Jonathan Drnjevic's Blog: A not so minor triumph and good reading

It's been a great week and I'm anticipating an even better weekend. What's so great about it? ?Glad you asked. ?I'm feeling good about a problem that was resolved this week. ?Back around May 21 my mom got a call from a company called Hi-Ben Meds out of New York. ?They called on a weekday, while I was at the gym, and mom was home alone. ?They're also one of those companies that uses an "unavailable" number so I had no way of tracing the call back. ?When they finished, they charged $447.34 to mom's checking account. ?When I got home from the gym, all mom remembered is that someone had called about a medical issue (and with her current situation that could be a number of folks). ?Fortunately there was a "customer service" number (at a third party company unrelated to the original company) on the counter check they ran through mom's account. ?I became, over the next 2 months, a frequent caller to that number. ?Each time I was told to wait: ?first 21 working days; then 1 week; then another week; and still no refund was forthcoming. ?Finally one of the customer service people mentioned that I could visit my bank and have them reverse the charge. ?I did not think this was possible with a checking account but I tried it. ?Wow! ?I was so impressed with the help I got at Chase Bank at 44th Street and Camelback in Phoenix. ?Three days later charge was reversed and I felt (and still feel) like a hero. ?So in these days when big banks get so much bad publicity, remember it's good to have them on your side in a pinch!You know it's often said that teachers learn as much from students as vice versa, and I would definitely agree with that thought. ?A former student of mine recently recommended to me one of the finest books I've read in the self-improvement or spiritual category. ?The Rhythm of Life by Michael Kelly is a book I read in about three days and will return to again and again. ?This book will help you at whatever point you find yourself. ?Kelly's goal is to become 'the best version of yourself that is possible' and he take the reader through a number of very practical steps in self-improvement. ?Unlike books by say Eckhart Tolle, there is no spiritual 'awakening' at the center of the book--but rather Kelly moves the reader towards a more spiritual existence in general terms. ?I will be returning to Kelly's book frequently in the future.

Two weeks from next Monday, the 20th of August, my fall semester will get underway at Arizona State University. ?I'm truly blessed to have a great schedule and look forward to knowing 125 or so students this coming semester. ?My hope is that I can, in some way, meet each of them at the point where they need help with their writing. ?If you've taken English 100 (or first year Composition) level at any point--you can certainly understand the challenge of teaching such courses.

On the social media front, I'm going to start using HootSuite to coordinate my various profiles and posts. ?Along those lines I'm delighted with the public/friends only selections that Facebook offers for each status or posting--it gives me control over what I publish. ?Now if Facebook the company can just figure out a way to better adapt to mobile platforms and target advertising to monetize their huge membership, Mark Z. might one day be the Steve Jobs of social media.

Source: http://jon-notesfromunderground.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-not-so-minor-triumph-and-good-reading.html

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