Errands
You want to know what I don’t get? How come when you’re too busy to run errands, you really don’t have any errands to run. But the second you have some free time, suddenly there are too many errands to get them all done. From about three weeks prior to leaving Edmonton until today (and I’m not done), I’ve been running errands. I actually had to write them all down there were so many. Today I’m going to write about a couple of the more annoying errands I’ve been trying to manage.
I’ll start with the phone call I just had. I called Chase (my new bank) a few minutes ago because a significant percentage of my money is unavailable. Er, let me start from the beginning.
I originally opened a new bank account in the US because it made sense to have a local bank, because I was paying fees for using foreign ATMs, and because I need a bank statement to get an Indiana Driver License (more on that later).
I stop by Chase (I picked Chase because they’re everywhere), open the account with a cheque from BioWare (the cheque was for about $100), and all is fine. No charges, no delays on when I can use the money. Just a quick conversion from Canadian to US Dollars.
After opening my account, my banker told me that I’d need to bring my minimum balance up to $1500, but that I could do that at my convenience. A few days later, at my convenience, before leaving for NJ, I stop by (a different) Chase (my mistake, apparently) and write myself a cheque off my Canadian account to fill out my US account - leaving a little money in the Canadian account (just in case). Depositing this cheque turned into an hour-long ordeal that resulted in a form being filled out in triplicate as well as a $25-dollar charge. All the while, the banker was on the phone trying to figure out how to manage the deposit (isn’t that just bizarre?). As I left, the banker told me to follow up if my money hadn’t arrived in my account by the 1st of August.
August 3rd or 4th, I stop in at Chase (the original branch) and ask why the money isn’t in my account yet. I’m told that the cheque I desposited was in collections and that it won’t clear for 4-6 weeks from the date of deposit of the money into my US account. That is, 4-6 weeks after Chase has my money, they’ll let me use it. The official deposit date is the 27th of July, meaning I get my money sometime in late August or early September. For those of you keeping score at home, yes, this definitely puts me in a bind as I have a trip to Europe upcoming.
I ask why the money went through collections this time but not last time and the banker seemed confused. She told me that any cheque under $5000 dollars should not have to go through collections, and she didn’t know why the other banker was told to put my cheque into collections. She said she couldn’t do anything to address the situation, and advised me to call the collections office.
Today, I called and asked them why my initial cheque (that I opened the account with) wasn’t assessed a $25-dollar charge, but my second cheque was. I also asked why my first cheque was deposited directly into my account while my second cheque was unavailable to me for 4-6 weeks. And I asked why I was told that cheques under five grand didn’t need to go through collections, but for some reason mine was put into collections.
I was told that on any foreign cheque under $5000, the banker has the option to put it through to collections or not. So the second bank, not knowing what they were doing, kind of screwed me over a little bit by being overly protective and also gave me some inaccurate information that definitely would have affected my decision to make the deposit. I was advised to return to the local branch and complain and hope that they’ll do something for me. I guess that’s a new errand for me, for tomorrow.
Earlier today, I went to the BMV (the Bureau (this ain’t your daddy’s Division) of Motor Vehicles) to get my Indiana driver license. Technically, I can wait to go through this process for up to 6 months, but I am being insured in Indiana through Geico (at the fantastic rate of $300 for 6 months… I was paying a little over $200 per month in Edmonton!), but their agreement to insure me hinges on me getting an Indiana license by the end of August. I’m not sure how long the process takes so I decide to jump on it.
I go in to the BMV this morning and tell them I’m originally from the States, but I’ve lived in Canada for the past 7 years and have an Alberta license. They tell me that this means I need to get a learner’s permit! Hahaha. That tickles me. I actually have to take a vision test, a written test, and, yes, the road test. I hope I can manage the 3-point turn. 
Anyway, I’m expecting this so I tell her to proceed. She asks for my passport and I give it to her. She asks for my social security card and I give her a document that says it’s in progress (I applied for a replacement card yesterday - that process was cake). She asks for a secondary ID, and I show her my Chase debit/credit card. All is well. Then she asks for my proof of residency in Indiana. She says I can use a utility bill (I don’t have any), a bank statement (I had one printed up for me at Chase specifically for this moment), or an insurance card (I actually just got my package from Geico last night). I show her the bank statement and the Geico card and she nixes both of them. The insurance card doesn’t have my address on the actual card, and the bank statement, she says, has to be of the mailed variety. Printed by the bank is not acceptable. That means no license for me. Of course, part of this is my fault. Candice reminds me that a statement had come from the bank already; I guess that means I get to sign up for the written test for tomorrow.
While I’m there, I figured I’d add a new errand to the list. I ask her to tell me how to get my car titled and registered in Indiana. No one is certain (I’m starting to wonder if Canadians are a myth - or maybe I’m wondering if Americans believe that Canadians are a myth) so they get one of the guys there to do some research and write it all out for me.
Turns out I need to go on a, his words, scavenger hunt (i.e. a whole whack of new errands). I need to talk with the local police, Subaru (the local branch, as well as my original dealer in Canada), the EPA, the Department of Transportation, and customs.
I have this funny feeling that if I were really busy, I would have just walked in and they would have handed me the Indiana license - no questions asked. Hahaha.
On a somewhat-related side note, Candice left for work this morning around 9:15. I stayed at home, then later went to the BMV at 11:00. I finished around 11:45 and made it to Candice’s store around 12:15. That 3-hour span apart marks the longest that we’ve been apart since I moved here on the 4th of July. And yeah, I missed her. Ah, ain’t love grand? 
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I missed you too