Microsoft Could Not Make it Any More Difficult to Cancel XBOX Live

I was a late bloomer to the gaming world. I didn't start until I was almost 30. Then I made up for lost time by beating expert levels and starting a gaming blog and Twitter with in a year. But, my career was short lived. I got pregnant and first-person shooters made me want to puke. 

In the last two years I've played a total of 3 or 4 hours online. I'm too tired to stay up until 11 pm to play  with our gaming buddies (I only really like cooperative games) and explosions kick my mamabear instincts into overdrive.  My XBOX Live Gold membership was a big fat waste of $59.99 a year we could be spending on diapers, so when the renewal came up I decided to cancel.

XBOX is owed by Microsoft, as in computers. XBOX Live is online gaming, as in the internet. My renewal was via automatic payment, as in something I set up on my computer via the internet. This should be easy to do via those methods, right?

Nope.

When I logged into my account and clicked "manage" this is what I got:

You can change your credit card, renew your (already automatic renewal?), but you have to ask how to cancel.

When you click that text you are redirected to a support page which requires choosing from a number of drop down menus. When you finally get to "Cancel my subscription" you are required to enter your phone number and then wait for a customer service representative to call you back.

Um, WTF?

I did that and was told I would be called back in under 5 minutes. It took 8. Then I had to wait another 3 to be connected. When I finally got through, the customer service rep James was extremely nice and tried to make the process as painless as possible while he tried to locate my account with my phone number and address (um, how about the things actually connected to it on the user experience end like gamertag and email?), ask why I was canceling (evidently the only two reasons are work and kids. I was option 2.), go through his mandatory sales pitch about all the other crap you can do on XBOX Live (I can watch Netflix through my husband's account), and then of course ask when I planned on getting my kid an account. He's 18 months old. It will be a while. 

So something that should have taken a minute and a half took nearly a half an hour. Not a gigantic waste of time, but when I'm trying to cancel something because I don't have time to do it, I shouldn't be forced to waste time having to cancel it. Also? The internet. I was canceling an online gaming account. I should be able to do it online, Microsoft. 

Nothing makes me want to cancel a service more than making it super hard to cancel a service.

Update: This is the ridiculous process you have to go through if you click through the link sent to you in the email that alerts you to the automatic renewal. If you login to your XBL account of your own volition you can cancel the subscription easily. Its only if you use their "useful" alert email that you get introduced to the van full of kittens and candy.

Music Monday: Kiana Brown "Hey Chica"

I've been lucky enough to have a few awesome pre-teen girls enter my life lately, and this is now on my "You Are Awesome" playlist (along with pretty much anything Willow Smith does).

Its unfortunate that the video starts with boys, but its body positive and inclusive - and most importantly has a fun dance beat. And let's be honest we could all use a fun dance beat today.

Your Friday Awesome: Sonia Sotomayor, "being a princess is not a career"

Nerd Alert: JSTOR has...wait for it...a store.

One of the most exciting things for me about going to graduate school at a major university rather than the tiny liberal arts college I went to for undergrad, was the sheer amount of resources I could access from the comfort of my couch. 

I probably killed ten full grown trees printing out pdfs from JSTOR - I was in the humanities. We take notes. Actual notes. With a pen. 

Now, JSTOR has a STORE. 

Said store has baby clothes, intended for those PhD candidates who didn't make it out before procreating, I'm sure, but also for those of us who spend far too much time thinking about the things they should have written their thesis on instead.

Your Friday Awesome: Forget the RNC, Meditate On These Water Balloons

That is all.

Here's another toy I will not buy for my son

Didn't you know? Crafting is only for girls, unless you are making heavy equipment. In that case, no girls allowed.

Your Friday Awesome: Ode to Joy Flash Mob

Okay, I have a quibble with the definition of "flash mob," but the beauty of this is amazing. I love the close ups of the crowd reaction, and as a choir nerd the cut to the dad in the choir with his kid on his shoulders makes me want to find a choir to join yesterday.

h/t Shakesville.

The Breeders: Why Walk When Crawling Keeps You Closer to Gross Stuff to Put in Your Mouth?

He is his mother's child in so many ways...

Your Friday Awesome: Forget Unicorns, Whale Spouts Magical Rainbows

Wait for it...shazaam!!!

The Breeders: My child's first birthday was not #Pinterest worthy.

A year ago I pushed a human being out of my body. Now he (lovingly) smears frosting on my pants. But, it is sugar free frosting. A lovely tasty one in the case of the cake my sister made him. A gloppy mess in the case of the cake that I made. Yes, he had two parties. No, they were not Pinterest worthy. Well, maybe Autie's cake was.

Happy birthday.

The Breeders: Separation Anxiety...for Mama

Next week I have to travel for work. Needless to say I'm a bit anxious about it. Any tips for surviving parental separation anxiety are greatly appreciated. But, don't worry I will fully take advantage of the opportunity to sleep - anxiety will not win out over Ambien.

...and why, yes, of course my son already has a cape....

The Breeders: Achieving key parenting milestones

Adam: What did you write your blog post about this week?

Me: Cheerios and maracas.

Adam: Oh, cool.

Yep, this is the new normal. Read about it over on the Patch.

Your Friday Awesome: Calming Manatee

Who doesn't need a little manatee in their day?

The Breeders: First Word? Maybe?

From my new favorite blog, Parenting with Crappy Pictures.

I was an English major who maybe took too many semiotics classes. I also have a friend going to school to be a speech pathologist, so I might be over thinking the whole first word thing, but when the first word is just a shortened version of repeated babbling, its hard to tell.

I don't want to shortchange the kid, but I may also be the only mom who was also kind of hoping it would be "dada." It seems only fair considering he spends all day with him.

The Breeders: A Meaningful Mother's Day

Strong Families cards celebrate all kinds of mamas.

My masters thesis examined how women have used the socially accepted role of "mother" to work towards peace. It had a 23 page bibliography.

I refrained from using any footnotes in my recent Patch blog on the origins of Mother's Day and the many organizations using Mother's Day to call attention to maternal and infant mortality the world over.

I also talked about how I can't wait to get handmade cards and macaroni necklaces.

Music Monday: Sing, Sing a Song (to which your pre-verbal baby can harmonize)

If my kid gets antsy all I need to do is start singing. One day my mom and I needed a new song to sing while she made dinner (thanks, mom!) and I cleaned up the kitchen so we started singing this classic. Neither of us could remember all the words so we just started singing, "la, la, la, la." Turns out those geniuses at Sesame Street in all their 1970s pro-child (and bell bottoms, and polyester shirt) amazingness knew that mom brain could only handle two verses and those are the actual words to the chorus!

But, they also may have proven their knowledge of child development. Last night I was singing this over and over to my kid who, according to my friend studying speech pathology, is at the "jargon" stage in his language development. He doesn't use actual words, but can have a whole conversation and tell you all about his day in words we aren't privy to. After two rounds, he started singing along with the "la, la" chorus. Every. Time.

Well, at least until his dad came in and I tried to show him that our son is obviously a musical genius.

Your Friday Awesome: Gertrude (Beer) Stein

As an English and Women's Studies major, and a lover of Amy Poehler I think this might be the most awesome thing ever. scATX of Speaker's Corner made this and shows you how you can to via Zazzle. 

The Breeders: Eat Like a Baby

Another exciting installment in the "things you don't know to expect when you have a baby" files - having a kid means you have to start eating like an adult - or at least wait until after he goes to bed to have brownies.

The Breeders: Forget College, We're Going to Need a Grocery Fund

When my sister was a toddler, the pediatrician assured my mother that babies can live on a tablespoon of solid food a day. My kid, on the other hand, eats more than most adults do for breakfast. I can only imagine the grocery bill when he's in high school. Growing a giant is gonna be expensive.

Your Friday Awesome: US Suffrage/Bad Romance Parody

I love me a good history lesson with costumes, choreography and humor.