Tag: grown-up life
Protected: Let’s be sociable human beings!
Protected: Sunday with friend (and her kids)
Free Nook with purchase!
I got the snow tires taken off the Fit today and bought new all-season tires to go back on. While I was waiting at the dealer (3 hours!) I discovered that if you buy $499 worth of new Continental tires you can send in for a free Nook Simple Touch. Coincidentally, the tires I just bought were Continental, and came to just over $499, so I guess I’m getting another e-reader.
While they were changing the tires they discovered that two of my valve-stems were leaking which woudl explain the constant need to inflate the tires every couple weeks, so I’m glad we got that taken care of.
Protected: 2011 Year in review
Inefficiencies in the federal government
Despite the seriousness of the title, this is mostly me ranting.
So apparently, earlier in the year, the Department of Education decided to transition handling Direct Loans (that’s federal student loans) directly from their website to a new site set up especially for the purpose. Now, I set up Autopay from my checking account as soon as my deferral period was over and the only communication I’ve received from the DoE in all that time as an annual form for my taxes.
So what do I get in today’s mail, which I don’t see until 8pm? A bill for my October loan repayment. Dated the 14th, mailed the 24th, and arrived the 28th. WTF?! Scanning the notice I see that I’m being directed to a new website, www.myedaccount.com/. Since this is different than the previous website I’m a bit suspicious, so I go looking around online. And I find this, and this, and this. It turns out that yes, the federal government really did move websites. Yes, they really did make a mess of the transition. And yes, all auto-pay information was supposed to transfer over but lots of people are reporting it didn’t.
Now, I get the idea of streamlining your web services, and keeping a huge part like loans away from the rest of the site to keep things separate, but for cripes sake you’ve got to do a better job of it. My Auto-pay info didn’t transfer over, I had to re-enter my credit union info. And now I’ve got to hope that I can actually get through to a human being to see if I’ve been reported as late or not.