AUBREEVISION - Observations from the far side of the dial

So I forgot to mention that one of my presents from Eric was a beautiful diamond necklace. Having never owned a diamond or anything particularly valuable, it makes me feel slightly blingy -- but thankfully, it doesn't look the part, with tiny diamonds arranged in a pear-shaped setting. Sarsar was very very bad and started heckling Eric with comments like "Shouldn't it be on her finger?" Sarsar, you are a very naughty instigator and ought to be thoroughly punished. Snowbawl wants to take a picture and send it to her fiance as a not-so-subtle hint.

Eric's parents made the extremely kind and generous gesture of giving me a homemade gift certificate for return airfare between Ottawa/Manchester on the dates of my choosing. Diamonds and spectacular someday-inlaws -- life is good.

Sadly, however, I am considering a breakup with a negative force in my life, a longtime source of much pain and frustration. Why have I waited so long to conclude that enough is enough? Because I'm attached. I remember going to visit her when I was wee, holding Dad's finger because his hands were so big compared to mine. I remember how she was there as I fumbled my way to adulthood, how we always kept in touch and how close we once were. So now I find myself distressed by an inevitable breakup -- with my bank.

Yes, I am pathetically attached to a faceless corporation. It used to meet my needs, but has lately been an endless source of trouble, holding deposits and cancelling access to my account due to "atypical account activity" -- a $1200 cash deposit made in person. This was somehow interpreted as a possible security breach -- a larger than usual deposit, yes, but made by me, in cash, through a teller. No one called to verify the legitimacy of the transaction -- they simply cancelled access to the account, as I discovered when my card was declined while making a purchase. The apparent logic is a bit bizarre -- suspicious withdrawals are one thing, but protecting me from the addition of large sums to my account?!

They put me through more rigmarole this weekend, when I tried to pay for $200 worth of merchandise at Costco and was declined, though I knew I had at least double that in my account. I contacted the bank and was informed the cheque I deposited early last week is being held until tonight. I've never had such issues with my other bank, and don't particularly enjoy the embarassment and hassle of having my card unexpectedly declined in a Christmas-frenzied store I just want to get out of, with a cartful of items I've spent an hour tracking down. Long story short, I eventually managed to pay for the items by wrangling a cash advance off my credit card at a nearby ATM.

But because it's where my parents have always done their banking and opened my very first account, nostalgia makes it hard to cut the cord. Oh, BMO, did it have to come to this?