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So, I now have a total of three cell phones on Page Plus. Our main phone is the HTC Droid Eris on the 1200 Talk n Text plan. My personal cell is a LG Chocolate Touch (the wife’s previous phone from Verizon) on the pay as you go plan (currently I’m hoping to eek by with $25 every 4 months). And recently, I activated a LG Dare for my 14 year old. I purchased the LG Dare on ebay and proceeded to port my son’s cell number from Boost Mobile. I still hate the fact that there’s no easy way to get the actual “account number” from Boost except by calling customer service. I even tried emailing customer service via their website to try and get the “account number” without having to go through automated menu hell. But they emailed back and said that I had to CALL them to get the account number.

You see, you need the “real” account number (which isn’t your mobile phone number) in order to port your number out. Anyway, I ended up calling CS on my son’s old cell phone and navigated their confusing menu tree to get through to a live person. It took a while but I got through. Funny thing was that I didn’t have a great cell connection at the time and the CS rep couldn’t really hear me. I told him “that’s Boost Mobile for ya!!!”. ha, ha. that felt good. Anyway, I had to yell at the phone in order for the guy to understand what I needed from him and my wife, who was at the other side of the house, had to come over to check on me to see what the hell was going on. After repeating myself several times over the phone, the CS rep finally gave me the account number. sheesh. Obviously Boost makes this whole process difficult for a reason.

The interesting thing that I encountered with the LG Dare was that it was indicating that it was “roaming” when I turned it on. And since it was roaming I wasn’t able to perform OTA (over the air programming) on the phone. weird, I never encountered this problem before with my other phones. Now, in hindsight, I think by doing a hard reset, this problem might have resolved itself but at the time, I didn’t think to do a “hard reset”. So anyway, I had to manually set the home SID number in the phone via programming mode (##PROGRAM9700) in order for it to stop thinking it’s still “roaming”. I wasn’t really sure this would work but it actually did the trick (this was after hours of research on the net about this common problem). whew.

long story short, I’ve had a good experience on Page Plus so far. I’m pretty satisfied with the plans that they offer and the flexibility for all of us to “BYOP” (bring your own phone). And being on the Verizon network is definitely a big plus. Page Plus’ online interface for managing accounts is a bit antiquated but I guess it does the job. So, anyway, I’ll keep you posted on how things are on Page Plus in the future.

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shit, what was I thinking. yes, we were hungry and didn’t have any plans for the evening but that shouldn’t have meant for us to head over to a chinese buffet restaurant that we weren’t all that familiar with. All I knew about the Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet over on Capital Blvd. was that it’s always busy with tons of families going in and out of that place. It’s located right next to a Sam Ash music store in a strip mall and whenever we had to go to Sam Ash for stuff in the past, I’d always notice how busy the buffet place was.

And if it’s a busy place, it’s gotta be good, right? Obviously not.

This place was disgusting. It’s a windowless, rundown restaurant full of customers there just to fill their face.

The wife and I have been more health conscious over the last year or so and have been losing a lot of weight lately. So, a buffet shouldn’t have been on our radar anyway. But we didn’t feel like going to the same old places tonight so we opted to go to this Buffet and boy are we regretting it now. yuck.

It’s your typical chinese buffet that also offers a hibachi style grill as well as sushi. everything was just “blah” with nothing really special that would explain why this place is packed day in and day out.

I just have to conclude that the average customer there don’t really give a shit about taste and simply wants a stuffed tummy.

My kids really didn’t seem to mind though. As long as they got their ice cream for dessert, they were happy.

whatever.

All I know is that I’m never going to set foot in that place ever again. What a waste of money…

excuse me now while I go throw up…

Thanks to all those that participated in my freschetta giveaway. I’m sure you’re all wondering who won the drawing…

I listed all the entries in a spreadsheet and assigned numbers to each and then selected a number using random.org. .. and so the winner is: Anna!

You’ll be receiving an email from me and once I receive your mailing address, you’ll be getting the two bamboo cutting boards and a coupon for a free Freschetta pizza. congratulations!

I don’t know how other parents do it. I’m absolutely burned out chauffeuring the kids around to their activities every other day. Soccer practice, orchestra rehearsals, swimming lessons, playdates, sleepovers, birthday parties, choir practice… it’s endless, I tell ya. And I suppose it wouldn’t be so bad if these destinations were close by. But, no. driving back and forth across town takes its toll. ugh. Thank God, the spring soccer season is ALMOST over. The DAD needs a break!!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Like most households with kids, we keep a supply of frozen pizzas on hand just for those occasions when you need something quick to keep the kids’ stomachs at bay. And as a parent of three growing boys, this situation happens much more frequently than I’d like. Well, the good folks at Freschetta offered to let the kids and I try out their new line of pizzas called FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™. Free food? what’s not to like!

Freschetta Simply Inspired is an attempt to transcend the ordinary realm of the “frozen pizza”. We’re talking higher quality toppings and more robust flavors. And the Simply Inspired line features a variety of flavors including – Farmers Market Veggie, Hawaiian Style, Harvest Supreme, Southern BBQ, Chicken Bianco and Rustic Pepperoni Pomodoro.

Our family opted to try “Classic Bruschetta” which features a creamy tomato and pesto sauce. I admit the pizza was a bit smaller than I’d like but it tasted great. In fact, it’s definitely better than the typical frozen fare that’s available in the grocery aisle. The kids like it too so I’ll be keeping a stock of these in our freezer from now on. Oh, and I also give a thumbs up to their new packaging which seals in flavor and uses 30% less packaging material.

Now, after reading about the Freschetta pizzas, I’m pretty sure you want to try one. Well, I’ve got a coupon for a free FRESCHETTA Simply Inspired Pizza to give away right here on this blog. Not only that but I also have two brand new Freschetta branded bamboo cutting boards (1 cheese board with a ceramic dish and utensils, and 1 round pizza cutting board with utensils) to give to the winner as well.

Here’s what you have to do to enter:

- head on over to the Freschetta website to check out the different varieties available. Post a comment here on this blog telling me which of the Simply Inspired pizzas you want to try. (be sure to include a legitimate email address so that I can contact you if you win).

you can earn bonus entries by doing the following:

- LIKE Freschetta Simply Inspired on Facebook

- follow @FreschettaSI on Twitter

- subscribe to ThisOldBlog via RSS feed

Be sure to post another comment here on this blog to let me know about the bonus entries!!

all entries need to be submitted by 5pm on May 11th, 2011. Only those residing in the United States are eligible for this drawing. A winner will be chosen at random using the random number generator (random.org). The winner will be notified via email and will have to respond within 48 hours with your complete mailing address. Pizza coupon and bamboo cutting boards are being provided by FRESCHETTA.

Here’s an interesting tidbit I encountered while porting my mobile number from Boost Mobile to Page Plus. Like most Boost Mobile users, I manage my account via their website.

But get this – no where on the website does it display your actual account number.

Yes, you log in with your telephone number and pin but it turns out that your telephone number isn’t your REAL “account number”. And you NEED the REAL account number in order for your new carrier to port out your number from Boost.

So, in other words, Boost does NOT make it convenient for their customers to port out their phone numbers. They force you to call customer service to retrieve that type of info. Come on, Boost, by this time the customer has already made up their mind to go with another carrier so hiding their account number won’t deter the move!

The other “shady” thing that Boost does is trap you in automated menu hell when you call their 1-800 number. Hitting “0″ or the “*” key does NOT give you access to a live customer service rep. I had to dig through several online user forums to find a different phone number to access a live person. The number actually was for Boost dealers only but thankfully the rep transferred me to the right person.

Long story short, I got my account number and successfully transferred my cell number to my new carrier. whew. It took a while but I did it. So long Boost!!

Well, I’ve been talking about it for a while now but I finally made myself actually DO IT! I finally switched my wife’s phone (our main phone since we don’t have a landline) from Verizon Wireless to Page Plus. Since we weren’t under contract there really wasn’t any reason for us to stick with Verizon. But Verizon’s coverage in our area is superior to that of AT&T and Sprint so we knew we wanted to stay on the network. And that’s where Page Plus comes in. Page Plus is a no-contract, no-frills prepaid wireless company that operates on the Verizon network. So you can take any Verizon wireless phone (that’s not under contract) and activate it under Page Plus.

But why do such a thing? Well for folks like the wife and I that aren’t constantly on our cell phones, it’s a better deal. Now for those of you that are addicted to your smartphones and need unlimited data, Page Plus most definitely isn’t suited for you. but for basic usage with occasional need for data, paying just $29.95 a month is the way to go.

so, for 30 bucks you get:
1200 voice minutes
2000 text messages
and 100 MB of data.
all on the Nationwide Verizon Network.

And being on the Verizon Network is the BIG PLUS in my opinion. Most of the other prepaid companies (such as Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile) are using Sprint’s network which has spotty coverage. Believe me, I know. I’ve used Virgin Mobile for years and I could never get a good signal while at work and plus, there’s a huge dead zone right in my neighborhood. not good. And don’t get me started on Boost Mobile. My current personal cell is a Boost iDEN phone which is very long in the tooth. And as my wife has always said, it’s butt-ugly. and after owning the phone for a while, I have to agree with her now. I get decent coverage on the iDEN network but unfortunately iDEN isn’t equipt for multimedia, web or data so the network’s days are numbered.

So needless to say, I’m going to port my own number from Boost to Page Plus very soon.

Anyway, I was able to port my wife’s phone onto Page Plus with no problems. She’s up and running. And so the next step is to replace her existing LG phone with a smartphone. I’ve been researching various unlocked smartphones for the last couple weeks and it looks like I can get a “new in box” HTC android phone (unlocked, no contract) for around $130. Granted, it won’t be the latest version of an android phone but at least we’ll have something that’s at least considered “contemporary”!

Definitely no mo’ f-ugly phones for this old man!

for those curious about my whereabouts … I’m still here. For the last couple weeks, I’ve been preparing for a presentation in front of the department executives at work. Presenting in front of a large group of people isn’t something I do regularly so it took a lot of time for me to get my stuff together. Had to do a lot of research, get up to speed on making things look pretty in powerpoint and had to get feedback from my immediate supervisors. My initial practice session/run through was pretty brutal. I had A LOT of comments back from my managers. It was initially deflating but I realized that my managers WANTED me to succeed and they had to be brutally honest to get me and my presentation “up to snuff”.

anyway, I finally got to do my presentation today and did pretty well. I think. I didn’t get boo-ed off the stage so I take that as a positive sign.

So, I’m relieved that it’s over and done with. That’s definitely a load off my shoulders. whew.

oh, man, I had a sad look through my checking account this morning. I’m putting the kibosh on all spending for the next few months. This is not good.

I’m broke, biyach.

That is all.

Enjoyed a nice stroll around the lake this morning before it got too hot to do anything outside.

…Well, it was already 85 degrees by the time we made it to the lake. plus the humidity! blech. I was sweating in a matter of minutes.

at least it’s better than walking under the 99 degree sun like it’s going to be this afternoon. right?
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