There I was, standing at the fish counter, ordering my very large and yummy shrimp, not paying attention to anything around me.  Eye on the prize, as it were.

When a very small voice to my left said, “You’re pretty!” I looked down at a very cute little girl of 6 or 7.  I laughed a little and said, ‘Thank you!” She giggled and ran away.

Folks, this does not happen to me.  People may comment on my hair but that’s about it.  So I don’t know if she was being dared by someone and this was really a “Carrie” scenario or not, but I chose to take it in the good way and it made me smile.

I’m really tired of seeing that last post up here at the top of my site EVERY.SINGLE.DAY, aren’t you??

I just can’t think of anything to say, ‘sall!

Everything’s still the same - I eat too much, I drink too much, I want too much.  Too much! 

Heh - that sort of just rolled out of my fingers.  However, it’s not far from the truth.  Life goes on.  Every day brings its good and its bad and I’m grateful for the opportunity to see all that good and bad happening.  It’s better than the alternative!

We talked to the bank manager today and found out that there was no one accessing our account this time.  What I saw was a byproduct of using our check card as a credit card.

So all is well.

Let me tell you, though, we are not going to be using our check cards for just about anything any more.  Maybe to get money from an ATM but that’s about it.  It’s just too hard to dispute something that comes right out of your checking account!

Did you watch “Twin Peaks”?  Do you remember the scene where the giant told Detective Cooper that “it’s happening again”?  Do you remember the fear and the dread in that scene?

Yes, that’s what I felt when I checked my bank account tonight.  Another $1.00 transaction was made to my account today with a check card number.  That’s what started the last theft.  It’s happening again.

I can only hope that I can get to the bank tomorrow morning in time to stop the rest of it.  I paid bills on Friday but they were mostly online payments that haven’t hit yet.  If the bastards get into my account again and then all those bills hit tomorrow morning, I’m in for a load of trouble.

God.  How did this happen?  How can I stop it???

People - guard your money!  Be diligent!  Do everything you can to stop the thieves from winning!!

Buzz and I went away for the weekend.  We had this planned for several weeks now.  We went just an hour away from home to a B&B in the Brandywine River Valley.  They were running a “Chilly Enchantment” special that included two nights at a Select Registry B&B, dinner at a semi-fancy restaurant, and wine tasting.  It was going to be just wonderful.  After all, we haven’t gone away anywhere for over a year.

Then the whole theft of our money thing happened and I found myself faced with a weekend of spending money (which I SO do not want to do right now!) and a weekend without internet access to (obsessively) check the balance in my bank account, in case somehow someone got through again.  I was sort of a wreck.

Result?  We got there on Friday afternoon and I immediately broke out into hives.  Hives.  HIVES!  After dinner that night, we found a supermarket and I loaded up on Benadryl.  It has helped, but I am still all covered in puffy spots that itch like crazy when the Benadryl wears off.

But, hey, I caught up on my sleep!  I took a nap on Friday afternoon and two naps yesterday between trips.  Benadryl is a good sleep agent.

Now we’re home.  Buzz caught a cold in the middle of the night last night and he chugged some Nyquil as soon as we got home and he’s resting now.  I checked on the bank account and all is still well.  I’m going to throw in a load of laundry, get into some comfy clothes and try to enjoy the rest of my weekend - hives and all.

*scratch scratch*

So tonight I found out that, not only did some bastard steal my check card number to send $1079.00 to someone in Indonesia, but they also used my check card number to purchase personal information about me so that they could complete the Indonesian transaction!

Man!  This just sucks all kinds of ways from Sunday.

I got to speak to the police tonight.  They took it a lot more seriously than I was expecting.  I thought I’d fill out a form, they’d file it and that would be the end of it.  Not only did I get to spend quite a while with the officer, he also offered me some good advice on what to do to prevent any further damage.

I’m learning a lot but I don’t like this lesson.

So, yeah, we checked our bank account activity yesterday because the ATM showed an unbelievably small current balance.  What we saw really surprised us.

And we’ve spent the last 16 hours or so wracking our brains trying to figure out what that $1261.93 transaction could possibly be for.

We do not put large purchases on our check card and yet, there it is.  $1261.93.  Authorized check card debit.

Oh, and yesterday?  Was a holiday.  The bank was not open.  I have to wait until 9:00 this morning to try and figure out what happened.  Did one of us get drunk over the weekend and buy a brand new stereo?  Or 10 cases of wine (perhaps to replace the 10 that we drank to get so drunk that we don’t remember a $1261.93 purchase)? 

Or have we been victimized?

My stomach is in knots, my mouth is dry.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a spare $1261.93.  That single transaction just about wiped out our bank account.  And we have a loan payment coming out tomorrow.

If it turns out that one or both of us were ridiculous and made some huge purchase, whatever it is, it’s going back!  I don’t care if it’s diamond jewelry for me… ooh, wait.  Diamonds?  Hmmm.  Well, maybe I could figure out a way to swing that…

What am I saying??  Sheesh.  Dangle some shiny objects in front of my imagination and I’m likely to do just about anything!

Anyway, I really, really hope that it was something that we did and can undo and not something that some thief did when they found our check card number.  I really, really, really hope that.

*UPDATE* I am the victim of a crime.  Somewhere in Indonesia, someone is enjoying $1079.00 of my money.  I hope they choke on it.

My good friend, ls, shared with me a life secret and now I’m going to share it with you.  Once you see it, many things will start to make more sense, I’m sure.

*Click to enlarge*

Nothing was working for me yesterday, cosmetically speaking.

First, I went to get my nails done and, when I walked out into the sunlight, I was horrified at the color that was on my nails!  It’s a really bold lavender.  I’ve had lilac or lavender colored polish before but it was always subdued and delicate.  This is truly in your face.  Well, at least it’s in my face.  I don’t like it.

Secondly, I went to the tattoo place on Saturday, trying to figure out what my next tattoo will be.  I left without choosing and went home to find just the right picture.  Thanks to Buzz, I did.  So we headed back up on Sunday - after calling to make sure they had time to do it.  I was told to show up at 2:30, which I did.  The guy was fully engaged in someone else’s tattoo so we sat for about 15 minutes.  He finally says, “I got a late start on this.  It’s probably going to be another hour.  You can hang around or go get something to eat.” Another hour?  That’s not a late start - that’s doing someone else when it’s my appointed time!  We went home and arrived back at 3:30.  It was quiet in the shop so I thought he was done.  NOOOO!  The guy was just taking a potty break.  Back on the table he went.  We sat there until 4:00 and just left.  Three strikes and you’re out, buddy!

I was there!  I was ready for my new ink!!  Now I have to go find another tattoo place.  Gah.

I’m embarrassed to post this, in light of what my resolution was when I posted the Books I Read in 2005.  I didn’t read more.  I read less.  WAY less.  This must stop!  I must read more.  More.  MORE!!!

With my head hung in shame, I give you the list of books that I read last year.

1.  Caliban’s Shore:  The Wreck of the Grosvenor and the Strange Fate of Her Survivors by Stephen Taylor

2.  Eats, Shoots & Leaves:  The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss

3.  Never Have Your Dog Stuffed:  And Other Things I’ve Learned by Alan Alda

4.  The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

5.  Garlic and Sapphires:  The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl

6.  Cell by Stephen King

7.  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

8.  The Onion Field by Joseph Wambaugh

9.  The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde

That’s it.  Nine paltry books.  Nine.  Gah.

I do A LOT of online purchasing and I have had my fair share of things that were damaged or incorrect in the past.  Prior to now, I would always follow the return instructions and end up paying additional shipping to send back the incorrect or damaged items, only to pay a third time to get the right item.

Well, that’s over.  I tried on my aggressive shoes last year a few times and I liked how they fit!

Nowadays, I immediately respond to a problem with an e-mail that details how I want the vendor to handle the situation and request a return e-mail to tell me when they will satisfy the request. 

It’s working like a dream!  I no longer pay for things I didn’t order, I no longer pay shipping back on a return, and I no longer accept inferior products.  No, sir, not me!

My Life as a Wuss™ has ended!  And good riddance, I say!

My brain is just not working properly today!  I’ve got a miserable cold.  No, more miserable than that!  Heinous!  I’ve got a heinous cold and, apparently, the congestion in my head (that’s a nice way to say “snot") is blocking my brain function.  I was reading some Wikipedia this morning and I read this paragraph:

Ford Madox Brown (April 16, 1821 – October 6, 1893) was an English painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. While he was closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, he was never actually a member. Nevertheless, he remained close to Dante Gabriel Rossetti, with whom he also joined William Morris’s design company, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., in 1861.

Innocent enough, no?  But here’s what I read (note the words in bold):

Ford Madox Brown (April 16, 1821 – October 6, 1893) was an English painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogwartian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. While he was closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, he was never actually a member. Nevertheless, he remained close to Daniel Radcliffe, with whom he also joined William Morris’s design company, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., in 1861.

Harry Potter has invaded my poor, addled brain!