[For previous blogs please visit “blog archive” to the lower left of this screen. Click on the small black arrows for a drop down list of all the blogs.]
Resolving customer service issues is designed by corporations to be convoluted and abhorrently difficult in order to make customers give up resulting in the loss of the customer’s money and/or the product or service.
Each Monday morning I select a blog topic for the following Sunday. I happened to notice the Toyota hearings were going to be televised so I pulled out the “customer service” blog I had started a few months ago.
First, this topic can turn one into a pile of mush in just a few moments. I read my notes about all of my horrendous customer service issues and wanted to just throw it away and write about flowers. Then I started listening to the hearing and actually felt like crying.
Second, not only do I have a long list of customer service and defective product problems but so many of my family members and friends have them that it’s a way of life for all of us. I worry about people who do not have what it takes to fight these battles. I have a friend who shares her tales with me and I with her and we have both been in customer service ourselves, which makes it worse for us when we encounter bad customer service. She recently fought a multi-month medical insurance coverage issue—she won.
Lastly, I don’t think a week goes by that I don’t have a problem or someone I know doesn’t have a problem. My daughter recently bought a Toyota PRIOR to the news of the issues now blasted in the news all over the world. She feels her heart race each time she heads down the freeway to work in her beautiful new car (so far it isn’t on “The List”. I have a Pontiac Vibe but it was made by Toyota in their Freemont plant. I was thrilled to learn it was made by Toyota initially. I love this car but now my heart has been going pitter pat too. So because products are frequently defective and customer service is horrible, not only do we suffer in the battles, but also the anticipation of what’s around the corner is a daily concern.
Resolving customer service issues is designed by corporations to be convoluted and abhorrently difficult in order to make customers give up resulting in the loss of the customer’s money and/or the product or service.
Not all problems are of the magnitude of death and destruction. I recently bought a bottle of mouthwash at Wal-Mart. It's Crest’s Pro-Health and it’s wonderful. I no longer have dental insurance so I’ve become a dental care fanatic. I brush and floss and rinse many times a day and it seems to be working. My gums seem to be in fantastic shape and my teeth are nice and shiny and cavity free. When I watch movies and people quickly pack a suitcase with all their possessions and run off to Timbuktu I’m always amazed. My dental care products alone would fill a small suitcase. What would I wear?
The bottle in question had a defective cap and every time I opened the cap it EXPLODED all over the place no matter how careful I was. So after a few days I stopped fighting it and found my receipt and when I next went to Wal-Mart I took it in. There was no problem exchanging it at all—except for the following conversation. (After standing in a very long line.)
CUSTOMER SERVICE: "Well, it looks like you have been using it."
ME: "No, but I’ve tried to. I've struggled with it each day and can't do that anymore."
CUSTOMER SERVICE: "But you were able to use it? There's almost half missing."
ME: "That's because every time I tried to open it it spilled all over myself and my bathroom. In fact, you probably notice that I smell minty fresh." (Mild chuckling from the long line.)
(During this conversation she was processing my request so I knew there wasn’t going to be an issue about an exchange but for some reason she thought I was trying to snag a new bottle and perhaps it’s policy to publically humiliate and scold customers if hanky-panky is suspected.)
Before handing me my money she took the bottle and told me I needed to learn how to open it because it would happen with the new bottle unless I opened it according to the instructions on the lid. She quickly added, “because you don’t want to make another trip here I’m sure.” I think I may have been getting a “senior moment” admonishment which I notice has been happening more and more lately when I try to work with customer service reps. So not only are we fighting the battle of bad products and services but we are being told it’s our fault because we’re old?
She explained how the cap worked and as she did it spilled all over her and her workspace and I think the computer and a small amount splashed on me. This cap was defective and more or less exploded when anyone tried to open it. I started laughing AS DID THE ENTIRE ROW OF PEOPLE BEHIND ME. Did she think I was lying about a stupid bottle of mouthwash? Would she have checked the battery acid levels if I had returned a defective battery? (Do they sell batteries?) She stopped conversing almost immediately and gave me cash back and the incident was over.
Most people would have thrown it away but I have decided to be an advocate for consumers and I refuse to be taken advantage of on any level. How many defective caps were made resulting in additional purchases of the mouthwash? [Note: I know if I wrote to Crest and explained this problem I would be given coupons for replacements. I’m just so tired of it I’m not going to. I have other battles pending.]
In the past three years I have purchased two printers and a third was given to me for Christmas. The first printer had months’ worth of problems and the company finally sent me a new one. I spent hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours on the phone and online with customer service. The replacement worked great, but then I had to buy a new computer because my Dell died and it wasn’t compatible with my new Mac so I gave the printer to my daughter. I then bought a compatible printer (all-in-one) and it stopped working after six months. I hardly used it but I did use all the features from time to time before it stopped working at all. It was still under warranty but the company would never respond to my emails or phone calls.
Finally, I went to the store where I bought it and they couldn’t help me because-----I didn’t purchase the STORE warranty. I told them that wasn’t necessary because it came with a one-year manufacturer’s warranty and that it wasn’t up yet. They said I had to go to the manufacturer. I explained I wasn’t getting any help from the manufacturer and could they contact the manufacturer for me, their customer. The answer was: No. Instead they suggested I buy a NEW printer and a store warranty. I told them what I felt they should do with their new printer, their store warranty, and their store, and left. It’s another store I’ll never be able to shop in. I have a long list of stores where I’m not welcome. This is the short version of what was roughly a multi-month daily effort on my part for resolution.
I could not spend more time on this issue and I had to have a printer so for the interim I went to a copy shop and had my printing done. This was fine but inconvenient. For Christmas my daughter bought me a much nicer printer with all the features I love. It stopped working after about a month. By this time I was desperate for a printer because we were in the middle of horrific rain storms and I didn’t fancy going to a copy store and I had a certain amount of work related projects I had put off that I had started when I got my gift.
I contacted customer service and broke into a sweat just waiting for the automated voice to finish the long line of choices I had available to me, the valued customer. After a few attempts I actually got to a customer service rep and she was very helpful but like most of them they presume we haven’t done a thing to try to get our item to work so I had to go through elaborate “tests” at her direction (which I had already done on my own via the instructions in the “help” menu). At the conclusion of the tests she told me they would replace the printer free of charge. I was stunned. Another replacement printer.
She then told me what I needed to do which was somewhat laborious but free so of course what could I do? They sent the new printer in a box that was then to be used for the return of the old printer. The return label was included and a multi-page document with instructions and places for me to write on and sign were included. I only had 7 days to get the old computer back to them. The new computer arrived on a Thursday evening so I spent two hours removing the old printer, installing the new printer, filling out the forms, and getting the package ready for FedEx. I HAD TO TAKE THE BOX TO FEDEX (a LARGE box) and because of the 7 days I had to go the next morning. They did not arrange for it to be picked up. I took the tracking receipt and did a daily check to make sure it got there in 7 days. Why?
BECAUSE THEY WOULD NOT GIVE ME A NEW PRINTER UNLESS I PUT A $200 DEPOSIT ON THE OLD PRINTER AND IF IT WASN’T IN THEIR HANDS BY THE 7TH DAY I WOULD FORFEIT MY DEPOSIT. It did make it on the 7th day but when I checked my bank my $200 was still gone. I called and guess what? I had to wait three days for the hold to be removed. When the original customer service rep asked for the deposit I happened to be online with my bank to see if I had enough money to cover it and I did. Good thing because she must have pushed a powerful button and I saw it disappear before my eyes. Yet, they could not put it back that easily. Three days. So far the new printer is working great but it’s only been a month.
During the conversations while the testing procedures were taking place there were long periods of lag time and we engaged in small talk. She asked about my weather and I asked where she was from. India. As we continued talking I explained this was the third printer that had a problem, not the same company as hers, but with a different computer (didn’t want them to blame the computer even though it had problems of its own). I asked, ever so sneakily, “Do you make these printers in India?” Her immediate response: “Oh, no, they are manufactured in China.” Then I had the distinct feeling someone hit her over the head with a hammer because from that point on her voice was weak and there was no more small talk.
I wish I could report that this was the end of it but of course I had considerable trouble getting my money back and it involved a conversation with a bank rep who insisted this incident did not occur the way I explained it. Also, the entire transaction after I received my money back disappeared from my online bank records. It’s as though it never took place. I have an email in to the bank telling them that they have no business removing ANY transactions from my account. I have not received a response.
Come back next week for Part 2 of 2. I’m not done with China. I have a big finish planned but my head hurts now.
Resolving customer service issues is designed by corporations to be convoluted and abhorrently difficult in order to make customers give up resulting in the loss of the customer’s money and/or the product or service.
http://www.sharonstrawhandgarner.com
[No part of this content may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.]
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
A Year Of Blogging (Part 1/1)
[For previous blogs please visit “blog archive” to the lower left of this screen. Click on the small black arrows for a drop down list of all the blogs.]
Last weekend was my 52nd blog posting. A Year Of Blogging. (Doesn’t have the same ring as A Year In Provence.) One blog was a greeting card wishing everyone a Happy New Year so technically today’s posting is my true 52nd blog. Over the course of this past year many people have asked how I come up with topics and what will I do when I run out of things to write about. How funny.
When I first started several people said I should do a monthly blog because I’d burn out and I’d run out of topics. I could write a blog every day. First, topics are limitless. Anything the brain can think of can be put into a blog. Second, some of the things that pop into my brain would not be appreciated by some readers and I do strive to be informative and at the very least as inoffensive as possible. It is possible to offend people even though it isn’t deliberate. Lastly, sometimes a topic is so important I process it over two or three weeks.
For example, early on I posted five lessons on how to start a small craft business which I did three years ago now and am entering my fourth year of the craft circuit (go to www.sharonstrawhandgarner.com though I’m in hiatus now and haven’t posted new inventory yet). I wanted to share the mistakes I made so that others would not suffer as I did early on in setting up a business. The creation of crafts is nothing--setting up the business end is a tremendous challenge. Most of my steps apply to any small business, however, so the lessons are helpful.
Another series of six lessons was on how to publish a book. Naturally I didn’t advise anyone on how to write a book but explained the process of doing it and publishing it. What a daunting undertaking but it changed the course of my life. I have more of those multi-part blogs on my list of topics. One topic that many will find odd is how to have nice nails without going to a salon. I have always had nice manicured hands and it’s very easy if a few steps are followed. But that blog is way down on the list. I’m only writing that one because I’m always asked how I manage to have nice nails. It’s a secret. (But I’ll share.)
And the list is long. Almost every day I think of a topic or a friend will suggest a topic or quite often the news provides fodder for my mill. I’m currently preparing one on Hiking In Iran. I could write a blog daily on my pets. They are very entertaining. Not only are the topics limitless but the treatment can be overwhelmingly long on some of them and I strive to keep that under control. That’s why some of them spill over to other weeks. Some writers often find it hard to get started or to pick up on a cold topic but I have always had the opposite problem. Once I start typing I can’t stop until my, uh, “back” hurts.
The most fun part of all of this is receiving emails from total strangers. I have no idea how word travels around but I have a nice steady stream of readers and each week I receive fun emails. Many are from people I’ve met at craft fairs. They take my business card or the item they purchase has my contact info and then they visit my site to look at inventory but then see the link to the blog! Some have been critical comments and I love that too. I haven’t been criticized for accuracy because I check all my facts or state that I have not checked something and often I include links for readers to check further. But some of my topics have been criticized.
I received the most comments after the posting about Michael Jackson. Most were positive but some suggested I should not have written about a child molester regardless of his talent in such an endearing way. That was odd because I thought it was a fairly honest look at his life though, yes, I unabashedly adored him. I’m still conflicted about my feelings on that topic because I so desperately want to believe he did not molest children, that he simply used bad judgment visiting with them in inappropriate situations. I still find it crushingly sad that he is gone.
The next topic that sent people into an email frenzy was the topic of alcoholism, which was done in two parts because the second part was devoted entirely to beer, an evil beverage. I was almost afraid to read my email when I posted that blog but I was stunned to learn how many people felt exactly the same way I do about alcoholism as a disease: alcoholism is not the same as muscular dystrophy. The former can be “cured” by not drinking alcohol; the second waits for a miracle cure. Many of the people who wrote shared a few sad stories they had experienced personally. And most of them said beer was the main culprit.
I’ve made time to work on my second book and thought my blogs would be delayed or abandoned but I was wrong. Amazingly I can write both with the only problem being I eventually get a sore “back.” I have three foam pillows on my special chair with lumbar support but still, that part of the body can only take so much. When it gets bad I walk my dogs.
I appreciate all the wonderful comments from family, friends, and strangers, and hope to continue blogging. I think at this point I have about two years of blog topics. And remember: I add to that list every day. I welcome suggestions though when I get around to a topic is based solely on my mood on a given Monday. Mondays are the days I pick a topic and play around with it. Each day I work on it for a few minutes and by Friday it’s ready for hardcore completion. I like to post on Sundays. Maybe I’ll do a blog on how to do a blog. Hey, that’s a good idea! See? I’ll put it on my list now.
[Previous blogs are archived here on Google’s eBlogger to the far lower left of the page.]
www.sharonstrawhandgarner.com
[No part of this content may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.]
Last weekend was my 52nd blog posting. A Year Of Blogging. (Doesn’t have the same ring as A Year In Provence.) One blog was a greeting card wishing everyone a Happy New Year so technically today’s posting is my true 52nd blog. Over the course of this past year many people have asked how I come up with topics and what will I do when I run out of things to write about. How funny.
When I first started several people said I should do a monthly blog because I’d burn out and I’d run out of topics. I could write a blog every day. First, topics are limitless. Anything the brain can think of can be put into a blog. Second, some of the things that pop into my brain would not be appreciated by some readers and I do strive to be informative and at the very least as inoffensive as possible. It is possible to offend people even though it isn’t deliberate. Lastly, sometimes a topic is so important I process it over two or three weeks.
For example, early on I posted five lessons on how to start a small craft business which I did three years ago now and am entering my fourth year of the craft circuit (go to www.sharonstrawhandgarner.com though I’m in hiatus now and haven’t posted new inventory yet). I wanted to share the mistakes I made so that others would not suffer as I did early on in setting up a business. The creation of crafts is nothing--setting up the business end is a tremendous challenge. Most of my steps apply to any small business, however, so the lessons are helpful.
Another series of six lessons was on how to publish a book. Naturally I didn’t advise anyone on how to write a book but explained the process of doing it and publishing it. What a daunting undertaking but it changed the course of my life. I have more of those multi-part blogs on my list of topics. One topic that many will find odd is how to have nice nails without going to a salon. I have always had nice manicured hands and it’s very easy if a few steps are followed. But that blog is way down on the list. I’m only writing that one because I’m always asked how I manage to have nice nails. It’s a secret. (But I’ll share.)
And the list is long. Almost every day I think of a topic or a friend will suggest a topic or quite often the news provides fodder for my mill. I’m currently preparing one on Hiking In Iran. I could write a blog daily on my pets. They are very entertaining. Not only are the topics limitless but the treatment can be overwhelmingly long on some of them and I strive to keep that under control. That’s why some of them spill over to other weeks. Some writers often find it hard to get started or to pick up on a cold topic but I have always had the opposite problem. Once I start typing I can’t stop until my, uh, “back” hurts.
The most fun part of all of this is receiving emails from total strangers. I have no idea how word travels around but I have a nice steady stream of readers and each week I receive fun emails. Many are from people I’ve met at craft fairs. They take my business card or the item they purchase has my contact info and then they visit my site to look at inventory but then see the link to the blog! Some have been critical comments and I love that too. I haven’t been criticized for accuracy because I check all my facts or state that I have not checked something and often I include links for readers to check further. But some of my topics have been criticized.
I received the most comments after the posting about Michael Jackson. Most were positive but some suggested I should not have written about a child molester regardless of his talent in such an endearing way. That was odd because I thought it was a fairly honest look at his life though, yes, I unabashedly adored him. I’m still conflicted about my feelings on that topic because I so desperately want to believe he did not molest children, that he simply used bad judgment visiting with them in inappropriate situations. I still find it crushingly sad that he is gone.
The next topic that sent people into an email frenzy was the topic of alcoholism, which was done in two parts because the second part was devoted entirely to beer, an evil beverage. I was almost afraid to read my email when I posted that blog but I was stunned to learn how many people felt exactly the same way I do about alcoholism as a disease: alcoholism is not the same as muscular dystrophy. The former can be “cured” by not drinking alcohol; the second waits for a miracle cure. Many of the people who wrote shared a few sad stories they had experienced personally. And most of them said beer was the main culprit.
I’ve made time to work on my second book and thought my blogs would be delayed or abandoned but I was wrong. Amazingly I can write both with the only problem being I eventually get a sore “back.” I have three foam pillows on my special chair with lumbar support but still, that part of the body can only take so much. When it gets bad I walk my dogs.
I appreciate all the wonderful comments from family, friends, and strangers, and hope to continue blogging. I think at this point I have about two years of blog topics. And remember: I add to that list every day. I welcome suggestions though when I get around to a topic is based solely on my mood on a given Monday. Mondays are the days I pick a topic and play around with it. Each day I work on it for a few minutes and by Friday it’s ready for hardcore completion. I like to post on Sundays. Maybe I’ll do a blog on how to do a blog. Hey, that’s a good idea! See? I’ll put it on my list now.
[Previous blogs are archived here on Google’s eBlogger to the far lower left of the page.]
www.sharonstrawhandgarner.com
[No part of this content may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.]
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day (Part 1 of 1)
[For previous blogs please visit “blog archive” to the lower left of this screen. Click on the small black arrows for a drop down list of all the blogs.]
First, Happy Valentine’s Day! Though this day is mostly dedicated to romantic couples, many people also include family and friends in their good wishes for this day. It’s all about love—romantic or not.
Over the last few weeks as the day approached there were countless articles on the origins of Valentine’s Day and quite a few “reports” on the differences in perception by men and women. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being high regard, men voted zero and women 10. I don’t like broad generalizations but of the men I’ve known throughout my life only those completely in tune to their loved ones understood the importance of Valentine’s Day’s big question: do you love me? I did read an interesting article that homosexual couples are more equal in their treatment of the holiday. They have to fight so hard for their love to even exist that they value the message of Valentine’s Day and do not take it for granted.
Naturally, it’s a Hallmark day. The advertisements in print, online, on TV, and in stores has assailed us like crazy this past week and for those not in a relationship it can often be painful. The desire to be coupled is very strong and various cultures depend on this day to boost their love a bit, if only for a day. I’ve known women who fall into a deep depression as the day approaches and on the date itself eat themselves into chocolate oblivion. I often do that too because so much specialty chocolate is available but I don’t have to wait for the 14th to get into a chocolate frenzy and I’m never depressed on Valentine’s Day: I’m relieved.
Of all the types of love we have, romantic love is the one that involves the most work. We automatically love our parents, our children, our relatives, our friends and our pets. Those relationships can be challenging but the romantic attachment relationships are filled with angst and risk and feelings of doubt and even hate. Hate so powerful people kill their mates to end the pain. Though we can be betrayed by others we love (our dogs could even bite us), it is not the same type of pain that we feel when love goes wrong. And yet we have set aside a day to honor that type of love.
A trip through my old address book once cured me of that belief. Of all the loves I’ve experienced, the love of parents and children and friends (and pets) has sustained me long after romantic love crashed and burned. Apparently, that’s the case with MOST of the people in my address book. Before placing these pieces of information in my computer I, like countless others, penned them in books and each time a friend or family member divorced the scratch outs and re-writes filled the pages to the point that eventually we needed new books. The computer cleverly removes that agony from view. Once I put a new address in my computer I no longer see the history of broken dreams. I suppose I could keep a note of former addresses but why? I didn’t do that before and now with the computer I don’t see the need to do so either. They split, they are gone, and more often than not, I lose touch with one member of the divorcing couple. I can only imagine my name scratched out in countless address books for the same reason. But only once. Once was enough for me. I have never been a fan of “it’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.” What poppycock. I have a lifetime of other types of love and none of the rest of it comes with a broken heart and depleted bank account.
For those of you celebrating romantic love today, I salute you. Next Sunday, however, is the true test of what you declare today. I’m going to go hug my dog now.
Here's a fun history of Valentine's Day: (You may have to paste into your browser. Links aren't working here for some reason.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_day
[No part of this content may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.]
First, Happy Valentine’s Day! Though this day is mostly dedicated to romantic couples, many people also include family and friends in their good wishes for this day. It’s all about love—romantic or not.
Over the last few weeks as the day approached there were countless articles on the origins of Valentine’s Day and quite a few “reports” on the differences in perception by men and women. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being high regard, men voted zero and women 10. I don’t like broad generalizations but of the men I’ve known throughout my life only those completely in tune to their loved ones understood the importance of Valentine’s Day’s big question: do you love me? I did read an interesting article that homosexual couples are more equal in their treatment of the holiday. They have to fight so hard for their love to even exist that they value the message of Valentine’s Day and do not take it for granted.
Naturally, it’s a Hallmark day. The advertisements in print, online, on TV, and in stores has assailed us like crazy this past week and for those not in a relationship it can often be painful. The desire to be coupled is very strong and various cultures depend on this day to boost their love a bit, if only for a day. I’ve known women who fall into a deep depression as the day approaches and on the date itself eat themselves into chocolate oblivion. I often do that too because so much specialty chocolate is available but I don’t have to wait for the 14th to get into a chocolate frenzy and I’m never depressed on Valentine’s Day: I’m relieved.
Of all the types of love we have, romantic love is the one that involves the most work. We automatically love our parents, our children, our relatives, our friends and our pets. Those relationships can be challenging but the romantic attachment relationships are filled with angst and risk and feelings of doubt and even hate. Hate so powerful people kill their mates to end the pain. Though we can be betrayed by others we love (our dogs could even bite us), it is not the same type of pain that we feel when love goes wrong. And yet we have set aside a day to honor that type of love.
A trip through my old address book once cured me of that belief. Of all the loves I’ve experienced, the love of parents and children and friends (and pets) has sustained me long after romantic love crashed and burned. Apparently, that’s the case with MOST of the people in my address book. Before placing these pieces of information in my computer I, like countless others, penned them in books and each time a friend or family member divorced the scratch outs and re-writes filled the pages to the point that eventually we needed new books. The computer cleverly removes that agony from view. Once I put a new address in my computer I no longer see the history of broken dreams. I suppose I could keep a note of former addresses but why? I didn’t do that before and now with the computer I don’t see the need to do so either. They split, they are gone, and more often than not, I lose touch with one member of the divorcing couple. I can only imagine my name scratched out in countless address books for the same reason. But only once. Once was enough for me. I have never been a fan of “it’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.” What poppycock. I have a lifetime of other types of love and none of the rest of it comes with a broken heart and depleted bank account.
For those of you celebrating romantic love today, I salute you. Next Sunday, however, is the true test of what you declare today. I’m going to go hug my dog now.
Here's a fun history of Valentine's Day: (You may have to paste into your browser. Links aren't working here for some reason.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_day
[No part of this content may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.]
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The List (Part 1 of 1)
[For previous blogs please visit “blog archive” to the lower left of this screen. Click on the small black arrows for a drop down list of all the blogs.]
Many of us have lists of things to do to keep us organized and to help us remember to do things. As we approach retirement there are many lists suggested for the big day. I found a great list online that provided ideas for approximately two years prior to my retirement date. Many of the items were financial suggestions (make a will, check insurance coverages, etc.), some were practical for the home (replace older appliances, check the paint, roof, etc.) and some were fun (take an expensive vacation before retiring because it may be more difficult after, etc.). Along with the suggestions on the lists I found online, my retirement system provided a list of things to do and things to think about.
In addition to the lists provided by experts I had for many years started my own list of things I desperately wanted to do when I retired. When discussing this list with friends also nearing retirement I discovered we all had pretty much the same items on our lists. Many of us have put things off during our working years because the tasks seemed so daunting and we didn’t have time to devote to huge projects while raising kids and working.
The first few days after I retired I did nothing. I completely and totally relaxed and smiled a lot. I have pets and I spent a great deal of time with them each day and I watched lots of movies and took long bubble baths and did manicures and pedicures and just thoroughly basked in the glory of this special time. After three days I felt I was ready to face—The List. The list I’m referring to now is my personal list of things I’ve always wanted to do.
The first thing I did was to clean out my computer. I needed reorganization and plenty of it so that I could begin some of the projects on my list. The computer reorganization took two entire days. Along with that I put all of my addresses and pertinent information on my computer so that I could sync it with my iPhone. Both my computer and iPhone have security codes that I never remove so I feel safe keeping them connected in that way. I suppose a true hacker could get this information but I’m not a person of interest for a hacker though I guess anyone could be. After the address book and the computer organization, I set up a preliminary retirement budget in Excel and a business budget and plan. These projects took a few more days.
Next on the list was to paint the bathroom. After that other rooms were listed. I chose not to follow the list in order and instead did a thorough organization of my garage. The list was two pages, single-spaced, and it’s now down to half a page after almost three years of retirement. I won’t bore everyone with all the items on the list. I’m sure we all list these items. But I’m saving the best for last.
The Great Photo Project.
Like many of us, I’ve recorded my life and that of my family and friends fairly faithfully throughout the years with photographs. Especially when I had children. For the most part I kept up with placing the photos in albums in an orderly fashion but at some point they ended up in a large box. Within that box I tried valiantly to keep them in some kind of order. Some of the photos were not so lucky.
After almost three years of retirement and with a huge chunk of items checked off on my “to do” list I decided it was time to tackle the photos. Since the beginning of January I have been working on them day and night with almost no breaks. In the middle of last week I reached an astounding goal. Every single photograph is now scanned to my computer (those were the days when we didn’t have digital cameras and later we had our photos returned to us on disks which also were in piles in a box). Each photo is now where it belongs and in a PowerPoint presentation by location I’ve lived beginning with my birth. The albums start with a fantastic album made by my mom, and continue from that point up to the present. In all there are 16 PowerPoint presentations with approximately 300 photos in each. There are actually more than 300 photos because each photo page I’ve scanned has four to six photos pasted on it. As I look at the pages I crop some of the photos and give them a page of their own if they are special in any away. They are not edited yet or arranged correctly in each presentation and that will take a lot of time. It took a month of 15-hour days to get to this point. So far I have finished three albums. Each album will have a “movie” with music of the era, and a set of jpeg photos. The final touch will be a photo “book” made by Snapfish.
The truly astonishing part of this project though, other than the laborious effort involved, is seeing these photos, one by one, that cover almost 65 years. When they hit the computer each one comes to life and I sometimes am overwhelmed with emotion as I see a photo depicting an event in life I had forgotten. Not forgotten necessarily but a faded memory. Since beginning this project I have a vision of my life that amazes me. I’m so glad I took so many pictures. I only wish I had invested in better cameras when I was younger. Some of those early photos are very poor quality. Fortunately, my daughter gave me Adobe’s Photoshop for Christmas. Even Photoshop has had trouble with a few of these photos but it’s an amazing application and I highly recommend it. I can’t work on each bad photo but sometimes I’ve come across special photos and I’m swept away with the beauty of that moment and I immediately move it to Photoshop so I can work on it and try to bring it back to life. And most of the time it works great. Even if it can’t do much it at least brings it to a point where the features can be clearly seen. And it’s then that I sit here in wonder at the beauty of so many events in my life.
I wish I had started this project earlier but I wasn’t ready. Now that I’m doing this I can’t stop and I have many weeks, perhaps months, left to get it to the level I want it. Though it’s truly hard work and I end the days bone tired, I have never in my life felt so invigorated and so in touch with my family and friends as I have during these past few weeks. It’s as though I’ve been transported back in time and I can actually feel these wonderful people, places, and times. I strongly recommend The Great Photo Project to everyone. (But don’t forget Photoshop!)
www.sharonstrawhandgarner.com
[No part of this content may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.]
Many of us have lists of things to do to keep us organized and to help us remember to do things. As we approach retirement there are many lists suggested for the big day. I found a great list online that provided ideas for approximately two years prior to my retirement date. Many of the items were financial suggestions (make a will, check insurance coverages, etc.), some were practical for the home (replace older appliances, check the paint, roof, etc.) and some were fun (take an expensive vacation before retiring because it may be more difficult after, etc.). Along with the suggestions on the lists I found online, my retirement system provided a list of things to do and things to think about.
In addition to the lists provided by experts I had for many years started my own list of things I desperately wanted to do when I retired. When discussing this list with friends also nearing retirement I discovered we all had pretty much the same items on our lists. Many of us have put things off during our working years because the tasks seemed so daunting and we didn’t have time to devote to huge projects while raising kids and working.
The first few days after I retired I did nothing. I completely and totally relaxed and smiled a lot. I have pets and I spent a great deal of time with them each day and I watched lots of movies and took long bubble baths and did manicures and pedicures and just thoroughly basked in the glory of this special time. After three days I felt I was ready to face—The List. The list I’m referring to now is my personal list of things I’ve always wanted to do.
The first thing I did was to clean out my computer. I needed reorganization and plenty of it so that I could begin some of the projects on my list. The computer reorganization took two entire days. Along with that I put all of my addresses and pertinent information on my computer so that I could sync it with my iPhone. Both my computer and iPhone have security codes that I never remove so I feel safe keeping them connected in that way. I suppose a true hacker could get this information but I’m not a person of interest for a hacker though I guess anyone could be. After the address book and the computer organization, I set up a preliminary retirement budget in Excel and a business budget and plan. These projects took a few more days.
Next on the list was to paint the bathroom. After that other rooms were listed. I chose not to follow the list in order and instead did a thorough organization of my garage. The list was two pages, single-spaced, and it’s now down to half a page after almost three years of retirement. I won’t bore everyone with all the items on the list. I’m sure we all list these items. But I’m saving the best for last.
The Great Photo Project.
Like many of us, I’ve recorded my life and that of my family and friends fairly faithfully throughout the years with photographs. Especially when I had children. For the most part I kept up with placing the photos in albums in an orderly fashion but at some point they ended up in a large box. Within that box I tried valiantly to keep them in some kind of order. Some of the photos were not so lucky.
After almost three years of retirement and with a huge chunk of items checked off on my “to do” list I decided it was time to tackle the photos. Since the beginning of January I have been working on them day and night with almost no breaks. In the middle of last week I reached an astounding goal. Every single photograph is now scanned to my computer (those were the days when we didn’t have digital cameras and later we had our photos returned to us on disks which also were in piles in a box). Each photo is now where it belongs and in a PowerPoint presentation by location I’ve lived beginning with my birth. The albums start with a fantastic album made by my mom, and continue from that point up to the present. In all there are 16 PowerPoint presentations with approximately 300 photos in each. There are actually more than 300 photos because each photo page I’ve scanned has four to six photos pasted on it. As I look at the pages I crop some of the photos and give them a page of their own if they are special in any away. They are not edited yet or arranged correctly in each presentation and that will take a lot of time. It took a month of 15-hour days to get to this point. So far I have finished three albums. Each album will have a “movie” with music of the era, and a set of jpeg photos. The final touch will be a photo “book” made by Snapfish.
The truly astonishing part of this project though, other than the laborious effort involved, is seeing these photos, one by one, that cover almost 65 years. When they hit the computer each one comes to life and I sometimes am overwhelmed with emotion as I see a photo depicting an event in life I had forgotten. Not forgotten necessarily but a faded memory. Since beginning this project I have a vision of my life that amazes me. I’m so glad I took so many pictures. I only wish I had invested in better cameras when I was younger. Some of those early photos are very poor quality. Fortunately, my daughter gave me Adobe’s Photoshop for Christmas. Even Photoshop has had trouble with a few of these photos but it’s an amazing application and I highly recommend it. I can’t work on each bad photo but sometimes I’ve come across special photos and I’m swept away with the beauty of that moment and I immediately move it to Photoshop so I can work on it and try to bring it back to life. And most of the time it works great. Even if it can’t do much it at least brings it to a point where the features can be clearly seen. And it’s then that I sit here in wonder at the beauty of so many events in my life.
I wish I had started this project earlier but I wasn’t ready. Now that I’m doing this I can’t stop and I have many weeks, perhaps months, left to get it to the level I want it. Though it’s truly hard work and I end the days bone tired, I have never in my life felt so invigorated and so in touch with my family and friends as I have during these past few weeks. It’s as though I’ve been transported back in time and I can actually feel these wonderful people, places, and times. I strongly recommend The Great Photo Project to everyone. (But don’t forget Photoshop!)
www.sharonstrawhandgarner.com
[No part of this content may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.]
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