7 Quick Takes Friday

July 13, 2012

1.  I am starting to have more good days than bad in regards to my health.  I'm still taking 3 different antibiotics and several different supplements to battle the Lyme Disease, but after 2 months I am beginning to feel like I'm on the upswing.  Please Lord, let me be on the upswing.  It is still difficult to plan to do anything because I never know how I'm going to feel day to day.  Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week I felt pretty good, but I spent most of Tuesday on the couch because of pain and fatigue.  Today is also a "couch" day.  I struggle with balancing how much is too much for my body to handle right now. 

2.  We were without Fios Internet, TV, or phone for a week after the big storm 2 weeks ago.  We only lost power for 24 hours, but our Fios box was fried in the storm.  Once I convinced Verizon that we did have our electricity they sent someone out to replace our box.  I worked retail and remember being trained that "the customer is always right.".  That doesn't seem to be the case anymore.  Dealing with automated customer service and Customer Service Representatives from a central Call Center is so frustrating.  I wanted to scream, "Forget your script- just listen to me!"   And "Sorry for your inconvience" doesn't cut it.  I was able to get a 30 dollar credit on our bill for the 7 days we were without service. 

3.  I didn't mind the quiet when we were unplugged for a week, but the inability to communicate electronically was frustrating.  It is just a way of life now, and when we were cut off it felt very lonely and isolating. 

4.We have a Tracfone (Pay as you go) cell phones.  The only way to use our cell phones in our house is to run outside to our front porch before the call gets cut off.  When our home phone wasn't working we were getting more calls on our cell phone (which was really fun in the 100 degree heat).   Our neighbor across the street became concerned because he kept seeing me running out our front door and then sitting on our front porch.  He thought Nick and I were having arguments and I was running out of the house to cool off.  He was relieved when I explained our phone situation.

5. Nick's Tracfone died last week. The battery will no longer charge and a new battery didn't help.  We are now considering buying contract phones. We are researching plans and both of us feel overwhelmed at the amount of information and choices out there.   What wireless plan do you use?  What does it cost?  What type of phone do you recommend? 

6.  Ryan enjoyed a week of basketball camp sponsored by the Chantilly Highschool Varsity Basketball team.  His team won the championship at the Camp!  I'm so glad this was a positive experience for him. 

7.  Next week is VBS at St. Timothy's.   This is the first year I won't volunteering at VBS.  It feels so strange, but I know I need the time to recover.  Prayers for a successful week for VBS is appreciated!