And Updatey One

Hi All,

We really are terrible aren't we?! I've been feeling overwhelmed - I can't quite believe how busy the shop's been. Can you remember at some point I said that people told me that at two years cash flow just becomes easy and I didn't believe them?? Well, I kinda believe them now! Ridiculous! I really feel like I'm into the swing of things now, only taken two years then...

Now, I have ideas and thoughts for blogs coming out of my ears but what I thought I'd do now is one of my big fat updatey/ranty ones and then I'm going to write some with cute and quick ideas for Christmas to help you along. I've already written one of them and I have ideas for three more. I'm hoping more inspiration will come and that maybe June/Sue will help too. In the middle of that, it'd be nice if we could get some normal blogging done too wouldn't it - I've (sort of) been inspired to do a 'what's on the needles' post but I've been taking photos and, honestly, it's bloody scary! So I might keep the extent of my addiction hidden from you, lest you run away in horror.

Firstly, some pretty major news. Just casually received an e-mail t'other day inviting me to design for a new magazine and be paid for it. Just hanging around DESIGNING AND BEING PAID FOR IT! I'll keep you updated with that one because it's in the very early stages and I don't want to jinx it but I also don't know what I'm actually doing yet - that requires me to send the bloke an e-mail back and our internet has been more or less down for a week which leads me neatly onto my next point (read: rant)...

T-Mobile.

T-fucking-Mobile.

T-blasted-Mobile have been providing our internet through the dongle for the two years that we've been open. Now, we're good customers in one sense, we pay on time, no issues, no delays, it's on a direct debit and there's always enough money on there (even if it means I have to buy less wool *sob*). But we don't go over and I don't buy expensive add ons and I'm also not signing up for this 4G malarkey which I think is a myth. I don't believe moving internet can possibly be as fast as broadband. Liars. Anyway, for two years it's been fine. Sometimes we have had to reboot but that's probably happened five times in two years which is fine by me, really no issue.

About three weeks ago we started to have big issues with it not loading quick enough and it just got worse and worse until it was like treacle and then last week it stopped altogether. So I rang T-buggering-Mobile ans spoke to a lovely lady who talked me through uninstalling and reinstalling the software (like I was a five year old but at least she helped). It worked. Brill. But the same thing happened the next day and it only worked when I un and reinstalled. So I rang to explain that I couldn't do this everyday. They agreed and sent me out a new dongle. Brill. Same problem! Leads me to suspect that it's a sim issue but they won't send me a new sim until I've tried the one that we have in a phone that's compatible with T-pratting-Mobile and I don't have one so I can't have a sim. Fine. So I made a complaint and got £10 credit (after speaking to a rude Scottish man who told me that that has never been done in the whole of T-titting-Mobile's history. I don't believe but if I did that's quite a feat isn't it?).

I then asked to be put through to the cancellations department, they obliged and despite some pleading on their part I gave them my 30 days notice of cancellation. Brill. I go away and start searching for new internet providers. It's crossed my mind that we really should have broadband with a wireless router anyway - it just makes sense to me. I find Orange and get quite far with them but tell the lady that I do have to look elsewhere naturally and could she send me an e-mail with a direct number for her and the details we've discussed. No sooner have I got off the phone when I realise that Orange and T-bum-Mobile are the same company. I went home.

The next day, which was yesterday, I decided to ring the lady at Orange back to discuss what sort of customer service I'd be getting from them if they were really so connected with T-shitty-Mobile. Only, the direct number she's given me isn't actually a direct number, it's a number to business customer services. Business customer services can't discuss opening ad account with me but they can put me through... if I have a BT landline. I don't have a BT landline (I thought) but could I possibly still speak to the sales team? No. Apparently, they can't speak to me if I don't have a BT landline. Okay, then I do have a BT landline, how's about that?!? Can I speak to the sales team now? Yes, of course you can. She puts me through to.............. the domestic sales team. Brill. I explained to the lady in domestic sales that I needed to speak to business sales and that I just want to give them some money and that if she could get me directly through then I would be able to give them money but if she can't I'll start to get angry. She says, no probs, I'll get you through but before I do I just have to ask........... do you have a BT landline? Yes, I say, through gritted teeth.

Lovely lady that she is though, she does get me through, I'm not even going to tell you what the first question is. I said no but that's not what I want to discuss, she says I can't talk to you if you don't have a BT landline. I said is it not possible for me to get a BT landline? Is is physically impossible for me to get a BT landline? Is it harder for me  to get a BT landline than to set up a successful business aged 22 with £3000? Has a man not just jumped out of the sky from 60 million billion trillion light years (or something) away? And you're telling me that you can't speak to me because I haven't got something that I can get with a click of my fingers?!??!!?!? And then I said 'forget it, I don't want to be with you' and put the phone down. That was that dream over.

So I rang Vodafone and they didn't give a shit, BT and they were too expensive to be a real contender, Virgin and the lad lied, Plusnet who I liked but I've heard nightmares about and XLN who do our phone at the moment and are good value but I'm a bit pissed off that they tied me into another years contract with them without giving me any notice so I sort of thought I didn't want to deal with them again. And now I've settle on Talktalk. It's not the cheapest but it does seem to be one of the fastest and I liked the guy because he said 'brill' one of my favourite words at the moment and then he said 'is it 'eck as like?'. I think I fell in love so I signed up in the hope that that would persuade him to marry me. It's not worked so far but I like in hope.

So from, nine working days from now we will have broadband with a wireless router that you can use your little smartphones with and then we're one step closer to linking with ravelry to be able to buy and print patterns for you. I just have to work out a space in the shop where the printer can be set up permanently. That'll be a challenge.

I've got more to rant about but I'll either save that for a later date or get over it. Hopefully the latter.

Tomorrow I have a lovely blog to share with you with the first of our ideas for Christmas.

See you then then,

love Eleanor. :)