Posts from — December 2011

I am currently on my 4th Blackberry in under a year.  You may be wondering how one person goes through four Blackberries in one year, so let me take you through this process.

• I buy a Blackberry.
• I notice that within one week, a bunch of features aren’t working.  Such as the camera.  And the voice recorder.  But I don’t really care because I still have a functioning phone and access to email.
• I stop having a functioning phone.  Said phone will freeze, and the battery will need to be popped out in order to get it restarted.  And then it freezes again.  And we repeat this process — sometimes two or three times a day.
• I tell the phone company about it and they say they will send me a new phone.  I feel very thankful that we purchased phone insurance.  The replacement process could not be easier!
• The “new” phone arrives.  It is sticky and scuffed and scratched.  It is obviously someone else’s old phone.  I call the phone company about this and they apologize.  When they said, “new” they really meant “previously owned.”  They do not ship out new phones despite the fact that when we signed up for the insurance, we were told that if there was ever a problem, we’d get a new phone.
• Phone company agrees that a phone that is sticky (um… why is it sticky?), scuffed, and scratched is not okay, and they agree to send another phone.
• The next used phone arrives and we set it up.
• It works for a few months.  Then the phone begins to freeze for two minutes at a time.  It unfreezes on its own, so while I find this annoying, I do nothing to fix the situation because I have such a seething hatred of my phone company by this point that I would rather not have a fully functioning phone than deal with them.
• Now the phone begins resetting itself.  Sometimes it does this while I’m in the middle of a phone call and the line goes dead.  Then the screen goes black and the little white bar appears, creeping across the screen like an elderly woman in the crosswalk on a green light.
• Which means another trip to the phone company store.
• We go to the phone company where we are told that (1) no one is there who knows anything about Blackberries, but they are happy to Google our problem and see if any solutions are listed online.  (2) Unless we are willing to pay several hundred dollars, we cannot switch to a different type of phone because I still have one more year on this cell plan and they will not waive the new cell phone rule even though I am on my third phone in under a year.  So I will need to pay the full price — not the $200 or so “new contract” price.  (3) The only solution is… to send me another used phone.
• They send me another used phone.  It takes two hours to set it up.

What have I learned from this experience?

• Blackberry makes a cruddy phone.  No one should go through four phones in one year.
• I will never buy a Blackberry again.
• I will also never buy a phone again that doesn’t have its own technicians at its own store.  Because it is too frustrating to purchase a phone from people who know nothing about said phone and cannot fix it if it breaks.  If the phone maker doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar space (either its own store or technicians set up in a store that deal with that particular product) that I can go to for help, I’m not purchasing the product.
• I hate my phone company and should leave it.
• I would find it preferable to not have a phone at all than deal with trying to get a phone to work.

So that’s my first world problem and vent.

*******

After a brief pause, there have been more Creme de la Creme prizes.

• Somewhere in the Middle… took Fertility Alphabet Soup’s offer of a cigar box purse.  Thank you, Denver Laura!
• And Burble took Still Life with Circles’ offer of a handpainted mizuko jizo watercolour.  Thank you, Angie!
• And The Rocky Road to Motherhood took CD1 Again’s offer of a handmade crocheted scarf.  Thank you, April!

Others will be announced next week as they’re claimed.

Don’t forget, we’re nearing that first December 15th deadline for the Creme de la Creme.  If you haven’t chosen your post yet and you want to ensure that you’re on the list when it goes up, you have about two weeks to get it in.  The final cut-off for being on the list at all is a few weeks after that, but I will not be able to get up the posts that come in after December 15th on the list until after January 1st.  So stop procrastinating — the list is amazing so far.  I’ve loved every post I’ve read.

*******

I finally returned the overdue library book (it was the Steve Jobs book), apologized, and paid the fine (only $1.50 for the additional days).  The librarian was lovely; told me that it wasn’t a big deal, and all was well (I am such a self-flagellating rule follower).  But the kicker is that as we were getting out of the car, the Wolvog said, “I really love the book and don’t want to let it go.  Can’t we get it on iBooks?  It would make me feel better if we could always have it on iBooks.”

It would be meta — the book Steve Jobs on Steve Jobs’ iBooks…

I’m not usually this cranky about purchasing books, but seriously, the boy couldn’t have asked four days earlier so I could have returned the book in time and still finished it?

*******

And now the blogs…

But first, second helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week as well as the week before.  In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “It’s Your Turn… Maybe” (Detour)
• “Camelot” (By the Brooke)
• “What Once Was” (Mrs. Spit… Still Spouting Off)

Only 3 posts last week?  We can do better.  What did you read this week that moved you?  Made you think?  Made you laugh?

Okay, now my choices this week.

Hope Delayed admits that she “just can’t do it today.”  On the way to her 5th Thanksgiving dinner (damn!) she realizes that she has to bail as a matter of self-preservation.  She writes, “I can’t take the pictures with grandpa showing four generations. I can’t take the discussions about who’s kid is walking and who said their first words. I can’t take the pregnancy announcement again. I can’t take all the adorable little kids running around having fun and getting in trouble.”  It’s about finding the balance between taking care of yourself and not wanting to miss out on life.

Words and Pictures has a funny (and sort of by default not-so-funny because it’s so damn true) post about all the things people say to those struggling with infertility.  All done in plasticine.  Need I say more?

Lastly, Family Rocks: The Life of Peg has a beautiful post about things that are easy and hard.  The whole post is moving, but the final one packed a punch: “It’s easy to get things done around the house when I’m by myself.  It’s hard to feel so alone.”  It’s a gorgeous, must-read post.

The roundup to the Roundup: I hate my phone.  Creme prizes galore (and don’t forget to submit your post).  Returned my library book.  And lots of great posts to read.  So what did you find this week?  Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between November 25th and December 2nd) and not the blog’s main url. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week?  Read the original open thread post here.

SPECIAL PRIZE FOR THIS ICOMLEAVWE: One participant from December’s IComLeavWe will be randomly chosen to move their entry into the 4th slot on the Creme de la Creme list (getting more eyes on their post).

Welcome back to IComLeavWe. It stands for International Comment Leaving Week, but if you say it aloud, doesn’t it sounds like “I come; [but] leave [as a] we”? And that’s sort of the point. Blogging is a conversation and comments should be honoured and encouraged. I like to say that comments are the new hug–a way of saying hello, giving comfort, leaving congratulations.

Here is the vital information, pure and simple (a more detailed set of rules follows below the list):

• The list opens the 1st of every month. It remains open until the 21st. You can add yourself at any point. The list is open to everyone in the blogosphere — blog writers and/or blog readers.
• Add yourself to the list by filling out this form: The list is closed.
• Click here to cut-and-paste this bit of code to add to your sidebar (if you have the old code from another month, remove it and replace it with this one). You need to add the icon or a link to the current list on your blog (see below) and will not be added until it’s up.
• Commenting kicks off every month on the 21st. Please mark it somewhere (calendar, post-it note taped to your computer…), though I will be sending out an email reminder on the 20th. Commenting week runs from the 21st to the 28th. Every day, leave 5 comments and return 1 comment for a total of 6 comments. You are highly encouraged to choose the blogs you comment on from the participants list below, but this is not required.
• I will send a second email on the 28th to remind you to remove the icon from your blog.
• Read below if you want to find out about Iron Commenters.
• The commenting ends on the 28th. We catch our breath and the whole thing starts again the next month on the 1st. Drop in and out according to what is happening in your life between the 21st and the 28th.

1. Stirrup Queens (twins, books, writing)
2. Here We Go Again (parenting, random)
3. Geebaby (life, waiting, early)
4. Love Life Project (health, life, balance)
5. Words and Pictures (humour, stories, life)
6. If You Don’t Stand For Something (infertility, family, hobbies)
7. Adventures in Mommyhood: Mommy Ournumbered (mommy, crunchy, life)
8. Survive and Thrive (pregnant after infertility)
9. The 2 Week Wait (infertility pregnancy humor)
10. The Cornfed Feminist (pcos, irony, oversharing)
11. Created Family (unexplained infertility, social worker, ttc #1)
12. Biago – Baby, If All Goes Optimally (secondary infertility, fet, bfp)
13. Bring on the Babies… (IVF, recurrent miscarriage, immune testing )
14. Scrambled Eggs-A Journey from IVF to Baby-Maybe- to Twins (ivf, twins, family)
15. Three Cats And A Baby (parenting, infertility, adoption)
16. Waiting For Little Feet (pcos, ivf, wine)
17. Lessons from an Infertile Social Worker (transracial open adoption)
18. My Life in a Nut Shell (IF, miscarriage, everyday life)
19. Infertiles Laughing (adoption, infertility, humor)
20. Feeling Beachie (life, humor, family)
21. Detour (miscarriage, infertility, endometriosis)
22. The Advo.cat (pregnancy, miscarriage, humour)
23. The Days of Our Lives (adoption, waiting, marriage)
24. Journey to the Finish Line (infertility, running, everything)
25. MissConception (IVF, twin loss, pcos )
26. For We Are Bound by Symmetry (pregnant after IVF)
27. Where Do We Go From Here? (infertility, parenting, life)
28. Les Terres Fertiles (unexplained, infertility, struggle)
29. Unruffled Lanie (infertility, ivf, vegan)
30. Ambition: Motherhood (pregnancy, dIUI, MFI)
31. A Miracle in the Works (pregnant after unexplained infertility)
32. My Lady of the Lantern (neonatal loss, about to give birth again, hope and worry)
33. It Is What It Is (Or Is It?) (domestic adoption, adult adoptee, life)
34. The Pursuit of Pregnancy (lap, septum, endo)
35. Donor Diva: Mother via Egg Donation (egg donation, parenting, secondary infertility)
36. Nursing Infertility (infertility, tests, financial)
37. Our Little Family (infertility, adoption, frustration)
38. Our New Normal (pregnancy loss, adoption, life)
39. Creating a Family (infertility, adoption, parenting)
40. Let’s Conversate About Irregardless (ttc, ranting, 80s)
41. Life is Simple, It’s Just Not Easy (TTC#1, IVF, post-cancer)
42. The Rocky Road To Motherhood (life after IVF)
43. Polycystic Inside (ttc updates, rants & dreams, art)
44. Building a Family Through Donor Insemination (donor sperm, infertility, life)
45. Kay Khronicles (infertility, food, life)
46. Hapa Hopes (infertility, life, relationships)
47. Compromised Fertility (FET, 2WW, hope and patience)
48. Notes from the Ninth Circle (waiting, IVF, frustration)
49. Sometimes it’s hard to get pregnant (infertility, everything about infertility)
50. This Blondie Wants Babies (ivf, miscarriage, life)
51. Relaxing Doesn’t Get You Pregnant (parenting, humor, expletives)
52. Exploring Chaos (IF, parenting, TTC # 2)
53. Between the Paper Sheets (early pregnancy, iui, marriage)
54. kate: uncensored (life after infertility)
55. Home Grown Love (infertility, home, love)
56. A Little Blog About the Big Infertility (and Adoption too!) (adoption, pregnancy loss, adenomyosis)
57. Searching for our silver lining (IVF, unexplained infertility, balance)
58. Infertile in a Fertile World (TTC break, TTC with IF, endometriosis)
59. Living Our Life In Cycles (endometriosis, IUI #1, coping with IF)
60. Wistfulgirl’s World (life, adoption, PCOS)
61. TTC A Modern Medicine Miracle (pregnancy loss, donor sperm, military life)
62. The Elusive Second Line (TTC #1, PCOS, infertility)
63. Hoping for a Due Date in Good Time (IVF #1, endometriosis, infertility)
64. Ambitious Knits (knitting lawschool birth)
65. All in God’s Time (infant adoption, infertility)
66. the stork drop zone (infertility, humor, life)
67. Not Just An Army Wife (military, miscarriage, pcos )
68. The Journey to Baby G (ivf, early pregnancy, anxiety)
69. A Half Baked Life (food, parenting after IF, yoga)
70. A Blanket 2 Keep (infertility, life, hope)
71. RelaxedNoMore (TTC, pregnancy loss, infertility)
72. Knocked up by Another Man (parenting, alaska, de-ivf)
73. A Bend in the Road (life after stillbirth)
74. Our Roller Coaster Through IVF (IVF, family, early pregnancy)
75. Cherish This Day (family of 4, Sagittal Craniosynostosis, TTC after IF)
76. Getting There (adoption, life, work)
77. Holly’s Narrative Dream (secondary infertility, life writing)
78. Being Joyful Always (adoption, infertility, weight loss)
79. Lil Family Blog (motherhood, lesbians, adoption)
80. MotherNatureSchmature (secondary infertility, FET)
81. Just Let Go (adoption, rpl, humour)
82. A Mommy’s Thoughts (mom after pcos)
83. Fractured Family Tales (life, kids, snark)
84. believing in june (mfi, ttc #2, hopeful)
85. Hope Delayed (infertility, ivf, life)
86. Give that girl a tall cappuccino (scrapbooking, life, travel)
87. Metholic (ttc, IVF, foster care)
88. Outlandish Notions (parenting infertility general)
89. Donating Hope (sif, egg donor, faith)
90. Wishing and Hoping and Thinking and Praying (1st iui, pcos, ttc)
91. Carneyexploits (crafts, IVF, homemaking)
92. Buck Up, Buttercup (2nd trimester pregnancy after loss, twins, creativity)
93. BattleFish (life, early pregnancy, IVF)
94. Life As I Know It (twins, parenting, life)
95. It’s Definitely Possible (SMC, pregnancy, 3rd trimester)
96. Scrambled Eggs (infertility, IVF, life)
97. The list is closed.

Q: What if I miss a day?

A: Catch up the next day by doubling your comments – 12 comments instead of 6.

Q: What if I have two blogs? Can I sign up twice, listing both blogs?

A: Yes, but you also need to double your comments. If you have two blogs listed, you should be leaving 12 comments per day.

Q: What is an Iron Commenter?

A: Not for the faint-of-heart. People who wish to be an Iron Commenter and be entered on the Iron Commenter honour roll need to leave a comment on every blog on the participants list (exceptions are blogs that require you to have a special log-in, such as some LiveJournal accounts or other similar situations). You can spread out this commenting any way you wish over the whole week, but the final comment needs to be left by midnight on the 28th (EST). Reaching Iron Commenter status is done on an honour system. Please email me if you earn Iron Commenter status so I can add you to the wall of honour.

Q: Why do I have to add that bit of code to my sidebar?

A: The code is the latest icon (the icon changes colour every month so you know that you’re on the right list). This month, the icon is red, the next month it will be yellow, etc. The reason is two-fold: (1) it enables more people to find out about IComLeavWe and (2) it gives you easy access to the current list once the commenting week actually begins and better ensures that you’ll use it. Too many times, people sign up and forget to actually do IComLeavWe and this icon gives you a daily reminder (with the dates on it) every time you open your own blog. The icon is linked back to the current list. On the 28th, remove the icon from your blog. A new one will be created for the next month.

Q: It’s the 23rd and I just saw this for the first time on my friend’s blog! I want to join the list–why can’t I?

A: Because IComLeavWe happens every month, once the list is closed, it’s closed. If you’re finding out about this on the 23rd, you can’t join the current month. But leave yourself a note to check back in a week on the 1st and you can sign up for the next month.

Q: You said the list closes on the 21st. Well, it’s still the 21st where I am. Why aren’t you moving my information onto the list?

A: All dates and times are U.S. Eastern Standard Time (UTC/GMT -5 hours). The list closes around 11 p.m. EST on the 21st.

Q: What if no one comments on my blog and I have no comments to return?

A: Well, that really doesn’t happen for the most part, but in that case, simply choose another blog and add an additional comment. The goal is to hit 6 comments daily as a minimum. Going over that is fantastic and encouraged.

Q: Mel, my question wasn’t covered at all. What do I do?

A: Email me; I’m quite friendly. It helps to place “IComLeavWe” in the subject line. You could also check this post which contains the history of IComLeavWe and see if you can glean anything there.

Looking for the comment section? It has been closed on this post. Use the form in the directions to add yourself to the list.