I have been a very loyal Sprint customer for years.  That probably ended tonight.  My weekend started Friday with my Palm Pre saying "phone offline" and being nothing more than a paperweight.  I went into Sprint store they did their stuff and said my phone was ready to go.  Saturday my mom ended up in the ER after coughing up blood and my phone starts to go offline yet again.  My phone has gone through 5 batteries today and I have spend almost 3 hours on the phone with Sprint.

The results:

1.  Sprint has had to replace this phone 3 times therefore they will not replace it again.  They even said that because it is over a year old they will not replace it.  THE PALM PRE WAS ONLY RELEASE THIS LAST JUNE!

2.  Logic does not prevail with them.  I can pay $100 for an insurance replacement or $149 and upgrade to the same dang phone and extend my agreement for 2 years.

3.  My mom is back east, my phone needs to work.  I leave town on Wednesday to be home for Thanksgiving.

Questions:

I love the Pre, but don't have time nor Patience to deal with them anymore and need a phone that works.

I am not a fan of ATT so that leaves TMobile and Verizon.  The Driod has gotten great reviews and TMobile should have something similar.  I have tried Blackberry, but really miss the touch screen.

So is their a PDA phone that has their issues resolved with a provider that isn't a pain in the back side?

This is going to be another great event, please try and attend!

Anyone that knows me at all, or follows my tweets, blogs or facebook knows that 11 days ago my AC went out.  I blogged that it was nice to have a warranty company and knowing that it wouldn't cost me too much.  Well, I still don't have AC and we have yet to have a day less than 100 degrees.

Last night I went to my bedroom, my new office,  where I have a window AC unit that makes the room bearable.  I don't recommend your bed as a desk, way to easy to take a nap!  I walk in and my assistant was in the bed not looking well.  (For those that didn't see the pic a few weeks ago, my assistant is a little Schnauzer, Ally)  Well, Ally had just thrown up in my bed.  The AC has really started to get to me and I was feeling sorry for myself. Tuesday night had been a meeting for the MS Society's Annual bike ride that I help with and our chamber helps with the wounded worriers.  I had the realization that very few people have AC all around the world and I am upset, and yet I have full use of my body and faculties (some that know me well might disagree, but for the most part, I'm all here)  It could be a lot worse.

Then this morning when I found out that again today, that I wasn't getting my AC fixed, a really good friend of mine asked for my prayers as she was going in to have a mammogram for a lump in each of her breasts.  And today my mom had to go to a doctors appointment alone about her knee which the doctor thinks needs to be replaced and she is scared because she doesn't know how she will do it this time w/o her nurse, who was my dad who died last October.  It could be worse than no AC!

I started feeling selfish for being upset that my house was just hot.  As we come up to the 4th of July, even if my house getting up to almost 100 inside, I am going to try and thank those that have served our country and my friends for the great life that I do have.  And now in all humility I can say that I am one Hot guy!

To all of you that have served our nation in the military, thank you for the lifestyle that you have protected for my family, friends and me. 

I will not use names since my family gave me the idea for this blog, but I am sort of a geek and love technology.  Having a basic no frills GPS that was on my TREO for years, I learned a few things that I try and pass on especially to family members...(they would have spent less time cussing at the voice in box if they had done these few simple things)

1. GPS maps like any maps are not perfect.  You should use your GPS for a few months, every time you get a new one, to take you to places that you know that way.  That way you can learn his/her (a few family members have named their devices based on the voice)ideosyncricies.

2. The GPS way is frequently not the way that you want to go!  A friend that used to work on the base maps explained to me that safety is an underlying protocol in routing.  If there is a way to add 1/2 mile and avoid a left turn at a busy intersection, they will do that.

3.  When your routing is wrong, pick a closer way-point or intermediate destination to help it find the way you should be going.  My GPS loves highways.  It will get me to the interstate even if it costs 3 or 4 miles in a 20 mile trip.  If you select the most direct way then it gives you a tour of every little street in the world.  IF you know that there is a better smaller highway you can just select a way-point on that road to force the GPS to to the better route.

However, I would not have known these things if I had only used the GPS to go places that I was not familiar with.  It was driving in my Brothers Acura, right after they had the in dash units that I realized that although they are an amazing technology, you need to understand it to make the most use of it. 

Try it, use your GPS for trips that you know well and see what assumptions your GPS makes...it can be very entertaining!  Especially if you don't do what it tells you to.  I have always wanted to add the voice command "if you didn't want to do what I'm telling you, why did you turn me on?" 

Many times you use a company because of a relationship.  I have been selling real estate for 15 years and had a first last night.  I got home at 10:30 after doing a presentation for the Lonestar Chapter of the National MS Society (my yearly personal Charity, CMN is my work Charity) and found a very toasty house and a panting little Schnauzer.

Long story short after checking all the knuckle head things, my compressor is DEAD.  3 or more years ago Glenda Shulz, with First American, explained why I not only needed to sell her Home Protection Plans, but get one for my house.  I signed up and paid what now seems like a very reasonable fee and never made a call.  Last night, I made my first call and emailed Glenda to let her know!  The company wasn't able to fit me in today, but after a call from Glenda's office I am first on their schedule tomorrow.  With the heat, there are stories of people waiting 2 to 4 days to get an AC checked.

Glenda, although it is still toasty, knowing that they will be here first thing really helps.

I will continue to update the progress, but to all you out there that own homes, especially if you are agents that encourage your clients to get these plans, right now the piece of mind that my bill will not exceed, $55 makes it not seem so hot in here!

Thanks Glenda for being a great sales person and for the long term relation ship you have had with both of my offices!!!!  Glenda works the San Antonio Market.

As the Chair of the local chamber I write an article in our weekly paper.  This is my draft for my Monday deadline.  I usually am positive and try to find the good news about our area, so this will be a departure.  Thought I would put it here too.  Although not real estate related this type of gubernatorial veto doesn't put us into a great light with the rest of the world.  In Texas the veto is final because only the Governor can call a special session to overturn his veto.  Don't see that happening.

Draft of this weeks article...

I have written mostly positive articles for over a year now about both our region and our state.  Last week, the Christian Science Monitor published a report that San Antonio is the MOST recession proof city in the country and that four of the top five recession proof cities are in Texas.  Yet, something else last week overshadowed this good news.  Gov. Perry vetoed SB488, the safe passage bill which would require motorists to give 3' of clearance to pedestrians, wheelchairs, cyclists, etc.  He did this at the end of the day Friday, so many of you may have missed it.  There are people who don't believe that the roads are for anything other than trucks and cars.  As a cyclist, I have been shot at (yes, I heard the pop out of a truck and the thud in the embankment next to me,) I have fought dogs that the police and sheriff's office don't have the resources to go after, and have had people yell and throw things at my friends and me.  My brother has suffered broken bones from getting hit.  This last weekend, on the kick-off ride for the MS Valero Ride to the River, a driver pulling a 40+ foot long trailer came within one foot of my single file group, and we watched as this driver did the same to two other groups. 
 
This is not just about a recreational activity.  Our children ride bikes, and many commute on foot, bicycles, motorcycles and mopeds to help the environment, exercise, or for any number of reasons.  This bill protected them, too, as taken directly from the Governor's Website: "These vulnerable road users would include pedestrians; highway construction and maintenance workers; tow truck operators; stranded motorists or passengers; people on horseback; bicyclists; motorcyclists; moped riders; and other similar road users."  I hope all in these categories join the cycling community in demanding an explanation of this veto!
 
The metro area is getting great accolades, yet to the rest of the country, this will be complied with the articles proclaiming San Antonio one of the fattest cities in the country and start to erode all the great press and truly wonderful aspects of living in this area.  Gov. Perry has announced that he wants to be re-elected.  We need to remember this if he decides to run again for governor (or another office) or throws his support behind someone else.  For the record, Senators Wentworth and Zaffirni both supported this bill.  Please reach out and thank them!

----

I am posting this for a few reasons.  First, just to see the response before I push send on the editors copy.  Second, to promote awareness, I don't understand that less than 50% of the people in this country vote.  Third, to get the word out on an issue that I am passionate about.  I involved in many cycling activities to include helping the MS society and their local ride.

All comments welcome

What great news to send you mid-week:

Study: San Antonio is America's top recession-resistant city

At the midpoint in a busy week, after moving the Chamber, having company in town and all the rest, I have loved how busy real estate has been, too.  Offers are coming in, and our inventory of homes is dropping. While we never were as bad as the rest of the country, we still had a much different market this year than we had experienced in eight or more years.

I think the challenge now will be dealing with the mortgage industry.  Things just seem to change on a regular basis and with the resurgence of FHA loans, it seems much longer underwriting times and escrow time frames are the norm.  If there is any dark cloud in our market, it would be financing.  But, I am very hopeful that this will be more like a speed bump and not a brick wall.

More great news is in the link below.  A new study finds that San Antonio is America's top recession-resistant city and that four of the top five recession-resistant cities in the country are in Texas.  Even with some financing hiccups, we seem to be in great shape.  If any of us were frustrated that Texas didn't allow many of the "new" "latest and greatest" mortgages and the lines of credit up to 125% of the property value, we should all be very thankful now!

To see the article, follow the link below!

See article at http://features.csmonitor.com/economyrebuild/2009/06/17/study-san-antonio-is-americas-top-recession-resistant-city/