No wonder their favourite show was Tetched By An Angel. I think that the natural order of progression goes something like this: 1.) Listen to hours of Pink Floyd music, 2.) Get comfortably numb, 3.) Work at mindless civil service job, where conscious thought avails us nought.

I was being facetious, all the folks here are valuable members of society whose import cannot be underestimated. This applies equally to everyone here, well...everyone here except for my sister.

I sympathize, SpiritAlight - our AOS took 22 months with no RFEs or anything. It even took 9 months after being transferred to California!

Today seems to be a grouch day for me - Grrrr! We keep getting junk mail from State Farm Insurance even though I have called a number of times and told them to stop sending mail here - the thing is the name they are sending it to is a friend who lives in Canada. She ordered something on e-bay ONCE that the seller wouldn't ship out of the country so she sent it here and I took it to the post office to forward to her. Now we keep getting mail for her from State Farm Insurance. I have called several times to say Stop! Then yesterday, she received something and my husband received 8 copies of the same form letter all from different State Farm Insurance agents in the area! I finally got a hold of head office and they said they would remove the names from their lists after I complained about harassment. We'll see.

Then, I ordered 2 books from Amazon on June 27 and they were both shipped on June 27 from two different suppliers. The one arrived July 2nd but when the other still hadn't arrived today, I tracked it online to find out it has been sitting in Atlanta since July 1st. When I went to the post office to find out why they just said they had to wait for Atlanta to get enough mail to send to them and it would probably arrive in a few days. It has already been sitting there 8 days - I even offered to drive to Atlanta to pick it up. Another Grr - and a complaint on the USPS website.

Then, it started to feel warm inside. We have the a/c set on 78 and outside it is in the 90s. I checked the thermostat and it was 81 inside. There was a star flashing on the a/c temperature so I went outside to check the air conditioner and it isn't working. I came inside, turned it off, checked the manual and there is no information. So I called some friends and found several who referred me to the same Heating and Air Conditioning service, so I have someone coming tomorrow afternoon between 1 and 5 to check it out. Tomorrow is supposed to get even hotter. Tonight is supposed to stay warm as well but there is a chance of thunderstorms - I hope they come because they will cool off the air and then when I open the windows we may get some cool air inside overnight. So, triple GRRS!

And - of course, no one has looked at my I-751 file which is still sitting in Vermont while those who filed in California after we did are getting approved. (Might as well go for the whole hog while I am venting!).

wow i am excited about a place to vent, it is completely non immigration related but oh well....

So, i work for a company, its a call centre, anyway, last monday i get called into a meeting with 2 managers, and they go through this whole thing with me about what i need to work on blah blah blah, normal stuff, then they start telling me that i have been hanging up on people, and not like a couple people, we're talking like 50 calls in 3 days, that is a whole days worth of calls, and they are telling me this like nothing like its just normal and then at the end all calm the manager says "so we're sending you home now on suspension and we will contact you to know if your to come back or not" well, a week and a day later, im still sitting here at home going WTF?? and waiting for them to call me, well yesterday i called to ask whats going on and find out what they have decided cause i mean really, does it take a week to decide if they are going to fire me? and i really didn't feel after last monday that they were going to call and tell me to come back, so i just want to know so i know if i should get a job or what (i have been looking since the day it happened) but anyway, so i called yesterday, and this is what they said, "you dont need to call and ask, we will contact you when we decide how we are going to DEAL with you" like im some kind of criminal, and i didn't even do what they are saying.

so thats my vent lol, but on the bright side, i got a call today for an interview on friday

You wil have another vent when you see their bill!! I phoned a few when i had AC probs this year, and it was like $100 just to show up!!

I'd give them the heave-ho and tell them to shove the job. One question though...were you hanging up on 50 people in 3 days?

hehe i was very tempted to hang up on more than 50 people in 3 days but i didn't, I did internet tech for comcast people are not happy when they call us, but i didn't hang up on them thats just mean, and i was told when i was hired that if we hang up on 1 person they can fire us sooo. and ya, they will be getting the heave-ho, but i would actually prefer that they fire me so that i can get EI right away if i cant find a job right now

Yeah, I know - they told me it would be $79 just to come. We are in a bind though - going up into the 90s again today. I have the windows closed now (open all night but it didn't really cool off much), blinds drawn and the ceiling fans going. It is about 84 right now and not too bad - but it will get worse when we reach the hot part of the afternoon, that's for sure. At least i am not having to wait several days - there have been a lot of demands on a/c guys right now and I heard one horror store of a week's wait for an appointment! Now, I'm just waiting for the guy to show up.

I am completely freaking out...

I have old credit card debt from 2002 that I stupidly ignored all these years because I was bouncing around from place to place and worked myself into a panic attack every time I thought about it.

Well, a sheriff shows up at my parents' house in Iowa trying to serve me with papers to sue me in court.

What the heck am I going to do? I have no job. I have a total of $200 that I can give them if they are willing to settle with me at this point, but I fear it's too late. I just hope this doesn't affect Réjean's credit because the debt was incurred long before I met him.

All this for a $500 credit card.

I know it's my fault and that I probably deserve this, but now I'm scared I'm going to end up trashing my credit again after I worked to get it back up and that we won't be able to own a house for another 7 to 10 years.

Thanks Kathryn, all this nonsense illogical waiting...I just want to actually plan things for once in my life... in the future, yes the future.
Please do not tell my partner that, as I have led him to believe I do not know tomorrow exists. Hahaha!

As for the rest of the shtuff here in your post, well, I can see why the frustration.
Allow me to gggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr with you!


And poor Necrotica...I hate it when my past comes around to bite me in the VJ-approved-TUSH!
Thankgawd this doesn't happen too frequently.
I'm sorry to hear of how challenging things are for you.

I thought that tomorrow never knows. Chance may indeed favour the prepared mind but how are you supposed to prepare if you don't know?
I feel for you Necrotica, I'm getting bills for someone else with my last name and my voicemail is getting bill collectors looking for someone who isn't me, honest. Maybe you can negotiate something but I would get a copy of your credit report first so you can see how you can work something out.

This site might help you out, Necrotica:

Credit Info Center

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! This is exactly what I needed.

Sister, you will be fine - just remember, one step in front of the other.... and is all else fails, give me a buzz. I have murder services for hire

That's what I was thinking of Krikit. Necrotica, first you should probably get a free credit report from experian, trans-union and equifax. Sometimes there are differences between the three so you should try to get them all. You will be able to see what is written on your credit record and if you do decide to go to a credit counselling agency it will be that much easier. Good luck.

I don't do that anymore, honest.

I don't know if I have enough time now.

I found out from my father last night that the sheriff was at their house trying to serve me with the papers (in Iowa) and that as of today they have already mailed the papers to the sheriff's office here in my county in Kansas.

This is crap. I am just on the verge of the statute of limitations with this debt, if not possibly a little bit over. It's 6 years in Iowa. In Kansas, it's 3.

I don't know how to get proof of when the debt was actually charged off, though. My old credit report only says "date of last activity 5/2002".

WAIT A MOMENT. It's a 5-year statute of limitations in Iowa, not 6 (according to bankrate.com)! If the account was charged off in 2002 and there was no contact made with me, doesn't that mean I can get the judgement dismissed?!

Sure... whatever you say...

Yup, under the doctrine of laches if the creditors did nothing (i.e. sat on their rights) within the 5 years, then they can't come after you after the time is up, they are statute barred. Did they get a judgement or are they asserting a claim, the rules for the enforcement of a judgement are different. In Iowa, by and large the doctrine of laches relates to the unreasonable delay in the assertion or prosecution of a claim, working to the disadvantage or prejudice of another. The mere passage of time is not enough to establish laches, and each case is governed by its own circumstances. Since they did nothing to assert their rights, it would be manifestly unfair for the creditor to just show up out of the blue and ask for money. The creditor is a large corporation, not some spouse or regular citizen, so they have no excuse for doing nothing. In Iowa the rule is twenty years to collect a judgement (10 on the original judgement and 10 via renewal). Iowa Code § 624.23(1) (1999). If the sheriff tries to serve you, accept service (only if it is served on you in Kansas, not your father) and go to court. This matter took place in Iowa so you may have to go there but I wouldn't worry. If you have any documentation from when you got the credit card look through the fine print but it looks like they are sh*t out of luck. Won't be the first time a creditor came looking for a debt long after they lost the right to.

I have a note from my doctor, I need that icepick for medical reasons and that pit of quicklime in the backyard is for disposing of...I mean for my rose bushes, yes that's it, I'm a gardener like to plant things.

Why the F3#$%%%% can't people keep their Iamsobeyondreproach arrogant opinions to themselves?
Welcome to VJ, have a nice day.
ARGHHHHH.

AWWWWWWWW. Look at the widdle kitty.

Some of those people in OT need a good dose of karma. I can't believe what comes out of some people's mouths.

It's evil kitty, have some respect

It would be so much nicer if they just made foam.,.... but no, they TALK/POST. ARGGH.

Ok, now I need to go over to OT and see what has got you steamed up . . .. I guess the problem might be figuring out 'which' post is the culprit because there never seems to be a lack of candidates! (That isn't meant for you specifically, but in general, btw).

I actually think she is referring to a comment I made in this forum. It's too bad that I really don't feel like her reaction to what I said is warranted because no matter how many times I read what I wrote, I don't see me being an a-hole at all.

Can't win em all I guess.

My rant? It really makes me mad when people can't take constructive criticism. There are some people who think life is all rainbows and sunshine and refuse to look at reality or have no rational, common sense. It's great when we can all smile, but if someone told me something to possibly aid me, help me, a word of advice that stemmed from common experiences, I'd have my ears wide open and really think about the situation at hand. I really hate it when people take things way too personally, or think you are attacking/judging them when you are just trying to give them something to think about. (in the nicest way possible!)

Awwwwww

I know sister, no respect for the ultimate forces of evil. Sheesh.

Venting
hopefully it will help to say this to ppl other then the hubby.

Well back in May we registered the kids for school. they didnt start then but will be ready for August. Well I have been completely discusted with the schools here. No offence but they suck big time. For starters I dont have the option to send them somewhere else cause there is no other place to send them. Well there are many things the first thing that set off is how all the kids from k-8 have to where uniforms. At a public school. I ask about the uniforms to find out that they have buttons. Ya its a big deal since i have a child who is OCD and hates buttons cant wear them he starts to freak out. Anyways i figure rip em all off and use velcro.

Well we go on the the first school. After finding out we have 4 schools to deal with. So anyways we are filling out all the forms and the conselor is telling us that they are a grade 6 only school, they have 13 different elementary schools 5th graders all come to this one school. Ok at this time i'm already freaking out. I can barely finish filling out the forms. Then i get to this section where it talks about what maths and english to put him in ect. I ask what is that part for and she tells me its like some sort of advance class. Ok taking you back a sec, when i gave her all the doccumention from the old school i also have all the paper work for his learning disabilities. So back to the forms, she then tells me to just mark down the advance placement section. I looked at the Hubby and say thats setting him up for failure already. I marked him down for normal classes. And since they have to follow the guidelines set up in his IEP he should be ok. ( I hope) Anyways she takes us on a small tour of the school, and i'm ready to tun at this point. Its actually two school and the kids go back and forth for the classes. Hubby asks about the kids free time cause she mentions 90min classes, she like oh ya they get free time at lunch. AT FREAKEN LUNCH, NO F_ING RECESS. She keeps on talking and now i'm barely listening cause i'm trying to figure out homeschooling now. And we finally start getting closer to the door and shes still talking. Well i'm trying to no break down in tears and tell her to shove the school up her a$$, she then says something that set me off. She's like when the children come here they are still babies ( ok i liked hearing that), then she continues and says here we teach then to grow up. Well I lost it, I looked at Charlie and said we got to go NOW, and shes still talking. I'm long gone balling my eyes out and saying there is no way I can send my boy to that school.

Ok going to try and keep the rest shorter. Well we get the other 3 all somewhat registered for their schools and I'm seeingmore and more how I dont want any of my kids in these school. Can you believe that crap they teach in these schools ( at least here) they dont teach geography at all, they have no tech classes, such at wood working, welding auto shop, ect. So ya my boys arent happy about the high schools either. The only thing they teach is algebra 1, 2 ,3 ect and and try and explain what maths they already have. Its worse then pulling teeth. They go to school way longer now then back in Canada and have less options. And this is only a bit of whats got me freaked out. As of right now the only reason i will be sending them is to let them make friends. Well if i knew the schools sucked this bad I would not be here.

Anyways I needed to get it off my chest cause i can't sleep, having panic attacks and feeling like i'm going to get worse as the first day gets closer. And we still havent met with the lady who does the ascessment for the kids disabilities. That should be fun, at least that one area they cant get away with cause I've been through that end all to long.

Sorry was longer then i though
Danielle

couldnt edit,

I forget to mention the high school is set up like this 1300+ kids at one high school for only 9th and 10th grade, the other 11 and 12th grade has about 1300+ student also.

Wow- that is tough. Sorry to hear all that ontarkie. Schooling is so different everywhere in the US, where as in Canada it is very mainstream across the country. I hope you can figure it all out. Home school might sound like the bset option for your son with the OCD. As someone who also suffers from a mild form of OCD, I know how tough it can be to do certain things.

I hope it turns out better.

Ugh I am really pissed off.

Yesterday my brother in law had some of his "friends" over and they went swimming. Then this morning my husband goes to get coffee and notices that there's 200.00 missing from his wallet. I figure while my husband and I were outside bbq'ing they went in to change and someone went upstairs and stole the money.

I want to know which one of those bastards went upstairs and then I want their f'ing address.

OMG Sprailenes - that's horrible, what an invasion. I hate thieves, worse yet that they were guests in your home. I'd kick some ### too.

Yea I am really really upset. The BIL is still sleeping and we're waiting for him to wake up so we can question him about it. I want my husband to just go wake him up so we can get this resolved asap. Because I am sitting here waiting to find out which one went upstairs. There were two friends of his here, we can narrow it down quite easily.

It bothers me that my husband just won't go up and ask him right now, its almost 2:00 pm...wtf wake up already.

They're his friends so he needs to take some responsibility for their actions.

What bothers me is the in-laws are in Hawaii and these "friends" weren't even supposed to be here.

The BIL goes to Hawaii on Wednesday to meet his parents...he didn't want to go for the full two weeks because he was afraid he'd get bored.

Wow. That's horrible, Sprailenes. Don't forget that that is theft and, as such, a complaint can be made to the police. I'm sure your in-laws wouldn't be too thrilled to hear all this either.

Well the BIL denied anyone went upstairs, so either he doesn't know or he knows and doesn't want to say. Orrr my husband lost the money.

Meh.

Gosh...that house you're living in...is crazy! Only another week and you're out of there?!

Oliver helped me clean the house (ie vacuum) and then we organized all our wedding crap that we had on this desk!
It made my night.

I had a mini breakdown earlier..
ok, it was slightly bigger than mini and it involved me walking out the house at 1pm to sit on a bench in front of our apartment building by myself for about half an hour......
Just the stress of the whole thing getting to me occasionally.........

but tonight helped...

Aww Liz, sorry to hear that you are stressing. It's terrible when there is just too much to do!!

Hang in there.

Sweets --- breakdowns right before the wedding are almost obliged and part of the rite of passage. So is pizza with extra cheese.
Relax daaaaahlin' ---- and be as b1tchy as you'd like he he he he he

You two are angels.. =)

OMG seriously! I need to vent. Alright, before I left Canada, I worked at a gym. I was actually a member at that gym and had signed one of those ridiculous 3 year contracts. Anyhow, before I even moved, I talked to them and told them I wouldn't have a Canadian bank account and it would take me awhile to prove that I had moved. (Which by the way is one of the most ridiculous things EVER!) They were totally fine with that, very accommodating. This was a good thing. Now my account is past due two months, which should be a 40 dollar fee, but instead they're charging me 113! Anyway, whatever, that's not the problem. The problem is, I spoke to the man from the cancellations department explaining my situation, nothing with my name on it really cause I don't have an SSN. He said, well, send me what you do have and I'll take a look and let you know, and then we'll worry about getting the payment in. That was two weeks ago I believe. Today I get a phone call from a real b!tch!

I'm sorry if anyone works in Collections, please don't take any of this personally, but OMG, SERIOUSLY! I've never met a more unfriendly person in my life. She wouldn't even let me finish what I was saying. She was all like "well I'm the manager of collections" and I'm like great...go talk to the other guy in your company who told me this. She's like we won't even consider you for canceling your policy until you're up to date. That is not true, according to what he colleague told me. It pisses me off to high heaven. She was incredibly rude to me and while I tried at first to be polite, in the end I was rude back. Some people are very nice and will work with you, others are crazy rude. I guess what I don't get is that most things do not go into collection after 2 months of missing payments, maybe after six, but TWO? And for forty dollars? C'mon, give me a break! It makes me so mad I'm considering not even paying, and that's not something I'd considered before. I just want to tell her to go f**k herself! ARGHHHHHH!!!!

Anyway, that's my rant for the day.

Ok - a health vent for a friend - an American friend,

Last summer my friend was bitten by a tick. She went to the doctors, did the course of antibiotics but still a few weeks later started to develop symptoms of a tick related illness. She went back to the doctor, underwent more treatment, more antibiotics, but when she developed a fever of 104 and fainted, her husband rushed her to emergency. She was admitted and it was determined that she had developed pneumonia and they were pretty sure a variant of Rocky Mountain fever in spite of the anti-biotic treatments. She was extremely ill for a week on a respirator, at one point they didn't know if she would make it, and she was in isolation as they weren't exactly sure at first what was causing her illness. She eventually began to respond and recover. She was in hospital for 10 days. So, my friend and her husband submitted their insurance claim - and it was initially denied because SHE DIDN'T RECEIVE PRIOR APPROVAL FROM THE INSURANCE COMPANY BEFORE GOING TO EMERGENCY!!!! She had a fever of 104 and was unconscious on the ground and her husband was supposed to phone the insurance company to get permission before rushing her to Emergency????. Anyway, they fought it and got the doctors to fight it as well and the claim was eventually allowed so they are only faced with paying 10% of the hospital bill which is still close to $5,000. Now, however, they are fighting with the hospital to get a reasonable payment plan for the remainder - and they are still waiting to get the bills from the doctors (yes, hospitals bill you separately and doctors treating you in the hospital bill you separately). The hospital wants $200 a week - which they don't have - they are a one income family - and the hospital says they should borrow the money from the bank to make the payment plan. That is the place where she is at now - waiting for the next level of administration to phone so they can get a more reasonable repayment plan -one they can pay. This is after the insurance has paid their share - and my friend and her husband are still paying their health insurance premiums on top of it. This is the health insurance faced by the working poor - with Insurance - in the US. GRRRR.

theAteam, what I did before for a something close was call the company directly tell then you will only deal with them and not a collection agency if they want any payments and remind them how you already had an agreement and it was not honored.


Kathryn41, all I can say is WOW

Kathryn that is unbelievable! Unfreakingbelievable!

Stories like that terrify me Kathryn.... really scare me.

Our hospital insurance (and my hubby works for a HUGE international corporation) is an 80/20 split for hospitals, with a 500$ deductible. We'd have to pay 10K in this scenario, something that would be IMPOSSIBLE for us to pay back at this point.

My heart goes out to this family.. what a horror to have to CONVINCE an insurance company to pay for what is OBVIOUSLY an emergency.. GAH!

That is a shocking story Kathryn, I really feel for that family - this happens every day in this country and it's - well you guys already know.

TheATeam - almost sounds like they have their own collections person, I would imagine with a gym abdefault on fees is probably pretty common - given the nature of the biz and the high pressure tactics used at some gyms?

Horrible...horrible, HORRIBLE story Kathryn!!

Yes trailmix, they have their own collections department. That gym is one of the highest pressure there is when it comes to sales tactics, etc. You might know it...SpaLady. When I signed up I wanted to get just a month to month kind of thing, but she sold me into the 3 year policy. Anyhow, I'm getting bombarded from all directions, emails, and phone calls from all sorts of people! Whatever.

Kathryn- That's just TERRIBLE. I have to admit, that kind of a story terrifies me. I haven't been sick in awhile, but I have, in the past been hospitalized for asthma related issues. I guess I just always took for granted that health care was almost free in Alberta. I can't even wrap my brain around the health care here!

OK....Education Rant Ahead!!!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!

The administrator at the school where I work...and where Anna will be attending....just told me that my request for Anna's placement was denied b/c the SPED department thought another placement was better and there were also scheduling conflicts. The SPED staff is "doing what they feel is best for Anna". HAH! They haven't even asked us...her parents...what our thoughts are on this and they've had all summer to do it. It's not like they have hundreds of children in SPED in this little county...the least they could have done was called and said "this is what we're thinking...". GAH! I am so pizzed!

I feel like a non person in all this...and even more so our Anna.

This is the part that irritates the crap out of me....the teacher I requested has experience with children who have epilepsy, has taken the time on her own to educate herself about seizures, and this teacher WANTED Anna in her room. I felt this was a reasonable request and I had hoped someone would actually LISTEN to me. I'll tell ya...being on the other side of the fence on this has really opened my eyes to what the general SPED parent has to go through. I also asked our administration that some type of training be given to ALL staff members regarding children who have epilepsy, as well as asthma, and other serious conditions. I was told "we have so much to do during pre planning...we might have to put that off for a while...you know we can't overload the teachers with more training..." *SIGH* The school nurse is more than willing to find a health professional to come do a short training...doesn't take hours to do this...and do all the leg work to get it set up. Nope...not gonna happen. At least not for some time. So...in the meantime I've offered the new teacher all the information I have regarding Anna's conditions and she has graciously allotted Joel and me 40 minutes of conference time to go over all of this. I guess I'll have to talk fast, eh?

Sorry about the rant but as an educator (and former SPED educator) I can see that this isn't going to be a good year. I know it partly be up to us as to what we make of it and for Anna's sake we will do OUR part to make it as successful as possible. It's just that I've seen this scenario before...and with Anna's disabilities, this won't be an easy road this year. Other than trying AGAIN to get a job in another school system there doesn't seem to be another solution to this one. Not yet anyways....

OK...rant off.

Sister Karen... need a gun???????????????
HUGZZZ