Lost in a Lost World (Page 3) ghostgeek: I never switch the blasted thing on. Any sod who wants to ring me is going to be disappointed. Zanjan: Lately, my bank doesn't switch on either - telephone banking, that is. I call at 8:30 am to make sure I catch the eastern seaboard desk first. After request to input all personal numbers, they make you go through 12 levels of IVR, then have the temerity to say my call is important to them but they're short-staffed and unavailable. Call back some other time. Arrrrrrgh Soon as the pandemic is over, I'm leaving them for another bank, which only has two levels of IVR. The wheat is being sifted from the chaff. (Edited by Zanjan) ghostgeek: Yeah, the modern world is getting too much for me. Always dipping into my pocket while telling me how much I'm appreciated. ghostgeek: Soon as this pandemic is over, somebody is going to go to a market and start another. I think the human race has a death wish. Just wish they'd bypass me. Zanjan: Medical labs are gathering antibodies as we speak; shortly, there will be a vaccine. I think we'll have new habits in place by then. Learn what you can from the moment and pass it on to the next generation. ghostgeek: When the financial crisis hit, people developed new habits. They started being cagey about taking on debt. Now, a few years later, lots of people are driving around in big swanky cars that they can only buy by taking out wallet-busting loans. Seems old habits have a way of creeping back when times improve. Zanjan: I haven't seen big cars since the 80's, the decade of glitter and excess. Soaring gas prices changed the market; now, cars are small with more vehicles per household. Some are mini-cars. The return of the Hemi lasted about 2 years here. I laughed the whole time. But you're right, we've become totally dependant on credit cards and loans. I'm not so sure that will change anytime soon - it's a sign of the times. Cash is fading as the primary method of purchase; it's very dirty stuff, passing from hand to hand - that's how the flu and colds are spread. I almost never use it. (Edited by Zanjan) ghostgeek: Unless you're doing it over the phone or internet, using a card to make a big purchase means you're going to be typing in a pin number on a key pad. Not sure how often they disinfect those things. Zanjan: The world crawls with them. You never know who it is - that's why I always take my receipts with me. No, I'm not paranoid, I just like to tie my camel. ghostgeek: This might come as a bit of a surprise, but I've been locking my doors for quite a while. It's become a sort of habit of mine. ghostgeek: Still can't get over how few people are doing their shopping nowadays. Makes me wonder what they were about when they packed in like sardines in a can. Zanjan: Nobody goes to the grocery store to buy just a handful of things - it's a full cart. Most stores and restaurants are closed; the remainder have curbside pick-ups for orders by phone. I rather like someone else doing my shopping for me and hope it stays on after the curve flattens. (Edited by Zanjan) ghostgeek: Er ... I go to the supermarket to buy what fits into a hand basket. Quite a few others do the same. You can order over the internet and have a van deliver to your door but a curbside pick-up leaves me scratching my head. Zanjan: You obviously live in the city. We, who live out in the countryside, have no such favour bestowed upon us. ghostgeek: I live in a modest sized town that can be walked from one end to the other in an afternoon. Done it more than once. ghostgeek: No doubt you like communing with nature. Personally, I think that sort of thing is overrated. Do it often enough and you end up with a new virus on your plate. Zanjan: I also like to crank up my music and TV and let my pets sing without someone complaining. Especially like plenty of parking space which won't be usurped by the neighbors. Out here, there's no plague and we won't get nuked, flooded, quaked or avalanched, barring the super-explosion of Yellowstone National Park - the complete experience with nature. There are pros and cons to everything. I won't walk 6 hours to and from town - maybe if there was a prairie fire I could do two klms. ghostgeek: Sounds like you're sailing on the Biblical Ark. An ocean of fields all around and a menagerie for a crew. Zanjan: Just my two cats, the parrot, and me..... for now. I'm new to living alone - it's weird not having any rules, no one to blame for misplaced stuff, no closed doors or alarms, no one to ask "what the heck is THIS thing?" Not lost but still in transition mode, more like floating than sailing. Not sure what to think of it. | Politics Chat Room 41 People Chatting Similar Conversations |