The back-up café reopened today. Like me, they don’t stop too long over Christmas. I slept better last night, despite some worries, and had put in one of my better runs of the last two months. I was fortunate there was no traditional Christmas dinner to run off because 6k was about as far as I went. This time last year, I was running 20ks. While I’m still running three nights a week without fail, right now, my dislike of running means I’m putting in some lazy efforts. It’s just so bloody boring, as is all exercise unless it involved an actual sport where you win or lose.
It could’ve been a productive morning only I forgot my work. I’ve had a lot on my mind over Christmas. That hack at the start of December when someone cloned a credit card in my name and proceeded to buy a 1k laptop, well, the aftermath of that continues to rumble on.
Owing to the strikes, I’ve still not received my new bank cards. It’s coming up to 4 weeks now so I’ve now reached the stage where one bank card is being declined everywhere and can no longer be used. Meantime, the other card will be declined everywhere a few days into the New Year. It’s maddening. The issue isn’t money, it’s accessing it. It's a bad way to end the year and a bad way to start the new one.
One bank has at least made an effort to help, telling me I can get a temporary debit card if I call in at my local branch next week. The other, who I’ve been with for nearly 30 years, for the second time in a few months their help has been underwhelming. Once you find yourself in a situation where you need customer services in this country, you’re in trouble. Thinking of the sheer admin required to resolve this once the cards do arrive, not likely to be soon, is enough to make me slip the mouthguard in during waking hours.
Meantime, I arrived here and had to wait almost 25 minutes to get my first latte. I had to go up to the counter to ask for it. A couple of minutes later it was delivered. They had assumed the mess at the table, several cups and a pastry plate, were mine. A few more months here and they’ll know being a writer, my spending habits are too frugal for that kind of visual.
The first latte showed clear signs of a hurried pouring, froth staining the exterior of the glass. Meantime, the second latte, ordered with some difficulty just after midday, as also gone AWOL. This is almost as stressful as the PayPal hack. The problem here is this café is just way too big, about four or five times the size of THE CAFÉ. I do think we need a bell system here.
Update: 12:16hrs.
I’ve pulled the waitress up on the AWOL latte. She tells me it’s coming. Such moments only erode the fledgling rapport we’d built up. I’m trying to come up with some SMALL talk ideas to make her forget the moment.
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