Just off the phone with an operator at American Vogue and I feel ripped off.
Way back in June I received promotional mail from the magazine telling me "to subscribe so that I do not miss out on the upcoming September issue of Vogue." I had previously been a subscriber and had let my subscription lapse at the end of 2008as I had decided it was no longer worth it. Perhaps it was because Hubby was away on a business trip and I was feeling down, but for some strange reason I had a moment of weakness and sent in the promotional card to get a subscription.
Two weeks after sending in the card, I received the July issue. Initially I was surprised because I was under the impression that they would be billing me first and then beginning my subscription with the September issue. Also, I was disappointed because the issue was tinier than the fall LL Bean catalog, not to mention that loathesome (and husband-stealer) actress Sienna Miller was featured on the cover. A few weeks later I received the August issue. I did receive a couple of invoices, but as the summer was busy with activity and a couple of trips I did not get around to sending in the cheque until the end of August.
I kept waiting for the September issue to arrive, but it never did, and as the October issue is now on newsstands I finally phoned Vogue. It appears that they did cash my cheque on August 31, but "it takes 4-6 weeks to process the cheque"! So, they stopped the subscription, received my payment, but won't re-instate the subscription for 4-6 weeks, which is the October issue. Basically they have my money for a month before they will do anything.
I cancelled the subscription and asked for a refund as the ONLY reason I subscribed to Vogue was to receive the September issue. The reason I feel ripped off is because by adding my name as a subscriber in June they are 'padding' their number/list of subscribers that is used to sell advertising space in the fall issues. More subscribers means Vogue can command more money for advertising and lure more companies to advertise in the magazine.
That is it for American Vogue; I will not buy another issue. Now, I haven't given up on French Vogue (follow on Twitter: FashionWeekLive), or British Vogue, but they are difficult to locate on newsstands in silicon valley.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
It's Always Sunny Here, With a Chance of Crazy Drivers
It's another sunny day in silicon valley, although it started it off with fog -- reminds me of the movie 'L.A. Story' where he pre-tapes the weather segment. I was actually happy when it rained late Sunday afternoon/early evening as we haven't had any major rainfall since mid-June. Strange as it may seem, I miss rainy days where you just hang out on the sofa watching movies or reading. Sunny days make me feel like I should be out doing stuff constantly.
We made it back from Lake Tahoe after hours and hours (and hours) on the California highway system. South Lake Tahoe was a bizarre combination of nature and casinos. Five minutes from the Heavenly Gondola is the Nevada stateline with a half-dozen high-rise casinos. The gondola ride up the mountain was amazing as you can see most of Lake Tahoe from the observation deck at the top. Must admit that I was freaked out by the height.
The great thing about staying around the Heavenly Gondola/Village is that you can walk to shops, restaurants, bars, and the casinos. Hubby enjoyed the double Crown Royal rye and coke at Hard Rock Cafe, while I found amusement at the nickel slot machines -- big spender that I am. At Harrah's Hubby decided to try his hand at roulette so he could get a casino chip as a souvenir for yours truly. The first night we had no idea what we were doing and just put chips on our birthdays! Although, towards then end I noticed a pattern on which numbers it landed on. So, the next night he decides to try again, and thims time he puts chips on corners and between numbers. Hubby did well, but he stuck with self-imposed limits and left the game when he got to a certain amount. I can see how certain personalities would become addicted to gambling, so you really have to go into a casino with limits as to how much you will spend, or just bring in your limit in cash and that's it.
Yes, the ride home from Lake Tahoe on Labor Day was insane. We had planned on going the 'short' route home via the southern highway to Sacramento, but the traffic jam was insane. It took fifteen minutes to get four blocks, so I convinced Hubby to take the northern highway. Guess we would have been okay except that I convinced him to stop at a restaurant for lunch. It was bumper to bumper traffic due to construction on the highway...although NO crews were working that day. Perhaps people get nervous driving in construction areas because the traffic jam suddenly ended when we left the area that was being re-surfaced. We did observe that Californians drive in the left lane instead of using it for passing slower moving vehicles -- of course Ontario people do that too.
The strangest thing in California is that people rarely use their signal lights when turning or switching lanes. We never noticed this in Texas -- although Dallas was peculiar because drivers would do U-turns in the middle of streets instead of driving around the block (this happened a lot in Uptown). No, in California people don't think it's necessary to let other drivers know they are turning. Also, California drivers do not know how to merge. Most of the time they don't look to see if a car is coming and they just merge into the lane assuming that the car in that lane will let them in. We use the horn frequently here, but then people take offence to that even though you're trying to avoid an accident. California drivers are crazy and drive with little regard to the other drivers on the road, and so driving defensively is a must to avoid collisions.
We made it back from Lake Tahoe after hours and hours (and hours) on the California highway system. South Lake Tahoe was a bizarre combination of nature and casinos. Five minutes from the Heavenly Gondola is the Nevada stateline with a half-dozen high-rise casinos. The gondola ride up the mountain was amazing as you can see most of Lake Tahoe from the observation deck at the top. Must admit that I was freaked out by the height.
The great thing about staying around the Heavenly Gondola/Village is that you can walk to shops, restaurants, bars, and the casinos. Hubby enjoyed the double Crown Royal rye and coke at Hard Rock Cafe, while I found amusement at the nickel slot machines -- big spender that I am. At Harrah's Hubby decided to try his hand at roulette so he could get a casino chip as a souvenir for yours truly. The first night we had no idea what we were doing and just put chips on our birthdays! Although, towards then end I noticed a pattern on which numbers it landed on. So, the next night he decides to try again, and thims time he puts chips on corners and between numbers. Hubby did well, but he stuck with self-imposed limits and left the game when he got to a certain amount. I can see how certain personalities would become addicted to gambling, so you really have to go into a casino with limits as to how much you will spend, or just bring in your limit in cash and that's it.
Yes, the ride home from Lake Tahoe on Labor Day was insane. We had planned on going the 'short' route home via the southern highway to Sacramento, but the traffic jam was insane. It took fifteen minutes to get four blocks, so I convinced Hubby to take the northern highway. Guess we would have been okay except that I convinced him to stop at a restaurant for lunch. It was bumper to bumper traffic due to construction on the highway...although NO crews were working that day. Perhaps people get nervous driving in construction areas because the traffic jam suddenly ended when we left the area that was being re-surfaced. We did observe that Californians drive in the left lane instead of using it for passing slower moving vehicles -- of course Ontario people do that too.
The strangest thing in California is that people rarely use their signal lights when turning or switching lanes. We never noticed this in Texas -- although Dallas was peculiar because drivers would do U-turns in the middle of streets instead of driving around the block (this happened a lot in Uptown). No, in California people don't think it's necessary to let other drivers know they are turning. Also, California drivers do not know how to merge. Most of the time they don't look to see if a car is coming and they just merge into the lane assuming that the car in that lane will let them in. We use the horn frequently here, but then people take offence to that even though you're trying to avoid an accident. California drivers are crazy and drive with little regard to the other drivers on the road, and so driving defensively is a must to avoid collisions.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Lake Tahoe
Finally getting excited about our Labour Day weekend trip. I've heard so much about Lake Tahoe, so Hubby and I have decided to see what all the fuss is about. Since half of the lake is in Nevada I may get a chance to visit a casino. Hard to believe it's been over a year since we were at Choctaw in Oklahoma. I'll have to try my hand at blackjack (or as my Gramma called it: 21) to get a casino chip as a souvenir. Here's hoping there's no smoking in casinos. Must check the weather forecast and figure out what to pack.
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