If Amazon were a rock band..

Ahh...Amazon.

If, instead of an e-commerce Amazon were a rock band, their name would have to be Love / Hate.


Does anyone remember that band?

 "Black out in the Red Room" was sooo relevant at one point in my life.

I literally blacked out in the Red Room in Santa Cruz when I was younger.


But I digress...


 
Today Amazon rocked my world. I can happily offer absolution to Amazon for all those annoying issues in the past 6 months that got my ire up!

This is how it happened.

My son gets allowance for doing chores around the house that I could easily do, much better. But it's a learning experience. Working, earning money, saving money - etc.

So just nearly one month ago (tomorrow it will be 30 days), he handed me the money for a new Corsair headset that was on sale at Amazon.  

He used it and was mostly happy with it except that it hurts his ears a little bit. But then a couple of days ago something came loose in the right ear piece and was messing with the audio.

Bring in Corsair...

I reached out to Amazon via chat, and then they called me. 

They connected me with a Customer Service rep from Corsair and stayed on the line while we discussed the issue. 

The Corsair rep told me that he wanted us to do some "troubleshooting" first - said he would email the steps to take and then after that I'd create an account at their support site and let him know how it went.

Troubleshooting for something that was most likely a weak solder point? Okaaaaay....  🤯

 I didn't see how changing settings in an app was going to make the loose item no longer loose but we humored him. 



He emailed the steps he wanted us to take, my son tried it and surprise surprise...the part was still loose.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

 

You remember that song, right? Oooh that reminds me of a creepy coincidence with Tom Petty...remind me to post that later!

Anyway, we responded in just 6 minutes to say that he'd had no luck. 

I went back to work for a few hours.  When I got off work, I checked my email and there was still no response from them. So I emailed to ask what the next step was and waited another hour before my patience was gone. At this point I'd been waiting for over 4 hours for him to respond in some way.

I wanted to move it along. I called their customer service line and was promptly put on hold after selecting the option for dealing with returns. 

I waited. I found the hold music kind of catchy.

At first.

But it kept going on and on and I kept waiting.

I'm only patient when it comes to fishing. After 11 minutes, I hung up the phone.

Today Amazon is my Rock Star!

I got on my computer, pulled up an Amazon chat and within less than 10 minutes a replacement headset was set to be shipped out and delivered for me the next day. The label for the returned was emailed promptly as well.

I have definitely have my moments of ire with Amazon but today, after dealing with a company with such frustrating customer service like Corsair, I once again love my Amazon.

Almost, Atilla, Almost

Atilla came from a rescue - well that is to say a rescue that has an adoption station in PetSmart. He was there with his sister, who was fat, fat. There was nothing those folks could have said that would have convinced me to take them as a pair. I was there to find a replacement for "Calvin", a distraction from his absence after 13 years of companionship. Ha.

My boyfriend of the time spotted Atilla and persuaded me, subtly, that this was "the one".

He never has felt like the one at all. In fact, for the longest time I questioned my choice in him. And right when I'm ready to write up an "OFFER: Cat - comes with carrier and toys", somehow I feel something for him and can't do it.

The boyfriend however was enamored of him - always. He admired Atilla's independent nature. His unusual cry (like he has water in his mouth - "gaaah") and that he was somewhat distinguished. He imagined that this cat was special and in fact, asked if he could take him when he moved out. At the time, it wasn't possible,  but I'm still considering it. I want him to be loved as much as possible. Sometimes for me though, the humongous contrast between what Atilla is and what I am used tempts me into thinking it's time to write up that ad.

Atilla is a big cat...one of the biggest I've owned. He has a charming habit of side-winding his shanks towards you as a sign of affection or greeting. Or maybe it's just his way of saying, I'm hungry.

He is curious, to the point of being annoying. But it's also amusing - it really depends on the stress level at the time. He likes to climb and jump. He likes to get in tiny spaces. He likes to go outdoors as he pleases. He will scratch at all three doors that lead out of the house and meow in a very loud voice to get out. Once you let him, he flops on the ground and rolls all over. If you leave him out too long, when you open the door to let him in, he'll "scold" you and he trots past, using that odd voice of his.

He is a mellow cat. He tries to avoid the rough and tumble that Scar is so fond of, and the challenges that Carrot forces him into. But when he's had enough, he's had enough and will knock anything over in his pursuit of the one who has pushed him to this.

He used to throw up quite a bit. I'm not sure what it was. I stopped switching brands of food and flavor and that might have helped. Since the flood of the house and the replacement of the carpet, he has only done this a couple of times. It was several times a week before.

Atilla also likes to eat plastic. Which makes him throw up. He is a freak about it. I left a Scentsy order in the bag in our family room and left for a baseball game. When I came back I found that the plastic AND the warmer box inside the bag had been chewed to pieces in one corner!!

He insists on climbing on top of the bookcase and he uses the dining room table to do this. And if, on his way down, he knocks something off the table onto the floor, oh well.

On top of the throw up,  the plastic, the scratching on the door (and tearing up of the insulation strips that frame it), and the attitude that he is King, he is also not affectionate or attached.

Atilla has his own style/feelings about affection. He will actually bend his back in a "U" when he walks past and you try to pet him, to avoid being petted. All the other cats I've known, arch their back towards this not away from it. He will jump up on your lap, but starts kneading, hard and heavy right off the bat, so that can't go on too long before I'm shooing him away.

His affection is a little different. He talks to you. That's it. He is delighted if you go outside when he is there. He'll flip-flop and roll around on the ground talking to you and he'll get all feisty.

I would say that if you accept that he is curious and make accommodations for his love of climbing - AND, if you have a cat door - Atilla might be the perfect cat for you.

I just know that I'm not the owner for him. One day, when he's ready, the boyfriend (who is now an ex), can have him. And the carrier too.

More About Carrot

Carrot is the 'baby' of the family. His eyes are the color of pumpkins or carrots. He is a tabby, like "Morris" only his colors are cream and not so orange. He is a really cute cat.

See:

The other two were about two or  three years old so this little guy had to constantly be running and watching. Scar in particular was merciless; at least Atilla was a little gentle with him.

He is very loving. He will jump up on your lap to be held; will head-butt you to show love. He tucks his head into your chest or hands and just ABSORBS all the positive energy. He can sit there with you for hours (I imagine).

Despite his cuteness and affection, Carrot is in the wrong home.

He needs a home where there are no kids or other pets so he can get over his skittishness. Maybe because I have a son who is a handful, or there are too many cats interrupting my need for peace, whatever the reason, the bonding process for me and this cat, stopped. It in fact reversed. I never got to enjoy his kitten antics for very long before the stress of having three crazy cats and a son who hates school got to me.

And how did Carrot contribute to this stress and reversal?


Well for one, if he wants in a room and the door is shut, he shreds at the carpet. Good thing the house flooded and the carpet was replaced.

He eats things that irritate his bum later, like rubber bands, strings. So he "scooter-pies" across the floor, sometimes leaving a trail of nastiness. Again, good thing the house flooded and the carpet was replaced.

He is skittish. If you walk near him, he dashes for cover, sometimes so frantic that he loses traction on the linoleum and slams into a cupboard. And why? Because I'm walking past? Annoying.


He doesn't cry like normal cats; he actually sounds like a monkey and his face gets all squished up and looks angry. He's not, he's just got a different kind of face. This is amusing. Unless he's screaming at me and I'm busy - then it's just annoying because in addition to being different, it's also loud.

He tends to get into it with Atilla, who was always so good to him. He challenges Atilla, stiff, eyes bugged out and moving in slow motion, only his "caterwaul" sounds all high-pitched and sweet. Not at all intimidating. Also amusing, unless I'm working and on a call. How to explain that?

He has mellowed out. Since the flood, he has scooter-pied but mainly to relieve itch. It still grosses me out to know that there are areas of the floor that he has wiped his bum on and I might have my face laying on it.

He hasn't shredded at the carpet - except that time he accidentally got locked in my office. And that was a cutout piece of carpet that was laid over the threshold of all the doors just in case he started shredding.

So it's not so bad. He still deserves a home where someone can enjoy him because he is a sweet and funny cat. I'm just too uptight to appreciate it.

What was I thinking...

I guess when I created this blog, I was not yet worn out by having three cats in my house. All I can say is about THAT happening is "What a mistake!"