Kevin Standlee: Fandom Is My Way of Life

The temperatures from Friday through today have been hot: anything at 37°C or higher (human body temperature) is actually dangerous, since it means your body can't shed heat. Thus I was very much not looking forward to having to make a trip to Reno on Saturday. Because Lisa is going to Europe later this year (that's why she won't be at either Westercon or Worldcon), she wanted me to get her some Euros so that she would have cash upon arrival.

(Why not just draw money out of an ATM when she gets there, you may ask. Well, some of you may recall that on my trip to Barcelona a few years ago, I had the misfortune of having an ATM eat my card. I even managed to get the attention of someone inside the bank, and they shrugged and did nothing about it. Now in that case, I was at a Eurocon surrounded my friends, staring with Cheryl Morgan, who could all help me out, loan me cash, let me play the "Banco de Credit Card" by everyone paying me cash at a meal where I put the bill my card, and so forth. Lisa has exactly one debit card, and if something happens to it, she's stuck. I understand the worry.)

So checking Chase (where her account and debit card are), I found that the only way to order foreign currency requires going in to a branch, ordering it, and then coming back a few days later when the ordered currency arrives. That meant going to Reno/Sparks on Saturday in that heat. Yes, the Astro has air conditioning, but it's been not working as well as it should, and I already know how much trouble that van is with no A/C, given that it failed during the Winnipeg trip. And because of the setup on that account, it would have to be me making the order; I couldn't send Kayla in on my behalf.

On Saturday morning, I had an idea and checked my Bank of America account. Aha! You can make an online foreign currency order to have the money delivered to any branch (the nearest one to me is in Sparks), and you don't have to come to the bank until the money arrives. So instead of slogging into Sparks in the heat, I made the order. The money should be here in a few days, and the temperatures are forecast to decline from dangerous to merely unpleasant.

Including delivery charges, the approximate conversion is USD 6 = EUR 5 through BofA as of Friday.

At least one of the people who I know follows my journal is also someone who I've been supporting on Patreon. That's why it pains me that I feel obliged to cut back on a lot of my optional expenses, which includes Patreon and other subscriptions. This latest auto expense is something that is making me re-evaluate where I've been spending my money. We're not in the poorhouse by any measure (indeed, there are times when I'm astonished at how well I've done), but the curve is currently in the wrong direction.

Last night, Lisa was clearing out some boxes of stuff that hadn't been touched in ages (probably since before we moved here) and found something unexpected.

( We're In The Money )

Based on my searching online, these appear to be World War II-vintage banknotes issued in 1943 during the German occupation of the Netherlands. They seem to have some value, as I find them advertised online at prices starting around $10. What we'll do with them, we haven't yet decided.

I don't write a whole lot of checks anymore. One of the usual places I have a burst of them is at Westercon and Worldcon, as I typically pay my voting fee/advance supporting membership and conversion fees by check. I also had to write a check to Lisa's osteopath last month, as he doesn't take insurance or credit cards.

( Kevin the Bad-Check Bandit )

In the end I think it all worked out okay. I guess I'm lucky that Lisa's doctor's office was working over the holiday weekend and let me know about the banking mistake so I could get it settled and avoid a bunch of returned-check fees.

It's really a bit sooner than I normally would get a haircut, but because I'm leaving Monday and I did think I was somewhat at loose ends, I stopped by my regular barber's shop on the way to work and got a trim. He charges $16 for a haircut and I usually leave a couple of extra dollars as well. Imagine my embarrassment when I opened my wallet and found only $15 cash. Huh? I'd obviously lost track of what I'd been spending. He told me it was okay and to not worry about it. As I slunk out of the shop, I realized that in my pocket full of change, I had $3 in quarters left over from playing pinball last weekend. I went back and gave him the $3 and felt less like a deadbeat.

Now to go through my receipts and see if I can figure out what I spent that I forgot about.