Here it is:

1. A) Pulling up to the Drive-Thru not ready - the Drive-Thru is about speed. If you are not ready, either come inside or wait to pull in until you are. Don't pull up to the Drive-Thru if you need a pen, a deposit slip, withdraw slip, or a copy made. I don't mind the giving you a pen or a slip if there is no one behind you, but all copies -  even if the Drive-Thru is completely empty - need to be done INSIDE! If you do not know/have your account number I don't mind looking it up if there is no one else waiting, but have some consideration for your fellow human beings. Don't hold up the line because you've got your head stuck so far up your own butt you don't know there are people behind you that are ready, people who will only take 25 seconds to wait on and get their reciept. Also, wanting to make a withdrawal but not knowing what is in your account and wanting me to look it up is wrong at a Drive-Thru. Get. Your. Lazy. Netherregions. Out. Of. The. Damn. Car. And. Come. Inside.

1. B) Knowing that you are not ready so you don't quite pull all the way up - these are the people who need some time to get ready so they pull up in front of the lane and stop. They won't pull into the lane to use it but they don't want other people to be able to pull in ahead of them either. And if someone tries, they gun the engine and quickly pull in. Of course they still aren't ready so we all have to wait for them to finish.

2. Wanting to discuss your account - I do not mind printing off a copy of your transactions but do not try to discuss them with me. First, you are on a speaker. IE: what you say about your account can be heard by others. Second, you are in a Drive-Thru, it is about quick transactions and speed. We do not mind going over your transactions and talking to you about them - inside. Not in the Drive-Thru.

3. Wanting complex transactions or having too many transactions - I will not sell gift cards, money orders, official checks, savings bonds, start/alter accounts or any such in the Drive-Thru. Drive-Thru transactions are quick basic ones like deposits and cashing checks. If you have more than 2 or 3 transactions, or if those transaction involve a lot of cash (using business deposits) do yourself and everyone else a favor and come inside. If you have too many I will ask you to come inside or I will wait on all the other lanes first before getting to yours.

4. Driving into the closed lane - This is especially annoying when you tell me "Did you know the lane said closed?" "Yes, sir. That is because the lane is closed. Please come inside or drive around to other lane." "WHAT?!" If the lane is closed, trust me there is a good reason, do not choose that lane.

5. Trying to go to the first lane no matter what because you like the first lane - Normally this one is not a big problem but when the lane says closed, there is a big orange traffic cone at the enterance to the lane, the teller drawer is out of the wall and lying on the ground, and there is a maintance man standing at the window working on the machinery, this tends to indicate that the lane is not available at this time. Trying to run over said maintance man is NOT a good idea. Also, do not ask the maintance man how much longer he's going to be, just choose one of the other 3 open lanes. Don't laugh - people have done this. I have one maintance man who refuses to service my branch because a lady ran over the traffic cone and almost hit him and all the machinery with her car, and that was not the first instance he has had.

6. Sending/wanting rolled coin - the teller drawer and the tubes are not designed for the weight of a lot of coin. You will break them. They are very expensive. Bring it inside.

7. Not knowing how your car works - please learn which buttons control which windows in your car. While it is vastly amusing to see someone pull up, start pushing buttons, and watch them get frustrated while their back windows are going up and down, up and down, it does take time. Also, learn which gear your car is in. If you put it in Park while I wait on you, it generally helps to put it in Drive when you want to leave. And heavens help us when someone pulls too far forward and backs up a little to line up with the window. Remember you left your car in Reverse! Please do not slam on the gas! I just know I'm going to witness a wreck from people doing that, then we'll have the same sort of issues as in numer 5.

8. Being rude in general - don't fly off the handle with me because you had to wait/I needed ID/you're overdrawn/someone looked at you crossways. Remember, I will turn the speakers off. Also, not answering when I greet you. I will greet you repeatedly until you answer. Blaring your music is another no-no. You have the right to listen to whatever you want to, you do not have the right to force me to listen to it too. If I can hear it through the building with the Drive-Thru speakers off, it's too loud. And if you want to be a petulent child and refuse to move from the Drive-Thru until we do whatever it is that you want, I can and will and have called the police. Do you really want to see how fast the police can arrive after a phone call from a bank? No matter what we tell them, they always assume we're being robbed and will fly over. Goddess bless them!!!

Do not, let me repeat, do NOT yell, threaten, or otherwise make an ass of yourself because you overdrew on your account and now you're in the negative. I'm not the one that spent $5.86 at McDonalds and $36.50 at Hooters when you only had $3.18 in your account. Now you're hit with two overdraft fees at $35 each. And don't go around telling people that my bank screwed up your account. Your financial incompetency screwed up your account.

I just do not understand people, I don't. When I was younger I was also stupid with my money. I did not keep a checkbook register and was frequently overdrawn. If I could just have the money I paid out in overdraft fees back! But even then, I did not treat the tellers badly. I might have cursed in my head, but I would pay and make my account right. Then I started managing my money. It was slow going at first, but I got a register and kept track of what went in and out of my account, got online banking, got overdraft protection, and checked everything every day. Since then I have not had one overdraft and not used my overdraft protection even once. Yea for me!

Here are some tips to help if you find yourself overdrawn:

1. Get a checkbook register. Start right now. They are free - FREE - at your bank and you can get one at the teller line. When people use this the right way, 95% of overdrafts will stop. Keep up with it and write down everything you do.

 2. Be polite to the bank staff, trust me we're not used to it. If you talk with someone (they are called different titles at different banks, but are typically in an office) and nicely explain your situation they might (let me emphasize might) refund the overdraft fee - typically if you do not often have overdrafts and have been with the bank awhile.

3. Get online banking or call the bank's 800 number. Please please please do not call the branch itself for information on your balance and last transactions, please. If you do not know the 800 number, it is ususally in the phonebook, or just ask the teller the next time you go in. Ask how it works, and try it. Both online banking and the 800 number are a great resource to keep up with your accounts.

4. Sign up for overdraft protection. Most banks offer a variety of ways to protect your account from overdrafts and that will save you $35 a pop. Note: when these kick in automatically, there is typically a small fee (think around $10) but there are ways around that fee too. Just ask.

5. Ask how items post/clear to your account. Customers sometimes assume that if they make a deposit the money is there right this instant and run out to spend it. When cash is deposited this is true, but not checks. Most banks will deposit checks drawn off of that bank first, then take out money that you spent, then deposit checks drawn off of other banks. Watch out for this! If you bank with 5th/3rd and deposit a Bank of America check, what you spend will come out before the B of A check goes in. Also, a lot of banks "cutover" at 2pm. Deposits made before 2 are typically deposited into your account that night. Deposits made after 2 will go in the next banking night to be available in the morning. Example: Joe Schmoe deposits a check from another bank Tuesday morning at 10 am, the money will not cover any money he's spent that clears that night but will be available Wednesday morning. This is especially important to remember on Fridays. A deposit made after 2 on Friday will not go in until Monday night because of the weekend. This is true even if your bank is open on Saturday. If you are not sure, just ask when it will be available when you make the deposit. Also, do not use your debit card when the money is not in your account and then run to the bank to deposit cash to cover it. It will not work and you will be charged an overdraft fee. Deposit first, then spend. Also keep in mind that when money is taken from your account it will happen largest to smallest. A $56 purchase will clear before a $31 purchase even if the smaller one was done first.

6. Do not let your account go into the negative. Talk to the "office people" about not allowing your account to go into the negative. There is some coding they can do that will decline purchases if you do not have the funds to cover it. Keep in mind, if you have an emergency your debit card will not work if the funds aren't there. I would be happy to pay any overdraft fees if it meant I could get a tow truck in an emergency.

If you do these things you can cut out overdraft fees from your life. I know I could have just lost the banks thousands in fees, but I know it hurts to pay them.

While my son's birthday party wasn't big, it was still fun and he had a great time. We had a dinosaur theme and my mom even made a volcano cake! I don't know how she did it. My bathroom and back screen door are fixed so all's well on that front. I managed to do some cleaning this weekend and will then do a brief cleansing of the house. Moving the energy around should help with my stress level.

Horray for Columbus Day! As it is a Federal Holiday, I get the day off! This works out great because a hole developed in the wall at my bathtub and the repair guy is out here now fixing it. He's thinking he can repair the hole, replace the drywall around the tub, and give me a new faucet. I say sweet! He is also going to replace the latch on my outside basement door - someone broke in last week. I want to buy a house but I worry about things like this, I mean what if something breaks? Then I'm stuck with the bill. Plus my car is on it's last legs. It's 12 years old and it has lasted longer than I dared hope, but it won't last much longer. I have a friend and her folks have a car they want to sell but the engine blew. Her boyfriend can get a new engine, replace it, and get it running again and I'm thinking about buying that car. What I was looking into was a Smart Car, but I can buy this one for what a really nice down payment on the Smart Car would be. But the Smart Car would be a new car, whereas this car will be used and has already had problems with the engine. Of course now we'll be talking about a different engine. I've always had used cars that I could just buy outright, mainly because I didn't go to a used car lot and the cars weren't all that great. So I wasn't looking forward to car payments, but it would be so nice to have a good, new car! *sigh* Too many wants and options and what ifs and not nearly enough money.

Well, that's today and tomorrow is my son's birthday! I wanted to have a party and let him invite some friends over and do crafts and games and stuff but money's kinda tight and it never worked out. We're just going to have a dinner and presents and cake with the family.

WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL WITH PEOPLE GETTING MAD WHEN ASKED FOR ID?!?!?!

Sorry - I just needed to get that off my chest. As y'all know I work at a bank and I cash checks and give out money all the time, but I have to know who you are. Do you really want some random stranger to waltz into your bank and help themselves to your money? That's what I assume you're doing until I see your ID. Please don't hand me a fake ID, I will refuse your transaction. Period. And don't get mad at me and tell me I've waited on you before and why don't I remember who you are. Especially don't get mad at me and yell "I was in here 6 months ago, you don't remember me? Who the hell do you think you are?" Who the hell do you think you are that I will remember someone I might or might not have seen 6 months ago? Trust me, you're only making yourself look like a fool. Do people not realize how many people I see every day? I simply cannot remember every single person. There are lots of customers I do remember and I don't need ID for, but if I don't call you by name before you come up to my station, I don't know you and I need your ID. Please have it ready. When don't I need your ID you ask? If you're making a straight deposit of cash or check(s). A straight deposit means it's all going into the account, no cash back. Also, if you want to change the address on your account, be prepared to give me your ID.

What really gets me is that if someone did steal their account number and got their money, they'd be screaming at us for not getting ID. Also they would be so mad if someone came into their place of business and treated them this way. Why do these people think that they can treat others like crap (pardon my French) but expect they be treated like minor gods?

Personally I thank everyone who asks me for my ID, I'm more than happy to show it.