Our e-Christmas card! Take care of yourself! xx

If you haven’t already, try Sympatico’s Portable North Pole service, to create a video of Santa Claus addressing your child! It’s well done: the message includes a photo of the kid in the video, his name, his location and a mention of his request for Christmas.

Here’s a link to Xavier’s video (there’s an English link at the top right):

PNP – Xavier

I want to save the environment. (All by myself, yeah!) So anyway… To this effect, I activated the options on my bank account to receive my bills electronically. Save trees and everything. Plus, I pay my bills online anyway, so it will be double useful to receive them while I’m already at the computer. So I think.

I’ve been trying to register for Hydro-Québec’s online bill for a month, now.

1. I requested to receive this bill online, while logged into my bank’s website.
2. They registered me with Postel, the canadian postal service’s electronic bills service. Fine.
3. They shoved me to Hydro-Québec’s website, to open an account there. Yuck. Fine, I guess.
4. I enter the 9 digit client number, the 12 digit invoice number, and the 12 digit account number. I’m all sort of confused.
5. Hydro says the bill is not adressed to me (they’re right, it’s in Frank’s name) so I need a release to pay it myself with our joint account. Ugh. Well, it should be fine anyway: Frank already signed a release for me in the past, so I could share the joy of dealing with our electricity provider, too. I go with that option.
6. Hydro tells me I need to sign up for a “personal page” on their website, so I can access the account.
7. I enter 2 of the 9 to 12 digit numbers. I’m getting annoyed/bored. It’s ok. I really want to help save trees.
8. It doesn’t seem to work. (Actually, it works, but they display 3 paragraphs of text that I don’t really want to read. Somewhere in there, it says they will mail me a letter (paper, again!) with an activation code.) I try 3 times again (that’s a lot of multi-digit numbers!!), and give up for now.
9. I receive a letter from Hydro with an activation number.
10. I try to sign up for the electronic bill through my bank again (multiple-digit numbers again!!), but it doesn’t work: I have to start from Hydro’s site, directly. It’s fine. I really want to go green.
11. I do that. I enter all those numbers again. They award me with a “personal page” that includes a listing of all the money we gave to them in the past. Big woohoo.
12. I skip and jump to my bank’s website, and sign up to receive the Hydro bill online, with my newly acquired login info from Hydro’s website. IT WORKS! I will receive my Hydro bills online.
13. They tell me a paper copy of the bills will continue to be sent to our mail address, because the account is not in my name. AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

PS. Oh, I also signed up for the phone bill online. This one half works, but they keep mailing us monthly ads for additional services, anyway.

PPS. Alright, my anger is vented. I’m too fed up with this subject to translate it. Sorry for the bore-fest.

Heard before dinner (Xavier is reading a story):
“When mommy was little, it was Orléane who dressed her. Now, mommy has grown-up, and she dresses all by herself.”

Huh…?

I love this Santa Claus!

1. He looks like Santa Claus (his own beard!)
2. He’s really nice to the kids (in a non-creepy way)
3. The mall he’s at is less crowded. There were no other kids when we went to see him, so he had time to chat them up.
4. His photograph took 4-5 pictures and moved around, trying to get the best shot. He printed the best picture right then and there, for 5$. The kids are smiling (even Orly, sorta) on the picture!
5. The kids actually enjoyed meeting him.