How to Cancel NYTimes Crossword iPhone App Subscription

I'm not great at crosswords, but I wish I were!  A lot of my cool puzzle friends are also crazy-good at crossword puzzles.  I try to do them more often, which I'm hoping will lead me to be better at them.

Enter the NYTimes Crossword app for my iPhone.  I wasn't sure if I'd use it much, so I subscribed for a single month for $2.99.  It auto renews, but I thought I'd remember to turn it off.  I didn't.

I just spent at least 10-15 minutes trying to figure out how to cancel the auto renewal, so here's how to do it for anyone else out there in the same boat.

Open iTunes and connect to the iTunes Store.  Under the very small "Manage" at the bottom, choose Account and log into your account.  Pick Subscriptions and turn it to OFF.

The app developer MagMic makes it practically impossible to figure out from their "knowledge base" on their website.  Probably so they can milk you for $3/month.

You're welcome.

Meetin' in the Ladies Room

I need to write a post about my trip to my first National Puzzlers League convention, Contex.  That will come later, maybe even tonight!  In the meantime, I thought I'd tell you about my weird encounter in the ladies room at Black Angus the Friday after I returned from Contex.

First, I was REALLY tired the week after Contex.  I didn't sleep enough at the con, but it felt worse than that.  It didn't help that I didn't get a solid 8 hours until after my trip to Black Angus.  When I get tired, I get cranky.  I complained more than maybe I ever have during our Wednesday night gaming playing Era of Inventions.  Yes, I went last and got screwed, but I think the crankiness level was way up because I was just exhausted.

When I get tired, I'm also much more emotional and will start crying at the drop of a hat.  So, Black Angus... We're having dinner there for the first time ever together.  I think the last time I had been to a Black Angus was with Dave, when we used a coupon out in Northridge and that was probably 3-4 years ago(?).

I got upset about something and started getting weepy so I went to the restroom to just cry for a few minutes and get it out of my system.  While I was in my stall, a mom and young daughter went into the big stall next to me.  Their conversation went something like this:

Daughter:  I'm done!
Mom:  Um, I think you said you needed to go poopy...
Daughter:  Oh yeah. Well, I don't think it wants to come out.  It's afraid.
Mom: (laughs)

Thirty seconds go by...
Daughter: It's coming out!!  My poop is coming out!!

It's really hard to cry when there's a 3 (maybe 4?) year old next to you that is really excited about their poop coming out.

So, I came out of the stall and started washing my hands.  The mom said, "Are you okay?"  I said, "I've been having a rough week..."

She kept washing her daughter's hands and then said, "I know this sounds weird, but can I give you a hug?"

Hmmmm... "No, I'm okay, thanks..."

"Are you sure?  Sometimes they help!"

"Fine..."

And then I was hugged my this complete stranger while her daughter hugged my legs.

And you know what?  It did help.

I've seen women crying in the bathroom before, but I've never had the guts to actually offer them a hug.  Next time, I will.

We then exchanged numbers (her suggestion) because she doesn't know too many people in the area except for her mother-in-law and she's lived in Burbank for a year.

Her first text to me after I met her that night was "Hi.  My name is Cyndi. I think we're meant to be friends. :)"

I think she might be right.

I rarely eat at Black Angus.  I rarely break down and start crying in a restaurant.  And she happened to be in the bathroom at exactly the time I was (with no one else there).   The timing is all there.

We made a "date" for this Friday to grab dinner and drinks.  I have no idea how it will go, but I'm looking forward to getting to know her better.