They Stole My Money Honey.

Me and Marie have been talking nonstop since I moved here. Coincidentally we are both suffering the reality of life outside of school. While she is struggling to develop friendships with people in her new town, I am well...we know how I am doing.

She works at some place where she manages other people. It's like a science factory that deal with processing pork. ??? She doesn't seem to hate it, but she has said that meeting new people has been harder than she thought. Her only friend is a guy named Jake, who she feels is too hot for her. She does not understand why he has taken an interest in her, and so she has put up guards in regards to befriending him.

We had a lot of catching up to do because I didn't really answer any phone calls in the summer. She got to talking about her niece and nephew and wanted to know about mine. Besides this blog, I have not discussed the death with anyone outside of my immediate family (mom and Morgan). Sometimes I still get sad and cry because I no longer have possibilities with Danny. Sometimes it is difficult babysitting Michelle (my aunt's 3 year old). I see how well I am with her, encouraging her to try new things, teaching her about music and drawing, and by far my favorite part: helping her decorate the house with art work she has made at school. There is a tinge of sadness however, because I know these are things I would have done with him. I know that i would have been a great aunt and him a great kid.

So I told Marie yesterday about Danny's death and of course we encountered the awkwardness that i dreaded. She kept saying she wouldn't know how she would deal if her niece or nephew died and that she couldn't imagine the grief my brother but especially my mom is feeling.

After I got off the phone with her, I couldn't help thinking about her observation. This has no doubt been a stressful time for me, and I have unloaded some anxiety filled rants to my mother in the process. In all the time that i have done that, I completely forgot about my mom and brothers own sadness. Removed from that house, I am not faced with all the reminders of Danny's death but furthermore my own families struggles to cope with it.

Feeling selfish and inconsiderate, I planned on spending some of my hard earned money on my family today. At the bookstore I get paid every week. This is a good thing, but the amount of hours i work is instantly reflected in my bank account. The pay is pretty good, and being a frugal person means that i am quickly accumulating (and saving) money in my account. Enough so that I could splurge on items for my mom and brother.

I headed out early in the morning to the bookstore, picked up my check, and then headed to my friends at Bank of America. This summer, they implemented a new way to deposit checks. Instead of getting a slip (that you have to fill out) you can deposit directly into the atm. It photo-copies the check (after you have fed it to the machine) and there you have it...a quick deposit.

I have deposited my paychecks that way ever since i started making money, and have had no problem with the machine. Today however, after putting my check into the machine I received a receipt that said my check was only for $8.48, about 95% less than the actual amount. I quickly ran back into the bank and went to the info lady who kept telling me that I incorrectly entered the wrong numbers. I tried to explain to here that the machine did not request me to punch in any amount, it took my check, scanned it, printed a receipt with the scanned check on it (with the total amount) and yet it only deposited $8.48.

Apparently in this town the customer is not always right. She still continued to insist that it was my error and not the atm's. She then told me to call the 1-800 number because I would have to talk to a representative. Near tears, I moved to the side and called the 1-800 number, seems like I will have to wait until the check clears before I can get this crap all fixed. I still did not take that as the final answer, so I went to a teller showed her the whole mix up thing and she literally was like "it's never done that before". She then directed me to call the 1-800 number again and see what they could do about.

When I say this has been a shittastic week, I am not exaggerating. So now, I only have $8.48 dollars added to my account, which cannot buy my mom the awesome soup bowl set i saw at crate and barrel. Hopefully it will be corrected by Saturday, if not i have to wait until Tuesday because of Columbus Day. Damn you Columbus Day.

I am taking Michelle to ballet class tomorrow. There is something about watching a bunch of 3 year old's attempt to dance that makes me laugh so hard. It may be the highlight in this week from hell.