On the contrary..

Ok I know I'm on this positivity and London glorification streak but today I experienced a bit of a drawback. For one, the rest of the week's weather forecast is cloudy and rainy but thank goodness I'm off to Barcelona on Friday. London gets off easy with this one.

But get this - and it's not a surprise to Brits if you ask one - they slack at work and oftentimes the processes and proofs of identity required to get stuff done is absolutely moronic and a complete waste of time. Before I get into this, I want to site David Williams' character named Carol Beer, a British woman working in a US hospital. The gist of her character is that she 'can't be bothered' to do, well, anything. She always tells patients that the "computer says no" to anything they query. If anyone wants to know what it's like running errands in London and getting anything done, just watch a skit of Carol Beer and you will get the gist. Basically, you will leave unsatisfied and frustrated.

Today I went to Natwest to upgrade my bank accout from STEP (a student account) to anything else. I was ensured a few months ago that this would be possible as soon as I got my first pay stub. Well I went in and I went prepared, knowing whoever helped me might ask for something that the other attendant didn't, like a phone and/or utility bill, council tax, national insurance number, 10 proofs of identity, gym membership, Blockbuster card, computer serial number, and airline and supermarket rewards cards. I brought everything you could think of except Natwest statements. And what did this person tell me I was missing? An original Natwest statement - no copies.

Why on earth would they need a copy of something that came out of their own system? But fine, I'm quite tolerant at the moment and I wasn't surprised as this happens ALL THE TIME in Britain. It takes 10 days to get anything done here that would take a few hours in the States. Just to get a sense of having something and anything done in regards to my bank account, I asked questions such as what kind of account could I switch to, would there be an annual fee, can I add additional users to the account, etc. You know what he said? "I can give you that information when you come in next time."

I said, "Well I live right down the road; I could grab the rest that is needed." He replied, "We're closing in 20 minutes so you could come in tomorrow and I'd be glad to help." What he meant was, "I'm lazy and I hate working and I don't want you to come back when I have 10 minutes til I'm off."

The woman who helped me before told me that all I need is a pay stub to show proof of employment and that I am no longer a student. This is why I waited until now to change it and not in October when I inquired in the first place. She never said anything about needing an original Natwest account statement.

There are ALWAYS inconsistencies in what people tell you here. Either the systems are flawed or the people are lazy and/or stupid.

One more thing before I get myself wound up...I popped into the post office to mail a package to the Philippines. There are pens available to the public but they are on a narrow table in which the line forms alongside. Because the line was to a certain length, I could not access the pens so I asked the lady behind the counter - very nicely - if I could borrow one of her pens (she had a bunch of them in front of her). She said no, "They are over there for you to use."

IT IS VERY HARD TO STAY POSITIVE IN A PLACE THAT BREEDS DISAPPOINTMENT AT EVERY CORNER.