Satan's Communications Corp a.k.a. Qwest Communications

When we moved from the apt to the house, I cancelled our services with Qwest. We didn't need a landline anymore and their internet was $hitty. Apparently, however, not all of my services with them were cancelled.

Apparently, somewhere along the line, someone in their company signed me up for Enhanced Long Distance without my consent. Okay, whatever, not really a problem, except for the fact that it was a service provided by a third-party vendor. I apparently was supposed to cancel this service through this third-party vendor. Since I was unaware of these things at the time I cancelled my service, Enhanced Long Distance continued to charge me for two months after I had terminated phone services and moved!

So, on August 3, I called Qwest to figure out why they were charging me for long distance service after I had terminated services with them. They told me about the third-party vendor. So I called the third-party vendor and explained the situation - they were very accomodating and told me that they were going to cancel the debt on the account. The rep. gave me the confirmation number, his own personal operate ID #, and a phone number to his direct line should I have further problems. He said that it would probably take Qwest two billing cycles to get everything squared away. But, he advised that I call them with the confirmation number he had given me so that they wouldn't send me to collections.

I called Qwest back and spoke to a rep for them, explaining the situation and offering the confirmation #. She said that she didn't need that and that it would be taken care of. Interestingly enough, yesterday I got a COLLECTIONS notice RE: my delinquent Qwest account. THOSE F*CKING BASTARDS!!! For 3 months now they have been f*cking with my credit. I swear to God, I want to obliterate that company. If you're ever in the market for new communications services, and Qwest is a provider in your area, DO NOT USE QWEST!! They utilize shady business practices and will screw your credit score into the ground.

So now, I get to spend more time on the phone with those @$$holes tomorrow to get this straightened out (for the third time), when I thought that it was taken care of back in June. If Qwest was a person, I would punch him in the balls and then pour lye over him.

Day One

Wow. Okay, so this is my first blog, so you may need to bear with me as I find my rhythm and voice.

Lots going on right now with the baby (28 weeks pregnant). He does have a CCAM (congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation); this condition can go several different ways - luckily for us, ours isn't as serious as it could be. For now, we're on a wait-and-see regimen. I'm in the process of having the remainder of the care for this pregnancy transferred from Evans U.S. Army Community Hospital on Fort Carson to Memorial Central Hospital's department of Maternal Fetal Medicine. I'll be updating more on that as days go by.

For now, most days, things are pretty easy and I don't really think about the CCAM. Rarely, I'll find myself in a funk where I worry that things will take a turn for the worse. It's hard; no one wants to hear that their child isn't going to be born healthy. Then, of course, I wonder what I could've done differently. Unfortunately, there is no known cause of CCAMs. It's not like I've been drinking this whole time and now I'm being told that my child has fetal alcohol syndrome. Basically, there's no known cause, and just because this child has a CCAM doesn't mean that his children will or that his future sibling(s) will. It's just so nebulous. Like our picture was placed on a dartboard and some @$$hole threw a dart and BAM, our child develops a CCAM. Then I feel a little guilty, too. Like I'm a terrible woman and wife because I'm not giving Chad a 100% healthy baby boy. I know that's unreasonable, especially since there's no known cause. But I feel bad about something that's not my fault. Like I said, those are the very rare days. Most days, the most I do in regard to thinking about the CCAM is cross my fingers and hope that everything will come right in the end.

I am relieved that they are going to be transferring my healthcare for the remainder of the pregnancy to MFM at MCH. I know someone who's delivered there and she delivered very prematurely - her son is wonderfully healthy. I've heard nothing but positive things about the MFM center. Also, the labor and delivery department at MCH isn't as crowded as the one at Evans, so that's a relief as well. At Evans, the keep you in Triage until you are in active labor because their facility is so overwhelmed while they are under construction on the new mother/child "wing".

Anyway, recently, Chad and I have been talking about possibilities for when he is done in the Army in three years. Jonathan, one of our friends in Chicago who has finished law school, planted the seed in Chad's mind about the possibility of going into law. Chad's batted around a lot of ideas for when he gets out without any really discernible interest in one particular area, but law school seems like it would be a really good option. There are several avenues within this route that he could take. I'm glad that he's got another positive option to consider, and we keep talking about it. So far, he's started looking into studying for and taking the LSATs.

We've also talked about where we want to live when he's out of the Army; we're still discussing moving back to the Chicago area. We love it there, and we'd be pretty centrally located to the people who are important to us, not to mention that we'd be a lot closer to universities that have master's and Ph.D. programs that I'd actually like to pursue (as opposed to program options here in the Colorado Springs area). So today I looked at some graduate programs and found one that looks pretty promising.

Okay, I guess that I've rambled through a couple of subjects today. It should be enough of a start for you to get some insight into what I'm thinking/feeling and enough for me to start somewhere!