Awful day

Intermittent rain all day. I slept badly, only five hours, troubled by the discovery of the large amount of money direct debited from my bank account by TalkTalk yesterday, having not received a final bill from account closure a month ago. 

BT sent a notification of our incoming first bill. I failed to remember which bank account that direct debit would come out of and went to open the My BT app on my phone to find out. It responded to the pass code I set OK, but I couldn't locate destination bank details. I closed and then re-opened the app to check elsewhere, and the app demanded a password instead of the code. It's a very strong one, and I may have mis-typed it. It took me to a 'captcha' page requiring me to identify bicycles in a grid of images puzzle to prove I'm not a robot. The images weren't sharp enough and far too small to recognise the correct number even with specs on. So I was locked out. Added to this, the daily meds made me so light headed and slow thinking I was struggling to cope verbally when I called the BT help line and explained the problem. 

Identifying myself was a nightmare. I was sent a security code by SMS and email, but neither came through. I had to spend ten minutes giving other i/d details verbally to get recognised. The assistant was able to remind me of the account info I needed. One less thing to worry about. The security code email arrived an hour after the call ended. Network latency generating panic. It's easy to see how cyber attacks cause panic and confusion. Digital technology has made us a cruel rod for our backs.

It turned out that I needed to visit a BT/EE shop in town to get help to sort out the problem. This gave me two reasons to go into town pronto. It wasn't easy navigating the streets, dragging my feet, prematurely tired. After a late panic stricken breakfast I went on the bus . First to HSBC to cancel the TalkTalk direct debit, where an advisor gave me phone numbers to call TalkTalk and demand a copy of the final bill and an explanation for the exorbitant sum. Not a task I look forward to. Next to BT/EE where a demure young lady about Jasmine's age did the phone trouble shooting with me to reinstate pass code access.

Drizzle turned into heavy rain on the way home. My rain jacket got soaked while walking from the bus to home. Clare had been out at a study group, but returned before me and cooked pasta for lunch, before going out to meditation group. I slept for an hour, then walked in the rain until sunset, which cleared my head of the worst effects of the medication. Two jackets to dry out overnight. 

I spent the evening after supper making tomorrow's Morning Prayer video slideshow, later than usual as I was recording a chapter of the Lent Book last Tuesday. It disrupted my routine and I didn't get around to finishing the job. It meant going to bed late with my brain taking ages to slow down. I find that working late doesn't do me any good nowadays