Well, apparently Telus managed to foul up ADSL service to big chunks of greater Vancouver again. At least this time when the service finally came back on I got the right IP address back and didn't have to deal with some minimum wage "I know computer real good. I took MCAD course in homeland before I move to Canada in 1998" call-centre/sweat-shop cubicle-monkey that doesn't even know what DHCP, unlike the last time they fucked over half the city. Good thing, too, because after the other FUBAR's I dealt with today I would have chewed his head off.
As I mentioned, after checking on what I thought was a tripped breaker at lunch I discovered that absolutely nothing had been done with the balcony and let the cats out of the bedroom and returned to work.
When I got back to the office I decided to check my online banking to see if the credit card that I had to get replaced twice after losing my wallet had been connected to my ATM card yet. This is the same account where they failed to change my address not once, but twice. So, per the instructions on the online banking ("If your account has not been added in 24 hours please call ...") I called the support line. They told me that I could not add the account because the middle name on the card did not match the middle name on my primary account (one has René and the other is just the initial R) and "the system" sees that as a difference and rejects the add request. Fine. I can see an automated system failing on something like that. I asked the guy (who, I might add had an FOB accent furthering the call-centre/sweat-shop analogy - our century's crap job for new immigrants) if he could then do it for me. "No," he said. The system would kick out his entry just the same as mine, I would have to get someone at the credit card call centre to change my middle name to match before the system would accept the card.
So I called the credit card call centre and explained my problem. "We can't do that" I was told. I would have to send in proof of my identity to do this. I protested the absurdity of it all, pointing out that I have another credit card, from the same bank attached to the same ATM card with the same middle name on it. I asked when the system was put in place. "Nine months ago," I was told. "Absurd," I responded, since this other card has the same middle name as the one I am trying to add and was added without a problem not more than two weeks ago. "I can't help you," I was told, "You'll have to call the customer service call centre." Exasperated I reiterated that they were the ones who told me to call you. "I can't help you," she maintained. "Fine. Put me through to customer service."
Again, back where I started, but now wholly annoyed and frustrated I explained the problem again to a new customer (dis)service rep. She began to tell me that she couldn't help me. I told her she was wrong, that this must be possible because it was done for the other card. I was then transferred to the magical and all-powerful "supervisor" who heard my exasperated story and, effectively, told me the three people I spoke to earlier must be on glue and proceeded to attach the credit card account in question to my ATM card.
I hate banks. I really, really hate banks.
My work day wraps up uneventfully and I return home. When I open the door I find it odd that the cats aren't there to greet me as they usually are. That's because they are in the middle bedroom - sometime in the afternoon the workmen did finally show up to do the balcony, only they didn't finish it. All they have done is cut away more of the balcony. Behold:
I have a new cell phone. My old number will be valid until October 5th. The new number is 778-838-4263.
Well, the balcony has a surface again. It still needs paint, but at least there isn't a big hole. I watched them work yesterday on my cam.
I'm in the middle of installing NT4 on a Pentium-200 with a 2.4 GB hard drive. Wow. State of the art 1997.