chesneycat

On sunday, we encountered a woman driver who was indisputably full of Fail.  Jez had parked outside the co-op, a couple of feet behind a small-ish estate car.  Plenty of room for the car to be manouevred out, especially since she had another two feet of empty space in front as well.  But, as we closed the car doors, she came running up to us.  Apparently, a space that I could've squeezed out of if it was a quarter of the size was far too small for her.  Could we please drop the car back another half mile or so? She was ever so sorry, but had just popped in to the shop to buy a pint of milk, and didn't think any other road users might just happen to park behind her while she was inside.  Because it's not the busiest local shop in the world or anything...

Oh, we silently obliged, but I'm sure the look on my face told her all she needed to know.   Lady, I know parallel parking can be tricky, but if your driving skills are THAT poor, you should NOT be on the road!  Sheesh, but you're giving your sex a bad name.

Rant number two - debt. I have every sympathy for people who get themselves into debt, but a story on the news this morning pissed me off a little.  They began it by explaining how this woman had suddenly found herself 40K in the red, but oh, she DESERVED our sympathy because it wasn't spent on luxuries, but on bills and mortgage payments which had doubled, and OH WHO COULD HAVE EXPECTED THAT?!

Sorry, but no.  Since when have interest rates always remained the same?  And it's not as if we don't have the memory of rocketing rates and repossessions in the 80s (and to a lesser extent, the 90s), is it?  Seriously, what do you EXPECT is going to happen when your lovely three-year fixed rate mortgage expires, and you end up on whatever the standard rate is today?  Come ON people - it's not rocket science!  Stretching yourself for a mortgage is bad enough if you know you can't really afford it, but displaying a level of willful ignorance that'd put an ostrich to shame...?  Nope, you're getting zero sympathy from this corner.

On a less snarky note, last night I gave a talk to our local astronomy society, and it went down wonderfully.  I'm so chuffed with myself.

EDIT - when I tag my posts with either "idiot of the week" or "rant of the week", surely a snarkfest isn't unexpected?  Oh, internet, you make me weep!

Okay, so I had to cancel my Hawai'i trip because of all the various complications.

Then, I had to fill out the insurance forms, and I got a lovely cheque for £610 when I was claiming £1430.  Deduct the non-refundable airport taxes and the £50 excess per head, and that's still £1170.  I'm £560 short.

So, I rang 'em up, figured out where the problem lay, got them to agree that yes, it was their mistake, and they'd sort it out.

Today, after hassling them yesterday, I got a phonecall to confirm that yes, they had sent me out a cheque for the balance this week. (And if they didn't fast-track it last thing last night, I'll be damn surprised.)

For £253.82.

Come ON, fucktards! You're not even half-way there! 

So, they're going to get someone to look into it for me, and contact me.  But it's bad enough dealing with these people at the best of times.  For this though, I get to re-live every damn part of my miscarriage every single time I have to call them back.  And I get to do it today, of all days, when I have to keep my cool in front of the specialist.

*sigh*

C'est la vie.

The phone just rang...   M=me, I=idiot on the other end.

I: Hello, can I speak to Joanne?

Really, it's a good thing Jo isn't around to answer, as she's rather picky about her name.

M: I'm sorry, JoannA's in Italy.
I: Oh, what time will she be back?

What am I, everyones secretary?

M: Ah... next week.
I: Okay, I'll ring her at home then.

And you expect an answer from her at home how, exactly?

M: *hangs up, bemused*

I said:

My e-ticket confirmation code is ######.

Please can I have the appropriate cancellation letters/invoices to pass on to my insurance company for my cancellation insurance claim.

I originally sent this email on April 5th just after submitting a similar request for my husband's flights. A letter materialised for him, but did not for me, hence my re-submission of this e-mail. As I've now been waiting nearly six weeks for my letter, please can you do whatever you can to get it to me asap - it'll be very much appreciated at my end!

They said:

The letter says:
Ten points to the first person who can spot the deliberate mistake!