Filed under: Uncategorized — Neyir @ 5:11 pm Comments 9
I am slightly wary of composing this blog and adding to an already over-covered subject but I have simply had too many run-ins with customer service both good and bad in the last 24 hous to not say something.
Yesterday my new switch/debit card arrived from the bank - fantastic as my old card expires tommorrow(sarcasm, I did have to call the bank to remind them to send a new card!). But a problem arose; my card was alone, single, uno which given that I am married(not uno) and am in possession of a joint bank account proved something of a sticking point. Now to most of you out there the temptation here is obvious. Put my new card quietly in my wallet and say nothing and wait until David tries to buy something on his own expired card and then laugh. Wrong of course but tempting. And yet being a good wife I called Bank of Scotland - ‘had a new card been issued for Mr. Urminsky?’ ‘Why yes…ah, here is the problem, it was sent to a different address’. You see when I changed my address back in March when we moved I forgot to change David’s address, well to be honest it never occurred to me that they would by default allow a husband and wife to have seperate mailing addresses. I think a good database should allow for this eventuality but not default to it! Bizarre.
Toady I tried to return a mascara (boys feel free to stop reading) you see as someone who has worked in the makeup industry I am a firm believer in ‘if it doesn’t work as it is supposed to, return it’ I had used the offending mascara but once when its flaw became apparent - waterproof, it was waterproof! Now I hate, nearly abhor waterproof mascara, to use a Scottish phrase ‘I canni be arsed’ with it. I mean I wash my face at the end of the evening anyway why would I spend the extra time to use and incur the added expense of a special make-up remover. Of course the product did not claim to be waterproof - only to thicken and lengthen, seemingly good - oh yeah and it was pretty cheap. Regardless I took my receipt and the once used tube to Super Drug (yes I am naming names here) and asked for my money back. Apparently they don’t do that - not on make-up once it has been opened. I did not try to explain to ‘the manager’ a girl nearly half my age that I would not have had a problem if the product was not opened as I would not have know of its waterproofness! Eeeek. Now look, there is a lot I love about Scotland, there are many ways in which it is superior to Canada but this would never have happend at Shoppers (translate to Shopper’s Drugmart) I mean this is the company that once gave me a brand new set of $50 curlers which I had broken (as I admitted to them, I just wondered if they could help me seeing as I had only used them once and they broke rather easily), Shoppers has given me many refunds on lipstick (it was supposed to last for 10 hours and only stood up for 3), face powder (it gave me a rash)…. I think I better stop before you all realise how extremely freaksome I really am.
Not to be left out of the game our Canadian Visa rejected David’s tuition again - not to worry my merry mathematician friends, he won’t be kicked out for non payment. Every 4 months or so during the school year I contact our Visa company to let them know the date and approximate amount of David’s tuition and every year the happy computer in Canada panics, thinks our card has been stolen and refuses the charge. I duly dance around, call Cananda, have the card re-set and then call the University. Now usually the people at CIBC Visa are lovely but I think I was less understanding this afternoon in my anti-mascara return stupour and they were equally less nice.
The moral of my stories? Don’t use banks, don’t use credit and oh yeah see if you can get all you make-up for free.
Filed under: Uncategorized — David @ 9:25 am Comments 7
As I peer out the window of our flat eating breakfast, i notice that quite a snow flurry is occuring out there. This is cool in itself because it doesn’t snow that much here in Edinburgh. I thought I had better check the weather then on BBC and see what they had to say about the day. Their forecast: Sunny, hight of 4 low of 4 (that’s Celcius folks). I thought, is it so bad that the weather man cannot even predict the present weather?
I am tempted to hike up Arthur’s Seat. During a snow storm last year i hiked up the seat and watched the sun rise. It was fantastic. Click here to see photos.
Anyways, I thank my mom for sending me some fleece and a down vest last year. I’ll be warm on my way to university. I am excited to go, I proved something this week (my first pen and paper theorem of my PHD), and can verify it numerically (yes… the computer is still the ultimate tool!).
I hope if snows during the entire walk to university.
Filed under: Uncategorized — Neyir @ 8:23 pm Comments 11
Yes folks it is the middle of November, winter has arrived and here in Edinburgh the days are getting short, shorter, shortest! Eventually the sun goes down at 3.30 and it is pretty much pitch black by 4pm. Lucky for me I am usually home during the week by 2.30 to practice so I am mostly able to live in denial about how short the days are.
This past weekend David and I finally succumbed to the most popular tourist destination in the city and visited Edinburgh Castle. It is pretty extrodinary. It remains to this day a working castle and there are soldiers who are posted there. It holds an amazing war memorial building with the names of all commonwealth soldiers killed in WWI and WWII. There are of course the expected crown jewels, now essentially defunct, a war museum and various displays showing how the castle has evolved over the centuries. We spent about 3 hours there and barely scratched the surface. Luckily my parents bought us Historic Scotland passes so we can go as often as we want over the next year.
Saturday evening I got taken out by my dear friend Melissa for my birthday dinner. It was nice to celebrate late as it made my birthday feel that bit more special. We had planned to go to a Vegan dinner (I am currently eating Vegan - don’t know why I keep capitilizing the V?) as Melissa is just that considerate that she would give up the intended seafood dinner for my crazy eating fads! The problem was, when we got to the diner we could not really figure it out. I mean there were the requisite glass cases, food, but the menu was in another room and there were no signs indicating what food was what and to order would have required a lot of questioning of the staff and frankly it just seemed as though we were not part of the ‘in crowd’. Guess we are just too mainstream. So upon discussion we decided we would try somewhere else and we ended up at a vegetarian Indian restaurant. We had a painful time trying to get seated (at least 10 minutes and there were tons of tables, I mean if you are going to make someone wait would it not be better to sit them at their own table and leave them with a little light reading - a menu perhaps) but then proceeded to have a fabulous meal, even though I tried to eat my dessert before my main course and over rice at that!
David and Melissa’s fiance Alan along with our friends Bryce and Jonathan spent the evening drinking pink vodka - how girly - and watching the A-team - not so girly. Though Alan would like me to make it clear that a fair amount of beer was also consummed. All I know is that by the time Melissa and I returned the boys were listening to loud music and quoting Mr T “You are in for a Woooooooooorld of Pain” etc. So all in all an ideal evening was had by all!
I am off to Glasgow tommorrow to work with a new coach - which is very exciting and then I will be going to the Ballet with Ashley and Claire. David gets to baby sit Claire’s 4 children as her husband is going to a church session meeting. The parents claim the kids will be asleep when David gets there. What I am curious to know is whether they will still all by sleeping by the time David leaves, I mean with David’s track record for annoying young children I just can not see him not trying some new tactic…..
Filed under: Uncategorized — David @ 9:25 pm Comments 9
This is Basil the Cat who hates to love me. I won’t be one of those annoying people who post photos of their cats all the time. But I mentioned this little guy earlier and though i would give you all a mental picture. 
Filed under: Uncategorized — David @ 12:01 pm Comments 8
So, I have become a member of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society.
Apparently they are willing to accept Canadians. Little do they know……
What does this mean for me you may ask? Well, nothing at all escept for something to add to a CV. Also, I have more opportunties to eat cookies at more Colloquia. There is one this friday in Glasgow, but I am not going all that way for free cookies. Even if the cookies were worth travelling to glasgow for a colloquium, the title of it scares me, “Probabilistic group theory and Fuchsian Groups”. It must interest someone i guess. But I’ll bet there will be tumble weeds blowing through the lecture room!
Other good news, in under 5 weeks I’ll be back in Canada for some vacation. Here are some things I’m looking forward to:
- Customer Service
- Shopping for some new clothes and shoes.
- Seeing our cat Basil, Neyir and I decided he’s going to loath seeing me again because he hates to Love me.
- Being home for Christmas. I have not been in Ontario for Christmas in 3 years.
- Eating lots of meat. Not that my diet doesn’t get any meat, it is just that we tend not to eat much (maybe once a week). I put in a request with my mother for ribs!
- Snow and Cold.
- Seeing my parents and Neyir’s parents again.
- Catching up on sleep. (although lately we have made and effort to get to bed at a decent time).
- The possibility of a winter election in Canada.
Ooooo I can’t wait to be back.
