As Yoni mentioned in a previous comment, I got a job! Yay! Actually, Mindshare offered me a job on Thursday, and I used that (very generous) offer as leverage to get The Mellman Group to speed up their job process. They said it was one of their quickest hires ever, as I first interviewed Thursday, had the follow-up interview(s) Friday, and formally accepted an offer Sunday. Among Mellman’s list of clients (it’s a polling firm) is John Kerry for President. So more campaign politics for me.
Less important, but still cool: on Thursday I finished my first crossword puzzle without getting any squares wrong or using any outside help. A little embarrassing for a 23-year-old to admit, but vocab has never been my strong suite.
Remaining in the “less important, but still cool” category: Sprint refunded the $80 I contested (during a 45-minute phone conversation) a few weeks ago. The trick? I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Sprint received my complaint, called me back, and rescinded the charge with no fuss at all. Amazing. Attached is the letter if you care to see how it was done.
Also, my temporary work at NGP Software is wrapping up on schedule, so I should have Friday off to spend with my DeanNH friend Hillary, who is coming up for the weekend for the March for Women’s Lives. If you are marching as well, let me know and perhaps we can find each other through the crowd.
Even more fun last weekend included an Adams-Morgan dinner and Finding Nemo viewing with Mike and Beth plus two fun family outings. The cherry on top is that my Federal Tax refund came.
I did give back some of this surplus karma on the bus this afternoon. Two women behind me were discussing a problem they were having with Microsoft Word. I waited patiently to see if they would come up with the right answer. Once they had agreed upon a creative, but in my opinion, sub-optimal resolution, I turned around to offer my advice. They concurred that my solution was better; hopefully they’ll have little to no trouble implementing it. I only charged them $40 for my time–j/k.
Finally, know anyone looking for a roommate in DC or Arlington? If so, let me know. Thanks.

The following was entered into the Better Business Bureau’s webform, so no salutations or signature lines were needed:

I am disputing $79.17 billed to my Sprint account for the month of March 2004. During the month of March I lost my original phone (a Treo 600) and soon replaced that phone with an older phone (a Samsung SPH-N200). On March 23, 2004 I called Sprint PCS to activate my Samsung phone. During that conversation with a sprint PCS representative I also switched service plans in addition to activating my Samsung phone. One part of the plan I switched was to remove the wireless web service (PCS Vision). I was told, as I expected, that all changes to my service plan would begin during the next billing cycle (starting April 1, 2004).
However, when my bill came for March 2004, I was charged $79.19 for use of the wireless web. I called Sprint PCS on April 9, 2004 to report this over-billing. Early in the conversation I learned that my PCS Vision package for the wireless web did not cover my Samsung’s version of the wireless web. This came as a surprise to me since I was *downgrading* the level of technology of my web access (from the newer-technology Treo to the older-technology Samsung).
I spoke to a customer service representative and a customer service supervisor, both of whom refused to cancel the over-billed charge. In fact, the supervisor went as far to say that it was not Sprint’s responsibility, during the March 23rd call, to inform me that my current wireless web plan would not cover my Samsung’s wireless web. I fully understand Sprint’s desire to charge as much as possible in these disputes, but to renounce responsibility for informing customers of their technologies is deeply troubling. Thus, I feel especially compelled to file this dispute.