turtle power

i've been thinking about it for a long time and finally i did it. the other day, i closed my wells fargo account. it was pretty much a non-event, which kind of annoyed me. grrr. (ha ha - i'm bringing back the grr! [as a side note for all of you not in-the-know: i email my parents almost every day and a few years ago my dad pointed out that i say "grr" a lot in my emails and i'm constantly annoyed at things. so i stopped using "grr" as much, but it didn't necessarily mean that i'm less annoyed at things...]) i was disappointed because i wanted someone to ask me why i was closing my account and then try and sell me some more products so i could just keep saying "no. no. no" and get into an argument about big banks and make my point known. but noooo. i didn't even speak with a banker, the teller closed my account. he said something like "are you moving?" because i am in california, but gave him my north dakota id. i know this was his way of asking why i was closing the account so i said "no, i just want to do business with small, local banks." he seemed a little embarrassed and said "sometimes it's better that way." ??!! seriously? that's all i get? way to try hard, wells fargo. so i was frustrated because i wanted it to be more of a fanfare. i wanted to say "i'm sure YOU are a nice person, but you work for a not-nice company so i am going elsewhere." but i didn't. and was sad. and then i read this article about big banks wanting customers back and it made me feel better. so haha! if you haven't moved your accounts yet, do it now. don't let the big banks who have thrown higher interest rates at you, denied you car loans, charged you excessive overdraft fees and never been your friend make money off of you! i'm sure wells fargo didn't get upset with me leaving because i've never used them as a main bank anyway, but for those of you who do use them as your main bank, take a stand! make a difference. be important. your business at a local community bank or credit union will be much more appreciated and make a bigger impact than at a large institution.

in that vain, i had this draft rambling up about how i never plan to own a home. its never really been my goal to own a "house." sure, i'd like something i can decorate and make my own, but home ownership really scares me and i've never been convinced its a great investment - especially after the housing bubble. i'm not sophisticated enough to understand housing prices and demand and market bubbles and whatnot, so i'm staying away. and i've read articles in the past saying that mathematically, home ownership is not necessarily a good investment. but i've never saved them. until now. check out this post which brings up some reasons why NOT to buy a house.

and if you are still convinced, beyond reason, that home ownership is for you, i urge you to get your loan through a community-owned bank such as this piece suggests.

and as a light-hearted (wait - why is "hearted" not coming up in spell check? lighthearted. oh. thats why. its oneword. ha ha. i'm so funny. oneword. one-word. one word. which is really two words.) end to this rambling, check out these funny help wanted signs. #4 made me literally lol. thats a song that i know the whole thing of. everyone, all together now...

they're the world's most fiercesome fighting team
teenage mutant ninja turtles
they're heros in a half shell and they're green
teenage mutant ninja turtles
when the evil shredder attacks, these turtle boys don't cut 'em no slack!
teenage mutant ninja turtles
turtles in a half shell - turtle power!