DaphneCat

Another true story that JUST happened today. Yesterday a delivery truck was higher than they thought and it got caught on a wire over my driveway and damaged it quite severely. I was 95% sure it wasn't electrical but called the electric company anyway just to be sure. They sent a technician who confirmed that it indeed wasn't electrical/dangerous and confirmed that it was probably a cable wire. Since I have Verizon for my internet, I kind of made the assumption it might be Comcast. I tried to do the right thing and call them to let them know that if people were complaining about an outage it was probably because of the wire at my house. I literally had to find a website called something like "Talk to a Human" to even get past the phone tree and actually be able to talk to someone. The very nice person in India assured me a technician would call back for more information. I'm guessing they never will. I didn't even want anything from them as still couldn't talk to someone!

Yes, it isn't like the customer service reps intentionally set up the phone tree to be frustrating, and when I actually got to talked to a real person at the IRS they were very polite and helpful. It's just by the time you finally get to someone who has the authority to solve your problem, you feel like you've been given the run around so many times that you're ready to scream. Mr. Cat and I actually had to go see a taxpayer advocate to get any kind of movement at all. Yes, it eventually got resolved and yes, we were extremely lucky that we weren't desperate for the money but the hoops we jumped through were pretty intense. I kept thinking that if we HAD been desperate for the money how awful it would have been.

I think Kayla said that if Julie got a direct donation she could get a transplant - that's why they were pressuring Gabi to give up Stefan's heart. They just won't put anybody on the donor list who is over 70. Julie did get Stefan's heart. Stefan was kept alive by Rolf and eventually got Jake's heart. And the MOST amazing thing, is not one of those people have a scar or is on a lifelong med regimen to prevent rejection.

They do not do transplants on patients over 70. Are they SERIOUSLY trying to convince us that Paulina is under 70? I'm sorry, even devil possession is easier to believe than that!

But think of all that GREAT hold music you get to listen to! I REALLY think bad customer service is built in, just to discourage you from calling. My complaint is that you have to go through the stupid phone tree (and please listen carefully as our menu options have changed - even though the person who recorded that message retired 6 years ago) and wait on hold several minutes before you find out you're not talking to the right person and they need to transfer you to another department where you sit on hold AGAIN before someone who doesn't understand your question answers. You may or may not get put on hold again but you'll definitely need to explain your problem at least 3 times. Last year I had to call the IRS to resolve a refund we were due for the 2020 tax year. (Yup, 2 years after I filed the return I was still waiting.) I ended up starting the conversation by apologizing that I KNEW I was talking to the wrong person but the ONLY options on the phone tree were to resolve issues where you owed them money - there WERE no other options! The person rather lamely said that they had heard that the phone tree was confusing - admitting without actually admitting that I was right.

Also, how is it he has such strong memories of times with Stephanie yet claims he can't remember Jada - who he would have been married to at the same time he was having memorable experiences with Stephanie. I don't think that's how amnesia works - which is why he seems so suspicious.

That was Connie. She had one bad date with Li and he ditched her for Melinda.

NO! No, no, no, no, no! I really think that the reason a lot of people have been enjoying the show lately is because there have been no: 1. Devil Possessions. 2. Magic Masks that can even change your bodies. 3. Cryogenically frozen "dead" people (who we SAW die, who had organs donated, who went to the embalmer, who we saw buried) 4. No stupid trips to "heaven" or "hell" and last but certainly not least: 5. No computer chip/mind controlled brains!!! Love the characters or hate them, the show is best when it shows characters having actual human problems that actual humans could actually have! I don't need soaps to be 100% realistic - I'll take people disappearing and everyone thinking they are dead - but they're not. I'll take someone lapsing into a coma every other week or people getting amnesia on the regular. I'll take someone getting a degree (even a medical one) in approximately 3 months or being promoted to run a major corporation with absolutely no experience whatsoever. Heck I'll even buy an evil twin or two or a multiple personality disorder. But enough with the "supernatural" crap.

My little logistical brain was too stuck on the idea that if it is picnic for TWO, why were there extra plates, forks and glasses? Why would they have extras? Seriously, no one does that.

Same here. Love that this isn't just a rinse, repeat.

The person absolutely did not have the same build as Xander - much skinnier. I REALLY hope we don't have to listen to Sarah make a bunch of accusations while pulling her wounded bird act. Maybe the person on Konstantin? Right build, and it's possible it will come out that he had other motives besides conning Maggie. The only question is, has he ever met Harris?

He did this because the writers can't be bothered to even attempt to make this stupid plot cohesive. Yup, somehow, K not only knows the Pawn was triggered by a card, but magically, has the EXACT card necessary to do it. FINE, FINE writing. How many more scenes do you think we'll have to endure of John staring into space while speaking robotically? I know it's a soap and EVERYBODY must have some "romantic" name, but just once, I want someone to want revenge for the death of a Beulah or Dwight.

This! Having him show up because he thought his mother was dying (the stupid virus story) would not have been a stretch. Having him come back for Maggie after Victor passed would also not have been outside the realm of reason. They could even have given him a job that required him to come back to Salem every so often. But now they've really limited the kind of stories they can even put him in.

This is the second time the show has brought up that you should never touch a Black woman's hair and then shifted away from the question when another character specifically asked why. I'm beginning to think none of the writers actually know.

I don't think anyone want them in their rocking chairs. I, for one, would love to see them doing investigations and using their brains. It's just when the show has them engaging in fist fights and chasing down suspects that it gets over the top stupid.

Yes, they showed a brief headline that said Paulina's poll numbers were up because of her "tough on drugs" stance. I wonder what her poll numbers would look like if it was widely publicized that rather than focus on actual distributors, she was letting her DA use his office for a personal vendetta against a 16 year old kid who hasn't even been convicted. She should have made EJ IMMEDIATELY recuse himself from this case, not allowed him to go harsher than usual.

Right, it's like some teen who chased an older man and was obnoxious to her only would-be friend has lapsed in to a coma. For some reason, Nicole has decided she cares for this teen (with whom she has had several brief interactions) and is now sitting by her bedside. Since we all know the kid will wake up and be fine there is ZERO reason to be invested in this story. I'm just impatient for it to be over.

Almost every jail has at least one private cell where they keep someone away from the general population. Rafe could easily have made that happen.

"Tate takes the fall for Holly"? They better be talking about what's going on NOW because, hopefully, he isn't stupid enough to take the fall when she wakes up (though given who is father is, I wouldn't really expect him to have a lot of brains). So far, their relationship has been: she treated him like shit, she apologized, they had ONE date. They haven't established enough of a relationship yet for there to be any real feelings.

Theresa said it yesterday to EJ that that is the reason Tate doesn't do drugs.

I sort of remember that, so now the retcon is that Tate was there?

So Theresa left with Tate when he was a very small child and lived with him in California while Brady hooked up with half of Salem. We've never heard of Theresa being an addict and Tate was never around for any relapses Brady had. But apparently, Tate saw them both when they were at their worst? Am I missing something here?

This ties in to my WORST - the obvious misogyny that is getting more blatant as plots unfold. Nicole is basing her reproductive decisions on (and I know I sound like a broken record on this) THE MAN WHO ABANDONED HER OWN CHILD!!! No mother should ever forgive that, much less fawn over what a GREAT father he will be and want to produce a child for him. Add that to the fact that she's perfectly willing to forget the only child that she's aware of on BOTH her birthday and Christmas Eve to wallow in her own sadness makes her not just a terrible mother but a terrible character. Sloan went from being an intelligent, take no prisoners, bad-ass (bonus points for owning her sex life and refusing to be slut shamed) to a needy pathetic person who's ONLY focus is keeping a man - who we know is going to dump her. Theresa has been basically portrayed as a single mother while Brady went around horn-dogging after Kristen and paying attention to his only REAL child - devil-spawn Rachel - but we all just KNOW he's going to be father of the year and have a great time bonding with Tate over what a terrible, terrible person Theresa is when the whole will debacle comes out. Another female character trashed for one of the "good guys." Sarah is coming across as rather fickle and not particularly bright. "Susan is dead so Xander can't be trusted around my baby" - even though Xander wasn't directly responsible for Susan's "death." "Susan isn't dead so now Xander CAN be trusted around my baby." Wendy started out as someone who had confidence and curiosity - investigating things that seemed wrong, even if she wasn't always successful. Now she just exists to be Tripp's love interest. I'll give Maggie the benefit of the grieving widow doubt to excuse her obvious stupidity about Konstantin. BEST I agree with all of you that Paul Telfer/Xander is one of the best. I also like that they are using the vets - even if I think trying to make John and Steve geriatric action heroes is incredibly stupid. The only thing good about this Konstantin plot is that John and Steve are using their brains and investigating their suspicions. Show, you CAN have older people involved in current plots - but know their physical limitations. I also like that people seem to be coming out of their silos a bit more and having interactions with people they normally wouldn't. I actually forgot that Stephanie and Tripp are siblings until they had them have a conversation.

Why does this show INSIST on hammering home the point that adopted children are "real" children. Nicole blathering on about how she was thinking about an abortion but couldn't do it because it might be Eric's and she "knows how much he always wanted to be a father."🙄 Idiot, he WAS a father and walked away from it. Him, now saying he doesn't care about DNA and was happy to adopt is basically CRAP. I was hoping this show was going to handle the inevitable Eric/Nicole get together with some modicum of sensitivity, but nope. Not going to happen. Since it isn't actually a baby am I a horrible person if I hope Towel gets lost in the washing machine?

Jada finally dropped the name of her ex (who is clearly the same person as Everett) and it wasn't Everett. I think the show is setting him up to be charming on the surface but with a deeper undercurrent of evil. Granted, it is possible I'm giving the writers FAR too much credit, but I don't think you're actually supposed to like him.