Weekend and a new Chromebook

Yay, weekend!

I like a good deal. For years, I have been interested in getting a Chromebook. I've never found one that is of good quality at a decent price. Out of the blue, I found one on sale for $200. I like the specs. I saved $280. Crazy!

I'm so happy with my purchase. I'm looking forward to receiving it soon.

Breaking out of the house twice a week and safely fetching ramen while out

With the COVID-19 pandemic, I only go out twice a week to for groceries and essentials. I go out on Wednesdays after working from home and on Saturdays.

I feel for eateries these days, especially the local, smaller ones. I tend to order online and pick my food up while I'm out getting groceries and dropping by the drugstore.

On Saturday, I found a ramen place roughly ten minutes away. It is offering all ramen at 50% off its regular price. Wow! I love ramen. Not only did I get some ramen, but decided to get two appetizers that would equal the discount.

When I went to pick it up, I was between two sets of doors. A man working there greeted me behind the second glass door. It was cool. He let me know that my food was on the table. I looked and was so happy. I thanked him. He wished me a good day. I reciprocated.

The food was amazing and delicious. I will be back for more.

My friend is a nurse and a meal discount for her

A few hours ago, I learned that my friend in Ottawa is a nurse. She had indicated that she was in the health field. I never pry when it comes to what people do for a living. When they are ready to let me know, they will. She quietly let me know.

She's doing well. I told her to take care of herself. She is on the frontlines with Canadians who may or may not have COVID-19.

I let her know that Harvey's is having a promotion for health care workers and first responders starting today. When they present proof that they are in the health care field, their meals are 50% off. It's a nice gesture. She was thrilled to hear about the deal. It lasts for a week.

I'm glad that I did a small part to brighten her day.

Depleted battery on my Fitbit Alta leads to a new Versa Lite

I have had my Fitbit Alta for nearly three years. While in the Twin Cities, it died on me. It had a full charge the night before.

I worked with support. Sure enough, after a full charge, without any notifications or fancy, draining functionality, the battery depletes roughly 1.75 days later. It's supposed to last at least four days on a full charge.

Unfortunately, my Alta is no longer covered by the limited warranty. However, I do get a discount on my next device. It's a nice way to keep me as a customer.

I will get the Versa Lite and see how it goes. I get 40% off its regular price. Not too shabby!

Cell phone plan and corporate discount

Every two years, I have to renew my cell phone plan. I am on a corporate discount. 

It's always an event to get the discount reapplied every two years. I'm at that stage again.

I normally have to get a special passcode. I got mine. Apparently, being able to apply it online is supposed to make it easy. It's not the case. It claims that my cell phone number isn't eligible.

I'll need to give my cell phone provider a call in the morning. Ah, what fun.

This minor hassle ties in with my budget and debt reduction. I save 25% with the corporate discount. I decided to keep the same plan that I have been with for now over two years. I don't need more data. This plan works for me.

Here's hoping that getting this billing issue fixed goes smoothly.

Corporate discount on Microsoft Office for Mac - CB-approved

Well over a year ago, I upgraded my Mac mini to the latest operating system at the time. The upgrade went horribly wrong to the point where I had to go get help at the Apple store.

I had a pretty old version of Microsoft Office for Mac installed before the upgrade blew everything up on my Mac mini. The Office version was 2004. After getting my operating system reinstalled, reinstalling Office 2004 would not work.

I have been without Microsoft Office on my Mac mini since. I also have a Macbook Air. It does not have Microsoft Office, either.

On Friday, I received a forwarded e-mail from Sharky. He is a development manager who likes me. My guy constantly teases me over the fact that Sharky lusts after me.

Anyway, the e-mail stated that employees can get a home copy of Microsoft Office for Windows or Mac for $13 each. Wow!

Part of me thought that this price was too good to be true. However, the e-mail came from our company's IT department. It was a valid e-mail offer!

I went ahead and paid $13 to have Office installed on my Macbook Air. All Office applications work well.

My guy was so proud of me for saving so much money on software. He is my sweet cheap bastard (CB).

Fixing things to make things right and having them run smoothly

It would be nice if things ran smoothly all the time. Sometimes, they do. Other times, they go horribly wrong.

As you know, I changed cell phone providers in late October. Last month, I noticed a number of issues with my first bill:

• I had asked for unlimited Canada-wide long-distance calling. It wasn't applied to my plan. As a result, my talking to my guy over the phone for a month racked up $31 worth of charges.
• I was promised a $10 per month discount on my monthly rate. It never got applied either.

So, I called the company on a Sunday. I spoke to a guy who was helpful on the whole. 

He was great to reimburse me for the long-distance charges and added unlimited Canada-wide calling to my plan. My guy and I are roughly a two-hour drive away from each other, so it makes sense to have unlimited calling since we chat a lot.

I was advised that the second point could be fixed if I switch from being a business customer to a residential one. I have a corporate discount, which is why I ended up being a business customer. Still, it's ridiculous to transfer my account over simply for a discount.

I told my guy about the whole situation. He was annoyed. He has also dealt with similar issues when he changed to his corporate account. He's used to it, unfortunately.

Last week, I contacted my sales rep. She advised that she was driving. She asked that I call her. I was about to have lunch, so I didn't.

I remembered to call her today. She checked. Sure enough, the discount was not applied. She is having that slapped on. I will also get reimbursed for the previous month.

And then, there's work.

Whenever we have a software release, our user guides need to be uploaded to a special repository for folks to access at any time. In the past, three of us would upload each guide one at a time. The work was not difficult. Rather, it was extremely time-consuming.

This past weekend, I tried a new tool that allows you to upload all guides at once. The catch is to load the details correctly. You then press a few buttons and everything runs smoothly.

I triple-checked my information. On Monday, I uploaded all 117 user guides. No errors! 

My colleague then kicked off another build to order the documents in our repository. In less than a day, we were done.

I told him that it was the most stress-free upload that we have ever worked on. He commended the fact that I was meticulous with all details, which helped. Everything ran perfectly.

It was a good day. Let's hope for more of them.