Autumn Update

The weather has yet to turn completely dour here in Portland. I'm told October 31st is the cutoff. After that, we can expect rain until the 4th of July. So I'm trying to take advantage of these last few weeks of sunshine. It's been a bit chillier, in the 60's most days, which is pretty near perfect and is keeping my electric bills at an astounding $25/month!

I did a great camping trip on Labor Day weekend with Candice up to the Lewis River area in Washington. I wish I'd done more hiking this summer, but with gas being so expensive, I've definitely started to lean more toward biking. I've done a fair number of good rides this summer. Two 100-mile rides with one more to come, a bike camping trip to Bagby Hot Springs 40 miles each way, and this morning a "metric" century, a 64 mile ride out of Salem. That's what this picture is from. That's my friend Patty who came with me along with two of her friends.

A few weeks ago, I did a solo 70-mile ride down to Canby Ferry, a 6-car electric ferry that crosses the Willamette into the town of Canby, known for its vast dahlia farms. For all the pretty flowers, I unfortunately didn't find a single convenience store or restaurant and had to bike the 35 miles back to the city on an empty stomach.

But it was a beautiful ride, and I got to see two forms of rare Northwest wildlife along the way. I spotted both a coyote AND a John McCain poster in someone's yard. One guess as to which one was closer to the town of Portland. I found the coyote in Riverview Cemetary within the city limits. The McCain poster was in Canby at the farthest spot on my ride. I weathered both sitings safely and lived to tell the tale.

I had hoped to make it back to town for Bento and a beer at the Lucky Lab brewpub, but the lack of food took its toll. Around mile 60, I started to crash hard. I got lost in Southwest Portland, started walking my bike, and my brain cells started interpreting my map as an inexplicable set of squiggly lines. Just a few miles short of the Lucky Lab, I spotted a Pizza Schmizza and settled for that. I had to sit for a good 20 minutes to get myself together again for the 5 mile ride back to my place. I believe I had a good nap that day.

This weekend, Patty and I are planning a bike camping trip to Trillium Lake on Mt. Hood with a group. And the weekend after that is the Harvest Century Ride. And I've finally decided to invest in a new bike! I have someone building one for me, so unfortunately it won't be ready before any of the rides I'm planning. But I'm sure I'll get some use of it next year.

There isn't much other news. I've been working, spending time with Patience, restoring some furniture, and knitting a new hat in my spare time. Part of me is looking forward to the turn in weather so I can go into hibernation mode for a little while and settle into my place more. I LOVE my townhouse and am so glad I made the leap! Until next time...

More Summer Pictures

I just added to my summer album, so here's the link again. Finally, you can see my little angel Patience. We went to the Big Brother/Big Sister picnic today - played Frisbee, did the sack race, and loaded up on junk food.

You'll also see pictures from my Portland Century ride and my first bike camping trip!

Summer Pictures

Staples Update

About 20 minutes after sending the "Email Carpet Bomb", I received a call from Regional Vice President Frank Gorski. He apologized for the issues I'd been having and said that I was absolutely in the right. According to him, they have only been strict about enforcing the 14-day policy for the last couple of months, and my particular situation had never come up. He blamed the store manager for misinterpreting the policy, and said he would clarify it with all of his district managers immediately. I'll still never shop at Staples again, but I'll stop the crusading and let people make up their own minds.

Boycott Staples!!!

So here's the story. Three weeks ago, I went to Staples to buy a laptop. They were out of stock, so they ordered one for me and told me I had 14 days to return it after it arrived. There were some serious problems with it, so I went to return it on Tuesday, 11 days after I received it. I was then told that the policy was 14 days from the date of PURCHASE, not arrival, and that I could not return it.

I tried reasoning with everyone I could speak to. Setting aside the fact that the clerk lied to me, the policy lacks all reason. Why should I be denied the right of every other customer to inspect the product for 14 days simply because it wasn't in stock?

After a day of phone calls, the manager agreed to let me exchange the laptop for another model in the store. So I drove back the following evening to do that. I chose the Dell that was on sale and displayed front and center in the store. "Nope, we don't have it." Nor could I order it online - it's not being sold anymore! OK, how about this one? Not in stock. The Sony VAIO? Nope. I ended up ordering a different Dell that I didn't even want just to get out of there, but in the end thought better of it.

I called the manager again and said I wanted to walk away from it. He informed me that I had no choice in the matter. I was going to take the Dell I ordered online, and I would not have the option of returning it under any circumstances. I asked to speak to the Regional manager. He refused to give me a name or number. I threatened to call the corporate offices and to dispute it with my credit card company. FINALLY, he agreed to take the return, and I found myself driving out to Staples for the third night in a row to get my money back.

This morning, I initiated Executive Email Carpet Bomb 2008 - a letter to the CEO, President, and several VPs to let them know what I think of their "super" store. The one to the CEO seems to have been returned, but luckily I have the corporate address!

There you have it, folks. As my friend Nick said, "Maybe they should call it the Sleazy Button."