Frustration is not my friend
Lots of rage inducing events in my life lately. Which baffles me, because I've actually been much more even-tempered over the past year. The Lamictal has really gotten me on a much more even keel. But, small things have been frustrating me into near incoherent rage, lately. I suspect that ties in to the anniversary theme I've already expounded upon. At least it dies down fairly quickly and it doesn't keep me wound up. Plus, I'm thinking of positive ways of fixing the problems, rather than blaming others and doing nothing.
Rage number one part A, has been over the condition of the laundry room for my condo. The condo association has a service that takes care of it. Which they haven't been. At any one time, only two-three washers work. Out of a total of ten washers. They took three out that didn't work and haven't replaced them! The dryers work, but there is an associated problem that falls under rage number one part B: the card readers don't work.
This is where the laundry room is set up in a manner that I find totally frustrating. You have to use a card to operate the machines. First, it's a reloadable card that you insert into a card reader and add money. The smallest amount you can add at any time is five dollars. I find that frustrating, because I don't always have five dollars when I need to do laundry. Sometimes I have two or three, sometimes all I have is a twenty. I can't always afford twenty on it all at once. Second, the card readers on the washers/dryers break and then if you only have two-three working, all of a sudden, you only have one-two. Last, you're screwed if you misplace your card. Not permanently, you can ask the condo management company for a replacement and they'll give you one, often with five dollars already loaded on it. But it is a pain to have to drive all the way across town to get it, if you're me, especially since their hours are such that I have to leave work early. Can you tell I have issues? This isn't just an overnight problem, this has been ongoing since I moved in over four years ago. How hard is it to get a different service? One that will actually, I don't know, service the machines?
So, I misplaced my card Thursday night/Friday day, not sure. I had clothes in the washer that I needed to dry and, guess what, I couldn't. No opportunity to get a replacement card because I discovered the loss Friday afternoon. Since the machines don't take coins, I couldn't just go down and stuff a few coins in. I ended up having to go to a local laundromat, which actually ended up reducing my rage to nil. It wasn't busy, there were plenty of machines, overall cost per load was cheaper than at the condos and I had electrical outlets for my computer, so I was able to watch two episodes of Torchwood while I did my laundry. May I say, I actually think I enjoyed myself?
Seriously, I have been so pissed because I feel that with the state of the laundry room as it is, my condo would be unsellable. One look at that place and no matter how nice the actual condo looks, they wouldn't want to have to deal with it any more than I do! The condo association has been spending all this money to reside/insulate the outside of the units, they've repainted all the interior hallways (and some ugly damn colors, while they were at it), what's so hard about fixing up the laundry room! Especially when it needs it and the hallways could have waited another year.
And, while I'm on my rant, the gates of the dumpster corral have fallen off, so the dumpsters are once again able to roam the parking lot at will. They've been off for at least four weeks. How hard is it to get two guys to come over, fix the hinges, hang the gates back up and go? I've quit parking on the side of the parking lot that they head straight for when the dumpsters go walkabout. Four times to the body shop in four years is more than enough.
Anyway, I've decided to take the bull by the horns and have washer/dryer hookups installed in my condo. I haven't figured out who I should call to get quotes and stuff, but I will. It's a major expense, but I get my Navy money the end of March, so I'll be pretty flush. And, I'd rather spend the money on something that will probably net me a profit when I sell the condo, than splurge on clothes or vacations like I normally do. I was considering buying a car that gets better gas mileage, but the car is paid off the end of this month and I'd rather be payment free for a while. I'll eat the cost of gas for now, the difference is much less than having another car payment.
So, that was rage number one. On to rage number two. And if you think rage number one, with its four year incubation period is extreme, let me tell you about DFAS Cleveland.
DFAS stands for Defense Finance Accounting Service. These are the folks who handle my annual Navy payments. They are responsible for depositing it in the right bank and sending me my W2s. I've been dealing with them for 15 years, now. Oy, have I been dealing. I've even sicced my Congresswoman on them once. They tried to deposit my money in the wrong bank two years in a row. Which meant the money got sent back to Cleveland. And I was frantic, because that money was my lifeline while I was going to college. After the second time, and the second notification of the change of banks, well, I got mad. E-mails were sent. The result, a personal call from a director with an abject apology. Congresswomen are not to be messed with. That was many moons ago, things have been going smoothly and I thought I was never going to have problems with them again. Color me with rose. Cue my surprise, then, when the W2 didn't show up. @@
Anyway, I dug up a phone number on the internet and tried calling. And calling. And calling. "Your wait time will be approximately 32 minutes." "Your wait time will be approximately 24 minutes." This was while at work, I didn't have time to dick around waiting on the phone. I tried calling last night at 6:15; side note, they close at 6:30. "Your wait time...18 minutes." At exactly 6:30, the robovoice thanked me for calling, please call during our operating hours, good-bye. Sigh. This morning, I call at 6:02 (they open at 6:00.) "Your wait time is two minutes." Hallelujah!
Subsequently, in slightly more than two minutes, I get a mumbled greeting from Joyce. Who sounds about as thrilled to be up at 7:00 her time as I am to be up at 6:00 my time. Remembering Miracle Man's admonitions, I am on my best behavior, even cheerful! When asked, I give Joyce my SSN, tell her I need a W2. A pause. "Can you give me your address?" Sure. 1008, blah, blah, blah. "How long have you lived there?" Five years. "What was your old address?" Um, why does it matter, my W2 got lost in the mail, I just need a new one. "Well, we don't have your current address on file." [Cue sarcasm] So, whose W2 have I been getting at this address for the past four years, then? .... "Your W2 will be there in ten days." Thank you, Joyce. Have a nice day. Rage gone and no damage to psyches or telephones. At least until my W2 doesn't show up within ten days. Tammy's e-mail is easy to find on the internet and she's very responsive to constituent requests.
Rage number one part A, has been over the condition of the laundry room for my condo. The condo association has a service that takes care of it. Which they haven't been. At any one time, only two-three washers work. Out of a total of ten washers. They took three out that didn't work and haven't replaced them! The dryers work, but there is an associated problem that falls under rage number one part B: the card readers don't work.
This is where the laundry room is set up in a manner that I find totally frustrating. You have to use a card to operate the machines. First, it's a reloadable card that you insert into a card reader and add money. The smallest amount you can add at any time is five dollars. I find that frustrating, because I don't always have five dollars when I need to do laundry. Sometimes I have two or three, sometimes all I have is a twenty. I can't always afford twenty on it all at once. Second, the card readers on the washers/dryers break and then if you only have two-three working, all of a sudden, you only have one-two. Last, you're screwed if you misplace your card. Not permanently, you can ask the condo management company for a replacement and they'll give you one, often with five dollars already loaded on it. But it is a pain to have to drive all the way across town to get it, if you're me, especially since their hours are such that I have to leave work early. Can you tell I have issues? This isn't just an overnight problem, this has been ongoing since I moved in over four years ago. How hard is it to get a different service? One that will actually, I don't know, service the machines?
So, I misplaced my card Thursday night/Friday day, not sure. I had clothes in the washer that I needed to dry and, guess what, I couldn't. No opportunity to get a replacement card because I discovered the loss Friday afternoon. Since the machines don't take coins, I couldn't just go down and stuff a few coins in. I ended up having to go to a local laundromat, which actually ended up reducing my rage to nil. It wasn't busy, there were plenty of machines, overall cost per load was cheaper than at the condos and I had electrical outlets for my computer, so I was able to watch two episodes of Torchwood while I did my laundry. May I say, I actually think I enjoyed myself?
Seriously, I have been so pissed because I feel that with the state of the laundry room as it is, my condo would be unsellable. One look at that place and no matter how nice the actual condo looks, they wouldn't want to have to deal with it any more than I do! The condo association has been spending all this money to reside/insulate the outside of the units, they've repainted all the interior hallways (and some ugly damn colors, while they were at it), what's so hard about fixing up the laundry room! Especially when it needs it and the hallways could have waited another year.
And, while I'm on my rant, the gates of the dumpster corral have fallen off, so the dumpsters are once again able to roam the parking lot at will. They've been off for at least four weeks. How hard is it to get two guys to come over, fix the hinges, hang the gates back up and go? I've quit parking on the side of the parking lot that they head straight for when the dumpsters go walkabout. Four times to the body shop in four years is more than enough.
Anyway, I've decided to take the bull by the horns and have washer/dryer hookups installed in my condo. I haven't figured out who I should call to get quotes and stuff, but I will. It's a major expense, but I get my Navy money the end of March, so I'll be pretty flush. And, I'd rather spend the money on something that will probably net me a profit when I sell the condo, than splurge on clothes or vacations like I normally do. I was considering buying a car that gets better gas mileage, but the car is paid off the end of this month and I'd rather be payment free for a while. I'll eat the cost of gas for now, the difference is much less than having another car payment.
So, that was rage number one. On to rage number two. And if you think rage number one, with its four year incubation period is extreme, let me tell you about DFAS Cleveland.
DFAS stands for Defense Finance Accounting Service. These are the folks who handle my annual Navy payments. They are responsible for depositing it in the right bank and sending me my W2s. I've been dealing with them for 15 years, now. Oy, have I been dealing. I've even sicced my Congresswoman on them once. They tried to deposit my money in the wrong bank two years in a row. Which meant the money got sent back to Cleveland. And I was frantic, because that money was my lifeline while I was going to college. After the second time, and the second notification of the change of banks, well, I got mad. E-mails were sent. The result, a personal call from a director with an abject apology. Congresswomen are not to be messed with. That was many moons ago, things have been going smoothly and I thought I was never going to have problems with them again. Color me with rose. Cue my surprise, then, when the W2 didn't show up. @@
Anyway, I dug up a phone number on the internet and tried calling. And calling. And calling. "Your wait time will be approximately 32 minutes." "Your wait time will be approximately 24 minutes." This was while at work, I didn't have time to dick around waiting on the phone. I tried calling last night at 6:15; side note, they close at 6:30. "Your wait time...18 minutes." At exactly 6:30, the robovoice thanked me for calling, please call during our operating hours, good-bye. Sigh. This morning, I call at 6:02 (they open at 6:00.) "Your wait time is two minutes." Hallelujah!
Subsequently, in slightly more than two minutes, I get a mumbled greeting from Joyce. Who sounds about as thrilled to be up at 7:00 her time as I am to be up at 6:00 my time. Remembering Miracle Man's admonitions, I am on my best behavior, even cheerful! When asked, I give Joyce my SSN, tell her I need a W2. A pause. "Can you give me your address?" Sure. 1008, blah, blah, blah. "How long have you lived there?" Five years. "What was your old address?" Um, why does it matter, my W2 got lost in the mail, I just need a new one. "Well, we don't have your current address on file." [Cue sarcasm] So, whose W2 have I been getting at this address for the past four years, then? .... "Your W2 will be there in ten days." Thank you, Joyce. Have a nice day. Rage gone and no damage to psyches or telephones. At least until my W2 doesn't show up within ten days. Tammy's e-mail is easy to find on the internet and she's very responsive to constituent requests.