HAPPY FUCKING CHRISTMAS, INTERNET !!!
The Houghs just got PAID.
So remember a month or so ago when the Rain God - whom I must've blasphemed against at some point in time, I don't know - decided to Old Testament-style smite us while we were camping with our group of friends at a Jellystone Campground over in Silverlake? How my MacBook Pro, SLR and multiple lenses, and several other pricey electronics and miscellaneous items were destroyed in muddy water? Remember all of that?
Well, the insurance company FINALLY paid up.
The entire process took a little too long for my liking, personally, but hey - that's insurance. I'm sure they like getting money from their 'customers' rather than paying it back out when it's needed. We filed our claim after being transferred back and forth between a few different representatives, and told them how the water damage had occurred (how the water came at our tent sideways and was unavoidable, seeing how fast it had come on, and how it hadn't flooded from underneath the tent.)
Both Kris and I wanted to be 100% honest with them with regards to what was lost - we didn't overstate anything, only looking to replace the value of the items actually lost, that's it - and so we filed our claim and awaited their response. A couple weeks later, they sent a team of guys out to our house to 'inspect' and 'test' our destroyed items. They took apart my MacBook Pro, which I've owned since 2009, and - I kid you not - there was mud and even a little water still inside of it, all over the circuit boards. They tested the SLR - a t4i - and its shutter release, even when switched to 'off,' would fire non-stop. They tested the lenses, and saw that those were toast as well. When all was said and done, they verified our initial claim: everything was a total loss.
A couple more weeks went by, and we hadn't heard anything, so Kris began to call the company. She'd get the run-around from different reps, saying she'd have to verify this or that with Mr. or Mrs. Random Person in such-and-such a department. A bunch of red tape, basically. Fortunately, we happen to live a few houses down from an insurance agent from the very same company, so we had them go over these folks' heads and start asking other people questions. Within a day we had verification that a check had been cut for us and was in the mail, headed our way.
Definitely helps to know someone in the industry, folks.
We had initially been told that we would have to pay $1,000 out of pocket for our deductible, and that we'd have to make all of the purchases out of our own pockets and that they would reimburse us for the expenses. This was less than ideal, obviously, but we were willing to take it if it meant recuperating those initial losses. You can imagine our elation, therefore, when we realized we wouldn't have to pay back any deductible, and we wouldn't have to pay a cent out of pocket - they simply cut us a check for the amount of items that were destroyed.
So, basically, we just got to go shopping. I want to talk with you about the two big-ticket items that were replaced, if only so I can nerd out a bit, here.
I replaced my old SLR - the Canon T4i - with a model that was a few grades or so higher, seeing how the amount the new one cost was equal to what I paid for my old one in 2013 (remember?) After much deliberation, I went with the Canon 77D, which is a quasi-pro, middle-tier SLR that has more professional-grade features to it (which I'm going to have to spend a lot of time figuring out.)
The settings are far more advanced than my old camera's were (the t4 series was a step up from their entry-level SLR, so it was pretty easy to use), but I can definitely get some quality shots with them.
Having a Chromebook laptop already (which I use religiously for work and around the house just browsing the Internet, and which I'm actually using right now), I didn't really need to spend the high-price of replacing my old MacBook Pro. Why pay extra for the portability aspect of a second laptop? For the same price, I could pack far more RAM, memory, storage, graphics, and processing power into a desktop model and keep it down in my office (known around these parts as the Captain's Quarters.)
Therefore, I pulled the trigger on a suped-up iMac (I selected higher specs across the board so it'd be a frickin' workhorse.) She's gorgeous, and suits my needs perfectly as a graphic design computer (I wanted an Apple for my graphic design work - Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. - as well as my movie-editing and Garageband side-projects.)
We replaced several other items, but I won't bore you any more with the details - I doubt any of you honestly care all that much anyway - but hell, I'm excited. What, at the time of the storm, seemed to be the End of All Things, turned out to be a Blessing in Disguise. Sure, we had to go a month without my trusty camera and computer, but after that period of time I was able to seriously upgraded both, free of charge.
If that isn't proof of Divine Providence, hell - I don't know what is.
The Houghs just got PAID.
So remember a month or so ago when the Rain God - whom I must've blasphemed against at some point in time, I don't know - decided to Old Testament-style smite us while we were camping with our group of friends at a Jellystone Campground over in Silverlake? How my MacBook Pro, SLR and multiple lenses, and several other pricey electronics and miscellaneous items were destroyed in muddy water? Remember all of that?
Well, the insurance company FINALLY paid up.
Definitely helps to know someone in the industry, folks.
We had initially been told that we would have to pay $1,000 out of pocket for our deductible, and that we'd have to make all of the purchases out of our own pockets and that they would reimburse us for the expenses. This was less than ideal, obviously, but we were willing to take it if it meant recuperating those initial losses. You can imagine our elation, therefore, when we realized we wouldn't have to pay back any deductible, and we wouldn't have to pay a cent out of pocket - they simply cut us a check for the amount of items that were destroyed.
So, basically, we just got to go shopping. I want to talk with you about the two big-ticket items that were replaced, if only so I can nerd out a bit, here.
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| 1. The Canon 77D |
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Having a Chromebook laptop already (which I use religiously for work and around the house just browsing the Internet, and which I'm actually using right now), I didn't really need to spend the high-price of replacing my old MacBook Pro. Why pay extra for the portability aspect of a second laptop? For the same price, I could pack far more RAM, memory, storage, graphics, and processing power into a desktop model and keep it down in my office (known around these parts as the Captain's Quarters.)Therefore, I pulled the trigger on a suped-up iMac (I selected higher specs across the board so it'd be a frickin' workhorse.) She's gorgeous, and suits my needs perfectly as a graphic design computer (I wanted an Apple for my graphic design work - Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. - as well as my movie-editing and Garageband side-projects.)
We replaced several other items, but I won't bore you any more with the details - I doubt any of you honestly care all that much anyway - but hell, I'm excited. What, at the time of the storm, seemed to be the End of All Things, turned out to be a Blessing in Disguise. Sure, we had to go a month without my trusty camera and computer, but after that period of time I was able to seriously upgraded both, free of charge.
If that isn't proof of Divine Providence, hell - I don't know what is.
- Brian
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