Goodbye, WaMu

It's taken me two years to say goodbye to Washington Mutual. I held on for as long as I could, and longer than most. Today I finally activated my new, blue, rewards-earning Chase debit card. Now I'm sitting here with the shiny new card next to my old and trusty WaMu gold card. Why is this so hard for me? First the T-Mobile account, then the Oregon phone number, and now this. I'm not sure how I held on this long to the card, but when Chase first bought Washington Mutual way back when, I was told by the teller at the local branch that I would not be issued a new card until mine expired (which would have been next year). Every now and then I'd get an interesting comment from a waitress or bank teller, but no one ever forced me to switch. But then I heard about this new card, which would reward me for the money I was already spending. Easy decision.

And now I'm thinking about my history with Washington Mutual. It hadn't always been easy and care-free. In fact, we separated ways for a while. My first contact with WaMu was in first grade when my school had a school savings program. Once a week a very nice man would come in and help us deposit money into our account, and then record it in this GIGANTIC register. I would normally put in fifty cents, or some other small number, but would get a neat pair of neon shoe laces or sunglasses in return. Those were the good days... But then came a day when I wanted to open a checking account. I was in middle school I think, and was denied by WaMu due to my lack of an income (duh). So I withdrew, closed down, and high-tailed it over to the credit union, where they didn't discriminate against adolescents.

After a few years, I went back to WaMu for a second account (I can't remember why off hand), but I had been with them ever since. When I heard that Chase had bailed them out, I was a bit sad that I would now be a Chase customer. WaMu was a Seattle-based bank, and thus my Northwest ties were tight. But I've learned that Chase is pretty awesome, and there are branches EVERYWHERE down here.

I guess all of this crazy attachment could be analyzed by some psych somewhere, and they would probably tell me I have attachment issues. Psshhh. Whatev. I'm just loyal. A true-blue (gasp!), loyal person.

I think the count is down to seven...

It's been a while since I've updated everyone (and by everyone, I mean my mom) via this outlet. That's not to say that I haven't attempted, because I have. In fact, there is a WHOLE little ditty that I wrote about home in an open and untitled Word document that has been minimized in my doc for about a week now. I began it when my students were finishing Slumdog Millionaire. It began as a look at how my definition of family has changed. Because for me, home used to mean this:

and this...

and this...

But over time, it has melted, and changed. Home is now this...

and these people...

and...

and...

and...

I could go on, and on, and on. Also, I REALLY need copies of some group photos I know are floating around somewhere...

But my point is, home changes. It's not a physical location (even though I still KNOW Portland/Scappoose is my home), but it's a state-of-mind.

But enough of all of that. Since I've gotten back from Spring Break 2010: Tour de Tejas, I've been busy, busy busy. But I've also let the procrastination monster catch up to me. Here are some highlights:

New bedroom furniture:

Pretty, no?

Totally worth losing my 503 phone number, and becoming a 713. 

Anything else interesting? I'm counting down the days till summer, which promises to be epic, and incredibly too short. I'll miss my kiddos fo' sho', but I need a break, as do they. Oh, and I'm finally getting a new debit card. I've been holding on to my Washington Mutual card for much longer than any other person. I often get strange looks and interesting comments when I pay for things using that antique card, but I swear I was told by Chase that they wouldn't give me a new one until that one had expired. But today I was in Chase and was talking to a teller about wanting a new credit card that earned me airline miles but that I don't have a long enough credit history (not that it's a bad thing) to get the one I wanted. She informed me I could actually get a new debit card that earned points, which is better than having a card that doesn't earn points. I get to keep my card number, but as long as I run the thing as a credit card, I earn POINTS that I can use for TICKETS (and other cool stuff).

Ok, so that all sounds really geeky, but whatev. I'm pretty excited. 

Now I need to tackle this procrastination monster head-on. Wish me luck.