OnStar of India?

As I was inching along in traffic this morning I decided to multi-task and renew my subscription to OnStar. When I bought my Saturn last year a one-year subscription was included with the price of the car. I had purchased a block of phone minutes and so I figured this year what the heck, might as well renew the service in case I drive into a wall and I need someone to help. Plus, I like when my car sends me a monthly self-diagnostic letting me know if any service is necessary. So I pressed the little button and told the nice woman that I wanted to renew on an annual basis instead of being charged monthly (save money!); she put me on hold for customer service.

[Ok, what the heck is going on here? Twice this post has self-posted while I'm writing. Stop it! I'm not done yet!]

Continuing .... after a couple of minutes a new voice came over the radio. Hmmm, interesting. It sounded like I'd been transferred to a call center. In India. Maybe it's just this one man hired at whereeveritis in the US. He took my information, continually calling me "Mrs. Gxxx" which always tends to piss me off since (1) I wasn't ever married to a Mr. Gxxx and (2) it's 2007; if you don't know if I'm a Miss, Mrs. or Dr. then call me Ms.!! Or just don't keep using my name in every sentence. He told me the only way my phone minutes would transfer over is if I bought more. I had been told last year that if I extended my subscription the minutes would transfer automatically so I was irked. Especially since I hadn't used any of said minutes. He said I'd have to speak with a supervisor and he put me on hold again.

After a couple more minutes another man came on the line; definitely outsourced. I had trouble understanding anything this man said and had to keep asking him to repeat himself. He grudgingly said he'd renew my minutes for one year from today (instead of until the end of my renewal period, which huh?) but it was a one-time only deal, Mrs. Gxxx. Whatevs. I just hope if I drive into that wall that someone a little closer to home is monitoring my car!

I had a great, productive weekend. Saturday morning I ran 10 miles on the Lafayette-Moraga Trail with our group. Pam, Anita and Mary Ann turned around after 4 but Sandy and I needed the hill between 4-5 miles so we kept going. We pretty much kicked ass on the return trip even though we were tired. Probably that's why the last mile was our fastest of the day. The fact that it's a down grade in that direction didn't hurt any either. We kept to a steady 9:1 the whole way, even on the hills. When we got back to the parking lot the ladies were still hanging around gabbing and we joined them for -- dang, I think it was at least another half hour before we all got cold and hungry enough to get in our cars and leave.

When I got home I quickly had a bite to eat then headed outside to do more yard work. I know, two weeks in a row! This must be some kind of record! I dug up the other plant in the front yard that I hated, being very very careful not to shovel straight through my irrigation system. Then I got distracted pulling grass out of the flower beds. Something the gardeners refuse to do, along with being somehow unable to keep the border clear. A couple hours of doing garden squats, after the two hour run, had my legs trembling like a tree in the wind. Sunday I bought a couple of azaleas that I hope my gardeners will dig into the ground; I'll probably end up planting them after my long run next weekend.

I got a lot of knitting done this weekend. My hand is feeling better, still getting stiff and sore after using it but at least I can use it. The Temescal Bag is coming along beautifully. What an easy project, just pay enough attention to switch colors when the random stripe pattern says and knit away. At this rate I'll have it done on time, even though it may still be wet when I gift it. While I'm knitting in circles I'm dreaming of lovely lacy scarves and shawls that I'll knit next. I have lots of ideas.

I'm glad this is a short work week even though it'll put me way behind at work. I'm hoping that I'll get lots done around the house but my gut feeling is that I'll just run and get lots of rest. We'll see!

I got the Gratuitous Bear of the Day from my mom, who got it from the San Diego Zoo when the Polar Bear Plunge opened. She attended the grand opening celebration for donors and was given this very cute little guy. He's got his heavy arctic parka and booties to keep him warm ... in my nice heated house!