Family Time

I call this past week, "Family Time."

Or the phrase that just rolls off the tongue "Ruckordellailliams Reunion", a combination  of my mom's sister's family's last name and our last names.

Super fun times. And.. mustard learned how to jump off the dock! And T and I show our canoe skillz. Not captured in pixels: Mustard's jumping through the hula-hoop skillz. That dog is smart. Or motivated by food, perhaps.

Missing from the photo: Phoebe the Australian Veterinarian. She was the photographer.

T is quite pleased with the outrage he has inspired in me. Mustard is just confused. 

We go nowhere quickly. 

Later, Mustard realizes how exciting jumping of the dock is. Mostly he just wants to show the lily pads who's da boss (it's him).  

Trying to complete the Ayer puzzle. Impossible.

Until next time, Ruckhs, Tordellas, and Williamses! Not to mention all of the significant others.. ;-) Jackie - we missed you!!!

Another Casey Fights the Man

I like this guy, not just because his name is Casey. Fighting idiocracy everywhere!



Now to start riding my bike to work.

Coleman/Aerobed Response!

Subject
Disappointing Experience - Aerobed
Discussion Thread
Response Via Email (Mindy)	06/20/2011 03:26 PM
Dear Casey, We apologize for the difficulty you have experienced with our product. Before you become a full fledged Hater - please try the following steps below. The valves have a seal that sometimes dries out and needs to be re-hydrated. This often does the trick when air is leaking past the valve. Below are a couple of possible reasons and solutions for leaks : 1. If air is leaking from the air release valve, carefully remove the round black plastic gasket (or white silicone gasket, depending on model) inside the air release valve cover. (This gasket is best removed using a spoon or another utensil that does not have a sharp edge.) Rinse this gasket in warm water for 10 minutes, then cool and towel dry. Re-insert gasket in the valve cover, making certain that the side of the gasket with the U-shaped groove faces into the cover. Leave the valve in the open position for approximately 30 minutes. Then close and proceed with inflation instructions. If this does not work - please contact me back and I see what I can do to help you further. Mindy

Hmmm.. I am suspicious that this is the reason it doesn't work since I got the bed just a few weeks ago.... but I'll try it tonight and let y'all know. At least she made me laugh about being a full fledged Hater!!

Related: Aerobed Stinks

Aerobed Review - 0 Stars

Dear Aerobed,

You disgust me.

That's right, I totes went there. Right for the insult.

You see, I'm bitter. Eight years ago, I slept on my first Aerobed ever. It was after a night sleeping on a camping pad on a tile floor in my friend's apartment in Nicaragua. The Aerobed was the most comfortable thing ever. And it stayed inflated - something I had never experienced with an air mattress. I was sold - except for the high price.

Fast forward a few years. Now I'm no longer a recent grad with $0. I'm a yuppie living in Boston. But not so yuppified that I have a true guest bedroom with a real bed for guests. And my boyfriend and I go camping frequently. So... we have a few air mattresses. I'd say we'd go through one or two a summer. Coleman air mattresses, no-name generic air mattresses, another Coleman mattress, and finally an Aerobed (which apparently is owned by Coleman now). That Aerobed lasted one summer, the same as the others, but I was satisfied enough to pay the premium to buy another Aerobed at Target when that first one stopped holding air this year.

I'll admit - we were not always the easiest on the air mattresses. One of my boyfriend and my first experiences on an air mattress was camping in a back yard on Cape Cod. We left our tent windows open... sprinklers turned on that afternoon... and everything was soaked. So I cleverly propped up the mattress with a foot high hollow plastic gnome (Gnomey, as he is affectionately known) to help it dry out.

Later that night, we had our first fight. In a fit of anger, I sat on the air mattress and rolled over... and the Gnome popped a huge hole in the mattress. Whoops. It made us laugh and forget the fight. So thanks, Coleman air mattress. I'm not even bitter that we had to sleep on the ground that night.

Anyway, I digress. I purchased that second Aerobed pacifically (yes pacifically) for my dear cousins' visit this past April. I did not want them sleeping on a sinking mattress - especially since Margot was/is preggers, so I bought what I thought was the best - a battery-powered, built-in-pump, queen sized Aerobed.

The next morning I anxiously awaited their review - "Well, it was ok. We had to pump it up once in the night." Ok, not terrible, but not great. Apparently the following two nights were better and did not require a re-pump.

Now, it's tonight. (Ha. That sounds funny.) I take out my barely used air mattress as I have another few cousins staying over (what can I say, we love each other but live far away and don't like hotels). I turn on the pump. The mattress pumps up, kind of. I remain optimistic. Afterall, it's an AEROBED. The BEST. And it has only been gently used, inside, for three nights. We put the sheets on. And the special Summer Mom quilt. And tried to pump it up. The thing would not stay inflated. Or even really get inflated. And yes, I know how to use an air mattress. We checked all the valves, etc.

Please consider this an ANGRY letter to you, Aerobed. And to you, Target, for selling this piece of crap. It was a complete waste of my ~$75. No, I don't still have the receipt, or I'd return this shit. I will never, EVER, spend my money on an Aerobed product. Even our $30 cheapo air mattress lasted longer.

To top it off, I feel like a horrible hostess since my guest had to resort to pulling cushions off our couch to sleep. So thanks for that too.

Sincerely,

Casey "Air Hater - no wait, I mean - Aerobed hater" Williams

UPDATE: Initial reply

Coleman Consumer Service to me

(This automated response has been generated to let you know we have received your message.)

Thank you for contacting Coleman, The Outdoor Company. We appreciate your interest in Coleman products and will be in touch as soon as possible. We encourage you to help us keep the volume of E-mails down and our response time up by waiting for our reply to your initial inquiry. We thank you for your patience.

A Customer Service representative will review your e-mail and send you a personal response as soon as possible. If you need to send a follow up message, please use the question reference # listed below.

In the meantime, you may find the following topics and links helpful:

Browse close-out items

Buying guides 

Sincerely,
Coleman Consumer Service Team 

No thanks, I don't want any more coleman or aerobed items.

Mustard the Puppy

Updates!

What kind of dog do you think I am? Golden retriever pit bull hound mix, perhaps? The vet says "Heinz 57", to which I say "Bollocks, I'm Mustard!"

Photos above are from the first few days with Mustard.

Now he's way more chill. And 3 lbs bigger.

Prefers "wild water". Or rather, "semi-tamed water out of the watering can".

Things he has chewed and destroyed: $0.99 green rubber bear toy, his knit squeaky snail toy from Craig (which was his absolute favorite toy until he destroyed it), and a green Sharpie

Things he has nibbled on: the deck, the edge of the rug, my slippers, T's slippers, a black cowboy hat, and probably other things we don't even know about. 

Things he has peed or pooped on inappropriately: the front entry hall rug, the dining room rug, the kitchen rug (wait, that's every rug in the house), and his blanket (once)

How he has aged: 4 months to 6 months in just one week! Thanks, paperwork, for correcting us

Weight gained: 3 lbs in 3 weeks

Amount that we love him: SO MUCH!!! He's such a good dog, all things considered. Loves people, loves us, loves other dogs, unless they're peeing by the back fence.

Other Casey Williamses

Open Letter to All Other Casey Williamses:

Please stop trying to reset the password on MY Gmail account. CaseyWilliams at Gmail dot com is mine. All mine. It is greatly annoying when I have to create a new password, so just stop already. Get your own email address. Learn how to use a computer. SERIOUSLY.

Sincerely,

Casey "I got Gmail from my friend Craig back in 2004 when it still required an invite and practically no one had Gmail or even wanted it, so that's why I have this awesome email address" Williams

Online Banking with BOA

casey to Bank (seriously, that's what the 'reply-to' name pops up as)

7:38 PM

Dear BOA,

I was SO CONFUSED when I read this email. See, I log into my Bank Of America online banking accounts at least once a week, if not more. I just logged in yesterday.

So I got this message, and was like, "daym, how often do other people log into their bank accounts?"  

I thought I was a super user. I get e-bills whenever possible, I send checks using Bill Pay, I pay ALL bills online using transfers, I IM with your employees (which, btw, I generally enjoy because they seem to have personalities... but I don't think they have ever had the power to solve my problem), I read the little messages you send me when you have a question. I'm like a POSTER CHILD for online banking. It's one of the main reasons (along with your 1 bazillion ATMs) I stay with Bank of America.

As it turns out, I am a super user. Or at least I can continue to think that about myself. 

You were trying to reach Bryan Williams. He clearly is not an interwebs lover like I am, since he didn't even get his email address right when he set up his online banking. I mean, what kind of guy is named Bryan, but has a 'caseywilliams@gmail' account?

Anyway, I'm going to ignore your email. And try to ignore my bank account, since it was recently depleted by a European vacation (which I called you about so you didn't think my cards were stolen --- I'm kind of hurt you haven't asked how my trip was!) and getting a dog.

Time to get back at it.

Sincerely,

Your loyal Online Banker Casey A. Williams