting. Parks in empty lot. Has meeting. Walks through empty lot and gets back into car.
Drives back to airport and drops off car. Does not even stop for frozen custard which seems like a pity because when in Rome. Although in Rome it would probably be gelato or sticks of dripping fruit. But here, it's frozen custard. Which he doesn't stop for.
Gets call from rental agency.
Car has ding on left side near bumper.
Uh-huh.
And we blame you.
It wasn't me. I drove to meeting, parked in empty lot and drove back to airport. To be honest, I didn't even stop for frozen custard.
Well there is no note on the file that there was a ding on left side near bumper. It is not displayed on the pre-rental inspection sheet.
Uh-huh.
And we blame you. You owe us $1500.
It wasn't me. I will not be paying for damage I didn't do. I understand that this wasn't caught on pre-rental inspection. Guess someone screwed up. I didn't ding the car.
(Six months of emails, phone calls and repetitive conversations).
Hi, this is the Collections Department of the Car Rental. You owe $1500.
No I don't.
Yes. You rented car on such and such date. Car was returned. Ding was discovered on left side near bumper. It says here you didn't even stop for a frozen custard.
I understand all of that. However. I did not ding car and I will not be paying $1500.
But the car was returned with a ding. And you were the last person to drive it.
J has an idea. He says to Collections: How about if you check who had the car before me? Maybe their pre-rental inspection was more thorough and the ding was caught.
Good idea. Collections verifies pre-person's pre-rental and calls back. No luck. The ding did not appear on the previous person's rental. However, the record does show that they stopped for a cone of butter brickle.
J has another idea. Look. He says to Collections. I travel a lot for business. For the past 14 years I have exclusively used your car rental company. If you look in my past records, you will see that three years ago I was in an accident with your car and I took responsibility and paid what I owed. In this case I owe nothing.
In fact. Why don't you look up how much I have spent with your company? You will see what a loyal customer I am. You will see that I rent cars from you all the time. I go directly to my destination and then back to the airport. I am very straightforward. If you continue to harass me about this $1500 that I don't owe, I will never rent from you again.
Thirty minutes later, Collections calls back.
Hi Mr. J. It's Collections we have decided to waive the fee thank you for your business goodbye.
What J Thinks the Key Complaint Lesson Is
1. J thinks that the main point is that he changed the conversation. What was initially an argument over $1500 in damages that are probably paid for by Car Rental Insurance, became a conversation about $6000 or more in annual revenue generated by J's business travel.
What I Think the Key Complaint Lesson(s) Is (Are)
1. If you are a loyal customer, mention it during your negotiation it will give you leverage.
2. If you are really willing to stop doing business with the company, mention it during your negotiation, it will give you leverage.
3. J knew his limits and what he was willing to pay so he held strong during all the back and forth.
4. Sometimes if you refuse to pay an unfair charge, the issue will get escalated on their end until the person who calls you is authorized to negotiate or in this case waive the fee entirely.
5. Frozen custard while definitely worth the detour can be a distraction from the greater issues.
Friday 5 April 2019
Books I Haven't Read Yet But Am Recommending Anyway
Books I Heard About at the Writing Conference I Just Went to, List Leans Non-Fiction, By Which I Mean All Non-Fiction Except One
The Lie: A Memoir of Two Marriages, Catfishing & Coming Out
Blood & Ivy: The 1849 Murder that Scandalized Harvard
Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer
Lost Girls
Kickflip Boys: A Memoir of Freedom, Rebellion, and the Chaos of Fatherhood (I heard this guy twice and then Instagrammed him like a fangirl because his book looks so amazing)
To the Bridge: A True Story of Motherhood and Murder (If you are like me and judge a book by it's cover, this is your moment, in other words, jaw-dropping cover)
Love and Trouble: A Midlife Reckoning
Fruit Geode (Poetry, but in a good way)
Bad Jews and Other Stories
First Impulse (True Crime in the Phillipines)
I'll be Gone by Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
Fact of a Body: A Murder and A Memoir (Embarrassed that I haven't read this yet, everyone keeps recommending it to me)
All the Agents and Saints: Dispatches from the US Borderlands
Jane: A Murder
Chernobyl The Incredible True Story of the World's Worst Nuclear Disaster
Leaving Tinkertown ( I could never read this because it's about Alzheimer's but the author was friendly and she hugged me.I'm sure it will be a good read)
The Possibility of Everything: A Memoir
The Lost Chapters: Finding Recovery and Renewal One Book at a Time
The Art of MIsdiagnosis: Surving my Mother's Suicide
Red Clocks: A Novel
Books That Were Mentioned In The Documentary I Watched On The Flight Home
The Sports Gene
Out of Our Minds: The Power of Being Creative
The Late Show (Mystery)
The Lie: A Memoir of Two Marriages, Catfishing & Coming Out
Blood & Ivy: The 1849 Murder that Scandalized Harvard
Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer
Lost Girls
Kickflip Boys: A Memoir of Freedom, Rebellion, and the Chaos of Fatherhood (I heard this guy twice and then Instagrammed him like a fangirl because his book looks so amazing)
To the Bridge: A True Story of Motherhood and Murder (If you are like me and judge a book by it's cover, this is your moment, in other words, jaw-dropping cover)
Love and Trouble: A Midlife Reckoning
Fruit Geode (Poetry, but in a good way)
Bad Jews and Other Stories
First Impulse (True Crime in the Phillipines)
I'll be Gone by Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
Fact of a Body: A Murder and A Memoir (Embarrassed that I haven't read this yet, everyone keeps recommending it to me)
All the Agents and Saints: Dispatches from the US Borderlands
Jane: A Murder
Chernobyl The Incredible True Story of the World's Worst Nuclear Disaster
Leaving Tinkertown ( I could never read this because it's about Alzheimer's but the author was friendly and she hugged me.I'm sure it will be a good read)
The Possibility of Everything: A Memoir
The Lost Chapters: Finding Recovery and Renewal One Book at a Time
The Art of MIsdiagnosis: Surving my Mother's Suicide
Red Clocks: A Novel
Books That Were Mentioned In The Documentary I Watched On The Flight Home
The Sports Gene
Out of Our Minds: The Power of Being Creative
The Late Show (Mystery)
Monday 1 April 2019
Issues on a Monday
I had a blog post prepared to go this morning including a zippy graphic
Accidentally pressed delete instead of post
Couldn't figure out how to get it back
Went in my browser history and found it (see, nothing really ever gets deleted from the internet, tell your kids/nephews/nieces/neighbors)
but couldn't get it to repost
Copied into blank document, copied back into blog
Doesn't look right
Read it over to make sure still like it
Hated it
Changed a bunch of things
Font still off, list not numbered, one section is gray
Then decided it's not the best story for today because:
1. It has nothing to do with April Fool's Day
2. It has nothing to do with the writing conference I just spent 72 hours at
3. It's generally on my nerves
At that point Husband called. I picked up breakfast and coffee for you, I will drop it off in five minutes.
Oh. Monday is looking up.
Why this story accurately reflects writing, and if you think about it, life:
Accidentally pressed delete instead of post
Couldn't figure out how to get it back
Went in my browser history and found it (see, nothing really ever gets deleted from the internet, tell your kids/nephews/nieces/neighbors)
but couldn't get it to repost
Copied into blank document, copied back into blog
Doesn't look right
Read it over to make sure still like it
Hated it
Changed a bunch of things
Font still off, list not numbered, one section is gray
Then decided it's not the best story for today because:
1. It has nothing to do with April Fool's Day
2. It has nothing to do with the writing conference I just spent 72 hours at
3. It's generally on my nerves
At that point Husband called. I picked up breakfast and coffee for you, I will drop it off in five minutes.
Oh. Monday is looking up.
Why this story accurately reflects writing, and if you think about it, life:
- Sometimes you plan something and it doesn't really work out
- Even if you tinker with it, sometimes it just doesn't feel right
- You probably should listen to your gut
- It's ok to lean on loved ones for support (and breakfast)
- An act of kindness can change someone's whole outlook
- There a few problems a fresh cup of coffee can't solve
Don't Judge A
Party at our place and kids are welcome to invite a few friends.
Several guests show up ages 14-16.
No one appears outwardly sketchy but then again I hung out at the Thunderdome summer of 87.
Um I find that one girl kinda a bit um, well, she is wearing a full backpack in the house.
Are you sure it's not a purse.
Yeah I'm sure. She's also carrying a purse. That is definitely a matching backpack and it is not coming off.
Chips, soda, pizza, veg platter.
Backpack still on.
Possible theories:
1. She is smuggling diamonds and signed a blood oath with the big boss not to let the backpack out of her sight.
2. There is alcohol stashed in the backpack and she doesn't want the adults to see it and take it away.
3. There is alcohol stashed in the backpack and she doesn't wantthe adults anyone else to drink it.
4. There are drugs stashed in the backpack and she's afraid that one of our dogs has a powerful snout. (We don't have dogs so this might be the least likely theory.)
2. There is alcohol stashed in the backpack and she doesn't want the adults to see it and take it away.
3. There is alcohol stashed in the backpack and she doesn't want
4. There are drugs stashed in the backpack and she's afraid that one of our dogs has a powerful snout. (We don't have dogs so this might be the least likely theory.)
Ice cream, cake, fruit skewers served.
Backpack still on.
Do you think we should say something?
Like what. I tried Can I Take Your Coat and it didn't work. Neither did Take Your Backpack Off and Stay Awhile.
Blah blah blah with other guests and notice crowd is gathering around Backpack girl on the staircase.
Slowly back up to where I can fully spycasually see what's up.
She is unzipping the backpack.
Other kids are leaning in.
Is that a diamond glinting in her hand? Was that the winning theory?
No.
The light is reflecting off the shiny gold wrapping paper.
What the?
Backpack is pulling wrapped gifts out of the, er, backpack and handing them to the other guests ages 14-16.
A snow globe.
Calendar.
Toblerone.
Huh. Guess things have changed since the Thunderdome.
Lessons Learned
1 Don't judge a book by its cover unless it's my book cover which I love so feel free to judge me by itand don't judge a Backpack when you don't know what's inside it.
2 On the other hand Backpack might have a false bottom to hide the diamonds.
3 Like I said, Don't Judge.
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