How To Get Lost.

Trying to be clever, I have entitled this post 'Get Lost'. Why? Well, this is a rant about my bank called Getin Bank. Very clever, eh?

After listening to people for far too long expressing their fears that we will basically all be screwed when we retire because of the predicted pitiful pension funds, I decided to set up my own pension fund. My plan was to open a savings bank account and set up a monthly direct transfer of an affordable sum of money from one account to another, the second of which, I planned to not touch until retirement or in the case of a really, really, extreme, extreme situation, which does not include holidays, music gear or anything like that.

So, I went to the bank, where I was well assisted and returned home ready to begin this sensible operation, but when I logged in, I could not see this new account.

The next day, I went back to the bank and was informed that perhaps my online banking system needed to be updated. The guy told me he had done something to make it work but that I should go home and check it and return the next day if nothing had changed.

Guess what? I had to return the next day. This time I had to sign some forms in order to change my account to a more modern version that I was informed was much easier to use than the old one. It all sounded great so I returned home once again and logged into my new account ready to set up my pension savings scheme. When I logged in, I now saw that my account had become an empty corpse. My balance had been erased and there was no information that this account was alive and well except that which told me where it is I live.

Since then I have been in correspondance with my bank by email and have been informed on a daily basis that everything will be fixed soon. It has been over one week since I began, what I believed would be a very easy, straightforward process but instead of beginning a very mature and sensible scheme, I now have no money in my online account, no account number, no record of any transactions but at least I know where I live.

Don't 'Do It Yourself' if You Don't know How!

What is is about wanting to feel the satisfaction of fixing something but then making something much worse than it was?

A couple of years ago I had a record player which wasn't turning properly so I opened it up to take a look and by doing so I broke a metal spinning disk that made the belt spin. Not owning a soldering iron, I took some super glue and basically made a mess of the electronics so much so that I had to buy a new one.

This is just one of many examples of what not to do. Yesterday was another example but it was more comical as well as being destructive.

For some weeks now I have been having problems with the pipes in my kitchen. I didn't want to tell my landlord because I knew he would probably scold me for letting so much waste go down the drain, mainly coffee grinds which I had been led to believe are actually good for pipes. Wrong!

Anyway, I manged to dismantle the pipes in question under the sink and took it to the bathroom to clean it out. I first chose the sink to clean out all the crap in there and noticed it getting a bit blocked so then I chose the shower to clean out all the gunk, but by doing so I blocked the pipe in the shower. Bad idea! This one was a tricky one to fix and I had to lie on my back and use a fork to unscrew the pipe from the base of the shower. This pipe I emptied of gunk into the toilet. Good idea!

I put the pipe back in place under the sink and notices that the complex arrangement is still dripping a little. The water in the sink in the bathroom exits very slowly and it will be a problem very soon. I finally decided to contact my landlord in the end. My male pride has been damaged but have I learned a lesson?

Snapping

I am delighted with my new camera and take it out far more often than I expected and when I don't have it with me, I curse myself for missing out on such great opportunities which I can see but cannot capture .
Flat problems are the highlight or should I say lowlight of things at the moment. Power cuts have been followed by a non - spinning washing machine which has somehow become the responsibility for me and my flatmate. On top of this there is the smell from the bathroom. That's the thing about living in the centre - great location but appalling standards and the former is the excuse used by landlords and ladies.