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Ryan Gillespie
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Nov 12 2008
The $130 piece of cake
Near the end of work last Friday, one of my co-workers sent out an email offering luxury suite tickets to the LA Kings hockey game Saturday night. Since I haven’t yet been to an event at Staples Center (or an NHL game) and it was an opportunity to see a game from a luxury suite, I grabbed two of the tickets.
So on Saturday, a friend and I went to the game. One of the perks (as described by one of my roommates) of the luxury suites, is the dessert cart that goes around to all the suites. When it came around, I asked my friend if she wanted something, which she did. A decent sized slice of a “S’Mores” Cake. Prior to the game, I had stopped at an ATM to get some cash…just in case we wanted something from concessions. Of course, since I was prepared with cash, the cart didn’t take cash…only cards. So I gave the guy my debit card and he authorized it (and I signed) for $9.98. A little spendy…but it was a decent sized slice of cake. Anyway, the game went on…the Kings beat the St. Louis Blues 5-3…and I took my friend home.
Sunday night, I’m out checking out a different friends artwork at a gallery opening and I get a call from my credit union. They are calling to check about possible fraudulent activity on my card. There are two charges on my card for Saturday night from Levy Restaurants @ Staples Center. One is the pre-authorization of $9.98…the other was a settled charge of $130.11. I explain to the person on the phone that I had authorized $9.98, but not the $130.11. They told me that since it was a merchant dispute, I’d have to contact the credit union during regular business hours to dispute it. When I get home and look at the receipt (to see if there is any contact info)…the phone number listed is 310-XXX-XXXX. Looking online, comes up empty as well (only a corporate office number in Chicago).
Monday morning, I call into the credit union as soon as they open at 8.30am. I get told by the phone representative that I need to fill out a form and fax it in. I do this, and call back about 45 minutes later to verify receipt of the fax and to see when a credit will be processed. This second rep is not able to verify receipt of the fax (just that it wasn’t sitting on the fax machine) and tells me that it could take up to 5 business days to process a provisional credit. I tell the rep that it is unacceptable and that I’d like to speak to someone higher up. The rep transfers me to voice mail of the Manager of Central Operations “Tom” and I leave a message requesting a call back today.
Before lunch, I still haven’t heard back, so I call again and this time I’m transferred to the voice mail of Sylvia, apparently the only person that processes these disputes. Again, I leave a message requesting a call back today.
I call back again after lunch, talk to a different phone rep, ask for a supervisor and again get transferred to Tom’s voice mail. I leave a second message.
Having not heard anything yet, around 3pm I call again. This time the phone rep tells me that I’ve filled out the wrong form. I press the phone rep, “Are you sure this is the right form?” as she seemed a little unsure. I even asked if I could speak with someone who would know for sure. After a few “hmms,” she decides that I do have the right form and lets me know to fax it in (to a different fax number that goes straight to Sylvia). I do this, requesting a phone call for confirmation upon receipt of the fax.
Having still not hearing anything, and business hours coming to an end, I call again around 4pm. I end up getting the same phone rep that I had talked to around 3pm. She informs me that actually she told me the wrong thing…and it is a yet a different from I need to fill out. I ask to speak to a supervisor but am not transferred. Instead she suggests that I fax this new from to both the Sylvia fax number and her supervisor (who might be able to issue a provisional credit). Again, on the fax cover sheet I request a phone call confirming receipt and I also express my frustration with the service provided today, which is causing me to seriously consider finding a new credit union.
Of course I do not get a confirmation call. So when I leave work, I call again. This time the phone rep does confirm that the supervisor received the fax (though doesn’t confirm Sylvia received it). By then the business day is almost over and I’m pretty much out of options for the day.
Later in the evening, I file a complaint about Levy Restaurants at Staples Center with the BBB. I also write down my notes for a letter to the President/CEO of the credit union. I decide to wait until Tuesday to actually write the letter though (because I was so frustrated Monday night). Below the cut, I’ll paste the letter I submitted and his response. As of now, besides his email response, the issue has not been resolved and I have not been contacted by anyone from credit union.
**update 3:59pm**
Just received a voice mail from the credit union. They apologized for the issues and want me to call back. So once I get out of work, I’ll call back and talk to them (I’ve got a direct number this time. In the meantime…a provisional credit has been issued. That credit will likely be reduced by the original amount authorized once Levy @ Staples responds…but whatever.
**update #2 5:10pm**
Talked to Sandy from the credit union. Says part of the problem was a training issue and she’ll work on correcting that. Apologized for the frustration they caused. They’ll keep me up to date with any news from Levy @ Staples.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.rhinoblues.com/thoughts/2008/11/the-130-piece-of-cake/
Permanent link to this article: https://www.rhinoblues.com/thoughts/2008/11/special-comment-gay-marriage-is-a-question-of-love/
Nov 07 2008
From the West LA Prop 8 Protests:
***This is not me…just a repost from elsewhere (since that wasn’t clear to everyone)***
Posted by panasonicyouth on Buzznet:
My experience at the ‘Reverse Prop 8’ Rally in West Los Angeles yesterday
Yesterday
afternoon, I attended the rally outside the Mormon temple on Santa
Monica Blvd and Overland, in order to protest the Mormon church’s
involvement in helping to pass Proposition 8 here in California. My
co-worker, Richard Flores, biked with me from the Buzznet office in
Hollywood to the rally in West LA.
In the interest of avoiding
any legal implications (since I do not have or have not seen a lawyer),
I am not going to describe the events leading up to my arrest. Please watch the arrest video for that; I think it speaks for itself. I think it is more important to describe what happened afterwards.
Read the rest on Buzznet
Permanent link to this article: https://www.rhinoblues.com/thoughts/2008/11/from-the-west-la-prop-8-protests/
Nov 07 2008
An Open Letter to President-Elect Barack Obama, from Willie Nelson
reposted from Farm Aid:
Dear President-elect Barack Obama,
As President of Farm Aid, I’d like to take this opportunity to whole-heartedly congratulate you on your historic victory. I’d also like to offer you every resource that Farm Aid has available to assist you in creating a new farm and food policy that supports a sustainable family farm system of agriculture.
I started Farm Aid in 1985 when family farmers were being forced off their land as a result of federal policy that paved the way for industrial agriculture. This shift replaced independent family farmers with factory farms that have wreaked havoc on our communities, our environment and our public health.
There is broad agreement that our farm and food system needs to be drastically reworked. The good news is that the work of building an alternative to the industrial food system is well underway and Farm Aid is proud to have been a leader in this work, something we call the Good Food Movement. The Good Food Movement has grown and thrived almost entirely without the support of the federal government. However, now is the right moment for the leadership of our country to take a role in this important movement. In fact the future of our economy, our environment and our health demand it.
Our family farmers are a national resource with incredible potential to be the protagonists in solving the challenges we currently face. Family farmers are on the cutting edge of thriving local food systems and economies, alternative energy production and environmental stewardship. Family farmers are marketing the fruits of their labor close-to-home at farm stands, farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture programs (CSAs), helping local money to circulate in local communities where it can do the most good. Family farmers are growing green energy and harnessing the power of the sun and wind. They are transitioning to sustainable production methods to grow food that is good for our health and our planet. These steps are strengthening our local economies, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, protecting our natural resources and increasing our national security.
As the national organization working on behalf of family farmers for the last 23 years, Farm Aid has helped family farmers stay on the land, organized communities to fight factory farms in their own backyards, and educated eaters about the choices they can make to guarantee healthy, fresh food from family farms. Over our history, we have grown, partnered with, and sustained a network of more than four hundred grassroots farm and food organizations across the nation. As you begin to implement programs to support a family farm system of agriculture, Farm Aid and our vast resource network is here to work with you.
Now is the time for our country to recognize and call on family farmers’ ingenuity, strength and value to our past and our future. We can have strong local economies, green energy, a clean environment, healthy citizens and good food–all of these start with family farmers. I look forward to working with you to make this vision of a family farm system of agriculture a reality.
Stay Strong and Positive,
Willie Nelson
President
Permanent link to this article: https://www.rhinoblues.com/thoughts/2008/11/an-open-letter-to-president-elect-barack-obama-from-willie-nelson/
Nov 07 2008
Five Guys
I had heard about this place Five Guys as an East Coast version of In-N-Out. One of my friends, who spent the summer in New Jersey, even claimed it was better than In-N-Out. Since I’m now working in Torrance and one of the So. Cal. locations is a short drive away in Carson, I decided to check it out for the first time for lunch today.
Like In-N-Out, Five guys has a pretty simple menu. The main difference, they have a bunch of toppings you can choose from to customize your burger (for no extra charge). That and they also serve hot dogs (while In-N-Out does not). The other difference…cost. I’ll get into that later though.
The Burger
Click image for larger version
I ordered a Bacon Cheeseburger with lettuce and BBQ Sauce (yes I like simplicity). It’s a little hard to see in the photo, but the patties are definitely thicker at Five Guys. Maybe not quite twice as thick…but close. Being able to have bacon was pretty nice as well the BBQ sauce. All in all, it was a pretty good burger and definitely filling (as I was pretty full just finishing the burger). The only complaint was perhaps the cost. The burger alone was $5.59. That is not much less than the cost of the Double Double combo meal at In-N-Out (though I don’t remember the exact cost at In-N-Out at the moment).
The Fries
Click image for a larger version
Here is where Five Guys have In-N-Out beat hands down. The fries are fresh and cut at the restaurant like In-N-Out, however they are a thicker cut fry at Five Guys. For $2.49, you get more fries, than a regular order of fries at In-N-Out (There were plenty still left inside my bag). I also found the standard cooking time at Five Guys to be much better. At In-N-Out, I often find the fries to be a little undercooked (so end up ordering them lightly well done). The cost is a little more at Five Guys, but I think you get a good value here.
Overall verdict
My order of Bacon Cheeseburger, Fries and a Drink came to $10.58 (including tax). Like I mentioned above, I remember the Double Double combo meal being around $6 (including tax). In fact I’m pretty sure I can get a Double Double, Fries and Shake at In-N-Out for less than my meal at Five Guys. So is it worth $4 more at Five Guys? I’m not so sure. It has the nostalgia of In-N-Out to overcome and isn’t significantly better than In-N-Out. Sure I could cut down the cost a little by getting the smaller single patty “Little Bacon Cheesburger,” and probably will the next time, since I was unable to finish my fries. Will I go again? Sure. They definitely beat out Fatburger or any of the other major burger fast food joints. However, I don’t think it’ll ever replace a Double Double, Fries, and Neapolitan Shake from In-N-Out.
*update 11/12/08: A Double Double, Fries and Shake at In-N-Out is $6.42.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.rhinoblues.com/thoughts/2008/11/five-guys/
Nov 07 2008
An Open Letter to Barack Obama, from Alice Walker
Reposted from the owls & the angels:
Nov. 5, 2008
Dear Brother Obama,
You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.
I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.
I would further advise you not to take on other people’s enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely. However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, “hate the sin, but love the sinner.” There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people’s spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.
A good model of how to “work with the enemy” internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world.
We are the ones we have been waiting for.
In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker
Permanent link to this article: https://www.rhinoblues.com/thoughts/2008/11/an-open-letter-to-barack-obama-from-alice-walker/
Nov 06 2008
Change!
http://www.change.gov – the official site of President-Elect Barack Obama
I love it!!!
screenshot from betanews
Permanent link to this article: https://www.rhinoblues.com/thoughts/2008/11/change/
Nov 06 2008
Shame on You California
I’m reposting this post from LAist by Jimmy Bramlett:
Protesting the passage of Proposition 8. AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian
Shame on you Californians.
With the passing of Proposition 8, you have relegated me and my queer brothers and sisters (and everything in between) to the margins of society while reaping all the benefits we bestow upon you.
In one fell swoop you told us that we are not fit in your eyes as deserving the same rights as you. Even though we wouldn’t have gotten the same Federal rights thanks to Clinton’s signing of the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, you could have allowed us to take one step closer to that ever elusive goal of equality.
The campaign supporting Proposition 8 bemoaned the sanctity of marriage. How is marriage sacred anymore with divorce rates being what they are? It’s pretty unnerving that it is you heterosexuals who have made a mockery of marriage jumping in and out of it like last year’s cashmere sweater set. And now you are claiming that we will destroy the institution of marriage?
And the children. Oh God THE CHILDREN! Well never mind the Catholic Church has done more to harm children what with their priests and all. And the Mormons? Well just ask those teenage brides.
Do you really believe that children learning about gay people will convert them into card-carrying depraved homosexuals? If that were true all of my cousins would be gay. Hell, all of my neighbor’s kids would be gay.
In the end you chose to impose your beliefs on me. You think it’s wrong that I have relationships with other men, so you chose to exclude me. But to keep up appearances you let us have “domestic partnerships” that sound more like a maid’s union more than anything else.
We’re not asking for all that much. All we’re asking for is the right to be able to have the same rights when we decide to share our lives with that special person. We’re not demanding the Catholic church, the Mormon church, the Synagogues, the local preacher to marry us. We just want equal rights, not that other water fountain.
So as happy as I was Tuesday night that America has voted in the first black man as President, part of me is very disappointed that us queers are still not afforded the same rights as everyone else as proscribed by the Constitution.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.rhinoblues.com/thoughts/2008/11/shame-on-you-california/
Nov 06 2008
2 Nights of Ray LaMontagne
A few months ago, I purchased tickets to Ray LaMontagne at the Wiltern here in LA. It was a second show that was added after the first show quickly sold out. I was so glad when it was announced because I hadn’t been able to see him live yet. Anyway, another one of my friends got tickets to the show in San Diego before the second show was announced, as it didn’t sell out immediately like the first LA show. Between getting the tickets and the show, circumstances came about that she might not be going with the person she had originally intended. So one day, I came up with this crazy idea of us sharing our tickets with each other and going to both shows. My friend loved the idea.
I don’t have many pics from the shows…just a couple of really dark pictures from the San Diego show (the Wiltern doesn’t allow photography)…but here is Leona Ness (the opening act) and Ray at the Spreckels Theatre:
I enjoyed both nights quite a bit, but for different reasons. I think the San Diego show was a little better…at least Ray’s portion of it. The set was at least one song longer in San Diego (I think…I wasn’t counting…but the LA show just felt shorter). We had great seats in San Diego, however they were off to the left and the view was partially blocked by the speakers. We basically just saw the side and back of Ray. In LA, the seats were in the balcony, so we were looking down from the center, but much further away. Both venues were excellent for ambiance and sound quality. Very fitting venues for the music. My only complaints…in San Diego, we had some annoying folks around us, a couple where the guy was demeaning and pretty much just horrible to his date, and a girl who kept recording on her cell phone in 30 second blocks the majority of Ray’s set. In LA, I was disappointed how little difference there was in the set list from the night before from Ray. While Leona Ness played pretty much the same songs, she at least switched up the order. Ray’s set was pretty much exactly the same, with the exception being him not performing Roses and Cigarettes in LA. More pics from the weekend are here.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.rhinoblues.com/thoughts/2008/11/2-nights-of-ray-lamontagne/
Nov 05 2008
Sketch 44
It has been an interesting week. Of course the big happening of the last week was the election (if you couldn’t tell from my earlier posts today). Over the weekend, I saw two shows by Ray LaMontagne (in San Diego and Los Angeles respectively), look for more on that in a future post though. A friendship has changed (sadly).
I am hopeful this week though. I’m still in disbelief in some ways about the election. Both the fact that Obama was elected President, and that the state of California pass Prop 8, eliminating the right of marriage for same-sex partners. I am hopeful though that eventually all of the citizens of California (and the US) will be treated equally when it comes to marriage.
I’ve been in my new apartment for about a month now. I’m really happy there. My roommates are great. The only bad thing is I’m watching more TV now…but oh well. I do want to get back to some more creative pursuits however. I need to make that a goal this month.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.rhinoblues.com/thoughts/2008/11/sketch-44/
Nov 11 2008
Special Comment: Gay Marriage is a question of love
11 Nov, 2008
(read text of the comment here)