theMediaman.com

I’m not sure why I tend to get worked up more by the NDP than any other party. Perhaps it’s because I expect more of them, while never having high expectations of the Conservatives nor the Liberals. It could also have to do with the fact that the NDP tend to call during dinner hour with a pre-recorded message (following a 10 second span of silence).

Simone’s got her own stresses to deal with involving the wedding, so she’s taken to tuning me out when I go on a tirade about politics.  Rather than let it simmer, I wrote to my candidate, Peter Ferreira, and the party leader, Jack Layton. 

I also want to note that this is the second time I’ve had to send the NDP such a message.

Do you support the “Do Not Call List”?

“A Prime Minister who puts families first” should not be calling me while I’m having dinner with my family, posting nothing but a pre-recorded message.

Someone for whom “leadership is all about teamwork” should not be obliterating an innovative party’s chance to adequate exposure by blackballing them (in league with Harper) from public debates.  I am not fully in support of the Green Party’s platform. My values are rooted more in Socialism than Conservativism but I can tell you that the Green Party has a hell of a better chance of getting my vote in this election than does the NDP following this action.

If you’re going to put your efforts into excluding a party that doesn’t deserve to be in national debates, get rid of the Bloc.  They have candidates in fewer than one-quarter of the ridings the Green Party does. The Bloc Quebecois have never represented Canadian interests, nor would they even claim to.

If you do win this election, I hope you will enforce a Canadian “Do Not Call List”.  I would like to eat my dinner in peace.

I’m going to have to do an email change soon. I’m starting to get dozens of spam per day again.

Everyone has their stories on spam, and I don’t intend to focus on that in this entry. However, one of the more interesting series of spams that I’ve been receiving is “pre-approved mortgage”, “your loan approval has gone through”, and so on. I’m not really sure if this is a phishing scam, a spam for a shifty bank in the Cayman Islands, or a bit of both. In any case, I was a little upset to get such a phone call from my very own Financial Advisor through CIBC.

“Our system has chosen you for a pre-approved Line-of-Credit for up to X dollars.” I found this funny, since I had just arranged a LoC with this person for the exact same amount two years earlier.

“Well, I don’t think I need that now. I’ll take a look at my finances this weekend and let you know next week?” That was fair enough, I thought. I don’t need it, but it might be handy if there’s a lower interest rate than some other loans I’ve got.

“No, you see, this is a ‘pre-approved‘ Line of Credit without any need to show proof of revenue. If you apply for a Line of Credit next week, then we’ll need to go through the whole approval process with proof of revenue.” So, because a computer thinks I’m worth it, then I get to go further in debt with them while they don’t have to do as much paperwork. I’m starting to see how this ‘relationship’ is balancing out.

Frankly, I didn’t like having a ‘limited-time offer’ proposed to me by the one person who should be encouraging me to value careful, rational thought when it comes to my money. “No thanks, I’m not interested”, was the nicest thing I could think to say.

In addition to that event, my FA used to work Saturdays on appointment up in York Region. No longer. However, with both Simone and I living downtown and working five days a week, there’s no time when when we can go meet with our own, personal representative of CIBC.

Nothing against our FA, but clearly there’s a portfolio of clients that doesn’t require the effort to work on Saturday anymore. That’s no good for us since the branch is way up in York Region. So now I’m seriously considering moving FA’s, or even banks.

I wonder what the Caymans are like, this time of year?