Askewed News » rants

Sorry my tree crushed the power line

eastbluffbarbie — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:04:36 +0000

While I’m bitching about the storm, I’ll go ahead and add my rant about Ameren.

My tree snapped my next door neighbor’s electric line 6 AM Friday morning. She called Ameren and they tell her they will be out. So she sits in her house without power and heat, yet thankful that no one was hurt. The meter reader comes by. Our meter is indoors so I actually talk to the guy. He asked me if I knew that there was a line down. I told him that it was my neighbor’s line and that she had called in to report it. He also called in to report it. We think maybe this will speed things up, considering it is laying in the road and alley way.
My husband comes home and begins hacking away at the limb balancing on our cable line. He also hacks at the tree that smashed the neighbor’s shed and partially landed on her son’s car. We see Ameren on the block behind our and get excited. “Neighbor is getting power back!” we foolishly think. Ameren pulls down our street, slows down, looks at the down line and keeps on driving. We almost cried. So I call Ameren to complain about the down line and lack of power. They tell me that they will get right on it.
Fast forward to later that night, the neighbor calls back to check the status of Ameren as her house gets colder and colder. She is told that it was reported as only a line down and not a power outage. WTF???? I’m not sure what else a line down could mean! Considering she called and told them she had no power and I called to report her lack of power, how the hell could they not know she had no power?
Finally after 36 hours without power Ameren shows up. The technician asked if she was okay. She told him that if she had a stick up her ass she would be a popsicle. He told her he didn’t have a stick! Okay they redeemed themselves a bit with that line. Finally her power was restored.
We understand that there are priorities such as hospitals, traffic signals, etc. but be competent in the first place. Shit, any moron knows that no line no power. Why doesn’t the call center?
We really appreciate the men and women who had to work in the weather to restore services to the city. It isn’t their fault. They do the job dispatch tells them. As the weather today gets shittier and shittier I really hope we don’t have another on like last Thursday and Friday.

Out of the Loop

eastbluffbarbie — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 01:44:25 +0000

The storm Thursday took out a large chunk of the tree in our front yard. As a result we have had no internet access. We were better off than the next door neighbor. Our tree took out her cable and her power line. Friday I look out and see a rather large chunk of tree balancing on our cable line and our internet didn’t work. I call Comcast and they tell me the city has to remove the limb. I call the city and they say Comcast is responsible. So my husband borrowed a chainsaw and removed the limb. I called back Comcast to tell them that the limb is gone and our internet still isn’t working. They tell me that by 3 PM Saturday we would be up and running. Three comes and goes. No internet. I call Sunday morning and get a recording that says my appointment is scheduled for between 8 and 8 December 25. WTF?? I wait on hold forever to be told that December 25 was a tentative date and that we will have service before then. I explained that I wouldn’t have been upset if they hadn’t promised my service to be running the day before. They apologize and give me a credit.
Monday rolls around. Comcast fixes my next door neighbor’s line first thing in the morning and doesn’t touch ours. I wait patiently until early evening and call to make sure that there wasn’t a mistake. No mistake. We were still on the list to be fixed. I told the woman that it was asinine that a contractor was just here and didn’t do my line while they were at it. She had no comment. Finally this afternoon they got us up and running. So I’ve been out of the loop for a few days. I’m glad to finallly have the internet back so I can bitch and moan. It is truly Comcastic!

Why??????

eastbluffbarbie — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:49:39 +0000

I just need to rant a bit.

Why the fuck were they filling potholes on War Memorial this morning?

Why the fuck doesn’t Kmart sell crotch socks (men’s tube socks that go above the knee for those who don’t know)?

Why the fuck did the city make this new snow plan?

Why the fuck doesn’t Walmart have beer on tap to make dealing with the asshats easier?

Why the fuck does it always look like a bomb went off in Big Lots?

Why the fuck can’t you buy orange juice, milk, and cereal at Kroger on Wisconsin without them assuming you are on WIC?

Why the fuck does the Kroger on Wisconsin have condoms, pregnancy tests and Axe body spray under lock and key at the pharmacy? Maybe if they unlocked the condoms there would be no need for the pregnancy test!

Why the fuck did I have to listen to my cashier’s weight loss testimonial when there was a line accumulating behind me?

Why the fuck did District 150 have to have a teachers institute tomorrow? Don’t they realize that I’m already going to be spending 2 PMS fueled weeks with my children?

Why the fuck did someone else agree to marry Drew Peterson? Start writing your will and digging your grave now, honey.

Why the fuck do I have strange, vivid dreams every single night? It is no wonder I am worn out all the time.

Why the fuck does Christmas have to be next week? Can’t we delay it a month? I’m sure I’d be more prepared then.

I think I have it out of my system for the time being.