Da Bears Still Suck

“Hey Lola. Why don’t you whisper ‘Da Bears Still Suck’ in Wenzel’s ear?”
 
(For those of you not in the know, Wenzel is the drummer and the last remaining original member of the Happy Schnapps Combo, a local Wisconsin polka and party ensemble who sing in glorious Wisconsinese. Also, da bears in question are the Chicago Bears, a local football team from south of the Wisconsin border.)



“No, really. It’s okay. He’s not going to bite you.”

“Would you like me to say it instead?”

“Psst…, Wenzel, my daughter thinks da bears still suck.”

“High five, sister!” 

Musical Profiling

According to my self imposed rules, I can listen to Christmas music again. Thanksgiving has come and gone, and now it is allowed. When I am upstairs in my craft room, or working on my computer, I listen to Pandora Radio online. Pandora offers you the chance to like or dislike a song they picked out for you. And, since they don't like to play for an empty room, you have to let them know you're still listening from time to time. By liking a song for instance.

Christmas music is the perfect background for me when I am in full nesting mode. In the pre-Thanksgiving days I listen to artists that conjure up the Christmas music feeling but without the yuletide lyrics. Harry Connick Jr, Natalie Cole, Frank Sinatra, etc. Since Pandora is free of charge, they play commercials every now and then, and show ads in the sidebar. Those ads change depending on your musical preferences.

If you like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, or Ray Charles, Pandora assumes you're a single black woman looking to meet black men. Michael Bublé listeners are singles over the age of 50, even though he is only 36 years old. Harry Connick Jr's songs go hand in hand with doing laundry. But if you like Norah Jones, you're in trouble. Pandora recommends an anti-depressant.

Recovering The Satellites

It wasn't too long ago I publicly sang the praise of satellite radio. How happy I was with the commercial free stations, the freedom to listen to Bruce Springsteen all day long, or songs from the seventies, or Christmas music round the clock. So happy in fact, we decided to purchase a year long subscription before our trial was even over. 

And so our troubles began. 

Ryan wrote XM Radio a check for $173.27 which was cashed on October first. We thought we were good to go. We were wrong. The payment, as it turns out, was never applied to my account and in December we received our first bill for the same amount plus $2.10 for 'invoice costs' as it was put. 

I called XM Radio's Listener Care department. A cute name but not a very realistic one because neither listen nor care are verbs one associates with this service after trying to deal with it. I have spent hours on the phone with them, trying to work things out with people who have not mastered the English language very well and could not care less about this listener. When you ask for a supervisor, you're disconnected. On my third try my call was routed to a girl that seemed to grasp my problem and she supplied me with a fax number for the billing department. I faxed over my proof of payment and hoped for the best. 

Two weeks later I received a reply: a reminder invoice with another $2.10 tacked on to cover the cost of the invoice. They must have some fancy printers there. I called Listener Care again, only to find out the fax number I was given was not an XM Radio fax number. Really? Where did I send a copy of my bank statement to? She had no idea. She gave me a different fax number, a genuine XM Radio number she assured me. The number didn't work. I tried for two days. It rang but was never picked up. 

And so I called the Listener Care department for a third time and lo and behold, I was transferred to a supervisor without being hung up on. I was given a third fax number. I felt really good about that number because it came from a supervisor this time, someone in charge. "The number you are trying to reach is not in service." Phone calls were obviously getting me nowhere and I decided to write a letter, a very polite one even. I enclosed copies of everything and again, hoped for the best. 

Two days ago I received my response. My service was scheduled for deactivation if I didn't pay immediately. Sometime today they made good on their word and cut me off. I have run out of options. It is impossible to resolve anything with a company that refuses to communicate. When I searched online for an alternative way of contacting XM Radio, I stumbled upon Consumer Affairs' website with 62 pages of complaints about this company. Most experiences, from what I have read, are similar to mine. 

I am ready to throw in the towel and write my $173.27 off as a bad investment. But I learned from Consumer Affairs that XM Radio is not done with me. I have more bills to look forward to, charging me for the six weeks of service between the end of my free trial and the day I was cut off. Plus $2.10 for the cost of the invoices no doubt. Followed by collection calls at all hours of the day, because of course I am not going to pay them. We'll see. In the meantime I am back to listening to regular radio. Not commercial free, but at least it's hassle free.

   

Satellite Tunes

I once heard Sting say in an interview one's high school and college years are the formative years for musical memories. After that era, the connection between songs and life events dwindles. I find that to be true. Play me a tune from the eighties and I can tell you exactly where I was, what I was doing, and with whom. Songs from the seventies and the nineties do not have the same effect and as for present day music, I am hopelessly out of date.

Our new car, Big Blue, came with free satellite radio. Despite having been musically formed in the eighties, I prefer listening to the 70's on 7, alternated with E-Street Radio, the Bruce Springsteen channel. Lola generally approves, although on occasion she'll tell me to turn a particular song off because she doesn't like it. Her favorite song at the moment is Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. She asks for it every day.

The Nissan's antenna is broken and radio reception is limited. Having satellite radio is such a treat. It makes my commute that much more enjoyable. And every now and then a Dutch song will come along. Most of the time it's a Golden Earring song, but I have also heard Mouth & McNeal and yesterday, Herman Brood & His Wild Romance. It usually takes a second or two to register but without fail, it makes my day, whether I used to like the song or not.