Living with CMT, Day 14034
Phew, recorded an hour long podcast with Giovanni and, poof! Gone. We used an older microphone and it scrambled the information. So all gone. And the kids were so good, too! Not a peep from the little guy. Oh well. Such is life. This is actually a happier post. I'm feeling more like my 'old self' :). Whatever that means. I had a little euphoria after the last treatment for the splenic cyst, thinking oh, the fatigue, the arthritis, the tricky stuff is more about that than CMT. Now it will all go away . . . :) Not quite. I feel better, clearer, sharper. But still tired a lot. Still achy and still dealing with arthritis (bad with winter coming). But it's familiar challenges again. I can handle these. And that's comforting, which may sound surprising, to be happy with old symptoms.
But all we need are a few new challenges to appreciate those old ones :). It's all okay.
So the podcast talked about shopping online. It's my big shortcut this year. I'm supporting local stores as much as I can, the small businesses. But when it comes to mainstream stuff, I'm going to cyberspace. Parking, lines, crowds are all too much these days. And I found a couple of dangers. One, be careful on Amazon for the third party pricing. If Amazon sells out, it defaults to a third party seller who may be selling the item at a higher price. Put the item into Google and click the 'shopping' link at the top of the page to see average prices around the web. This way you won't get pulled into an overpriced 'deal'.
Also, I heard a crazy story in The New York Times about a company that learned that being rude raised his company's ranking in Google. By getting terrible reviews, he climbed the Google ladder until his company was first on the search engine. This brought them more traffic than being nice ever brought him. You can read the article here. So check up on companies, too, to make sure they are honest before purchasing online.
Not much time, but I want to start our crazy link-land. Looking for ideas? Here are a couple :)
Great Customer Service
- Amazon.com
(so far- I had to return something and it was easy and friendly)
- Zappos
Support our Community
Deals and More
- Amazon.com
- slickdeals.net
- newegg.com (tech)
- tigerdirect.com (tech)
- retailmenot.com
- woot.com
- buy.com
- groupon.com
Eclectic Gifts
- Etsy.com (Handcrafts galore!) . . . visit forestfairycrafts.etsy.com too :)
- Magic Cabin (for kids)
Charity
- World Wildlife Fund
- Heifer International (buy chickens or ox for developing communities)
