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Still Waiting on T-Mobile
So, as of today, November 19, 2009, I have received neither my original contact information nor the $100 debit card for users whose data cannot be restored. At this point, I do NOT want the contacts back, as I have largely reentered them on my own, without any assistance from T-Mobile or Danger or Microsoft.

( The continuing saga )

Something New on the Subway
Yesterday, I heard, as one often does, the conductor asking for everyone to either move into the train, or, if they couldn't fit, out, and, in any case, folks should please clear the door so that the train could leave the station.

And, as generally happens, this was eventually accomplished, and the train pulled out.

Then, the conductor came on the loudspeaker again, thanking the passengers for clearing the doors. That was unexpected and rather nice.

Domestic Moments

mnemex and I were having a quiet night at home earlier in the week. I was listening to something on headphones. He was alternating Rock Band and something on his laptop, I think the Spy Game.

In the middle of all of this, headphones still on, I had a thought about the Strange School Play By Email game I'm running. We're at the start of the second year of the school's operation (after only 3 years of play! To be fair, we doubled our speed for the Spring semester), and a few new players have joined. I've been adding new NPCs as well.

"That's what the campus needs!" I said. "A were-octopus!"

"Of course it does," said mnemex, puzzled that it had taken me so long to figure this out. "What school doesn't need a were-octopus?"

Serendipity and String Quartets

mnemex and I were wending our way home on Sunday. We were on Sixth Avenue and 33rd, in Manhattan, and I turned us north, in the mistaken belief that I was heading south. mnemex quickly pointed out my error, but it didn't really matter, as our goal was a subway station, and there was one in both directions.

So, we went into the station at 34th Street and Sixth Avenue, got through the turnstiles, and heard astonishingly good music. It was coming from a live string quartet: four women, two violins, a cello, and a viola. They were good enough to be sending cues, but not so ultra professional as to feel that they should make the cues ultra subtle. This made it a lot of fun to watch. And, they were clearly having fun as well. mnemex took pictures, as did a lot of other people.

General Update
I'm busy recovering from a cold, which was likely a bit of the flu. I think I had a fever and that it broke last night or this morning.

Still job hunting.

T-Mobile has allowed as how they've probably well and truly lost my data, and I should be getting a $100 debit card by 14 days after October 29. I can live with this. I've got 90-95% of my contact info back via folks sending me what they have, and I can reconstruct most of the rest. I didn't have photos or a to do list. I had fairly few bookmarks.

I'm now dealing with, or will be dealing with, four lawyers:

1. The man who did our Wills/POAs/Living Wills/Health Proxies, as we need to update them.
2. An Estates Lawyer for my father's estate.
3. The lawyers my father used, as they've got the information that the estates lawyer needs.
4. The lawyer that the nursing home is working with to get my brother and I guardianship for our mother.

None of this is fast. It involves multiple phone calls and such, and a fair amount of travel.

I missed... um, at least 3 Halloween parties in favor of something taking definite precedence,

lordess and Steve's wedding. Lovely site, lovely bride, handsome groom.

Right now, am contemplating whether to medicate, and if so, with what, and what food to eat, and generally enjoying not feeling like my skin's stretched too tightly over my face.

Sidekick Update
There are instructions online about how Sidekick users can restore their contacts, bookmarks, and other lost data. Alas, I still cannot do this.

Last night, I called T-Mobile to check my best guess for why, to wit: Every other Sidekick user who'd lost data was trying to do exactly the same thing. The woman I spoke to said that I was the first person she'd spoken with who understood the problem.

I decided to double check on the 200 bonus minutes I was promised back before T-Mobile realized just how bad the situation was. Good news: Yes, I have them. Bad news: These last 3 months, not the year I'd been told. The woman I spoke to saw the note about it being for a year on the account, but had no way to make it so, as the minutes expire after 90 days and cannot be renewed. Mediume news: I find I do not care enough to make a stink. If I don't use these minutes in those 90 days, I'm likely not to need them.

That said, yes, T-Mobile should stand by what its people say, within reason. I specifically asked how long the minutes were good for when I was offered them, and if whoever told me a year and annotated my record thus had no authority or power to deliver, I really should not have been told a year.

I'm watching to see what T-Mobile's going to do when the dust settles a little more. I like the Sidekick -- but I need a phone that will function, and that includes the folks who are supposed to do the back up doing it. (Hello, Microsoft Danger!) I would prefer to stay with T-Mobile -- but I really need to know that the company's understanding of its customers' inconvenience extends to real compensation and to trust that if I am told I am being given something, I am really being given all of what is promised.

On Packing
When I pack for a convention or other long trip -- or, for that matter, for a number of shorter ones, like the trip to visit my mother today -- the part that always takes longest, I think, is choosing which book to read, or which book to pack to read after the book I'm currently in the middle of.

Sidekick Update
So, the much anticipated Saturday message about getting lost data back said (paraphrased):

Yes, we think we can restore your data. Stay tuned. More on Sunday.

Sunday's message said (also paraphrased):

Yep, really, we can do this. Stay tuned, and at some point, we may give you some actual information.

Sunday, my Sidekick spontaneously rebooted, as did those of

jlighton and

ebartley. This had me tense until I knew that I hadn't lost functionality, then mildly annoyed, as my carefully set up IM conversations were lost. Nothing critical lost, just annoyance added.

mnemex theorized that this may have been a back up of the current state of Sidekicks.

Sidekick Update
At the moment, I have functionality for everything I use -- web, email, instant message, phone, texting. I probably have functionality for what I don't use.

I don't have my original contacts or bookmarks, but Microsoft is thinking that maybe user data isn't utterly lost, and is apologetic, but very pleased to say the data may be restored Real Soon.

I do not think Microsoft has anything to be pleased about. Relieved, maybe.

I don't know what this does to T-Mobile's earlier statement that users who could not retrieve their date would get a $100 credit with T-Mobile, good for paying bills, buying a new phone, whatever. Given a choice between the credit and my data, I'd go for the credit, but I'm in the fortunate position of having most of what I lost sent to me by friends.

But, I'm thinking it shouldn't be a choice, really. T-Mobile might do well to give all Sidekick users that $100 credit. I know the big screw up was Microsoft's, but right now, T-Mobile is paying the price. Microsoft won't notice even a class action suit, I'm a-thinking.

Like many Sidekick users, I'm thinking of switching to a phone that has as much of the form factor I like as possible, that does the same things the Sidekick does, that's as close to the relatively low monthly price of the Sidekick as possible -- and that won't lose my data and go down for two weeks. A hundred dollar credit ups the odds of my new phone using T-Mobile's service.

Peek, in a piece of brilliant marketing, is offering Sidekick users a free Peek with a photo proving one is a Sidekick owner, offer good through this Friday. The Peek isn't up to serving my needs -- but it is a wonderful gesture, and one that ensures I'm going to remember Peek favorably.

Family Update
Yep, the photocopied Hebrew document is indeed a copy of my parents' ketubah. My father's Heberw name is Baruch Alexander. We're not sure about my mother, given that whoever filled out the ketubah had lousy handwriting, but a photocopy means that we may find the original.

Still trying to straighten out getting verification of return of my father's car to his insurance company. The folks there are sympathetic, and the DMV has given me a series of things to check on to straighten this all out.

Sidekick Update
As near as I understand it, the situation is this:

Sidekick user made a contract with T-Mobile. But, the Sidekick itself is handled by Danger. Danger was acquired by Microsoft, and from the time it was acquired, I noticed a drop in quality of tech support service.

Microsoft, as I understand it, started downsizing Danger, which is to say that Microsoft laid off the people who knew how things worked.

Microsoft then attempted to do a firmware upgrade during the second day of a six day back up. This meant that the old back up was blown away, as, apparently, old back ups are not saved at all, and the new back up never completed.

This meant that when the sever went down, Microsoft / Danger said to T-Mobile, "Oops. We lost your Sidekick customers' data."

Danger, meanwhile, from the beginning, locked its Sidekick down more than many companies lock their products down. A minor consequence of this is that my cell phone can't play "Hope Eyrie" any more. A major consequence is that Sidekick users could not back up their date from the web interface to their computers.

But, say the T-Mobile techs, you can back it up to your SIM card.

Well, sort of. If you don't have a lot of data. How much is a lot? Glad you asked -- 200 phone contacts is A Lot.

Currently, if T-Mobile stands by what it says, I have 200 extra phone minutes and $20 off my next bill. If they agree that losing my contacts and bookmarks constitutes genuine, no-foolin' data loss, they will give me a $100 credit towards all things T-Mobile, including bills.

My phone, text, email, and IM capabilities are working now. My web is not accessible via the Sdiekick. It has been 12 days since this thing started. A second level customer service lady, who is really good at her job -- which is to say, she made me feel very much sympathized with despite offering me nothing new -- says that I am one of the lucky ones.

The scary thing is, it's true. Sure, I lost my contacts and bookmarks. But, between about half a dozen folks doing their best to get me contact information, I've got 80-90% back on the phone via importing v-cards from email, and I can recreate the rest from various spreadsheets and backed up information. But, I am not well pleased with T-Mobile, though I do sympathize with their customer service staff, even the ones who refuse to give me a simple yes to "Okay, so you're saying you have no idea when I'll get web access back?"

And I am furious with Microsoft. This is something I doubt Microsoft cares about.

Sidekick Addendum
Oh yes, if I understand correctly, T-Mobile's online interface with computer -- the one that's currently down, but we are talking about when it worked -- didn't actually let one back up data to one's computer. Or, rather, one had to pay extra for the privilege.

Organizing Parents' Home
You know, a lot of clutter can pile up over 38 years. And, that's before taking a person's clutterbug habits into account.

But, we've located my father's birth certificate. And, I've got a copy of my mother's. I also have a copy of something in Hebrew, which I don't read. I'm hoping it's a ketubah.

Sidekick Update
So, my contacts and bookmarks are almost certainly lost. As I understand it, this is due to Microsoft / Danger not having a back up of user data in a safe place.

Mind, when I spoke with what T-Mobile considers a tech support person -- someone who has no ability to connect anyone to Microsoft / Danger (you know, the folks who control the vertical and horizontal) and who has no up to date information -- I was told that it was the back up that went down, and that what one is supposed to do is click the menu button and copy information to the SIM card. I'm not sure what the heck that means.

I've been told by friends that T-Mobile's tech support folks don't actually know whereof they speak, and that this is NOT how the SIM card in the Sidekick actually works. What was lost was user data. There was no back up. Users are being told not to let batteries run down or get removed or to reset things because, if they have contacts, that is the ONLY place these contacts are. There is no back up.

Unfortunately, earlier in the week, on the advice of T-Mobile's tech support, I removed the battery as instructed.

At this point, 200 free phone minutes and $20 off next bill -- doesn't cut it.

It isn't the outage that gets me, although that is really bad in itself. It is the lack of a back up that gets. me.

So, folks who think it would be a good idea if I have your contact info -- email me with it?

I Want My Pocket Internet Back!
I've got a Sidekick phone from Danger-now-a-subsidiary-of-Microsoft (which it wasn't when I first got a Sidekick) for T-Mobile. There has been a nationwide problem since last week. I currently do have:

Phone
Text Message
Instant Message

capabilities.

I do not have

My contacts
Web surfing
All of my email
Email Out ability
The online interface

T-Mobile has given me 200 free minutes (normally not worth my while, but at this time, potentially useful if I need to make a lot of long calls out of local area), and has given all Sidekick customers a month of free data (which translates to, I think, a $20 discount off the next bill). But, they still don't know why this happened or when it will be resolved.

And, while they are unfailingly polite, this is getting really, really old. Also, tip to the higher ups, as I doubt the phone staff would have done this without instructions: Suggesting customers pay more money to T-Mobile to upgrade their phone plans when we are currently not getting what we are paying for does not go over well.

Sought After Sorrows
Miskatonic River Press's Our Ladies of Sorrow has finally reached the NYC Compleat Strategist. Been waiting for this for some months.

Home from larp
Lullaby of Broadway 2: And All That Jazz ran this weekend. I think it was more draining that the first, and certainly more emotionally intense. This is not surprising given the angstfest of musicals we had. I'll see if I can do a write up of my game of it at some point soon.

Serious kudos to the players of Jekyll/Hyde and Sweeney Todd who scripted the best death scene in a game chock full of deaths!

Larps and Larp Prep
I had a blast at Tales of Pendragon this past weekend. I think that I prefer Sea of Stars in some ways, but one has to realize that this means I prefer the game that built on and could not have existed without ToP. It's basically saying that larp writers are aware of the state of the art and constantly seeking to raise the bar.

Currently,

mnemex and I are preparing for the second larp in

ambug666's Lullaby of Broadway trilogy. We've watched Assassins, which leaves me a bit cold, but I can see what Sondheim is doing, and I find it boggling that some folks walked out on it.

We also saw Jekyll & Hyde, which seems a very uneven show to me. I liked the parts that stayed close to the nominal theme, e.g., the idea that all of us are good and evil, and that everyone tries to be something they aren't. I love the song "Facade", but it's the only one I can remember.

I found myself more impatient than usual with the love songs. There are, let's see, 5 songs that could be considered love songs. One works very well, because it is sung by Hyde, not Jekyll. Three are perfectly adequate love songs that could come from any show, which is my main issue with them.

The fifth is sung by Jekyll's fiance in a rather odd scene. At the end of the song, Jekyll says that he needs her and begs her not to abandon him. She tells him that when he needs her, if he needs her, he knows where to find her. Then she leaves, and we are, I think, to understand that she is not abandoning him.

If my reading of the scene is correct, then I am boggled. I mean, if I'd been told "I need you -- don't abandon me" by someone I don't, in fact, plan to abandon, I'd probably say something like, "What do you need me to do?" or "I'm here."

I find it fascinating that, even though the people denying Jekyll permission to experiment are shown to be hypocrites, the experiment is a) a disaster and b) has, as far as I can tell, absolutely no results that could even theoretically help with Jekyll's original goal, to help comatose patients, like his father. It is also fascinating that the humanitarian Jekyll, who protests that one should not abandon such patients or treat them like animals, agrees that, yes, he does want a human test subject that he can treat like a lab rat.

And, it's also interesting to see how much gets added to the original novella, which is very sparse on details.

Status
I'm slowly starting to make a list of what needs to be done, now that the funeral is over. I want to make sure that it all gets done, but also that I'm not getting swamped by the alligators. Tomorrow night, I've got a CoC game scheduled, and we've got weekend plans as well.

The cemetery is nice. It is also very, very green.

Have I mentioned that I am allergic to grass?

It's not that I didn't expect to go through a whole bunch of tissues. After the funeral, I iced the sinuses, switched from my usual allergy meds to something a little more powerful, agreed to use the humidifier, and took

mnemex's home remedy: a bowl full of sorbet with a teaspoon of his Hot Luck Party winning highly laced with capsican amaretto. It tasted good, at least during the times that the burning subsided.

Funeral and Shiva Plans
Funeral tomorrow at Mount Richmond Cemetery at 10:30 am. My brother and I will aim to be there by 10:15 or so.

After that, I think sitting shiva Monday (after 5 pm) and Tuesday (after 7 pm) evening at my apartment will work.

mnemex and I have weekend plans, and I don't plan to cancel those.