When you are on the road

One of the things I always try to do before going on a road trip with any of my vehicles is to give it a good “once over” to make sure that everything is in good working order before we leave.  One thing is for sure, having a vehicle break down while on vacation can put a real damper on the fun!  One of the problems is finding out where to take the vehicle for service when you are in an area you are not familiar with!

That’s why the repairpal.com website is a valuable resource to people who take their cars to their trips.  The website helps the users to local reputable auto repair shops around the country.  So if a traveller were to be driving his Chevrolet Silverado on a Dallas vacation and suddenly realized he needs a brake job he could go to the repairpal website and type in the search engine for a Dallas auto repair vendor and what kind of vehicle he is driving and what service is needed.  The website will provide an estimated cost of repair and  trustworthy service locations to take the vehicle.  I think that’s a great resource to know about, don’t you agree?

Farewell to one of my favorite shows

Although my favorite television show is Burn Notice, I also greatly enjoyed watching the television show Monk. I liked how it depicted that even people suffering from mental illness can become productive members of society. And in this particular case, Monk was a very productive member of society. I honestly cannot say that I’ve ever seen a Monk episode that I didn’t like. I watched the series finale of Monk last night. I was so glad that they did not kill off the character. The ending left open the possibility that Monk could return in the future, either as a series or as an occasional special. I hope and trust that there will be Monk reruns to watch either on the Internet or on Television! I have not had my fill of them yet.

Furnishing the new apartment

My niece and her fiance have been looking at a apartment.  They haven’t signed the lease yet, but they are pretty sure which apartment they are going to be taking, and now they need some furniture to put in it!  They’ve been asking other family members for hand-me-down home furnishings to help them out, and they are getting quite a bit of luck with that, but there are still a few items that they are going to be needing!

I’ve also suggested that they check out the local thrift stores and freecycle, but there are a few items that they want to get brand new.  I’ve suggested that they go to some local furniture stores and see what they like before buying something online.  I’d like to make sure that the brand that they get is going to be comfortable and well-made.  I’d hate for them to buy something sight unseen and then be upset because it is not the quality or comfort level that they want to have!

Finding local businesses

My brother has been telling me that he wants to open a catering business in his town.  He thinks that there is a strong market for it because there are a lot of “high end” businesses that he thinks that will use his services.  So he’s been looking at ways to advertise his new business and was thinking about using the justclicklocal.com website.  So I went to the website to check it out for myself.  I saw that the website can be used to find just about any kind of product or service anywhere in the country.  For example, I can find a dog walker in Miami FL, a dentist in Pittsburg PA or an auto mechanic in Charlotte, NC just by typing in the keywords and location!

So, just to try it out, and to help him out I was looking around the site some more and found that he could list his business for free!  I thought it seemed easy enough to do.  So I recommend that you give it a try yourself if you are looking for a local business, or want to advertise your own – give this site a chance!

Disputing a credit card charge

There used to be a time when the credit card companies backed me up when I made a claim, disputing a payment. Well, those days sure seem to be over! There was a charge on my American Express card last May for $197 for a product that I did order. However I then subsequently cancelled that order and the merchandise was never received. I have proof that I contacted the company and cancelled the order, and I have an email from the company acknowledging the cancellation. Yet American Express keeps telling me that the charge is valid and that I have to pay it! So every month I have to reopen the claim. It is getting very tiring and I am thinking about cancelling that credit card! I have plenty of other credit cards that I can use – I don’t need the aggravation that goes along with this one!