October 17, 2009
But guys…. you should really see it. I went to the Cal-UCLA game today, wore flats that are now officially dead to me, and now my pinky toe (the worst casualty of many) has become a blister. That’s it. It’s like I’ve got a blister with a toenail for a toe now. It’s so gross. And I have other blisters to watch, too.
Oh but that’s not the only reason I’m sharing it with you. I was scolded for wearing my flats with a tank top and shorts. I was told it was a “faux pas.” It’s in quotes because I think it’s preposterous. You can wear flats with shorts, right? Have I lost my mind? Was that pre-heat stroke wardrobing?
October 15, 2009
You have made too many invalid entries. Your account has been locked and can no longer be accessed. Please contact us at (304) 480-7711.
The log in process:
1. Remember if your account number begins with a letter or a number. Frantically look it up in email archives, hope hope hope …. (Is it too much to ask for the option of naming your account instead of using the numbers?)
2. Remember that idiotic string of numbers, letters, and symbols they forced you to concoct.
3. Fail three times, get the hint, fail once more before succeeding.
4. Answer three of eight security questions listed. Oh wait, remember WHICH three you answered in the first place when you set up the account three years ago. Answer just those three. If you can’t recall which three they were, then you can answer every single question there. If you can’t remember the answers, or figure out what you used as placeholders when you got bored during account set-up, do not proceed to step 5.
5. I didn’t proceed to step five, so I don’t know when the secret access decoder ring card comes into play anymore.
*sigh*
The only nice thing about getting locked out is when you call the number listed above and they’re busy, they’ll take a message and call you back. Now the nice man at the Treasury Department who called back to answer my question and unlocked my account has the information he needs to steal my identity and blackmail me at the same time. Score!
PostScript: Seeing “Untd St Govt” on the caller I.D. can startle you even if you haven’t done anything wrong. When you haven’t done anything, I mean, when.
October 14, 2009
Firstly, the county of San Diego can go fly a kite.
During the funeral weekend, we had to use the toll road a few times but each time, the toll booth read a bit fat $0.00. I thought it was a little suspect, but could never get a good photo of the booth when we were passing by.
Sure enough, this week’s mailbag brought proof that I was right, that was a timebomb waiting to go off: three Notices of Toll Evasions! Um, what evasion, people??
There was never an attendent or any other cars on that road so we couldn’t see if the booth was active, if it was out of service, or what the situation was. There wasn’t even a phone number posted on the booth for roadside assistance/questions/etc. Call me crazy, but if you tell me that the price is zero dollars, zero cents, that’s exactly what I’m going to pay ya! Not any of this extra $50 per incident nonsense….
A request… no, wait, three requests for administrative review will be in tomorrow’s mail. Wish me luck, guys, I’m not going to fork over nearly $200 for what amounts to a county-enriching fee-trap without at least a strong argument.
Secondly, the state of California can go fly another kite.
I was honest on my last claim form stating that I had started classes during the time period in question, noting that the classes were online only, and what do they do?
A) Send me a notice of a telephone interview scheduled for 3 weeks from now,
B) paperwork to “verify” my “eligibility for training benefits,” a list of questions that I could easily answer on paper stating that no, my classwork does not interfere with my job search,
and C) No Check.
Oh and there’s icing on this cake: they refuse to answer the phone. Really. The recording says “We’re currently receiving too many calls to answer,” sends you through a Mephistophelian maze of phone options, and then hangs up on you! Way to not even TRY.
Dude. Also, way to punish the populace: hound them for pursuing other options in case sitting around on UI doing nothing but fruitlessly job-hunting seemed kind of useless. We should sit tight, surf the ‘net, and hope that Big Brother provides, hm? Obey precisely or else BB will yank the funding?
I didn’t ask for you to pay for my schooling and I’ll adhere to the “regular unemployment provisions,” so couldn’t you make this another form letter that I can fill out so that I have some income for the next four weeks? I’ll survive, though my cash cushion will be more than a little devastated by this sudden drawdown, but can you imagine someone relying on each check for that month’s bills? I would be thoroughly freaked out.
*sigh* I guess I wouldn’t normally be so put out but … oh heck, of course I would be! It doesn’t matter how much I’m bringing in (or not, at this point) – money has just been flying out the door these past few months. The only thing to do after sending off my objections to the first problem, and preparing to deal with the second problem, is wait and see. In the meantime, it’s absolutely infuriating.
October 8, 2009
Sooo I think I’ve rounded up all the extant parts and widgets (widgets?? It’s a whole different language going on here.) Yes, Blogger switched to New Blogger or some sort of thing forever ago, but like New Coke, I thought it’d go away soon enough. Or at least by the time I was ready to take on another template change.
I sure was wrong, but in the flush of new-cold delirium, it seemed like a worthwhile endeavor since I was stuck cooped up in the house anyway.
Uh yeah. Not really. Turns out that you have to upgrade from Classic Blogger, add these newfangled widgets, replace the HTML template with the right one, save that, go back and re-add those widgets because the first time around you forgot to save it, save, then find out you added the wrong template that has text screaming from one end of the screen to the other right over the sidebar.
Oh wait. Start over. Replace the HTML template. Save. Edit widgets. Save. Realize that you’re now missing Adsense and can’t add it because javascript in the HTML? Doesn’t. Show. UP.
*sigh*
Annnyway. It took a good long while, but between that and watching listening to old episodes of Reba, we might be all set around here?
Many many thanks to fantastic FB who did all the designing, colors, more designing, tweaks and twitches needed to make this happen! You wouldn’t believe the amount of work she had to do, between rewriting crap code, tailoring things for New Blogger who is unbelievably picky, and still making things pretty.
*dusting hands*
Whatcha think?
September 26, 2009
Posting here has fallen off for a number of reasons and it’s frustrating because I feel like nothing’s getting done. Now that’s a weird way to look at it. You’d think blogging would get in the way of accomplishing stuff, not facilitate it. Anyhow, like MoneyMateKate, things on the financial front are relatively stagnant. Medical matters have kept me away from home, supporting one sick friend + family after another these two weeks. It must have been three weeks ago that I twittered about my friend’s husband hospitalization in a diabetic coma. She’s been leaning on me pretty heavily since then for company as well as emotional support.
There are tons of things that need doing, I just don’t wanna. Heck, I don’t even want to write this post because that means I’ll feel guilty and have to get going and take care of them. 🙂
Pack your bags, we’re going on a guilt trip!
School started three or four days ago. 1. I still don’t have my books. I should have ordered them three weeks ago to save on shipping. I even made up a spreadsheet comparing costs of Amazon.com vs. Chegg.com vs. library (availability) vs. paperbackswap.com (availability). Too bad the actual ordering didn’t happen, now Chegg will take 4-7 business days to deliver the books. What is this, college all over again??
2. I’m still perusing the syllabi and wondering if perhaps I was too ambitious taking two classes to start. That right there sounds like a pansy talkin’.
3. Quizzes. Ugh. There’s a practice test posted right now. Ugh.
On the bright side, I’m really glad that I paid the extra money and signed up for online courses this quarter. This whole situation would have been impossible if I’d moved to the LA area and taken classes on campus.
Work. I volunteered to intern with this fella who can teach me Photoshop and InDesign a couple days a week, but that’s been utterly derailed because of the family stuff. Not much I can do there because I have to actually be there in the office to learn and work. He knows what’s going on, though.
I was also offered a possible internship opportunity with a financial services firm if I like my finance classes. Again, demands on my time need to be prioritized.
Travel. Dragging my feet on scheduling any travel because even though I really want to be away from home, travel itself is getting old. You know the restless out-of-place sort of feeling when you’re ready to be back in your comfy spot? I’ve got that.
Plus, I’d like to use American Airlines miles but booking through their site’s just a pain.
Anyhow, the takeaway message today is that you can’t get anywhere until you get started. And I’m going to get started now. Have a great rest of Saturday!
September 25, 2009
For the first time in years, I got birthday money! Yay! My cousin claims it’s from my aunt, but I suspect they colluded because cousin is younger than I and there’s an unspoken rule that money only flows down the age stream. Also my unemployment status probably has something to do with it.
This happy circumstance was marred by the discovery that my dad has been hiding over $500 in traffic fines from me.
Injured pride is one thing. Making foolish short term decisions that have negative long term consequences to protect that pride is another entirely and I can’t tolerate it anymore. I’m not one to talk back to my parents, I believe in maintaining a respectful, adult relationship, but darned if I let him get away with this lightly. I resent the fact that I have to lecture him for lying to me. If he’d just been honest with me in the first place, we’d be a team, not this unnatural reversal of parent-child roles.
It’s less that I’m now out another unbudgeted $500, and more that I was raised never to lie and yet here I am, 27 years old and unable to trust my own father. I have to weigh the likelihood that he’s just covering up another wrong. Is this what having bad kids is like??? What would you do if you could no longer trust your parent(s)? Or your entire family? Never in my life have I wanted to run away more.
*aggravated*
But you know. Birthday money. It’d cover the careless forgetting to pack funeral clothes thing, if I’d remembered to bring the gift card with me. As it is, I’m going to have to make an emergency trip to H&M for some suitable pants or a skirt because I was in a hurry to return with the family to the hospital. Also, I had no idea we’d be having the service within two days of his passing. So if I spend about $20, it’ll be cheaper than driving 4 hours round trip to pick up what I have at home. To make up for it, I’ll use the GC to pay the electric bill.
Forgot my pants, forgot my gift card, next thing you know, I’ll be forgetting my own head!
September 24, 2009
I’m back from the hospital for a day and just checking in.
My iPhone has let me keep up with those of you who have full feeds in Google Reader, but I hope everyone is doing well. Y’all are amusing on Twitter, so that helps me get through the days, too. Just wish I could click on all the links of the enabling shoppers out there to see what goodies you’re perusing. 🙂
My weekend visit doubled from the intended 2-3 days to a full 6 days at the request of the younger sib. Though a full 8 years younger than I, apparently my company was still of value and I could sense that the older sib and mother were both quietly hoping that I would stay and serve as sounding board for the youngster.
Holding a hospital vigil is terribly difficult on the spouse, but she’s a rock. An insanely strong, even-keeled, upbeat rock. It shouldn’t surprise me at all but it’s almost inhuman how strong this couple is: Mr. Dad is fighting so very hard, and Mrs. Mom, from beginning to end, is always able to bear the burden and her kids are free to make the choices that work best in their lives. She makes zero demands, just a few reasonable requests for changes of clothing and has maintained her sense of calm far better than any of us kids. Oddly enough, that frees us all to be as strong or weak as we need to be, and tears have flowed freely. No repression here, folks. Not really, anyway.
She’s only left the hospital three times since the hospitalization ten days ago, and that only to see to some crucial financial matters. It’s our responsibility to keep her company, make sure someone is always with Mr. Dad if she stepped away however briefly, cook dinner, do laundry, clean the home, and just support one another. It’s as guilt-free as you can get. They’re amazing. Can I grow up to be just like both of them, please?
As the “adopted” daughter, I took over the domestic chores. We’d be at the hospital all day and late into the night, and when we got home I’d cook dinner for the next day. That’s my ziti you see up there. I still have a nice little shiny spot on my thumb from accidentally pressing it against the 400 degree oven. Y’all don’t like war wounds so I won’t share a picture of that. 🙂 That’ll last my friend through the week, and I’ll come up with something else for the weekend.
My friend’s the oldest and so is, at times, a complete wreck when he feels the weight of his father’s passing the responsibility for the family to him and his sibs. He’s up to the task though, and knows that he has all kinds of support on the practical matters from me since the running joke is my love of all things financial makes me the father’s favorite son. It’s just heartbreaking because we still had so much to learn from his dad.
In the meantime, I’ve got to run a ton of errands and do something about my online classes. And then make the decision whether I should go back down to the hospital tomorrow, or if I should proceed with my travel plans that were made weeks ago. My heart and mind are going to be here, shouldn’t I be as well?
