Odds and Ends

A few weeks ago we rented a car and were promptly rear-ended while we sat innocently at a red light. No one was hurt but the car, and the driver acknowledged his responsibility and gave us his info. I had declined the rental agency's collision insurance, since my credit card provides insurance for car rentals, so today I called to see how it works and to make a claim.

Citibank lets you call their customer service as an international collect call, which was nice - especially since I got disconnected several times. When I did get through to talk to someone, a very nice CSR (in Ghana, I'm guessing, from his accent) assured me I was covered and offered to connect me to the office that handles the insurance. Instead, I was connected to a phone sex operation ("Hot Girls Are Waiting, Press 1 Now"). While enticing, it was not exactly what I needed at the moment. (After several more calls I was finally able to file a claim and suspend the rental agency's charge for the damage.)

The latest furniture arrivals: Last week we got the bed we ordered six weeks before. (The store gave us a loaner to use in the meantime - just like an auto dealer, but with a fresh mattress pad.) When it was all put together, however, it was obvious that the brackets for the center support had been misaligned at the factory. The delivery folks assured us the crooked board wouldn't affect stability, so we called the store and negotiated a 20% discount. Lord knows, they didn't want to have to take it back - the bed's purple! (Sounds weird, but it looks really good with the deep purple and gold bed cover Ali picked up in India years ago.)

We also got our most of the shelving units we ordered (the rest are due this week), so we could unpack and organize our books. We really have got too many books, but after shipping them all the way here, it's nice to have them on shelves. After all that, we decided to rent a car again this weekend and drive out to the Coromandel Penninsula. In two hours from our place, you can be on Hot Water Beach, a gorgeous stretch of sand where, at low tide, you can dig your own hot tub! (There's an underground hot spring that nears the surfaces a few meters out from the shore.) Unfortunately, we were there at high tide, and strong southwesterlies (bringing gale force winds and lots of rain) made camping an unattractive option this trip. But we'll be back.

Cheers,
Sandie