Posts
Yesterday Cindy went to Oregon to collect samples so I'm home alone at the moment. She had to get up at 3.30 am, meet her colleagues at the geology building then head up to Indianapolis for a 6 am flight.
Last night I had to pick up a friend from the airport to return the favour for her having taken Cindy and me to the airport in May. All day I was reminding myself to keep an eye on the clock knowing I had no one to remind me when it was time to leave. I knew I'd have to leave a little after 9 pm so at about 9.05 I got ready to make the trip (collected my iPod and its car tape adaptor) and went downstairs to the carpark... But I couldn't find my car!
Then I remembered that I had told Cindy to take my car. Not all the way to the airport, but I did insist that it would be much better for her to drive to the geology building than walking across campus at 4 am. I did say that it would be no trouble for me to stroll up there later to collect the car, which I had forgotten to do. So it was entirely my fault that I had to run from our place on 2nd St up to 11th before getting in the car to drive to the airport. Luckily traffic was good and I still got to the airport before my friend arrived. Best of all she brought me 500g of Cadbury chocolate from Canada!
But the excitement didn't end there. When I got back, as I was letting myself in, I heard a voice behind me call, "Hey, neighbour!" Seems the newly moved-in residents of the basement apartment were having some trouble with their lock (they had the key but the lock was broken, it just kept turning and turning). The emergency number was posted in the hall but, having just arrived in town, they didn't have a phone.
So I lent them mine (local calls are free in America). The landlord wasn't all that prompt to respond, it being almost midnight. After some waiting I suggested that they call a 24-hour locksmith themselves but the handyman eventually arrived. He found that they had left a window unlocked (very dangerous on their level), cut the screen, jumped through and opened the door from the inside. I hate to how difficult it would have been had they locked up properly; the handyman reckons he would have taken a hammer to the door (a locksmith he wasn't)!
Thursday 21 August 2008
Sunday 10 August 2008
Fraud!
I just checked my account balances and got the fright of my life when I found myself overdrawn by more than $200. At first I thought that I hadn't left enough money for the rent check cheque but then I saw several transactions that I never made. Over the last two days someone stole $642.92 from me! Most of it was at service stations where you can pay without a pin or a signature. There was another at a supermarket where they usually ask for a signature.
I've already called the hotline to cancel the card. Tomorrow I'll have to go to the credit union to get my money back. (This shouldn't be too hard, Visa has a "zero liability" guarantee on their debit cards.) I might even have to file a fraud report with the police as well. They'll need to investigate who it was and maybe how they got my number. The only time the card has been far from me recently was at a restaurant when the waitress took quite a while to bring it back. But that seems unlikely. And I can't imagine skimming devices on Bloomington ATMs.
Luckily I keep most of my money at another bank so it couldn't be swept into mychecking chequing account, so I'll still have something to live off while they do the paperwork.
Update
So I went to the credit union and they sent me to the police to file a report and get a case number. The police said that there had been a spate of card-number stealing a few months ago but that this was the first in a while. After I took them the case number the people at the credit union assured me that I'd get my money back in a few days; but I'll have to wait about a week until they send me a new card. (Luckily the grocery money is on a store card.)
13th August - I got the money back today.
16th August - And now another fraudulent transaction! Another $87.98 backdated to the 9th, again at Louisville.
So I went back to the credit union to sign another form and let the police know.
20th August - Finally I've got a new credit card and PIN. The last of the money has been returned and life is back to normal.
I've already called the hotline to cancel the card. Tomorrow I'll have to go to the credit union to get my money back. (This shouldn't be too hard, Visa has a "zero liability" guarantee on their debit cards.) I might even have to file a fraud report with the police as well. They'll need to investigate who it was and maybe how they got my number. The only time the card has been far from me recently was at a restaurant when the waitress took quite a while to bring it back. But that seems unlikely. And I can't imagine skimming devices on Bloomington ATMs.
Luckily I keep most of my money at another bank so it couldn't be swept into my
Update
So I went to the credit union and they sent me to the police to file a report and get a case number. The police said that there had been a spate of card-number stealing a few months ago but that this was the first in a while. After I took them the case number the people at the credit union assured me that I'd get my money back in a few days; but I'll have to wait about a week until they send me a new card. (Luckily the grocery money is on a store card.)
13th August - I got the money back today.
16th August - And now another fraudulent transaction! Another $87.98 backdated to the 9th, again at Louisville.
So I went back to the credit union to sign another form and let the police know.
20th August - Finally I've got a new credit card and PIN. The last of the money has been returned and life is back to normal.
Saturday 9 August 2008
BBQs
Last night I learnt another little American thing that I never noticed myself. For once it was an American who pointed it out to me!
The party last night was both for Cindy's birthday and also because our friend Katie is leaving town. So Katie brought a couple of her other friends whom we've met but don't know well. One started trying to ingratiate himself by asking Cindy, "Which part of Australia are you from?" It's quite amusing for me to watch this sort of exchange in which Cindy has to pause to wonder whether she's understood the question correctly and then try to find a polite way of responding to a question that doesn't really have a correct answer. (Last time one of my classmates, upon hearing that we were going there asked Cindy, "Have you ever been to France before?")
After the Australia questions were redirected to myself, this guy started commenting on how we prefer to barbecue on hot plates, rather than grills. My first reaction was to think to myself, "Well, it's a lot easier when the meat's not falling into the fire. We only use the grill side of the gas barbie if there's so much meat that it won't fit on the plate or you want pretty lines on your steak." And then I realised that all those times I've been to barbecues here, I'd never seen a plain barbecue plate. We've been forced to use a metal grill (and have the burger patties break and fall in the fire) not because the Bloomington parks are too cheap to install decent barbecues, it's because the plate style just doesn't exist here. Our guest then proceeded to tell us about an Australian friend of his who had actually built a brick barbecue for his family so that they could cook more easily on a plate.
The party last night was both for Cindy's birthday and also because our friend Katie is leaving town. So Katie brought a couple of her other friends whom we've met but don't know well. One started trying to ingratiate himself by asking Cindy, "Which part of Australia are you from?" It's quite amusing for me to watch this sort of exchange in which Cindy has to pause to wonder whether she's understood the question correctly and then try to find a polite way of responding to a question that doesn't really have a correct answer. (Last time one of my classmates, upon hearing that we were going there asked Cindy, "Have you ever been to France before?")
After the Australia questions were redirected to myself, this guy started commenting on how we prefer to barbecue on hot plates, rather than grills. My first reaction was to think to myself, "Well, it's a lot easier when the meat's not falling into the fire. We only use the grill side of the gas barbie if there's so much meat that it won't fit on the plate or you want pretty lines on your steak." And then I realised that all those times I've been to barbecues here, I'd never seen a plain barbecue plate. We've been forced to use a metal grill (and have the burger patties break and fall in the fire) not because the Bloomington parks are too cheap to install decent barbecues, it's because the plate style just doesn't exist here. Our guest then proceeded to tell us about an Australian friend of his who had actually built a brick barbecue for his family so that they could cook more easily on a plate.
Cindy Hates Hugging
Apparently the French never learn to hug Platonically. The whole cheek kissing business makes it completely unnecessary.
(As an aside, there's a very complicated system of cheek-kissing in France. The number varies from region to region, e.g. it's two on each cheek for Parisians but less in most other places. This leads to one French person wanting to continue kissing the other and having to explain, "C'est quatre chez moi.")
Yesterday was Cindy's birthday so last night we had a few friends over for a little get together (featuring a Toblerone cheesecake, a punch bowl full of sangria and many empty bottles). The other reason for the party was that a friend was leaving town. So at the end of the night there were a few goodbye hugs. That's when Cindy remembered that she didn't know how to hug. One friend, as she was preparing to leave, went and hugged Cindy goodbye/happy birthday and in response Cindy placed her hands on the friend's bum! (I did see this and wondered a little but, you know, girls will be girls!)
Coming to her senses and realising that she might be sending the wrong message, she had to observe others hugging and note how the arms are held (above the waist).
Now it's causing her a bit of concern but she can't go around refusing people's affections or she'll offend people (like some Jews and Muslims do when they won't shake hand with the opposite sex). So I have advised her to just avoid the hugs altogether and surprise the Americans by greeting them with kisses on the cheek. I'm looking forward to seeing how that goes over.
(As an aside, there's a very complicated system of cheek-kissing in France. The number varies from region to region, e.g. it's two on each cheek for Parisians but less in most other places. This leads to one French person wanting to continue kissing the other and having to explain, "C'est quatre chez moi.")
Yesterday was Cindy's birthday so last night we had a few friends over for a little get together (featuring a Toblerone cheesecake, a punch bowl full of sangria and many empty bottles). The other reason for the party was that a friend was leaving town. So at the end of the night there were a few goodbye hugs. That's when Cindy remembered that she didn't know how to hug. One friend, as she was preparing to leave, went and hugged Cindy goodbye/happy birthday and in response Cindy placed her hands on the friend's bum! (I did see this and wondered a little but, you know, girls will be girls!)
Coming to her senses and realising that she might be sending the wrong message, she had to observe others hugging and note how the arms are held (above the waist).
Now it's causing her a bit of concern but she can't go around refusing people's affections or she'll offend people (like some Jews and Muslims do when they won't shake hand with the opposite sex). So I have advised her to just avoid the hugs altogether and surprise the Americans by greeting them with kisses on the cheek. I'm looking forward to seeing how that goes over.
Thursday 7 August 2008
Entropy
Cindy's computer has had a hard disk crash, again. (So, if you try to talk to me on MSN, it might actually be her using my computer.)
The guy at the computer shop reckons it's because of the current price war, that all this competition leads the hard disk manufacturers to lower their quality control standards. That makes it pretty cheap for us to buy external hard drives for backups but unfortunately that could be contributing to the original problem.
I can't wait until solid-state technology improves.
The guy at the computer shop reckons it's because of the current price war, that all this competition leads the hard disk manufacturers to lower their quality control standards. That makes it pretty cheap for us to buy external hard drives for backups but unfortunately that could be contributing to the original problem.
I can't wait until solid-state technology improves.
Goin' where the weather suits my clothes
I think I've worked out why all the buildings here are over-airconditioned. It's because Americans wear jeans all year around. Even in the heat of summer, when it's 35˙C here in Bloomington, half of the people are wearing jeans. There is a slightly negative attitude to shorts in general but for some reason they prefer denim to even light cotton trousers.
I can't help but think that they need to do the opposite of Jimmy Carter's famous, "Put on a sweater and turn down the heat." by just dressing for the weather. They'd be much more comfortable too.
I can't help but think that they need to do the opposite of Jimmy Carter's famous, "Put on a sweater and turn down the heat." by just dressing for the weather. They'd be much more comfortable too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)