I have been a very, very naughty girl.
My upcoming trip to London has me a bit financially depressed, mainly because I couldn't know for sure if I would get next Monday off until last Monday - ie six days before my departure. Naturally, train tickets doubled in the two weeks between when I decided I would go and I finally knew it was feasible. A 90-euro difference for two weeks of deicision-making time is pretty unnerving.
Nonetheless, I did have that whole thought-I-bounced-a-check fiasco a few days ago, when it really turned out that my bank sucks even more than I had previously thought. That's saying a lot, because I have always had a sort of seething hatred for my bank, but I believe it's intensified to the level of full-blown contempt.
When I finally realized that I actually did have money in my account (and more than just ten or twenty euros), I was sort of pissed. It meant my bank had been at fault for the whole annoying grocery incident - not me and my bad financial planning skills. It also meant my bank had caused me a weekend of stress and worry, wondering how the hell I had slipped 400 euros without knowing it. Of course, on Monday, when I checked my account balance and everything was hew-howdy dandy, I sort of wanted some sort of acknowledgement on their behalf that they had done a bad, bad thing. So I went in to the bank to ask if there had been some a network problem or something, you know, just to rationalize how something so absurd could happen (I realize this is a slight overreaction, but what if I had been travelling and that happened? I'd have been FUCKED).
Interaction:
Me: Hi, I just checked my account and I have some money in there. Nonethless, I wasn't able to charge anything or to pull out any money on either Saturday or Sunday. Was there some sort of problem?
Bank Bitch Who Obviously Hates Me: No. (French ppfpfthhh noise) No. (ppfpfthh noise again). No problems that I know of.
Me: Oh, well, it is pretty inconvenient to not be able to have access to one's own money, so I thought the bank might send out a warning or something.
Bank Bitch: (Ppfthff noise) Nobody said anything to me.
Me: Yeah, me neither. I suppose that means I'll have to change banks. You know, if every time I want to pull out my money my bank doesn't warn me, and beyond that, doesn't apologize when they've inconvenienced me, I figure it's time to go elsewhere.
Bank Bitch: (Suddenly turning very nice) Oh, well, I don't know, maybe there was something, but I wasn't told about it...
then she went on and on (sans pffthpffth noises), and Iinterrupted by saying, "Yeah, I'm still going to change banks."
That felt sort of good, like really getting her in the gut.
Anyway, I digress.
So why am I a naughty girl?
Because finding out that I didn't bounce any checks made me suddenly say, "No problem, then, kiddo! Go spend, spend, SPEND!"
I believe I have been influenced by the planets, because the urge to spend is far stronger than my usual willpower. Bizarrely, The Boy is on a bit of a splurge as well: He Who Has Never Bought A Damn Article of Clothing in Five Years just bought himself a new laptop, network card, laptop bag, pair of boxers, three pairs of socks, wireless keyboard and mouse. All in the last two weeks.
I am very excited about one my purchases, which is a black tank top dress that I snagged for thirty dolla. If you are all very nice to me, I might put a picture up.
I also bought a gluten-free recipe book (how to make GF granola is what sold me on it. Although I am finding the diet more easy to follow than I had expected, I miss my morning breakfast routine more than anything else...) and some yarn to make new mittens. I spent two hours knitting today while The Boy ran back and forth between the computers, trying to hook all three up on the same network (he figured it out in the end and whooped and hollered around the house like a madman afterwards). After twenty rows, I realized I had fucked up pretty severely on row THREE, and I just undid the whole damn thing.
So hey. Handy activity for the train.
When're you coming to ol' London town then?
Tomorrow (Sunday!), but I leave the next day (I'm going for the London Book Fair)