Sorely Disappointed in AT & T

October 10, 2015

I have been a customer of AT & T for years and have always been very happy with the products and service, until today. A year ago, when we were considering switching to Straight Talk to save money, we stopped in an AT & T store. The salesman was so convincing that instead of saving money, we actually purchased 3 new phones that came with a 99 cent tablet each. 

When I expressed my concern over how much the money the monthly bill was going to cost, the salesman assured me REPEATEDLY that we can drop the tablet lines ANYTIME WITH NO TERMINATION FEE. NONE. 

The 1 tablet is used heavily but the other 2 are barely used, so I decided to drop 2 of the tablet lines. Low and behold, I'm told there is a $102 early termination fee. I explained the salesman assured me repeatedly that this was only for the phones, which I wasn't cancelling. The first gentleman said he would transfer me to the cancellation line to see if they could do anything about it. Instead, he transferred me into the voicemail of my home phone. The second person told me there was nothing that can be done, that I she can cancel the lines but I'll be charged $102. 

I said to leave the lines in force but that I am very unhappy with AT & T at this time. If a salesperson makes a promise, regardless of whether or not he is mistaken, that promise should be honored. I appreciated the fact that she was willing to tell her supervisor that training is needed at the store in question, but that really doesn't help me. The only reason we bought the tablets was because we were assured we could cancel anytime. So educating the sales staff now isn't really going to help me while I am making payments on something I don't use. 

Regretfully,

A very unhappy AT & T customer

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I posted the above message on the AT & T Facebook page today.  I doubt it will do any good.  But I'm ever hopeful.   


UPDATE:  AT & T responded to my message, immediately, asking for my contact information.  About an hour later a gentleman called and said he can't waive the activation fee, but to keep the tablets on the bill and he dropped our base rate by $20.  The tablets were running us $23.06 a month, so this is fine with me.  Thanks to Spencer, my faith in AT & T has been restored. 

The Fat Lady Has Sung. #Whole30

September 20, 2015

Well, the fat lady has sung and unfortunately said fat lady is me.  While I did manage to stick to the Whole 30 throughout the first 30 days and the first part of the reintroduction phase, I blew it the day I reintroduced dairy.  I couldn't wait to eat ice cream.  I was all set.  So I went to Mexico Market where I had a coupon for a free small cone or dish and got a dish of peanut butter ice cream.  Ice cream is dairy, after all.  Unfortunately, the peanut butter is not.  Peanuts are a legume.  I shouldn't have had the peanut butter.  Crap on a cracker!

Then, I had a really bad day and came home and someone totally ticked me off.  So I said screw it and ate chocolate.  Dumb dumb dumb.  A mistake was one thing but giving up was entirely was a different story. I'm so mad at myself.

But here is what I learned.  I can stick to the 30 days.  And I have learned from the mistakes I made the first time through the plan. I'll know what mistakes to avoid next time.  And I did lose 18 pounds, which is awesome.

So I'm going to try to eat mostly unprocessed foods and allow myself other items in moderation. Then, after the holidays and hopefully when my stress factors level off, I plan to do the program again. But this time, I'm going to make some of the recipes from the book and I'm going to make sure to have food ready ahead of time.

This was not a failure.  I have learned from my mistakes.  Next time, it will be better.

Day 32 & 33: ARGHHHHH! #Whole30

September 12, 2015

I'm so disgusted with myself right now.  Today wasn't a good day.

First, I got a call from my daddy telling me he can't come home from the hospital today, as scheduled.  Last night, his pulse dropped from 90 to 17.  The doctors had to determine whether his medicine needed tweaked or if the problem was that the surgery threw off the electrical impulses of his heart, which isn't uncommon with aortic value replacements.   They put him back in CICU and put a line from his groin to his heart.  They determined it was the electrical impulses being off and that he now needs a pacemaker.  Since it is Saturday, there was no one there to do the surgery.  So he will be in the hospital until at least Tuesday, since they will place the pacemaker on Monday.

Then, I went to help my husband clean out his dad's workshop.  My father-in-law was diagnosed with vascular dementia in September of 2014.  He and my mother-in-law moved out of their house and into an apartment last March.  The house is now for sale and the workshop has been sold and is being moved off the property on September 15.   So my husband has been working to clean out the shop, which was a hoarder's delight.  Well, I went to help, which was no fun in and of itself. But then my mother-in-law and husband got into it, which just made the whole situation even worse.

When we were finally finished for the day, I went to Walmart to get groceries. Since I'm in the reintroduction phase, I still can't have legumes (again), dairy (yet), and gluten (yet), but today I reintroduced non-gluten grains. So I grabbed a Lean Cuisine with Chicken and Rice (yes it was processed but I was in a hurry).  Also, since I wanted to run out to see my brother this evening, I just grabbed a bag of beef jerky to eat on the way home so I could wait to eat supper until after I got home from my brother's.  What is beef jerky?  Dried beef...so obviously no dairy, legumes or gluten, right?  Wrong!  After I was already eating it, I thought to check the ingredients.  What does it contain?  Wheat.  Wheat! In beef jerky!!! Argh!

I'm so disgusted right now.  But I'm going to try to stick to the rest of the reintroduction phase.  Since I never got the burst of energy and my skin never cleared up, I don't think I would have been able to ascertain what foods were truly causing my problems, anyway.  But I want to stick it out.

After the holidays, I plan to start the entire program again. Hopefully, when my stress level has decreased, I will be able to get the full benefits of the program. Hopefully......

Days 31 and 31: It Ain't Over Yet! #Whole30

September 10, 2015



Yesterday, I was allowed to reintroduce legumes.  Did you know, peanuts aren't actually nuts?  They are legumes.  So I had celery with hummus and an apple with peanut butter.  They were wonderfully delicious!   Unfortunately, I was so tired from not sleeping much lately, before I ate these items, that I couldn't tell if they effected me or not. 

Now I'm back to only Whole30 approved items for today and tomorrow.  Then I can reintroduce non-gluten grains.  I think I'll be having oatmeal for breakfast and brown rice with supper.  Can't wait!!

Days 29 & 30: Almost 18 lbs gone!!! #Whole30

September 8, 2015

Woo hoo!!! It is Day 30 and I'm down almost 18 lbs!  What a feeling!  I am so glad I did this.  I get to start reintroducing food tomorrow---peanut butter and hummus, here I come!

I really wonder if I would have gotten the energy benefits if life wasn't so stressful right now---new job, son starting college, my dad having heart surgery (today, actually--he is doing well, by the way, praise God!).   Maybe doing this kept me from feeling even more tired than I would have been otherwise.

I can definitely say it is the right way to eat.  I know I am treating my body the way it deserves to be treated.  I don't want to go back to subsisting on sandwiches.

While I may not be quite as strict in my day to day life as I was during the plan, I do want to stick to eating mostly whole foods.  If I can tolerate gluten free grains, I would like to add brown rice.  If I can tolerate dairy, I would like to add Greek yogurt.  But I really think this way of eating is so beneficial.

I finally got my blood work results back from a draw that was done 2 days prior to my starting The Whole 30.  Guess what?  Inflammation!  I'm anxious to have the test done again to see if the inflammation is now reduced significantly.

My "plan" is to start using a workout tape tomorrow morning.  Now that I'm losing weight again, finally, I need to up the ante!  Go me!!!

Days 27 & 28: Home Stretch #Whole30

September 6, 2015

Two more days before I can start the reintroduction and it can't come soon enough.  I am desperate for something different.  I'm going to have peanut butter celery for breakfast and hummus with celery for lunch.  I can't wait.  I'm so excited.

Everyday, I still want to quit. Every. Single. Day.  I really thought this would get easier.  And in a way it has.  I'm not as hungry, most days.  But days like today, I'm eating everything in sight because nothing is killing the cravings for something different.  Of course, I'm in a REALLY bad mood, so that isn't helping.

I am praying I can stick it out the next two days then the 12 days that follow for the reintroduction.  Then, I'm hoping that I only eat the "forbidden" foods in moderation.  I know this is a healthier way to eat. But it is expensive and boring and a lot of work.  It is so much easier to grab a yogurt or a protein bar while running out the door to work.  Again, I think if I would have gotten the burst of energy and felt awesome, it would be easier to take.  But I started this during a stressful period in my life, so those things just didn't happen.

Maybe I'll try the entire plan again sometime down the road when live isn't as crazy.  Of course, we are never guaranteed smooth sailing, are we? 

Days 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26: Not As Hungry, But Still Want Cake #Whole30

September 4, 2015

I started my new job on Tuesday and I love it.  But life has been very stressful with learning new responsibilities, daddy still being sick, and my brother having health issues, as well as the usual stress over bills and such.  Strangely, I'm not feeling the need to stress eat like I used to do.  Is it because I'm happy at work, or because of the Whole 30?  Who knows.  But I'm glad I'm not as hungry as before.  

I am finding, though, that I still have a great desire to quit the plan.  I know, I know. I've come too far to quit. But I'm sooooo sick of meat and nuts.  And the fruits I enjoy most are no longer in season.  I did buy some apples today and when I can add peanut butter in 5 days, that will be great.  Of course, I have to take it away again the next day until I finish reintroducing everything else.  Oh well.   I can do this.  

In fact, I really don't want to go back to eating the way I used to eat.  Don't get me wrong.  I want to add back dairy, legumes, grains, etc.  But not in large quantities. I want to keep my mainstays protein, vegetables and fruits.  It is much more healthy.  But I don't plan to be as strict.  Everything in moderation.

I really wish I could get my family to eat this way.  If we all did it, it would be so much easier.  Watching them eat chips, ice cream, and cookies hasn't been easy.  A that full gallon of milk in the refrigerator isn't helping either.  And I'm not a big milk drinker. But I'm so sick of water water water.  I know, I need to put on my big girl panties and just drink it.

I'm really looking forward to weighing myself. I actually almost had my son weigh me and just tell me if I lost more than 5 lbs.  I didn't, though.  But

I am weighing myself on Day 30.  Enough is enough.  Seriously!

As much as I have complained, I'm glad I undertook this journey.  It has been good for me and I hope it will help me adopt a new way of eating and a new plan for the future.  Now if I can just bring myself to start using that workout tape!! Maybe when it isn't so hot?  ;)