Life’s annoyances

Dude, I’m going to Ireland. Like, really soon. Like, next week! I can’t wait!

Aside from the regular tourist bits, I’ve been chatting with folks who either just returned, or lived there recently, and I’ve got some good little secret spots on my list now. A perfumery near the Burren that focuses on local aromas. A yarn store on Inis Mor that sells handspun. The best viewpoint for the Cliffs of Moher, full of “turn at the green mailbox, then hike through the cowfield” directions. I’m so ready.

In the meantime, I’m dealing with the bits and pieces that NEED to get done before I leave. Work shtuff. Taxes. More taxes. Researching what I really need, and what I can get away with not having. More work shtuff.

And, punctuating all my craziness, I keep getting phone calls from the most annoying Debt Relief Service ever. Despite the fact that I never did any business with them, am listed on the Do Not Call Registry, and never even gave them my cell number, they’ve decided to call me at a varying rate for the last year. Some months I only hear from them once or twice; sometimes it’s twice a day for a week.

Each and every time I report them to the Do Not Call Registry. I’m pretty dang sure it’s useless, but I keep doing it. The little jerks are sneaky!

• Very rarely do they call from the same number.
• They never say their real name; the automated message that is the same, every time, doesn’t mention it, and they dance around it when you finally talk to a real person.
• They disconnect QUICKLY if you ask to be removed.
• Actually, they’ve been trained to disconnect if it SOUNDS like you’re going to ask to be removed.

And now they’ve started texting me. There oughtta be a law. Oh wait, there is. If only we had the budget to enforce it.

I’m sure that Registry Complaint line must get thousands of complaints, every day. I’m sure they simply don’t have the manpower to chase after the jerks. I keep complaining. Maybe someday it will help. Until then, I amuse myself (and maybe a few overworked bureaucrats) by adding a running story in the comments area. I think the last time I left my character, Shady Shaderson, he was recuperating from thumb surgery while his company continued on their Evil Master Plan.