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1

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Press '2' for latest transactions.
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dee dee dum da doo da daa.....(holding)

(automated message) This call may be recorded to ensure customer satisfaction and prevent hill fires in northern Alberta.

(A real person) Hi, thank you for calling "_______ ___" and making us your choice today. May I have your full name and latest major transaction please.

(me) Hi, I'm Brendan Harrington. I think my last transaction was a couple of weeks ago. I deposited about 150 canadian.

(guy I was talking to) Alright Mr. Harrington. I have your account information in front of me here but unfortunatly your last transaction was not for 150 dollars. Perhaps you could double check your latest "_______ ___" statement and I'd more than happy to assist you.

(me) I'm at work. I don't have my statement with me.

(him) Alright, well that's okay. Can you recall your latest transaction?

(me) It should have been a deposite for around one something...maybe 250. It was last month anyway. I can't remember how much it was. I just need to renew my card. Can I just do that without giving my last transaction? I have my card number right in front of me if you need it.

(him) I'm sorry sir, I'd be more than happy to assist you, however, I'm sorry to say that we need your latest transaction information before we continue.

(me) So, should I keep guessing or....?

(him) ....

(me) 200 canadian?

(him) Okay, sorry for the delay sir. I'd like to thank you once again for calling "_______ ___" and making us your choice today. Now, how can I help you today?

(me) My card has expired and I'm living abroad....... (and so on)

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Oh the joy of dealing with customer representitives over the phone. I find great comfort in the fact that all I had to do was keep guessing the right number until he could help me.

So, other than having fun dealing with canadian bills life has been rolling on and over me at it's regular pace.
My band, the david bowie knives, played a gig last week in the middle of nowhere in ngau tau kok and it was a solid night of enjoyment. The venue was also a recording studio on one side and it reminded of this place I used to go to back in hamilton called The Transit Union Hall, only with a much better paint job and higher ceilings. The stage was quite good but the lights were a bit strong so it was next to impossible to see the frets of my bass. Save for a few quickly corrected mishaps I managed to keep on track through our six song set. We were recieved pretty well and made friends with the guys that run the studio called DM plus (I think) and a surprizing industrial gothic band called head hunter. The bass player I'm quite sure tried to kill himself after the show by kicking the hell out of a wall, before climbing up halfway out a window thirteen stories up. His friends quickly pulled him back down where he then kicked the wall to saity.

On tuesday, Shaun and I played three of our own songs each at this place called Mink on Hollywood road in central. I didn't know 'til I got there but free beer and 250 bones each was waiting for us just for playing a three song set, at a good venue, in front of a good crowd. I didn't play 'til half ten so I had two hours of waiting before I could take full advantage of my free beer. I usually set myself a two pint limit before playing and allow for a third during the set.

I've been really enjoying my first Tolstoi experience with Anna Karenina for the past couple of weeks. Since my book filled return from Ireland I've been making it my quest to read all the old classics I've wanted to over the years. So far I've crossed off Voltaire, H.G. Wells and Mark Twain. Anna Karenina will take me at least another few weeks at the pace I'm going. It's a two parter and there are a lot of names to keep track of. It's not a difficult read at all though, surprisingly, but I'm taking my time with it and as a result I keep thinking of the lives of Vronsky, Levin and Alexei Alexandrovitch more than what's going on around me. I've been catching myself living in the past recently and this is perceptibly not a healthy habit. Tolstoi is helping me come out of this unfavourable distraction with his world of farming, high society and russian military men. There are several quotes I've made note of so far, one reaffirms a conclusion I came too after Sharon dumped me in favour of education and solitude.
This is said by a childhood friend of a main character, Vronsky, regarding the relationship between ambition and women.

"Women are the principal stumbling-block in the way of a man's activity. It is difficult to love a women and do something at the same time. There is only one way to love with comfort and without hindrance, and that is-marriage."

take care all
have a drink for yourself
brendan