I saw something this morning that has been weighing heavily on my heart all day. After I took Miranda to school, I stopped at the bank to get some cash out. When I got out of the car, I saw a dog, some sort of bull terrier (the ones with the big, broad skulls), chained to a post. It was looking very anxiously at people and making kind of whimpery/excited noises. I went over to the dog to pet it, since it seemed so anxious.
While I was there with it, a man came out of one of the shops with a dish of water. He said, “Is this your dog?” and I said, “Oh, no, I just came over to pet it.” I talked to him a bit more, and it seems the dog had been there for quite some time. Like, since very early in the morning. And there was absolutely no sign of the dog’s owner. He did tell me that they had looked up the name of an animal welfare group and they would be calling if the dog remained there. I felt both relieved and saddened.
The dog was very sweet, and seemed so very anxious. She (I assume it was a she; I didn’t really look all that hard, though) would have happily climbed into my lap and had a big cuddle with me if there had been an opportunity. She was just so happy that some person was there with her, paying attention to her. Poor, sweet dog. I suspect that some coward brought the dog out there in the small hours of the morning and chained it up and just left it, knowing that people in the shops would see it and eventually call animal welfare. This was a nice dog, very obviously a dog that wanted to be with people, wanted to please people. And there she was, abandoned on the street like somebody’s rubbish…
I hope very much that this sweet doggy ends up being placed with some nice family or person who will love and appreciate what a lovely dog she is. Big, happy grin, such gratefulness for attention, so affectionate… I hope she gets a new “pack” where she can be properly cared for and treasured. And yes, I already mentioned this to God.
As for the person who left her there, I just want to say that what goes around comes around, and you will certainly reap the harvest from the seeds you sow with your attitudes, your actions, and your unwillingness to take responsibility for those in your care. I’m not worried. It’ll come back to you. It always does. Always.
First, a notice that my “bid” had been cancelled on an item I bought months ago via BuyItNow. Item was bought, paid for, has been received. I have no clue how/why they would cancel a “bid” on an item I bought months ago. Weird, I think.
Then I go on to the next email and find that my account has been suspended.
This is an account I’ve had since 2000. It’s my primary buying account, and it’s associated with a PayPal account, so it’s not like they can’t check out who I am. I have literally thousands of dollars worth of purchases on that account, and 100% feedback. I have never done anything with that account except buy (I don’t think I’ve even posted on any boards with it).
A few years ago, when I got just a little to outspoken on the eBay boards, they suspended my posting ability. They suspended my selling account (which I still have but no longer use), my posting ID, and my buying account from using the boards. No biggie (I was sick of the boards anyway), but they did manage to CORRECTLY figure out which accounts where mine.
This time, though, they can’t work it out. They just plain suspended my buying account:
Hello [username], [email address]
We regret that your eBay account has been suspended due to the following policy violation:
*Previously Suspended User*
eBay prohibits users who are currently suspended from registering new accounts. Our records indicate that your account is associated with the following previously suspended account(s):
Due to the suspension of your account you are prohibited from using eBay in any way. This includes registering a new account.
Please note that this does not relieve you of your obligation to pay any fees you may owe to eBay.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Regards,
eBay International AG
My only response to this is…. WTF? I have NO CLUE who that user is. I have NO CLUE why they would associate my buying account with that user. And they clearly have NO CLUE because they haven’t suspended my other accounts.
I’m in two minds about this. One part of me wants to fight it and show them that they screwed up YET AGAIN. Another part of me says, “Pffft. F**kit. They want to get rid of a 100% FB buyer, well, let them!”
Is there any way to appeal an eBay suspension? There doesn’t appear to be….
Okay, just now I went and investigated a bit more. Apparently, I owe them $0 and this is why my account has been suspended. I’m not making that up.
Your account balance is: AU $0.00 as of Dec-22-05 07:53:36 PST
They give me the option of paying them by DirectPay, Credit Card, or I can mail in a money order. For ZERO dollars. On a seller account that I don’t have (all my seller accounts are closed). For some association with some other user I’ve never heard of. I mean, W. T. F.
Okay, just for fun I tried to make a one-time payment of ZERO dollars. The system won’t let me.
Honestly, what a bunch of idiots. They go on and on about how they want to “improve the buying expeirence”? Well, this isn’t improving my buying experience… Really, I’m just to the point of not caring any more. They can’t manage to keep their accounts straight and their stuff in order, well, they DESERVE to lose a customer.
Late last year, or maybe it was early this year, I wrote here about my resolution to be happy. It wasn’t a New Year’s resolution because I made it on Boxing Day (26 December), when we went for a family day out and just had a perfect and incredibly happy day.
Anyway, I’ve actually mostly achieved it. Seriously. I’m happy most of the time. And I don’t mean just okay, I mean, I’m actually happy. Even when stuff looks crappy (and sometimes it really does), I tend not to get too bogged down with it. I just prefer to be happy and to believe that it will all work out and guess what? It does. And that makes me happy. And the cycle continues…
Mostly, this is a profound attitude change, and the breaking of a lifetime of habit of thought. It’s taken some time and vigilance to re-train my habitual thought patterns, but I’m doing it, and the old, negative thoughts are becoming less and less common, and the new, happy thought patterns are becoming the norm.
I know, it probably sounds like some sort of weird denial or something, but honestly, it isn’t. I know denial (trust me on that one), and I know that thing where you pretend to be happy or you ignore what’s really going on and smile, anyway… This is totally different. It’s real, genuine joy. It flows from somewhere inside me, like a wellspring. I am not always overtly aware of it, but it takes very little effort to just relax and let it flow. Even when I’m tired and cranky and situations are not what I would like them to be, I can tap into it. Sometimes it’s just a sort of pleasant contentment, sometimes it’s full on bliss, but it’s always there, if I just let myself experience it.
Good stuff, happiness. And surprising, too. I used to think that it was impossible to be happy most of the time (let alone all the time), but that was when I thought that happiness depended on external circumstances. Now I know better. Happiness, joy, that all comes from inside… I’m grateful that I’ve found out how to tap into it.
(Note: I actually drink only rarely. That I happen to know a fair bit of trivia regarding alcohol is just coincidental. I’m just saying. Just because I know about it, doesn’t mean I do it. I actually know about a lot of stuff that I don’t do…)
♥ 17 July 2008 , Tags : links, personal , Comments Off
I took a test to assess my “Signature Strengths”, offered by the University of Pennsylvania. You have to sign up to the site, but there are lots of tests, and it’s kind of interesting. Here are my top five personality strengths. I’m not surprised, other than to have seen that Spirituality actually ended up sixth, but then, most of the questions had more to do with religion than spirituality, and I’m not very religious (but I’m highly spiritual). Your Top Strength
Honesty, authenticity, and genuineness
You are an honest person, not only by speaking the truth but by living your life in a genuine and authentic way. You are down to earth and without pretense; you are a “real” person. Your Second Strength
Humor and playfulness
You like to laugh and tease. Bringing smiles to other people is important to you. You try to see the light side of all situations. Your Third Strength
Love of learning
You love learning new things, whether in a class or on your own. You have always loved school, reading, and museums-anywhere and everywhere there is an opportunity to learn. Your Fourth Strength
Curiosity and interest in the world
You are curious about everything. You are always asking questions, and you find all subjects and topics fascinating. You like exploration and discovery. Your Fifth Strength
Appreciation of beauty and excellence
You notice and appreciate beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.
Now, I admit, I could have actually fudged the test results if I’d wanted to. I’m pretty smart, and I could tell where a lot of the questions were leading, so to speak. And some of the questions were stupidly worded, such as, “I can’t imagine lying or cheating,” which is just dumb. Of course I can imagine it. Duh. I just don’t do it…
Anyway, there are a lot of interesting tests there. How much use they’d be to you, I can’t say, but if you’ve got some time to kill and you enjoy doing psychological personality assessment tests, go around to the Authentic Happiness Test Center on the University of Pennsylvania website and check it out.
