21 Feb 2000, 23:32.03.
Oh bugger, up, down, does yo-yo mean anything to anyone?
Let’s start with the bad news….my computer (the PC) still has a moral obejection to connecting…..but now it’s pretty much limited to objecting to FreeUK…..which is not good – esp. as they’re my ISP.
Pre upload update: Typically, it’s just started working – just after I sent a message saying it still wasn’t. Hmmm. I’ve not changed anything….have they?
My cunning plan late in 1999, which ran along the lines of “oh, oh, if I buy two cartrigdes now at this discounted price I’ll save myself money later…” suddenly doesn’t seem quite so cunning.
Why? Because the time came to change the cartridge today. Just in time for my complaint (this is the most sarcastic, pissed off letter I’ve ever written….), yes, so changed the cartrigde…..and guess what, after cursing “Ink Again” (who up till now have served me well) for several minutes a vague thought occurred. Hmmmm…check packaging….use before Oct 99. Only 4 months out of date……bugger.
Yes, then there’s things which aren’t tangible.
I had a fantastic weekend, with the SO, as myself. indeed I passed a lot of the time, which served to boost my confidence no end.
Then I came back. I took of my clothes, my nail polish, my eye shadow….and went back to trying to pass as male. It’s hard…..and then there’s hormones. I desparately want to start ‘mones, but I’m going to have to use the NHS. That means waiting. Probably a long, long, time.
What’s so bad about that? Wel;…if I’d have started ’em before I was 16 then you’d probably not be able to tell me from a [cis girl], but if you start them after you’re 25 then their effect is greatly reduced.
And right now I feel just as far away from those elusive tablets as I ever have. And that makes me feel awful. Then, to top it off, I’ll have to wait until the NHS is in a reasonable shape for GRS. Someone said (with reference to private treatment) “if you want something enough you’ll find the money”. Well, that’s not true for me. If I had the money I’d use it, but I simply don’t – I have a job which will just support me, a car and a house. And that’s it. It won’t do fancy things like new computers (which is why one hd in the PC is courtesy of my workplace, and has errors all over it). I don’t do new cars, and I don’t do 2 weeks in New York. I do eat, drive, work, sleep.
Any more than that is classed as luxury – to be done occasionally. Getting the hormones is goung to stretch my budget…..so. Well. That’s it really….sorry to be in such a downer, but hey! What do you expect when you read these pages? Humour? value? Interest? Good grief…..y’must all be nuts.
LOL
Kate…
[This was originally a separate page – but I’ve just included it here for completeness – the complaint to Natwest]
Below is my letter of complain to Natwest…why is it here? Well, I find it vaguely amusing, basically because I was being a sarky cow when I wrote it, and people seemed to enjoy hearing bits of it…..
Dear Sir/Madam,
Let me quote something: “Stress, stress and more stress” – Graduate Package Brochure, Natwest. Well, that aptly describes your service to me, have you considered using it as your advertising slogan?
So far, since opening my account I’ve:
Had to return to my branch because they’d forgotten to photocopy vital documents when opening my account (despite having looked at them)
Had to return again, because they neglected to ask for more forms of ID (having told me that what I had would be enough).
Been informed that I could have a Switch card, when I wasn’t in fact even going to get a cheque guarantee card (quick question: What is the point of a cheque book, without a guarantee card. Answer: none, except to transfer money to an account where they actually give you means to use your money).
Been told I had received multiple letters about being overdrawn when I had received one, and acted on it within the close of business by the next working day.
The one letter I received was ambiguously worded, and in fact utterly misleading.
Are these the hallmarks of great customer service? No. Indeed I am lucky because I decided to maintain my other Graduate account until I was satisfied with your service. Unsurprisingly I am not. So far you’ve made me travel over 60 miles, wasted an inordinate amount of my time, and finally insulted me.
I think possibly the reason for your lack of service is that my account has remained almost £1000 overdrawn for it’s entire time. The simple reason for this is giving me only a cashpoint card having offered me a switch card is laughable in this day and age. I purchase many goods over the internet, when your only option is to pay cash this is impossible. Or I could use the handy cheque-book you sent me. With which I made 5 purchases, one to a shop where I’m well known and 4 to my insurance company. Other than that I transferred the money to an alternative account where I could actually spend it doing what I asked for it for, which was to get me a job.
Having explained this to your staff before opening the account, I might have felt that the “caring & understanding” attitude that she was using might actually be passed on to doing something about it. Instead I’ve felt insulted, and in the end, just plain angry that I even bothered to consider your account.
Finally there is the issue of the letter. To inform me (allegedly) for the third or fourth time that I was overdrawn by an amazing 46 pence. Woo. Due to an error on my part (oh, that’s 5:1 so far, and banking isn’t my job) I had neglected to pay in a cheque, which was to be the first of several cheques of around £150 to pay off the overdraft. The letter states:
…I am willing to discuss a way to help you, but I can only do this if you contact me.
If I do not hear from you by 27 February 2000, I will take the next steps of withdrawing your borrowing limit and asking you to pay back all that you owe us straight away.
Now, perhaps I and the other 10 people I asked are all inordinately stupid. Or else that is ambiguously worded, but what it does not say is that I will have to convert my overdraft into a loan which is what it apparently means. The word discuss is defined by the “Cambridge English Dictionary” as:
Discuss, vt. To drive away or dissolve; to debate; to examine by disputation; to make a trial of, as food; to consume.
If you were aiming for the first of these definitions, congratulations, I fully intend to take my account elsewhere, and the account of the business I’m in the process of organising will also not be gracing your establishment. Debating was not involved, essentially the conversation went along the lines of :
Natwest: “Are you intending to pay any money in?”
Me: “Yes”
Natwest: “I’m afraid that we’re going to have to convert the £1000 into a loan”
Discussion? I think not.
“Stress, stress and more stress”. I think that sums it up nicely.
Yours Sincerely