ARRGGGHH
Why? Why does weird, awkward shit happen to me all the time? Why can't life just allow me to live like a normal person with normal decisions and normal consequences? WHY AM I THE POSTER CHILD FOR MELODRAMA?!
I'm so frustrated, I can hardly type. I wish there existed someone who represented the WHY of life. I'd shake his or her shoulders and scream, All I want is a little place to call my own with a warm kitchen and a litten kitten to keep me cozy. So WHY?! Why can't you make this easy for me?!
About a month ago I was having a bad night and, in a crazy whirlwind, made a bad decision. I bought my first purchase on eBay. A $1400 Mac Powerbook laptop. My first eBay purchase, my first Mac, and my first laptop. A good purchase? Sure. But in my delusion and naivete, I somehow got it into my head that this would be the ONLY Powerbook available for some time and so, I bought it immediately without doing ANY research or comparison. Only after I paid did I realize my mistake. So...
A week later I received the laptop. Beautiful. Expensive. Totally not what I would have chosen had I done any research. However, luck was on my side, and within two days, I was able to sell it to a local for just a little less than what I'd paid for it. *phew*
Before you could blink, I was back on eBay, this time ready to research and compare until my eyeballs fell out. I took notes, I printed out my favorites, I spent oodles and oodles of hours online until FINALLY - FINALLY - I decided on the perfect laptop. The same Powerbook, but this time, fully loaded with software, still within warranty, and MUCH more valuable than my first purchase. I bid. I won. But...
Jason scolded me for using PayPal for my first purchase and warned me against using PayPal again for this second laptop. He sent me to an anti-PayPal site overflowing with horror stories of fraud and scams. Overcome with fear, I quickly closed my PayPal account and told the seller I'd pay with a cashier's check. The guy said sure. A week later...
He received my check. But he emailed me to let me know that his grandmother had fallen ill and he had to make an emergency trip to Baltimore to be by her side. Although he wouldn't be able to mail the laptop for several more days, he assured me that he'd put in more money to make the shipping go faster. Days went by...
And I never heard from him. He had been so gracious and so on top of things before, but suddenly, it was like he didn't exist. No more emails. Nothing. I watched my email and my front door like a vigilant hawk, hoping for either a package or an email from him with an explanation. I sent a courteous email. No answer. I sent an urgent email. No answer. I called him. He didn't pick up. By this time,...
I was frantic. I don't have much money. I'm not in a steady job. I'm completely on my own. And I had $1400 on the line! Where was this guy?!
As luck would have it, the guy had posted his resume online. I tracked down his employer's number and called them. The secretary heard the urgency in my voice and finally told me the horrible news: The guy had passed away suddenly just a few days before.
WHAT?! What the...how the...WHAT?! I pressed her for more information. She even transferred me to her boss. But no one could give me any more information. He had simply passed away in his sleep.
I thought I was going to throw up. I would almost have preferred to be robbed than to have to hunt down a dead man's grieving family for money. Oh God, I'm going to throw up...
So I called his city's newspaper. Nothing in the obituaries. I scoured the Internet and tried everything in my power to find more information. Nothing. Finally, I remembered the sick grandmother in Baltimore. I looked up his last name in the white pages of Baltimore...
Four families showed up. Should I call them? What the hell was I going to say? "Hello, are you related to this guy? Um, if you are, can you give me my money back?" I took a deep breath and dialed with my heart as heavy as stone...
The first call led me to a sweet elderly lady who called me "dear" and "love". The last name was just her family name, so I chuckled a little bit and thanked her for her time. The second call was disconnected. On the third call, a man answered. This was our conversation:
"Hello?"
Hi, um, my name is Leslie, and I was just wondering...do you know anyone by the name of -------?
"Yes."
Oh great. Do you know how I can get a hold of him?
"He's dead."
Oh...oh God, I'm so sorry. Um, do you know how I can get a hold of his immediate family?
"I AM his immediate family. I'm his step-father."
Oh! Oh my goodness, uh, I'm SO sorry, I didn't know...you have my every condolence, really, you do. Um, listen...I really hate to bother you with this, but your son sold me a laptop, and I paid for it, and then I didn't hear from him so I got worried, and...
"Listen. Just stop right there, okay? Just STOP. Here's my name. Here's my fax number. Fax me all the documents next Monday when I'm back at the office."
Oh, okay. Is it okay if I fax it tomorrow? (Thinking that I'd be at my mother's office tomorrow and I could fax it then.)
"NO. I'm burying my SON on Sunday. Do you hear what I'm saying?"
Oh...yes I do, I'm so sorry...I, um, thank you so much...goodbye...
"Goodbye."
I started to cry. I couldn't stop. His curtness stung, but I wasn't mad at him. I was mad at myself. I felt like the worst person in the world. I felt like a cruel tax collector. And his words...I'm burying my son...It's real, isn't it? People really do bury their children all the time, don't they. I just couldn't stop crying.
I called my mom and she told me that I'd been insensitive, which I didn't think was fair, but I understood what she was saying. They were burying their son. Give them time.
Afterwards, I got a call from a person that I had called earlier in the midst of my search for the man's family information. We talked in a low whisper...I guess that's just the natural tone people take when it's about death. He told me that the guy had only been 25. That he was a great guy...so great that literally over a thousand people were flocking to his funeral on Sunday. Even his former employer was sending 4 busloads of people to from New York to Baltimore in order to attend the funeral. And then he asked me how I knew the guy...
I sighed. I wanted to lie. I'm an ex, I'm his doorman, I'm his pizza dude, I'm a stripper at his club, ANYTHING but the truth. But I told him. I know him through eBay, I said slowly. I bought a laptop from him. I'd never felt more like a joke in my life.
He told me not to feel bad and reassured me that finances are an unfortunate must when someone dies. I thanked him and we hung up.
Now I'm still crying, but my mind's in a hundred different directions. I have to ask a man who just buried his son for money next week...Thousands of people? Will thousands of people show up at my funeral?...Maybe I'm not meant to have a laptop...Am I overreacting?...Burying my son...Burying my son...He was 25...Everyone loved him...
I want to throw up.
I'm so frustrated, I can hardly type. I wish there existed someone who represented the WHY of life. I'd shake his or her shoulders and scream, All I want is a little place to call my own with a warm kitchen and a litten kitten to keep me cozy. So WHY?! Why can't you make this easy for me?!
About a month ago I was having a bad night and, in a crazy whirlwind, made a bad decision. I bought my first purchase on eBay. A $1400 Mac Powerbook laptop. My first eBay purchase, my first Mac, and my first laptop. A good purchase? Sure. But in my delusion and naivete, I somehow got it into my head that this would be the ONLY Powerbook available for some time and so, I bought it immediately without doing ANY research or comparison. Only after I paid did I realize my mistake. So...
A week later I received the laptop. Beautiful. Expensive. Totally not what I would have chosen had I done any research. However, luck was on my side, and within two days, I was able to sell it to a local for just a little less than what I'd paid for it. *phew*
Before you could blink, I was back on eBay, this time ready to research and compare until my eyeballs fell out. I took notes, I printed out my favorites, I spent oodles and oodles of hours online until FINALLY - FINALLY - I decided on the perfect laptop. The same Powerbook, but this time, fully loaded with software, still within warranty, and MUCH more valuable than my first purchase. I bid. I won. But...
Jason scolded me for using PayPal for my first purchase and warned me against using PayPal again for this second laptop. He sent me to an anti-PayPal site overflowing with horror stories of fraud and scams. Overcome with fear, I quickly closed my PayPal account and told the seller I'd pay with a cashier's check. The guy said sure. A week later...
He received my check. But he emailed me to let me know that his grandmother had fallen ill and he had to make an emergency trip to Baltimore to be by her side. Although he wouldn't be able to mail the laptop for several more days, he assured me that he'd put in more money to make the shipping go faster. Days went by...
And I never heard from him. He had been so gracious and so on top of things before, but suddenly, it was like he didn't exist. No more emails. Nothing. I watched my email and my front door like a vigilant hawk, hoping for either a package or an email from him with an explanation. I sent a courteous email. No answer. I sent an urgent email. No answer. I called him. He didn't pick up. By this time,...
I was frantic. I don't have much money. I'm not in a steady job. I'm completely on my own. And I had $1400 on the line! Where was this guy?!
As luck would have it, the guy had posted his resume online. I tracked down his employer's number and called them. The secretary heard the urgency in my voice and finally told me the horrible news: The guy had passed away suddenly just a few days before.
WHAT?! What the...how the...WHAT?! I pressed her for more information. She even transferred me to her boss. But no one could give me any more information. He had simply passed away in his sleep.
I thought I was going to throw up. I would almost have preferred to be robbed than to have to hunt down a dead man's grieving family for money. Oh God, I'm going to throw up...
So I called his city's newspaper. Nothing in the obituaries. I scoured the Internet and tried everything in my power to find more information. Nothing. Finally, I remembered the sick grandmother in Baltimore. I looked up his last name in the white pages of Baltimore...
Four families showed up. Should I call them? What the hell was I going to say? "Hello, are you related to this guy? Um, if you are, can you give me my money back?" I took a deep breath and dialed with my heart as heavy as stone...
The first call led me to a sweet elderly lady who called me "dear" and "love". The last name was just her family name, so I chuckled a little bit and thanked her for her time. The second call was disconnected. On the third call, a man answered. This was our conversation:
"Hello?"
Hi, um, my name is Leslie, and I was just wondering...do you know anyone by the name of -------?
"Yes."
Oh great. Do you know how I can get a hold of him?
"He's dead."
Oh...oh God, I'm so sorry. Um, do you know how I can get a hold of his immediate family?
"I AM his immediate family. I'm his step-father."
Oh! Oh my goodness, uh, I'm SO sorry, I didn't know...you have my every condolence, really, you do. Um, listen...I really hate to bother you with this, but your son sold me a laptop, and I paid for it, and then I didn't hear from him so I got worried, and...
"Listen. Just stop right there, okay? Just STOP. Here's my name. Here's my fax number. Fax me all the documents next Monday when I'm back at the office."
Oh, okay. Is it okay if I fax it tomorrow? (Thinking that I'd be at my mother's office tomorrow and I could fax it then.)
"NO. I'm burying my SON on Sunday. Do you hear what I'm saying?"
Oh...yes I do, I'm so sorry...I, um, thank you so much...goodbye...
"Goodbye."
I started to cry. I couldn't stop. His curtness stung, but I wasn't mad at him. I was mad at myself. I felt like the worst person in the world. I felt like a cruel tax collector. And his words...I'm burying my son...It's real, isn't it? People really do bury their children all the time, don't they. I just couldn't stop crying.
I called my mom and she told me that I'd been insensitive, which I didn't think was fair, but I understood what she was saying. They were burying their son. Give them time.
Afterwards, I got a call from a person that I had called earlier in the midst of my search for the man's family information. We talked in a low whisper...I guess that's just the natural tone people take when it's about death. He told me that the guy had only been 25. That he was a great guy...so great that literally over a thousand people were flocking to his funeral on Sunday. Even his former employer was sending 4 busloads of people to from New York to Baltimore in order to attend the funeral. And then he asked me how I knew the guy...
I sighed. I wanted to lie. I'm an ex, I'm his doorman, I'm his pizza dude, I'm a stripper at his club, ANYTHING but the truth. But I told him. I know him through eBay, I said slowly. I bought a laptop from him. I'd never felt more like a joke in my life.
He told me not to feel bad and reassured me that finances are an unfortunate must when someone dies. I thanked him and we hung up.
Now I'm still crying, but my mind's in a hundred different directions. I have to ask a man who just buried his son for money next week...Thousands of people? Will thousands of people show up at my funeral?...Maybe I'm not meant to have a laptop...Am I overreacting?...Burying my son...Burying my son...He was 25...Everyone loved him...
I want to throw up.
posted by The mini ninja at 5:10 PM
2 Comments:
I'm curious what these problems with PayPal are supposed to be. Everything I've heard is that it's the most secure way to do any online transactions. It's fully traceable. Someone can't accept payments without having confirmed their bank account, and funds can always be reversed, which can't happen with a cashier's check or money order.
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