FedEx Delivers - Stella's Happy!!

>With both hounds sleeping the afternoon away, me reading about everything I talked about this morning and not too much time spent outside, by 3pm it didn't look like there was any chance of putting a second post together today. Then the dominoes started falling. I heard a vehicle driving up my gravel driveway at 4:07pm. Sadie would have been at the door or standing on her back legs looking out the window to see who was in the driveway, but not these two high-tech watchdogs ... they continued to sleep.

They didn't hear a thing at the door. At the time I was back on my computer reading a camera comparison I had read BEFORE I bought the Canon G9 X. I had also found what I needed to do to keep the Apple Watch from asking me after the first 5 minutes if I wanted to stop the walk or continue. I found out answers about digital zoom, what it did and didn't do.

I came to the point that I was going to take a walk with the Canon G9 X whether Stella woke up or not. As soon as she heard the down parka come out of the closet, she was wide awake, standing facing me with a slight whine ... she was ready for her afternoon walk.

I asked Heidi if she would like to go and didn't get much more of a response than this. She likes that soft leather couch in the winter time, possibly even more than she likes it in the summer with the air conditioning on.

Stella took a step outside and instantly bobbed and weaved away from the strange package sitting on the doorstep. I couldn't catch her with my camera but I could for proof of delivery. By the time I returned from the walk, picked up the package and started downloading my pictures to the computer, Chewy .com sent me an email letting me know they had refunded my order that was delivered "for our mistake" and I could see that refund back in my checking account within 3-5 business days. I made a quick call to their customer service rep to let them know I'd rather pay for it, a refund was not needed, but they didn't see it any other way and was happy that I was continuing my automatic shipment. That's the Chewy Pet Supplies I always heard about ... FedEx ... I'll wait to see how they do in February.  :)

By the time I hit the field with camera in hand I had pretty well made up my mind I was keeping the Canon G9 X. It does some good things, sometimes better than my Nikon D3200. Plus I learned of a way I can get the same kind of picture the Nikon gives me with the 200mm lens. Besides, it's always good to have multiple kinds of electronic toys in the barn, some as backups or most of them filling the need of someone who is always changing their mind. Some days I just feel like using different things of the same thing, if that makes sense. Similar to my old theory of having two cars. Yet, the current one car plan is working out very well. I like it.

It's interesting how that tree never lost its leaves last fall. There are a few of these trees scattered in the woods. Since it's not on ESPN or other sports channels, I don't have a clue what kind of tree it is.

I decided this afternoon I'd roam with Stella ... she could and would lead the way at her own pace. If I got bored I'd take pictures of the landscape.

Finally down the homestretch crossing the finish line. A few more calories burned in my account, not many but more than I would have guessed based on the pace she has.

I barely caught the end of her full body shake. I may have to try to make a video of her doing that, but it's hard to predict when she will do another one. So that may be a tough promise to keep.

I have no idea what she is thinking ... I never do.

She has started a new way of coming home ... down the small hill to the side of the house and follow the river rock home. On the outside edge of that river rock is one of my big 2019 projects on the list of things to get finished before football season that starts in August 2019.

I had a change of plans after looking at some food spreadsheets from a few years ago. I was documenting what I was eating, weight, body fat measured with calipers, and measurements around my gut. They say a gut that is 41" or larger is just a heart attack waiting to happen. I'm below that now. Those measurements are still recorded monthly but not the types of food. It was pretty interesting to see the date I started logging monthly stats in May of 2015. When I think I have not made or am making any progress, all I have to do is look at the numbers I logged into that spreadsheet as a starting point. Since that time with a few ups and downs, I still am 24 pounds lighter, 8mm less fat on my sides , and 6" less around my gut.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing I noticed in the notes that consisted of short bullets ... whenever I went back to grains, pasta, or fell off the wagon eating chips, drinking sodas, eating pizza, waffles, all the good stuff like "just one or two cookies" or "a candy bar just to celebrate" .... I'd be back to 212-214 in an instant.

Luckily Mark's Daily Apple does not cut carbs as low as Keto's 10-20 grams pre day but agrees with 50 grams per day ... I can live with that. I can't remember the last time I had a Pepsi or Coke but I still have to fight through the occasional urge. Same for candy or "just one" cookie.

Looking back over what I've written here, it looks like I accomplished everything I wanted to get done today. It took lots of reading but it was all worth it. It could be "Movie Night" while taking a night off from sports.

So with all of that, it's been a good day in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Questions About Apple Watch & Canon G9 Camera

I knew after yesterday's excitement with Stella's high energy and playful mood, then the FedEx experience, that today would be anti-climatic. How could it not be? We don't want to do all the exciting stuff every day, we need to spread things out during the winter. There will be days on end of excitement once the weather warms up. Heidi has definitely moved into her 'winter hibernation' and Stella is well ... just Stella, nothing bothers her. I did check shipping status this morning on the FedEx and Chewy websites. Both say the GlucoFlex Plus is on the truck at 7:52am and those famous words ... "out for delivery." Of course FedEx is protecting themselves by adding "By The End Of The Day" ... what 5pm, 9pm, or midnight?  LOL

Stella tried getting me up at 5:05am again today but it wasn't going to happen. For some reason the house felt colder than normal, so I did get up to check that. Then I remembered it was so hot inside last night, around 68°, that I turned the old thermostat too low ... it was reading 60° this morning in the living room. They both agreed another hour and a half worth of sleep was needed. Overcast skies means it's dark and even at 8am it's almost too dark but by 8:05am Stella was at her water dish hydrating herself for aerobic exercise and that is my signal to put my boots on. This morning it was back to hiking boots instead of the snow boots.

The ground was frozen which is a good thing on these walks. No wind so the 28° felt warm and Stella was on pace similar to what she does on the afternoon walks ... slower than slow. I had to do a lot of 'verbal herding' this morning plus backtracking to get her more than I wanted. Her stubbornness was showing today. Looking back to last night and yesterday afternoon, she did not miss a meal, a snack, a dog treat, and had the same position stretched out on the couch. All was good, so what the change in her attitude?  LOL ... she is just a bloodhound, that's all.

It was interesting that she was staying on the path most of the time and kept walked slowly way out in front of me. Not a lot of 'nose to the ground' in the middle part of the walk. I had already decided that if she was way out in front of me I'd let her do her thing and I'd follow. Just as long as she was heading in the general direction of our turnaround point, towards that tower.

It's something we have not heard before, it's a small dog barking in the distance and I hope it's from inside because to me it's too cold for any small dog to be outside any length of time. Maybe that is why it's barking, it's outside? Wherever the dog is, it grabbed Stella's attention more than a few times on this walk. She stared intently in the direction of the barking throughout the walk.

She backtracks to me ... so I can catch up with her ... then turns and takes off trotting away.

Some fresh new signs that deer were running on our path this morning before we got outside.

I honestly believe that if I did not do any 'verbal herding' and let her take her time .... I'd be outside all morning until she was hungry for lunch.

As you see most of the snow is gone. A temperature range of 14/1 for Sunday and those funny little snow icons show up for Saturday ... nothing major though, probably just ground cover if anything at all. Both NFL games will be on Sunday, lots of college basketball will be on tv Saturday, so I'll be able to handle any kind of weather ... but I am ready for the college football season to start again. Luckily my Reds have made some off-season changes by adding a couple of new starting pitchers, a new manager and coaching staff so hopefully the hounds and I will not have to suffer through a 4th straight season of losing 90+ ballgames this summer.

I have been able to steer clear of any tv news. I glance at news headlines online sometimes when my curiosity wins. It looks like nothing has changed much and won't change much. All the focus seems to be on the 2020 election, so they will continue to get nothing done in Congress. It's the perpetual merry-go-round, with a great salary, and a fantastic retirement plan.

Stella thought she heard that dog barking again, in fact I did too but she is looking in the wrong direction.

Maybe it's over there, in the north woods?

It sure does sound like it's coming from the neighbor's house two doors away from us.

There it is again ... from the neighbor's house. Maybe they are petsitting?

We eventually made it home, taking the 'old' return path for a change. It's pretty amazing how bad the yard can look now and then look so nice and green in April, after I mow. All the mole damage will be repaired by the natural spring showers and I'll be mowing 3x per week to keep up with the tall grass to start another summer. That word 'summer' sure sounds nice to me right now.

I'll be doing some online reading today on various topics, questions that need answered, ranging from my Apple Watch, the new Canon G9 camera (still), the best way to eat as an older male, ... things like that. There will NOT be any blog theme changes though ... I really like this design and setup I have now. Everything is good with the Apple Watch but for some reason after the 5 minute mark on my walks, it will stop and ask me IF I want to end the walk or continue. Does the sleeve of my coat set off something on the watch face to make it think I might want to stop my walk?

The camera?  LOL ... the camera.

The pictures taken this morning looked so good after I took them, while I viewed them on the monitor on back of the camera. They look great there. Then I download them into the computer and they are not. I have to do a lot of editing, especially on these morning pictures. I know the lighting this time of day is not the best for taking pictures. I know these same pictures will look much better if I take them again later during the day. So that raises the question, is an expensive camera worth having just for situational shooting? Like it has to have the right light, it can only be so far away from Stella? I noticed today in the information for each picture there seems to be a consistent result ... when the zoom setting is more than 15mm they are not the sharp clear quality I like.  Like Sally told me the other day in a comment "Why don't you just take it back!!" ... this morning that is a possibility.

If it was a $109 camera then I could see using it as a situational camera but not one that cost more than my Nikon D3200. I could take the same amount of money I paid for the Canon G9 and buy a new lens or two lenses. Yet, the size of the Canon G9 does make it convenient to carry with me.

We will see what happens.

In the meantime I will be reading Canon G9 forums about zoom focus points, Digital Zoom, and any other issues that users are finding. As far as my eating habits I am seriously considering sticking with an emphasis on veggies like always, just certain fruits, but finding the right protein sources while reducing fat intake. All opposite of Paleo or Keto ways of eating, that stress fat and protein. I don't follow either of those but have added more beef to my menus than anytime in previous years. I am also considering eliminating chicken and only using seafood as the 'meat' in my diet.

So a lot of reading today ... maybe a trip to Best Buy maybe not ... and the anticipation of that ringing doorbell as the FedEx driver is sprinting back to his truck. Drop and run is what I call it. Yet, none it really matters ... I am still retired everyday and love it ... my hounds are great house dogs and funny ... electronics work ... car works ... no crisis to take care of ...

Another find day ahead here in 'the tropics of Southern Indiana.

My Fun Day With FedEx

If I didn't know that I was positively retired for almost 5 years, I would thought today was a work day in the last position I held. Today reminded me of what the definition of the word 'frustration' is and how that was a constant theme in that last job I worked. I wasn't in any kind of shipping position but I was trying to maneuver around all the new restrictions the Obama Administration was implementing for government work and it's contractors. If I had not been so irritated this morning, this FedEx story would almost be funny ... almost.

I'm sure you know how I just love 'hiccups' in life and how well I deal with anything that steers my high paced lifestyle a little off the track. It's especially good when I can speak to someone over the phone that is not a recording, actually resides in the USA and knows where the state of Indiana is located. It makes my day almost a perfect one when I can do that. I was nice to the Chewy Pet Supplies customer service rep but she let me list everything I did not like about MY missing transaction. It wasn't Chewy's fault in any way ... it was FedEx, the company that advertises they will deliver anywhere in the world and in any kind of weather ... My bullshit flag is flying high and proud today, for FedEx.

It started on January 9th when my automatic shipment for Stella's joint supplements was processed by Chewy .com and scanned by FedEx as received. I've never had any problems with any order from Chewy Pet Supplies and in fact they were tremendous, along with FedEx, delivery my orders in less than 48 hours with normal shipping costs. They have a warehouse in Louisville KY evidently, since my orders seem to originate from there. That is roughly 70 miles away. In the past it didn't matter if I ordered early in the morning or late at night, it was at my doorstep the day after next and usually before noon.

From the tracking information everything looked on schedule last week. I wasn't concerned about it since I had enough of the GlycoFlex to get Stella through a few extra days in case something happened. What could happen with a shipment that started only 70 miles from the door?? Really, think about that ... how can a shipment get so screwed up within a 70 mile trip? When the FedEx truck (private contractor) didn't show up on the 11th, I logged into my account to see what happened or where it was. With the forecast of a blizzard on Friday, dumping 6" of snow at least in this area, I was kind of hoping they would have shown up on Thursday. Since FedEx delivers in any kind of weather I wasn't really concerned.

The snow arrived by Saturday morning. It wasn't as much as they forecasted but I knew they had more snow north of me. I decided more out of curiosity than anything else, to check the status early Saturday morning. It was all on schedule. Stella's product was on the truck at 6:26am and "out for delivery" I also noticed on Saturday that the highway in front of the house was cleared for traffic. There wasn't snow or ice on the highway. In fact around 10:30am Saturday I saw a smaller FedEx van pass the house heading south. It looked good to me and besides, I was going to be home all day Saturday watching ballgames. So I would be here when the FedEx truck pulled into the driveway.

Saturday passed ... no delivery. Stella had plenty of the supplement left and I was off to bed early Saturday night after watching one and a half football games. While I am playing around on the computer Sunday I decided to check the Fedex shipping status. More or less just out of curiosity. Did they leave it at the wrong house? Believe it or not, that has happened before with FedEx involved, with my neighbor receiving my shipment and other times I'd receive theirs. So, even in the day of computers, handheld barcode scanners and online tracking ... things can still get messed up with a shipment. That's just the way shipping works.

Since it had the same shipping status as Saturday morning on Sunday night, I decided to take Chewy up on their offer to call about this. They are there 24/7 but I knew that FedEx would be closed. The rep was nice and without me saying a word she said "this isn't right". "Did you receive the product" ... Me: "no, and just in case, I checked the front door, the back of the house, in my carport and even the mailbox in case they stuck the box inside. I didn't find it anywhere."

She told me she could not call FedEx until Monday (today) BUT IF I HAD NOT RECEIVED THE PRODUCT BY MONDAY MORNING BEFORE NOON TO CALL THEM BACK AND THEY WOULD SEND OUT A NEW SHIPMENT AS A REPLACEMENT FOR MY TROUBLE."  That sounded like something Chewy Pet Supplies would do. I thanked her and said I would do just that, plus added "they normally show up before noon."

I find it to be very convenient to be sitting at the kitchen table playing Mahjong on my laptop, on days of expected deliveries. This morning was no different. Traffic was heavy on the highway and once again I had seen some regular size FedEx trucks heading south. That visual made it all the more confusing later in this story. REAL CONFUSING !! My blood is only slightly starting to boil about the time I finished feeding the hounds their lunch.

FedEx had not shown up yet but I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt with the snow storm Friday night ... maybe they were not able to make it to the house on Saturday or got backed up on deliveries and ran out of time. All I can do though is check my tracking number on the FedEx website with the assurances to call Chewy back since I didn't have my product yet. I am into Day 5 of the order and Chewy always delivers much sooner than that, no matter what part of the USA you live in.

Before I called Chewy Pet Supplies, I wanted to make sure what the latest status was. I was EXPECTING to see an update where the date had changed from 01 TWELVE 19 to 01 TODAY DATE 19 "out for delivery" ... seems logical with all of the barcode scanners and all the data entry that goes on, I would think at least they could do is change the date of the status. .... OK, the hounds have been fed, that's good in case I black out as I look at the tracking screen. They have water so they are taken care of AND they both have been outside. SO IF WERE TO BLOW A FUSE OF SOME SORT BETWEEN MY BRAIN AND HEART ... the hounds would be taken care of.

My eyes LOCKED in on the latest status .... 01 / TWELVE / 19 ... 12 !!!!! January 12th !!!!! That is my latest status ????? At least they didn't show it as being delivered but come on !!!! Can't they at least update the status as of TODAY ... MONDAY ... NO HOLIDAY ... A WORK DAY FOR 99.99999999999999% of the people nationwide ... not counting those government workers in the news. So I throw about 4 almonds down my throat, looked for and found my iPhone and put both pages of my order on my computer so I can see them while I called. Chewy's order page on the left ... the FedEx clowns tracking page on the right ... I call the number for Chewy customer service just like they instructed.

Remember on Sunday night I was told if the product had not arrived by Monday morning to call and they would ship out a replacement PLUS they would call FedEx to find out what happened or where my original order was. Well the lady I spoke to on Sunday night evidently failed to note that anywhere on the computer in my account. The girl I spoke to today ... it was like I was starting all over, like it was the first time I had ever called about this order.

Do you remember how I told you just how thrilled I get when things don't go smoothly in my life or the life of my hounds?  LOL or just how much I love speaking to any customer service reps? I just love it? Nothing else I like more than repeating the same information on every call over and over and over. Nothing ....

Well thank God I bought that Apple Watch a few weeks ago because I can glance right at it and see just how calm my insides really are ... a heart rate of 78 is higher than normal for me ... but that isn't putting me in the range of totally losing my mind while I am on the phone. I have plenty of room on the old heart beat flow chart to get a lot more pissed off than what I am. I can almost increase my 'anger' over 50% and still remain under my maximum heart rate and stay healthy. But ... she
 was nice, understanding and agreed with me about the true definition for the word 'frustration.'

She told me she would call FedEx as soon as we hung up and would call me back just as soon as she finished talking to them. SHE WOULD, not someone else. Ok ... I'll sit here and play a few more games of Mahjong and who knows, that smaller FedEx truck might pull up the driveway and everything is good.

Really ...???? You think that might happen on a MONDAY ... a few days after a dump of snow ??? I didn't either and didn't get my hopes up ..... you know why????

The FedEx screen that showed my shipment step by step, with date and time and locations of where it had been scanned as received in the FedEx process told a very interesting story .... there is more to this than I have written so far. Let's just say after the order started normal, on time, things are looking good with an estimated delivery date of Jan 11th just like always before ... TWO DAYS ... well it got to Zionsville Indiana FedEx hub okay. That's a suburb on the NW side of Indianapolis. I live 70 some miles SW of Indianapolis. It IS possible to have it on the truck and delivered the same day from Zionsville.

Driving 70 some miles south is just too *&$@#$!$%#&%$# EASY !!!!! They wouldn't want to do something so easy ... especially since a huge snow storm is on the way.

Let's go the opposite direction and ship this small box further up I-74 since it is fairly close to Zionsville Indiana. That way it can go all the way to Champagne Illinois .... ILLINOIS ... before we ship it to the destination that has the correct street address on the label. HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THAT ON SUNDAY????

At least by Saturday morning at 6:26am it had been returned to Terre Haute Indiana, and was on the truck "out for delivery" At least it was back in the state it was supposed to be in, not one state west of us. So I keep playing Mahjong ... no return call .... I play another game of Mahjong ... no return call ... I play another game of Mahjong ... no return call ... ONE HOUR and TWENTY MINUTES later ... since I have not received the return call from the Chewy Pet Supplies customer service rep ... I decided to check that FedEx tracking page again ... maybe she got something fixed and it's been updated ... maybe it really was delivered somewhere else. Maybe it's lost ... I am willing to give them all the chances in the world just for some ACCURATE shipping update. I'd like to see the date of the update changed to 01/14/2019 from 01/12/2019 ... at least that if nothing else.

Have I ever told you there are days that I wish Stella and I could trade places? I could be a laidback bloodhound and she could be me ... fixing an overflowing toilet or a water heater, or even mowing the yard ... anything that deals with a house??????? Have I????

My eyes could NOT MOVE from the latest shipping status from FedEx!!!!! COULD NOT MOVE!!!! They were locked in on the top line of status!!!! I glance at my watch and my pulse is still good, below 80bpm .... I wasn't sure if I was breathing or not .... what were those 'sparkles' in front of my eyes???? Was I getting ready to pass out from GLEEEEEEE??? Happiness???? Was I jumping up and down like it was Christmas morning???

What then????

Well I have to give credit where credit is due ... at least FedEx changed the date on their screen for the latest status ... yes I saw 01 / FOURTEEN / 2019 ... so that's today's date and today's status.

DELAYED          DELAYED          DELAYED           DELAYED          DELAYED          DELAYED          DELAYED           DELAYED

Did I ever get a call back from the Chewy Pet Supply customer service rep????  NO

Could she have taken her lunch break????  Maybe

Did I think I would EVER receive a call from Chewy Customer Service????  NO

So I ate an orange. I talked to Stella and Heidi, I mumbled to myself ... I even thought about turning on the news!!! I kept thinking .... let's see, it will be delivered on the 15th - 9 = 6 ... 6 days ... SIX DAYS ... SIX ... 6 ... DELAYED .....

It gets even better!!!!!

You didn't think I was going to end the story like that did you??????   LOL

I calmly eat my orange and log that into MyFitnessPal app. I calmly throw away my orange peels and I calmly pick up my iPhone to call .... Chewy Pet Supplies Customer Service ... CALMLY.

Of course that means I am speaking to someone new. Someone that has to ask me for my phone number or order number again Now that is my 3rd time. Then she has to look over the order again and sees the shipment has been delayed .... SHE TELLS ME THAT ... how nice. I reminded her that I just read what she read to me off of the FedEx tracking number website and then told her it told me to call her if I wanted to know why it was delayed ... so here I am.

Looking to find out why it's delayed.  I mean during this time since my 10:30am ... I've seen nothing but FedEx trucks moving up and down this highway along with one UPS truck. Looks like they are open for business.

Then  ..... she ..... gave ..... me ...... my ..... answer!!!!

"It is delayed and will not be delivered until Tuesday because THEY ARE NOT OPEN ON MONDAY !!!!!   What????  NOT OPEN ON MONDAY?????

NO ... "Ground" delivery is NOT open on Monday. They are only open Tuesday through Saturday .... GROUND DELIVERY

Hmmmmmmmm I have to think about this. I am in a little shock, I am still a little mad, I am more than confused .... then she said "I can't understand why this was not delivered on Saturday because it was on the truck "OUT FOR DELIVERY". Did she offer me a replacement shipment like the lady did on Sunday night? NO Did she offer to refund my small shipping charge since "we usually deliver with 36 hours and most of the time within 48 hours" ... NO, she did not. I told her I was shocked that this was going on with Chewy ALTHOUGH it is not Chewy that screwed up and shipped it from Zionsville Indiana to Champagne Illinois. I know that.

No ... that is not the end of this story.

After I calmly hung up my iPhone I decided the only thing logical I could do is take the hounds outside while I load my recycling container and take a short drive to the recycling center.

No ... that is not the end of this story.

No .... FedEx decided they wanted to rub my face in it .. they must have been listening to my call with Chewy via Facebook's Messenger Service (JUST JOKING) .... So as I am outside standing in the driveway with Stella as she is looking for that perfect spot to pee .... WHAT DO YOU THINK PULLS INTO THE DRIVEWAY OF MY NEIGHBOR ???????

YOU ONLY GET ONE GUESS .... JUST ONE!!!!

You're right, your'e the winner .... A FEDEX TRUCK PULLS INTO THE DRIVEWAY OF MY NEIGHBOR ... I can see a driver delivering a package to my neighbor!!!!! I have to ask her ... so I yell "I have a question for you" ... she replies yes so I know she heard me. "Do you have a package for my address" She says "NO" ... I say "I was just told that FedEx GROUND DELIVERY DOES NOT WORK ON MONDAYS"

She replies .... your package might be on another truck.

I ask "Are you GROUND DELIVERY or AIR DELIVERY?????"

She replies .... "I am GROUND DELIVERY" ....................... :)