We spent Christmas in Elko with my parents and my sister’s family also down from her home in Oregon. The drive up there was not bad, I had some concerns about the weather but other than some rain in the northeastern part of Arizona, the rest of the way was pretty smooth. Driving through rural Nevada, I can only think of how lucky we are to have XM Radio in Sarah’s car. Satellite radio has put long road-trips on a different scale!
It was a fairly short trip but we managed to get some quality family time and our fair share of food. There was plenty to eat and I don’t think the kitchen had seen this kind of action probably since last year. We even ventured into the kitchen and made dinner for everyone on Saturday night.
Christmas eve is somewhat of our big day around the Heredia household. Sarah and I headed downtown around mid-morning for a cup of coffee and walk around a couple of stores that were open. We actually found some cool stuff. A new lamp for our house and even an extra present for my parents’ house. After a little while we headed back home to help with the evening’s preparations. We usually have a nice meal that evening before heading downstairs to exchange presents. Usually, presents are opened later in the evening but it would be too late for Marcelino. Actually, any time after sunrise is already too late for Marcelino to open his gifts under the tree. He even wanted to open presents first and have dinner afterwards. He was voted down!
We got some pretty good presents from the family. Sarah got a new Forerunner 301 from my parents as well as some stuff for the house. I got some pretty good presents as well, including a few items from the list. Sarah and I exchanged our presents at the end of the evening and we had some good laughs while going through our stocking.
Of course, I also need to mentioned about the mixed emotions that came with spending our first Christmas together. This was the first year that Sarah spent the season away from her family, which was a bit sad for all of us. We certainly had everyone in mind and in our hearts. It will take some getting used to but we’ll certainly make the most of our family-time regardless of which zip code we are in. We have also been thinking and praying for Dwight and hope he bounces back soon.
update: this post was stuck in draft mode for a few days as you can imagine. Photos from the weekend will be online soon too.
In this age of self-service, bad customer experiences are quite often the things that we write and tell our friends about. In a shift away from this tendency here is an example of a great experience for the customer
Back in October I accepted a trial membership to Amazon Prime, where one of the main benefits is express shipping at a very reduced rate for yourself and friends or family members that you invite into your membership. I accepted the free-offer in order to expedite the shipping of my order at the time. They were clear that at the end of the trial, they would charge my card on file unless I would cancel the membership prior to this date. I made a note on my calendar to make sure I would cancel the membership before being charged.
My deadline fell on a weekend that I happened to be out of town and without my computer, not that it would have mattered because I had completely forgotten about Amazon at this point. On monday morning, I verified my Amazon account and it said my credit card had been charged for the annual fee and extended my amazon prime membership for a full year. I was bummed. It was a lot of money for something I rarely use and would not be worth the value I was being charged and most of all it was my own fault.
There was a cancel button next to the my prime account details, I was tempted to click it since I was just a couple of days late and it was a weekend. Then fear settled in, what if I cancel my membership but I still retain the charge, that would almost be worse since I had just paid for a full year. I decided to find more information online about canceling the service. An FAQ answer cleared thing up for me, I could cancel my membership at any time and as long I had not used the privileges of the membership, I could get a full refund. Brilliant!
I went back to my account details and clicked the cancel button. I received an email message letting me know that my request had been received and that my account was being evaluated before issuing a refund. A few minutes later, I received confirmation that my charge would be refunded as a credit because I had not used the benefits of the membership.
Our records indicate that you have not used your Amazon Prime membership benefits, so I have requested a refund of $79.00 for the
membership fee. The refund should be processed within the next 2-3
business days and will appear as a credit on your next credit card
billing statement.
I went back to Amazon for another purchase and although the express shipping would’ve been nice, I felt better buying from them knowing they care about the customer experience. That is far more valuable to me in the long run than saving a few bucks on one order. Thank you Amazon for treating me like a valuable customer, or at least making me feel like one.
The parents have started asking what I would want for Christmas this year but I haven’t put much thought into it. Looking for ideas, I ask what is on your holiday list this year?
update: thanks for all of those recommendations. Just kidding! I’ll make this a list to post some of the things that I have come across and I would not mind finding them in my stocking or under the tree. The list is not posted with any sort of preference.
Despues de liquidar a las Aguiluchas en la semifinal (2-0 en el global) Chivas se enfrentara contra el Toluca por el titulo del torneo Apertura 2006. El partido de ida sera el jueves en Guadalajara y el domingo la vuelta en Toluca. Vale acordarse que este es el año del Centerario de Chivas y que mejor manera de celebrar que levantando el titulo de campeones!
udpate: Chivas Campeon! El Rebaño logro su onceava estrella y ahora es el equipo Mexicano con mas titulos en su vitrina. Chivas vencio al Tocula 2-1 en casa propia.
Sarah and I flew out Friday evening to visit with friends in Dallas for a couple of days of Texas fun. We hit Chuy’s and Knox St. Pub on Saturday night on what resembled one of our good nights from college. Down to the sound track at the pub!
Sunday morning was recovery time until football time came around and we lounged around the tv, recalling the best moments from the night before. That afternoon we went back to downtown to grab some burgers from Jake’s and catch the middle of the Cowboys-Giants game. We made it back to the house in time to catch the end of the game. Eventually we went back to the airport so I could catch my flight back home.
I still cannot believe that USC could not get past the Bruins for their tickets to Glendale. Blair and I agreed they are a second half team but they could not move the ball past the Bruin defense. Given the score from that game and the Florida win over Arkansas, I am happy to see the BCS got it right for the championship game. Ohio State returns to Arizona for a chance to win another National Championship. If I am a real state agent in Ohio, I would probably look for a strategic partnership with a Phoenix rental company given how often OSU comes to bowl games here in Phoenix.
I had to miss our championship game but I was glad to hear we won 2-0 over the Bosnia FC and claimed the title for this season. Apparently there was some controversy from the other team after our second goal. They received a number of red-cards and the referees called the game. I don’t have all the details but we won!
