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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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I guess netflix heard my whining after all! Netflix is now offering a handful of Kdramas via streaming. On demand streaming is the perfect vehicle for episodic television programs especially soaps and Kdramas. I suppose Netflix is offering these particular korean titles on a trial basis to gauge popularity so Kdrama fans spread the word about these titles available on netflix. Honestly, I’m not a rabid kdrama fan that keeps up with the latest shows and such but I do enjoy catching some of these types of shows whenever time allows. Since these titles are a couple years old, regular kdrama viewers might be disappointed that there aren’t any “current” shows available. Just keep in mind that korean drama viewership make up just a small portion of Netflix’s total subscriber base so to have these titles available for streaming is a feat unto itself.

here’s what available so far (as of 20Jun11):

Boys Over Flowers (2009) – In this Cinderella story, Geum Jan Di is a street-smart, working-class girl who winds up at an exclusive prep school where she soon gains the attention of the F4 — big men on campus who literally rule the school and would love to rule Jan Di. Mixing drama, comedy and star-crossed romance, this Korean series is based on the popular manga “Hana Yori Dango,” the source of an anime series, live-action versions in Taiwan and Japan and a major film.

My Princess (2011) – When regular girl Lee Seol finds out she’s really a princess, she’s sent to the palace to learn about royal etiquette from Park Hae Young, a dashing young diplomat. But will budding romance distract them from their duties?Little girls around the world dream of being a princess someday. Penny pincher, Lee Seol wasn’t one of them, but somehow ends up as one. Instead of playing up the glamorous role of Princess, she’s stuck in the Palace studying. At least it’s with the handsome diplomat, Park Hae Young. But none if it matters because Lee Seol still can’t get over her crush on her Professor. Will Lee Seol change her country, find true love, and learn to be a Princess? Watch to find out!

Playful Kiss (2010) – Based on a Japanese manga, this Korean dramedy series centers on a slow-bubbling romance between a sunny student and her popular classmate, who doesn’t seem to share her amorous feelings — or does he?

Tamna the Island (2009) – Based on a Korean comic book, this televised drama follows a handsome young castaway named William, who flees England to escape a pending marriage and washes ashore on an exotic island with enchanting charms.

Road Number One (2010) – With war raging in 1950s Korea, Lee Jang Woo joins up with the army and leaves the woman he loves behind. But upon his return, he discovers she’s accepted another man’s marriage proposal.
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I’ve been feeling like a zombie these days – just walking around doing my day to day routine in a dull, monochrome haze.

I’m not sure how it all started… probably a gradual process over the years but I can tell the “spark of youth” has been totally sucked dry out of my being.

The days seem to go by with me not feeling a thing. Like I’m fully numb to the world around me. My brain is in continual “sleep mode”.

The passion is gone. no fire, no drive.

I’m in “autopilot” the moment I wake up ’til I drop into bed at night. what is it going to take to break me out of this comatose state???

why have I become such a passionless drone. perhaps it’s simply a defense mechanism to cope with all the disappoints in my life. How I’ve let myself down time and time again. my finances, my money-pit of a house, my so-called career, my social status, my friends, my hair loss (damn genetics) … all just one disappointment and another…

yeah, maybe living in this zombie-like haze is a good thing…

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…

Took the kids to the Great Wolf Lodge in Concord recently. As expected, the kids had a blast. for the wife and I, it was more or less… meh. But if the kids had fun then that’s all that really matters…

here are just some random thoughts I had about our visit:

- why does the water at the wave pool tastes so salty? yeah, I know I’m NOT supposed to drink it but when the water splashes onto your lips, you’re bound to taste some of it. and it tastes salty.

- a germophobe would probably consider the enclosed water park as a giant petri dish.

- the layout of the GWL at concord is a bit more linear than the one at Williamsburg. with the straightforward gridlike layout, it doesn’t feel as exciting. does that make any sense?

- where was the lazy river or the wave rider? Williamsburg had both of those. (I think the kids prefer the Williamsburg GWL overall)

- we were there in the middle of the week and the place was STILL crowded. when is this place ever not crowded? argh.

- GWL concord is located near Concord Mills (a huge shopping mall) so there’s plenty of place to eat with the kids. it’s a good thing b/c the food at the lodge ain’t all that great.

- the shared stairwell to the waterslides weren’t clearly marked off so it was pretty confusing what you’re standing in line for.

- wish GWL was a cheaper place to visit. a family of 5 can put a good dent in the ol’ wallet.

- overall the place was clean and I liked the swimsuit dryers in the changing rooms, for sure.

- the 4th floor rooms had vaulted ceilings which was nice. but the beds were very uncomfortable.

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!

Well, I guess I won’t be ever using FTD ever again. Geez. Like a lot of people, I sent my mom (as well as my mother in law) a bouquet of flowers for Mother’s Day this past weekend via FTD.com. It’s fast and convenient since the ordering is done online. And as I understand it, FTD utilizes their network of local florists across the nation to fulfill the orders. Well, when I visited my mom at home and saw what was delivered by the florist, I was mortified. WTF. What she received looked nothing like the photo that I ordered from. Not even close. It actually looked like someone just threw together some flowers taken from someone’s front yard. I mean, I could have spent $9.99 at the grocery store and gotten better looking flowers!!! what a waste of money. I should have known. I ran into this sort of quality issue years ago with 1-800-flowers. I suppose florists are inundated with orders on occasions like these but still, online sites like FTD SHOULD have a mechanism in place to stop orders if a particular florist is overbooked and can’t fulfill orders without sacrificing quality. But I guess, FTD and these florists would rather accept the money as it comes in and not worry about the consequences.

and the consequence of course is a nation full of pissed off customers. which in turn, becomes a nation full of EX-customers. I’ve seen a bunch of facebook groups/pages filled with rants and complaints about the crummy flowers they’ve received via FTD over the years. SO I know it’s not just me. It’s not a good way to run a business and I know that I’LL NEVER order from them again. who the hell wants to send their mom half-dead flowers on Mother’s Day???? thanks so much FTD.

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!!