Oh god am I exhausted.
The shoulder pain has mostly subsided so that's good.
We drove for two hours to a bar-b-q out in the sticks at Rob's aunt and uncle's place. It was a decent time even if going out into farmland isn't my thing. But at least it was pleasant.
We thoroughly intended to go to the Lab tonight but by the time we got back, we were both so thoroughly exhausted that it was an impossibility. So, we decided to go to KC's Dive, but were too tired for that. Then, we were going to drink at home but even that never happened.
Fuck, I am getting old.
I got home to find that Providian was *still* charging me. Those bastards. They won't let me get through to a representative, only an outside collections agency so I can't even refute their claim that they can legally charge me late and over the limit fees after the account has closed. Now, it's up to a thousand dollars for a credit card that had a credit limit of $500. and which they closed as soon as I was thirty days late. Supposedly, there was some loophole in my account agreement that somehow I must have missed through all the legalese, which allows them to just charge me indefinitely. I am seriously afraid that I am going to have to get a lawyer to deal with this.
Meanwhile, Capital One has been relentless. My payment was due Sunday. Monday they started badgering me with calls. I've been meaning to get back to them to make my payment but I've become so annoyed by them leaving messages constantly that I haven't got around to it. I know I should, it's just this thing I have. I don't like being harrassed into doing things. It's the principle of the matter. But when someone acts like they have to harrass me to get what they want, I don't want to reward their behavior by giving it to them. I fully realize that I am cutting off my nose to spite my face, and eventually I will call them, but I just hate these kind of tactics. Especially when a lot of these calls are first thing in the morning. Hell, one even came in at 9 AM today, a Saturday.
This all gives me a feeling of impotent rage sometimes. It's not the money that's the issue, it's the tactics employed. I hate how financial institutions have all these ways in which they fuck you over and much of it is stuff that is really hard to know all the intricate laws about and then half the time it's so hard to prove this crap that even if you know your rights, you're helpless to do anything about it.
I really think there need to be more laws regulating what financial companies can and cannot do.
Scratch that, credit reporting just needs to be illegal. Everything they do is done out of fear of your credit, and fear of not being able to survive as a result...renting an apartment or buying a home, getting a car lease, getting a job...these are all basic necessities and those worthless bastards hold it over your head. So even when they do totally exploitative things, most people just put up with it rather than fight it and get the bad credit.
Like, okay, I understand if I'm late with a payment on my credit card how that might be of some concern. But you know, I really shouldn't get badgered more for being a week late with a credit card than I would with my rent! And they wouldn't do it if credit reporting was illegal, because there just wouldn't be the profit necessary to warrant these huge call centers of borderline illiterate, undersocialized, unskilled paeons that threaten you, lie to you, argue with you, refuse to identify themselves, resort to illegal tactics, etcetera. (Did you know it's illegal for them to call you incessantly? That's why they so rarely leave messages when they call...)
And the charging me fees after my account is closed...if credit reporting were illegal, they would never be able to do that. Well, they could try but it would be pointless because the only reason anyone would ever pay those fees is because they feared their credit. All they would be left to do would be to try to take you to court, but then you could contest it in a fair and impartial forum. At least you would be allowed a trial, which is more than credit reporting does.
Like I said, impotent rage...
Maybe I'll leave the country after my time in detroit. Go to Italy or Spain. Go to grad school over there and teach while I work my way through it.
Fuck this, I'm going to eat a caesar salad...