How high can you bounce your checks??

Checks. Again. How do you balance your checkbook? I thought I did a good job, until I got that ominous letter telling me the overdraft kicked in, and I have six days to pay back the money or I will be charged five dollars a day for every day it is overdue. On top of that they charged me a twenty five dollar fee for the overdraft protection to kick in. At least the check did NOT bounce and cause me more headaches.

How did this happen? I normally do not write out checks for more than the amount in the bank. But alas, I forgot to fill in a check in the register, causing me to miss an amount and when trying to balance the book, I neglected to notice that one check was missing. It was just an oversight, really! I didn’t mean to cause a twenty five dollar service fee for myself and if I had known there was an outstanding check I would not have written the check that didn’t clear.

But customer service has its fine points and its weak points. I have called to get charges refunded to my account and have done so with ease, but alas, this fee seems to be too legit for even me to get it brushed under the carpet, for them to forgo the fee. It was really a mistake, and unforgivable mistake on my part. Carelessness. And now I have to pay for it. A lesson for life, always be careful. Those decimals need to be in the right place. Always record each check because you never know what may happen if you wait to do it ten minutes later.

So now, I need to get money to that bank ASAP. But the problem is, I do not live near the bank anymore. Branches open and close and well now there is no branch near me. So what do I do? If I mail a deposit to the bank, well they won’t get it till it is too late as of this glorious holiday we have on Monday. No mail. I think I will have to call in a favor from old friends and ask for some help here. Maybe someone lives near a branch and is able to help me out here and deposit a small amount of money into the account so I won’t owe the bank any more money. After all I was just trying to close the account, and now look what happens.

But last month I had a different story with the bank. I have a service fee for not using the account in the past month. Hey, no one told me that. And I had this account for numerous years. After talking to the customer service people they were able to credit me for the non usuage fee, with a friendly reminder that if I do not use it again, I will have to pay that fee.

And the month before I also had to call the 1-800 number to ask why I was being charged a fee for having an ATM card. Hello! I canceled the ATM card when I saw they were charging me money to own one, so why when not owning one do I need to pay the fee?? So after all these bogus charges I called regarding the overdraft fee. But to no avail, I must pay, unless I can find a very nice teller at a bank who will say it is okay for me not to pay it this one time. It was an honest mistake. But for me to find that teller, whoa is to me, as there is not a branch near me ….
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Cars

I drive my car to work. It is the most convienent way for me to get there. Too far to walk and the train is just not what I want to do since it is a big hassle, so I drive. And I get parking as a perk. It's great. But then again I am the driver and therefore it seems it is my responsibility to fill the car with gas.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't have a problem going to the gas station and getting gas, but I usually never have time on my way home from work and that means I either go out later to get gas, or I leave extra early in the morning to get gas on the way to work. And that cuts into to my hours at work. To go out at night, who wants to go out just for gas? I surely do not want to.

Other than that driving is great. I have been driving since I graduated highschool, and it is great. 17 1/2 and driving, what could be better? You got the keys, a set of wheels and off to wherever you want to go. Of course there is that gas issue again. Last one in the car needs to fill the car with gas, as it is rude to leave a car on empty.

How many of you share a car with other people and get stuck with the car on near empty and know you will NOT make it to your destination without fililng up? Doesn't it bother you that the driver before you neglected the duty to fill up the car after driving it all over town?
Well in my case, it is me. I neglected to fill the car up and now I am going to pay for it by filling it up at night or early morning.

I wish cars had this automatic fill 'er up mode. Whenever the car is near empty it would automatically fill itself up. You would never need to go to a gas station again and fill up yourself. You know the feeling when you are on a highway at 2am and you see that funny light go on and you really do NOT feel like getting off the highway and start searching for a gas station in the middle of the boondocks...in my ideal world, the cars would fill itself up with gas and you wouldn' have anything to worry about. You wouldn't even see the light go on. You would not know that the car just refilled itself up with juice.

I am not talking about the new car, the one that is half gas half electric. I don't understand that concept. Charging your car at night? I mean in Minnesota they charge their cars in the winter otherwise...byebye charlie. It wont work in the morning. But I do not live there. I live in a more centrally location where we do not need to charge the car at night so it wont freeze overnite. But we need to keep it somewhat full with gas so it wont stall on us when we really need it.

All this complaining about cars, I can just imagine life without cars. Naaaaah...I think I will leave it at this......

Computers

Computers. We all have computers, at home, at work, at school, in the library. Wherever you are there is a computer there. Even laptops are common now, with every other person getting one because they feel they need one, or they are cheap. In a company one is relying on the server for information to be stored there so that the entire company can have access to that information. We have come so accustomed to that way of thinking that when the main server is down, what are you to do?
Yes, I am sitting at work today with the main server down. Again. This is not the first time that they system has been down. The first time it happened was that faithful day in August, you know the day the electricity decided to sleep. You see that day, earlier in the day, the computer tech was here to fix our server. We all got notices that the computer system will be down for a day or two leaving us with little work to do, as our work is mainly computer work. But of course our Internet was working J. So halfway through the day, the lights started to flicker and we decided instead of having the computers going on and off by itself, we turned off the computers. Ever since then, we had had more issues with the server. So today I walk in and expected to work…and one girl tells me, “My computer isn’t working!” Now she had issues yesterday so I didn’t really care until I was at my desk and the program that I work off of wasn’t working. Time to call the boss and give him the good news.
He of course is not here yet and was planning on coming in later, so we get to call the computer tech and tell him to hurry over and fix this issue because we cannot be without a computer! But alas the poor man is not answering his phone, which means less work for us here in the office and more time to do fun things, relax, file, and blog. Good thing the Internet is hooked up differently otherwise I wouldn’t know what I would do!
So you readers are subjected to this blog about computers until it is fixed. Enjoy and please, offer your thoughts at the usual spot…
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DVD's

DVD. They got to be the most frustrating way to watch a movie. I mean back in the olden days we had VCR’s where we would put the tape in and watch the video. Nothing to it. No stopping in middle for no reason. No scratches. Nothing really affected the tape unless someone pulled the actual tape apart.
BUT DVD’s. I can’t watch a not one DVD without it stopping. These are brand new DVD’s, just bought, cut the wrapper, pop the DVD into the computer, and watch a movie. But what happens. Halfway through the movie it stops. It gets choppy. It jumps. It restarts the DVD player without you doing anything to it. It has a mind of its own. And of course this happens when it is at the high point of the movie. It does NOT matter what the movie is, or where you are up to, but when it gets interesting or the plot twists…that is when the DVD knows when to stop playing properly and there is nothing you can do about it.
I wish they would let regular VHS tapes come back and let me watch a simple movie in peace. But then again one would need a monitor/VCR to watch it on…and that might be hard to come by. A DVD is simple. It is part of the computer system and no one is wiser.
So I just needed to complain about DVD’s and how annoying it is…because twenty minutes ago I was watching a good simple movie and it stopped. Now I will never know how it ends and I have given up trying to replay it after I reboot the computer.
Maybe this is G-d’s way of telling me that I should not be watching DVD’s or movies anymore. Could it be? Could a simple action like that really be a direct commandment from the One Above to little me down here telling me He is not happy with what I am doing? Is that so? If that is so, then I should really re-consider my actions as the One Above is seeing everything.
Good Night and a Good Shabbos. Two bloggs in one night definitely deserves signatures in……



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Something to think about

I received this little story today in email. Something to think about. Please read the whole thing...and of course...offer your opinion in my guestbook.


An unemployed man is desperate to support his family of a wife and three kids. He applies for a janitor's job at a large firm and easily passes an aptitude test. The human resources manager tells him, "You will be hired at minimum wage of $5.15 an hour. Let me have your e-mail address so that we can get you in the loop. Our system will automatically e-mail you all the forms and advise you when to start and where to report on your
first day."

Taken aback, the man protests that he is poor and has neither a computer nor an e-mail address. To this the manager replies, “You must understand that to a company like ours that means that you virtually do not exist. Without an e-mail address you can hardly expect to be employed by a high-tech firm. Good day."
Stunned, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn and having $10 in his wallet, he walks past a farmers' market and sees a stand selling 25lb crates of beautiful red tomatoes. He buys a crate, carries it to a busy corner and displays the tomatoes. In less than 2 hours he sells all the tomatoes and makes 100% profit. Repeating the process several times more that day, he ends up with almost $100 and arrives home that night with several bags of groceries for his family. During the night he decides to repeat the tomato business the next day. By the end of the week he is getting up early every day and working into the night. He multiplies his profits quickly. Early in the second week he acquires a cart to transport several boxes of tomatoes at a time, but before a month is up he sells the cart to buy a broken-down pickup truck.

At the end of a year he owns three old trucks. His two sons have left their neighborhood gangs to help him with the tomato business, his wife is buying the tomatoes, and his daughter is taking night courses at the community college so she can keep books for him.

By the end of the second year he has a dozen very nice used trucks and employs fifteen previously unemployed people, all selling tomatoes. He continues to work hard.

Time passes and at the end of the fifth year he owns a fleet of nice trucks and a warehouse that his wife supervises, plus two tomato farms that the boys manage. The tomato company's payroll has put hundreds of homeless and jobless people to work. His daughter reports that the business grossed a million dollars.

Planning for the future, he decides to buy some life insurance. Consulting with an insurance adviser, he picks an insurance plan to fit his new circumstances. Then the adviser asks
him for his e-mail address in order to send the final documents electronically. When the man replies that he doesn't have time to mess with a computer and has no e-mail address, the insurance man is stunned, "What, you don't have e-mail? No computer? No Internet? Just think where you would be today if you'd had all of that five years ago!"

“Ha!" snorts the man. "If I'd had e-mail five years ago I would be sweeping floors at Microsoft and making $5.15 an hour."

Which brings us to the moral of this story:.....................

Since you got this story by e-mail, you're probably closer to being a janitor than a millionaire.

Sadly, I received it also.

CheckBook

Who balances the checkbook in your house? Your mother? Your father? or if you are married is it you or your spouse? Or if you are single, do you balance your own checkbook, or know your balance...?

Balancing a checkbook is real easy. You do NOT need to be Einstein here to balance a simple checkbook. You have the columns labeled. You enter your deposits under the heading "deposits/credit(+), they even include the PLUS sign for you to understand that you are adding money to the balance. The Balance column is all the way to the right. You keep adding that row of deposit or payment and get a balance...this is called a running balance.

The other columns you need to know....Description of transaction. This lets the checkbook balancer know what you did...and how to figure out expenses or income. The column right next to that on its right (columns 5) is Payment/debit ( - ) columns. This is where you put the amount of your check along with the check number (column 1) and date (column 2). If you are lousy in math, just put the numbers in the right columns, and leave the math to your significant other, or when you have a calculator handy. It is that simple. Easy. Nothing to it.

BUT WHY????? do we have so many issues with balancing a checkbook? I just told you how to do it! Why are people writing bounced checks? Why when you reconcile your checkbook with your bank statement, you are way off? How come it NEVER balances out when you try so hard to keep it even??

It must be those ATM's! I mean you write a check, you automatically enter the number and the amount...but the ATM.. You forget how much you took out or how often....or maybe it's the nasty bank fees you forget about. $1.50 for using a different ATMachine, and another $1 fee for something else. You forget...both sides need to hit you up for the money. Your account for using a different ATM other than the one with your Banks name on it, AND the ATM you use for not having an account with them. Go figure. It is like charging you for depositing a check that bounces! I mean, you don’t know it will bounce when you deposit a check you received, why should you be hit with such fees???? But back on topic....why can't a simple task be done? Why do people say.."oh, I don't do that....so and so does it...I could never balance our checkbook" WHAT's SO HARD about it???
If you know why....let me know...meanwhile I need to go see why I am not reconciling with my statement........



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BLACKOUT 2003

Of course I need to write about this blackout thingamajig that happened on August 14, 2003 at 4:15 PM EST. What else is there to hock about anyway?
Where were you when the lights just shut down and NYC stopped running? Where were you when the lights started to flicker and the elevators stopped running with people inside? Where were you when trains stopped moving, and people walked down 20+ floors to leave their buildings...where were YOU???
The latest news. Breaking news. Miraculously the news were running, they didn’t seem to be affected by the blackout that affected about ¼ of the USA. They were still able to communicate with the rest of us who were in cars, or had battery operated radios, and chose to listen to what was going on.
For those of you, who were NOT affected by this, let me tell you what happened. About 4:15 on Thursday, you probably noticed that a lot of hockers vanished from various web sites hashkafah.com , and others? Do you think all of the NY’ers signed off at the same time? Yeah, right!
Well it seemed that a TREE feel in OHIO and that caused the blackout in NY, NJ, Ohio, Michigan, Canada, Connecticut and I am sure I am leaving places out, but you get the drift. NO LIGHTS, no computers, no internet (gasp!!) till …well…that all depends on where you live.
NJ got light Thursday night before midnight. Boro Park got electricity back 12 hours later, around 4am, Flatbush, well they were sitting in the dark when Shabbos came in along with Williamsburg. Michigan, they don’t even have running water…let alone electricity for the entire Shabbos. Never were the words “VYEHI OHR” mean so much to us in the 2000 generation. Who would ever think that such would happen in the year 2003??? Not I for one! Never in a million years would it cross my mind that the electricity would go out like that without notice and no one knows why. I mean, come on! It is the year 2003, and we should have backups in case something like this does happen, but, you gotta admit, it is a good story to pass on to your kids…Remember that Thursday night..erev Shabbos when there was a blackout? We were grilling food for Shabbos to eat? I walked down 16 flights just to get to my car and drive home in traffic with NO traffic lights. The Garden State Parkway tolls were for free! The tunnels were all CLOSED because there was no electricity….the MILK situation is horrendous…wow we have great stories to pass on.
“When Zaidy was young…this is how he lived…You think he had electricity and the like, nope! Bedtime was when it got too dark to do anything. Outhouses were exactly that.” Go figure. We were experience life before electricity, and we DO NOT like it, not one little bit!
Please, feel free to tell your story or thoughts on this by ……..





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What is the story about AGE?

What is the big deal about dating a guy who is younger? It is not like he is 13-14, for goodness sake, he is 6months to a year younger, and you are only 22. Big deal. And what happens if you are 26 and he is three years younger? I don’t understand where the whole thing started that the girl must be younger.
Is it so bad that a guy is mature enough to go out with a girl who is two years his senior? Or is it bad that the girl is dating a guy who two years her junior? On whose part is it the “oh wow” said about? Him being younger or her being older?
Age doesn’t really make a difference. Let me retract that statement. I have friends who married guys ten years their senior. Now that is a WOW! It is almost like a different generation. When you grew up strawberry shortcake and care bears, he grew up with…holly hobby, well I guess the boys version of that generation. That’s the hardship you have. You can’t talk to him about your childhood games and dolls since he might not know what they are, especially if he grew up elsewhere, and not in the USA. But other than that, what is the whole thing about age?
I have a few friends who married younger and do they think they married a baby? Obviously not! They are still married. So can you tell me why people are shocked when the girl is smart, pretty, intelligent…the whole nine yards, why people are in a shock when they hear the guy is younger than her….what is the big deal? Did she settle? She is only 22 and engaged to a guy who is 21.5 or 21! Whoopee! What’s wrong with that??
And if the guy gets engaged to an “older” girl people wonder what is wrong with the nebach girl. I can’t stand how this works.
And then you have the reverse affect. Older single girls want to date guys their age or a few years older. “I want a guy my age within a year or two.” Never mind when you were 20 you dated guys 4 years older than you, but now that you are that age you only want your age, and if he is older than me and single there must be something wrong. Hello……….you are older and single too, is there something wrong with you? Obviously you don’t think so, so why are you being picky about his age??? What is the difference anyway? You all have to readjust your lifestyle to accommodate another person, your spouse at any age…so what is the difference how old they are?
I would love to hear your comments on this topic….so please……






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Rules of engagement

A very good friend of mine once wrote a list of things to do once engaged.

Dear Kallah,
Mazel Tov! You are a Kallah! You have been waiting for this very moment since the first chasunah you attended. This is you. You are the girl everyone is talking about, you are the girl who will be up there in the white gown smiling and saying tehillim and beaming to see your choson. But before you get there, don't forget....

1. Your single friends. Remember the good times you have had with them before your choson came along? Remember the long phone calls you had and the daily shmoozes you used to have with your girl friends...well now that you are engaged and soon to be married, do NOT forget them. Have them in mind. Keep on davening for them that they too should find the right one soon. But more importantly make the time for them. Yes, you are very busy but they do not understand. Talk to them often and not always about your wedding plans. Be sympathetic to them about their mishap dates and what is currently bothering them in their life. You used to be them just a little while ago...how quickly one forgets the agony of being single once they become two. You should not be about the girl you used to talk about how she dumped all her friends once she got married. Go out fo your way to be the best friend you always was...

2. Your mother. You know how your taste in style sometimes clashes. Or you think differently then her...but remember this is her little girl getting married. Have her in mind when you do things. Don't just go with your best friend to pick out a wedding gown, go with your mom. She wants to get all teary eyed when she sees you in that gorgeous gown for the first time. Include her in everything. She is not just the pocketbook. Be sensitive to her needs...afterall you are her little girl she raised all these years and now here you are ready to move on to bigger things. She doesn't want you to get hurt and she wants to protect you and she knows that she cannot. Ask her for suggestions and ask her for advice...and dont exclude her from all your plans. She is your Mommy after all.

3. In-laws. The biggest joke is calling them out-laws. They are nervous. You are a young girl taking their son away from them. They too want to protect him of all the evils out there. They don't know you just yet, and they do not know how to talk to you yet. Not sure what to say that wont hurt you. Remember they are your chosons parents and you need to treat them the way you want him to treat your parents. Mommy/Mom, Tatty/Aba/Daddy...You find what is right for you...and don't forget those erev shabbos and erev yomtov phone calls. Score some brownie points, they will appreciate your efforts even if they dont comment on it.

4. Up to the wedding, and you are working seating arrangements. Always so nice when the Kallah writes a few personal notes on the cards for her friends. Remind them you are still the same person you where a few months back before the engagement. Thank them for being them and being there for you. Give them a bracha, a bracha from a kallah is always nice.

5. Try to dance with everyone who came to the chasunah. Whether or not she was invited. Pull the shy girl in for a dance and give her a huge smile and thank her for coming. She will feel so much better about coming if she thinks she really made a difference. Of course it did.
Now smile and enjoy your engagement. Have fun.....

Would love to hear your comments, so please.....

Read my Dreambook guestbook! Sign my Dreambook! Tuesday, August 05, 2003 Ex-dates What do you do about ex-dates? Are you allowed to talk about them? To keep up to date about them or totally forget that you went out with the guy/girl and forget the name? Just recently a friend called me up and told me she was with a few couples and my ex-date's name came up....everyone there seem to know him, except for her. She just knew the name. She was surprised that everyone there knew him and wanted to know how they all knew him...but she couldn't ask..because she didn't want to say how she knew him. Now what would have happened if I was there? Am I allowed to ask about his well being? Ask about his wife? His life? Or do I just forget that time period of my life and make believe I do not know him? And what happens if I meet him at a wedding? Do I ignore him or go over and say hi? What is the proper procedure for this? Why when I asked about him to friends..they want to know why I am asking? SHeesh, I am NOT allowed to see if people are okay? I mean, all I am asking is what has he done with himself over these past x amount of years that is all. No I am not interested in rekindling what may or may not have been there. Why are people so touchy about this topic? Big deal! So you went out on a few dates, you might have gotten burnt, or been the burner, but such is life. This is part of the dating process. Not all of us are destined to marry the first person we date! So since we are not, why aren't we allowed to talk about once in a while? Why are there many who walk on egg shells when an ex-date gets engaged...or married, or has a kid? He/she is entitled too and that person was not for you, so big deal? Be happy! But there are those people who just talk about ex-dates in front of current dates and that is bad. Why do other people feel it is necessary to talk about your previous dates with a current date? Explain that to me? Are they comparing ex-date to current date? Are they trying to scare of current date by saying ex-date was better? So there has got to be a balance. Mentioning exdates in front of new dates are bad, but you are allowed to talk about exdates...as long as it is YOU who inititated it and know when to stop asking!

Read my Dreambook guestbook! Sign my Dreambook! Monday, August 04, 2003 To be a blogger Today I decided to be a blogger. Why not? Lots of people have done it (note the past tense), yet there are many who are still doing it. It will fill the hockers void, fill the need for a new hocker...but we shall see how many will know of this blogspot. So did you all enjoy the rain storm today? What a repreive from the hot days...but I thought we had enough rain in May and in June...did we really need more rain today? Guess it is to make up for last years drought that wasnt really one. Great, I started a new blog, and here I am talking about the rain. What a great introduction to blogspot..gotta love it. Who says I will last? There are so many great leaders out there who have left or just couldn't hack it...who says I will be able to do so? Need to learn how to get a Guest book so i can see who is out there. Hope you enjoyed my first hock.