New addresses to link to...

So it is all coming together. My Wordpress blog is up, and is a mirror of this one. I'll be keeping this page for a while, but will eventually abandon ship when the new one officially launches. I am still looking for a better background color for the look and some items also need to be tweaked and re-arranged. You can find it here

I am also working on getting the photography gallery up and running. For the time being I am fooling around with a decent site for the month and will decide on something in a week or so. I like the look so far and it even has a gallery in it. It is a series of abstract work that I have done. You can find that place by going here


Please comment on the state of my affairs. Send m your suggestions on colors, fonts, etc...I have wanted to use Helvetica, but I don't think I can. Trebuchet MS will have to do for now.

Johnnyboy

Goodbye to PayPal...Good riddance.

So I have used EBay for a few years now and have never had a problem. I have also used Paypal for the same amount of time and, also, no problems. A few weeks ago that changed.

Just for fun I tried to apply for a PayPal Credit Card. After a short credit check, I was denied--big surprise there. In my mind and experience, that was the end of the matter, and I went on my merry way. Then I began to receive statements from PayPal stating that I owed them a monthly payment for charges to my PayPal Buyer Credit account. Thinking that this was a phishing scam, I disregarded the notice. The next month I received the same statement, but with a higher minimum payment. So I began to call PayPal. What they wanted to pay the account were the routing and checking account numbers of my own bank. I spoke to my bank. They advised me to not give them the numbers.

In the end, after formally disputing the charges*, I made the payment using my checking account. I now have a zero balance. I wanted to close my account, but PayPal would not let me. The letter I received from them regarding my dispute was a form letter sent to buyers/sellers and had nothing to do with me. This morning I called PayPal and was able to close the account.

PayPal is not a financially secure way to build credit. Although they are affiliated with a bank, they do not seem to be governed by the FDIC, as the bank is actually in Luxembourg. Now, my facts may be incorrect, but on-line research has shown me that I am not the only one to have gone through this and there have been far worse scenarios. Some people have had their entire bank accounts frozen by PayPal and it has taken months to thaw them out. It all seems pretty shady to me. Plus, the unofficial rumor is that EBay trying to discourage any seller who does not accept PayPal, which seems discriminatory to me. Perhaps it is not.

So...I am no longer using PayPal. No worries for me. Good riddance.

On more positive notes...I am currently beginning a move from this blog to a WordPress site. I hope to have my actual whole website up soon, before I head off to Europe, at least. It will be a basic page with links to my gallery page as well as others, including the blog. When the times comes, I'll set up a re-direct for everyone.

Johnnyboy

*I withdrew the dispute before paying the balance. The letter arrived a few days later, and, like I said, did not address the subject of my dispute.

Ups and Downs...

I don't know what was happening in the past few weeks. A friend told me that Mercury has been in retrograde, and that we must all watch our speaking, thinking, and actions. Sounds like we should all stay in bed. The good news is that, I think, it is no longer retro, so things should be getting better. Here's how my life has been...

I wasn't able to get any work done, although I have been granted extensions on my two courses from last semester. That has changed in the past few days, as I am almost finished with most of what I started two months ago, and only since Wednesday. Even I am impressed.

My Credit By Evaluation (CBE) for college has been turned over to yet another evaluator. Apparently the first woman didn't supply the proper work for the needs of the college. So I have to go through this process again. I am left feeling discriminated against. For instance, if I had been in the armed forces for two years, I would have been granted automatic college credit for doing so. This does not apply to an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts, 120 credits from the culinary school I attended, or the 18 years I spent working in the field. Logic says that if I had learned how to kill someone at 1000 yards with one shot I would have no problem getting the 16 credits I am asking for. Just remember, I only feel as if I am being discriminated against. No one can sue me for 'feeling'.

Mom's mental state has shifted slightly, and she is becoming a little more disoriented and confused than before. Thank the Big Wheel that we hire the caregivers when we did. It makes this transition smooth and easy. Overall though, her health is solid, her mood is up, and she is safe, warm, and loved from all angles.

I have my tickets for my spring trip to the Balkans. On the schedule are the two AA conventions (Croatia and Greece) and a side trip to Serbia. Serbia celebrated two years of AA this past November, which makes me grateful to be sober and witness this kind of 'seed planting' of sobriety at this time. I am looking forward to the experience. I am going to keep things loose in terms of destinations. I am flying into Vienna and will take a train to Zagreb. This means I leave to return to the US from Vienna as well. I will have to explore that city and give it its due.

As promised, the enclosed picture is of the new baby, the Canon 50D. I have the 50mm L series lens attached for the full effect. That's a lot of glass, as they say.

What a time to be alive!

Johnnyboy

P.S.--Nice job America! Now let's get to work!
--J

Oh my...My, oh my...

My new camera arrived -- with it my new lens. These represent an enormous upgrade in both cost and commitment.

I have been fooling around with it for a few minutes, after charging the battery, of course.

Oh my.

A Canon 50D with a EF 50mm f/1.2L USM lens.

Oh my.

It puts the Rebel XTi to shame. It's so heavy. It's so solid. The bokeh is so smooth. 15 mega pixels. Almost noiseless shutter....just a soft 'thwwwppp'--no click or anything.

I'm in love again. I'll post a picture tomorrow...

Johnnyboy

Contradictory people...

When my sister was here over Thanksgiving it seemed that every time I made some comment about food or the weather, or anything really, she needed to make some contradictory statement. An example is:
Me: That news restaurant has a huge menu, most of which is pre-fabricated food from a freezer.
Sister: I love pre-fab food! (In reality she never has. She has maintained the aura of an Earth-friendly local food type of person for decades.)

Today I experienced something else. One of the care givers always has to make some kind of damn statement about how we live here at our home. It is driving me nuts. Today, however, it was different. I am expecting a package via Fed Ex. It is a new camera and lens. It is quite an investment and was in the 4-figure range of pricing. The sender (Beach Camera) requires a signature form someone in the house to complete delivery. I am planning to go to the grocery store. In the event that they deliver while I am away I told Elizabeth (her real name) about the possibility and could she sign for me. Her response?

Elizabeth: It's been my experience that FedEx just drops things wherever they want, and never requires a signature.
Me: But the sender requires it due to the high value of the package.
Elizabeth: That has never happened to me...

All I wanted was "Sure, that's fine." I didn't need her personal opinion and a run-down of her experiences with FedEx. Nor do I really want her opinion on anything except the health and well-being of my mother. It bothers me that she tries to impose her values in my home.

I am tired of these people contradicting me just for the sake of hearing their own voices. They do not contribute to the conversation of the forward movement of society.

On better things...I have finished the dreaded 'Digital Art and Design' class. It is over and I will never take another on-line course again as long as I have something to say about it. 'Unfulfilled', 'Bamboozled', 'Tedious', and 'Waste of time and money' are some phrases that come up when I think of it. After reading the comments of others I have discovered that I am not alone. I am back on track with the rest of last semester (thankfully!) and start the next one in two weeks. I will begin my Senior Thesis and take a class (Study Group!) called 'From Page to Stage" which is about reading and staging theater. Sounds fun!

BTW...If you haven't already, see the documentary 'Helvetica'...Very fun and cool.

Johnnyboy

Empire State College screws up again...

Last year I submitted a proposal to my college for credit for previous life experience as a working chef. I had almost 20 years in the business before I left for a new life, much of which revolved around ESC and my completion of my B.A.

It has been made aware to me that the evaluator never sent any of the forms into the college. So I called the evaluator. According to her she sent them three times and then finally on a special form supplied to her by the college itself--all before the holidays.

So where did the form go? Whose in-box did it land in and who deleted it from their file? Who is to blame? Who is lying? Who is guilty of discrimination?

I have to admit that trying to get any credit from the college has been a disappointment. They do not accept credit from "trade schools" like culinary institutes. On the other hand they do automatically give credit to people who have served in the armed forces.

Perhaps I should have learned how to kill rather than cook. Then I would have no problem getting credit.

Johnnyboy

The new year, with old year flotsam and jetsam...

The holidays are over, the tree has been discarded, the tourists have departed the area and Somewheresville has settled into the mellow calm of January. If only I could do the same.

I am still behind in last semester's work, with three papers to write before the middle of the month. I can do it! Yes I can! I feel like Bob the Builder...

I begin the next semester right on the heels of the departing one, so I will be happy when I can begin something anew, with a fresh outlook and be through with the leftovers.

Mom is doing well; safe, happy, warm, loved, and cared for.

I am now in my 7th year of sobriety, having celebrated my 6th last week. Life goes on, thank the Big Wheel that spins in the Cosmos.

Johnnyboy