Two weeks ago, I realized I was out of checks. So, I went through my bank’s webpage to reorder checks. Of course, I made sure they would be printed with my new address. I’ve never had a problem reordering this way, and I certainly didn’t expect to have a problem this time.

I was told the checks would arrive November 3rd. They didn’t. So I got in touch with Clarke American, the check printing company, and was informed:

The order was shipped to the previous address on November 3, 2008. Check orders requiring address changes cannot be placed online due to our security procedures.

And yet, Clarke American’s website allowed me to place an order, with my new mailing address on the checks, without at all, at any time, informing me that I needed to call them. And then, to top it all off, they shipped the checks to my previous address!

Seriously: what the fuck? To top it all off, to contact Clarke American via the phone, or through their chat function, requires me to have my routing number, which I certainly don’t have at work. So I’ve replied to their e-mail to me, and I’ve contacted my bank directly to apprise them of the situation, but I’m both really furious and angry, and really fucking scared at the moment.

If you can’t place a check order with a change of address, why did you allow me to do so? I don’t get this. I hope this is all resolved. According to the USPS tracking information, though, whoever is living in my old apartment has had my checks for three days now.

I am not amused.

UPDATE:

Because, for some silly reason, I needed my routing number to get in touch with Clarke American, I left work early, missed the bus, finally got home, and spent about twenty minutes on the phone with people from Clarke American and my own bank. I’m not quite sure where the issue was — apparently my bank provided the incorrect shipping address (yet the correct address to print on the checks) — but I’ve been repeatedly assured by my bank that, should the checks mailed out be turned in for payment, no payment will be provided. I think I’m still going to close out this checking account and open a new one, however.

This is a pretty interesting chart of which states receive more funding from the Federal government than they pay in taxes. It’ll be interesting to see it adjusted for the 2008 election, and 2009 taxing data, and also interesting to see how (if at all) the financial bailout is calculated into this. I also hope they’ll include Washington, D.C. on the next version of this chart.

HT: Travis’ facebook posting.

How true!

Washington, D.C., newsstand vendor Tony Portillo refused a tempting offer.

“I got a guy who wanted to buy the whole bundle,” Portillo said. “I said, ‘I can’t sell it. I have more people coming. I’ll sell you five.”‘

At News World in downtown Washington, customers sorted through papers from Boston, Massachusetts, Houston, Texas and other cities after the Post and Times sold out.

“I got what they had left,” said Michael Garner, clutching a copy of The Washington Times as he exited the congested store. He said he planned to frame the front page.

I arrived at my part time job at about 4:40 yesterday afternoon, and was greeted to a sign taped to the outer door stating that we were completely sold out of all U.S. newspapers. The same sign greeted me at the inner door, and I saw it again at the entrance and mid-point of the register queue. Upon inquiring, I learned we’d been sold out since 10am, a short two hours after opening. Fully half the calls that night were people asking for a paper: Post, Times, Wall Street Journal? There were rumors of a second edition of The Post, but they never came to our store. I shall find myself content with the copy of The Express I snagged at the Woodley Park station that morning.

As for myself, I have one framed newspaper: it’s the top half of the Section 1 Comics, The Washington Post, dated Sunday, December 31st, 1995. Can anyone guess what it is?