AT&T Customer Service

Good job, AT&T.  This is the second time I've called them with any problems and they'd resolved it within minutes.  Better yet, I was not put on hold nor was I in a queue to speak to a customer service provider.

This time around, I'd called because at 1228 today, I'd gotten an update on my data plan saying that I'd used up 199.7MB of my allotted 200MB for the month.  I immediately turned off all data usage and background data, only to receive a text at 1324 informing me that I'd gone over my data allottment and would be billed another $15.00 for an extra 200MB for the rest of the month.

That's just wrong.  There's only 2 more days left in this month and it already takes me a whole month to use up 200MB.  At 1542, I'd gotten another update on my data and said that I'd gone over by 0.1MB.  I  was flustered!  There was no way I was going to pay an overage fee for the next two days' use nor for such a small overage.

Within minutes of calling customer service and explaining my situation, I was given $15.00 credit on next month's bill.  Good job.  :) I'm not quite sure whether or not I can still continue using the data considering I've already got an extra $15.00 credit, but to be on the safe side and a good customer, I'll keep it off unless I really need it.

Thanks, AT&T.

Black Friday + Rubbermaid

What have these two got in common?  A LOT.

During Black Friday weekend, Wal-Mart had a sale on 30 piece Rubbermaid container sets at the cost of $6.88 + tax, which included the following (shown in the picture below):

I had come to the Wal-Mart in the "nicer" part of town and the store had TWO whole WALLS built of these things.  I picked up one set for my mom late afternoon on the first day of the sale.  Because there were plenty left, I didn't think to "have" to pick up any more, though I was sure that my mom's friends would want some too.

That night, my mom asked her friends and I was told to pick up 3 more sets of these things.  Because the stores were filled with walls and walls of these, I figured it'd be okay to come back the following day.  Boy, was I wrong!  All of the stores in the surrounding area, within a 50 mile radius, AND online at walmart.com had sold out completely.  DANG.

Seriously.  The stores were filled with these and sold out within a day.  Crazy.  Then again, at that price, I wouldn't blame them; the 20-ish piece sets already sell for $10.00+.

I wasn't kidding when I said there were walls of these.  Yes, I did stop and have my shopping buddy take a picture of the wall for me.  I was decked out in my fuzzy hat (it was a chilly) and combat boots to battle my way through the crowd!  :P

Are Holiday Cards Still a Big Deal?

Or has the role of social media (i.e. Facebook) taken over?

I was never big on sending cards until this year, to be honest.  After I started sending postcards, and later, handmade cards out to friends and family, I realised it was something I just really enjoyed to do.  The act of writing out my thoughts and using pen/paper rather than just typing a message to my recipients is a whole lot more rewarding.  Or something.  It's just nice.

But with Facebook and all that becoming such a big part of our lives and photo sharing being easier than ever, will the holiday cards (with annual family portraits and all that) slowly die out?  I've personally never had a family portrait, but I've seen people take the time and make the effort to do so for the holiday season.  I've read about it plenty.  And of course, it's portrayed in the media as being a big deal for lots of families.

Cost must play a big role as well.  This year, I'm sending out postcards to most friends/family to wish them a great holiday season (postage is about half the price for postcards compared to regular letters).  For closer friends/family (sorry!) they'll be getting handmade cards.

Even More Hand Sanitizers

Oh geez.  So a quick trip to Wal-mart the other day yielded even more hand sanitizers that I was never aware was available.  Here are some pictures I'd taken:

 These are really neat.  They're from Germ-X's "boutique" set.  From left to right, we have: linen breeze, crisp apple, honey pea, and cucumber melon scents.  The crisp apple and cucumber melon were my favorites.  I did not smell anything from the linen breeze at all.  The honey pea reminded me of the sweet pea scent from Bath and Body works.  These are 2.0 ounces and are the typical price of $0.98.

I just decided to add this one in because I've never really seen sanitizers that are cheaper than the ones found at dollar stores.  This one is an 8.0 ounce bottle for $0.88.  The ones typically found at dollar stores are also 8.0 ounces, but on occasion you'll find the ones that have "50% more free!" at 12.0 ounces for $1.00.

These are great.  So I found this a little odd...  The ones on the left are of 1.0 ounce bottles in a triplet pack, each with a jelly wrap.  The ones on the right are 2.0 ounce bottles with the new pump top.  They're both the same price, at $3.77 per pack.  You wouldn't think that jelly wraps would be worth so much more than pump bottles that you'd only get 1.0 ounces of sanitizer with the wraps.

I just thought these were cute.  :)  Hog Wash.  Pretty expensive though; 2.0 ounces for $1.99.

And these are just two 0.5 ounce bottles I'd gotten from E-Promos and 4Imprint, respectively.  I was looking into getting these as promotional items for my group.  The one from E-Promos definitely has a better quality wrap than the one from 4Imprint; it has more material covering the bottle, the clip is more secure and robust, and the neoprene material is thicker and of better quality.  Both companies go with 0.5 ounce bottles of Purell though, which is nice.  They're a little hard to find in retail, I think.  The only other place I've found them at are in 6-packs from Target for $2.99 and it comes with but ONE jelly wrap.

Hand Sanitizer?!

Above would be all of the hand sanitizers in the house... that's not including the small collection in my car...

I've always liked hand sanitizer, but I've never really used it (as you can see, the majority of those bottles are still full other than the large one that sits on my desk and the orange one that's been in my purse for some time now).  Until now.  Why?  I don't know.  It started with all of the free little promotional ones.  Then I got the larger bottles for free after coupons.  Then I thought the little bottles were cute (I'm going after the 0.5 ounce Purell ones next!).  And then the Germ-X brand has the orange and green apple scented ones for kids (those are my two favorite scents).  The collection just built up from there.

Most of what I have are unscented.  Though I do have the orange and green apple as mentioned above as well as lavender.  My mom's a fan of the Bath and Body Works.  I find their scents too strong.  I'd once mixed the Bath and Body Works one with the generic ones from Dollar Tree in a 1:1 and found that it was still pretty strong.  So I guess that's one way of stretching your dollar if you really like the scent of the BBW ones.

A lot of people seem to not like the Dollar Tree ones (Assured brand), but I like them.  Most of the complaints revolve around the idea that it's too drying.  I've found that it works perfectly find.  I did notice that my lavender scented one feels more silky than the unscented one though.  But overall, I'm quite happy with the purchases.  If you want the more portable option though, go for the "bonus" 3-pack.  Each bottle is 2.0 ounces.  There are also 2-pack available, but they're also only 2.0 ounces each.  I don't know why... maybe it's a marketing ploy.  Same company, same volume per bottle, different packaging (the 3-pack ones look more stout, so I guess if you're not looking at the volume, you'd think the 2-pack ones were a better deal).  If you want the larger bottle for say your desk, restroom, or office, go for the "50% more" bottle (12.0 ounces), rather than the regular 8.0 ounce ones.

For the most part, I think I've always had it around, but never really used it because I would have to dig it out of my purse and I don't really like flip-top caps.  Then when I got the larger bottles, they had pumps on them so I would keep one on my desk and found myself using it before meals.

I've since gotten into the habit of using it after using public computers (namely the ones at school), when I'm out eating with my friends and there's no sink available, and after going into stores where I'm touching things that have most likely been touched by a million other people before me.  I don't think I'm addicted to using it as I am forming a little collection.  I think they'll be donated soon enough.  I didn't realise how my collection has grown until I'd rounded them up for that picture.  haha

Meritline $1.51 Firesteel!

Yay!  Another coupon code for firesteel is up at Meritline.  After tax (and free shipping), my total came to $1.51.  The cheapest I've been able to find around here was a 3-pack for $10.00 + tax (and then the gas or shipping cost to get it).  As shown, it's only got a limit of 600 uses (one per account) so have at it.

Check out my "review" on it here.  It's not as cheap as the last time I'd picked one up but it still is cheaper than anywhere else right now.  For $1.50, that's the same as giving up a tall regular at Starbucks for a day.  :)  I'll probably try to stock up on these each time there's a code as stocking stuffers for my hiking buddies.  Great stuff.

New baby!

My chemistry teacher just had his second baby.  A healthy baby boy, little John Hai Mucciaro.  Congrats to the family on their new addition.  :)  He's adorable and I wish the family well. 

Kodak Playsport (Zx5) Review

Like I've said in my preview post, this little bugger can do it all.  I took it on my most recent mission with the G.I. Joe Search and Rescue team and it did fantastic work.  It went through mud, rain, got hit by rocks and trees, came down the side of a mountainside, and it's still working just as great as the day I'd gotten it.

There are some pros and cons, I guess.  But it does exactly what I want it to.  I'm not expecting professional grade photos from this device; that's what my DSLR is for.  Before purchasing, I knew full well that it had would have some setbacks (no flash and such).

Pros:  (starred [**] items were my main focus for purchase)

• **shockproof
• **waterproof (up to 3 meters)
• dust proof
• takes SD cards
• has a tripod mount
• ** turns on and is ready to shoot within a second
• ** extremely long battery life
• On a full charge, the battery lasted me throughout a 3-day camping trip and then some.  I took plenty of photos and videos, using up my entire 4GB SD card.  The battery lasted more than the card!
• This time around, the last I'd charged my camera was a month ago, the first week of October.  Here it is now, a month later, and without charging it prior to the mission and using it throughout the weekend, still has like a 90% charge on it.
• With these specs and such a long battery life, I'd recommend it as an emergency car camera.  You never know what can happen on the road so it's best to keep a quality camera nearby that won't die on you.  Just make sure to charge it every couple of months.  Film cameras work just as well in that situation, but the film can go bad.
• ** uses an almost "universal" charging tip; same one used for my phone, NDSL, etc.  So I don't need to carry around different chargers unless I want to charge all of my devices at once.
• ** price!  ($130.00 shipped a couple of months back)
• Now you can easily find it for about $80.00 shipped or less if you can hold out for a deal to come up.  I've seen it plenty of times at 1SaleADay.
• ** compact
• menu is easy to navigate w/ minimal buttons

Cons:  (Mostly things I knew fully before purchasing but can cope with)

• no flash
• pictures can come out a little grainy depending on the lighting (but at 5MP, they're still good for 4x6" prints)
• I wish the macro setting was quicker to navigate to.  I've been leaving it on auto focus, but when I want that macro setting, it just takes too long to get to so I don't use it at all.

It's got a couple of other options that I don't bother using.  The video setting is great, though I don't use it too often.  I know it's "meant" to be used as an outdoor camcorder or the like, but eh.  My other option at the time was the Fuji XPS since it's also waterproof and shockproof (and comes with flash!) but I wasn't in the market for something with so many options.  I just wanted something almost like a toy camera (point and shoot but turns on and off in a second), but with a name that backs it up and for it to function in the environment I need it to.

All in all, I definitely think it's worth it for the price.  If you're in the market for something similar but do not need the durability of the PlaySport, the Zx8 I believe, has the same exact specifications.

04 November 2011 - Mission: Voorhis

This past weekend, the G.I. Joe Search and Rescue team went out for a mission in Hayward, California.  Though we didn't find any hard evidence, we were definitely able to learn better how to work as a team and got some real team bonding going on.  Seriousness aside, here are some shots from the mission:

All of the photos were taken from my Kodak Playsport.  This little bugger survived quite the trip.  From mud, to rain, to a 1/2 kilometer slide down the side of a mountain, it still performs just as well as the first day.  Not to mention all of the hits it had to take from rocks and trees during climbs.  Battery life and all that is great, but let's keep that for another post.

This is the area we were working with.  Plenty of brush and lots of climbing to do.

Even as the clouds rolled in, we continued the search.

haha This is the infamous giant "Weiner Slug."

Charmander. :)

Salamander Friend.  :)

A quick lunch break after a 400 meter climb straight up the side of the mountain side at a minimum of a 45 degree incline.

Hours later, a quick break and regroup after sliding down the 400 meter mountain side.

Michael's Dollar Stamps!

I LOVE the little dollar bin at Michael's.  I usually pick up a stamp to use with notes and postcards if I can't find anything else I need want for my crafts.  I've got quite a few of the single Studio G stamps, but check this one out!  I hadn't seen it floating around the interwebz yet.

This one's also a dollar, but comes with 3 small stamps (about an inch square) and a little stamp pad.  There were I believe... 4 or 5 different sets, each in a different "color-coded" package.  These weren't found in the usual dollar bin; they were in the "adult finds" impulse buys aisle.  And yes!  They're STILL $1.00!  (Or better yet, $0.50-$0.60 with their weekly coupons.)

I'll probably head back and grab a couple more over the next few weeks when I find myself waltzing in.  They work great for the postcards I've been sending out.  :D