The Pain and Agony of an AT&T U-verse contract renewal

April 2015.  I was dreading April because my contract with AT&T U-verse was expiring and I would either need to call  AT&T and try to haggle for a better rate or just pay the inflated price.  I remember the last contract negotiation, but not clearly.  I know I was on the phone for at least 15 minutes talking to someone who said they could help me then they transferred me to someone else who asked the same questions all over again.  I did not like it then and I was dreading it now, but at $155 (this includes ~ $22 in taxes and fees...thanx AT&T) a month for TV (U200) and internet (18 meg download speed) was too high for my taste.  I record a lot but to be honest a lot of what I record I could catch on demand from the websites or watch on Hulu.  I don't watch a lot of "live" TV but every now and then I binge on HDTV or Food network or even SyFy when the weather sucks too much to be outside.  We don't "need" TV but it is easier than trying to cut the cord and have my wife learn to use YAED (Yet Another Electronic Device) and if I can get the price close to $125-130 a month she will not complain too much about it.

I have a lull at work so I look up my info, get my account number, and call AT&T customer service.  I follow the voice IVR (to their credit it worked without a hitch) to cancel my TV service and finally get connected to Max* who asks me why I am cancelling. I tell him the current, non-promo rate is too high and if I have a choice, I will keep internet over TV service.  "I completely understand that, sir" he says...about 50 times over the course of the next 15 minutes.

He tells me they have an offer for U300 (includes Skinemax, Showtime, and Starz) for only $119 a month (which is a good deal but for my wife, it is no bueno) and I tell him that if he did the math, that is not cheaper than my last deal (my last promotion was $131, including taxes and fees so if you add the $119 plus the ~$20 in fees it goes up to about $140 which is 1bout $10 more than I pay now).  He then has the balls (maybe he is just not fully aware of the pricing) that the $119 Includes all fees...the only thing extra would be tax and he goes to look at my bill and see the tax is generally low.

I explain to him that I am pretty sure his $119 does not include the fees but if he will get that to me in writing I will seriously consider it (which I knew he could not so I was not worried there).  He actually argues with me for 5 minutes or so about this (He does not call it "arguing", he calls it "educating" me.  After a while he gives up and tells me he is not sure what he can do so I tell him that if he can get me a promo on U200,with the speed of internet I have now, I will keep the service.  If not, I will be just as happy to cancel and look elsewhere for TV service.  That is when he tells me he has the exact same package I have now for $109 a month plus...wait for it...taxes and fees (amazing how the fees were there all along...)  which  puts me just at what I am paying now, give or take a buck or two.

At this point I think I am finished BUT NO!  THERE'S MORE!  Tell them what else happens, Don!

Now I have to sit and listen to his home phone service sales pitch and when that is over, how he can  get me an iPad in an assortment of colors if I want one, with data service for when I am out of wi-fi range.  I politely listen and finally when he finishes I tell him we already have a tablet, and laptops so he goes ON to tell me he can sell me data.  All the time saying, "I completely understand" and how he is just educating me on the new technology, you know  because I am such a Luddite.

After 15 of the most painful minutes in my life are over, he asks me if he can do anything else.  I really want to say "NO!" but I still need to know what my new bill will be, so I ask him to recalculate it and after a couple of minutes he says, "Sir, you will not have to guess what the next bill will be.  I am going to give you XYZ credit and you only need to send in $109.00.  The following bill will be on the regular billing cycle and you will have to pay $109.00 plus taxes and fees."  It may have only been 16 minutes, but it felt like an hour.  Honestly, my workouts hurt less than these calls do.

I know why they do things like they do, but I wish it was not so.  It would be so much nicer to get a "good customer credit/rate adjustment" once a year instead of the torture we have to endure.  I don't want to be rude but my time is valuable to me...I do not want to spend it on the phone with someone who "completely understands" and "completely appreciates me", at least in  scripted form.

Well, at least that is over with for another year.







*The name he used, which may or may not be real so I have no bones about using it here.

Lunch With Former Colleagues

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty good day over all.  I few former colleagues and I decided to get together for lunch at a more upscale Tex-Mex place about 30 min from my work.  I know for most people that seems illogical but my plan was to work from home the second half of the day since my wife would be out running errands (and we cannot be in the same house when I am working from home...she has trouble understanding the "working" part of "working from home").

I met Shannon and Gary at Casa Milagro at noon and we were seated immediately.  We ordered and in a short time our food was served.  The brisket taco platter I ordered was very good (the rice and beans were pedestrian but the brisket was awesome and the tacos were not soggy at all) and we spent the next 1.5 hours eating,  talking and catching up.  Everyone seemed to enjoy their meal.  The location was Shannon's idea, as her out of state parents eat there every time they come in to visit and love the food.  I had to admit that it was not as uppity as I had thought and the lunch menu prices were reasonable (my meal was $12 including tip).

Gary was not aware of my diagnosis so  he was quite speechless when I told him.  He event went as far as to say, "I am at a loss for words".  He even sent me an e-mail later that afternoon  telling me if I needed anything at all, just to let him know.  I knew he was a nice guy but that act of kindness  was very touching...we are not "close" but did hang out on coffee breaks together when he worked here.

Shannon already knew since we have been keeping in touch so she was not surprised although I think the condition of my left hand caught her off guard.  I do a good job of hiding the inefficiency of the limited appendage  so most people do not know until it is pointed out to them.

I like both Shannon and Gary.  Gary is a quiet guy from Shreveport,LA and is one of the few people I have ever met that uses a knife and fork when eating a sandwich. I guess he was raised a little differently than I was.  he does not come across as better than anyone else, but he does prefer the finer things in life.

Shannon has lived in Colorado,  Louisiana, and Texas and in a few months will be moving to Washington state to be closer to her family.  She is one of the most independent women I know (she don't need no man at all ...poor grammar intended).  She has a very  big personality and it can rub a lot of people the wrong way.  I was one of the few people sad to see her go,  prolly because she was not a sheeple and questioned stupid decisions  and was not quiet when others would back down.  I am going to miss her when she leaves.

Lunch with those two was a highlight of my week.  We have made a pact to go out to lunch more often  until Shannon moves then Gary and I will still prolly get together once in a while as long as I am still able.

The next event I  am really looking forward to is my trip to WV, although telling mom and my extended family about my ALS will not be pleasant, the time with friends will be,  I am planning on swinging through VA on the way back and hanging out with my buddy who lives there.  I am going to take him geocaching  and he is going to take me to the gun range (I have never fired a handgun before).  We hope to be able to meet up with our former roommates for lunch if that is in the cards. I expect it will be an eventful trip.

30 days - Liver Function Looks Good

I just received my results from the first liver function blood test, which has to be done every 30 days to make sure the Riluzole is not destroying my liver.  The results were basically the same as the "baseline" score that I received prior to taking the drug.  The liver function test has three parts and they were all normal.  One score went up by one, another went down by one, and another stayed the same.   It appears all is well as they are all within standard parameters.

Just Not In The Mood / More Rain

I am going to be honest and say that I have not been overly motivated to do much of anything lately...well at least the last two weeks.  I am not really motivated at work and that is partly because my global manager has been on vacation and not available for input on a project he has me working on.  He says that I can pretty much do what I want but I am not feeling very inspired.

Even something that I love, geocaching, has not provided much joy to me as of late.  I admit the weather has been wet (a bit of an oddity in Texas) and I am not a fan of tromping around in the muck to look for Tupperware hidden in the woods.  Normally, my wife has trouble keeping home and away from geocaching but lately I can't seem to get motivated much to leave the house outside of going to work or the story and an occasional walk  or yard work.

I am sure this is due to my near constant reminders (cramping, twitching, hand claw) of my ALS. These symptoms appear to be getting worse.

I have my annual vacation/trip back home scheduled in late June.  I am going to take two weeks this year (a first for me) and visit an old friend in Virginia on my way back.  On the way up I hope to take a longer route to allow me to drive through some states I have not been in before and hopefully (if my interest returns) get a geocache in each one.

I am dreading the thought of telling mom of my diagnosis. While she is a strong woman I am not sure how she will handle the news.  My sister seems to have taken it well enough but I know that at some point the reality will sink in and she will break down some.

My wife is still strangely neutral regarding this.  I realize part of that is the strained marriage we have had over the past 21 years but I would have expected at least something from her.

I am still taking my meds and that reminds me that I need to pick them up from the pharmacy on my way home.  I was hoping to mow grass but the 20% chance of rain has turned in to a full morning of liquid sunshine, soaking the ground again.  That means my already high grass will get much higher before the rain lets up and it dries up enough to cut, which should be Sunday at the earliest, if the current forecast holds true.

Perfect Conditions for a Race

As things turned out, it was a great day for a race.  It was in the mid 50's when I woke up and it was in the low 60's by race time.

I woke up feeling pretty good (no aches).  I got out of bed and took my meds immediately, since I have to wait an hour before I can eat and I should eat 1 hour before the race.  I dress, limber up, stretching a bit while nervously pacing.  I brush my teeth/rinse my mouth, check e-mail and the weather forecast for the millionth time.  All is looking good.  I get a text from a good friend in Richmond wishing me luck.  It is nice to be thought of on race day.

After an hour I eat a Clif bar (I love those things) and drink a little water.  I did a good job of hydrating the week before so I should be fine during the race.  I make a final trip to the bathroom and get my running belt (really just a fanny pack/bum bag) before heading out to the truck.

I arrive at the race location in Fairview, TX (just a few minutes from my house about 40 minutes before race time and it looks like 75% of the runners are already there.  I start nursing my Vitamin Water (Citrus flavor with caffeine) slowly, prepping my body for the run.  I mill around a bit and get a text from my runny buddy, Tom. He has arrived and is near the start line.  We meet up, discuss strategy and decide to run with the 2:15 (2 hour, 15 minute) group.  Tom can go faster but he has decided to show solidarity by running my retirement race at my pace.  I just hoped I could keep up.

The last 15 minutes go by very quickly and before I know it we are moving.  I am 60-80 feet back from the starting line and once I cross it I start my fitness app "Runkeeper".  Tom and I are on our way.   The initial swell is difficult to navigate as some of the slower runners are in the front, hindering the faster runners from getting into stride and position but after .25 miles or so Tom and I are in solid with the 2:15 group.

As we run we notice the 2:10 is very close to us and that means someone is off.  I check our pace and it appears the 2:10 group is a little slow so we push towards them.  This course shares some of the route as "The Showdown Half" that is in October which I ran last year, but where The Showdown starts off mostly flat for the first 4-5 miles, the Fairview Half starts off with a slow down hill and then over rolling hills, a long mild uphill grade, then more rolling hills towards the finish.

At mile 2 Tom takes a Race Selfie (called a "runfie") with me in it as well.  It is still early and we are both smiling.  We continue on and our pace stays pretty steady at just under 9:30/mile ... not blazing fast but I am not an athlete.  If I can keep this up I will be sitting on a PR (personal record) but we still have a long way to go.  I eat one of my Muscle Milk Energy chews  and do so each mile until mile 8.

Somewhere around mile six (and before the halfway time check) I begin to feel my left ankle throb, which is normal with the muscle mass I have lost in it. Right now the only loss I can tell is in my left side. I am determined not to let the ache and later pain keep me from completing this race as strong as I can.

Near mile 8 I can tell that I need slow down to a fast walk.  Tom jokes that I walk almost as fast as he runs at this point so he cannot really walk to keep up with me so he slows his running pace down some.  I walk 75-100 meters or so and start running again.  I do this again at mile nine and at mile 10, where Tom takes another "runfie"  of us.  During mile 11 and 12 I walk 2-3 times per mile.  At one point during mile 11, my heart rate skyrockets and I know I have to walk.A couple of younger ladies catch up to me at mile 12 and motivate me to keep going.  I start running again.

The Mile 13 marker is in sight but it is long mild uphill climb still, as it has been for the past mile or so, and I want this race to be over.  My ankle is killing me and my energy level seems low (I really did not train for this race like I should have) but the finish is just about 600 feet away.  I soldier on. The shouts of encouragement from Tom's friends and even those I do not know give me the final push to cross the line, being aware that  I need to cross the sensor strip to get my time counted.

As I cross the line I see Tom ahead of me and I have kept him in sight the entire time so he is about 45 seconds ahead of me.  I get my finishers medal and unlike last year, I manage to gather up all the snacks I can (choco milk, water,  mini bundt cake, banana, etc)  before exiting the corral.  Tom and his friends meet up with me and we pose for pics.  We chat and I go sit down.  I must look rough because Tom asks me if I am okay, and I assure him that I am (I really am. I felt much better at the end of this one than the last one because I was able to walk a bit each mile during the last 1/3 of the race).

When we go back and check the scorers table, I see that I ran a 2:07:13, which is only 30 seconds slower than my first half marathon that I ran in Oct before I had any issues with ALS symptoms in my ankle, so I am pretty stoked about this.  I still finished in the top 1/3 of all the runners...nothing to be ashamed of.

A sit and rest a bit more (while playing with a Golden who is adorable and still very much a puppy despite her adult size) then head back to the truck, talking to runners as I get ready for running errands and chores.

All in all I ended up vacuuming the house and mowing grass that day as well.  Needless to say I slept very well that night.

This is most likely my last half marathon.  I feel blessed to have been able to finish it at all.  I know that my ALS is still in the early stages but it did have an effect on me.  I know that had I been 100% I could have broken the 2 hour mark for this race (or maybe the next one), but I guess that was not in the cards.

No worries...I have still done something not many people have ever done and that was compete in and finish (reasonably well I might add) in two half marathons...both when I was 49 and at least one of them while experiencing ALS symptoms in my ankle.

Go me!

The Race Must Go On

I have been actively following the threat of severe weather that was predicted on the day that I have planned to run my last half-marathon and I am happy to report that while rain is in the forecast, it appears it will not materialize until late afternoon or the evening.  The race will go on.

I picked up my race packet yesterday and like the previous Fairview Half Marathon, it was pretty skimpy.   There were a few coupons, an Emergen-C packet, and some fruit flavored gummy candy  but other than one of those drawstring bags you can wear as a backpack, there was nothing else other than the obligatory Race Day Shirt, which I have to admit is nicer than some cheap unisex cotton tee shirt that you see at some events.  I realize part of this money goes to charity, another part goes to the finisher's medals (which are gawd awfully big this year) and I am sure the rest to admin costs but your would think that sponsors would like to give out something of interest.

I just chucked the coupons since they were for places I cannot afford to shop at anyway.

I got home an my wife seemed rather perturbed that I had entered another race, or more accurately, had spent money on registration.  Yeah, money is something we fight about.  I know she gets concerned and I can appreciate that, but I don't waste money and it is not too often I want to spend it on something for just me.

Initially I thought she was upset because hard physical exertion only exasperates the symptons of ALS but I soon realized she was mad because of the money I spent.   Honestly, this bothers me quite a bit but discussing it with her is pointless.  I will be wrong no matter what.  I realize that men and women view spending differently.  She feels I waste money on my hobbies (which to be honest I have cut WAY back on) and I think she goes overboard on "natural" and "organic" products fur us and the dogs (when they were alive).  Maybe we are both wrong.  I just wish we could meet someplace in the middle.

That reminds me of a joke:

If a man is talking in the middle of the woods and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?

Today was a workout day but since I have a race tomorrow I took it easy and only did elliptical at a moderate pace for 60 minutes.  Normally I go at it a little harder,  hitting at least 8 miles during that same 60 minutes but I scaled it back today clocking in just over 7.75 miles.  No aches, no  pains.  I will need to get a restful nights sleep tonight, get up tomorrow and take my Rilozole  at 5:30, eat something light at 6:30, make sure I have used the bathroom and have nothing left to surprise me later, leave the house by 7:00 and start the race at 7:30.  I live pretty close so this should not be a problem but knowing me I will be up a little early because I will not be able to sleep.  Nerves on race day are common.

I remember my first half marathon I was so tired at the end I do not remember them handing me my finishers medal and walked right past the post race refreshments, which were fairly nice (water,  chocolate milk, OJ, baby bundt cakes, bananas, etc).  My buddy Tom had to point them out to me.  I will try to remember them this time.  I will be hungry because I will have burned off close to 1500 calories during this race.

One of the funniest things about these races is that they are part fashion show as well as athletic event.  Some people get  into dressing up (one guy dressed up in a viking hat last time and some of the women were in multicolored neon clothing that just did not match but it was fun to look at) and it can be quite the attraction.  Some people spend a lot of money on running gear but I just run in whatever is comfortable to me...typically a technical athletic shirt and shorts.  I have an old pair of running shows I save for races because they are so comfortable.  I know I cannot work out in them every day (the padding is worn out) but they are just fine for races.

It is also quite a social event.  I noticed a lot of the people picking up their packets yesterday were driving very nice cars (Audi,  BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc) and it is all about who you are seen with for some people.  Not me.  While I know I will not place in the top three of my age/gender catagory, I go  because I want to prove to myself that I can do it.  This time I am a little more skeptical  since my symptoms have worsened since I  registered at the beginning of the year. I am sure I can finish it but I am pretty sure that it will be slower than last time.  I average a 9:44/mile pace last time and would have done a bit better had I slowed it down earlier and saved myself for the end.  I ended up walking some during miles 11 and 12...not a lot but some.  This year I think I will hang with the 10:00/mile crowd and if I do better, so be it.  If not, then no harm to me.  Last year I started with the 9:50  crowd and moved up to the 9:40 before I started losing steam.   I hope not to repeat that.

I am not a natural athlete.  I have to work to do as well as I do, which is not stellar by any means but I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish.  Besides, how many other people with ALS will be running this? ;)

Drug Report and Running in the Rain

I have been taking Riluzole twice a day for just about two weeks now and I am happy to report  I am still not experiencing any side effects other than the mild "itchy mouth" I get shortly after taking it.  Honestly the worst thing I have had to deal with is making sure I do not eat anything 2 hours before and 1 hour after taking the medication.

I have been communicating quite a bit with a friend of mine who lives in Virginia with his wife, dog, and a couple of cats.  He has been a good person for me to unload my issues on.  We trade e-mails several times a week and talk on the phone once in a while as time permits.  We don't talk as much as we probably should simply because when I am  talking on the phone with someone I prefer that call to be private and a lack of privacy is something I am in great supply of, at least for the time being.

Physically I feel mostly the same although I would venture a guess that my left hand has lost more coordination and typing is getting harder with it.  So far that is the only real issue I have noticed.

I have been get more frustrated with my lack of coordination each day.  Today my hand is unusually problematic, giving me fits with the buttons on my shorts as well as my typing.  I really have not been blue or depressed, "mad at God", or anything like that.  It is mostly just frustration.  I have a very active mind and to have my body not keep up with it presents me with a special kind of hell to live with.

I am scheduled to participate in the Fairview Half Marathon on Saturday,  which will be a real test for me since I have not ran more than  5-6 miles in one stretch in several weeks.  For quite some time my left ankle was giving me issues (I think I tweaked it) then after it started feeling better my heal started bothering like I had a stone bruise.  All that bit of injury has certainly affected my cardio and/or endurance to some degree so I am pretty certain my time will be much slower than my last (and my only) half to date at 2:06:42 ... I am expecting a closet to 2:20 time but will certainly welcome something faster.  The weather forecast is not looking too good at the moment with a 40% chance of rain on race day and a high of 76.  Around race time it ought to be about 60% which will make for a cool, sloppy run.  Ought to be fun.