INSULTED/ A BEST BUY REVIEW

I hate to be negative, but it just has to be done. Best Buy has failed me a total of three times now, and I am incredibly frustrated. First time is an accident, second time is carelessness, and the third time is completely unacceptable. I am only so forgiving.

As I said before, my month old Macbook has had issues from day one. My caps lock key has been sluggish from the beginning, which didn't bother me enough to part with it for the time it would take to have it fixed. But when I did an update that caused it to make a grinding noise, and then a loud clicking noise started later on that day, I knew I had to have it looked at.

I bought my Macbook Pro from Best Buy. I payed the extra $400+ to have their three year warranty on it. I should have known better, because I had terrible shipping issues with them before (they tried to tell me that it had already been delivered to my house, and told me that they had called an office that I knew for a fact had been closed for three hours. I got the item a week later, an item that they had finally placed the order for the day I went in to complain.)

The nightmare began when I arrived with my computer. They were "updating" their system, and therefore couldn't find my information in the system. I had just made a payment on my bill, so I had all my paperwork there. They couldn't use that information to look up my account because the Geek Squad "isn't allowed access to that information." Lovely that they are so secure, but they couldn't use my ITEMIZED RECEIPT to start servicing my computer? 

They finally managed to find my information (after I waited for about thirty minutes and had to find a manager) and told me it would be three weeks. I would have liked for there to have been a loaner computer, or at least a crappy netbook, but I will let that one go.

It didn't take the full three weeks, only about 8 days. I was very pleased with this turnaround time, except for the fact that when I went to pick it up, they said nothing was wrong with it and quote "The sounds I heard were the disc drive winding down."

I may come off as a dumb blonde, but four of my "techie" friends (people who have built their own linux boxes) heard the clicking sound and said it was not a good thing. They also said that the caps lock key is "supposed to be like that on this model." I'm sorry, but I bought the second most expensive Apple laptop. I type over a hundred words a minute. My old craptastic black Macbook has never had this problem, nor is its disc drive as noisy as this one's apparently is. 

Honestly, I feel like they blew me off. I don't understand their corporate issues, especially when I know that they are having financial issues. The people on the general sales/Geek Squad team are nice, but they have little to no power. I have a feeling that they spend a great deal of their time getting yelled at, and I feel terrible for them. 

Ultimately, I will not shop at Best Buy again. Brandon and I are looking for a television, and while we plan to shop at a brick-and-mortar store, we will not use them. 

WHAT ALICE FORGOT: A (BOOK) REVIEW

One of the things on my "20 by 21" list is to read 400 "crap" books. Books that won't give me any pretentiousness points, books I won't want to quote during job interviews, and books that won't allow anyone to say I am well-read. Fun books, escapist books. 

My Macbook Pro is acting up, and is being shipped off for service for up to three weeks (yep, not happy) and my old black one is barely alive, so I have had a lot of free time due to being essentially computer-less. I actually went to a non-university library for the first time in what feels like forever!

I picked up a huge stack of books, and this is the first one that I have read so far. I think I might do a Thursday book review day from here on in! 

I picked this book up due to the bright cover. Yes, when I go shopping for a fluffy book, the cover plays a huge role. 

Goodreads said: 

"Remember the woman you used to be ...

Alice is twenty-nine. She is whimsical, optimistic and adores sleep, chocolate, her ramshackle new house and her wonderful husband Nick. What's more, she's looking forward to the birth of the 'Sultana' - her first baby. 

But now Alice has slipped and hit her head in her step-aerobics class and everyone's telling her she's misplaced the last ten years of her life.

In fact, it would seem that Alice is actually thirty-nine and now she loves schedules, expensive lingerie, caffeine and manicures. She has three children and the honeymoon is well and truly over for her and Nick. In fact, he looks at her like she's his worst enemy. What's more, her beloved sister Elisabeth isn't speaking to her either. And who is this 'Gina'everyone is so carefully trying not to mention? 

Alice isn't sure that she likes life ten years on. Every photo is another memory she doesn't have and nothing makes sense. Just how much can happen in a decade? Has she really lost her lovely husband for ever?" 

                  You look at this, and you think to yourself "This will be just like a Sophie Kinsella book" and it both is and is not. I have to say that Sophie Kinsella's work is far better, and well balanced. This book was good, but highly imbalanced with details that were completely useless and past histories that were left unexplained and caused the book to lack the depth it really needed to be great. 

This book could have used another hundred pages or so at the end,  because the ending switched everything up at the last minute for no apparent reason, and it seemed as though the author herself didn't know. This, however, is a common complaint of mine. I like a decent ending, and so often it seems as though authors get bored towards the end of the book and decide to just end it there, leaving a book that had 400+ pages of buildup with a 20 page climax/conclusion. Not okay! 

Overall, I would rate this book 3/5 stars. Not terrible, actually quite pleasant, but I am glad that I checked it out at the library. I wouldn't go out of my way to hunt it down!

   

PHOTO A DAY APRIL WEEK ONE

Reflection: A skirt that I liked on the hanger, but made me look far heavier than I really am (nope, not pregnant, just 5+ layers of fabric over my stomach/loose top.) 

Colour: This was the most gorgeous sunset I've seen in ages. It did not photograph as well as I would have liked, it had purples/grey/blue/yellow in real life.

Mail: My younger siblings track schedule. I'm going to be able to make it to some of their races! I'm super excited. 

Someone who makes you happy: My younger sister! She has grown up to be so smart, responsible and gorgeous. I'm so proud of her! I am nearly 10 years older than she is, so I practically raised her. I'm essentially a proud mama. 

Tiny: This little daffodil that has managed to grow in the rocks in front of my carport. I have no idea how it got there, because there are no daffodils anywhere else near my apartment. It makes me smile every time I come home! 

Lunch: The lid off of my tea the other day. Seriously, a strawberry museum? Weird. 

Shadow: This is my favorite spot to study, not too far from my house and only a tiny hike away. It isn't far from the sunset photo area either!

I imagine everyone is familiar with the concept, but I decided to only post it once a week, that way you aren't photo spammed with images of my boring life.

HER JOY/MY HAPPINESS

Look at that gorgeous ring! Isn't it completely stunning? Nope, not mine! One of my friends just got engaged, and I'm so completely happy for her. She has always dreamed of getting married and having a family while young, and she has finally found someone that loves her for everything she is. She is an amazing person, someone who is truly wonderful and incredibly kind. He seems like a great person, and I think that she will be happy. 

I love seeing my friends lives work out for the best! 

I have spent the last week rearranging my house, sorting out paperwork, and house hunting! I am starting to feel like things are coming together for the better.