Nope Nope Nope
So, here's a blow-by-blow of how I spent the week of 02/04-02/08:
- W2 arrives prior to Ohayocon-- after con over, prepares to get taxes in to make sure is proactive. Finds W2 has vanished into thin air. Overturns bedroom and most of house without result.
- Has saved up $20 to pay for library fines. Gets home after library is closed, so attempts online payment through bill pay on library website. Bill pay has error. 3 nights in a row. Gives up attempt to pay bill.
02/07/13
- Buys Daenerys GOT POP! figure. Arrives, brings it to work to display. Figure falls onto her side on the display shelf and breaks.
- At work deals with last customer of the day who drags call over closing time, refuses to take any action to resolve account issues, and who makes so upset that end up crying on and off all drive home and a little after arrival.
- On the way in the door, checks on a tree newly-planted in the yard; ends up sunk almost to the ankle in mud. Disgusted, throws shoes in trash instead of cleaning. Vaguely considers fishing shoes out after mud dries, but never gets around to it.
- Checks banks account to find overdrawn due to fraudulent charge for an $180 purchase at Sephora. Not even sure what Sephora is.
- Contacts bank to alert of fraud. Customer service is closed and no emergency line of any kind exists, so unable to alert anyone.
- Furious, throws phone to the floor. Despite surviving many previous bumps, phone can't handle impact with carpet and snaps in half. Even after phone reassembled, screen permanently dark and phone unusable.
02/08/13
- Previously arranged to meet mother for breakfast. Due to misunderstanding mother is half an hour late. Ends up setting in car for forty minutes, and for once did not bring laptop. No ability to communicate regarding delay or whereabouts due to phone issue.
- Since unable to use own phone to contact bank, spends most of breakfast using mother's phone to make fraud report calls.
- Forgets to bring lunch to work. Goes to Taco Bell to buy some; on a whim decides to get bread sticks added. Gets back to work to find was charged for bread sticks but given none. Drink also flat and warm.
- Runs out of aspirin; gets headache halfway through shift. Gets change to buy aspirin from vending machine; machine out of everything but Alka-Seltzer. Ends up begging aspirin from boss.
- Goes to store after work to plunk down unplanned $65 to buy new phone and phone card.
- Goes to bank to withdraw $200 from savings account, then calls to cancel card. Will now be forced to live on cash only until new card arrives.
Then here's how I spent this weekend:
02/15/13
- New phone runs out of battery
- Goes out to car to pick up lunch. Car won't start. Can't check engine because hood sticks. No point in lifting hood since don't know what to check engine for.
- Go back in, use boss's phone to call mother. Mother believes battery is dead, says to take into repair place after work. No repair places are open after work.
- Coworker volunteers to jump battery. Tell boss taking car to repair place now and will return if possible.
- Get car jumped. Tank on empty since end of week. Forced to decide between driving straight to repair place and risk running out of gas, or getting gas first and possibly losing charge. Decide on the latter. (Not possible to park the car, leave it running and fill gas can since only has cash and so can only prepay. Reason only has cash is still waiting on new card due to fraud on bank account from previous week.)
- Puts $20 in tank. Car won't start. Attempt another jump; approach car with 4 men inside who all claim to not know how to jump a battery. Finally get assistance, but man has huge truck, and finishes filling gas tank first, which takes 10 minutes. Uses ice scraper to get hood open again, fills wiper fluid and cleans windshield during wait.
- Get car charged gain. Drive to Wal-Mart. Leave car unlocked and running outside service door, since if park in traditional spot will not be able to move car. Dash inside, verify with staff what should do. Staff have pull up all the way to door and then turn off.
- Arrange for new battery installation. Cost is $99.91, which is $5 short of all money on person.
- Still not having eaten lunch, and unable to go anywhere else since has no car, uses last $5 to buy lunchable and Little Debbie cake and gets ice water from Subway for cheapest lunch in human memory. Has not brought laptop and phone still out of battery. Mp3 player at least has charge, so sets to relaxing singing bowl music.
- Since has no way to tell time, must gauge it from track time on mp3 player. Wishes had laptop so could work on novel during wasted time. Writes this account instead.
- After hour wait, repair men notify that can't even check battery because "tie down screws" are stripped, which will cost more, and that can't do that there. Recommends another place. Call mother from store phone to find out what should do since has no more money. After giving life story including dead phone, fraud and moneyless-ness over to phone to mother in front of rotating audience of 4-6 people, decide will take car home and go to bank in morning and then to get repairs.
- Go home. Attempt to cheer self up by remembering that friend is coming over, and will at least have more time with him.
- Get home. Nothing in mail. House empty. Charge phone, call brother to tell about battery issues, plans for tomorrow, and to come pick me up so can hang out. Brother explains friend not coming over today, coming over tomorrow instead, and that he and other roommate have gone out for friday dinner at favorite restaurant without me again.
- With no reason to stay up, goes to bed.
02/16/13
- Gets up at regular time next morning. Washes hair, puts in load of laundry, goes out to try car. Car won't start. Goes back inside to ask roommate if will help jump car. Roommate generally refuses to answer any direct, important question I ask, or to get up in the morning without 30 mins of prodding from various people, so have to have to ask brother for her, as if going through personal secretary. Brother reveals that they discussed issue last night and that roommate claims her battery is low, so cannot jump car. Apperantly decide not to inform me, despite having access to phone, and later to myself in person entire night. Unable to understand why lack of communication might upset me in any way.
- With no alternative, knock on unknown neighbor's door and ask for assistance. Neighbor is kind enough to help, and eventually get car started.
- Drive to nearest bank to get cash. Pull into lane, open window; doesn't work. Tries again, still no result. Attempts to open door instead; too close to pillar to extend. Closes door, tries window again. Still not working, so attempts standard procedures for re-starting window, including turning power off then on again, forgetting can't start car. Now can't open window, can't open door, and can't move car.
- Crawls out passenger side, leave car in lane with hazards on and goes inside to get money with ID since card invalid.
- Asks for assistance with jump since car in their lane. Rep says no one can leave to assist.
- Goes back out and gets help from another man in line. Crawls back into car through passenger side to get jump cable and ice scraper to open hood, and back and forth to try engine.
- With car finally running again, grabs Taco Bell for breakfast and drives to repair place.
- Mp3 player runs out of battery as leaving Taco Bell.
- Arrives at repair place. An hour and 216 unplanned savings account dollars later, car finally starting on its own.
So I've wasted two weekends in a row, completely decimated my savings account, probably ratcheted my blood pressure up to heart-attack levels on multiple occasions, verified that I can count on the two people I live with for absolutely no help ever, been subjected to continuous emergency situations and embarresments despite my efforts to be responsible and on-the-ball, and still haven't been able to do my taxes. Well, at least I know that if I had any ego to speak of before February started, I certainly don't have any left now.
I feel like frickin' Bilbo Baggins. If something catastrophic happens this coming weekend, someone else will have to step in and resolve it, because I am officially done with everything.
- W2 arrives prior to Ohayocon-- after con over, prepares to get taxes in to make sure is proactive. Finds W2 has vanished into thin air. Overturns bedroom and most of house without result.
- Has saved up $20 to pay for library fines. Gets home after library is closed, so attempts online payment through bill pay on library website. Bill pay has error. 3 nights in a row. Gives up attempt to pay bill.
02/07/13
- Buys Daenerys GOT POP! figure. Arrives, brings it to work to display. Figure falls onto her side on the display shelf and breaks.
- At work deals with last customer of the day who drags call over closing time, refuses to take any action to resolve account issues, and who makes so upset that end up crying on and off all drive home and a little after arrival.
- On the way in the door, checks on a tree newly-planted in the yard; ends up sunk almost to the ankle in mud. Disgusted, throws shoes in trash instead of cleaning. Vaguely considers fishing shoes out after mud dries, but never gets around to it.
- Checks banks account to find overdrawn due to fraudulent charge for an $180 purchase at Sephora. Not even sure what Sephora is.
- Contacts bank to alert of fraud. Customer service is closed and no emergency line of any kind exists, so unable to alert anyone.
- Furious, throws phone to the floor. Despite surviving many previous bumps, phone can't handle impact with carpet and snaps in half. Even after phone reassembled, screen permanently dark and phone unusable.
02/08/13
- Previously arranged to meet mother for breakfast. Due to misunderstanding mother is half an hour late. Ends up setting in car for forty minutes, and for once did not bring laptop. No ability to communicate regarding delay or whereabouts due to phone issue.
- Since unable to use own phone to contact bank, spends most of breakfast using mother's phone to make fraud report calls.
- Forgets to bring lunch to work. Goes to Taco Bell to buy some; on a whim decides to get bread sticks added. Gets back to work to find was charged for bread sticks but given none. Drink also flat and warm.
- Runs out of aspirin; gets headache halfway through shift. Gets change to buy aspirin from vending machine; machine out of everything but Alka-Seltzer. Ends up begging aspirin from boss.
- Goes to store after work to plunk down unplanned $65 to buy new phone and phone card.
- Goes to bank to withdraw $200 from savings account, then calls to cancel card. Will now be forced to live on cash only until new card arrives.
Then here's how I spent this weekend:
02/15/13
- New phone runs out of battery
- Goes out to car to pick up lunch. Car won't start. Can't check engine because hood sticks. No point in lifting hood since don't know what to check engine for.
- Go back in, use boss's phone to call mother. Mother believes battery is dead, says to take into repair place after work. No repair places are open after work.
- Coworker volunteers to jump battery. Tell boss taking car to repair place now and will return if possible.
- Get car jumped. Tank on empty since end of week. Forced to decide between driving straight to repair place and risk running out of gas, or getting gas first and possibly losing charge. Decide on the latter. (Not possible to park the car, leave it running and fill gas can since only has cash and so can only prepay. Reason only has cash is still waiting on new card due to fraud on bank account from previous week.)
- Puts $20 in tank. Car won't start. Attempt another jump; approach car with 4 men inside who all claim to not know how to jump a battery. Finally get assistance, but man has huge truck, and finishes filling gas tank first, which takes 10 minutes. Uses ice scraper to get hood open again, fills wiper fluid and cleans windshield during wait.
- Get car charged gain. Drive to Wal-Mart. Leave car unlocked and running outside service door, since if park in traditional spot will not be able to move car. Dash inside, verify with staff what should do. Staff have pull up all the way to door and then turn off.
- Arrange for new battery installation. Cost is $99.91, which is $5 short of all money on person.
- Still not having eaten lunch, and unable to go anywhere else since has no car, uses last $5 to buy lunchable and Little Debbie cake and gets ice water from Subway for cheapest lunch in human memory. Has not brought laptop and phone still out of battery. Mp3 player at least has charge, so sets to relaxing singing bowl music.
- Since has no way to tell time, must gauge it from track time on mp3 player. Wishes had laptop so could work on novel during wasted time. Writes this account instead.
- After hour wait, repair men notify that can't even check battery because "tie down screws" are stripped, which will cost more, and that can't do that there. Recommends another place. Call mother from store phone to find out what should do since has no more money. After giving life story including dead phone, fraud and moneyless-ness over to phone to mother in front of rotating audience of 4-6 people, decide will take car home and go to bank in morning and then to get repairs.
- Go home. Attempt to cheer self up by remembering that friend is coming over, and will at least have more time with him.
- Get home. Nothing in mail. House empty. Charge phone, call brother to tell about battery issues, plans for tomorrow, and to come pick me up so can hang out. Brother explains friend not coming over today, coming over tomorrow instead, and that he and other roommate have gone out for friday dinner at favorite restaurant without me again.
- With no reason to stay up, goes to bed.
02/16/13
- Gets up at regular time next morning. Washes hair, puts in load of laundry, goes out to try car. Car won't start. Goes back inside to ask roommate if will help jump car. Roommate generally refuses to answer any direct, important question I ask, or to get up in the morning without 30 mins of prodding from various people, so have to have to ask brother for her, as if going through personal secretary. Brother reveals that they discussed issue last night and that roommate claims her battery is low, so cannot jump car. Apperantly decide not to inform me, despite having access to phone, and later to myself in person entire night. Unable to understand why lack of communication might upset me in any way.
- With no alternative, knock on unknown neighbor's door and ask for assistance. Neighbor is kind enough to help, and eventually get car started.
- Drive to nearest bank to get cash. Pull into lane, open window; doesn't work. Tries again, still no result. Attempts to open door instead; too close to pillar to extend. Closes door, tries window again. Still not working, so attempts standard procedures for re-starting window, including turning power off then on again, forgetting can't start car. Now can't open window, can't open door, and can't move car.
- Crawls out passenger side, leave car in lane with hazards on and goes inside to get money with ID since card invalid.
- Asks for assistance with jump since car in their lane. Rep says no one can leave to assist.
- Goes back out and gets help from another man in line. Crawls back into car through passenger side to get jump cable and ice scraper to open hood, and back and forth to try engine.
- With car finally running again, grabs Taco Bell for breakfast and drives to repair place.
- Mp3 player runs out of battery as leaving Taco Bell.
- Arrives at repair place. An hour and 216 unplanned savings account dollars later, car finally starting on its own.
So I've wasted two weekends in a row, completely decimated my savings account, probably ratcheted my blood pressure up to heart-attack levels on multiple occasions, verified that I can count on the two people I live with for absolutely no help ever, been subjected to continuous emergency situations and embarresments despite my efforts to be responsible and on-the-ball, and still haven't been able to do my taxes. Well, at least I know that if I had any ego to speak of before February started, I certainly don't have any left now.
I feel like frickin' Bilbo Baggins. If something catastrophic happens this coming weekend, someone else will have to step in and resolve it, because I am officially done with everything.