Ah, the weekend is here again. I got up at 5:00 this morning - don't want to waste a moment of it...

In the USA, you can make deposits and withdrawals with a teller from the comfort of your own car during business hours. It works the same way as going inside, except that you put your deposit in this plastic container that gets 'sent' into the bank, where the teller verifies the deposit. If you want to make a withdrawal, fill out the appropriate slip, send it in the container and in minutes you'll get your cash. However, there is a drive-up ATM that is accessible 24 hours a day nearest to the building.

In Canada, if you want to do some banking (with a teller or ATM), you park your car and go inside.

I was in Southern Pines yesterday afternoon and needed some cash on hand, and I usually drive up to the ATM because it's quicker. Yesterday, the three lanes for 'live' tellers were long, while the ATM lane was empty (which is rare). Turns out the ATM was out of order. So, I had to go inside to withdraw $20, because I don't think driving around the building and lining up for the privilege of sending documents up and down a tube would be any faster. Plus, it is bad for the environment to leave the car idling, and I did not have any checks with me (required for checking account withdrawals).

1. Get into the building and line up.
2. Wait for an available teller. [Mine, turns out, has the same name as a teaching colleague from J. Percy Page, where I was a student-teacher.]
3. Indicate that I wanted to make a withdrawal from my checking account and, silly me, did not bring my checkbook (which results in additional steps 4-6).
4. Write down my Social Security Number (SSN) on a slip of paper.
5. Show Member ID or driver's license (I left my member ID at home, too).
6. Sign the 'check' where the teller has neatly written my name on it by hand, payable to 'Cash'. (Whoever that is.)
7. Receive cash and leave.

Essentially, if you use your own checks, you are paying when you use a teller to withdraw money from a checking account. Avoid this cost by using your check card in an ATM.

In Canada, you present your bank (a.k.a. "debit") card to the teller, and it can be used to do any sort of transaction. Should you forget your account number, the teller can print out a transaction slip for you (from the computer) for you to verify.

What a great idea! I'm going to tell all my friends on Facebook about this great idea I have. On St. Valentine's Day (and her birthday) I'm going to tell my girlfriend of four months to meet me at a popular spot on campus, in front of hundreds of students, that it's over and that she can go to hell.

EDIT (04.03.07): It was fake, as revealed by the News & Observer. They weren't really dating, either.

I want to show my students a video today, but I forgot it at school (to set it to the right place when I got home) because I was in a hurry to get to the staff meeting yesterday afternoon.

I (heart) public radio.

When I lived in Canada, I listened to CBC Radio One regularly. It's still not out of reach, because I can still listen to it through their web site and through podcasts on iTunes. Students in my classroom before class can expect to hear World Report and Ottawa Morning in the background.

Apart from their pledge drives, NPR stations are also quite entertaining. I listen to North Carolina Public Radio (WUNC 91.5 FM Chapel Hill) whenever I'm in the car. Raeford is at the very edge of their reception area, so it does fade out at certain points in town. But there's always something interesting on, and it has a great selection of programs.

My favorite shows are:
* This American Life
* A Prairie Home Companion
* Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
* Weekend America
* Marketplace
* Car Talk

Another beautiful day in the Carolina Sandhills today (sunny, 50ºF). I went out to Aberdeen (19 mi away) to do my weekly grocery shopping. I didn't realize that I got four boxes of Stouffer's entrées for the price of five until I got home, thanks to the accurate price-scanning abilities of the cashier. Thanks for nothing!

This afternoon, I managed to eat a whole box of Hamburger Helper, complete with 1 lb of seasoned ground turkey, as well as a whole bag of Wise Crunchy Cheez Doodles (9 oz) for a snack, and 1/2 lb of seedless red grapes for dessert. People eat when there's nothing better to do (especially if you're a procrastinator like me)...

Can somebody explain what this says?

Excerpt from Publication 525, Internal Revenue Service:

State tax refund. [...] you must include in your income the full amount of a refund of state or local income tax or general sales tax if the excess of the tax you deducted over the tax you did not deduct is more than the refund of the tax deducted.

Yeah, and this guide was supposedly written for laypeople.