Your Story : How We Play the Game of Life

I’ve been with Optus for my mobile Phone for 15 years but lately I’m afraid they are starting to let me down.

It started when I signed for a new contract on 18 March. Included was a 2 Gb data plan. When I got my first bill I was charged as if I didn’t have a data plan, i.e. free 5 Mb then excess fees for all data over the 5 Mb.

So I went to sort the problem before the next billing cycle ends and the overcharging gets out of hand. The phone call to Optus said I’ll need to got to the store that I went through. Bad luck for me that Optus World has closed so I had to go to another to sort it. After several weeks of my information being missed/lost or the system just not being able to deal with it because I was in a Que. another billing cycle ended. With data charges of… Are you ready, $20550.

I wasn’t fazed as I had started to fix the issues but come on guys get your act together.

Now I’m six days from leaving the country so I call them to sort it out. The soldier on the front line (who I never pick on, poor bastards) was very helpful and is doing all that he can but he is on notice to fix it by Thursday so it doesn’t go to the next billing cycle and the next two months that I’m away. Unfortunately due to the fees being so high now it has to go to management and they can’t promise when it will be resolved. And all I want to do is pay the bills that I owe, I want to give them my money.

So I wait…

But I also found that I’ve been charged for two handset insurance’s, one for my previous handset and one for my new handset. Can I cancel it, no, not over the phone.

I can sign up, make an audio contract over the phone but I can’t cancel over the phone.

Okay so I’ll have to write a letter to cancel, I’ll send the email to???

No! I can’t send and email, I have to send by fax or mail.

WHAT!

FAX OR SNAIL-MAIL in 2008!

What about CARRIER PIGEON?

The second largest telco in Australia and you can’t receive an email. Your promoting the use of the internet and this happens, you can’t give me the data plan I signed up for, then cock up fixing it and to add insult to injury, for me to end the second insurance contract I have to revert to technology between 30 and 500 years old.

Optus, cutting edge communication.

Well done!

Today 2/7/08 the issue was resolved with one person namely the wonderful individual at Optus who took it onto himself to give me the personal service required and determination to fix this issue. To him I say thankyou to the Optus itself… well it’s expected of large organisations isn’t it?

Last week end I had a chance to make a presentation at BarCamp Brisbane. BarCamp is basically a geekfest, where pasty technophiles talk about stuff like code optimisation etc. Things that I know nothing of but since starting down this path of learning about the interwebs and how it works to produce content I’ve realised that I need to mix with those that know a lot more than me. For that reason I’ve taken a keen interest in twitter in particular as it is my conduit to all things informative and changing in this world that I’m learning.

Because of twitter friends and being involved in putting together a couple of twitter meetups I was invited to attend so I chose to speak.

My presentation was basically about what I’m doing here and how challenging the technology is and to thank all the geeks out there for producing the things that enable me to do this. Most of all I wanted to encourage them to continue to progress the tools to make it easier to produce what we’re really here for, Content!

It’s been quite a while since I’ve given any form of presentation and I enjoyed weaving a story of the struggles of this technology and how with perseverance it’s possible to overcome the issues but most of all it was good for me to tell what I’m doing and to sound out if there is an interest in Your Story

I would not be here doing this if it wasn’t for all those super bright geeks working late into the night living on pizza & coke getting off on what I’d be brain dead attempting. So I’d just like to say thank you to all of you for helping to give the rest of the world these amazing tools that enable us to generate things like Your Story.

You’ve given me more than you will ever appreciate.

Thanks

 

 Your Story EP 11: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome To Episode Eleven of Your Story.

Once again through the assistance of Juan Mann I meet and we talk with Jenny who while working at University in her studies came down with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. CFS is a condition that leaves the person exhausted from the very simplest of life’s activities.

Jenny explains how life for a young woman is with this condition and the way it impacts on living a normal life. How she lives a life of work, socialising and university. The challenges of getting enough rest while wanting to still have a full life. How to have hope and excitement for a future when there is no way of knowing how she will feel and even if she will be able to participate in what is planned.

Along with the challengers of this condition Jenny has an underlying enthusiasm for life and a desire to participate fully in it. There is a lesson in Jenny’s story for all of us.

To automatically receive this podcast freely to you, click on one of the links to the left or search in iTunes for “Your Story.”

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Music is from iodaPROMONET

DJ Bitman
“Shine” (mp3)
from “Raul Campos Presents Loter­a Beats Mixtape, Vol. 1″
(Nacional Records)

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It’s happening again. I’m doing my best but I’m frustrated by the technology. I’m wanting to set up a wordpress blog onto my domain name yourstorypodcast.com but I don’t have the knowledge that the servers expect you to have and then they don’t have the information to self educate yourself so I’m frustrated and I still don’t have a site.

I’m not here to learn to be a geek, I want to produce a great podcast and the interviews and the post production is what interests me not the geeky stuff.

I just want to get the podcast out.

ARGHHHHHHH