rainy

My heart in a knot
2015-05-27 13:57:20 (UTC)

Venting (Lost money and graduation)

So I'm really pissed off and annoyed right now. I don't even know where to start so I'll start with the money I loss today.


So the story goes back to about 3 weeks ago when my aunt and uncle came over to ask me if I could photograph my little cousins prom photos. While they were here they looked at my car and decided to tell me that my tags were due (In need of the yearly renewal), they were basing that off the sticker on the back of my car which I never pay attention to (I only get my renewal when they send me the notification in the mail).


Had they not said anything I would of ignored it and gotten my car inspected when I received a notification in the mail that it was time (cars have to be inspected for safety before they can be renewed). But because they were urging me to get the inspection, telling me that if I didn't get it inspected I would have to pay a fee and a bunch of other stuff I decided to go ahead and do it now.


So this morning I drove all the way to the other side of town to pick him up so we could take the car into this "shady" shop, (no they didn't even preform an inspection). The only reason why I went against my better judgment and took my car where my uncle suggested is because the last shop I went to gave me a bunch of lies for my car failing (they said my license plate light was out when it wasn't), not only that but in the past I've had problems getting my car passed inspection when I go alone, but when I go with a male figure then suddenly I pass inspection (I think it's sexism) Either way the story continues..

So they passed my car for inspection despite the fact that they didn't even honk the horn or anything, which makes me really uncomfortable. But given that the car has about a year or 2 left of driving I just ignored it and get a safety evaluation from another auto shop. So, after that was over we left (which was my first mistake of not looking over the paper work before I left) by the way I had to pay $30 for the inspection.


So I dropped my uncle back off at his house and along the way we spoke about things that really gave me deeper insight into how my crazy "family" sees me and has seen me my entire life, but I'll talk about that later.


I went home to renew my license plate through the online system but it kept giving me an error. I started to panic and decided to look over my paperwork and sure enough I HAD BEEN SCAMMED! they shop guy used a fake license plate number instead of my own as well as incorrect vehicle information, this was the problem I was facing when I tried to renew my plates.

Now I know you're thinking it's my own fault for not checking to make sure my tags were due, or going to a shady place and dealing with criminal minded people, but I did this because I had gotten my inspection there the year before and had no problems plus I was trying to make sure everything was done on time so I wouldn't have any problems in the coming months because I'll be out driving looking for a new job. So basically I wanted to straighten out everything with my car so I could just drive and put gas in it instead of worrying about it later.


Anyway, I called my uncle up and told him about the situation and he suggested I go back to the shop and tell them about it. Of course I was terrified because there were nothing but 5 or 6 dirty looking men who just seem to stand around out there. But I went anyway despite my better judgment because I wanted to get the problem fixed. When I arrived I told the man that it wasn't allowing me to renew and he seemed annoyed that I had returned but he wasn't mean to me, he told me to go back to another place and try there to get my renewal.


So instead of fussing I went to the place he suggested to try to get my renewal (which by the way has ridiculously long lines), when I finally got to the counter the woman tells me that I'm not due for renewal until December, then I told her that my plate says I'm due in May, without hesitation she simply hands me a new sticker that says December instead of May.


That was when everything fell into place and I realized that I shouldn't of listened to anyone and just followed my own instincts. But still, regardless of my mistakes or even the people telling me my license plate was about to expire the guy at the shop KNEW, which is why he used a fake license plate number so he could cash my $30 and leave me with nothing. Had he tried to use my real number the system wouldn't have allowed me to go through with the transaction and I would of realized everything and gone about with my day with my $30 still in my pocket.

So..... what is the moral of the story? Never, ever, try to take short cuts by dealing with people who only have their own interest in mind. People will scam you, they will hurt you and they don't care. Had I just gone to a larger company and got it done they wouldn't have falsified my paper work for their own sick interest, mostly because they wouldn't get away with it was easy as this little shady shop I had gone to.


I've also learned not to trust my uncle... I don't know why just because he is family that I need to put my better judgment to the side, the majority of my family don't think every highly of me and they don't have my best interest in mind.


One of my co-workers was telling me about how you should always choose reputable places to do business and never go to "'joe' down the road" because 'joe' down the road is just an amateur trying to scam you for all you've got, I realize that I should of listened to that cautionary tell and if I did I'd have my $30 in my pocket right now and not in some shady guys greedy pockets.


Now all I can really do is file a complaint but it might not get anywhere except sitting on someones desk. I needed that money for other things as well, I make less than $9,000 a year so loosing $30 is a big deal for me. Plus I'm about to be out of work so I needed that money.


But I can't sit around and be sad about it, I have to learn my lesson and move on, I'll never go back to that place and I'll be sure to let others know about what happened to me so no one else has to go through what I did.

Ok... I'm done with that. My next vent is about the people I have to deal with that this crazy university I'm attending. Today I had gone to turn in my graduation application and the weird thing is that I had to give it to the assistant instead of the chair just signing it. I'm not saying I can't follow order but it was very silly and a waste of time to try and hunt down an advisor so he could sign it then give it to the assistant so she can hand it to the chair. This is a small college and you often see the chair walking around the building and she's often in her office so I don't understand why she couldn't just sign it so I could walk it down the where it needs to be.


All of that isn't really what even upset me so much. What was upsetting was that I dropped the application off around 11am for the assistant to give to the chair to sign. I asked her how it worked and if I needed to come pick it up and turn it into the main office where it needs to be after it was signed and she said "she didn't know" that was annoying and frustrating because I'm sure this was not the first graduation application they have ever seen so they need to know how things work. Instead of knowing she just told me to "check back later".


So this evening around 3pm I decided to call and see what the progress was on the signing and if I needed to return so I could turn the application into the main office... and you wouldn't believe it but when I called and asked her she said "she forgot" and it had just been sitting in the same spot since I dropped it off. I had to deal with this woman when I was first entering this college so it doesn't really surprise me because they are incredibly unorganized and unprofessional. This is why I hate their system of having to go through so many people just for a little signature when I've already make sure everything is accurate.


By the way I didn't run into this problem at my old community college, the entrance and graduation application were easy, I just had to attach all the classes I had taken to a piece of paper, sign it, and turn it in myself to a specific office... I was either approved or not, but I was approved and I got my degree and that was it.

Now I'm just sitting here stressing out if the application will even make it to the right place, if I turn it in then I know that it got to the right place on time, I don't feel I can rely on them to do that because it's due on June 5th and I've already had to play a chase game just getting people to sign it. The reason why I need it turned in now is in case I am not approved for graduation I will know why so I can get that all sorted out in the fall, but if I don't know then I won't be able to find out until next year!


I'm just done and ready to leave that school. That school is very similar to the job I had for the last 5 years; I stayed because it was convenient, instead of demanding something better for myself and motivating myself to have better treatment and conditions I just settled. I settled because I enjoy the comfort and safety in my comfort zone.

So now I'm just sitting here without my $30 and without knowing if my graduation application will ever make it to it's destination or if it will grow old and dusty on the assistants desk.


As a disclaimer (which I should of put at the top) I'm not saying that any of these problems I'm facing are of great importance, I'm sure worst things have happened to people. If anything I just hope someone can learn from my mistakes. If not is just something I'm writing so I can remind myself not to get myself into these kinds of situations again.. or maybe this is just "life" and it is just filled with bumps that you have no control over... maybe the universe is just trying to teach me something bigger.





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