Banks are businesses, they want to make money.

I was reading this blog today and it really bothered me. He has no clue what he was talking about regarding credit cards. I would like to say he was an idiot and talking out of his butt, however he is really just relaying the general consensus regarding credit, banks and credit cards. I know I can't educate the world, but I can put some truth out there.

While at the bank I had several customers who would complain about their monthly dues, or various handling fees. My standard response was to smile and see how I could get them into an account that better fit them, and see how I could reverse the handling fees. I did this because it was easier than telling them that the fees were just. When someone writes an NSF cheque I had to search the bank for other accounts of his to see if I could make a transfer to cover the NSF. Then I had to check to see if there were any comments about not transferring for him, then finally I transferred the money, which was a 60 keystroke process (yes I counted, it was on an archaic system that they have since replaced). I think that the customer should be more than happy to pay that $5.00 handling fee. The alternative? I could have bounced the cheque, I would have been in my right to do it. He wrote a cheque on an account that didn't have the funds.... Bounce baby, bounce! Anyhow I would reverse the fees the first time, I wouldn't do it again though. And I would only track down other accounts so many times too. It took a large part of my morning and I had other things I needed to do. Mortgages don't write themselves.... I would undo fees for customers because it was easier than arguing and my time was worth more than the $5.00 we charged them, but I would also educate my customer. I told many of them that banks are businesses, they want to make money too. Often many of them understood that and didn't complain as much.

When I was in the credit card department I would often get people calling in complaining that their card had been "turned off" and they had no idea why. Sure enough when I would pull up their account they hadn't made a payment and were 60 days past due. To clarify 60 days past due is 60 days since their due date, which is roughly 3 weeks from when they receive the bill. So they have known that they have had a payment for close to 90 days, but didn't make one and still expect to use their card. When I would explain this to someone they often said that they didn't receive their bill and it wasn't their fault. However it was their fault, bill or not they spent the money and they know that they have to pay the money back.
Another issue that customers like to whine about it when their low interest rate card increases in rate. There are several reasons for this. First the interest rate was introductory and it was supposed to change, but the customer didn't know. Second a company may increase their rate if the customer is late on a payment. This is common on the low interest cards. To combat this I really encourage people to read the fine print, if it seems so great, check it out and make sure you are comfortable entering into that contract, because as soon as you use that card you are entering into a contract.

Finally the best way to preserve your credit rating is to make at least your minimum payment on time. We would say at the bank that a minimum payment on time is better than a full payment late. Also paying an amount which isn't the exact minimum amount won't help or hurt you, as long as it's over the payment amount. My mom once told me to get a credit card and make payments over the minimum, but make them not even numbers, like if the minimum was $10.00 to pay $11.63 so that the credit card company had to reassess your amount and your new minimum. Unfortunately this isn't true, it's all automated and the amount is treated just like the minimum. My mom was right though, always make your minimum payment.

(Okay Adam's home and it's date night, I'll edit this later and add to it.)

Adam's a mini-geezer!

Today Adam turned 29. We celebrated with a early morning trip to the fertility clinic, lunch at our favourtie Korean restaurant, and a cake from Cold Stone. Here's photographic evidence!

My bathroom cupboard

This is the view under my sink in the bathroom. The yellow boxes are what the injectable hormones come in. Each box contains 5 vials of saline, in which to dissolve the hormones and 5 vials of the hormones, in a powdered form. The big red plastic thingy is my sharps container- even in my hormone laden brain, I seem to still have the foresight to be safe! The little box on the bottom left with the red stripe is a vial of the hormone HCG, which is the hormone that triggers a positive pregnancy test, and is also given to people like me to force ovulation. Normally the people at the doctors office would inject it into me, but I know how to give it to myself now. Oh the joys! And finally, the big Costco box of tampons. Seeing all of this stuff to try to get me pregnant stacked up next to my big ol' box of tampons just makes me giggle in a manic, exasperated manner.
















The box that the little box of HCG is on is alcohol wipes. Again with the safety. Also if you ever have to inject yourself, always make sure the alcohol is dry before the injecting begins, or it stings like a mofo!
















You can see how many boxes of the menopur I have gone through. And there is more in the kitchen. So. Many. Vials.

Finally the plastic baggies on the left behind the alcohol wipes are my syringes and needles. There aren't many left.

My Big Fat List of non Grievances (Edited)

To counter the one below this.

1. I remember that I have a block of 70% cocoa solids chocolate bar in the freezer.
2. My nurse today said that a year is a long time to try to have a baby, and I don't need to qualify it when I say "I've ONLY been trying a year." (I almost started crying when she said that.)
3. Chachi is doing a lot better, he's really playful and close to 100%. He still can't jump up on to things, but it's okay. He gives me the puppy dog eyes and I help him. He's also loving his new chew toys, which is good.
4. It's Friday.
5. Adam and I bought a tent yesterday, and we're going camping next weekend in the Redwood Forest in the north part of California.
6. One of my friends here is very close to giving birth and I haven't seen her online all day, so I think she might be having her baby today. (edited to add: I was right, she had her baby, and she's just the prettiest little baby!)
7. I'm making spaghetti and meat sauce, with black olives in it!

My Big Fat List of Grievances

Okay, so I'm at a point in my cycle where I am super grumpy. I need to vent and I'm going to do it here, in hopes I spare some random, unlucky Californian my rage, and mostly to spare Adam.
1. I can never find my glasses and I can't see the screen without them.
2. There isn't enough chocolate in the house.
3. Drivers here are convinced that a yellow light means "gun it".
4. I'm covered in an annoying hormone induced heat rash which is driving me crazy with the itchies.
5. My body isn't responding to the hormones and I have to increase the dose again.
6. I told the doctor that I should start with a high dose!
7. There isn't enough chocolate in the house. (this one bore* repeating)
8. I bought a juicer attachment for our Magic Bullet and it's not all that great.
9. I have a killer headache because I had to get up really early so I could get to the lab early and have my blood drawn.
10. My fridge isn't big enough to hold a big watermelon.
11. My car is dirty, and the stupid pollen won't go away!
12. I'm tired of feeling bitchy all of the time.
13. This is the 12th cycle** we've been trying to get pregnant. It's starting to wear on me.
14. Dog poo, cat poo.
15. The grocery store nearest to us doesn't have tahini.


Okay I guess that is enough for now. I have more, but I can't think of them now and I need to make dinner.

* What is the past tense of bear?
** I swear if anyone says that 12 months isn't a long time, I'll magically fly through the computer and strange said person with some random computer cord.

On buying Costco gas....

Tonight we went to Costco and then we bought gas. We only bought it there because Maggie-Car needed gas, and conveniently there were gas pumps there. However, as we were sitting in the gas line up for an insane amount of time I wondered if Costco gas is really a good economical choice.
I rationalize:
An average car holds about 12 gallons.
Costco gas is about 10 cents a gallon cheaper.
Therefore, you save about $1.20 per fill up.
However, if you are in line to fill up for over 15 minutes (like we were), leaving your car idling, I am sure that you have wasted close to what you will save just waiting. Furthermore, I am adamant that my time is worth more $4.80/ hour! So unless I need gas, (like tonight) I won't wait in line at the Costco gas bar to save a little money.

I also wondered about the people who are waiting to buy cheaper gas. If they are like any other Costco shopper they went with a list comprised of frozen chicken breasts and toilet paper, which would come to a grand total of maybe thirty dollars. However they left with the chicken, the toilet paper, a bouquet of sunflowers, a giant watermelon, a package of Costco sized muffins, a movie, a camping stove, a infrared garbage can (we have that one, it's great), a carton of Twix and a carton of Trident. Grand total $200.00, net over spending, $170.00. I can see why saving $1.20 at the pump is so worth it!

Moving on to bigger savings. When we bought Maggie-Car the dealer told us the price (which was in the tens of thousands) and then when we began the haggling process he dropped a couple hundred dollars. To which I replied that a couple hundred on tens of thousands isn't really anything to be proud of. I told him that we needed to talk in terms of thousands, or we would leave. He gave me an utterly blank stare and went to "telephone his manager" to see what he could do. He came back with another offer of a measly couple hundred. I countered again saying that it was an unacceptable offer and that we couldn't even consider it. He went again to speak to this manager and came back, sullen. This time I asked if I could speak to the manager, as I saw this back and forth continuing all day and I didn't have the patience for it. The sales guys was shocked that I would suggest it and had no idea what to say. Apparently no one has ever asked to explain their argument to the manager before. So long story short I got my way. My theory was that it's a waste of time to haggle over a small amount relative to the total amount. Much like a couple cents on a gallon is a small amount, hardly noticeable in the grand scheme of things. Now a couple cents on a litre would be more noticeable, but only barely.

Maybe when our parents were younger and gas was under 40 cents a litre or $1.50 a gallon a couple of cents was a much larger portion of the total. I think that we've picked up budgeting from them and have it ingrained into us that a couple cents really makes a difference, when in reality not buying the carton of Twix, Trident, the flowers etc. is what will make the difference. But now I am getting onto another subject for another day.

Oh that dog!

Thanks for all of the well wishes for Chachi.
He's doing a lot better. He has a lot more energy now and plays almost as much as he used to, he does get tired quickly and sleeps a lot, but that's okay. He can't jump more than a couple inches so he can't jump onto his favorite chair or onto the bed. We did make some stairs for him to get onto the couch, and he's using them now.
Last night we were playing some games and I was keeping an eye on him, just to make sure he doesn't get into anything. (When I'm at home I keep really close tabs on him, and when I'm gone I keep him locked in the kitchen, where there are less fluffy things for him to eat.) However last night I noticed that I hadn't seen him for about a half hour, so I did a frantic search of the house and I found him in his crate, just lying there, looking all innocent. (Isn't that always the way?) I called him out and he came to me and was all sulky, like he'd done something wrong. And then I saw a glint of something shiny on his blanket. It was a staple. So I flipped the dog over and sure enough there were 5 staples missing, and 10 angry staple holes. I only found 2 of the staples, so he must have eaten 3 of them. Of course I went into panic mode and called our vet (who is open 24 hours) and they told me when I confirmed that there weren't guts everywhere, to feed him some bread to cushion the staples.
What am I gonna do with this little beastie?

Creepy Website.

I came across this website that tells you what sexual offenders are in your area. I don't know if they have a Canadian version of this. But in any case it's a little bit fascinating and a lot creepy.
(my zip is 94086)

I found the pictures, read the post below first.

This was the day before he went into the hospital.
















This is my typical pathetic puppy. He loves to have his belly rubbed, even when he's really sick.





















This was taken yesterday when he got home from the hospital. The red bandage is from his IV. You can see how gaunt he is, poor puppy. He's really happy in this one though, he's surveying the house, happy to be home.
















This is this morning, you can see how naked his belly is, and his incision and his staples. He's so skinny and weak that he's always limp.

Chachins aka Puppins and another needle update.

Chachi came home yesterday, he was most excited when we left the vet and struggled to get into the car. I don't think I was moving fast enough from him, it was like he just wanted to get as much distance between him and the vet's office as possible.
He was sent home with a mini pharmacy of medications that we need to give him. We still haven't figured out the best way to do it. Today I improvised with peanut butter to try to get him to stop biting us. It was a little amusing. I placed the pill that we have to give him into his throat but he still managed to work it up and out of his mouth. Crazy dog. Eventually the two grown humans were able to out maneuver and over power the weakened 5.5 pound dog. Sad state of affairs really.
I think we're going to have to crate train him. It was something I wanted to avoid, but since he ended up so sick from eating everything, we need to be able to keep him safe from himself. Our plan is to crate him when we can't be with him, if it's for a short period of time, or keep him barricaded in the kitchen. He doesn't mind the crate, it's for a medium dog and he's a small dog so there is lots of room for him, and when he will just be in the kitchen it will be okay too, since it's a huge kitchen. Right now I have him locked in the office with me, and he finally fell asleep. He's rather stubborn, this little dog of mine. He sat next to the office door, giving me puppy dog eyes, sad that I made him stay in one room. I think he's picked up on some of Bonsai's tendencies, who hates to be locked out of a room. It's like they're ganging up on me!
So thank you to everyone who had well wishes for Chachi. I'm so relieved that he's better. It was really scary when they couldn't figure out what was wrong and he kept getting sicker and sicker. It broke my heart when he refused to eat- my puppy, the K-9 hoover wouldn't eat. It's all better now, he's eating like a champ!
I do have pictures of him with his bandage from his IV and pictures of his naked belly, complete with 9 staples. However I can't find where I put them on the computer. Check back tonight and I'll get Adam to help me.

Needle Update.
When I gave myself my needle last night everything went smoothly, except I didn't wait for the alcohol to dry and there was a lot of stinging. I also pressed harder and when I pulled the needle out there was a little pinch of skin caught between the needle and the syringe part. It made my tummy roil a little when it released as I pulled it out. I still have to pause half way through injecting myself. It's surreal to watch the liquid go into your body, it makes me lightheaded and I need to take a couple breaths. I really hope I don't have to go through all of this again. But I don't have my hopes up that this will be the cycle that "takes".
I think I can feel my right ovary, which is exciting because it's the one that refuses to work. Although since I've started all of this I am hyper aware of any twinges or cramps and it could be anything, or I could just be imagining it. I feel like I'm jaded and I won't get to actually enjoy the early part of being pregnant, since I get all of the early pregnancy symptoms every month from the injections they give me to trigger ovulation. So now when I have the classic early symptoms I know that it could mean nothing and I've stopped getting excited, instead I get rather annoyed. They can be painful and I'm tired of the pain for no reason! Oh well, maybe this cycle!
Cheers!

Chachi update. Needle update

Chachi is feeling better today. Adam and I went to visit him a couple times and as the day passed he became more aware. He is still really skinny, and his eyes look even more buggy. It's kinda cute.
We saw the blockage that made him so sick. It wasn't a discernible anything, there was some fluff from the couch, some fuzz from his bed, some bark mulch and some of my hair. Clearly he eats everything. I don't know how I can break him of that. We are going to throw away any of his toys which are stuffed, unless they are holding up really well (many aren't). The vet suggested rawhide toys and rubber toys. Chachi has those, but he loves stuffed toys. He loves to rip them open and tear their guts out. (chihuahuas eat small rodents in the wild and would shake it to kill it then rip it open and pull everything out, which is just how Chachi plays) Anyhow I hope he doesn't miss his toys. As for the couch, I think we're going to try and find some slip covers and if we can't I'll try to make some. It should be interesting!
Along with removing the blockage the vet also had to remove 14 inches of his intestines, which is 20% of the total length, which is a little scary to me. Having so much removed makes him at a higher risk of another blockage, which worries me. The vet explained that it's not uncommon for dogs to have this happen to them a couple times in their lives. Unlike livers, intestines don't grow back.
When they were looking at the blockage on the ultrasound they thought it was just a mass, which is easier to remove and causes less damage, but Chachi's was a long mass, that caused a lot of damage as it was pushed and pulled through his intestines. We were teasing him earlier that he wants to be like his Uncle Ceaser, who is Adam's mom's cat, who ate a polyester string a year ago in November and had something similar happen. Ceaser was a little less lucky and lost close to 3 feet of his intestines. However he is a fully recovered kitty, complete with his starlet complex.
When we were visiting him tonight, one of the techs suggested that we give Chachi some food since he might be more likey to take it while we are there. So she prepared a tablespoon of babyfood for him and gave it to me to give to him. I sat Chachi down in his little cage and gave him the plate of food and he gobbled it down in record time. I was insanely happy to see my little dog eat, especially since I was doing everything all week to get him to eat. So, it looks like he'll be better now. He's going to be the toughest chihuahua on the block with all of his scars. He will have three scars on his belly now, all acquired in less than four months.
Thanks for all of your good wishes, and I'll post pictures soon.

On to my needles.
I know I shocked some people by talking about it last time. I'm sorry.
Today was a little better, I hesitated less, but it still sucked. It also stung a lot, but it's a short sting. I can't get over watching the needle enter my skin, it's so weird and surreal. The needle is tiny and sharp, so there is no resistance going in, but I still don't want to push down too hard when I actually depress the plunger. I expect I'll get better at it.
I learned a couple things tonight:
1. Before I fill the syringe with saline I need to first fill it with air, and inject the air into the bottle so that I will get the right amount of saline. I didn't do that last night and I ended up not getting enough saline, but I think I still had enough of the dose. (I mix the saline with the powdered hormones.)
2. When pulling the needle from your body, pull straight out. I pulled at a slight angle today and the tip of the needle caught on the inside of my skin and kinda scratched/ popped it's way out. It gave me the shivers.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll get everything perfect.

Of the Puppy ICU and Needles.

Yesterday wasn't a good day at all. It was up there with the no good, terrible, very bad days. Chachi hadn't gotten any better and the vet had no clue what was wrong. I called them frequently to keep them up to date and ask what else I could do. I was frantic because he'd gone from puking yellow bile to puking nasty green something. The vet techs first told me a couple days ago to stop feeding him, which I wasn't and so they just deduced it was coming from his intestines. Then yesterday I called again freaking out because he still wasn't eating and he had gotten so weak he couldn't jump up onto his chair or the couch. When I called them they suggested that I force feed him. We did. He puked it up 45 minutes later. So we made another trip into the vet. And we waited, then we had to leave because I had a doctor's appointment, so we made an appointment for Chachi for later in the evening.
When we returned to the vet Chachi was the same, (him and Adam sat in the car while I was at the appointment, more on that later) we were scurried in, and when they weighed him it showed that he'd lost half a pound since Saturday, which is a lot when you're only 6 pounds to start with. The vet decided to do an ultrasound, so he had to shave Chachi's belly, and now he's naked- again. The ultrasound showed that he had an obstruction is his intestines and it would require surgery. So Chachi was admitted to the ICU because he wasn't stable enough for surgery. He was really dehydrated and too weak. They started him on IV fluids and he was set to rest for a couple hours. The vet did the surgery at midnight and called us at one to tell us that it was a lot more complicated than expected. Apparently whatever he ate shredded a short section of his intestines and they had to remove a portion. The vet has no clue what is that he ate, but they did save it for Adam and I to look at, it might make sense to us.
Today Chachi is stable, but they won't start him on food until tomorrow. He has to stay in the ICU until tomorrow at the earliest. We do get to go and visit him though, which is nice.
Poor guy, it's only been four months since he had his abdomen cut open, and here we go again. And he's naked again! It's like he's destined to have a bald belly.

(The next part is about me and my getting pregnant shenanigans, there is a little TMI. You've been warned.)

My doctor's appointment yesterday was a giant pain in the... lower bits. I am starting the injectable hormones this month, but before they'll prescribe them I have to have my ovaries checked to make sure that they aren't covered in cysts. (they weren't, which makes sense since I don't have PCOS) The doctors want me to have the surgery that I need before I do this, but I don't want to waste another month. Hopefully I won't need it at all, because, frankly I don't want it. We're hoping that my stubborn ovary will work and I won't need the surgery at all. So everything was clear and I was able to get the prescription. When we finally got home I prepared a needle and realized that I lost about a quarter of the volume, so I did it again and I was extra careful that there were no drops and I still lost the same amount. Adam explained that because I was mixing a powder into a liquid the volume could change. I think it's odd that the volume would be less, but I'm not the science-y one in this marriage.
Anyhow I get the needle all ready, and then panic. I don't like needles, there is no way on this green earth that I could plunge a needle into my delicate, very white flesh*. Adam assures me that I can. Then he refused to do it for me. (seriously if a husband won't stab you with a needle....) So I sat down and cleaned the spot, pinched a section and I hovered the needle over my target. And panicked. I can't even watch when I get blood drawn, how in the world can I stick a needle into myself? Adam, always supportive, told me to hurry up. Sigh. I made a lame attempt and pulled back at the last moment, then I plunged again, but too slowly. As I watched the needle disappear into me, I got all queasy and had to take a deep breath, but I still felt the needle going through the various layers. I was clearly going too slow. When the needle was all of the way in me I injected the hormones. The plunger was hard to depress and I was too scared to use too much pressure. Eventually I was able to inject it all and pulled the needle out. Then I watched as a little droplet of the fluid came up out of the hole I poked into my skin. It dried and I survived.
I still have to do it four more times.
I better get a baby or two out of all of this!
*I have to give myself the injections into my stomach which has never seen the sun, so the skin is really fair.

Okay I'm off to visit Chachi.

Happy Cinco De Mayo

Today is Cinco De Mayo. It's a crazy big party here, like St. Patrick's Day at home. (which is also a big party here) I spoke about it last year here.
Adam and I had grand plans for this weekend. First we made plans to go camping in Yosemite, but it's still below freezing overnight and we want to bring Chachi. Our first plan nixed. The we decided to go to Monterey Bay Aquariaum, but then Chachi ate something that made him really sick.
Chachi spent all day Thursday barfing and being really pathetic. Then Friday we was listless and refused to eat or drink, so I took him to the vet. They pronounced that he must have eaten something and he should be okay today. They gave him sub. q. fluids, medication and a sedative. Today he was barfy again and would not eat or drink, so we took him back. The vet took blood, x-rayed him and gave him more fluids and medication. Once home he puked on Adam, then again later, this time a lovely shade of green. My poor puppy has been poked several time, been probed anally to check his temp. and been manhandled to see if there is an obstruction. It would be an understatement to say that he's in a bad mood. Even sick he has a lot of fight in him. When the vet tech. took his blood it was a 3 person job, which is a little funny considering he's only six pounds, and he was muzzled! Hopefully he is a little better tomorrow, because he's cleaned us of all of our couch savings, which is really unfortunate because the place he chose to barf on was the couches! *have I ever mentioned how much I love Oxy Clean?* I do think that is feeling a little better; someone came to the door and he was able to muster enough oomph to bark at them, very convincingly, then took a nap.
My poor little puppy.
So next weekend we are going to go camping and perhaps the weekend after we'll go to the Aquarium.

Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone!

The Hard Life of a California Orange.

Today I went to an injections class.
What is an injections class you may ask?
Well, it's a class where I learn how to stab myself with a needle and inject myself with potent hormones.
Serious fun.
Adam didn't want to participate in the class, which is fine and good, these are they kind of injections that I can give myself, although I will show him, because I'm not so sure it's something I'll be able to do well. However on second thought, maybe it's like applying mascara, it's not so easy the first couple times, but after stabbing yourself in the eye with the wand you catch on fast. So maybe after jabbing myself too slowly or injecting it too quickly I'll get the finer, finessier points down. (oh yes the puns are all intended)
So the hard life of an orange.
You can't expect a room of hormonal women to actually learn on themselves? Actually that would be kinda funny since we have to inject it into your stomach, in the best part. The nice poochy part. We would all be self conscious and trying to hide from each other, yet trying to not seem like we are, and still trying to learn the ins and outs of injections. (seriously I kill myself!) I think the whole scene would make for great SNL fodder.
Back to the orange. After we prepared our needles and loaded with saline we get to assault the orange. After several jabs to get the pressure right, the angle right and insertion speed right we get to inject said orange with the saline. Which promptly comes out of the holes you just poked it with. Kinda amusing. But I am hormonal and weird things amuse me (and simple things turn me into a raving banshee).
While I was jab, jab, jabbing my orange while everyone watched, I envisioned the condom banana from sex ed. There should be a support group for fruit used in reproductive assistance, or lack there of. I didn't mention this in the class. I am sure that it would have been inappropriate. I often feel the urge to laugh when something is stressful, and cracking lame jokes makes me laugh. However this class was serious, we all have our happiness invested in it, I don't think jokes would have been right. But oh they were flying around my head.
When we started talking about the side effects I got a little more sombre. Apparently the crazy hormoned mood swings I have been on were only a warm up for what's to come. (Let this be a warning if you're going to come and visit in the next couple months, it's not my fault.) We also discussed the rate of miscarriage which is high, but only because we are so closely monitored that our pregnancies are discovered very early, while there is still a high chance of miscarriage. It's difficult to gauge this rate in the general population because they aren't monitored as closely. Also we talked about ovarian cancer, and this may or may not increase your chances. There is some research saying the more you ovulate the higher your chances are that you can get it. That's why being on birth control pills can lessen your chances. Or be me and have ovulated a handful of times in your whole life.... Anyhow on these drugs you don't ovulate you OVULATE! (caps and exclamation are needed) Which leads to another side effect. Multiple births. In the regular population the chance of twins is really small, with these drugs it's 25%, which is HUGE! The chance of triplets or higher is 5%, which isn't as huge, but still higher than the normal average for twins. We also had to sign a form stating if we would consider reducing a pregnancy to twins if there were 3 or more embryos. (more than 3 makes for a really high risk pregnancy) I was shocked at this. Your treatment can be effected if you aren't willing to reduce a pregnancy, they could skip a cycle if you have too many follicles. I checked that I would be willing, but really, I don't know. Lets just wait and see what happens. And the next time you eat an orange, remind it that it's the lucky one, destined for digestion, unlike the oranges in the REI clinic's staff room.