Alarming

Almost 15 years ago we had ADT install a home alarm in our house.  We got motivated when someone stole all of the copper piping from our neighbor's house while it was under construction.  It is a great peace of mind and has only activated three times in all of that time - once due to a bad circuit board, once when something fell over and activated the glass break sensor and another time when a "Get Well" balloon drifted in front of a motion detector.  That one generated a police response and I got to watch the responding officer search the house top to bottom.  (I think she was using it as an excuse to look for contraband...).  For a little while now, one of the numbers on the keypad was wobbly and hard to recognize that it was being pushed.  So I called ADT to have someone come out and replace it.  I about called 911 myself when they said it would be almost $200!  What?!  Of course the phone person doesn't have any authority to make deals so I didn't get too upset at her but I did pull the customer loyalty card.  That got me transferred to Sales where I could get a super updated system for free (including a new keypad) but my monthly monitoring rate would go up$15 per month.  Nope, not doing that either.  So I went back to the ADT page and wrote a brief recap of my frustration on their Customer Service page.  Meanwhile, I did some research on the home alarm system Comcast has and almost switched over.  However, I got a very nice call the next day from ADT and the person said because I was a long term customer, they would waive the fee and install it Tuesday for free.  Nice.

Speaking of Comcast, lately my internet has bogged way down.  If I reboot the modem and router, I get my usual fast speeds.  But during the day, the speeds drops way down.  After 3 phone calls and a tech visit to the house, I am getting a new gateway - combo of modem and router all in one.  Looking forward to that.

Northeastern University is in town today to play the University of Delaware in men's basketball.  The NU Alumni Association offered discount tickets along with a pre-game social time at Wild Wings.  Elliott and I were all set to go but he couldn't get off of work so Lucie and I are going to the social event, then another friend and I will go to the game.