I'm Dying .... ( as said by the wicked witch)

That's my laptop battery I hear, screaming it in pop up language. I suspected this was happening, when I watched my battery icon drain away in a short amount of time away from the umbilical chord. I got the pop up window that told me it was going to soon depart this world, time to order a new one, click here.

So I clicked. It takes me directly to the Dell website and showed me all the lovely new batteries I can purchase. I was at the point where it would have been click and pay, but then I looked at the prices. Zowie! $135 for a new battery! Oh no stinking way was I going to pay that much, I hoped. So once again, it's finger walking time though google.

I put in my battery needs in the Google search bar and came up with some alternatives. I tend to be skeptical with wanna be's and sorta likes. I also have found out, unhappily, that free shipping is usually more sketchy in most companies that you don't recognize as reputable. Don't order from them. So Amazon, the on line store where America shops (sorry Sears) has a couple of good dealers. I read the reviews and decided that for about $50 I can replace my battery. It seems a bit scary, but I'm going to give it a try. Amazon will go to bat for me if I am not satisfied. The techie types that reviewed this battery said they were a bit leery about ordering a battery that was nearly a third of the price that Dell was selling them for, but were very satisfied. So I took the plunge. It should be here next week. I hope I am not disappointed.

Now as to the unhappy experience with free shipping. I ordered a new dog door. The last dash and crash through the dog door ended up warping it to the point it is just too drafty. It really bows and doesn't fit flush with the frame of the door. So I went on line (yep) and found the same door at a reasonable price with FREE SHIPPING! That is quite a bargain. So I clicked, it shipped and arrived yesterday. On the box it says,
"small/petite/pequena". Stick dog is none of those. I ordered "large/grande". So I called them and said, "you made a mistake" where as someone with a very distinct Indian accent said to me, "the return policy is you pay to ship it back and we will send you a new one" where as I said, "you made the mistake, why am I paying for it", where he said, "it is our policy, thank you for doing business with us". Guess I am shipping it back and praying for a "large/grande" door the next go round.

It's all good, mostly. I believe I'll win in the end, in some strange way. I really would rather have bought the dog door at the pet store like I did 18 years ago with this one, but they don't carry them anymore. Too much competition on line, I suppose.