Am still without baggage, and getting unhelpful information from United (oh, yes, your bag will be delivered. When? Oh, I don't know). Spent all day yesterday at home instead of where I needed to be, am not willing to do it again. Unfortunately, my phone charger is in that baggage, so I will be unable to call them pretty soon.

Am disgruntled.

My phone charger will work for my Palm Pilot and vice versa -- but that may just be a quirk of the model.

So, this is what it's come to: I just pulled a white hair out of my head, I'm about to go to a one-year-old's birthday party, and my plans for New Year's Eve are to stay home and go to bed early. @@

Just saw Inherit the Wind for the first time. Boy howdy, that's a hell of a movie.

That is a great film--Fredric March and Spencer Tracy are wonderful in their faceoff, and Gene Kelly as the Mencken stand-in is terrifically dry and cynical.

"GRAMMIE! I BOUGHT YOU SOME FLOWERS!"

So cute!!! I loved it when the niece/nephews were that young. But, it is nice when they get past the monosyllabic stage and start showing interest in other humans. The 16-y.o. actually made sure to talk to me on the phone on Christmas to tell me that he wasn't going to join us for the movie on Tuesday and he therefore thought he wouldn't be seeing me before I left on Wednesday. When I told him his dad was giving me a ride to the airport and I'd be seeing him before I left, he sounded happy to hear that!

Just a pesky cat who keeps meowing at me.

This was Amarna last night. She stayed sprawled on the end table next to the computer desk and even occasionally nudged my arm to get attention when I was busy playing mah jong.

Good: I cashed in a few of giftcards yesterday and got myself an ice cream machine, which is now not-so-quietly humming away in the kitchen. Hooray for ice cream! (Mint chocolate chip, for those wondering)

Ungood: I can't find the floorplan of the new apartment where I wrote down all the room measurements. How am I supposed to mentally organize my books and furniture without wall dimensions?

Okay, so. Since I moved, I haven't been able to get credit. No credit card companies or loan companies will give me money. Because I am trying to move, I can't afford the deposit up front without saving for a while, so I was trying to get a card to put it on.

Now, I just presumed my credit file was bad. I got a credit report today, and in actual fact I've never missed a payment on anything, and have a high (good) score.

Hurray!

So, what's the problem?

Companies have details of areas by postcode (think ZIP code). I didn't realise this. Upon looking up my postcode, they tell me these gems:

"People living here are in general qualified to a below average level and the typical employment type is classified as consisting of a mixture of different types. Unemployment stands at 26% higher than the national average... The level of investors in this area is 33% of the national average and the financial risk associated with this postcode is classified as being roughly 9 times the national average."

So, I now understand why nobody will lend me money, so I can't move to a better area. Hrmph!

Companies have details of areas by postcode (think ZIP code).

Dude, you got redlined.

Any chance you could change your "official residence" to somewhere else, like a relative's house in a "better" area? What a nasty little Catch-22 they've got going there!

Maybe you can get a line of credit through your bank or credit union, since they'll be able to verify your income, credit history, et cetera. Or a short-term loan through the same.

Yeah, I am going to try increasing my credit card limit again. Failing that, a bigger bank overdraft might do it.

I figure if I save until May I can get enough for a deposit to move, but it's just a pain - I hate waiting for things!

Amused at the statistics these agencies can provide - what newspapers people read, internet usage, etc. Of course, I'm a statistics anomoly apparently.

Bummer, so my New Year's Party seems to be falling apart. Folks who were previously on the fence are saying no, one couple who has always attended had something come up and might not be able to make it and a bunch of people just plain haven't responded which, knowing them, means they're not coming. It's looking like it's going to be myself, the GF, a friend and her husband.

Two pregnant ladies and their SOs sitting around on NYE is a little more low-key than I was going for.

Oh, well.

ION, there was a anti-drunk driving ad on TV last night that gave me the wiggins. Cops, judges and inmates singing "Everybody Plays the Fool" with a subtext of "Drive drunk and someone will make you their prison bitch."