Show me the money

How things change in the matter of just a few days.

Last week, I was battling all these people that wanted my money and this week, people are throwing money at me.

In addition to a pretty sweet severance package (that is only sweet if I get a job before having to dip into it), I noticed a $6700 excess in my tax account. Seems the bank was stashing too much of my mortgage payments in there.

So, I'll pay off Master Card (thanks for lending me the money, too bad I forget what I used it on) and the rest will go towards my mortgage which is where it should have gone all along.

While this winfall is a nice surprise, I don't expect the bank to do it again -- we changed how much is set aside each month so it shouldn't pile up again.

Farewell ACD

Well, I’ve joined club layoff for the second time in my life. Yesterday I got the surprising news that I no longer had a job. I was shocked to say the least. The last layoff was 5.5 years ago (PureEdge) and for a number of reasons, made for the most stressful time in my life. Because of that, I was not looking forward to the emotional roller coaster that would be my future for the next few days. But, by 7:00 pm, the migraine I thought I would get ended up being a bad headache that was cured with a few Advil, my spirits were up, and I was book marking jobs I wanted to apply for. I even turned down the sleeping pills my mom gave me.

My severance package was generous this time round, though the government took nearly %45 of it. I’m also entitled to a bit more as my vacation time jumped up a week after reaching 5 years of employment at ACD. Finally, I was offered a month contract to wrap up the projects I was working on. I’ll need to think about whether I accept the contract and whether I want to negotiate some of the terms. I’d hate to dump all that work on Janet, but at the same time, I don’t want it to get in the way of looking for another job.

After getting the news and the package, I had some time to collect my thoughts before meeting with an employment counsellor who specializes in getting people back on their feet after a layoff. She was great and I have a meeting with her on Wednesday. I’m going to have her look at the CV and cover letters I want to submit for the jobs I want to apply for. Fortunately, both are up to date as I have been looking for a new job off and on for the past 2 months. That also means I was already disengaged from ACD.

I describe the layoff as a shock, but not heartbreaking. While I was hoping to be the dumper not the dumpee, at least this way I get a chunk of change out of it.

Overall, I think my first day went really well and if I can keep up the momentum, I’ll be working in no time.

I’ve begun organizing a traditional trip to a local pub were survivors and those laid off can say good-byes and mingle one last time.

So far so good

Well, the car is running great so far: it starts like a dream, and runs well once started. The true test will be when it rains. Unfortunately, that test isn't about to happen any time soon as our weather patterns have returned to their normal Victoria selves -- mild and dry.

I am also looking forward to watching to see if fuel economy increases. I'm not holding my breath, but I am optimistic.

I've decided to write a letter of complaint to Toyota and have a first draft on paper. However, after talking to more people, it seems I learned what they know already -- the Toyota service department is full of lazy jerks.

I chose to go with a letter because I know that if I go into the shop and ask to speak to a manager (remember: lazy jerk) they are just going to blow it off. That is exactly what others said about how they handled their negative feedback. I also feel pretty strongly about good customer service, but get stressed out by sticking up for myself so would probably end up crying or something stupid like that.

Don't worry, I am not expecting any better treatment by sending a letter. But, at least it will be in writing. Whether I send the same letter to BBB is yet to be decided. After all, the more I dwell on this saga, the more it will consume my thoughts. It really isn't worth this much attention, but I like telling stories and this venue is ideal for doing just that.

Tricks of the Trade

I'll preface this post with a warning that you won't see much work talk here. But, today, I couldn't resist.

Here's the scoop. We have an issue with our software and that of a third party component we rely on. We had asked that that third party do the fix and they had this to say about why they can't do it right now:

"...tied up on a project for a very large international corporation (whom we can’t disclose, but it's the largest software company you can guess)"

Gee, I wonder who that could be?

I learned another trick for dealing with partners. When they want something done now, I just have to say this:

"...this would require a one time expedite fee of $15,000".

I already warned an executive that I might play this card if he tries to slip a project in through the back door. No need to worry, I have a good enough relationship with that individual that I can get away with being cheeky. But, if you see me selling stuff on here, you know I went too far.

Things are looking up

As expected, my financial woes would become more clear by the end of the night.

I just got a $400 quote to fix my car (and possibly improve mileage!) before hopping on the bus that would get me home in time for my strata meeting.

At the strata meeting, we agreed (though not unanimously) NOT to paint the interior of the building. Those against painting ($33,000) would rather see money go to more important things for resale than cosmetic issues like paint.

That leads me to the big ticket item -- the roof. The quote was for $200,000 (~$4,000 each) . Hutton (the building manager) had a similar sized roof done this summer and paid $150,000 so I (we) felt pretty good about the amount set aside. After some discussion we unanimously agreed to not only go through with the roof, but to use the money previously (3 years ago) collected and set aside for replacing balconies. I was pretty pleased with myself for pointing out that the ROI on that use of the money would far exceed any interest the 'balcony' money could bring in simply sitting in the bank. Yay for me.

The balcony money won't cover the full cost to replace the roof, but it was enough to bring my contribution (special levy) to ~ $1500. What a relief. I can handle that no problem though will still need to borrow from the Bank of Mom & Dad to cover it.

While at the meeting, I met the couple below me whose suite got water damage thanks to the idiot plumber who disconnected my sink prior to my renos. And after the meeting was all over, my neighbor and I split a bottle of wine and shared stories of cats, men, and weird neighbors.

Why I won't go back to a car dealership for repairs

Well, I got the call from my Esso Station mechanic (the station on Cedar Hill and Blenkinsop to be specific) and was actually energized by the $4oo quote to fix my car.

He said the sparks weren't firing (rotor + contacts), though all spark plugs were replaced last summer by Toyota. And he said the fuel filter was probably the original. Seems replacing the spark plugs was dealing with a 'cosmetic' symptom of a greater problem that Toyota never did figure out.

Now, the fact that the sparks weren't firing sounds like a perfectly good explanation for why my car was not starting so I am quite confident that it will solve my starting issues. As for the fuel filter, that is a tough fix, so tough in fact, he figures Toyota probably purposely avoided it like the plague. I am hopeful it will resolve my poor mileage, but that really would be the cherry on top at this point. He also read through the last tune up report from Toyota and was surprised at how little they did for the amount they were charging. No kidding. Here is how that Toyota tune up saga went:

• My car wouldn't start, so I had it towed to Toyota. I was planning to get a tune up when my tax return came in (yes, the very return Rev. Can. realized this month was $500 too high) the next month, so I told them to just go ahead and do the tune up then while it was in the shop.
• They addressed what they thought was the issue, and sent me on my way. I realize now, they missed the request to do a tune up, so when the woman at Toyota told me the bill was only $300 and I didn't need a tune up (and that mileage would increase) I was ecstatic.
• A week later, it was towed to Toyota again for not starting at which point they did the $1700 tune up they should have done in the first place. I was a bit annoyed and figured I probably paid $300 more than I should have since it had to go in twice, but since I had neglected the car for a while (save oil changes) I sucked it up. I actually called them on it but nothing much amounted to it. In the end, the tune up did NOTHING for mileage, and the car started acting up again in the rain.
• All seemed well until the November rains kicked in. Once again, it was towed to Toyota and I explained the problem (won't start in rain), and they "checked the starter contacts" which is NOWHERE near the distributor cap which is where moisture is known to wreak havoc. Of course, they found nothing wrong!

We'll have to see how well the Esso fix goes, but at this point, I have way more confidence in them than the guys trained to work on Toyota's. I bet if I took it to Toyota and they finally figured out what Darren at Esso did, I would have been pretty cheesed at them for taking so long. Funny how taking it to someone else and hearing all that is wrong (with car and Toyota) seems less worse than hearing it from the jugheads who had 3 tries at it. Talk about validating my choice to go elsewhere.

I hypothesize that dealerships are so bogged down with maintaining all the lease cars they have (for which a simple hook up to the diagnostic computer will do the trick) that when it comes to dealing with an older car, they are just plain lazy. For that reason, I'll never take this car back to the dealership again.

I'll probably write a letter to Toyota, but I need to see how well Esso panned out.

Happy New Year to me

Well, my year has gotten off to a rough start. A proverbial kick in the financial pants if you will.

In the span of about 2 weeks, the following happened:

• Strata announced we needed a new roof. If we don't use contingency fund (which I don't think we should), this could amount to about $4000 each. We are meeting tonight to decide.
• Revenue Canada just figured out that they paid me $500 too much in last years' tax return. I wish I could just debit that from this year's return, but I know that is hard on the books.
• My car is acting up and there is no way I can afford a new one (or my mother's 2002 Camry). The repair bill should be in tonight.
• I had to have a tooth pulled (At ~ $350, that was more mentally than financially traumatic)

Much of my financial future will shake out tonight, so all should look clearer then. If I start posting stuff for sale, you know I had to cough up $4000 for the roof.

If you've been following along, you know that it didn't stop me from buying an mp3 player which, at $50, has been awesome given how often I've had to take the bus.

By the way, smelly people shouldn't be allowed to ride the bus.

Poop Ornaments

I was walking home through the Cedar Hill Golf Course and noticed a number of 'ornaments' adorning the bushes along the chip trail.

It seems people have figured out the pick-up-yer-dog-poop part, but haven't quite mastered the and-throw-it-in-the-garbage part because what was adorning the bushes were bags of poop. Some were blue, some white, but none were worthy of decorating a bush with.

Sure, some of the bags are bio-degradable, but that is so they don't fill up the landfills. It is not, at least, not in my opinion, free license to chuck them into the woods.

In the poop chuckers defense, I'm sure the bushes were covered in leaves and stood a lot taller and fuller at the time...perfect places for crap stashing. The bushes are now a mere shadow of their former selves after the huge snowfall we had this winter.

So, the lesson of the day: After picking up yer dog poop, put it in the garbage. That also goes for all the other stuff you don't want anymore.

But what if my big girl panties are in the wash?

So, I had a root canal and a crown. Some time ago, the crown broke off at the gum line leaving no tooth exposed and virtually nothing substantial for the crown (or a new one) to stick to. My only reasonable choice was to have it removed.

Yesterday I went for a consult at a Dental Surgeons office and was signed up to have the thing pulled (or pushed as they like to call it) the next day. I got in so quickly thanks to a cancellation and the fact that I was willing to have just local freezing.

The choice to go local was pretty simple -- it is cheaper and involves less recovery time. Despite being an obvious choice, I was still a little anxious about being able to hear, and see if I wanted, all the drilling, pushing, and pulling that goes into pulling out a molar. I knew it would require some serious mind over matter to get through.

Well, today is the next day. I didn't think much about it all morning, and when it came time to leave I was in a bit of a rush. So much so there was no chance I could walk. Fortunately my car started so I drove down the hill. The free lot out front is 30-min only, but I decided it was worth the risk of getting a parking ticket if it meant I could recover some of my lost time. Besides, I used up my last twonie on a chocolate bar the day before (yes, the humour is not lost on me). I was so preoccupied by being in a rush, I hardly thought of the procedure at all.

Once I got into the room and lay down on the table, it started to sink in. I had my mp3 player with me to help me focus my thoughts on something other than all the sounds and activities going on in my mouth, but it was of little help really. I could hardly hear it over all the noise.

I settled on a song by Xavier Rudd (GBA? main chorus is "I'm Doing Fine") but I think I might have drifted off or something because I don't remember them finishing. Before I knew it, they told me it was out and they were stitching me up. I still had minor shakes and the idea of a needle and thread probably made me twitch more.

When it was all done and I was ready to go, I sat up and began reading the home care instructions. At that point, the mind over matter trick was no match and I got dizzy. I guess it was more stressful than I realized because tears started running down my face. I lay down, with a cold compress, and recovered pretty quickly. Once the colour was back in my face and I could sit up, I was able to go home.

Now, several hours later, it hurts like something I shouldn't say out loud. The fact that I also have a headache means I might actually take one of the T3's.

I'm trying really hard to be a big girl and suck it up because it was self inflicted.

I want my mp3...player

I'm back to riding the loser cruiser after all the rain we've had this week. It isn't that bad because I am getting lots of use out of my new mp3 player. It is tiny and pink...like a litle jewel that cranks out tunes like you wouldn't believe. I still can't believe how far the walkman has come. I think my favourite part is not needing batteries, but that is closely followed by it being so cute and pink.

I have to say, the transfer software it came with is a little clunky, and it is too easy to hit the big connect button which, if you are running Shaw Lite, takes forever to load a web page. I wish I could disable that feature.

Piece of crap car

So, another morning has come and gone where I get all dressed up for work, walk out to my car, and fight to start it.

It seems my car doesn't like the rain. I figured this out after all those rain storms we had this winter. But, today, there wasn't much rain. I fear that now my car is sensitive to rain anywhere in the province, not just Victoria.

Well, that isn't all. I went back in to check the bus schedule and I was just in time to catch the bus which would take me to my transfer out to Keating. Unfortunately, the 75 was on time or early so I missed the last bus out to Keating until this afternoon. I didn't even get off the bus before realizing it so I kept going downtown and grabbed the 4 back home again.

The only good part -- I got to try out my new Sony mp3 player. Man, the walkman has come a long way since 1981 when my sister came home with its cassette playing predecessor.

Another Story

For those that don't know me, I like cats. For those that do know me, I am not a crazy cat lady.

Cleo and Evinrude are my fuzzy little lap warmers that really do make my house a warmer place to be.


So, it is rare that my alarm actually wakes me up in the morning. Most days (week days and weekends), I awake to at least one of the following:

- Claws pulling at my nose
- Paws patting my face
- Claws combing my hair
- Sandpaper licking my exposed limbs
- Ralphing
- or cats jumping, running, or leaping on the bed

It is great. I love it. Really, I do. Denial is the best remedy for all that ails you. Seriously. It is.

Then, I lie in bed for 10 - 30 minutes waiting for my alarm to go off so I can catch up on current events in 10 minutes or less.

Bueller?

Here.

Well, its been over a month since getting this puppy up and running, so I thought I would get off my duff and write something.

So, each morning, the radio (CBC) wakes me up and I listen to it (actually that is only half true, but that is another story). Today they were talking about how the number of stolen cars has gone down in Vancouver thanks to the bait car program. Wow, great news.

I'm not sure what the specific objective was of the program, but the story left me wondering -- just why are numbers down? Is it because the culprits are being caught and put in jail (so aren't around to steal cars), or because they are afraid to steal cars in which case they have probably moved onto other crimes. After all, most car thieves are drug addicts, and a stolen car isn't the only thing to pay for that next fix. It is sort of like the first law of thermodynamics -- crime can change from one form to another, but it cannot be created nor destroyed. OK, so that is a bit of a stretch, but I think you get my point.

Like most programs, the bait program treats a symptom, but the real problem is dealing with the top reason for stealing cars -- drug addiction.

That is easy for me to say because I don't have to figure those things out for a living.