h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ah, banks and banking problems. Gotta love 'em.

So you see, I had about forty something bucks in the bank. I get a paycheck (so to speak) of about fifty dollars a week. It's not much, but it's enough to buy gasoline and a decent amount of food, and an occasional luxury.

So, I depositted forty dollars of the check, and took out the extra ten for myself. So naturally, I now have eighty dollars in the bank, right?

Wrong. The check bounced. And so they deducted fifty dollars from my account, plus a ten dollar fee for the trouble of having to make a deduction (because I'm obviously the one who caused this problem).

Now, thirty dollars is something, but between two or three checks I wrote that pushes me over the limit. With a thirty dollar fee per overdrawn check, I'm already looking at some serious debtage issues.

Now, I'm not too concerned about this.

I'm going to be selling my school textbooks back to the school, that should fetch around a hundred dollars. Plus I can start working soon what with the impending Summer. That'll all more than cover this current pickle.

But the "ARGH!" in the subject line, that refers to my reaction at eBay. I went in to browse.

I found two video game soundtracks....the first was a soundtrack to the Banjo-Kazooie game for the N64. Not many people like Banjo-Kazooie, but I do, and the game's music is the primary reason. "Gruntilda's Theme" alone would make that CD worth the ten bucks that it's currently going for, ten bucks I would have were it not for this recent monetary mess.

The second CD was a soundtrack for the game Zork Grand Inquisitor. You don't have to be a fan of the Zork series to appreciate the music in that game. Such a great mixture of modern and traditional music styles and instruments. Definitely the best music of the three graphical Zork games. This, too, is currently going for ten dollars. Ten dollars that, again, I would have were it not for my currency crisis.

So what we have here is that I'm in a basic money freeze for a few days, no big problem. But you know when the auctions end? That's right....exactly when I can expect to *ALMOST* be out of this problem.

It's the equivalent of going deaf just as you're about to expect a phone call from a celebrity, and knowing that you'll remain deaf until right after the ringing stops.

Now then. Time for me to return to my studies. Only one more class to attend before finals begin on Thursday.

*Puts on her banker hat.*

Affy, it is ~not~ your fault that the check bounced. It is the fault of the entity that wrote the check. You have every right to expect that entity to reimburse you for the $10.00 in bank fees you incurred due to their passing you a fraudulent instrument.

The fees you incurred for passing your own bad checks are trickier. Usually, the bank puts a hold on your account for a certain number of days to insure that a deposited check clears. You don't have access to that money until it clears. The bank chooses how long that period is depending on where the check comes from. If it is drawn on the same bank, is a government check or some payroll checks, they won't place a hold. The longer a bank takes to collect from the originating bank determines how long the hold will be. So, if there was a legitimate 'no hold' on the deposit, you should ask for extra $20 in fees back from the originator, too. If your bank screwed up by placing an inadequate hold, you should ask them to reverse the charges. If you wrote the checks on a legitimate hold, you are stuck for that $20.

Clear as mud?

Yeah, I know that normally I could just demand the ten dollar fee from this guy. But to be quite frank, I don't have a legitimate reason to. The guy basically paid my gas and food bills for my first year of college and didn't ask for more than a few things along the way. I know it's not my fault for the fees, but there's no way that I'm going to say that he's to blame here after all he's been through for me.

As for the other checks, all of 'em were written before I even depositted his check. Had his check not even been given to me, I would presently have around five dollars in the bank.

This is one of those times where I don't really see anyone as being at fault. Given what he's currently going through, I can understand how this check didn't go through. And when I wrote those other checks, all was good with the world.

More than anything, I'm angry that eBay-ers are choosing this time to sell their soundtracks rather than a few days from now. All will be made right, in the end.

And besides, if I can't listen to the music on the CDs, I can just play the games again.

Very well, then. *Takes banker hat off.* So, it's just bad timing all the way around. Lil said something about some planet going retrograde. Let's blame that.

By the way, a $10 return check fee is cheap. My bank charges $24 for returned check and $20 for an item drawn in insufficient funds. You must have some special student account, eh?

And couldn't you borrow the $20 for the soundtracks from a friend or relative? Surely someone knows how trustworthy you are and would advance you the money for the few days you would need it. Alternatively, you could email the person holding the auctions and ask if you could delay payment (and hence, their shipment) for the few days you need (should you win the auction). Most people are pretty understanding.

So, this $50 per week. What's the story there? Why did it bounce? Can you get paid in cash in future?

Wow - you guys snuck in 2 more posts while I was writing mine. I must have pulled up this convo a while ago and not refreshed before replying.

The $50 Dollars A Week is a long, complex story. It revolves around the fact that my parents have a ridiculous number of incredibly good friendships with a multitude of people, all of whom are willing to look out for our best interests. This particular friend heard about it when my dad lost his job for preaching about the more subtle sins that people can let themselves fall into (he preached generally, but eight people thought that he was speaking directly to them, so they caused a "stir in the politics"), and he knew that I was just starting college at the time.

So, without even asking for permission or anything he just sent me a check for fifty dollars. He's continually done so ever since school started, meaning that he must've given me at least $1800 dollars by now (most of which went straight into and out of the car and text books). About a week ago I heard that he was looking for a higher paying job than the one that he's got now, so I was planning on not accepting any checks after the one due this week. Turns out that I should've made that decision about a fortnight sooner.

As for borrowing the money for the soundtracks....just no. I'd like to, but it wouldn't be right. I've got no shame about borrowing money for a light meal when I've left my wallet at home, but there's no way that I'd borrow money for CDs. Too trivial.

And besides, now that I know that the Banjo-Kazooie soundtrack exists, I can look for it. I already knew that the ZGI soundtrack existed (this'll make about the third time I've missed it on eBay that I'm aware of), so I can just keep looking for that. Someone'll sell those again someday, and I just have to be ready.

Wow, what a nice guy your friend is. And I'm sure you will "pay it forward" some day.

What a kind person! But what a worthwhile way to use one's money! (especially when the recipient has no age or face, poor guy)

Hope the soundtracks come up again soon. Have you ever seen a zorkmid on ebay again? Wonder how much that one I saw went for.

Just went to look for a zorkmid and....there was one!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3545&item=8103562815&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Oh, that's cool. Not just the coin, but the box! I was always a sucker for Infocom's feelies.

That previous Zorkmid went for about twenty bucks, if memory serves. And quite frankly, I'm not that fanatical....well, I wasn't then....I don't think that I'm that fanatical.

But still, for the coin, the games, and the box....I could see twenty bucks for that.

But yeah, I'm sure that the soundtrack will come back again. It better. Especially considering all the different way's that I could hear Gruntilda's Theme!

The normal theme, the mountain village theme, the pirate-chanty theme, the drainage system theme, the swamp theme, the ice-world theme, the Egyptian theme, the haunted house theme, the harbor theme, the forest theme, the game-show theme, the final battle....and that's just one of the songs!

Banjo-Kazooie's music developpers truly were masters.

OH, and yes Witty. This guy's a great friend. But he has seen my face, knows my age, my name. Hmmmm....

You know, if anyone from h2g2 ever saw me in person, that would totally invalidate every single part of my name, wouldn't it? I'd have to change it then.