Today's recommendations

In line with my decision to deviate from my mold of themed blog posts, today I bring you a medley of my thoughts.

• A coworker loaned me a copy of The Immortal life of HEnrietta LAcks. Although I just finished a book I had been sluggishly wading through for months and was really excited to start the newest release from Philippa Gregory about the War of the Roses, I had this one with me while I had to wait at the hair salon the other day and it sucked me in. Pretty much every other chapter is the more science focused information and some of that can be skimmed over a bit, in my opinion. It's interesting but I don't want to get bogged down in all the names and every little detail and new invention. The part I am loving is learning about who Henrietta Lacks was and about her family. Actually, I'm probably even more drawn to the broader racial points the book notes, especially they way races were still separated and people liked it that way, even during  my lifetime! I had a similar realization with The Help as I talked with an older woman who grew up in New England and said her experience of racial conflict in that time frame was very different than it was described in the book, which, of course, took place in the South. However, this book is not fiction. It just awes me to draw the parallels in the time frames being discussed of what was happening in the lives of my mother or my siblings or, like I said, even myself as the story moves into the 90's. It's truly almost hard to imagine that life could have been so different in two different places, not so far apart, within the same country. If you are interested, here is a link to Amazon to read more about the book.
• Yesterday was one of those Dr. Suess days. A terrible, no good day. From feeling sick to finding lots of money missing from my bank account to my car needing to go into the shop and not being able to make it to work, I felt a bit doomed. However, like trials usually do, it helped me appreciate the things that worked well. I was so grateful for my community yesterday. Proud to be a townie!! To mend the money mystery, I talked to people at my local credit union who were super helpful and supportive. It was definitely one of those incidents that, had I been working with a more corporate, big name bank, I would have had a much harder time. Then in dealing with my sick car, I went to my local mechanic, who I adore. When I walk in, I feel like I'm at Cheers. Everyone knows me and I really trust them. How many people can say that about their mechanic? We worked out a deal to get the problem fixed on Monday when they would have a loaner car for me to use. As I drove away, the problem made itself known, loud and clear, that it was not interested in waiting until Monday. While they didn't have a car for me to use to get to work, the patriarch of the company got in his truck and drove me home. Talk about amazing service! And, as a side note, when I paid my bill with them this morning, I used a gift certificate I bought through my town's rotary auction. How's that for tying it all together with a shiny, locally made, red bow?
• Fianlly, just because I don't think bullet points should be allowed to be used unless there are at least three items, I will conclude with kudos for the Muppets movie. I was not a huge Muppets person growing up, I admit. Sure, I knew about Miss Piggy and Kermit's romance but I couldn't name all the other characters. At one point during the movie I asked my husband where Oscar the Grouch was and he was close to shunning me as he told me I was confusing the Muppets with Sesame Street. Oops. All that being said, even a non-follower like me loved the movie. It had a surprising amount of humor that was beyond the kid level. The songs were a little too catchy, even. Ultimately, it was the kind of movie that just makes you smile. A lot. We left the theater and I kind of felt like I should skip to the car. Hubby definitely vetoed skipping but I think the inclination sums up the good feeling vibe the movie created. I recommend it!
  

Hotels.com shall hear my wrath

I feel a little bad being so negative but, as a consumer, I care about other people's experiences with services and, therefore, feel like I have to share my experience with Hotels.com.
In the Spring of 2009, I used their services to book a single night in the DC area. We went to visit some friends who were house sitting for family there and stayed with them for a few days. The final night, we needed a hotel so we could be closer to the airport and catch our flight. Long story short, when we got to the hotel, they didn't have our reservation. After a long day of train rides and frustration to get there, the last thing I was in the mood for was 2 hours in a hotel lobby. I had to spend a long time on the phone with multiple customer service reps to get things cleared up. They offered me a measly peace offering but it was just not enough to balance the trouble they had caused. I was able to talk them up to something that felt like a better reimbursement.
They sent me out a voucher for "hotel bucks" for a future stay. I didn't realize it had an expiration date but, luckily, I found it before it expired. I called customer service and asked if they could extend it or apply it toward a hotel I was booking the following month. At that time, I received some excellent customer service by a woman named Fatima. If she is out there or if anyone else linked with Hotels.com reads this and somehow in the very large company knows this employee, I want her/them to know that she is exceptional, in the true sense of the word; she is an exception to the rest of the experience I have had with the company. She made the phone call and the process easy and a pleasant experience.
The new voucher was set to arrive within 4-5 weeks. Fast forward 3 months and my patience has run out. So I called to see what the hold up was all about. The first woman I spoke to was at least capable. She understood my dilemma and was communicating with the appropriate department on my behalf. She put me on hold and I waited. And waited. And then, after 15 minutes or so invested in this process, the phone disconnected me! They had my number, as I had just reiterated it to them, so they could have called me back but they didn't. I called them back and got a new customer service rep. Thank goodness I don't know her name or I would publicly rally for her to never be employed working with people again. She could not grasp what I was explaining AT ALL. She kept referring to my reservation number, even though I kept telling her it wasn't about a reservation and that I had a "case id number" instead. She referenced my most recent hotel booking with them even though I made it clear this had zero to do with that. Finally, at my wit's end, I asked if I could just speak with a manager so I could get this resolved once and for all. She was not very pleased about that but grudgingly put me on hold. For 23 minutes of silence. Literally 23 minutes. Who knows how much longer it might have gone on because after 23 minutes, I had another commitment I had to attend to. The whole process took nearly an hour and I still have no resolution. Actually, I have to call again today!
It's extremely unjust and poor service if the olive branch they extended I fought for to make up for mistake #1 turns into mistake #2 and when I call to remedy that, results in mistakes #3 and #4! No one should have to spend this kind of time fixing someone else's problem (and I fix problems for a living!).
Oh, and in the midst of all this it became clear that the hotel bucks, should they ever be figured out, actually won't cover the hotel stay I booked through them explicitly to use them up. There's some distinction about prepaid rooms. Point being, I am going to have to use them again to redeem the reimbursement they owe me.
This is ludicrous in my book. I have had positive experiences with Travelocity and will keep my business there and, while I don't recommend any particular travel assistance site for you, I do caution you that if you have a problem with Hotels.com, it will be a headache to get it resolved. Good luck and good day.