Posted by Raul on May 12, 2011
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It’s been with me for such a long time. So long that it seems it’s been forever.
At first I didn’t choose what kind of car it’ll be, it just happened to be there when I wanted one, and so it became part of my life. With a happy heart from my part we both started to roam the land together, without knowing what the future would be.
After so many years of trouble and continuous fixing to keep it rolling, it just became the way things are, without much thought about the practicality of that fortuity association, and even more, the logic behind the continuity of such association.
There was no reason to question why remaining the ownership when the absence of practicality was the norm. Maybe becoming accustomed to the same sight everyday; maybe the bothering thoughts of having to start from scratch at rebuilding and upgrading another one. This car runs good enough, even if it’s not what it’s really needed, so why bother with the restoration process in another car that has the desired characteristics.
But then, without the intention of searching or shopping around, after so many years, this other car showed up and presented many of the characteristics that seemed to be the ones originally desired.
Practicality is still absent, I must add and admit, yet the many different characteristics that make the personality of a car, and that are the ones that most appeal to my desires and needs, seem to be there.
It is not about the opportunity to switch cars, but rather the situation that, having appeared from nowhere, call the attention to the forgotten elements that create the deepest bonding that suppose to be the base in everything.
All the forgotten questioning that became buried in the past, to give way to a dull, numb driving of the already driven roads; and even more, defy the acceptance of continuity when the old questioning surface once again.
But then the doubts: What if, after going through the same long process of restoration, the impracticality still shows up in this other car? Wouldn’t that be changing everything just to get back to the same place? Why bother then?
At the other hand: Is it all these doubts because of fear to fall into the same situation after so much work? What if the different characteristics really make a big difference? Why not to give it a try?
Then again; is it proper to fail to the given word of continuity? And does such condition really exist? What about the roads that cannot be traveled because the actual car doesn’t adapt to the requirements of such roads? Should be a renounce to those roads the proper way of behavior? Or just a point of cowardice or social adaptation?
What a confusing situation!
To drive or not to drive! To restore again or maintain forever?
I can’t deny the excitement of just the thoughts of driving that other car in new, different roads; different to the normally traveled for so many years, once the restoration process is completed (if such thing exists!).
Maybe pondering the situation a little longer; maybe forgetting about it completely and just keep going as it has been for so long, to the point of becoming again “the way things are”
The eternal internal battle of logic and reason against feelings and intuition: Which one brings the permanent, or at least longer, state of internal harmony?
Why do we humans love to always create new problems to ourselves?!
Raul
Posted by Raul on May 9, 2011
It was about ten o’clock in the morning when the doorbell ringed; I opened the door and found a technician from Comcast (my IP provider) who claimed to be here to activate the requested phone service (which I have with Qwest). Surprised as I was I told him that nobody requested such service, and I wasn’t expecting anyone from Comcast to show up. He checked in his (seemed to me) cell phone and confirmed the appointment, so I had no option but to insist that I didn’t want to switch my phone service to them and asked him to cancel such work order. He apologized for the inconvenience, worked in his cell phone and told me the order was cancelled; then he left.
That same day in the afternoon the doorbell ringed again, I opened the door and found another person from Comcast, this time introducing himself as a supervisor who was in the area checking for customer satisfaction. He asked for the installation of the new modem for the internet service and asked if everything was OK with the technician coming in the morning. I told him the technician didn’t mention anything about switching the modem, but instead he wanted to connect phone service; that I explained to the man it was a mistake and nobody had requested such service; and so that I dismissed the technician.
He apologized for the confusion and explained that the purpose of the technician wasn’t to connect phone service but to upgrade the modem for a better and even cheaper bill internet service. He explained that with the new modem customers have a smaller bill, and he didn’t want me to find out later that my neighbors are paying less than I for the same service with the company. He wrote down a new work order for the following day in the morning for a technician to show up and switch the internet modem. He told me then, if anything happened and it was not possible for a technician to show up in time, he will call me and let me know. I thanked him for his courtesy and, holding the white copy of the work order, I closed the door and smiled for the outstanding customer service the company has shown (silly me!).
Nobody showed up and nobody called to explain why!
That’s fine, there’s time to switch to a modern modem if the need arises, I thought.
The next day I tried to create a new email address to use exclusively with the scooter’s club I participate in, so went through the process in my Outlook Express and, copying all the steps from the actual address I have, created a new one for the specific purpose.
It didn’t work!
After several attempts I decided to call Comcast’s customer service and ask for help; after all they claim I can have up to seven email addresses within the contract.
My first call was for service in Spanish, so there’ll be no misunderstandings because of language (I am Chilean). The lady who answered was a big time talker, repeating several cliché phrases about my satisfaction, customer priority, etc, but didn’t know about the system more than I do, so there was no solution to the problem. By the end of the call she asked if there was something else she could help me with (she wasn’t any help with the first issue), so I mentioned about the modem switch work order that didn’t happened. She checked her computer and confirmed the work order for installing phone service, not switching modem! I asked (in my best calmed and controlled voice) that I wanted to cancel the phone connection since I didn’t request it. She said she couldn’t do that but she could connect me with the sales department; I accepted and she made the switch. The lady (speaking in English) didn’t hear me, so after several attempts I had to just hang up the phone.
With my state of mind a little in the high tone (which is known in my country as “boiling shit”) I called again to customer service, this time in English, to ask for help with setting the new email address. The man who answered could barely hear me and didn’t understand my talking (I must clarify; when I’m mad my English pronunciation is better than normal since I speak at a slower speed and trying to modulate better -That’s the way you know I’m mad). Again there was no solution; he went to the same process I did first and got to the same place I did: Nowhere. I mentioned if they might have a problem in their system and, after repeating and repeating everything I said, finally, out of rage, I told him “How do you want to sell me phone service if you cannot even hear me on the phone?” and hanged up.
To calm down I decided to surf the net for a moment and found out now I didn’t have internet service! With my fist pointing to the heavens I screamed “Damn you Comcast!” Well…not really, but I was mad at them.
At home there are three computers connected to the internet through the same contract with Comcast. Only one had internet!
With my almost non-existent knowledge and skills about computers, I checked everything I could to make the three computers have internet. I disconnected the router and plugged by turn each computer straight to the modem, to first discard the possibility of a faulty router. Every computer had internet this way, but only after doing a re-start. My conclusion was that Comcast can only recognize and accept one computer (I don’t know about computers and/or IP companies remember?).
Tired of getting nowhere I decided to drive to a Comcast office close by to ask for a technician to come by and check the whole system. I didn’t want to call again (I have a very sensitive shit!). My thoughts were that, if it was required to talk on the phone with customer service to change codes or something like that, a technician could do that from my place better than I.
I took a bill statement with me as proof of customer and all the numbers they might need to identify me as such. The lady took the statement and scanned it, so all the information about my account appeared in her computer screen. I explained I wanted to set an appointment for a technician to come by and check why I didn’t have internet. She said the computer showed I didn’t have a forty five dollars a month service that will allow me to receive a technician without cost, so the fee for a visit would be forty dollars…
”Do you want to add that service now?”
Also, there was a pending phone service connection.
I breathed deep…I took hold of all my experience in Yoga and relaxation techniques (which I have never practiced in my life) and told her that please cancel the phone connection and let’s go with the forty dollars for now; that I wasn’t sure to keep the service with them. She typed in the computer and told me that the order was cancelled, but she couldn’t schedule an appointment because the system was down!
“So what can we do now?”
“We have to wait until tomorrow for the system to come up again, and then we can schedule an appointment”
“So there’s nothing to do for now”
“Nope”
She could scan the statement and get all my information as customer in her computer, but couldn’t schedule an appointment!
I left the store not sure if it made any difference in person compared with on the phone.
Once at home I decided to try again and reprogram the router…just in case. After following the procedure, the step by step guidance told me it couldn’t find the router.
Aha! Maybe the entire problem is the router! -I said to myself.
So I rushed to the store and bought a new one. Once back at home I followed the procedure to install it and program it, and voila! All three computers have internet again. It was a faulty router after all.
With this I can see it wasn’t a Comcast problem, but I still have a bitter feeling about how they handle customer service and the tactics they use to sell more services.
When checking the snail mailbox yesterday I found a letter from Comcast telling that some unknown company is planning to buy Qwest, so how is that for customer service from Qwest? Why should I put up with Qwest not telling me that they might sell to some other company I don’t know about? Of course, the phone number and the URL from Comcast were there for me to immediately switch services to them!
One…two…three…four…five…
Why am I telling you all this?
I used to think that relying too much in electronics and computerized services is giving away our own power over our lives. What would happen if a virus enters the systems in one of these companies? If an earthquake destroys the link towers or systems they have? Customer service cannot solve problems when everything is fine, will they be able to be of any help if an extreme situation arises?
How would you pay with a credit or a bank card, even if the money is in your checking account? How will you recover all the information about people you know and do business with if the robots that remember information and passwords suddenly die? If there are no more internet and phone services?
How much of our lives are dependant on a technology that we are loosing control of?
I used to think that an external agent such an earthquake, a virus, even a terrorist attack could change everything. Now I believe we don’t need that; customer service and the voracious hunger of companies for getting more and more customers to charge every month, without caring for providing a good (or even decent) service will do the trick in the future.
When was the last time you heard of a company proudly claiming being “Third” in customer service in the country? When was the last time you received prompt and knowledgeable service from one of these companies?
They are loosing control of their own business because of paying more attention to acquire paying customers that retaining them with a good service.
Lies in publicity have become institutionalized and are the norm nowadays! It cannot be only number one companies, right? Somebody have to be second, or third.
Let me briefly summarize it:
-The collapse of the electronic and computerized systems.
-The institutionalized lies as a way of business.
-The interest in quick profits at any cost rather than continuity in business.
-The degradation of the competition as a form of publicity, rather than the self improvement as a company, as a way to gain and retain customers.
We are giving away to technology our own responsibility of our doings in our lives. We don’t need to remember…technology does for us. We don’t need to learn…we just Google it. The use of technology is even replacing our need to know how to read a map to get somewhere. Thanks to technology and our laziness we can stop the learning and skill acquiring processes, leaving ourselves in a very precarious position if something happen to our beloved technology.
Don’t get me wrong, I love technology and I wouldn’t go back in time. I don’t believe that the past was better than the present or the future, but I do believe technology should be used to “help” instead of “replace”. With technology we can do more and faster than was possible before, so we can use it to lead better, more productive lives, rather than using it to rest over it and stop our own growth.
Using technology as an aid we can create a better future, but if we use it for monetary gain or to slow down our own self growth, we might find ourselves in a very tight situation in the near future.
Am I becoming obsessed? Have you experience similar situations? Do you agree with some of these points? What is your take on this?
Raul
Posted by Raul on May 3, 2011
It can be an empty fridge; it can be just being bored; or maybe tiredness of finding the same clothing in the closet; the thing is…it’s shopping time!
When I was a child, one of the games we had was to make a small hole in a box (like a shoe box) and from a set distance trying to get little crystal marbles in the box by giving them a little impulse, just enough to get them rolling to, and inside the box through the little hole.
Now, when remembering those times, I feel I was playing “Publicity Expert”
Like a superior being, watching from above, finding a way to make those little marbles roll to, and enter the store to shop.
But the rolls have inverted…now I am the marble slowly rolling to, and inside the box. How the hell did they do that?
I suppose to be the superior being with amazing capabilities, controlling the game of my life? How did I become the tool they use, to make me do whatever they want?
Practice makes perfect, or at least better. I got good enough at getting those little marbles inside the box. Now I am the marble being good enough at getting inside the store!
Shit!
A society of marbles, slowly rolling by the gentle impulse given by…
Is there anybody out there?
Is there anybody controlling this thing?
Are we, small marbles, being gently pushed? Or are we just “suggested”, so we fall. Like inclining the surface on which the marbles stand, and letting them roll on their own to their happy demise.
Like a crystal marble that prides itself in its shiny composition, yet is externally controlled by unknown forces, denying with it its own power to float in space, magnificent, unmovable, amazing.
When I was a child I used to play getting little crystal marbles through a small hole in a box. Little I knew I was witnessing society from the eyes of a publicity expert in the world of adult life.
Raul
Posted by Raul on April 26, 2011
1958 Messerschmitt KR200
Are microcars making a comeback?
From the 40’s, and during the 50’s and 60’s there was a full line of manufactures creating all sort of very small, cheap cars. The intention was to reach a market of people who didn’t have the money to buy a “normal” car and to pay for the highly priced fuel in Europe.
These so named microcars were part of the scene in cities and roads of the European world, and some of them even made it to the US. But while fuel prices here were low, and roads long, microcars didn’t stand a chance against the big, luxury local vehicles of the time, so those little examples of basic transportation became simply curious toys, if not the target of all kind of jokes.
"Yes officer, it IS a car!"
Now we are faced with increasing fuel prices and crowded cities, so many people look at European models that might have something to offer for the local roads. So far the VW Beatle made a comeback, together with the Mini (under a different manufacturer), the Smart Car, and now it seems the Fiat 500 will be roaming American roads by 2012.
These are not the same as they used to be of course. These are updated models that meet all the requirements for new cars to be legal in this country, so what once was a small, simple, affordable transport vehicle, has become a luxury; highly technological device that reflects modern’s times.
My 1957 BMW Isetta 300
I’ve always been fascinated by small cars, to the point that I own a little Isetta 300, so when I heard of the Fiat 500 comeback, I had to go and see it with my own eyes.
It was a pleasant surprise to see that little car among the other “monsters” at the showroom. Retaining the simple lines inside and out; small but roomy enough, and even with some luxuries included such as electric sunroof and power windows.
I was ecstatic for the availability of the vehicle in a short time, and even the crazy thought of eventually buying one in the future did cross my mind…until I saw a picture of both; the old and the new Fiat 500 standing side by side.
Fiat 500 "New vs Old"
What happened to the little car concept?!
If you take a look at the picture of both cars, you’ll see that there’s nothing small about the new one, well, in all fairness, the original one was classified as a “microcar” so I guess the new one could still be considered a “small” car. But for someone like me, that like the original concept of the microcar (think of a scooter with a body for rainy days), the excitement of a brand new microcar available for purchase in the present, dissolved like the colors of the picture under a heavy rain, and floating down the street drain it disappeared once more.
I guess is still about restoring the little one to make it shine once again in the presence of others; those who remain in the race of incorporating more and more elements, size and weight, as the way of natural growth nowadays.
So no…microcars are not coming back… 
Raul
(Sigh!)
Posted by Raul on April 19, 2011
A couple of days ago I had the opportunity to visit the Denver Auto Show, and check out the latest additions to the market by the different car manufacturers. It wasn’t the best or more extensive presentation that could be but, hey…it’s Denver, not Paris!
Besides the usual new models that will replace the actual ones now on the road, there were some nicely restored collector cars (two or three), some very aggressively adapted pick up trucks (those you need a ladder to get inside), and a couple of chrome and leather carrying bikes…you know…those that like to imitate thunder in a sunny day.
What surprised me the most was the very commonly added computer screens and extensive array of buttons and controls over the center console in the majority of the vehicles. It seems the convenience of centralizing all kind of information (GPS, vehicle status, environmental information, climate control, music selection, etc) has become the norm for the new models, only denied to those basic and cheaper models of the line. Those vehicles also had several buttons located in the steering wheel to control the stereo and the cruise control system.
Do we read the owner’s manual in every device we buy? At the other hand, is it a car or the Millennium Falcon?
I can understand the need for information; personally I like to know what’s going on with the car at all times while driving, but it seems too much for the majority of trips people make (including myself).
It becomes like a very expensive and technological decoration, to make the car look and the driver feel of driving the “latest”, no matter what it is. Driving around with a very cool screen ON in the center console of the car and a complete array of buttons and knobs, surrounded by a tiny line of neon light: The future is here!
Does anybody use all the possibilities those system gives?
I must admit, it looks pretty futuristic; the perfect console to impress friends, family and sporadic new acquaintances! But the point is; are all these new systems a necessity or just the elements to turn a transport device into a luxury toy that appeals to our child senses? Has it become a way for us to show off when there’s no other element of pride to show?
Do we buy our pride in comfortable monthly payments?
Makes me wonder…
What’s your take on this?
Raul
