CyberCJH's Blog

Yay! We’ve been talking about it since March and today, we finally consolidated our cell phone plans into one FamilyShare plan.

We (me, Christina & Fely) are sharing the FamilyShare Select 1,400 plan. Our annual savings (compared to paying separately as we were currently doing) will be around $480/year. Not to be sniffed at.

If, after a couple of months, we realize 1,400 minutes was overkill, we will downgrade to the 700 minute plan. This will save us an additional $200/year if we decide to do so.

That brings our total annual budget cuts to $2,766. That money will buy a lot of diapers, wipes and formula.

written by cybercjh

Take a gander at the picture currently being displayed on wamu.com’s home page. Maybe I’m the only one who sees the irony in this.

“Want to make saving easier?” asks the big silver pig with the blue Chase tattoo. Wow, Chase will help me save?! But, look a little closer.

The pig is fat, even comically so. It gorges itself because of its greedy, insatiable appetite for its customer’s money without concern of the consequences for its own long-term health. Instead of maintaining an ethical, healthy diet of fair interest rates and fees that could presumably go on forever, it would rather satisfy its current appetite by feasting on ever-increasing interest rates that exceed the definition of usury and outrageous fees even with the knowledge that at some point it’s going to end. And now, it is ending as the government works to pass Credit Card Reform legislation. Poor, poor pig. It guess he’ll have to go to rehab.

The pig has one huge completely open eye staring at you. Just stare at it for a moment. Creepy, right? It never blinks. It’s always watching you, waiting for you to screw up, waiting to pounce on you with the next fee to pacify its ugly habit.

The pig is standing tall with its ears forward, both traditional signs of dominance. The pig knows it’s in a strong position. It has …

• billions of dollars it can use to bribe the people writing the Credit Card Reform legislation aimed at protecting consumers,
• billions of dollars it has unfairly collected from those consumers as a result of its unethical business practices that the Credit Card Reform legislation is supposed to prevent
• and, billions of dollars the people writing the Credit Card Reform legislation borrowed against (and, presumably, on behalf of) the consumers the Credit Card Reform legislation is designed to protect to give to the pig in order to help the pig survive.

Simply put, the pig is too big and too important to die.

The pig has no mouth because it’s not interested in speaking. And why should it speak? Really, what would the pig say? “We’re sorry?” Hardly.

The pig is Chase.

written by cybercjh

Back on July 18, 2008, I blogged about the 5 area Starbucks that are going to be closing. Since then, I believe they’ve all been shuttered.

Sadly, it’s been announced that yet another Starbucks in our area will be closing – this one is at Port St. Lucie Blvd. @ Bayshore Blvd. This is the Starbucks in the same shopping center as the FedEx Kinkos, across the street from Winn-Dixie.

This leaves Port St. Lucie with just two Starbucks – St. Lucie West Blvd. @ Peacock Blvd. and inside Target in Tradition. We went from having 4 Starbucks to just 2.

Damn this recession!

written by cybercjh

Note – I wrote the below entry this afternoon in a fit of both anger and disappointment over a departmental meeting. It amazes me how grown, college educated adults in executive positions act sometimes. “Billy pushed me down on the playground at recess today and I’m really, really p.o.’ed about it.” 

Based on a meeting we had a work today, I’ve decided to split myself into two separate and distinctly different people. From now on, when I step through my employer’s doors, the new work-me pledges …

1. … to remain grateful that I have a job. I will keep this in mind as my sole motivator. Nothing else is as important is this. That’s why it’s Number 1. I don’t go to work for any sort of personal satisfaction or fulfillment. And, I certainly don’t go to work because I enjoy what I do. I go to work because I’m grateful to have a job.
2. … to not speak unless I’m spoken too. Nobody is interested in what I have to say and chances are whatever I had to say would be wrong anyway.
3. … to pretend to have no other interests, friends or even a life outside of work. Thoughts of my life outside of work serve no other purpose except to distract me from remembering that the only reason I’m here is because I’m grateful my employer gave me a job.
4. … to have no expectations to a learning environment. While I fully understand that I’ll probably be more eager to go to work if I feel that I will learn something new and improve myself, I’m just grateful that I have a job.
5. … to expect no communication from management unless I’ve done something wrong. Good employees expect to be told when they do good work. Me? I’m just grateful that I have a job.
6. … to have no expectations to good working conditions. Good employees expect their employer to be making constant improvements so the workplace is not only safe, but pleasant. But, I’m just grateful that I have a job.
7. … to not have fun. I’m not here to have fun. I’m here to work. I understand smiling is also highly discouraged as it may seem to be an indication of happiness and happy employees aren’t thinking about how grateful they should be for their jobs and if they’re not thinking about that, they’re not thinking about work and if they’re not thinking about work, why are they getting paid? I’m just grateful that I have a job.
8. … to remember I’m a cost to the company, not a human. I will strive to be as dedicated to the business as possible, doing more than what is expected and putting forth 110% without giving any consideration to my personal needs, thoughts or desires. My schedule is rigid and ever expanding. My clock will tell me when I’m hungry. I’m just grateful that I have a job.

written by cybercjh

For the first time since November, I paid more than $2/gal for gas yesterday. I paid $2.019/gal at the Sam’s Club on Gatlin.

I wonder how far and how fast gas is going to go up this summer.

I’ll be surprised if we see $4/gal gas again like we did last summer.

written by cybercjh