Jonah is Walking

Jonah is now walking. He is so cute. Today he was sitting next to me on the couch and stood up. He came into my lap, gave me a sweet hug and then a kiss. He is only 11 months old. I am still working with him to say grandpa.

Rebekah is sweet as ever. She still picks on her little brother but it could be a lot worse. I can tell she loves her brother and Jonah sure watches everything Rebekah does.

Being a grandpa is so cool.

Brenda's Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENDA

A picture these days of Brenda is not complete without Mike.

Brenda was born at the Northridge Hospital and was 3 weeks overdue. When she was born, she was extremely large and came out face first. I guess she could not wait to see the world. She was actually born with Sue straddling the gurney and delivery table and no doctor present. Sue was in some distress and as soon as Brenda popped out the nurses handed her to me in order to take care of Sue. I held my beautiful goopy daughter for the first time and she right away opened her eyes and just looked at me.

As a little girl she had wild curly hair. We would take her to a public place, such as Disneyland, and we would often get people coming up to us wanting to take her picture. She was a handful growing up. She got lost once at Magic Mountain and another time trick-or-treating at the mall. She backed Sue’s car into a brick mailbox and would not come home that night until we went and got her. She once was hit while driving and her car ended up in the front of a building on Ventura Blvd.Somehow she managed to grow up and met Mike in High School. They were married almost two years ago on a cruise ship off the Mexican coast.

Today she lives in Simi Valley as the happy couple were able to purchase a home earlier this year. Brenda works with me and has turned into a beautiful caring woman. We love you Brenda.

More Banking Blunders

So if you have seen my bank postings in the past, you will know nothing has changed. I received a letter from the IRS last week stating I owe $600 in taxes for 2007 because I under reported my interest, as reported by Bank of America. Just like 2006, for 2007 the bank for fools treated two of my mother's accounts as mine. Since the bank fired all the premier bankers (another stupid act on their part), I am forced to deal with the local branch of idiots.

A week ago Saturday I was giving the bank the benefit of the doubt and went to talk to my bank. I approached the desk and a woman asked what I needed help with. I said I needed the bank to fix their mistake and she pointed to the guy at the other desk and said he will be right with me. He turned around and gave her the stare of death. Then she went back to her desk and looked like she was playing on the Internet. 10 minutes later she walked behind the teller area and the other fellow came over and said he will be another 15-20 minutes with his customer. I asked who the woman was and he said the manager. I said shouldn't she have helped me. He replied she was in meetings all day and was busy. Do I wear a stupid sign around my neck? Meetings all morning on a Saturday? I don't think so.

Five minutes later, after I had waited 15 minutes, she came back and asked what I needed help with. I explained the issue and she said we need to talk with the tax people. DUH! She then went to her desk and called the number and of course no one was there on a Saturday. She gave me number to call on Monday.

I called the number and said I needed to get my 2007 1099 fixed. She went on about how I need to go to option whatever on the Links program and I said I have no idea what she is talking about. She asked if I was from a branch. I said, No I am a customer. Oh, what state are your in. I said California and she said she was in Kansas City and could not help me. So why did the manager of the branch give me her number? DUH! She transferred me to the California department.

When that lady answered the first thing she said was I need to go to my branch. Definately not what I wanted to hear. Now I lost it and started angrily explaining I had been there and they were a bunch of idiots who get everything wrong they do for me. I said this is the bank's mistake and I want it fixed. Then she appoligized and said she would help me. So why didn't she say that to begin with instead of saying I needed to go to my branch? DUH! She took my information and "placed an order".

The next day some other guy calls me and asks if there were two accounts or one. I said two and that I gave them to the other person yesterday. Oh, I have both accounts. DUH!. Then he calls back 5 minutes later and says he needs to send my mom a W9. I said, you realize this is the bank's mistake and her name is on the account. DUH!. He said he still needs to send her the W9.

My next CD with B/A matures in 3 weeks. It will be removed immediately from the Bank of Fools.

Non-thinkers are all around us

As most people are aware. especially those that know me well, I have an issue with Non-thinkers. I used to call them stupid people but I realize that is a little harsh and many non-thinkers can actually be smart, they just don't know how to apply the knowledge they have.

Where I work we are lucky to have a subtenant, Buddy Ben, who decided he did not have to pay rent. Ben kept giving us promise and after promise and we could "stanz it no more". We took him to court and got an immediate judgment without even having a trail. Anyway, Buddy Ben in his haste backed his truck right into the rear of my Infiniti G35 Coupe. If it weren't for another person in the car he probably would not have even told me. Ben scraped by bumber real good and his trailer hitch put a hole right through it. In his case I shall refer to him as a stupid person as he gets no respect and fits the title. I made an insurance claim with my carrier, Mercury, and filed a claim against his insurance carrier, Farmers.

I went to what I thought was a good body shop recommended by Mercury and got a quote, submitted it to Farmers and was told Farmers accepted everything. Then before I even took my car in to the shop Farmers has already paid the body shop. I guess they figure I no longer had a choice where to take it - "non-thinkers". So I took my car to the shop on Monday and was told it would take 3-4 days. On thursday, day 4, I called the shop to see when the car would be done. This is how the conversation went.

"Is my car done, I was told it would be 3-4 days and this is day 4"
"Oh, we were going to call you. There is a little problem"
"But you didn't call me, I called you. What is the problem and status?"
"We have not even begun the work yet because Farmers has not approved the cost."
"WHAT? The car is to be done today. What do you mean Farmers did not approve the cost? They already paid you"
"They did? Hang on" NON-THINKER!

Person 2 gets on the phone.
"We did get the check last week from Farmers".
"I know you did, so how can you say Farmers did not approve the estimate when they already paid it?"
"The estimate was for Mercury and since we are an authroized Mercury repair facility Farmers is not entitled to the discount. We have this problem all the time. Farmers also subtracts the cost of the little parts from what they want to pay. We are waiting for a Farmers representative to come out and inspect the car."
"Inspect it for what? They already approved the work, hence the check. This is unacceptable and you need to get Farmers on the line now to resolve this. Why didn't you call me the day I brought it in instead of me having to call you they day it was to be finished?"

Now an intelligent person might ask, if the quote was for Mercury and not Farmers, and they were told I would be going through Farmers, why did they not call Farmers and resolve this when they got the check and before I took in the car? Reason - they are Non-thinkers.

I called Farmers myself:
"I want to find out what the issue is on my car. I am the innocent party and expect my car to be repaired well and in a timely manner."
"I'm sorry sir, but we (Farmers) is waiting for the body shop to send us the revised quote."
"What? The body shop tells me they sent you the quote and they are waiting on Farmers to send someone out to inspect the car."
"We do not need to inspect the car."
"This is unacceptable. I need my car and it has been in the shop for 4 days and they have not even started the work. You (Farmers) need to call them right now and resolve this." NON-THINKERS

End result, my car will be in the shop for at least another week with a bunch of Non-thinkers in charge. I bet I end up with a Pinto when I get it back.

So I now add to the list of companies that hire non-thinkers insurance companies and auto body shops. Leading the list is still banks and cell phone carriers. Case in point, I got a letter from the IRS this week saying I owe $600 in taxes for 2007. Just like 2006, good old Bank of America screwed up on my 1099 and used my social security number for interest that belonged to my mother. Now I have to deal with the IRS too.