I had to have it out with a bank today. I have my main accounts, that I use, at one bank but have two accounts (savings and checking) at another. I started this to have a back-up in case SOMETHING AWFUL happened with my main bank. However, since I pretty much leave the accounts at my back-up bank alone, if there isn't any activity for a length of time, they consider them abandoned property and turn the money over to the Treasury. Obviously, I don't want that to happen, so I have to act. They send a letter for each account and, in theory, I can return the letter with some fields filled out and take care of it. But that doesn't work (hasn't in the past). Got the letters back in late July/early August and went in to the bank to straighten it out. I had to go in person because (1) returning the letters/forms doesn't seem to work and (2) they'd sent the letters to my old address, they were returned with a sticker that the forwarding order had expired, so they put the letters in their original envelopes in a new envelope with my current address and sent them on (I get my bank statements at my current address and they obviously have it, so I don't understand why they're sending them to my old address). Those arrived, I went to the bank's office in August, thought I'd cleared things up and had the accounts reactivated. I'd asked about getting a functioning ATM card and the man I dealt with said that I'd have to wait a few days for the accounts to register on their system as active. Called back a few days later and the person I'd dealt with was gone - no longer with the bank. Spoke with a young woman who was very put out that I didn't have the account numbers to hand and, after about 40 minutes on the phone, convinced her that I was the owner of those accounts and she grudgingly said that she'd send me a card and there'd be a PIN number sent in a separate envelope.

Nearly two months go by, no ATM card has arrived and I receive another pair of letters announcing that my accounts will be classified as abandoned property and given to the Treasury. Same as before - they'd been sent to my old address and the bank had put them in new envelopes with my new address. Ended up spending an hour walking over to the bank, dealing with a banker, trying to get it straightened out, checking to verify they had my actual address and get an actual ATM card and then walking back to my office. With a functioning ATM card, I can make minor transactions and keep the accounts active ... he said he'd have me sent a card, had me set a PIN and, with any luck, this will stop happening. I'm hoping that I can keep this from happening again ... but they're sufficiently screwed up that I'm going to wait and see.

What a mess, Toddson! Can you set up an automatic one dollar transfer from regular bank to backup bank every month or similar to avoid all that?

Timelies all!

Woke up several times last night, so I’m more tired than usual.

-t thanks, but I don't think the bank #1 to bank #2 transfer would work ... they seem to be pretty much non-compatible (and I'm nervous about that kind of thing)

Thanks -t and Gud. Shampooer vaccuumy thing achieved.

Ugh, Toddson.

Cash, man... I just. Rest in the well-earned no-other-peopleness.

That's fair, Toddson. My little credit union can be set up to make automatic payments to anyone, so I was thinking if your main bank offered something similar $1/month would be a small risk if it went wrong somehow. I love automatic payments, though. If I every get to the point where I can just have all my regular bills automatically paid and not worry that I will be overdrawn I will be so happy. Not there yet by a long shot. It tasks me.

That's ridiculous, Toddson. Close the accounts and open one at a bank that works with your primary bank and set up the auto transfer. You have plenty of options for banking (including 100% online ones).

Christopher was harassed for wearing a mask inside to pick up our carry-out pizza for dinner. Is it wrong of me to hope that woman gets it? Ugh.

1. No, I hope she does as well. 2. I've had a response ready for someone hassling me for mask wearing (unlikely to happen in Baltimore) since we started wearing them: "I'm not wearing this for COVID. I'm wearing it so I don't have to smell your stanky breath."

Is it wrong of me to hope that woman gets it? Ugh.

That sounds perfectly normal.

Oh, Cash. I"m glad for your lack of hangover and getting the chance to see your brother, and glad Christopher is there with you, but I pretty much want to shake everyone else in your immediate vicinity.

askye, good on you for holding firm on working off the clock. That is SUCH a no, and you are 1000% right.

Vibing hard for a peaceable resolution for Sheryl and Gary and Mr. S.

Blue Angels everywhere right now, but I have seen something far worse; there's *also* a commercial aircraft air show happening at some point, with a United 777 doing whatever maneuvers something that big can do. And I guess it was practicing today, but someone failed to think this the eff through because the sight of a commercial jet flying low over San Francisco in the direction of the Golden Gate Bridge along a trajectory I knew for a fact was not part of any normal commercial flight path, much less that low, was fucking terrifying. And it was no comfort to see it again a few minutes later heading in the direction of downtown, but now even lower. THIS WHOLE THING IS A TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE IDEA.

Back at the hotel with a bottle of wine. And no people but us.

Oh good. You deserve that downtime, Cashmere. I'm so sorry about your father's passing, and about the circumstances, and about everything you've had to deal with since. Now is the time to take care of you.

I know it's different, because you have to travel back home, but when my father passed, after we got home from the post-funeral gathering, I went to bed, for at least a day, maybe two. My oldest son ended up getting sick after that, so we really hunkered down for a while. He wasn't desperately ill, so it gave us time to just stay home and be.

Take it easy, my friend.