My ex never cleaned out his trolley at the office

Last Wednesday, I was in the office. There are a number of trolleys (lockers on wheels) that are locked at work. A full-time employee can get a trolley to store their belongings, as we don't have assigned desks.

The facilities manager unlocked a bunch of them. There is a high demand for them now that we are at the office more often.

I heard my manager look at the contents of one of the lockers:

This person has a toothbrush. He lived here. He was a trainer. He's long gone.

This trainer was my ex.  He left the company maybe two years ago. He never bothered heading to the office to fetch his belongings. 

The toothbrush detail was interesting. Frankly, he was more concerned about flossing, but the toothbrush was a close second.

I miss the good times being with him. I don't miss being treated like dirt and having my heart torn apart. It took a lot of strength to kick him to the curb when he wanted sex without a relationship. Dumb.

Skype

Microsoft is retiring Skype. Its two-decade existence will be a memory soon. It makes sense as Microsoft can focus on Teams.

In a way, it ends a chapter in my life. Whenever my ex-boyfriend and I would chat when he was on the road, we used Skype.

It's bittersweet. When our relationship was fresh and new, I loved chatting on Skype with him. There were a few times where he removed me as a contact. I didn't know why. He'd eventually add me back. I got anxiety when he did remove me as a contact. It was the same with Facebook. I feared that he didn't want to be with me when he removed me as a contact. I look back and it seems so silly, but it was real and caused a lot of anxiety.

I don't miss the various connection issues that we faced using Skype.

When he broke my heart, I removed him as a contact on Skype. He sent me a contact request. I ignored it.

It was a bit of his own medicine. I'm glad that I could reciprocate.

At work, we use Teams. Before that, we used Skype. I won't miss it.

The ex and I never communicated on Teams at work. He had left the company just before we switched to Teams.

Skype is a good marker. It cements how final our relationship is.

Messaging an old friend

I wrote a while back that I had found my best friend from grade 7. I was contemplating whether to contact her.

Since then, I have been watching her reels on Instagram and hearing what she has to say. It took a recent reel in which she talked about trying to tell folks about her torture through her body language that encouraged me to finally contact her.

I remember her jumping at touch. She would walk fast with her arms crossed in front of her chest when she was upset. She had that flee instinct.

She was brave to state in grade 8 that she was sexually abused. She didn't spill all the beans about being tortured in a cult because she was still a part of it. It was tough for her to escape and be safe.

I am glad that I contacted her. I let her know that I have always believed her. I hope that she writes back. We'll see.

Heading back to work today

I go back to work today. Luckily, our company goes into the office once a week. It's not Monday, so I'm happy.

I will admit that it was nice working a single day between December 13 and now. I will miss sleeping in and focusing on getting better health-wise.

I am down to a mild cough. I also find that I get tired faster. I'm not sure if it's because I have been indulging in carbs over the holidays or if it's a symptom of coughing up a lung.

If you are heading back to work this week, I wish you an easy transition. I am now trying to figure out when I should take my next vacation!

Happy 2025!

Happy 2025, everyone! I hope that it's a joyous, healthy, properous, and memorable year for you.

Earlier today, I got a text message from my ex, wishing me a happy new year. His text is likely due to my reaching out to him last month because I didn't have the funds to check in to a hotel.

He asked me a day later if I had called him. It was disappointing that it took him a day to respond. I felt like it reinforced one reason why I don't want him in my life. He was never there for me when I needed him to be.

I have been on the fence about responding to his text. I decided not to. My reaching out was out of urgency. I don't want him in my life and my calling him wasn't an invitation to start a text chat.

Check your credit score

Back in October, I applied for a loan with Spring Financial. I didn't get the approval, which was eye-opening. I was also thankful that I didn't. I ended up getting a consumer proposal and focusing on fixing my finances.

Spring Financial recommended that I go with its plan of taking out a tradeline. It is kind of a loan, except that you pay a monthly fee to have this company report good things to Canada's two credit bureaus about your credit history.

I remember getting digital forms from Spring Financial. I declined signing them. I felt that this tradeline was a waste of money. I'd rather get a secured credit card and have that credit card company report my progress to the credit bureaus without paying a fee.

I went on Spring Financial's site and chatted with someone. I asked whether not signing would confirm that I didn't want the loan. The person said yes.

I had a feeling that it wasn't the case. Sure enough, I looked at my credit report that I get through Credit Karma. It's free, which is why I like it.

Spring Financial created a tradeline account for me on October 11. It reported that I was late with my payments for both November and December.

What?

First, I don't have a loan with this company. I never signed any paperwork. Second, it claims that I have a $5000 loan. I don't. Funds were never deposited into my account. Third, I missed payments for two months. I didn't know that I needed to because I don't have a loan.

A couple of days ago, I went back on Spring's chat. I got disconnected the first time. I got the same representative the second time. I wanted this alleged loan closed. I also wanted this company to fix the erroneous credit reporting to both bureaus.

Well, I got a response from Spring Financial yesterday:

We are reaching out to notify you of an issue we have identified regarding a tradeline created on your credit bureau from Spring Financial.

When you applied with Spring Financial, an account was created under your name; however, due to an error, the file submitted to the credit bureaus included inactive accounts. We have since corrected this and will be sending a revised file to the credit bureaus, informing them of the error. We have directly contacted both Equifax and TransUnion with an urgent request to address this matter promptly, however we have been informed that the update can take up to 30-60 days to reflect on each respective credit report.

We sincerely apologize for this oversight and want to assure you that once the incorrect tradeline is removed, it will have no adverse impact on your credit report or history.

We appreciate your patience as we work to resolve this matter. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us directly.

Thank you,

Customer Service

The wording is poor. I identified Spring Financial's issue that directly affects me. I had to tell you about it so that you could investigate it further. Let's be clear. Had I not reported it, Spring Financial would be ruining my credit rating and other people's credit ratings.

I'll be watching my credit score and report like a hawk to make sure that this issue is fixed. Otherwise, I have no problem following up with Spring Financial. It should not be erroneously reporting to credit bureaus when I don't have any products from this company.

I recommend checking your credit score. You don't want a company ruining your score because it is erroneously reporting details to credit bureaus.

In a credit card bind and having to reach out to my ex

A couple of Thursdays ago, I drove up from the Twin Cities to Winnipeg. There was a snowstorm with reduced visibility. I managed to get to Winnipeg safely.

I had a problem checking into my hotel. I had a one-night stay before flying home on Friday. I also booked a hotel near Toronto Pearson International Airport in case I was too tired to drive home. My flight would get in late that night.

At the hotel in Winnipeg, my credit card was declined. I didn't understand why as I had just used it all day for fuel, food, and more. 

I didn't have a backup credit card. My other credit card was in the mail. Canada Post was on strike. The strike is over, but it will take some time to get it.

I had to find someone to bail me out. It was 9:30 pm Central time. It was 10:30 pm Eastern to figure out who could help me out at this time of night.

I did something that I didn't want to do. I texted and called my ex. Naturally, he didn't pick up or respond.

He did text me over 24 hours later. I said that it was urgent. He didn't respond, so I moved on. All I got from that text exchange was a thumbs-up reaction from him.

He was too late. The usual.

It reinforced the fact that he has never been there for me when I needed him. I managed to find a friend who was willing to e-transfer $400 to me.

The hotel room was just over $200 a night. I needed to supply a security deposit, which I felt was ridiculous being almost twice the amount of my hotel room.

I checked out the following day. I immediately sent an e-transfer to my friend for the security deposit. Today, I sent the remaining funds that I owed to her for the room rate.

I am thankful that I have friends who are kind and trusting. I am truly grateful for their help.

It turns out that the hotel by the airport prematurely charged my room and deposit to my card. It explains why I couldn't check in at the hotel in Winnipeg.

I cancelled my reservation at the hotel by the airport. The funds were released. I wasn't impressed by this premature charging move.

What I should have done was to prepay for my hotel in Winnipeg. It would have guaranteed my stay without the hotel in Toronto getting to my card first with a premature hold.

I hope that I never have to reach out to my ex. I expected that he wouldn't jump at helping me. Sadly, I was correct.