Friends of the Free Library have posted about several meetings and rallies to help save the library, and will be holding a press conference at 12 noon on Monday (November 17) in front of the Haddington Library branch. The website also lists steps you can take if you would like to participate or donate.

The Kingsessing branch has started its own blog, Save Kingsessing Library! They are holding their own rally tomorrow, rain or shine, at 2 p.m. in the meeting room.

More news as it develops!

After two and a half hours and several back and forths, I now hold in my hand my renewed Pennsylvania driver’s license.

The adventure started several weeks ago, when I sent in my renewal application form online with my payment of $26 (plus an extra $1 for Organ Donor Awareness). PennDOT promptly sent me the camera card to get my new ID, and I promptly lost it.

Today: adventures.

I walk into the PennDOT office and ask information what to do. The guy hands me a new form and tells me it’ll cost an extra $5 (since I lost the camera card) and I need a check or money order. PennDOT will not accept cash or credit/debit cards. I’m searching through my purse but apparently the day I need it is the day I leave my checkbook at home. Sounding like he’s said the same line over and over today, the guy informs me that CVS has money orders.

I wait in line at CVS for a while, and when it’s finally my turn I’m told that to buy a money order you have to pay in cash—you cannot even use your debit card, and I was unaware of this! Unfortunately, there is only $5.50 in my purse, and the $5 money order costs $0.99. The cashier is very annoyed that she needs to void the sale, and I embarrassingly leave the store.

PNC (my bank) is directly across the street, but instead of waiting to use the ATM and waiting back in line at CVS, I inquire about money orders there. Interestingly, PNC changes $5 for a money order. Ouch! However, the teller, realizing I’m trying to pay for something at the DMV, tells me I can order a counter check from customer service, since that only costs $1.50. Woohoo, savings!

(Now, at this point, I could have dropped the adventure and waited until I brought a check from home, but after all that I am determined to get this ID renewed today!)

Back at PennDOT, I get my number in line: 621. They are currently on something in the 940s. My estimated wait time, according to my ticket, is over an hour and half. Luckily, the info girl tells me that I am allowed to leave and come back, as long as I don’t miss my number. Miss it, forfeit, get a new one… and the wait begins again. I run back to my office for a little while, then back to PennDOT again. By this time we’re at 603!

Once I’m done and I have my new camera card, the wait for the actual photo is a lot quicker. So quick, in fact, that the guy calls my number before the girl’s even finished handing me the ticket. Sit here, look here, CLICK.

And done.

I went to the post office today, and I found the most awesome kiosk ever. Now, I haven’t been to the post office in a while—email, IMS, and online billing have pretty much negated my need for the USPS—so I don’t know how long this has been here: the Automated Postal Center.

The Automated Postal Center, or APC, is a self-service machine that sells stamps and other postal services, like certified or registered mail. It’s pretty awesome if you just have a normal-sized envelope to send, or need a book of stamps. You slide your debit or credit card, select the postal type, weigh the envelope, grab the sticker, and presto!

No waiting in long lines, no cranky customers complaining about the long lines.

The kiosk I used earlier today is located in the post office at Penn Center (Suburban Station), between the counter service and the post office boxes. The next closest is at 30th Street Station, while there are a few others in the Northeast.

We moved in June 2006, and I very happily shut off the gas service thinking they would invoice me for whatever I owed them. Wrong. I received one bill, made a payment and never received another bill. I knew I owed them something, so I tried calling and heard that all too familiar automated response claiming high call volume, please try at another time. I continued to send payments and waited for some kind of updated bill or invoice. Surely, any company owed money would send one, right? Wrong.

As it turns out, once you close your account with PGW they do not send you anything no matter how much you owe them. No invoice, no bill, no phone call, NOTHING. They seriously expect consumers who owe them to take the initiative, to keep calling through the busy messages, wait through the hold times and ask how much they owe. This is ridiculously laughable.

I did an extensive google search for any fax number to contact PGW. I finally found two, buried deep in PDF documents published by the PUC. I sent letters to these fax numbers a few times, and received a call back two weeks later. The woman I spoke with was very nice, but I couldn’t help but laugh. First, when she told me to log into their web site with my closed account, then when she informed me of their “We don’t send a bill” policy. I do believe I said, between giggles, “No wonder nobody pays you.”

If you’d like to send PGW a fax to try to resolve your own issues try these two numbers: (215)684-6996 and (215)684-6388. There is also a very interesting discussion thread at phillyblog.com.

Welcome to the first AIDS Education Month youth summit! This summit will explore HIV testing, transmission, prevention, and treatment issues relevant to reaching and to empowering youth. Leaders from the youth and HIV/AIDS communities will discuss current challenges in providing community-appropriate outreach, education, advocacy, and HIV care to a population facing rising HIV rates. This summit is youth-friendly and includes a youth fashion show and artistic performances. Come check it out! Let your voice be heard.
Yo! breakfast and lunch will be served. Register online in confidence.

Some of the authors presenting their recent work are Nathan Englander, Natalie Angier, Elmore Leonard, and about twenty-five others. Events begin May 3 and end August 16th. You do not need tickets, just show up, it’s free.

While there be sure to sign up for your free library card, you can sign up online, it too is free. Have two good forms of identification with you. Once you have a card you can take books home with you for free, but not just books but also DVDs, CDs, movies and music.

This is a great library system we have here in Philadelphia. Take some time to investigate all the many departments and what they have to offer, you are going to be surprised. I will be posting more about the library and what it has to offer in the future.This will give you time to save your money to buy a water ice and soft pretzel after your visit, because the Free Library is FREE.