After work today I went and ate and played pool with my good friend Scott. He had never been to Dave and Busters so we went there. The pool tables are nice and at dinner time on a Wednesday, it was very quiet. We basically had the pool area to ourselves. I won most of the games but neither of us played very well. It was nice to get out of the house and hang out with an old friend. I’m feeling very relaxed now. I should do that more often.
Tag: Entertainment
Switching to AT&T U-Verse from Time Warner Cable
Well I finally gave up on Time Warner Cable. We moved into our current house over a year ago and when we did we got a “welcome back” deal from TWC because we were switching back to TWC from DirecTV. We had TWC but left because their rates steadily increased. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when they incorrectly billed us repeatedly for over $400 in incorrect fees and only offered to credit our account instead of actually refunding the cash. After that we left TWC and went to DirecTV for a couple years but after the first 2 years DirecTV steadily raised their rates too. When we moved into our current house we left DirecTV and went back to TWC. The package we had was $127 for turbo internet, digital tv with 2 DVRs and unlimited home phone. After the year rate ended the price shot up to $185. I dropped the phone and downgraded the cable but the bill was still $139. Then it went up to $145. Then it went up again to $150. It just went up again to $154 for turbo internet and digital cable (no movie channels) with 2 DVRs.
I finally got fed up. Today I signed up for AT&T U-Verse with Max Internet (12 Mbps) and U200 (~280 channels) with 1 DVR (records 4 channesl at once) and 2 other receivers that can play recorded channels from the DVR (3 rooms total) for $104/mo for the first 6 months and then $129 after that. I also should get $125 in prepaid visa cards for signing up online. There was a $29 install fee. So if you do the math it works out to:
104 X 6 months = 634 + 129 x 6 months = 774 + 29 install fee - 125 in gift cards = 1312 for the 1st year with AT&T U-Verse vs. 154 x 12 months = 1848 if I stay with Time Warner Cable
Savings next yr with AT&T instead of TWC is $536 (or $44.66/month)
I did concede to the TWC rep on the phone today that AT&T will probably raise their rates and eventually I will decide to leave them too. By then TWC or DirecTV or Dish or WOW will be willing to offer me a nice deal and I’ll probably switch again. It stinks that you have to leave a company for them to treat you as a valuable customer. After we left DirecTV, I got a flyer from them every other day with a nice deal if I would come back. I guess absence does make the heart grow fonder – when it comes to TV providers missing ex-customers. My hope is that by the time AT&T raises their rates too much, I can switch to Net Flix + Hulu or something similar. I tried this time but several of D’s favorite shows are not available on any streaming provider.
Bowling Practice… ’til 2AM
Last night I was up until 2AM practicing my bowling on the wii. I managed to get my average up and move well into pro status. My right arm is sore today.
Weak Bowler
We’ve been bowling nightly using the Wii and I now see that I am the weakest bowler in the house. Everyone’s high score is around 240 except for me (around 205). Everyone has a higher pro score than I do although I am a pro. I need to work on my game! I’m getting beat by 2 kids and a wife who bowls while sitting down!
2-3 Cavs
The Cavs won last night. Now they just need to win the last 2 games to advance. It is a tall order especially since LBJ has been a superstar and they still barely won. The rest of the team needs to start playing like they want to win a championship. I think the biggest risk is that the team watches LBJ do his thing and he has an off night or Orlando decides to do ball denial or triple team him. Will the other guys score enough? I hope so.
3-2 Lakers
Go Lakers! I was up again last night watching the Lakers game. They played just so-so during most of the game but in the fourth quarter they played pretty well. Lamar Odom woke up and started rebounding. Kobe handle the double teams very well. Pau posted up and passed well. Go team! One more win and they will probably be playing Orlando in the finals 😦 Still bummed about Cleveland. The Cavs need a miracle now.
Sooo tired
We were up until 1 AM watching the Cavs game on Tivo. Then Z wet the bed last night at 4:00 AM – his first time ever. We were up for a half hour to clean up and get him back to sleep. We all got up at 7 AM for school and work. So, I’m dragging today.. I think D is taking a nap already.
OMG Cavs!#!
I can’t believe the Cavs are down 3 to 1 against Orlando! Amazing! The Cavs now need to win 3 straight to advance – very few teams have ever done that. I’m totally bummed out.
C’mon Lakers and Cavs!
All I want is for the best teams in the league (Lakers and Cavs) to both make it to the finals. Both teams are trying their hardest to lose games. LA and Cleveland have both been playing bad compared to their regular season performances. C’mon! Get a rebound! Make a shot! Geez.
Long Weekend
We didn’t have any home showings so we didn’t have to clean and leave 🙂 We stopped by my parents house for a little while to show them the new car and take them for a short drive. Then we went to eat at my in-laws house. My mother in law was in pain (nerve pain in her leg) so they took her to the ER. She has a various health issues that kept her there for the rest of the weekend and still. I hope she is improving and her pain is gone by now. We ate and then drove back home. Monday we didn’t do anything except lay around all day. I’ve been watching the NBA playoffs so that has been keeping me busy at night.
Monty Kamath 