Life's Little Annoyances

[captainsblog]

When you're not at your best emotionally to begin with, it doesn't take as much to threaten a tailspin on ya. So it went today, in spurts throughout the day.

Early: I went to pay a bill online. On time, yay! Days to spare, in fact. And, as it turned out, this could have been crucial.  It's why I never "go paperless" with any kind of banking business, no matter how many green seeds and tree images they guilt me with:

I enter my login. It accepts it, but says, "We do not recognize this device." (Maybe this is because Windows updated last night without telling me?) My options are for them to send a two-factor code either to the email they already have for me, or by text to the phone number they already have for me.

Problem.

The email THEY have is ancient- it's the final resting place of my dear departed Buffalo Freenet account, which stopped working years ago. The phone number they have is my Google Voice number which I gave them because this bank cleverly requires you to opt into 24/7 notifications to your phone, even if mobile or text charges result, in order to use online banking.

No other option. No help link. No customer service number.  Fortunately, I check my Google Voice account, and, after finally getting their app on my phone, the code appears. I've paid. I've changed the email address. I'm good. But I'm sure they've caused defaults to people who simply didn't update their phone number and didn't have this option.

Oh, and now Google is email-bombing me about installing 20 other of their apps on my iPhone.

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We avoided another day of Smart Car Roulette, at least until day's end, because it was a beautiful day and Eleanor decided to bike to work. (I'd left my car at the dealer last night after picking up hers, all neatly inspected and serviced.)  I got to my desk at more or less the usual time, got a quick confirming call from the service advisor about what I needed, and I delved into the wonderful world of Chapter 11 applications. Then, too soon for them to be done, another call: Service Advisor again,  informing me that the dealership does not have tires for my car in stock, and can't get them until Friday.  My reactions, in order: WTF?!? (they basically only sell, or rather used to sell, just one body model of gas-powered Smart car, so you'd think the tires for it would be a fairly fungible item), followed by OFFS!! (I scheduled two appointments out of town Friday). I asked him to call me when the rest of the 30K service was done, so I could take a shot at getting the tires somewhere else today or tomorrow.   THAT proved to be a fool's errand, as my three tries wound up with one who couldn't get me in until next Tuesday, one who didn't have them in stock either, and one on a street so busy I couldn't even get into its driveway to find out.  So I've resigned to one more useless round trip on a set of snow tires that won't be seeing snow anytime soon; they'll get them in Friday, and I'll waste my Saturday morning over there while they put them on. 

Things did look up a little after that: I ran out of envelopes for those lovely Chapter 11 Applications (requiring mass mailing to 90-odd creditors), and it turned out I had enough rewards points at Office Whorehouse to pay for the whole 500-count box of them.  I also found the perfect card for a couple who also, I just discovered, lost a beloved dog recently; I'd been meaning to get in touch with them, because our friendship took a bit of a hit a few years back, and this will hopefully give the air a chance to clear, now that neither of us has to deal with as many dog farts. Finally, I managed to get the bike rack onto the back of JARVIS for my first time ever without instruction or assistance. It's a tangled mess of straps and stoppers and, given my mechanical failiness, I honestly doubted I'd be able to do it. Just as important, I remembered to bring the spacer you have to put on the frame of Eleanor's bike to get it to engage on the rack.

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Been back at the office since all that, with one other Chapter 11 turning increasingly annoying as my opponent seems determined to repeatedly say one thing and then write things stating essentially the opposite.  This will likely wind up consuming most of tomorrow once I get into the office.  Now to stuff those 90 envelopes, and go pick up Eleanor, either from home if she bikes there or at the store if she doesn't.