Zune Support is Awful

I’ve noticed that my blog is starting to get less hits and no comments which is now making me rethink about the content I post, and what I talk about. I’m not sure what direction I’m going to go with my blog. It’s to early to tell so until then. Here’s what I’ve been dealing with the past 24 hrs.

I accidentally deleted my Windows Live ID that was associated with my
zune tag. I quickly went and re-registered my email account so it was
a Window Live ID again, but unfortunately the zune.net website prompts
me with the registration form. Which has now shown me that my zune tag
is no longer associated with it.

I called up technical support because there was nothing about this on
the zune website. After explaining to her  two or three times there
was no credit card associated with the account, I finally suggested
looking up my zune tag to find it. They pulled the account up, gave
them the email address I was using again as they asked for it and then
was put on hold for a good 10 – 15 minutes while they continued
looking information up on my issue.

When they came back they explained to me that they escalated it to
Level 2 Technicians and they had told her to tell me to wait for 24
hrs and if I still couldn’t log in to call back.

So let’s break this down a bit.

1. Accidentally deleted my Windows Live ID Association that my gmail
account was using.

2. Can no longer access my zune social card or anything even though my
profile still exists.

3. Logging in prompts me with the registration form.

4. Tech Support told me to wait 24 hrs and try again. If I still had
issues to call back.

This didn’t sound right to me so I decided to call back later on. I
call back later in the evening and explain everything to the 2nd
technician. The technician put’s me on hold and looks up the
information. He then comes back to tell me that they can’t make any
changes to my account because they don’t have authorization or the
tools to do it and that the work around is to create a new account. I
told him that I had no problems with creating a new one as long as
they can delete my old one because I don’t want my zune social profile
to be lingering around on the net. He told me that they can’t do that
either as they don’t have authorization or the tools to do so. After
hanging up I decided to call back 5 minutes later to ask for a
Supervisor. The third technician told me the same exact thing the
other tech told me and after requesting again if a Supervisor or
higher up could do it she told me that they only have the same tools
and have no authorization to do what I’m requesting either. After
thanking them I hung up, sent some one I know an email who used to
work as a Level 2 technician for them last year to see if they could
give me some advice on what I could do.

I was told to ask for Level 2 Support when I called in and that they
would file a ticket (if they couldn’t solve it) which would escalate
it to Level 3 at headquarters where research is done to solve any
issues. If they found a solution they would let Level 2 Support know
and have them contact me. If not they would point me in the right
direction to some one who possibly could. I did everything he said in
the message back to me when calling in for the fourth time. The
technician told me what I already knew from yesterday and I asked for
Level 2 support again. They went on to tell me they couldn’t just pass
me on to Level 2 and that they needed approval. I tell them that is
fine and I’m put on hold. After waiting for at least 5 – 10 minutes  I
hear two dial tones followed by “Please wait” being repeated for 3
minutes with short pauses between them. I start thinking that I’m
being passed on and things are moving forward. I couldn’t have been
more wrong. The technician who put me on hold picks up, tells me they
were denied authorization to pass me on to Level 2 because they would
just tell me the same thing and then went on to repeat what I already
knew about creating a new account.

So here I am unable to get access to an account that is still active,
which is still showing my zune social profile with my picture, first
name, last name, city and state. And yet zune support can’t delete my
account or even give me access back to it. How is it that XBOX 360 and
XBOX Live Support can provide top notch service, modify accounts and
delete them but yet at zune they can’t? This is something that should
have been thought about a long time ago. At this point I don’t even
want the account anymore, I want it deleted. What is it going to take
to get this done?

It shouldn’t be such a hassle to recover an account that is
still active, yet even delete one.

Ironic Isn’t It?

I think I’m going to continue going to the 6pm service after last night. It’s a great way to end the night, and plus like I said in my last entry. There are some people I know who go during that service, and there are some people I just met last night who do as well. Making connections or new friends I should say is important.

I find it really ironic how my last blog post was about letting go of something your holding on to and yet last night, Tim’s message was essentially on the same thing but covered more on the topic of relationships, past hurts, living in the past etc. Now there was so much to take in last night (at least for me) that I can’t quite pin or more specifically actually relay back the entire thing. So when the video/audio of it get’s put online I’ll watch/listen to it again to get a better understanding.

Last night though really did make me ask myself “What is there in my life that I’m holding on to, that’s preventing me from starting new or moving forward?”. In all honesty I still have no clue what that is. I’d say I have an idea of what one of them is after talking to Tom Kang last night, but I feel as there is something else. Hopefully that will be revield to me some time soon. When something is on my mind it really affects me in the most negative ways. Today I woke up in a bad mood, and on my way to the college I listened to David Crowders “Deliver Me” on repeat. The song really reaches to anywhere you currently are, but can also be encouraging. Though today it really didn’t do any of that. Sure it lifted me a bit, I didn’t feel so tense anymore. But my actions towards a driver who was riding my bumper on a 35MPH road said otherwise on how I felt, and that I had something bugging me.

It was shortly after the way I responded to them (brake checking for example) that I also realized that I’m not the best driver nor a good one if I’m doing those things. Plus I also felt really guilty for letting my emotions getting to me. I even felt guilty cause I did all that while listening to a Christian song. I know I know were human and it happens, but it’s one of those things where I think “Ah crap!”. Which also shortly after got me thinking, “What am I getting so upset about? Why do I get so angry?”. Again I’m not quite sure and  this is why I hope it will be revieled to me shortly. I’ve gotten better though at not doing the brake checking thing, that was actually the first time I’ve done it in months I believe. I’m hoping I can cut it out completely in time.

Again a perfect example of one of the most negative things that comes out of something that is on my mind but yet doesn’t know what it is. However last night was such a great eye opener and I’m really looking forward to the “Warrior” series starting next week. I can’t wait to see what is in store for not only myself but for my friends as well.

A Simple Message

It’s been about a week since I last posted an entry so I figured now would be a good time to do so. With my schedule being packed with college, homework, and work it’s been hard to find some time to write or even think about what I’m going to talk about.

Whats up with College?

College is going really well and I’ve found that I’m really looking forward to going to all of my classes. My last class for the week “System Analysis and Design” is a bit boring, but when it gets down to doing the in class projects and take home assignments it all becomes interesting. I was quite concerned at first though cause they had changed our professor a week or two before hand. But luckily the class isn’t that bad.

My math class I’m doing well in and I actually understand what’s going on. That mainly has to do with the fact that I have the same professor from last fall again. We have our first test this upcoming Wednesday and in all honesty I’m looking forward to it. That’s kinda scary isn’t it? Ah well the important part is that I’m enjoying the class and am getting something out of it.

My Art of Film and Intro to Mass Comm. class are really interesting. I have probably two of the best professors for these courses. I suppose you could say they get you to think outside of the box and to look at film, tv, advertisements, etc in a different way. Plus I’m also learning (more so in my Film class) why the director chose that specific shot, how it was done, etc. If I’m ever watching a movie with you guys in coming months, I just want to give you guys a heads up and let you know that I might ruin your whole movie experience…haha.

Then there is my English 1 class. I don’t think I’ve ever been looking forward to taking English till now. Sure it’s one of my strongest subjects, but I dreaded the typing of papers. My professor though is very energetic, laid back but tough at the same time I guess you could say. The class consists of discussions, in class essays, and out of class essays, along with reading of course. I can’t really say much more as we met for the first time this week, but I can say that I will be doing well in this course and look forward to what lays ahead.

A Simple Message can Brighten Someone’s Week

The week was really tiresome with school, work and things going at home all combined. But yesterday something happened that really brightened things up for me. Some one who I had been close with and met on a trip with my old Youth Group contacted me. I was simply amazed because we have a bit of some history and for the longest time even though we talked on and off I thought they were holding some grudges against me and were mad. But I couldn’t have been more wrong, and the kindness they had towards me really just swept me off my feet because I didn’t think they’d act in such a kind way towards me. The sad part about all of this is that in this message I learned that they had moved to Japan. Which in all honesty was heart breaking because the last time I had an opportunity to talk to them in person was at the last gig my band played.  I had let my fear and  some thoughts get to me, which resulted in me avoiding them and sticking by my band mates.

But I was really happy that they had contacted me and reached out. You know that whole saying ‘Let go and let God handle it”? Man I wish I had done that earlier on with a lot of things. There was a time period with in the past year or so where I just said “If it’s meant for us to be friends and to stay in touch, then it will happen. I need to let go” and I did with out realizing that I was trusting God with this. Well here I am and now out of no where I get this random message. Maybe I’m looking into it too much, but I can’t explain the happiness I felt.  Nor do I know why I felt that excited/happy to hear from them. Maybe it was just the fact of I had something to brighten up my day/week? I mean the message wasn’t anything all exciting, and it was special in it’s own way of course. Or maybe it was the fact that this specific person meant a lot to me and it was just great to hear from them?

So I want to ask this to those who read this, to those who will comment, etc. What do you think it could be? Any insight? Also how different would your life be if you decided to not let go of something that really meant something to you, regardless if in the end it was positive or not? If you could give one example what would it be? And if you could give one piece of advice to either me, for anyone who reads this blog what would it be? Got some thinking to do eh?

Also for those of you who go to Liquid, I’ll be there this Sunday at the 6pm service! I’ve learned that the people I’ve met over the recent months/year typically go during this time. So it will be nice to spend time around/with them.

Going Back to College, Google Chrome, and More!

I’m back from Connecticut as of Sunday. I have to say that UConn has a beauiful but huge campus. I haven’t even seen the whole thing yet. But I really did enjoy the country side of things! I wish Jersey was more like that, plus the people were friendlier too.

Today I head back to College, I’m looking forward to it and my first class is at 1:30pm. But right now I’m kind of nervous, not really sure why that is I just am. My first class is Math and I’ve had this professor last Fall and I love their style of teaching. Plus I have no reason to be nervous about my second class either. Maybe it’s because for the first time I’ll be going to College with out my friends. My best friend as you guys know is up at UConn, my one friend isn’t going back to school at all, and my other friend isn’t going back to school till the Spring. I have one friend though who I haven’t really spoken to in a while, in one of my classes. But still it’s just not really the same you know? Yep I definitely think it’s that!

I’m technically considered a Junior in College, but the school doesn’t see it that way. They go by the amount of Credits you have. Myself and others happen to disagree with them. Plus I discovered that I could be done with RVCC by Spring 2010 which is what I’m shooting for! So yeah I would say I am. Anyways I hope I can just open up a bit and be myself when I’m at the College. For years I was comfortable with just sticking to my own friends and being shy on meeting others. I would also freeze up sometimes and not know what to say. This weekend though proved me other wise that I can talk to and become friends with just about anyone. So my own prayer for this week (wait a minute did I just say prayer?! Wow!) is that I’ll just open up, be able to just walk up to some one, or some one would just be able to walk up to me and exchange words.

On a completely different topic Google released their Web Browser called Google Chrome. What’s a Web Browser some of you might be asking? A Web Browser is a piece of software that you use to visit websites like facebook, mixx, myspace etc. Chance’s are your either using Firefox 3, Opera, Safari or dare I say Internet Explorer 7 (shudders). Here’s a screenshot of what Google Chrome looks like.

The Web Browser is very light weight, but it does use multiple resources for every tab you have open. A downside yes but for a website that will open faster then any browser it’s something to sacrifice. You can create Web Application Shortcut’s with the Browser. For example if you have a Gmail account you can click the Paper Icon and choose Creat Application Shortcut. It will then create a Gmail Icon on your desktop and you can now access Gmail with out typing in a web address. Clicking the Icon will launch Google Chrome and open Gmail right in front of you. Kind of cool in my opinion.

I would go into more detail about this but for now I’ll just leave everyone with that taste of it and will cover more about it another time.

When the going get’s tough whether it be with friendships, relationships, problems at your job etc. It can be really tough to keep your head up and think you can’t continue on. So I wanted to share two things with everyone. One to reflect on and be encouraged by and another for just pure encouragement. I sent both out to another person for encouragement and to hopefully make light of things. So I’m hoping it will do the same for everyone else.

The first one comes from an email between Tom Kang and I. I won’t go into details behind the email but there was something he said that just made me go “Wow!”. He said…

“ It’s tough bro – killer actually – when people misinterpret/misunderstand your heart.  But it’s just like this conversation I was having with someone earlier this week ~ how/why should we expect anything less than misinterpretation and misunderstanding for our good when Christ, Himself, experienced the same and more?  Ya know what I’m saying?  I mean if any had TOTALLY good intentions and actions it was Jesus.  Yet where did that get him?  Well let’s see, his closest friends deserted him, his family did not understand him, and the people killed him.  Yikes.  So here’s a fact: no matter how much good your intentions or actions…there will always be opposition and misunderstanding.  Fact #2: Don’t let it stop you from doing what’s right.  RIght?  I mean think of what would’ve happened if at any one of the points – Jesus hurt, even devastated, even frustrated by all the gross misunderstanding and accusations, etc. decided to just drop the whole thing or go negative?  GULP!  =P  I know you know what I’m sayin bro!  ; D “

Still I can’t even imagine what things would be like if Jesus had just said “I give up you guys are on your own!”. I really hope this helps some one. Also  a small side note to Tom. If you’d like me to remove any part of that please let me know man!

Now for the second quote it comes from a movie. Something that I believe applies to everyone. It comes from Batman Begins when Bruce Wayne aka Batman is struggling with decisions, and much more. His Butler Alfred said the following…

” Why do we fall, sir? So that we might learn to pick ourselves up. “

I don’t know about anyone else. But there have been many many times where I feel like I want to give up because I disappointed some one, I failed at something, or well just as Alfred said, because we have fallen when we messed up. It’s through those times I think we grow the most and it certainly teaches us something and we learn from it. Even if we don’t get it right the first time, second time or even the third time it doesn’t mean were bad people, it means were human. Were not perfect and we never will be. The only person who is, is Jesus. So if something get’s you down or you mess up on/in something just remember that quote.

I hope this really helps some of you, or just random people who come across my blog. There’s nothing more that makes me feel happy inside then knowing I made a difference or encouraged some one by something I said, or a quote I posted.