I’ve hit a bit of a low point this weekend… nothing too dramatic, I promise. I haven’t been checked into a hospital or had my purse stolen. It’s just that I have no access to my bank account, no cash, no metro tickets, and no internet.
Exagerating on the internet a little- Victoria is graciously allowing me to use her laptop when I need to connect. Otherwise though my only option is starbucks of mcdonald’s and I doubt either establishment would be happy about me just waltzing in to use the internet for an hour without buying a thing (no money, remember?).
Last night I was on my way out to meet friends for dinner at an apartment near Trocadero when it happened. I had to take out some money at the BNP atm for the weekend… mes amis had just informed me that only the atm withdrawals were free- not paying by card at the stores. Yikes. So I dutifully approach the atm with the friendly little cartoon guy and go through all the motions and just as it’s about to distribute my cash- “We are withholding your card. Goodbye.” longlineofexpletivesnotappropriateforaschoolblog. I tried calling Bank of America but they kept me on hold until the call dropped. I then wrote down the numbers outside the (closed) BNP bank, noticing that there are fees for calling- how friendly. I panicked a bit, called friends, and decided it still made sense to visit- they has internets and food!
I got on her computer right away and emailed my dad… there was no telling when he’d see it though so I also messaged my sister and my boyfriend to call him. My sister got through to him and relayed messages. Apparently he’s got my new official bank cards (the one that was withheld was a temporary card from when I opened the account a few weeks ago). He hadn’t gotten around to sending it yet but he’s doing it on Monday and I should receive it by Friday. What a mess. I plan on going to BNP on Monday (almost all of France is closed on Sunday) and asking about the temp card but I’m pretty sure it was held because it had expired. It’s been just about 3 weeks since I opened the account and I think that was its intended lifespan. Le sigh.
I was even thinking the other day that it might expire soon- perhaps I should take out a chunk of emergency cash. But no, I’m a fool who doesn’t listen to her neurotic inner voices. Look where it got me.
As for the metro tickets, I used up the last of mine today accompanying Victoria to Tang Frères, a huge chinese grocery in the 13th arr. She got a ton of heavy stuff… all kinds of noodles and sauces and things. She loaned me a bit for some ramen packets- girl’s gotta eat something for the next week! It’s not too far to the MICEFA classes at Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris 3) so I’ll just be walking there and back. The only real hardship there will be getting up earlier.
Woah total post-bend here but I’m watching Garden State right now and facebooking AND suddenly falling in love with The Shins… you have to multitask when your internet time is rare. New favorite song. My ears are tingling.
Post a Comment