BMO first, this is the cool name for Bank of Montreal. I have a credit card with them, it expired 31MAR2013. Around the 14th of February a company asked me for the new credit card number expiry date. I contacted BMO, they told me they send it out 6 weeks before expiry, the lady, from India was kind of cold about it, but she assured me I would have it soon. About the Ides of March (15th) I called as I did not get the card. I learned lady from India was full of shit.
They said they would send out a car on the 18th (they always send them out on Mondays). It takes 7-10 business days. About the 21st I got a letter which told me all about the conditions on my card. There was no card, I bent the envelope and all the stuff, no card. I called BMO, a lady who was probably holding it together with Midol told me to take a pill, it takes 7 - 10 business days!
So on the 3rd of April I called after the mail had come, this was the 10th business day. I was told by Natalie to be patient.She was doing the listening but not hearing thing. I heard no clicks on her computer. Anyway, her ambivalence made me made, maybe its her Employee of the Month Asset. When she did her math she could only get to 8. She was counting only March, not the first 2 days of April.
Two days later I decided I'd go to the branch and fill out another application. I was going to fill out an application a day until I got a card. This would cause unnecessary work in the Centre of the Known Universe (COTKU). The Concierge at the Bank convinced me not to. One thing, a person would think that a bank called the Bank of Montreal would be based in ....Montreal. You'd be wrong, it is based in COTKU. Just like the Bank of Nova Scotia or Scotiabank. Anyway Concierge called one of her contacts, she was assured it was sent. She told me to check in and let her know when it arrived. So from April 4 to April 10 I checked in. Nothing. She called back on the 10th and had them cancel the card they previously sent and had one sent by courier to the branch. It came today, the 12th.
I got it, it was in the same envelope that I received on the 21st, with the same documents, the one I bent back and forth to see if there was a card in it. I guess the iGate people forgot to put glue on the card to stick to the 'Here is your new card' letter. Now I really want to call Natalie back and call her a c###. I have a credit card now :), my iDevices are all up to date.
2) It is the 12th of April and the weather really sucks. Snow tomorrow, Edmonton has a snowfall warning!
So I got all of the shite out of the way. The money was there, the weather was there, I decided the 11th was the day to get the bike from the shop. God's Great Banana Skin wasn't going to let me off easy. The guy who offered to go into the city with me and drive my car back got 'The Cold From Hell'. When I called him at around 9 on Thursday he said he couldn't do it. I looked around the office, no one was there to get me to my bike.
Greyhound! I looked online and a bus went into town at 11:45. I took the rest of the day off, went home got dressed in bike clothes. Got on bus (which was almost an hour late) and headed to the city. On the bus I called Edmonton Transit to find out the bus to take to Alberta Cycle.
Got the bike after standing around for an hour, sweating. My ex knowns I am not a happy camper when I am sweating hot. People try to get me to go to Texas in 110F time....I laugh and say NO FUCKING WAY! So I got on the bike.
The first ride of the season is not entirely pleasant. Your body sort of remembers things, but you are rusty. To add to this, the car drivers aren't looking for small objects, they have been in control since November and they do not want to give it up. Poor mountain bikers learn that the cagers (car people) don't like the share the road idea.
The other problem is all the sand and gravel on the road. Turning corners with any speed gives you a little butt clenching 'viiiiit' - That's the sound, like a high pressure fart. You say it to another bike and they are there, they know exactly what you mean. The clench, heart rate soars, adrenaline kicks in to lessen the pain and then you get passed the skid with no damage. Whew!
I had a few of those on the way to Whyte Avenue. But for the most part the cars were good; they didn't try to run me off the road.
I made it back to Vegreville on the highway, sometimes I'd go fast, but I was happy to be riding. The wind was blowing from the West, so it was at my back. I didn't freeze and when I got home I actually had a heat rash, from standing around in the bike store.
Today I rode the bike to work, then rode around after work. I went to Toby's for a beer. Tomorrow I have to be in town for Nick's Art Show.
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