Sunday

Lottsa work, and not much interesting to report.
We picked up a small green fishing pole at a yard sale for Lance ($3.50).

The boys are taking another swim class at the YMCA. Let me tell you about that friggin place. I want it GONE. Not just our membership canceled, I want it torn down and turned into a parkign lot for a McDonalds or a strip mall. We go in last week for the kids swim class, and Wayne at the front counter decides to pester us (after we walked away) about some updated phone number. THe wife gives him our same home phone, and he stares at the computer screen, and says "we already have that one". So I send the wife and kids off (running cover for them) and try to deal with Wayne as best I can. I tell him that if there is already a number in the system for us, and we gave him the same number - it makes sense that the number on file IS a current number. As the account is PAID up to date, good bye and don't bother us with updates.

We go to leave, and instead of "Have a nice day", we're greeted again with Wayne. This time he wants to know "Do you have a funny message on your home answering machine?" (I do indeed). I start to joke and say "Dude, why did you call us when you know we're not home?" Then I hits me - this asshole is checking up on me. His response was that he "needed to confirm the number we gave him". I asked "What the hell - you think we gave you a bogus number - after it was already in your system?" He says "Well, some people do."
I am proud of myself. I felt at that point I had to choices - 1 :was to pull Wayne over the counter and beat the ever lovin shit outta him. or 2: stare at him with a "what the fuck?" look on my face until he felt uncomfortable. I chose the second. I don't know if I have the will power to repeat that generous display of good decision making.

I tell you - stay clear of the YMCA. Buncha assholes. Let me clarify - buncha retarted money seeking assholes. I picked up a sheet from the Indian River YMCA - it was a double sided sheet that had activities (for the summer) for kids. every single one had a cost for it. They started at around $40 and went up to $120, It was more if you didn't have a Y membership.

I just glad that the wife was with me this time - I've told her about how much I get screwed with by Y people - this time she got to see it first hand. At the end of summer , I'm going back to Bally's. Shitty water in the pool - dirty locker rooms - dorky jock staff members - but less shit to put up with than the ymca.



I've had a checking and savings account at Chartway Federal Credit union for going on 15 years now. When I had excellent credit, I applied for a car loan - they offered me $100 and said "good luck". When I wanted a home loan, the offered me $1,000 and said "good luck". When I wanted to open a savings account for my son, they lost my name on their sign in sheet, and made me wait and hour and a half in their waiting area. They "lost" the sheet I signed in on, and made me sign in AFTER everyone else (during that time frame) that had come in.

When I started my magic business, I needed a business checking account. They told me to fuck myself. They said they had too much to do to bother with a small business like mine. When I dusted off the account last year - and went in to by the kids bonds at the counter (3 times), they charged me a $6 "you bothered the cashier" fee. They terminated my credit card account, so now I can't make my payments online (OR in the branch).

Having had enough - I went there to tell them that they were all FIRED. They told me that I couldn't do that. Check this shit out - In order to close out my checking, savings (and my sons savings account), they had to transfer all the money into the savings. Then they had to withdraw $1 from MY account, and deposit it into the kids account to make it "active", so that they could withdraw all $6 and close his account. Then, withdraw all but $5 from my savings account, because they refused to close my account. REFUSED! Because I still am paying on a $300 balance on the credit account, they said I HAD TO keep the savings account open. What the fuck do they think $5 is going to do for them. Insure that I make my payments ontime?!

I made THEM do all those transactions, so that they wouldn't slap me with a $6 service charge as a counter fee - then take that $6 from my $5 account, and charge me an overdraft fee of $35. You laugh, but they would do shit like that!

What's more - the entire time I was there - they never ONCE asked me "Why" I wanted to close my accounts. Customer Service is dead. If you don't believe me - get a Greenbriar Family YMCA membership, or a Chartway Federal Credit Union account.