raving about this and that

I had a Citi credit card that I paid off in November, then canceled after I called to find out the pay off amount. This week I got an email saying I had a small balance and I might want to pay it. Since I had shredded the card and had no password or any account information, I knew this was going to be tricky. It took 20 minutes and 4 customer service people and that was not because they couldn't find me in their system. Apparently, even after you cancel a credit card and pay off what they tell you the balance is, they can still assess finance charges, the blood-sucking vampires. This small balance was $4.57, 12 cents of which was a 3 cent a month credit protection fee for the last four months. On a closed account, they charge me 3 cents a month for credit protection. WTF seriously.

I tried very hard to be nice to all these people only because Regis does customer service and I know it's a miserable, ass-bite of a job. One man saw the irony and said he couldn't believe they would charge me 3 cents a month on a closed account. I said I had no trouble believing it....because...they took a 20 billion dollar bail-out from the government then bought a big jet for their executives. They didn't do this by working in the fields and hauling water, pal. Jeebus. I finally expressed irritation with the 4th person who finally said she would "adjust the charges" and I would not be receiving any further correspondence from them. Hallelujah.

I went to the MC today (google avoidant) and saw my nutrition doctor. He said this insurance snafu is just the way it goes with them. There are no medical guidelines about a six-month supervised diet but that's their black and white mentality. He'll write a letter of appeal and we'll go from there. I lost 11 pounds (ta da) since my appointment in December and he gave me some accolades for that. Then I made him look at my exercise log. Like show and tell.

I had to drive myself to Rochester since it was a work day and my friends and family were occupied. Emily (very sweet) offered to go but Regis expressed, ah let's call it reservations, about a very pregnant woman and a small child traveling anywhere with me. I got home after dark which is a high-risk situation as I don't see so well after dark. He may have had a point.

If I see that commercial one more time about the woman who vows to not ever wear a nightgown again, I'm going to throw my wine glass through the picture window. Obviously, she is not from here. In Minnesota, this is only advisable for the five days on either side of the 4th of July.

I'm working on a set of dishes with the theme of small plates/big tastes. Last week, I called them tapas but I've given that up. Too pretentious maybe. I have quite a few now but I would really like to get some tiny forks so I don't have to use those toothpick things. Mini cocktail forks, I'll call them today. Now, recipes....