Hi all. If you've been looking for me (which I've gotten word that several people have been wondering about the status of my games, etc) please read this blog for me :)
First, I'm not dead, I'm not injured, I've not left fubar because of drama, and I didn't elope with RogerLee. I AM on the other hand, extremely pissed off.
I've had the unfortunate experience to be a customer of HughesNet for the past 15 months. In my idiocy, and in my desperation for a connection faster than dial-up, I signed a contract with this company for high-speed satellite internet service. I had seen the commercials on television, and had stupidly believed them. So...now that I've committed myself to a service contract with them (only a few months left, thank God) I have no choice but to pay the bills they send (nearly $100 a month) or to be sued for breaking the contract, which will result in my having to pay the rest of the months anyway.
Here's the problem...OVER a WEEK ago, I began calling because my service simply wasn't working. After speaking to Habib, Abu, Ja-something, and another person that I couldn't spell their name if my life depended on it, I was finally told that a service tech would be contacting me. They told me it was a problem with MY computer. Then they told me there was a problem with the weather. Then I was honestly told that there was a problem with the SATELLITE that my dish happened to point to. So, after several days of speaking with idiots that SHOULD NOT HAVE A JOB IN THE AREA WHICH THEY DO, they send a "Tech" to my house that is supposed to know what he's doing. Four hours later, he leaves scratching his head, and tells me to just wait it out, that the problem must be somewhere in my computer, NOT in their server or satellite equipment.
Now, I'm not the brightest bulb in the box...but to me, if your modem DOES NOT LIGHT UP, that means that it is NOT RECEIVING a signal. The people over the phone know this...but their tech that gets a paycheck to provide at-home support DOESN'T. Funny, huh?
Anyway, it's a frustrating mess, but to make a long story short, I'm finally back, 10 days later, having had to miss the ending of my flag game, having been unable to host the punchboard, etc. Not that my life is compelled by fubar, but I feel bad for the people that have continued to support me and play my games. It isn't their fault, but they've had to suffer for it.
Sooooooo, I'll be working as quickly as I can to answer everything left for the flag game - and I will DOUBLE every order placed, as I couldn't get online to do anything in time for it to close. I am very sorry, guys. I should have the winner posted by tonight (hopefully, as I don't know how many emails I have waiting for me) and will be sending the prize bucks shortly thereafter. IF ANYONE WOULD PREFER A REFUND, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND - PLEASE SHOUT ME AND LET ME KNOW AND I WILL SEND YOUR BUCKS BACK, OR YOU MAY USE THEM IN THE NEXT GAME. WHICHEVER YOU PREFER IS FINE.
As for the punchboard, I'll have a bully out on that as soon as I finish with the flags. I'll refund any orders I have in my inbox for that game, so those will come back to you in the same order that I received them in my inbox.
That's about it. Again, I'm sorry about the trouble. It's been an aggravating experience for me, to say the least, and I'm sure several of you are frustrated about not knowing the results of te game as well.
One more thing, while I'm on the topic...HOW IN THE WORLD do people that CAN'T speak ENGLISH get a job in customer service answering phone calls? I mean...can't they find ANYONE to hire that's named Steve, Richard, Bob, or Billy? This IS America, isn't it?
That's all for now. I'll be working as quickly as I can to catch up. I'll probably not begin the next game for a while as I'd hoped to, but it'll kick off as soon as I can make sure this problem shouldn't happen again.
