kareina

lord_kjar and I have been talking about setting up an additional joint bank account with two debit cards on it, to make it easier to keep track of joint expenses (so far we have been using the debit cards on our personal accounts, and then trying to remember to transfer money appropriately). Therefore he went on line a week or so ago and set up the account the other day, but was unable to order the debit card--the web page will give you a credit card with the push of one button, but it says that if you want a debit card you need to go into the bank.

Today we finally found time to head to town during lunch break and go to the bank. We told Tommy, the customer service person on duty, what we wanted, and he immediately went into "hard sell" mode to do his best to convince us that instead of a debit card we wanted the "credit card" version, but with no credit attached, so that it would work like a debit card. After quite a lot of talking and questions later we finally agreed that we would go with his recommendation, since it has a lower annual fee for two cards on one account than does the debit card we had asked for. However, after all that time and effort on his part (towards the end of which he quipped "time to decide--the line is growing and other customers are waiting", he then refused to give us that sort of card at all.

Why? Because I do not have an official Swedish ID card, and he says that it is against the rules to give me any sort of credit card or debit card without one. Never mind that I HAVE a debit card on my personal bank account with this bank. Never mind that I BOUGHT A HOUSE with a mortgage obtained through this bank, and neither person dealing with me on either of those occasions cared that my ID consisted of a US passport, my uni ID card (which shows my Swedish personal number), and the card from the Migration office showing that I hold a valid visa to live in this country (which does not show my Swedish personal number, because it was obtained before getting the number, and in fact, is a pre-requisite to obtaining that number). When I pointed out these facts to him Tommy was quite snippy "just because someone else got it wrong does not mean I should break the rules".

I have been in Sweden nearly two and one half years (ok, the end of June it will have been that long), and in all of this time not one person who needed to see my ID for transactions has ever said "you need an official Swedish ID card", instead they simply wrote down what forms of ID I gave them and were happy. We are in progress of getting my a driver's licence (which will be an official Swedish ID card), but I cannot take the test for that until after I have completed the "slippery test", which is scheduled for mid-May (sadly, people holding driver's licence from the US and Australia have to take the same tests and courses as a Swedish beginning driver, though people moving here from within the EU can just trade in their old licence for a new one on arrival). Had ANYONE, even once, said to me during the time I have been here "you should get a Swedish ID card", I would have done so, but at no time have I been given any hint of information that it would be necessary. I told Tommy this, and he simply repeated the part about he won't break the rules just because others did.

His first reaction was to refuse us any card on the account at all, since one of us does not have a valid Swedish ID, and when we suggested just giving lord_kjar a card he explained that he can't give us a credit card, even without credit, because I am on the account. We asked about the debit card (remember, the one we asked for in the first place?), and he was willing to do that.

This is how I learned his name. Tommy does not wear an ID pin, nor does his desk have a name plate, but the receipt he gives for the transaction once complete states his name at the top of the paper.

All and all I was not impressed with Tommy's service today. His hard sell made the simple request for a debit card turn into to well over a thirty minute discussion on the pros and cons of credit vs debit cards, and his fear that leads him to follow rules that no one else ever thought fit to mention even exist at all meant that it was a waste of my time to come into town at all, since we could not get the card. Everyone else we have dealt with at Handlesbanken have been pleasant and helpful. I hope I never have to deal with Tommy again, even once I have my official Swedish ID.

One of the stories he shared, to explain why the rule exists is that, apparently, it would otherwise be possible for students and temporary researchers at the Uni who come from other countries to get a debit card then go back to their home country and use it enough to overdraw the account, costing the bank money. The fact that I moved here before I got the job at the university doesn't seem to matter to him.

Yesterday the lab's microscope was back, so one of my colleagues demonstrated the steps I'll need to do to create the capsules upon which I'll experiment. Alas, the final, crucial, step, welding the capsule shut, didn't work, despite repeated attempts, possibly because some of the powder got between the edges. Therefore my plan for today was to come in early and cut open that capsule, empty and clean it, and use it for practice welds, and if that went well, start a new capsule for real. However, plans are, often, an invitation for the universe to send you something else to do, and in this case, ( Read more... )

Then, in the afternoon, I had my meeting with the owner of the apartment I wish to rent. My, he certainly is loquacious! However, he speaks only Italian, so I have no idea what he said to my two colleagues who accompanied me to the meeting. All I know is that he'd speak at great length, in a very animated manner, one of them would say something briefly, and he'd speak again. Once in a great while one of my colleagues would turn to me and say something very briefly in English. Eventually he and they were satisfied, the relator photocopied my passport and visa information, and gave me my landlord's banking details so that I'll be able to pay part of the rent on-line, and I handed the owner the €200 to confirm that yes, I will be renting his flat and he left. Then the relator wrote down the various fees that I'll need to pay, and we booked an appointment to return on Wednesday to do the contract, pay the remaining cash portion (and by which I need to have done the bank transfer for that part) and pick up the keys. As we walked back after the meeting I commented to my colleagues that the owner sure speaks a lot, and had he replied explaining that the owner "comes from the south of Italy, where they use a lot of words to say nothing at all". (note: this colleague comes from the middle of the Italian Alps, and now commutes to Milan from Como, at the edge of the Alps, so he's from about as north as one can get and still be in Italy.)

Rent is going to be interesting--I'll be doing monthly bank transfers for part of the rent, and then every other month the owner will drop by to collect cash for the part of the rent which isn't written into the contract. Apparently they are taxed (at a rate of ~40%) on the rental income, which is why it is broken up like that. I had been told that I could ask the owner for any additional furnishing or repairs that I wanted, so I requested that the toilet seat and lid be returned, the cupboard whcih is set up for shelves actually get them, and a couple of new book shelves be added. He said that I'm to go purchase what I want for myself and give him the receipts. I wonder if this means that when I give him the cash portion I can give him part of the cash, and the receipts to make up the total? That would certainlly gaurentee that I be reimbursed for those expenses.

Not that I'm looking forward to figuring out where to find bookshelves and how to get them home on foot...

Oddly enough, that meeting just about put me to sleep--so long listening to people speak and not being able to understand more than a few words. So I went home for a nap and returned to the office this evening, intending to work, but first I needed to e-mail the shipping company--they'd sent me a letter dated 2 September, which finally arrived yesterday afternoon, asking for information about delivery, so now that I have the address, I sent it to them via email, answered their other questions, and asked if they really do need a paper version--it takes nearly an hour to walk to the post office, wait in line, do the transaction, and walk back, and I've got work I'm meant to be doing!

Here's hoping that my nap was enough to give me the energy to do some work yet this evening.

In other news, there is a new SCA family in Milan! They arrived a couple of weeks back--they've lived in Calontir, Atlantia, and Ireland, and are keen to revive the local SCA branch! I'm looking forward to helping them do this. Apparently they've got a min-van on the way, so I'm hoping that in the future we can carpool to events elsewhere, rather than having to fly all of the time (will only work for the closest countries, but still!)

The plan for today was to meet another of my colleagues in the research group here (they've been taking turns helping me with all of the necessary errands and paperwork tasks and doing translating)first thing this morning to head to the post office to pick up the forms to transform the visa upon which I entered the country into the visa which will permit me to stay and work here for the full term of the contract, fill them out, and turn them in. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

The morning started very well--when I went out the door it was to discover a market being set up in the street outside of my building. (If I wore my hearing aids in the house, or were more attuned to sound I would have, no doubt, noticed it sooner.) So I hurried to the office, dropped off my computer and went right back out to purchase some fresh food for the week (my boss had mentioned last week that there is a market on Mondays). I got some fruit, veg, and cheese, took it home & put it in the fridge and returned to uni just on time to meet my colleague. She and I walked to the nearest post-office of the sort which carries the forms I needed and waited in line to pick them up. It was eventually our turn, she explained our errand, and the clerk fetched the packet and told us not to ask him how to fill them out! We returned to our office and looked at the forms, looked at the instruction packet they came with (written only in Italian), I found the web page with the English version of the instructions, and we managed to get as far as putting my name in the correct box and wondered what else to do. At this point my boss came in and explained that the woman over in the Uni administration department who took care of the paperwork on this end to get me my visa was willing to help us with the form. So he called her and she suggested that now would be a good time. So we took the two buses into the correct part of the city center to her office. She pulled out the template previously filled in form that she keeps, and proceeded to fill in all 13 pages (in neat block letters, one character per little red box) of form. Then she went and made a copy of the photo page of my passport and the visa page, which she somehow managed to get on a single piece of paper. She then explained to us how to get to the nearest post-office, and where the nearest shop is from which one can obtain the official stamps which must be affixed to all important documents in this country.

Off we went, the first store was out of the stamps, but told us were to find the next. That one had them (they sell for just over 14 euros--near as I can tell they are naught more than a fund-raiser, since the shopkeeper simply sold it to us, didn't look at the form for which we wanted it, and didn't ask us for an ID or anything--so it isn't like notarization), so I bought one and we went on to the post office, where we stood in line for a while. Once it was our turn the clerk looked at the papers we had and explained that the photocopy of my passport is not good enough--that we need to photocopy the entire passport, not just the photo pages. Yes, that includes the blank pages! So we took the buses back to our branch of the university and took a lunch break (it now being after 1pm, and we've been at this since 09:00). After eating I copied the entire passport and we walked back to the local post-office. Which closes at 2pm (it was almost 2:30 before we got there).

So we walked back to the uni and got on line to find another post office of the correct sort that was open later, and found one. We took the bus there, sat in line (they have a ticket machine which gives a number for your turn, and a waiting area), and when it was our turn were told (for the first time today) that we need to include a copy of my contract. I had with me my copy of the contract, but since it had original signatures, they wouldn't let me just give it up. However, we were now close enough to done that she was willing to take my money and put the official stamp upon the receipt, with the understanding that we will include those forms and send everything off as soon as possible. Back to Uni once again, copies made of the contract. Tomorrow morning we will take it all back to the first post office and hope that it is really good to go this time. (The paper they stapled to my passport says that this must be done within 8 days of entering the country.)

After all that I got to spend about 45 minutes watching one of the Master's students welding a capsule for an experiment she will be running soon. Details about what our lab does are available here. The capsule is very small--the inner one is 5 mm long (and much narrower), and the one she made today to encase it is 8mm. The inter one is made of gold-palladium, and the outer one of platinum. I haven't had the full lecture yet (her English was good enough to explain what she was doing, but not much about why), but presumably these metals are chosen to minimize their reactions with the powder inside. I think I will enjoy making these things when it is my turn--it is just the sort of attention to detail, tiny, fussy, project that amuses me.

I then went home and had a nap. When I woke up it was still early enough to venture out, so I thought I'd try the supermarkets I'd scouted the locations of on Sunday evening. Yes, indeed, they are both bigger than the closest supermarket to my flat. However, they still don't have what I'm looking for. I'm running low on muesli, which is what I eat for breakfast every day. They had none. Or, rather, in the boxed cereal section there was a box which claimed to be muesli, but the photo didn't look like what I eat, and squeezing the box reveals that the contents are likely to be Granola. I am so not interested in sweetened, toasted, crunchy breakfast cereal, I want my nice soft oats, and the only crunch from nuts and seeds, please. It may yet be possible to find such a thing locally, or, failing that, once I have an income to take a train over to Switzerland and buy it there. However, in the meantime something has to happen. So I sent a note to a friend in Norway, asking him for a care package, and offering to send back something from Italy that is hard to obtain in Norway. He agreed and said he'd go shopping tomorrow. Yay! (note: I couldn't find oats in the supermarkets at all, so mixing my own wouldn't be an option. Also, the packages of nuts in the supermarket are the little tiny ones they sell in the baking section at very high prices). The walk to both supermarkets and back again (includng looking time took another 1.5 hours!

I had hoped to make some progress on writing papers today, but it so didn't happen. There is a half an hour left to my day, but I think I'd be better to spend it doing yoga and trying to get to bed before midnight, as there is more bureaucracy to deal with tomorrow.