is the word 'diary' better than the word 'blog'? probably not.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improbable Developments Involving Singing and Arbitration.
Tonight I actually sat around with three other professors singing songs and playing guitars. It was fun. This happened after a long long day during which I kept feeling defeated by various things: an early morning meeting with someone on campus went well but was early and I was feeling tired and allergy-ridden; a doctor�s appointment took way too long and then I ended up having to PAY for it (rather than having it covered by insurance) for reasons that are as yet unclear to me; in the meantime the appointment and meeting had taken so long that I was hypoglycemic shaky starving, but only had time to shove some food in my face quickly before going off to teach my last day of the PAIN class. That actually went well, so things started to turn around. It was followed by some pizza, beer, and cake with students (my students who, as always, are great. But also: they are as tired as I am right now. It is that time of the semester.). I was on a downward slope post-cake and beer, a sugar and alcohol crash course headed directly for my couch, but Gus and Jerry in their different ways persuaded me to join them for music night even though the last thing I needed was to be pressured into SINGING. But I�m glad I went. We even sang some good songs, as well as some funny songs.
(For instance, when I mentioned that I really should be at home soldering jewelry gifts, one of my singing compatriots sang, Pretenders-style, �it is time / for you to stop / all of your soldering.�)
In other news, I really love eBay. But, as with anything that makes you deal with the people, occasionally you will end up doing business with a freak. That happened to me recently, which ended in me losing some money when Paypal decided in the favor of the buyer (I was the seller) even though everything that went wrong with the transaction was her fault. You don�t need the details. Suffice it to say that I was deeply annoyed by this, not only because it was unfair and time-consuming, but because Paypal said that the case would be subjected to an �arbitration� process and then an �arbitrator� would make a �judgment� (oh man, do they even KNOW who they are talking to? hahaha), but really all the �arbitrator� did was wait a certain number of days and then apply a policy (a policy which does not really apply to the case in question, but, well, that just is the problem we face when someone says �judgment� but actually means �blind application of rules without concern for context and evidence.� If all justice needed was blind application of rules, a very simple computer could render justice better than a human being. But that, of course, is the premise of most dystopian science fiction. Actually making a judgment on a particular case takes much more than application of rules. And, often, blind application of rules is a form of injustice not to mention the hobgoblin of small minds. The three separate people I talked to at Paypal in the customer service department, prior to �judgment� being rendered, all assured me that the case would have to be decided in my favor, given the evidence. But I don�t think the �arbitrator� even read the case file�.).
Anyway, the best part is that Paypal selected me to fill out an online form giving feedback on their arbitration process. And the form, in addition to asking me to fill out a bunch of 1 to 5 rating screens, also had some ESSAY QUESTIONS. And you can be hella sure that someone in the Paypal feedback department has just gotten a short education in what the difference is between �policy� and �judgment.�
I lost $50. The only good news that comes with this is that someone in the Paypal customer service department used her discretion to give me back $25.
Tomorrow will be another very long day, with various errands to run, and party preparations, and beginning to figure what needs to come to SF with me on Tuesday, and what stays here for the month I�m gone. But when I got home from singing I learned that my faculty reading group scheduled for 10:30 am tomorrow is CANCELLED, which fills me with the deep pleasure one can only get from not having to set an alarm clock.
1:11 a.m. - December 15, 2006
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
