Dr. Bonner's Magic "All-One." and Netflix

Thank you Netflix.

Actually before I explain why I am grateful to Netflix or what Netflix has to do with Dr. Bonner's Magic "All-One" I must, for the benefit of the FTC and total disclosure, state thatI HAVE NOT, DO NOT, NOR WILL I PROBABLY EVER RECEIVE ANY COMPENSATION FROM NETFLIX, DR. BONNER'S SOAP, OR ANYONE ELSE FOR ANY OPINIONS STATED IN THIS BLOG. Now if that's not clear enough then we really are doomed in this county.

What do Dr. Bonner's soap and Netflix have in common? A few weeks ago I was checking out the movies available on Netflix I came across a film entitled "Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox". Upon closer examination I was amused to see that it was about Dr. Bonner's soap. 25 years ago I used to use Dr. Bonner's soap all the time. I was very active in outdoor sports, hiking and kayaking, and Dr. Bonner's was the soap of choice among my peers. We could find it everywhere. Then I moved to South Florida and couldn't find Dr. Bonner's in the stores down there. This was pre-internet days so you couldn't just go online and find it. You were stuck with whatever the big corporate owned stores wanted t sell. So Dr. Bonner faded into past along with my beautiful blue kayak.

Fast forward many years and I am watching the video about Dr. Bonner's soap and the company that still operated by his son and grandsons. I was captivated by Ralph Bonner's stories and thrilled to learn that not only does this great company still exist but that it still adheres to the standards that sets it apart from every other company. Dr. Bonner's is a leader in environmental design, a leader in organic ingredients, and a leader in employee relations.

The day after viewing the video I found a bottle of Dr. Bronner's Magic Pure Castile Classic Soap at the Daily Co-op here in Athens. There were so many more scents to choose but I settled on peppermint since it was the one I always used in the past. I love the way it smells and the tingle I feel when I use it. I am so glad I found it because I love the way it makes my skin feel. I am hooked again.

Thank you Ralph Bonner for keeping your father's vision alive. Thank you everyone else at Dr. Bonner's for making excellent products. I look forward to trying all the other scents as well as all the other products you make.

T-Mobile: the prime example of corporate America

I just had to voice my frustration at the extent of apathy and poor customer service in corporate America. I just received a phone call from the "top customer service department" in T-Mobile and it was a horrible experience. The gentleman was argumentative and kept cutting me off in mid-sentence. Here's an abbreviated version of my dealings with this company over the past year.

It all started when the screen on a phone that I had for 14 months burned and I have been trying to replace it. First, I was told, at a T-mobile store, that since I still had a contract it would cost me a hundred dollars. Same online and with the telephone people. I was told that T-mobile had grown so big they didn't have to care about customer's problems anymore. That in fact they no longer allowed the retail stores to take care of customer issues and "do anything for existing customers." So I decided to wait until my contract ran out and see if they would offer me the phone at the same price as they did a new customer which was fifty dollars. However, now it is unavailable to me as an existing customer even though it is being offered for free to any new customers. After receiving no answer as to why I can not get the phone as an existing customerr, I wrote a letter to customer service asking why and the response I got today is even more frustrating. A "customer service" representative called to offer me the phone I wanted. However it was not a new phone as offered to new customers but a reconditioned phone without any instructions. This is how much T-mobile thinks of me. I guess I'm supposed to be thrilled at any offer but I am not. I am insulted that they would offer me a reconditioned phone without any instructions. He told me that if I didn't accept the offer there was nothing he could do for me. Obviously, T-mobile as a company has no integrity because they think all I want is the phone. They still have not given me a reasonable reason why the phone is unavailable to me but is available to new customers. Although the "customer service" rep from the head office did admit that free phones are not free to new customers. You pay for them in extra fees and increased costs. That doesn't surprise me that T-mobile would lie to new customers about getting "free" phones. They're a typical corporation in American where integrity and ethics doesn't exist. It's sad that we have to do business with such people.

I know that most of you would say that this is the way all the telecommunications company do business and that's just the way it is. But my question is why do we allow this to be the way they operate. Why do we keep buying things from companies that treat us like crap? Why do we reward the rude behavior of T-mobile and others by signing long contracts and buying expensive phones and plans? We can't go on much longer like this. The greed in this corporate climate has already caused a lot of destruction to our middle class. This is not the America for which my father along with many thousands of men and women today are fighting. We need to stop allowing companies from destroying our country.

Two of my friends have already left T-mobile. One signed up for their "no contract" plan which I think is a big rip-off since they charged him for the phone (full price) and then an activation fee of 35 dollars. Let's see. he already had an account, he kept the same phone number, he put the Sims card in his new phone. I haven't upgraded quite honesty because I can't get one comparable to the phone I had a year ago. Any time I think of taking another one I am pissed off about seeing the upgrade fee added to whatever the cost of the phone.

For now I'll keep using the crappy phone I purchased a year ago (without extending my contract). I think my friend who switches companies every time his contract ends has a better idea. At least he gets a new updated phone out of it each time and gets to feel like a company wants their business. He never gets told take it or leave it!!!

Eliminating Debt

I found this great debt reduction calculator that is free for personal use. It has really helped me to focus. For the first time I have actually made a real list of what I owe. Each time I receive a credit card bill I change the amount owed and watch my total debt fall. It is so encouraging to me.

Previously I was afraid to look at the bills and to see what I actually owed. Of course my bills didn't go away and kept getting larger.

Download the calculator and see if it makes a difference in your fight against debt.

http://www.vertex42.com/Calculators/debt-reduction-calculator.htm

New Year's Resolutions

It's that time of year again and like usual I've decided to set a few goals for this year. They're not quite resolutions because I'm not disciplined enough to actually keep resolutions. They are in fact some things I want to focus on this year to make my life more enjoyable, more productive, and make myself feel better.

1. Healthy lifestyle
This includes the usual lose weight goal but I'm also including healthy habits such as eating more fresh, locally grown food and starting an exercise program.

2. Debt Free lifestyle
My overall goal is to be debt free in two years. I have a huge amount so this will actually take some work. However, it can be done. In order to do that I have to eliminate half my debt this year. In order to do that I will have to cut my living expenses and increase my income. I don't have an extravagant lifestyle right now so it'll be hard to cut expenses so I really need to focus on increasing my income with a second and maybe a third source of income.

3. Artistic lifestyle
I want to increase beauty in my life and increase my creativity. So I am going to focus on both increasing my skills and being more productive. I also want to find creative and inexpensive ways to decorate my apartment.

So there you have it. My New Year's Focus. It'll be interesting to see what the New Year brings and what I can learn this year.

Thank you Rod McKuen

Inspiration of the day is from one of my favorite poets whom I have rediscovered after so many years. As a child I used to read Rod McKuen’s poetry. He inspired me to dream of a world outside of Danielsville, Georgia. A world where I could laugh, dance, and sing without fear of ridicule or embarrassment. I used to dream of traveling to places like London or Copenhagen, or any number of exotic locations. I wanted to climb mountains and fly around the world. Because of his poetry I felt like the whole world was open to me and that I could do anything I wanted to do.

Then I grew up and went to college. There I was so busy reading required material that I had no time for poetry, at least not the poetry that spoke to me. Sure, I read the greats in literature classes but they didn’t inspire me half as much as Mr. McKuen did. As I was struggling to earn my degrees I stopped reading for inspiration and enjoyment. I lost the ability to travel in my mind and in time I lost the ability to dream.

Recently I turned 50. FIFTY. An age that I never thought I would see. As a child 50 was, of course, ancient. In my 20s fifty was the age I gave myself to accomplish my goals. I have to do, fill in the blank, by 50. 50 was the age where I would have a lot of money saved so I could take the six months it requires to hike the Appalachian Trail. 50 was the age when I was going to travel the world. Go around the world on an adventure to rival any of Michael Palin’s adventures. 50 was to be prime me time.

Of course even the best plans don’t always happen. What happened? Life. Economic booms and busts. Greed and Apathy. I spent 11 years working at a great job where I had a nice 401k retirement plan. I was well on my way to saving enough money to enjoy my life after 50 without worrying about how to feed myself. However, forces beyond my control had other desires. I worked at Remington Products which was owned by Victor Kiam. Mr. Kiam was an unusual business owner. Somewhere in all his interests and business deals he had a glimmer of respect for his employees. He rejected numerous offers to sell Remington to a company that would liquidate the company and put his employees out of work. Unfortunately he was mortal. In 2001 he died and the company was sold. Remington was liquidated and hundreds of people were out of work. The name still exists, you see the products in discount stores, and at one time an aging supermodel was doing commercials for the “company” but that’s all you get. A name. The people who made Remington a great company and a great shaver are gone. Now this was not unusual. Sadly it was happening to thousands of other people in this country during 2004 and it would happen to millions more in the next five years.

Back to Rod McKuen. Fast forward five years and I am sitting in Athens, GA, just a few miles from where I grew up. Just a few miles from the land that inspired me to travel and dream in the first place. Just a few miles from where my mother would make sure that I had every opportunity available to this small town kid. And the world comes around full circle. Today I thought about that wonderful book of poetry that I read so many times I knew each poem by heart. So, I searched for Rod McKuen online and found him. I found the words that used to inspire me. I found a little peace today. I found a safe place to land. I will be back. Thank you Mr. McKuen for inspiring me once again.

Finding Art in Every Day Life

Lunch. Organic beef on a whole wheat English Muffin with cheddar cheese and lettuce. Add a dollop (or two) of my favorite sauce and there's my mastepiece of a lunch.

Week in review

I can hardly believe it 's May already. Classes are ending and my friends who are graduating are starting to leave Athens. Everybody's excited about graduation and busy making plans.

One great thing about May is that the Farmer's Market opens back up. I am looking forward to having another way to purchase fresh produce. Tomorrow is the first day so we'll have to be early. I expect everyone to be sold out by 10 am.

Decided to work on my Etsy store this spring. I want to have some fun making magnets and working with upcycled, recycled items. Here's a pair of earrings I posted tonight. I have always been a baseball fan so spring and summer means watching the Diamond Dogs (UGA) and the Atlanta Braves. These would be fun to wear to the games.