I had a genuinely terrible weekend.

[Drazzil]

So, this last saturday afternoon I am headed home from the smoke shop when I stop at the intersection by my house, the one with the camera. I am not paying too much attention and I may have jumped the gun and started to go across the intersection in that 2 or so seconds after the light for the intersection is red, but my intersection is still red as well, because I look up, and see a flash of light, although my way appears to be green?

Anyway, it could be that I am incredibly paranoid about these damned tax collectors. I got hit with one of these red light camera tickets two years ago and ever since then, have been rightfully paranoid about these things. These tickets cost $500 dollars and ever since one got me, I've been paranoid and extremely careful around these things, apparently for naught. It may be for nothing, but I get to spend the next two weeks wondering if I got one of those "I hope whoever invented these things spends the next eternity plus ten thousand years having his limbs twisted into unspeakable shapes by the thrice damned hags of the outer darkness and sodomized by the fang thanged demons of Gehennah screaming out to his dead bureauocrat god's for a relief that will never come" red light camera tickets. (the afore mentoned quote shamelessly stolen from the Onion and twisted to mine own particular needs)

That however isin't the end of it. I bought ten pounds of pork ribs on sale for a buck a pound. I was going to cook them saturday night, but apparently my mom had thrown out my commercial size roasting pan (at least she told me this). So I had the joy of having to spend two and a half hours and a quarter of a tank of gas travelling to six or seven different locations looking for a roasting pan big enough for two slabs of pork ribs. No joy. The only one even close cost a hundred bucks through Macy's.

I get home and my mom finds the roasting pan from where she "squirreled it away" but by this time, It's too late to start something cooking, so I have to wait until sunday.

Sunday morning, I boot my X Box 360, and.. It doesent boot. I spend the next four hours arguing with five different indian technical support agents about their wanting to charge me a hundred dollars to repair my console because it is "out of warranty" despite my having only played it for three hundred hours since its purchase in July of 2007.

By this time, I had had it. I have since crossed the border of red boiling anger and am now perusing the gift shops and bistros of the cold calmness of something that is angrier then that, something colder, more permanant and lasting, something black that slithers into your chest and stays there as inpenetrable and monolithic as a glacier, or maybe an altar of some long dead evil god that requires the blood sacrifice of badly trained Indian staffers who disintrestedly read from a script.

There isint an english word for what I was feeling. I fired off the following letter to X Box 360 support:

My name is David Marshall Alrajabi. I recently had the red ring of death happen to me (Three red rings, absent the upper right hand corner light. The X Box 360 was manufactured in November of 06 and purchased by me in July 2007. Since purchasing the console in July 07 I have played it for less then 300 hours. The console failed.I called in with this issue today, and was greeted by Indian Staffers who told me that my system was out of warranty and that I would have to pay $100 dollars for a warranty for an additional year on the system.

I then argued that the XBox Red ring of death was a very well known problem, and that there is an existing manufacturing defect in the X Box 360's and that I should not have to pay for a flaw that was inherent in the product. I asked to speak to a manager, and I was put on hold, and then my call was disconnected.I then called back and spoke to "Paul" a "supervisor" who claimed that I was paying for the "repair service" but who claimed that the system was warrantied for a year after it was repaired.He also could not do anything about charging me $100 dollars claiming that it was "policy"Just so that you folks understand, at this point I will agree to pay the $100 dollars, as it is cheaper then purchasing a new console.

I will however after this point NEVER purchase another X Box 360 game. I will NEVER purchase another Microsoft Console (Whether it be a new 360 or any new platform console.) I will NEVER purchase another piece of Microsoft software (Including OS systems, MS office or any other product with Microsoft on it's box)I will also be filing a complaint with the California Department of Consumer Affairs, The Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Comission (If they deal with this sort of thing) I will also get involved in any class action lawsuits that are active against Microsoft's X Box division, Including the one in California.Oh and you know that old adage about one dissatisfied customer ruining ten good ones? I intend to be very vocal about my dissatisfaction in Microsofts failure rate for consoles, but also in their willingness to penalize the end user for their bad engineering.

I will be telling my friends, my business partners, and anyone who I deal with my issues regarding your product, and Microsofts failure to support their end user when their badly engineered console takes a big steaming **** in their lap.Thank you for your time. If you want to reconsider and make this right, You may reach me below, otherwise, I am going to dedicate the rest of my life to costing you folks hundreds of times more then it would have cost to be stand up about this whole thing.

Do have a nice day!

-David Alrajabi
(Phone number redacted)

I call this morning, and the indian MS support seems to think that the whole repair service will be free, including a coffin that will be to my home within 5 business days... Thank you, Come again!

So how was all of your weekends?