Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Another Day

I turned my head to an azure sky
But felt the rain fall down instead
My hair swept back from wicked winds
And I knew you were gone

I wanted to reach out through the desert sands
Let my fingers feel your desert hand
Unleash the power of a heart untamed
Allow my heart to feel the wind again

I heard you found another lover
And that I was forgotten in time
Another day, another light, another soiled cover
Another lament hidden in tattered rhyme

I wish I knew a different way
I wish I could turn your heart with my song
But instead I'll turn my head into the whipping rain
And hope to see the sun

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

On Being Loved

For a tiny moment, I was beautiful

Thursday, June 28, 2012

The Pain of Today

Walking alone today
The sun on my skin
The sand beneath my feet
Waves washing over me
Constant waves
Relentless
The never-ending thinking thinking thinking
Thinking of you
Missing you
Feeling the shards of a broken heart
Piercing my skin
I miss you
Will I see you again?
My only hope is that I still see the world in color

Friday, October 21, 2011

Bank of America Sucks

So I just had an interesting experience that I want to share. It turns out that Bank of America will not let me use the money I put on my credit card. Here's the situation:

I have a credit limit of, say X = $1000.

I know that I have some large charges coming up, which will put me near my limit. So, not only do I pay my credit card off completely, I put extra money on it. Let's say that makes my balance Z = -$500. It's a negative, because a positive number means you owe the credit card company. All this money has cleared. My stated balance on the web site is -$500.

What do you think my credit available should be? I would say $1500, the $1000 credit limit plus the extra $500 I put on the card, but hey, what do I know about math?

Now, let's charge some stuff to the card. Let's say it's Y = $900. These charges are pending, they have not cleared yet. In fact, it's Friday night, so they are not going to clear for days.

What do you think my credit available should be?

The calculation should be simple. $Z + $Y gives you the amount on the credit card (-$500 + $900 = $400). Subtract this amount from your credit limit, and you get your available credit (e.g., X - $400, or $1000 - $400 = $600 available).

Bank of America, however, feels that my available credit is X - Y = $1000 - $900 = $100. Thus I have NO ACCESS to the $500 I put on the credit card so that I would still be able to use it without worrying about exceeding my credit limit.

In fact, the web site listing your transactions does things correctly. It shows all your pending charges, and shows what your balance is. So your credit available SHOULD be your credit limit minus your balance. Except according to Bank of America. Because they don't know how to do math. (Actually, they're very good at accounting. Witness the fact that they received huge bailouts while posting incredible profits. That's actually pretty brilliant. And yes, that was sarcastic.)

After waiting on hold for 45 minutes, by the way, I was told that this will "correct itself" as the pending charges clear. Thanks. I have the warm fuzzies from that.

The result? For me, I'm telling everyone I know NOT to use Bank of America anymore (witness this blog post). That actually makes me sad, because I've been loyal to them for 7 years now because they were the first US company to trust me as an adult with a credit card. (Note: my Canadian credit rating was impeccable. The US, which uses the exact same credit agencies as Canada - Equifax, Experion and TransUnion - will not recognize anything achieved outside the US. So when I moved here, I was essentially treated as a 16 year old. In fact, the fact that I have only had credit for 7 years and 9 months still shows up as a negative on my credit ratings.)

The other result? Let's just say I've applied for another credit card with another bank (which has already been approved and is in the mail), which will now be the credit card I use for all my purchases.

Sorry Bank of America. If you were willing to acknowledge that I can use my own money, maybe I'd stay.



Update: 1 hour, 20 minutes later

I don't know if the person I spoke with on the phone found someone who could fix my problem, but my bank account now shows my balance as being positive (having cleared all but one pending charge) and my credit available as correct. But the detailed listing still shows all the pending charges as not yet cleared. I have screen shots of both states, so I have digital proof that I did not imagine anything!! And I will definitely check tomorrow to see if the pending charges show as cleared in the detailed listing, since maybe I'm catching the system during a point where one part has been updated but not another?

Friday, September 23, 2011

Insider Threat Video

There's a video on YouTube about one of my research projects! It's only 2 minutes long, done in a cartoon style, and I even have an avatar and a speaking part in it. How cool is that?! :)

Sunday, April 17, 2011

The remains of a heart

What is this blackened thing, that once was a heart?
What pain could have possibly twisted it thus?
I have seen wounded hearts, but this...
... this heart is just mere shreds of black,
like the charcoal remains of burnt paper.
So ugly now that no one can get close.
So sharp.
So very black.
And hollow.
What could possibly have twisted it thus?
Oh.
It was love.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Rainbows

I want to share my rainbows.
I want to dance.
I want to sing, but only softly, so only you can hear.
I want to splash through the waves.
I want to watch the sunset, and the stars, and the moon, and the sunrise again
I want to sleep on the beach
I want to jump and run and play

I want to share my rainbows...
... with you