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A journal of a Cajun's life wet shaving

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Berwick12

All insurance companies have pre negotiated replacement rental rates with all car rental companies. Depending on how much USAA is giving you a per day on the replacement rental iIt's up to the rental agent if they keep you at that price, get you under that price, charge you more.
Enterprise has the most neighborhood locations but there is also Hertz, Avis and budget. I work for the latter two. You, the renter gets a choice of whichever rental car company you choose to go through.
 
cajunrph

cajunrph

Berwick12 said:
All insurance companies have pre negotiated replacement rental rates with all car rental companies. Depending on how much USAA is giving you a per day on the replacement rental iIt's up to the rental agent if they keep you at that price, get you under that price, charge you more.
Enterprise has the most neighborhood locations but there is also Hertz, Avis and budget. I work for the latter two. You, the renter gets a choice of whichever rental car company you choose to go through.
Click to expand...
I understand insurance companies pay for the smallest cars, and giving out a bigger one has financial consequences. I have rented many cars due to accidents before and never was I once charged more. They took the insurance payment and went with it, The problem is Enterprise had 10 days to find a car, and didn't. Or did they and something else is going on? The Branch Manager told me he(my son) wasn't getting a car because of my wife due to the interaction they had, which the rep fired the first shot. If I arranged for someone else to bring Cam to get the car, she would have released it to me today. I have no one to take him but my wife, I work and, my son's mother works, no one is around. I shouldn't have to find someone to take him because someone doesn't want to deal with my wife. That is pi$$ poor customer service. To top it off, when my wife walked in, the branch manager walked to the back and never came back out, allowing one of her subordinates to deal with what she did. I did look for other rental companies yesterday but we don't have many down here. It was too late to find one. A second little twist is the lack of communication USAA is giving us, to be honest, this is the poorest communication I have ever had dealing with insurance companies. I have heard nothing today from USAA, despite 2 messages sent directly to the adjuster. I don't expect her to work miracles, I do expect some information. She, the USAA adjuster, was talking to my wife yesterday trying to work something out, and this morning it all went silent. Broken promises and chitty customer service, maybe they are having their own personal crisis. My mom pointed this out to me, and I did pray for all involved yesterday to work it out and for general peace. It seems the branch manager isn't willing to do anything. There are multiple posts on a Facebook group about this particular branch and how they will not use them again. My wife started one about this and the responses are about 50/50 no problem with them and I'll never use them again. 50% saying they won't use them again should tell you something about this. This is beyond not being able to find a car, they have a car, and they won't release it. That is bullchit. Straight up bullchit and abysmal customer service.
 
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B

Berwick12

cajunrph said:
They took the insurance payment and went with it, The problem is Enterprise had 10 days to find a car, and didn't.
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I might be misunderstanding but if the first party is true, it's insurance fraud. Replacement rentals are always direct billed at the end (for Avis and budget at least). The shop is rarely done on time, adjusters take a while to get to the claim. Enterprise shouldn't/can't bill USAA for a car you aren't in.

Yes, with 10 days they should have secured that car.

Wishing you luck, I'm glad he will have the option of a car tomorrow.
 
cajunrph

cajunrph

300+ Shaves in 2024 97 of 300+
Vintage April 2024 12/30
Shave Date 4/14/2024
DE: 1954 Gillette Super Speed Flare Tip
Blade: Shark Super Stainless (2)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: Palmolive Men’s Shave Cream
Brush: Zenith 502 Blue Wave
Post-shave: Alum Block, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Momma Bear's Winter Post-Shave Balm.
Rating: 28/30 10 for Comfort, 9 for cuts and weepers(1), 9 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS on the face, and DFS+++ neck.

Notes:

48 hour growth shave today and it was a great one. I found the Shark blade I thought was tossed a few weeks back, I’ll finish out the 5 customary shaves with the Shark in the coming week. Todays shave was a bit rougher than any of the GSB shaves, but this on is on 48 hours of growth. The resistant sea lion fur on my right jawline was whacked down today without a problem. The weeper occurred in the same area as the one Friday did but this time I had to use the styptic pencil to get it to stop bleeding. A point was deducted for the need of the styptic pencil. I did have a bit additional feedback from the Alum Block. No aftershave as I try to limit extra scents on Sundays I have to serve mass.

I dropped my Bride off at her daughter’s house in Louisiana. She’ll spend a few weeks running around with her daughters and grandchildren. I’ll take care of the fur babies.

No resolution on the Enterprise fiasco and now it doesn’t even matter. Cam can use my wife’s car now. I don’t need her car for anything and can manage with just the motorcycle. Besides his car will likely he fixed this week anyway. I am disappointed with USAA for their total lack of communication Friday in getting a car. We had one lined up at another Enterprise location the town over, but our adjuster was AWOL when we needed her to make the change. My son made it for the 24 hours without a car just fine. First world problems. I’ll make a report to USAA about what happened and the lack of any communication and close the door on this. I have other more worthy matters to devote my attention to.

That’s all for today. I want to wish all a blessed Sunday, and may all your shaves be the best.

IMG_2921.jpeg
 
cajunrph

cajunrph

Berwick12 said:
might be misunderstanding but if the first party is true, it's insurance fraud
Click to expand...
What I was referring to is in previous claims when I needed a car, if they didn’t have the smaller car the insurance paid for, the rental company got me the upgrade at to cost. I know this is at their discretion to upgrade. USAA hasn’t paid Enterprise on this claim to my knowledge. I’ll make sure to let the adjuster know we did not get a car from them.

It seems that those who have an issue with this office are mostly those with insurance claims. Not my problem any longer, my son has a car now to drive. Those booking a car come and go. You still have to take care of the insurance claims which the manager refused to do for us.

Thanks for the insider information. I know it’s a stressful job to have especially when corporate squeezes you for profits but doesn’t provide enough cars for the insurance claims. The threat to remove my son from the list to get a car, that’s straight up bullchit. When you had 10 days to fine one. She failed, then cocked an attitude which my wife matched. And she didn’t like that. But it’s behind us now. On to the next adventure.
 
cajunrph

cajunrph

300+ Shaves in 2024 98 of 300+
Vintage April 2024 13/30
Shave Date 4/15/2024
DE: 1940's Gillette Fat Handle Tech
Blade: Shark Super Stainless (3)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: PAA Hotel Cecil
Brush: Ds Cosmetics 24mm Two Band Badger
Post-shave: Alum Block, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Momma Bear's Winter Post-Shave Balm, PAA Hotel Cecil A/S.
Rating: 29/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(0), 9 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS on the face, and DFS+++ neck.

Notes:

Fantastic Monday Morning shave with the Tech and the Shark on its third shave. Compared to the GSB, the Shark has just a hint more bite to it, a slightly increased amount of roughness was felt today. I'm literally splitting hairs here, or Sea Lion fur, but it is a difference. Speaking of those dastardly Sea Lions, they are off the dock again, in the bay being splashed in the face by the joyful dolphins. I was able to completely obliterate the problem sea lion fur patch on the right jawline, it is gone, outa here, nada, zilch, smooth as a dolphin. I did have more feedback from the alum block on the neck, which is sort of expected due to the close shave I obtained today on the neck. Feeling the right jawline now, it's mowed down the best it has ever been. One of those shaves where you'll find yourself feeling your face just for the heck of it. Hotel Cecil is a homage to the old Barbersol, a barbershop scent if there ever was one, and a quite nice one indeed. With my bride 6 hours away, and the cats not wanting to give any approval until their bellies were filled, I will go with my assessment of the scent, durn fine one.

I dropped my lovely bride off at her daughter's house in Louisiana this weekend, we left Friday after work. It's about a 6-hour drive with stops and I had plenty of time to think, as I tend to ride in silence or listen to podcasts on the road. Years ago I stopped listening to the radio due to the fact that songs I wanted to listen to were few and far in between, the in-between was filled with commercial after commercial. I got frustrated and just turned off the radio and rode in silence. Some of the content I listen to is Catholic-oriented media, either podcasts or daily reflections, other times it is adventure motorcycles or Revzilla's motorcycle podcast. Sometimes it's just silence, which gets you thinking usually about the troubles going on in your life. With the Enterprise fiasco going on in my mind, and the fact my son was without a car at that time, that was much on my mind. Much of my lenten meditations for this year was surrendering to Jesus, and one prayer that was prayed often was the Surrender Prayer, a short prayer that goes like this:

Jesus I surrender my life to you, take care of everything.
​
As I reviewed the events of the Enterprise fiasco, the more upset I got, going over the conversations I had with the branch manager, the lack of communication with the USAA adjuster who promised to search for a car the first thing in the morning, the fact Enterprise had a car for Cam, but wouldn't release it to him if my wife drove him there. All of it was gnawing at me, getting under my skin, making me madder than a wet hen, using up my energy and concentration, then I remembered the surrender prayer. I kept on repeating it every time I felt the urge to rehash the events, over and over I said the prayer while droning down I-10 towards Baton Rouge, over and over I prayed it. There was nothing I could do at that moment to fix anything. It's the I in most thoughts that get us in trouble, I need to do this or I need to fix this or I need to ... I need to..., I, I, I, I. I can do nothing without the grace of Jesus in my life. After repeating the prayer for some time, I felt a sense of calmness, nothing had changed, Cam did not have a car and it seemed as if no one was going to help us, but I felt a sense of relief, a sense that we'd make it. I tend to worry so much about what I can't control, burning up precious energy and time with what does not matter. A simple 11-word prayer set me at ease for the rest of the trip. Much like forgiveness is a process, surrender is a process as well. It won't happen all in one day. But little by little, surrendering what I can't control and leaving that little bit of stress behind will lead to a more joyful life. Take care of what I can, do my due diligence, and clean up my own life, the rest will fall into place, it may not look like the place I envisioned, but it will be where I need to be. Less I, I, I, more Jesus I surrender my life to you, take care of everything.


'Tis all for today, gotta head back to the Monday grind. I wish all a blessed Monday, and may all your shaves be the best.

IMG_2933.jpeg
 
cajunrph

cajunrph

300+ Shaves in 2024 99 of 300+
Vintage April 2024 14/30
Shave Date 4/16/2024
DE: 1955 Rocket HD 500
Blade: Shark Super Stainless (4)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: Cella Crema da Barba Green
Brush: Zenith 507-IF Italian Flag
Post-shave: Alum Block, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Momma Bear's Winter Post-Shave Balm, Pierre Cardin Pour Monsieur EDT
Rating: 28/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(0), 8 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS on the face, and DFS+++ neck.

Notes:

The fourth shave on the Shark proved to be a little more harsh. All the close shaves I’ve been getting is causing the irritation to creep up with each shave, at least that’s what I’m feeling is occurring. Today I decided to just take it easy. Three passes and be done with it. I felt the blade a tad more today than yesterday, and more than any shave with the GSB, but in the end it delivered a blood free smooth and fairly comfortable shave. The sea lions left a hair (pun intended) more fur on the dock as the were scurried off of it today. The dolphins are happy too, blowing up the schools of shad for their morning breakfast. I topped it off with Pierre Cardin Pour Monsieur EDT which paired nicely with the Cella. I tub loaded the Cella as it’s almost the consistency of my crops. I did have to face lather a bit more today to generate enough lather, which may have attributed to the perceived hardness of the blade. Nonetheless I had a great shave this moening

I was going to join @Balin and @Jay21 and enjoy a salad for supper, buttttttttttt it didn’t happen. I had some Bratwurst that needed to be cooked so I stuffed them with some Carolina Reaper pepper jack cheese, wrapped them in bacon and threw them into the air fryer. 15 minutes later my son and I enjoyed some brats, chips and Beers. Well he had water, his beer palate hasn’t developed yet. A durn fine meal to end a busy day with.

That’s all for today, I wish all a blessed Tuesday, and may all your shaves be the best.

IMG_2939.jpeg
 
Jay21

Jay21

Collecting wife bonus parts
cajunrph said:
300+ Shaves in 2024 99 of 300+
Vintage April 2024 14/30
Shave Date 4/16/2024
DE: 1955 Rocket HD 500
Blade: Shark Super Stainless (4)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: Cella Crema da Barba Green
Brush: Zenith 507-IF Italian Flag
Post-shave: Alum Block, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Momma Bear's Winter Post-Shave Balm, Pierre Cardin Pour Monsieur EDT
Rating: 28/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(0), 8 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS on the face, and DFS+++ neck.

Notes:

The fourth shave on the Shark proved to be a little more harsh. All the close shaves I’ve been getting is causing the irritation to creep up with each shave, at least that’s what I’m feeling is occurring. Today I decided to just take it easy. Three passes and be done with it. I felt the blade a tad more today than yesterday, and more than any shave with the GSB, but in the end it delivered a blood free smooth and fairly comfortable shave. The sea lions left a hair (pun intended) more fur on the dock as the were scurried off of it today. The dolphins are happy too, blowing up the schools of shad for their morning breakfast. I topped it off with Pierre Cardin Pour Monsieur EDT which paired nicely with the Cella. I tub loaded the Cella as it’s almost the consistency of my crops. I did have to face lather a bit more today to generate enough lather, which may have attributed to the perceived hardness of the blade. Nonetheless I had a great shave this moening

I was going to join @Balin and @Jay21 and enjoy a salad for supper, buttttttttttt it didn’t happen. I had some Bratwurst that needed to be cooked so I stuffed them with some Carolina Reaper pepper jack cheese, wrapped them in bacon and threw them into the air fryer. 15 minutes later my son and I enjoyed some brats, chips and Beers. Well he had water, his beer palate hasn’t developed yet. A durn fine meal to end a busy day with.

That’s all for today, I wish all a blessed Tuesday, and may all your shaves be the best.

View attachment 1830603
Click to expand...
The pig that made your bratwurst ate a salad, so it's like the same thing as you eating a salad. I think that's the transitive properties of mathematics, and mathematics lever lie. Chips and beer are also salads, with beer being a liquid salad. It's all good.
 
cajunrph

cajunrph

300+ Shaves in 2024 100 of 300+
Vintage April 2024 15/30
Shave Date 4/17/2024
DE: 1957 Ball End Tech
Blade: Shark Super Stainless (5)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: ARKO!!!
Brush: Ds Cosmetics 24mm Two Band Badger "Mardi Gras"
Post-shave: Alum Block, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Momma Bear's Winter Post-Shave Balm, Bootleggers El Dorado
Rating: 28/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(0), 8 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS on the face, and DFS+++ neck.

Notes:

Shave number 5 in the books for Shark, and it provided a great shave, although as with yesterday, a tad rougher than the GSBs were. With the number of close shaves on the problem fur patch on the right jawline, I feel like some irritation is creeping up on me. Today I took it easy and did not chase BBS on the right side, only the 3 normal passes, and only one chase on the left side. The results were a very close shave, just a bit off of the best of shaves. I did have more feedback from the alum block today, which is more evidence that irritation is building up. ARKO! did a fine job of lathering, although I needed to give the brush a few swirls before the last pass to generate enough lather. The scent of Bootleggers El Dorado is always a welcomed addition to the end of the shave. EDIT: The Ds Mardi Gras Brush is still a little bit scratchy, more cycles of soaking and towel stropping are needed.

No salad last night, more bacon wrapped brats, all my salad components are a tad long in the tooth and more fit for composting than consumption, I need to go get some more components. Since my son is using the car, I am using the Motorcycle for all my needs, yesterday I needed to get some dog food as we were out, a stop by Pet Smart and 30lbs of dog food was strapped to the passenger pavilion of the Beemer with Rok Straps. Worked like a charm and didn't budge an inch. I feel a challenge coming on of what I can get home safely in the Beemer. Monday, in addition to the buns and chips for the Brats, two 6 packs of IPA made it home in the Beemer also.

'Tis all for today, I want to wish everyone a blessed Wednesday, and may all your shaves be the best.

IMG_2949.jpeg
 
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cajunrph

cajunrph

300+ Shaves in 2024 101 of 300+
Vintage April 2024 16/30
Shave Date 4/18/2024
DE: 1948 Super Speed
Blade: Nacet (1)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: Razor Emporium Heritage
Brush: PAA Atomic Rocket 26mm Synthetic
Post-shave: Alum Block, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Momma Bear's Winter Post-Shave Balm, Razor Emporium Heritage Balm, Brut EDT
Rating: 28/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(0), 8 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS on the face, and DFS+++ neck.

Notes:

My synthetic brushes have sat idle since DecemBOAR of 2023 when I started to use natural brushes for all my shaves. I figured I needed to give the Synthetic brushes another chance before I mothballed them. The Nacet blade has been absent for even longer than that. Today, both did a fantastic job on the shave. The Atomic Rocket didn't sling the lather around much at all, and face lathered quite well, as well as any natural hair brush I have. The Nacet was another pleasant surprise today. What I remember before is that it wasn't up there with the best of them, today it was every bit as smooth as the GSB/Lords of the World and provided a fantastic shave without any touch-up work. I decided to forgo any touch-up work to give the neck time to recover from the very close shaves I have been achieving lately. There is a minute amount of sea lion fur left on the right jawline, a bit more on the left side than on the best of days. I did not intend to forgo any touch-up work at the beginning of the shave, but as I washed off the lather after the third pass, I had a really good shave, well above average, and I decided that it was more than good enough and called it done. I am quite pleased with the shave today. Too bad the Nacet is going away like the GSB as both were made in the PPI plant in St Pete. A stock-up order is coming soon for the blade apocalypse. The scents of Heritage and Brut are both old-school barbershop scents, and durn fine ones at that.

When does one become content with what we have? How much is enough? These questions are brought up many times, questions I often ask myself on various subjects. I fired up my e-readers the other day as a way to read more, I have 2 Kindles, 2 Kobos, and one Nook and all are a few generations old. They work fine, even the Nook which is the slowest of the bunch, reading on it is ok, but loading books takes some time, but they work. Do I need the latest? No, I don't. I have been on a buying spree with Vintage razors, before that it was straight razors and honing stones, before that it was boar and badger brushes. I'll add my synthetics back into my rotation of brushes, which now will be 14 brushes, do I need more, nope. I don't have room for more, I could easily make room for more, but I don't in order to temper my desires for more. Soaps, I have a lifetime of soaps, 30+ to be exact. I am always pulling out one of the soaps that have sat idle for a while and rediscovering it, which is enjoyable as well. Do I need more soap, ahh more soap is the last thing I need. Maybe I'm getting old, well I am getting old, but I seem to be coming to a point where enough is enough, and being content with what I have. My last Vingage came in today, a made-in-England Ball End Tech, I am done with razors and will enjoy rotating through my vintage razors from here on, as I am set on brushes and soaps. I do need more razor blades, as my allotment is scarce. My desire to accumulate Wetshaving gear, or gear for any of my various interests and hobbies, is waning now, and I'll sit back and enjoy what I have. Getting old has some advantages.

That will be all for today, I wish all a blessed Thursday, and may all your shaves be the best.

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