Cat Jahnke Mews

If there are two people in a room and one person farts, both people immediately know who did it.  There’s no dispute.  But when you deal with a giant, and they make a big fat poop on your face, they can deny it for ever because they clearly have the upper hand.

Last week I paid off my second Citifinancial loan only to get a statement today saying I was actually late and I now owe an extra $400.  Apparently their system failed to log any calls I made to their customer service, calls I made to determine my DUE DATE and my BALANCE OWING.  Now they advise me to contact their dispute department with my proof.  What kind of proof you ask?  “Well, like the name of the person you spoke with.”  It was an automated system!!!

Yada yada yada – they’re dinks.  If you feel like reading the nitty gritty, you can click HERE and see what I’m sending off to the BBB.

Although, after visiting the BBB MB website, I start to understand why the Citifinancial customer service representative that I was speaking with was indifferent about my threats to trash their name in the hallowed halls of the Better Business Bureau.  Read this:

Your Better Business Bureau is not a consumer advocate which believes the consumer is always right; conversly[sic] it is also not the “Champion of the Business World” believing that business can do no wrong.
Better Business Bureaus are self governing organizations established by the local business community. Each has a board of directors made up of local business leaders. A bureau is supported entirely by the membership fees of area businesses and local installations of national business.

So who is my consumer advocate?  Where is the accountability for these companies who can buy a membership to a “self-governing organization”?  Is the BBB just a ruse to make the angry public feel like they’ve really socked it to “The Man”?  Seriously, can someone please tell me what I can do!

Of course my conversation with the CSR wandered into more existential territory.  Surely the woman I was speaking with could clearly see that I had in fact called but had to follow protocol that forced her to say whatever she needed to say to protect the Pooping Giant.  Here’s an excerpt from our conversation:

Cat: I am shocked that you are still allowed to do business when you clearly deceive your customers.
CSR: If we were so deceptive we wouldn’t still be in business.
Cat:  That’s why I’m shocked!!

Their final offer was to reduce the interest by 60%, but they obviously missed the point.  If I accept their offer I accept responsibility for their error!  How can a customer trust an entity that controls THEIR money when the system can be so easily manipulated in the company’s favor? I know I’m being formulaic in my frustration but who are these people who can lie for a bank and still smile at the busdriver?

Yeesh, I’m getting so emotional about this and it’s only my f***ing credit score.  If you have advice for me, I’d love to hear it.  If you have a similar story, I’d love to commiserate.  If you can restore my faith in humanity, bring it on…

4/13/08 – MHS Auditorium, Wawa, ON

I finally got to see Rossport in the daylight, having only visited previously in December, arriving after dinner and leaving before dawn. This would usually be a great opportunity to spy some amazing scenery, but when the morning light blasted through our window at 6:30 am this morning, I was a bit less excited about the landscape.

I need one of these thingers, like Blanche from the Golden Girls! On the road it’s very hard to control your environment and while I’ve been tempted to bring along a hammer, some nails, and a large light-proof blanket, the aforementioned gizmo would probably save me some apologizing to my hosts.

Honestly though, everything is more agreeable in the daylight. This past November we were shrouded in darkness for the larger part of our trip through this region and, looking back, I realize the long drives sit on a different place in my soul when accompanied by the stars.

I just finished a book about the race for the North Pole and while reading I was challenged to wonder about the effects of several months of night. I claim to be a night owl, most comfortable and inspired in fake light, but it would be difficult to be so contemplative for so long without imploding and shutting down completely. It’s a great mind exercise to think about how ready one is to wind down at 5 pm in midwinter, and how jazzed one is to head to the park at 7 pm on a bright warm summer day.

Heading into Wawa today, I was reminded about our last trip through and how if we hadn’t stopped at their self-serve gas pump, we would have most definitely been stranded on a frozen highway until morning. I was glad then, to be afforded a pilgrimage back to the land of my deliverance. It was not exactly what I had expected…

There are evenings during which I am quite sure that the audience is watching those seconds tick by. I think many artists will agree that a completely silent crowd is unnerving. You start to wonder if there really is anyone out there…

Tonight I finished up my second set, turned around to put my guitar on its stand, and when I faced forward again I saw something that nearly brought tears to my eyes. The folks in the MHS Auditorium were still clapping. And they were standing!

Things are not always as they seem, and conclusions often depend on your own perspective (or the light!).

4/12/08 – Serendipity Café, Rossport, ON

I had a double scoop of cookies n’ beef!

My eyes were glued to the window of the car today in an effort to spot Terry’s Taxidermy and Mounted Animal Nature Trail. I’ve just learned from Wikipedia, however, that it’s on Manitoulin Island and I’m not going anywhere remotely close. But even though I can’t visit the hotspot, I can still view my share of not-yet-deceased crows which seem to be abundant round these parts. I have never seen such huge, intimidating birds in my life! Today I saw one flying with a freaking snake in its mouth!!!

I went online and looked up any association between a crow and a snake, thinking it couldn’t be anything but an omen. I found this fable online:

THE CROW AND THE SNAKE
A hungry Crow spied a Snake lying asleep in a sunny spot, and, picking it up in his claws, he was carrying it off to a place where he could make a meal of it without being disturbed, when the Snake reared its head and bit him. It was a poisonous Snake, and the bite was fatal, and the dying Crow said, “What a cruel fate is mine! I thought I had made a lucky find, and it has cost me my life!”

Someone explain to me how this means that I will live a long, happy, properous life.

The gorgeous arched ceilings in our fantastic room at the
Serendipity Café guest houses. And a big head…

4/11/08 – A-Frame Gallery, Sioux Lookout, ON

Being a person with little to no fashion sense, with a complete indifference towards home electronics, and living in a cheap old house on the wrong side of the tracks, there’s not much on which I’d need to spend my hard-earned cash. Luckily for me, I’m a musician, and those tricky decisions regarding what to do with my next thou rarely come up.

Still, I’m learning that being in this business requires a certain cannibalistic acceptance of where the moola is going. Right back in, baby!

So Darren and I have hit the road again and all I’m thinking about is that we’ve got to buy my beloved vehicle, Enjie, a new set of tires. The ol’ gal needs to be pampered every once in a while too! And when my father learned that I had driven through BC in December on 70,000 km old all-season tires, he was rightfully shocked. (He was less shocked when he heard about our adventure in Rossland)

But despite the fact that she has no diamonds on the soles of her shoes, she still cleans up nice and is very presentable. We went for a good long drive today and ended up in Sioux Lookout at the fantastic A-Frame Gallery. If you’re looking for some sweet folks to spend time with, it’s well worth it to veer 70 kms off the Trans-Canada to visit this community. Some of the best huggers around, and eagerly generous with them too!

Some new friends offered their home to us while they were gallivanting down south (Brian/Andrea – were you gallivanting? Business-ing?) so doors were left unlocked and beds were made up for us. Happily no chairs were broken in the absence of the home’s usual dwellers, but that might be because I’ve never been a huge fan of porridge. Hmm…

On that potentially puzzling note, I will sign off on the first blog posting of my April 2008 tour. Let’s see how far I get this time…

12/11/07 – The Old Fire Hall, Rossland, BC

We were stopped by some police officers today as we drove through a small town. Lucky for them there was a four-way stop controlling the hectic streets, and this is where they set up shop. Now Darren and I are both remarkably “lame”; we have no vices to sparkle up our arresting allure. And the only time Darren’s had a run-in with the law, even the cop handing over the speeding ticket told him to contest it! (more…)

12/9/07 – Mocha Cabana, Lethbridge, AB

I love it when I see huge groups of friends in the crowd. Well, I love it, and I’m nearly blind with jealousy simultaneously. What lucky ducks these folks are who have more friends than Friends! (more…)

12/8/07 – Gitter’s Pub, High River, AB

Sometimes adventures can be fun. Sometimes adventures can define a day that had had other objectives. Our gear was incarcerated beyond our reach and we spent an afternoon fishing for keys. Thank goodness for small towns! (more…)

12/7/07 – Full Of Beans, Irricana, AB

I always expect a ruckus when I hit Full Of Beans in Irricana. There’s something about the intimacy of a small town that dissolves the inhibitions of the inhabitants. But when you’re told that a seasonal sing-along is more rowdy than “Stripper Night”, it’s time to re-evaluate who is the sheep and who is the shepherd. (more…)

12/6/07 – Saskatoon, Wildwood Mennonite Church

I’ve got my dentist in Toronto. I’ve got my aesthetician north of Saskatoon. I’ve got my car dealership in Lethbridge. Now all I need is a gynecologist somewhere in the Yukon and I’m set! (more…)

12/5/07 – Prince Albert, Turk’s Coffee House

One more time we hit the road before hitting the hay. No one had better accuse me of being a lazy musician. Lazy implies lolling about, and I surely have no spare time for such frivolities! (more…)