Banking 101

I started working at a bank (most of you know which one, but it will remain nameless on the blog) the summer before my sophomore year of college. I was a teller for 2 years, moved to new accounts for 1 year and for the past 2 years have worked in a division of the banks private services department. It has been a wonderful job and even now that I have Macey I work two 6 hour days and am very lucky to have such a flexible part-time job. There are a lot of things that I have learned about banking since starting over 5 years ago, but since I began as a teller, I quickly learned that banking is not for everyone...especially old people.

Here is one of my favorite examples that happens at least once a week:

Tellers have cash drawers. They stand behind the teller windows and are in a fairly secure location. New account representatives DO NOT have cash drawers at their desks. The money wouldn't be very secure in a desk, so obviously anyone sitting at a desk does not have cash. New account reps can run transactions, they just can't do any that either take cash in or give cash out...seeing as how they don't have a cash drawer. That being said, here is the scenario:

It's lunch time and the line at the bank is getting lengthy, I walk over to the line and say

"I can help anyone who has a non-cash transaction."

(This is where I usually get 6 blank stares, because I am obviously speaking a foreign language). I then say, I can run your transaction if you are just depositing a check or making a payment, just as long as your transaction doesn't involve cash.

"Oh, you can help me then."

As the client hands me their deposit I glance down to notice that they would like $30 cash back and have signed acknowledging that they would like cash back. I look up and say,

"Do you need cash back from this deposit?"

"Yeah, a 20 and a 10."

"You see, I don't have a cash drawer, so I can only run transactions that don't involve cash."

"Why did you say you could help me then?"

Aren't us bankers cruel...we are always trying to trick the clients, because we think it's just so much fun when they get upset with us :)

Also, banks are required to hold checks, we don't do it to be mean. If you have a $100 in your checking account and that is an average balance for you, you can't expect to deposit a $5,000 check and have the funds released to you the next day, especially if your account hasn't been opened that long. It takes a while for our bank to send the check you deposited to the bank it's from and then receive those funds in return, so if we immediately release those funds to you and you go out and blow $5,000 and then 4 days later, we find out that check is no good, we are out $5,000 so obviously we are going to hold your check until it clears...we aren't trying to be mean, we just have to make sure your check clears. I know, it sucks for the honest people out there who don't float checks, but trust me, it happens all the time. If any of you saw the movie "Catch Me if You Can," Leonardo DiCaprio is floating checks, so that is exactly why banks have to hold some deposits. And just because someone has a check that says "Cashier's or Official Check," doesn't mean it's actually guaranteed funds. We see fraudulent Cashier's checks all of the time (crooks are pretty smart, so while printing up these counterfeit babies, they decided why not throw some extra wording on there and make it look super official).

Sorry to vent, but next time you are at the bank remember to be nice to the employees :)

Holy Boob Job Batman!

Okay, okay, no one got a boob job, but I don't have the most exciting blog and I needed to catch your attention somehow...(I know, kind of weaselly huh?) I actually need your help and am hoping that if you were interested enough to read my blog based off of the title, that you might help me out. I entered a contest on Jen Herem's blog to win a photo shoot for Valentine's day, but I need you to send an email to jenniferherem@yahoo.com and vote for #5 (that's Zacc and I), before February 5th. Jen is really talented and has a fun photography style, so I really hope we win! To check out the lovebirds and see some of Jen's work, go to jenheremphotography.blogspot.com

Not a photographer

Zacc's dad got me a really nice camera for Christmas. When I say really nice, I mean extrememly nice. It's one that the Deseret News used to have their photographers use. Not only is the camera nice, but given the fact that I am a novice photographer, it's definitely way out of my league. I have always really enjoyed photography and wished that I could take good pictures. Zacc's dad has been helping me with photography basics and I am getting better. I thought I would share a few of my favorites with you. By the way, the boots are something that my sister Lisa got Macey for Christmas and I HAD to post a picture of them. Aren't they the cutest shoes ever? They are too big for Macey and I have her wear them anyway because I am so afraid she will out grow them too fast.

So Big!

Macey is getting so big I can hardly stand it! Here are some pictures of what my busy little girl has been up to lately.

My two fav's just being cute!



Trick-or-Treating with Grandpa



All Bundled up Outside

Tagged

Thanks to Lindsey and Lisa for the fun tag!

Rules:
Post rules on your blog
Answer the four "4" items
Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog


4 Things I did yesterday

- Ate myself sick at two Thanksgiving dinners!

- Put up some Christmas decorations and wondered where the heck I got half of them.

- Hoped that I could fit into a pair of pre-pregnacy jeans...I could get them on, but let's just say it wasn't pretty folks.

- Debated whether or not to wake up at 4:00 am and go shopping with my family...(I wisely decided against it).


4 things I look forward to

- A vacation to somewhere warm or a Caribbean cruise

- Summer! I love Thanksgiving and Christmas, but after those holidays I would be so happy if it got warm again sometime before April.

- A house (I love our town home, but someday a house would be nice).

- More kids (just not anytime soon!)


4 Restaurants I like

- California Pizza Kitchen

- Cafe Pierpont

- Olive Garden

- Market Street


4 Favorite TV shows

- The Office

- Lost (Seriously, when is it going to start up again???)

- Sadly, I used to watch the O.C. whenever I could catch it...I know, I am super cool!

- Biggest Loser


4 People I tag

- Jordan

- Jen

- Brooke R.

- Amy

By the way, can someone leave a comment and tell me how to have my list of friends and family update when they post something new. I see it on lots of blogs and have no idea how to do it. Help please!

Extreme Home Makeover!

Okay, so it wasn't exactly an Extreme Home Makeover, but it was definitely the next best thing. Zacc and I bought our townhome from the original owners, so we didn't get to pick out any of the cabinets, carpet, countertops etc. The previous owners picked out mostly neutral colors and I didn't feel like we needed to change much once we moved in. We repainted the walls and laid tile, but I ALWAYS wanted to redo our countertops. I just couldn't justify spending a ton of money to have them done seeing as how I didn't mind them, but thanks to Brady George, now Zacc and I both LOVE our countertops!!! Brady does refinish work on all sorts of things (countertops, cabinets, and tile). The finished product looks awesome and it's suprisingly AFFORDABLE to have done. It was $300 for our kitchen and $75 for our master bath. I know, what a freaking steal huh? I wish that I could let each of you come and see it for yourself, because the pictures hardly do the countertops justice. Thanks Brady, you did an awesome job and we are so happy with the way they turned out :) The counters were the neutral color before and we had them redone in black.











To see more of what Brady does click here . Also, call Brady directly at 801-856-6519 rather than the number on the website. It's less expensive that way!

Let's get one thing straight...

-7 out of 10 African Americans voted in favor of Propostition 8.

-Roman Catholics, Evangelists, Mormons, and Christians all helped to pass the Propostition.

-Of the group of 50 people defending the Propostition at the Protest on the Salt Lake Temple, the majority of them were not LDS members.

So, If there were several groups of people in favor of Prop 8 what I want to know is...why all the hate for Mormons? I can understand the group being upset that it passed, but why are they singling out the Mormons???

I was watching the news broadcast of the protest on the L.A Temple and it seriously disturbed me. One of the main advocates to ban Prop 8, Lorri Jean, who might I add, is a "lovely" woman who resembles the mom from GOONIES and THROW MAMA FROM THE TRAIN






was freaking out and said that for every person who helps them in their efforts to defeat Prop 8, even by donating as little as $5, they are going to send a post card with the donators name to President Thomas S. Monson. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME LADY??? She was such an angry, unpleasant woman.

I just don't understand their logic. At the protest on Temple Square there was a sign that read "Mormons used to be persecuted, now they are persecutors." Riiiggghhht, because being tarred and feathered and chased from your home in the middle of the night is the same as someone using their legal right to vote against something they don't believe in...Nice analogy genius.

I am so sick of people picking on Mormons. Why doesn't the media ever show or make mention of how much the LDS church helps out when others fail to step forward. Why doesn't the media show the missionaries who go to remote villages in Africa and dig wells and help build homes and provide medical assistance to those who need it most? Where the heck is the media for those reports...oh, that's right, the are interviewing the few mormons they can find who side with the gays and lesbians to make the LDS church look bad. Well guess what folks, I am getting pretty sick of it. After Obama was elected the democrats came out and said "Okay, let's all work together and not be enemies and just be okay with the election turnout." Oh, so that's how it works if your President gets elected, but not if your Propositions don't pass...I see. What is this world coming to? It seriously scares me for my kids and what they are going to experience in their lifetime.