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Since my last blog posting my cat has died. My dog has died. I've had surgery twice. I've had an Upper Venous Deep Vein Thrombosis, had a torn rotator cuff, been hit by a car that ran a red light (5 minutes after leaving the hospital following a surgical procedure), reconnected with my sister - hadn't spoken to her since our dad's funeral more than 10 years ago, and even though everyone around me thinks I'm fucking strong, thought about killing myself almost every fucking day. 

Fun times. 

Fuck you you fucking heterosexuals

Gay people pay fucking taxes for rights you have that we do not.

Until I get to vote on your god-damned fucking marriage and until divorce is god-damned fucking outlawed you all are fuckers.

Barnes & Noble is just plain stupid

I tried for 10 months to get e-mails and offers from Barnes & Nobles. Offers that were promised to me when I broke down after YEARS of making purchases there and bought a membership card. When I bought it I was promised $50 in welcome coupons and regular offers on deals at their online store, brick and mortart stores, etc. Offers on Nook books. Every month for 10 months - sometimes multiple times a month I talked to someone at a Barnes & Noble store. I told them I wasn't getting any offers and hadn't seen my $50 in welcome coupons.

Every fucking month.

Every fucking month whoever I talked to asked me if I was checking my junk mail.

Every fucking month whoever I talked to had me reveriffy my street address and e-mail address.

The first damned e-mail I received was a notification that my membership would auto-renew soon.

And you know what? It didn't go to my fucking junk mail.

I called them to cancel my card and demand my money back.

The first person told me I'd get my money back.

The supervisor said it had been too long and that I could only get my money back in the first month if I hadn't used the card.

Fuck you Barnes & Noble. Every month for 10 months - multiple times a month - I talked to someone. On almost every ocassion I made a purchase.

Fuck you.

It took a tweet and an e-mail to some fucking customer support group to get a promise that I'd get my money back (haven't seen it yet) and notification that my membership was cancelled immediately (which is what I asked for when I called after I got the renewal notice).

AND NOW YOU'RE SENDING ME FUCKING E-MAILS.

They're not going to my junk mail.

They're not being stopped by my spam filter.

AFTER you pissed me off so much I never want to go to your store again.

AFTER I've spent thousands of dollars at your stores over the last umpteen years.

AFTER all the bullshit you put me through for 10 months.

AFTER - in my opinion - you FUCKING STOLE $50 from me.

NOW you're sending me e-mails.

I WILL NEVER SET FOOT IN YOUR STORE AGAIN.

YOU ARE A BUNCH OF IDIOTS.

HOW DARE YOU THINK YOU CAN TREAT A CUSTOMER LIKE THIS AND STILL TAKE THEIR HARD EARNED MONEY.

Stop sending me your fucking e-mails.

I loved John Carter

When I saw the trailer for John Carter I had no interest. I wasn't familiar with the Edgar Rice Burroughs story and I didn't understand why I should be interested in someone who could jump down onto a bunch of weird looking bug things with a sword.

Then I started to read the reviews and they made it sound like a big hot mess. I even re-looked at the trailer on my IPad. Still didn't get the point.

And then on Saturday afternoon my partner decided we should see  a movie. You guessed it. We saw John Carter.

And I was enchanted. It seemed original and fun and fantastic. So much of the movies lately is paying a high price for stupid 3D (we saw John Carter in 2D) designed to get you to pay more, or sequels or remakes. This seemed wholly original to me. I forgot I was watching a lot of motion capture even more quickly than I did watching Avatar.

And the ending? It was magical.

I buy very few movies anymore. I rely on Netflix streaming and their DVDs in the mail. In the end, I own a ton of DVDs/BluRays, bu I've purchased very few in the last year.

John Carter is a movie I will buy and watch again and again.

Thank you for a thoroughly enjoyable movie watching experience.

It's a gay day!

Oh my goodness, so much to do today.

My work schedule is packed with meetings.

When am I ever going to find time to (deep, booming voice) DESTROY HETEROSEXUAL MARRIAGE?

Will I let my people down if I don't?

Probably.

Must get on that.

Busy. Busy.

Barnes & Noble -- idiocy run amok

Well alrighty. This is my third blog posting on Barnes & Noble and my trials and travails surrounding my ill-considered purchase of a membership card 10 months ago.

On Tuesday morning, following months of conversations with my local Barnes & Noble customer, a conversation with their customer service center a week after I got the card, two conversations at the top of my lungs when after 10 months the only e-mail I ever received was regarding the fact that they'd be automatically renewing my membership, a "tweet" to their customer service Twitter account and an e-mail, I received a notification from Barnes & Noble Member Services that they'd cancel my membership account and refund my money.

As of this morning I've received three e-mails from Barnes & Noble telling me about cool deals, specials and dollars off.

I tried to get e-mails like that for 10 months.

And now, after cancelling my membership I'm getting them. And guess what Barnes & Noble. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO MY JUNK MAIL. I told you for 10 months I watch my junk mail. they're not going there. They're coming right to my inbox.

Idiocy.

Run.

Amok.

(delete, delete, delete). Without an apology, I'm never setting foot in that store again.

Barnes & Nobles turns a fan into someone who will no longer shop at their store

I can spend hours in a bookstore. Whether it's a used book store, an independent (Brobst's in Brookings, South Dakota is amazing) or Barnes & Noble. I find wonderful treasures wherever I go. I've spent thousands at bookstores. Tens of thousands probably. I own a couple thousand books. Probably a tenth of them were purchased used, so were cheap. A small number were gifts. But most were books that I've carried with me some since I was an infant.

'Miss Grimsbee Takes a Vacation' was a gift from my godmother when I was an infant. I still own it. I have books that have been signed by authors. I own mysteries, sci fi, fantasy, math, novels, plays, history, geography, anthropolgy, science, and more. The vast majority of my books are in English. A few are in Russian, a couple in Middle English, one or two in Hebrew, a couple in Latin. I have books I purchased in England when I was there in high school and books that I found in tucked away bookstores when touristing through towns.

I was at Barnes & Noble every month except June or July 2011. I got talked into their membership card in May. I purchased books in May, in June or July, in August, twice in September, once in October and again in November and December. And EVERY SINGLE TIME I went to the store, I asked why I hadn't received any of the offers offered to me when I bought the membership card. I was told I'd get $50 in welcome coupons and weekly offers re: books. I spent 10 months trying to resolve the issue. And then, last week I got an e-mail that my membership would "auto renew". Ten months and all they want is more of my hard-earned money.

Not going to happen.

It's March 2012.

The last three times I was in the city (I live some 75 miles from the nearest Barnes & Noble, 50 miles from the nearest independent bookstore and 20+ miles from the nearest used book store). I'll continue to shop the independent store. And, I'll buy things I can't get there from Amazon. In fact, in the last month I've purchased eight (8) books from Amazon.

I love books.

I can't stand a book store lying to me.

And Barnes & Noble lied to me.

They turned someone who loves books into someone who won't set foot into their chain.

Barnes & Noble - You Lost a Customer

Here's the reason you lost a customer:

I have been shopping at Barnes & Noble for YEARS. Every time I go there the cashier asks me if I have a membership card and when I say "no" the cashier ALWAYS asks if I want one. In early May of 2011, the cashier talked me into it. He told me I'd save money on the books I was buying that day, that I'd get $50 worth of welcome coupons (he specified that the coupons could only be used in certain ways, i.e. some online, in store), and regular notices about sales/specials.

In mid-May of last year I was back at Barnes & Noble  and noted to the cashier that I hadn't received anything yet. She apologized and wrote an 800# on a sticky pad to for me to call.

I called the 800# the next business day. The person told me they couldn't help and that I'd have to go back to the store because some information was incomplete.

I live 75 miles from Barnes & Noble. I wasn't back for a couple weeks, but when I went back I went to customer service and told them what was going on. They looked up my account, noted it had an e-mail but not a street address and while I stood there, they filled it in, had me confirm the info., apologized for the mix up and said I should start getting stuff soon. The person also asked if I checked my junk folder/spam. I do. I told the individual I get lots of e-mails from other companies, too, so my spam filters aren't set very high.

In June or July (sorry, I don't remember which) I was in Sioux Falls again. I still had received nothing re: coupons or info. on sales or ANYTHING. I talked to customer service again. They looked at my account again. They asked me questions about spam/junk again. They said they couldn't see any problems.

Ditto in August.

I was in the Twin Cities twice in September and again in October. I asked cashiers there, too. Same questions. Same answers.

In November I was back in Sioux Falls again and this time the customer service person had me speak with a manager. He was very nice. He did all the stuff that was done in June or July and August and in addition got on the phone with someone at Barnes & Noble. We looked at my online account together. He wasn't sure what was going on. He asked (I was standing right there and heard him) the person on the phone if I'd get my welcome coupons. I don't know if he was certain, but he seemed pretty sure I'd get something.

Earlier this week (it's March) I did. I got an e-mail notice from Barnes & Noble that my membership account would auto-renew.

So. Today, I called the 800# that was in the notice, told the person I was speaking with that I was sorry that he picked up, but that I was irate, I wanted my money back, and I wanted to cancel my auto renew.

He made me explain the whole idiotic story again. I did. At the TOP of my lungs.

He told me I'd get my money back.

He had me speak to a manager/supervisor (I said at some point that I wanted to speak to a manager) but first told me he'd put me on hold while he explained everything. I thanked him and told him to have a nice afternoon and waited on hold for a couple minutes.

I got to repeat the same thing AGAIN.

And was told that I couldn't get my money back because it had been too long.

I was then told memberships could only be refunded within 30 days if the card was unused.

You know what Barnes & Noble? Screw you. Every single time I went to the store and talked to customer service I made a purchase.

The last three times I was in Sioux Falls I did NOT stop at Barnes &Noble. I own a couple thousand books. Over the years I've purchased MANY of them at Barnes & Noble.

Last night I bought four (4) online from Amazon.

Barnes & Noble - your customer service stinks. You get people to buy into your membership based on false promises, you toy with them, and then you do not follow up with them.

I will not set foot in any of your stores again. I have too much self-respect to let you continue lying to me and using me.