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mercury going retro the 28th of january. that’s now, ya’ll.

i give “merc retro alerts” when we hit the roughly 3-week patches a few times a year when mercury, the messenger, goes retro. standard advice includes avoiding new projects, reviewing old ones, allowing for technology glitches and delays and the like…many times, my web server goes down during mercury retros. this time, i just have a couple domains that will be down, so i hope that has me covered for the tech gliches. ha!

 elsa-my favorite online astrologer - has a 1-minute astrology video about this merc rx here.  (note: even if you’re not into the astrology in the least, i still highly recommend elsa’s 1-minute astrology video series. you can totally ignore all the astrological references, and you’ll still get some damned good food for thought out of it.)

in short: communication slooooooowwwsss down and must be controlled and responsible. elsa’s advice: don’t let anybody push you to rush. good luck, friends!

As you may recall, I’ve been patiently (okay…maybe not-so-patiently), but anyway, I’ve been waiting on my Roomba. I ordered it a full month ago.

After waiting the ridiculous(!) required NINE business days to check up on it, I contacted buy.com, known to me for the good prices and horrific customer service. I answered an intermidable questionarie that basically boilded down to, “Are you too stupid to look through your boxes to make sure you found everything or what?” Except the other box I got was about the size of a loaf of bread. Yeah…well, I don’t know about their magic packing techniques, but I think I would have noticed a Roomba crammed into the remaining 2 square inches filled with packing peanuts, man.  But anway, I jumped through each ridiculous hoop.

And then they said, “Well, would you like to cancel your order and request a refund?”

And I said, “No. I ordered the Roomba because I wanted a Roomba. I would like to request my Roomba.”

And they said, “Well, since you still want the Rooma, why don’t you cancel your order, request a refund and reorder the Roomba?”

I said No. Specifically:

> I don’t really want to pay a second time for an item I haven’t received, and
> then initiate a refund request for the one I didn’t get. That doesn’t make
> sense to me. I’m not having a “Roomba Emergency,” so please just ship me
> the missing item as soon as you can. It’s been ordered and paid for once, which
> seems sufficent.  Thank you.

Seems pretty clear, right? Not all that hard. I glanced over their response  to that, always a few days later, and got that it meant “wait more.” So I was trying to think about other stuff, but decided to check on it today, since it’s been a full goddamned month. Time to get back to it. I pulled out their response…Uh…

“We apologize for the delay in processing your claim. Following your request we have updated your lost/short shipment claim to reflect a refund instead of a replacement. We assure you that we are working diligently to resolve this issue.

We appreciate your patience and thank you for your loyalty.”

Ow. Ow. My brain hurts. First of all, what in there sounded like “cancel my order?” Huh? Huh? I don’t think so. And on top of that, I’m NOT patient, and I’m not loyal to ‘em! I cuss ‘em everytime I hear the words “buy.com” or see one of their new damnedable commercials. “Spend your money on customer service instead of adverstising, you no-good motherfuckers!” I call out to the tv. But anyway…good I doublechecked, finally. Oh, and the refund did process…a couple of days ago. Jesus.

But you know what? I’ll tell you–I’m still an optimistic fool. I reordered it from them.  

But I still count this as a pre-merc rx wrong number: That damn collector that is looking for my husband’s exwife left a message.

Now, the last name they use for her is from her marraige AFTER she and hubby split. She married the dude she was screwing at the time, and it’s his last name. So it’s not like there is ANY legitmate reason these fuckers have to call us. She has NEVER been at this number. We’ve had this number for about 15 years–Jesus! Have we been in this po-dunk town that long? Eeek. But regardless, she’s never lived with me.

  (God help me at the thought, for fuck’s sakes!)

But I’m left wondering: are they just retarded, or did the bitch give out our number on her bills she wasn’t planning on paying one day? Or did they end up with our number by some bizzare, credit buereu mixup? Not that I’m losing any sleep over it. I’m not. Blocked the mother fucking number, matter of fact. (Privacy manager phone service ROCKS.) I could give a shit if the ex pays her bills or not. Not my problem either way. Not my life or my interest, in any sense of the word. As in the whole thing is a big, fucking “Who cares?” for me.

But anyway, I’m calling that whole thing as being about as wrong as a number can get. So add one to the wrong number tally, man.

Merc retro starts in about a week. This is the time when Mercury appears to be moving “backwards” from our perspective. Regular readers know I always yammer on about Merc retro, which we get about 3 times a year for about 3 weeks each time, as a time to watch communicaitons, and expect delays, confusion, snafus, etc.

Well, I have LOTS of Mercury in my natal chart. You’d consider it Mercury ruled, without question. And about a week before Merc Retro, I start seeing the signs.

In the last two days, for example, I got about 5 or 6 wrong number calls! In two days. Normally, I might get one every 4 months or something? About that. Damn.

Merc retro is tricky, but not that tricky. Basically, doublecheck communications. Avoid new projects, but revisit old ones. It’s like the time to clean out your closets, so to speak. Don’t get more stuff to put in them (figuratively or literally: clothes bought during a Merc Retro will probably just look funny on you). But go back, review, relax, and let the world sort itself out.

This time, Merc goes retro in Scorpio, and goes direct into Libra. What that means is that you should review relationships for hidden issues, underlying dynamics, and be aware of secrets (including those you keep from yourself). Be fair and kind, however, to use the Libra energy, and don’t take it all too seriously. It all balances out in the end. Ask any Libra.

 from astrology on the web -

At 23:41 UT (Universal Time), just before midnight on June 15, 2007, Mercury, the cosmic trickster, turns retrograde in Cancer, the sign of the Crab, sending communications, travel, appointments, mail and the www into a general snarlup!

in cancer, look to issues of home, family, motherhood, and emotions.  we’re in retrograde until july 10th. patience is a virtue and remember, pauses are necessary sometimes. don’t sweat it.

3 things i appreciate right this minute:

• My lifestyle. I know I’m lucky and I appreciate the freedom and choices I have in my life.
• My people. There are people in my life who love me, as I am, and appreciate me as well. That’s a wonderful feeling. “I get by, with a little help from my friends.”
  
• Responsibility for my own happiness. I don’t look to others to provide happiness mostly, because I know that when you’re relying on someone else seeing the world as you do to feel content, you’re on shakey ground at best. Instead, my belief that how I direct my own thoughts controls my sense of well-being leaves me in a powerful place to both be and stay happy.

Three things I am glad to have in my life right now:

• Peace. I don’t want any drama around me, on me, near me or hanging over me. Granted, when it’s around, it’s usually not me manufacturing it. Regardless, though, it can still get on you. But for the moment, the air is clear of that shit, and that’s the way I like it.
• Integrity. Maybe it’s weird to be thankful for feeling like I have my integrity, but you know what? I am. I’m an honest person. I don’t bullshit. I don’t try to manipulate others. I don’t try to use other people. I say what I mean and mean what I say. I try to act in accordance with my values and beliefs, all the time. And while it may be a little less convenient sometimes, it’s SO worth it to feel good about myself and how I interact with others. And that is something I am grateful for feeling.
• A soft spot. As in, I have a big heart. Now, that’s not to say this has never come back to bite me in the ass. More than once, really. But you know what? Even with that knowledge, I wouldn’t change anything. I am who I want to be.

I guess the gist of today’s three things is that I like who I am, I think. And while there are things I’d like to improve upon, I am happy overall. I can’t imagine a better reason to be thankful than that.

Ok, it’s time for my thrice-yearly merc rx alert…for the uninitiated, that means that Mercury appears to be moving backwards in the sky, from our Earthly vantage point. It’s called a retrograde, also designated as “rx”. Astro-believers see this as a time for all things ruled by Mercury–namely communications, siblings, short trips, etc.–to go a little haywire.

So if this stuff bores you to tears and provides yet another reason you think I’m insane, you might want to skip the rest of this post. Har! (more…)

Three things I appreciate today:

• Mail. It’s very cool to be able to send paper from one place to another without having to drive there.
• Email. That’s how I do most of my work, and I like it that way.
• Checks in the mail. Love those checks!

i appreciate –

• snack night with the family–finger foods and tv shows.
• nice-smelling shower gels
• snuggle-time–hubby, kitties, whatever. just snuggle time.