Dear Guitar Center Saginaw Michigan

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I don’t normally like to blast anyone publicly.  But this experience has left me very bitter and I will not be giving Guitar Center my business again.  Just because I’m inexperienced at guitars, does not make me stupid.  I certainly don’t appreciate being treated as such when my suggestion not only gets ignored, but had they tried it, it would have worked as you’ll see in the video below.

On July 22, 2024, I just finished up my yearly cardiology appointment.  I had brought my Fender Acoustasonic Player Telecaster with me.  I live 3 hours away from Saginaw, which has the closest Guitar Center to me.  I was interested in using their Trade-In Program as I’ve just never been very happy with my guitar.

The frets are horrible and will hurt your fingers even after I had them filed down some (at a more local guitar tech).  While it was in the shop, I had the strings changed and had the tech check the intonation.  If there was a problem then, he never mentioned it.  Still with the fixes, I never really liked the sound of this guitar.  So I decided I wanted to try and trade it in for an actual acoustic guitar.

Anyway, I went in the Saginaw Guitar Center and asked if the program was still available.  They said yes, but because of the whole CrowdStrike issue, they were unable to do it that day.  But could offer me an estimate of what my guitar would be worth.  So I went and got the guitar out of the car.

They took the guitar to the tech bench and I could see the tech trying to use a tool in the truss rod access hole.  He kept moving the tool rapidly from side to side.  This confused me and I walked over and asked what was wrong.  He told me that he couldn’t find the truss rod.  I found that to be odd.  So as a tech savvy person in my other fields in my life, I immediately thought I have everything that came with my guitar in the case the guitar came in.  So I grabbed the truss rod tool (which is an appropriately sized Allen (hex) Key).  I offered it to the tech.  He refused and said the tool he was using is the same size.  Then he tilted the guitar up.  Using a flashlight and a set of magnifying glasses said he didn’t see anything but threads in the opening.  Then handed the guitar back and said my truss rod was incomplete and he could no longer help me.

I’ve never had good service at this Guitar Center to begin with.  This of course, makes me even more angry.  I was shunned at my suggestion and treated like an idiot.  I really don’t like being treated this way.  So I made this video after I had calmed down enough to do so.  Just to prove that I’m not an idiot and that I don’t like being lied to.

So Guitar Center.  Specifically the one in Saginaw Michigan.  I will no longer support your company in any way.  Nor will I suggest you with people seeking new gear, repairs or anything related to your company.

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One Year Weight Goal

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One Year Weight GoalIt’s been one year since I stood on my scale and had finally reached my ultimate weight loss goal of 175 pounds!  Life has been very good since I lost 185 pounds.  For the last year, I’ve been able to keep my weight between 175 and 180 consistently.  People said I wouldn’t be able to loose the weight.  People said once I lost the weight, I’d simply gain it back.  People telling me I can’t do something is my greatest motivator.  Just like when I was told I would never make it in the military in 1994.  Not only did I make it, I left with honors and awards 😀

While my heart problems haven’t gotten any better.  Thanks to the weight loss they haven’t gotten any worse and I still function very well at work and at home.

My knee problems have lessened as I no longer have to carry the extra weight around.  Though at some point I will need to get my knee replaced.  I just can’t afford a 6-8 week recovery time.  I can still perform my work duties just fine.

My osteoarthritis isn’t as bad as it was when I was heavier.  I get injections quarterly in my knee and my wrists only bother me in humid or very cold weather.  I have a prescription ointment that I use for that, but it’s not often at all.

The best part is I don’t feel old most days.  I have way more energy than I’ve had in decades.  Life is pretty awesome for having been through so many things in the past.

I also see things differently now that I don’t eat junk food regularly.  I’ve found much healthier alternative ways to eat my every day foods I’ve always enjoyed.  Without losing any of the enjoyment!  Learning to be a good cook and healthy baker has been fun!

To those who don’t think Keto is a healthy way to live, I completely understand.  This is why I was never fully Keto.  I’m Cyclical Keto.  I still eat everything I love and enjoy.  I just re-arranged when I eat them.  Add in daily fasting of 12 hours from 10pm to noon.  I find I don’t lack any nutrients and there’s always vitamin supplements if you think you’re missing something important in your daily intake.  I’m living proof that what I do works and all my doctors praise my efforts.  Yes, willpower is very much key to succeeding.

The only side effect I don’t understand is why I’m more popular now.  I’m still me.  Does physical looks really matter so much?

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Doing Things I’ve Put Off

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Doing Things I've Put OffOne of the biggest advantages of being single, is doing things you end up putting off because the combined goals of a couple don’t always match. Especially in the case of opposites attract. Inevitably some dreams and goals get put off for the greater goals of the unity.

I’m excited to be able to do things I’ve put off for years and years because of having shared resources.  Now I am able to focus solely on my own goals and dreams.

I had a bucket list that I never thought I would finish.  Once I bought my house, I found I did them all.  Now it’s time to enjoy all the things I couldn’t before now.

Examples are:

I now own a set of high quality drums.  Not the cheap thrift store ones I had as a kid in 1986.  Because of compromises and shared goals, I sold them in 1989.  That shared goal had me put off my dreams of playing drums again until 2013 when I bought my Roland TD-11KV set.  I was then able to expand my dreams by buying some really sweet guitars!

Plus I always wanted my own music studio.  Before I was single, I had no drums.  So why have a studio?  Now I have my own house with a room that I will convert to a studio in the next year or two.

Speaking of my own house.  I could never have much say as to how things were decorated.  As a gamer and lover of fantasy worlds of knights, wizards, castles and dragon; I am now able to decorate my house exactly as I want with all the cool pictures and decorations of a person with my tastes.

Cooking was never my forte before.  So many times I had to eat things cooked for me that I didn’t really care for.  Now I get to not only eat exactly what I like, but I’ve learned to become quite the cook!  I also have learned to take all my favorite dishes and make them super tasty and healthy!

Side note: I’m almost a year celebrating my loss of 185 pounds and I’m still averaging 175 pounds!!  I’m super excited that I feel better than ever and look so slim!

I now get to watch my favorite movies!  Listen to my music all the time!  I’m free to do things at my own leisure.

I get to learn new things and buy things as I please.  It’s a nice feeling having this kind of freedom.  I’m open to dating someone still, but this time I need to have some similar interests.  This whole opposites attract never worked well for me.

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No to Consoles

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No to ConsolesTry as I may.  I just cannot get used to a controller.  Whether it’s the native Steam Deck controls or the Xbox controller I bought and mainly used while my deck was connected to my TV.  Plus, my favorite games don’t play as well on a controller (except GTA V).

Everything just never stopped feeling clunky and 40ish years of using a keyboard and mouse to play games with has really become like an extension of myself.  Not just for gaming.  But coding, editing and of course writing.  LOL  I still write by hand like a third grader.  I always tell people there’s a reason I prefer a keyboard.  The problem comes in when I write for pleasure and end up adding <code> to it 😉

So I sold my Steam Deck and all it’s peripherals for $400 to a co-worker.  I’m a computer gamer now and forever.

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Doing Better Single

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Doing Better SingleIn 2012 I went through 3 major heart attacks in a two-week period.  I was morbidly obese.  I was lazy and my heart became enlarged.  I was so weak and tired.  This was shortly after splitting up with my third wife.

I’ve been through three marriages.  Two ended because they were unhappy that we were not financially well off.  Even though we had two incomes.  One was just a scam and I made it out before they succeeded.  During my third marriage I had a job that made nearly $50,000 a year.  In 1999 that was amazing.  Yet we lived in a trailer and were mainly just getting by but eating out more than we should have.  Having basic cars.  Not having money in the bank.  However that job at Gateway was short lived as it was outsourced to India in 2001.

Looking back I never realized something.  Until I was faced with death, I always depended on someone else to make it through life.  I was super scared to be alone.  I believed with all certainty that the only way to afford a home was with a two-person income.  Or working 3 jobs as a single person which would make living in a home pointless.  Plus for every marriage I had, I also had a bankruptcy as we were always so in debt.

The past 12 years for me have been very interesting and enlightening:

  • 2012 / 2013 I just saved up money and moved back to Michigan.  Worked out a plan to pay my bills on-time every time!  Started rebuilding my credit.
  • 2013 – I got my own apartment.
  • 2014 – I changed from a high stress tech job entered a lower stress food industry job.  I took my talent for making people laugh and made my job not only fun, but more profitable.
  • 2015 – Changed job, same industry.  Tried various diet plans, but didn’t have much success.  Permanently injured my right knee (still have yet to have knee replacement surgery).
  • 2016 / 2019 – By this time I switched restaurants four times.  I was making money enough to live on my own for 7 years.  No girlfriend or roommate needed.
  • 2020 – I figured out the secret to losing weight effortlessly.  Stop eating stupid shit!  Also I discovered if I kept track of my income, I could spend it more wisely and merged it with my bill paying plan.  Plus at this time my credit score was doing really well.  Started making my dreams come true.
  • 2021 – Lost 100 pounds.  Had a decent savings account.
  • 2022 – Lost another 60 pounds.  Bought a decent car.
  • 2023 – I’m now maintaining a healthy weight of 175 pounds and I have more energy and happiness than I’ve had in decades!  Bought my own house.

It’s now 2024 and I’ve completed the bucket list I set for myself years ago.  I did it all on my own.  No girlfriend.  No wife.  I’ve grown to enjoy my solitude as well.  Just have a couple of people in my life that can’t figure out the definition of solitude.  I hope they learn soon.

All in all, I’ve had 36 serious relationships in my lifetime.  Not proud of it.  I’m not a woman who’s goal in life is to have a high body count.  But I have noticed something else now.  Every time I was married, even though we had more money together, we spent more than we made as well.  Now that I’m single, I have more money and I’m not hard up for anything.  I’m beginning to believe that another word for poor is WIFE.

I digress.  I hope to keep my success going for many years so that I may finally get to enjoy life on my terms finally.

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