Monthly Archives: November 2008
Out of the blue.
“I thought if you weren’t too busy at work this afternoon, you’d like to hear the roosters crowing in our yard.”
That’s not exactly what my mom said when I called panicked after seeing a missed call from my parents’ cell phone yesterday, but you get the picture.
It was awfully nice to get a phone call out of the blue. And I’m looking forward to seeing my parents in sixteen days.
(NOT my parents’ chickens, by the way.)
Find me.
It’s that point in NaBloPoMo where I must scramble to find material, especially with all my other writing responsibilities elsewhere. So, I bring you…recent search terms that led people to this blog.
“cats super bowl 2007″ – That’s an interesting concept, but we don’t have an even number of cats to make fair football teams.
“can cats be left alone overnight” – Of course, as long as a cat is healthy. Scoop out the litter box and fill up water and food before you leave. If we’re going to be gone longer than 48 hours, we have someone come in and take care of the cats’ needs.
“nude women in their thirties” – Um, no. You will not find any naked pictures of me here, thanks.
“cotton mouth causes” – Too much diet soda, high blood sugar, sinus issues
“metformin makes me constipated” – I WISH.
“notices for office kitchens smells” – What??? Well, I did commit an office offense this week according to some of my co-workers who told me that my crab cakes (homemade by Greg) were making the “whole place reek”.
World Diabetes Day.
World Diabetes Day, 2008.
Because more than 250 million people throughout the world live with some kind of diabetes. By 2025, this number could reach 380 million. And that statistic includes increased rates of both type 1 and type 2.
Because more than half a million children under 15 live with type 1 diabetes. That would be worldwide.
Because type 2 diabetes is beginning to affect children in both developed and developing countries, with cases reported as young as eight years old. Yes, I said type 2.
Because while those in developed countries have access to the latest and greatest treatments, there are still 75,000 children living with diabetes in developing countries who have minimal supplies and support.
Because it’s been 87 years since Banting and Best developed insulin.
Because the world should come together and say, no more of this. We should demand treatment and education for all. And we should all be able to dream and hope for a cure.
Tips for shopping on the internet.
Normally, I wouldn’t talk about the nitty-gritty details of my day job in my blog.
However, three things came to mind in the past few days:
- How do I fill my blog with 30 days worth of NaBloPoMo?
- The Christmas shopping season is now upon us. Yes, it’s true.
- Seeing too many people make a couple of common mistakes when ordering online with my employer.
So what are the common mistakes?
- Repeatedly trying to place an order when seeing that a credit or debit card has been declined by an online retailer. Just because a card is declined does not mean your credit card issuer or your bank hasn’t authorized the funds to be held. The retailer cannot do anything to release your funds – ultimately, that is up to your bank. Sometimes it is enough for me to tell a customer that there’s an authorization(s) and the bank will release funds. Sometimes I have to fill out paperwork with the bank in order for this to happen.
- The most common reasons for declined transactions are not a daily limit or limited funds. It is either an AVS mismatch, which means the billing address you entered does not match your statement address, or a card code mismatch, which means the 3- or 4-digit security code on the back of your card has been entered incorrectly. Again, your bank will hold funds for both of these types of declines.
So what should you do if your transaction isn’t approved by an online retailer? Call customer service. They may be able to find out what kind of decline your order is producing. If it’s a straight decline, call your credit card issuer or bank. If it’s a decline with authorization, some online retailers can still place a manual order. It saves everyone (including you!) a lot of time if you just make the call instead of repeatedly trying to place an order online.
Yes We Can!
Congratulations, Mr. President, on making history.
I am awfully proud to call Barack Obama my president-elect and look forward to January. So much has to be done to rescue this country from financial crisis and from a tarnished image throughout the world. It’s not only Mr. Obama’s job – it is that of all the men and women who serve in Congress as well, so I welcome all the improvements made in Colorado representation as well.
Hope is alive and kicking this morning. Change may come slow due to circumstance, but I truly believe it will be steady and sure under Mr. Obama’s leadership.
I am awfully proud of my country this morning. I haven’t had this feeling in what seems like forever.
