Step 38: Recap Your Weekend, Because it was Boring

So yeah, my weekends are never entertaining, so I'm not going to post on them anymore. But! Here's a recap:

I went and saw Paranormal Activity with two friends. It was good, except that the girl behind me did not know how to SHUT HER MOUTH, and I wasn't able to really get into it like I would have preferred. I made loud comments I knew she could hear when it was over. Probably not the nicest thing for me to do, but I felt better, and perhaps she'll learn to shut it in theaters. (Probably not.)

Other than that I just stayed home and was boring.

Today I had to call McAfee and have them reverse the Auto-Renew charges I forgot were coming. It was $85 they charged, and while I get that it was my fault for both forgetting it was coming and for not turning off the auto-renew in the first place, I also think it's shady for them to default to having it on. I mean, Auto-Renewing an $85 charge should be something you have to specifically seek out and confirm you definitely want ON, not something you can just forget to turn off, you know?

Anyway, it worked out fine, because I had 60 days from the renewal to have them refund me. All it cost me was a phone call to customer service and having to say "No, thanks." about a thousand times to all the various things they tried to sell me instead. (ALSO an OBNOXIOUS business practice, if you ask me.)

Generally speaking, I don't like to be sales-pitched at. Once in a while there's a funny commercial, but it's usually for beer which I don't drink/buy. I do a lot of things to avoid being sold things, actually. I feel like listing them.

1. I no longer listen to the radio. It's free music, sure, but it seems like everytime I try to listen, it's on a 15 minute commercial break, and I end up getting irritated and turning it off.

2. DVR. Whenever possible I record the shows I want to watch, then fast forward through the commercials.

3. I refuse to "monetize" this or any other Me on the Internet thing I have, because it means selling things to people who don't want to be sold things.

4. The guy in the mall that comes at you with lotion? I have stopped and said to him, "I know you're doing your job. However, you should know that approaching me with whatever it is you're selling in a way that makes me feel uncomfortable is a really great way to get me to kick you in your manbits and scream 'RAPE! NO! NO! NO!' but it is NOT a good way to get me to buy something. I don't want it, no matter how great you've been told to tell me it is. Now back off." I haven't had to try it since then (despite that being YEARS ago at the Mall of America), but it worked the one time I did do it!


Anyway, I'm not invulnerable to marketing. I mean, I have an iPod, I buy some name brand products... I just don't like marketing strategies. Let ME look at your product and decide for MYSELF if it's any good. If it is, I'll buy it. Let the products sell themselves.

RIGHT, SO THERE WAS THAT SOAPBOX. I'm going to bed now.

Current Status: Multi-Hundredaire
Money Earned This Weekend: $0
Money Spent This Weekend: $80