I'm Naming Names

On Thursday I got a mysterious call from CapitalOne (R) urging me to call an 800-number about my credit card. This was strange since they didn't elaborate on why or which card (I have two CapitalOne cards) this was about. I was really hoping for the scene from Friends where Rachel's credit card company calls her about some "unusual activity", i.e. she had stopped using her card, which would have applied since there is nothing to buy here in Medora and I can go weeks without making a purchase. However, I wasn't so lucky. It turns out that my CapitalOne (R) Visa (R) credit card was part of a mass compromise. I had to close the card immediately.

They claim that the only information leaked was the card number and no purchases were made, so I guess it could be worse. This would have been almost painless EXCEPT for the fact that the hackers happened to get the number for the card I use for all of my automatic bill payments. Go figure. I'm sure CapitalOne(R) did its best to clean-up the mess, but what they don't understand is that I pay my Qwest Telephone Company(R) bill using that card.

Now, Qwest(R) has absolutely the worst customer service on the planet. When we moved into our house last May, we had arranged to have our phone, internet, and TV service set-up on the day of closing. Only after we moved in did we find out that there is a three-day waiting period from the day the last person ends their service to the day when new service can be set-up. In a world of automated, you-don't-even-need-someone-to-come-out-to-the-house-anymore-to-set-up-your-phone/internet service, I find it hard to believe that the technology isn't there to get this done faster. Without really knowing what has to happen, I have to assume that there is a very convoluted Qwest service set-up process, which, in their defense, may be hindered slightly by they ultimate bureaucracy, the United States government. Whatever the reason is, I ended up on the phone with a manager who was yelling at me for trying to make sure the first week of my service (which I wasn't getting) was not going to be added to my bill.

My experience trying to get my automated payments stopped yesterday was no different. I talked to no less than five individuals from different departments and was routed to the automated system - twice. First I got someone in customer service, who routed me to automated payments, who said she would route me to billing. "Billing", my fellow Qwest customers, apparently means "return to Go, do not collect $200" - it's the automated system you first started with (better compared to "jail" and forget the get out free card). Finally, I got back to customer service, who sent me to the credit department, where I finally got a hold of someone competent - Rochelle. Thank god, because by now it had been about 30 minutes (not bad, you might say, but the threat of being stuck in customer service hell and being bounced back and forth between the nine circles -er departments was enough to make me truly abandon all hope of ever getting out). However, I wasn't done because my bill had suddenly jumped over $25 this month and so I need to talk to yet another person from billing to find out that DirectTv had changed my billing cycle and I would therefore be charged an extra half-month this month. Wonderful.

Anyway, after all that I had lost my faith in good old-fashioned customer service. Perhaps I am being spoiled by all of the personal attention in North Dakota or maybe I am just too self-absorbed to realize that companies really don't care about my business. That's when I called Rochester Public Utility. I chose one option, got a person, told her the situation and that I didn't have my account number, and she punched in my address and took care of everything. All, with what sounded like a smile and in under two minutes. There might be a customer service god after all.

The Beginning

I've been meaning to start a blog for some time now. There's just too much going on in the world, and not to mention my life, to stay silent anymore. So, here it goes - my first post.

Right now, I'm a 24-year-old Software Engineer. I spend a lot of time driving these days as I live in Rochester, MN, but work 2-3 weeks every month from the small town of Medora, ND. Those of you who are familiar with the area will surely ask "Why?" - with good reason. There's nothing to do up here in the winter time besides take a hike outside on the rare occasion when the temperature is above freezing, hang out in one of three bars that sporadically open whenever they feel like it (except for The Knotty Pine, which is open daily and the only place in town with a TV on Superbowl Sunday), or visit the Post Office in hopes that your next Netflix movie has arrived. In fact, I get the feeling that for the local crowd, there's never much to do, as the town is so small that when I signed up to get a phone number for my apartment, I was asked, "What number do you want?". Well, I do have a one good reason to be here and have since found many more.

My husband, Nathan, is a Park Ranger and got his first winter job working in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which is right next door to Medora. I'm lucky enough that I can work remotely and when I found out about the job AND the fact that we had access to high-speed internet, I said "sign us up"! I've been a big fan of the National Park System ever since Nathan convinced me to turn our honeymoon into a three-week trip through South Dakota to Yellowstone and Glacier National Park (where he works in the summers). I love how clean the air is in these parks, I love seeing the rare geologic and scenic features of each park, I love the feeling of the ground under my filthy hiking boots, I love seeing more than five stars in the night sky, and best of all I love seeing animals like bison, bears, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, pikas, and marmots in their natural habitats. That honeymoon trip made me realize how important the earth is to me and I love how much attention the environment is getting right now. It's about time! I'm sure you'll be hearing more about that later.

Anyway, when I found out I had the chance to live in a National Park, I couldn't pass up the opportunity and you know what, I'm loving it. It's not just living a few blocks away from a herd of bison that's amazing, it's the whole lifestyle that goes along with living out on the prairie. We have to drive 30 miles to the nearest town to get groceries or see a movie (the Cinema has 3 screens, by the way, a far cry from Rochester's 36 total). This sounds like a drag, and it can be, but food is never wasted and going into town turns into a half or entire day affair complete with the rare chance to eat at a restaurant and go bowling. We only go about every two weeks, so I'm eating better since I'm not at a restaurant every-other night! At night, there are no club meetings, no obligations, and our only chores most nights is washing the dishes by hand. These open nights (with no TV, I should mention) leave us with plenty of time to watch the complete three seasons of Arrested Development, learn about birds and mammals from Sir David Attenborough, or play a good old game of cribbage. I call this my simple life and it's about time I had one. The pressures of work, keeping our house running, and extracurriculars were driving me nuts and, although at the core of my existence I like to be busy, there can be too much of a good thing. That's why I drive back and forth between my "simple" life and my "real" life. It gives me the amazing chance to have both and I'm glad I do.