Annoyed

I’m not REALLY annoyed this morning, just mildly annoyed. This morning we were supposed (“supposed” being the operative word here) to have a 9:00 department meeting; “BIG” meeting, “MANDATORY” meeting. So, to play it safe, to make sure I had plenty of time to get thru e-mail before the meeting and to ensure I called into the meeting number on time I decided to work from home today.

I can pretty much work from home when I want to. I enjoy working from home as it gives me the freedom not to shower, to run to the grocery store at lunch, to spy on the neighbors during daylight hours, go the bathroom with the door open and to eat continuously all day. But today I would rather have gone in. Today I have lots of work to do that involves copious amounts of paper.

So last night, I lugged home about 5 pounds worth of paper and then I had UPS deliver an additional 10 pounds to the house by 9:00 AM. At 7:30 this morning I started working and plugging away and at 8:30 came the e-mail: Department Meeting CANCELLED.

DAMN. There are two main reasons for being pissed off about this. One, now I will have to carry all this paper BACK to the office on the train with me and, two, I will now put in a 10 hour day instead of my usual 8. Oh hell, who am I kidding, me working from home means I miss a whole train ride’s worth of mild flirting with Cute Septa Kid. And really, I need that ego boost in the morning.

*** DO NOT READ ***

That is the Spam mail subject line of the week. They were offering me discounted priced Rolex watches. This begs the question: are they now attempting to use reverse psychology on us?

One for me and 1,023.87 for you

My awesome bank , Wachovia, left me a voicemail at home last week to tell me that there had been some seemingly suspicious charges on my MAC Card (we call them MAC cards here for Money Access Card, in other locales around this great nation they call them “debit cards” or “bank cards.” Whatever people, can I get back to my story please?) and would I please call them back. Hmmm, what tipped them off? Me paying for the dentist or taking out a whopping $20 from a cash machine? I’m SUCH a big spender. When I called a few hours later they said that it seemed that there were 6 separate $1. transactions made from a gas station. That’s as in ONE DOLLAR. For a grand total of SIX DOLLARS.

Excuse me? You call THAT suspicious?!? Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled they called and that I got the card cancelled within a few hours of the charges happening but all this for $6.? I've purchased more random things than that before. Of course no sooner did those thoughts go racing thru my head than I checked my online account. Hmmm…. someone has been spending lots of money at the Circle K and Shell Gas stations! To the tune of $1,023.87. Wow. That’s a lot of gas. I call back Wachovia who are SO gracious and they say that the charges were made one day and that they didn’t get posted until the next. Apparently the thieves do these trial runs of $1 to see if the card they make actually works.

Now I’m pissed. I’ve been relatively lucky in my life, I’ve only had a car radio stolen but this has me mad, and a little worried. See, I still have my MAC card. That means someone got a hold of all the numbers and made a card, but where and how? I keep all receipts in my purse and I always shred them and most, if not all, places only list the last four numbers on the receipts anyway. Who knows how they did it, the Wachovia woman said could have run random numbers and made cards (scary), but it sucks.

This also begs the question of what kind of a jackass steals a MAC card and then only spends money at gas stations?! According to my Wachovia rep they buy gas cards and then sell them. Smart. But why only do that? Why not buy yourself something nice? Go to lunch, get a new pair of jeans, buy a Rolex, buy some books. Oh my God the possibilities are endless. But no, my little MAC card thief only needed gas cards, gum and a Slurpee or two.

So this morning I started worrying that maybe they got a hold of my numbers somewhere else so I ran an online credit check. Everything is fine, nothing suspicious but I’ll check again in a month. Then I get to the “Personal Information” page. Hmmmm….. I’ve never lived in New York (in the "Previous Addresses" listing). Hmmmmm…. I don’t have an “Alternative Social Security Number” with the numbers XXX-XX-XXXX.

I have spent the last 2 hours on the phone with the Credit Bureau. I had totally forgotten that an old live-in boyfriend (we’re talking 8 years ago) had gotten a joint AmEx card for me and so my credit report now tracks his addresses too. This is a bit scary since it also leaves his Social Security number on my Credit Report. Along with his current address. I also know his wife’s name. This doesn’t seem too safe does it?

Good thing he never broke my heart and good thing I’m not vindictive and GOOD THING I’m honest…. well, sort of, I do need a new stove….. Of course maybe I should be worrying that he’ll take out a card in MY name… nahhhh… his wife is loaded.

NOTE: Kudos goes out to Wachovia. All the money taken was replaced within 24 hours and they paid my car insurance company’s charges for bouncing their check. Not bad, hunh?

What's wrong with this picture?

I think that winter is over. On Saturday it was 65 degrees outside and I had all the windows and doors open in the house. The bulbs are starting to come up and IT IS JANUARY, PEOPLE!!! Then this morning my Assistant called.

My Assistant kicks ass. In addition to her general ass kickingness, her daughter is married to a Major League Baseball pitcher; very cool. I have never been that interested in baseball. I certainly don’t follow it on TV. I do, however, enjoy going to Phillies games every now and then as I love the green grass, nice weather, people-watching, hotdogs, beer and Cracker Jax (when I could eat/drink it). However ever since my Assistant was hired she now has me following her son-in-law’s career. During the season I pull up his team’s Web page to see if there are any new articles or pictures. I have even been known to watch a bit of a ball game on TV if he happens to be pitching.

Well, this morning she called to tell me that he just signed a new contract and is heading out for spring training in a couple of weeks. Spring Training. Already. What the hell happened to winter? I want my snow falls and blizzards and shoveling and I am feeling a bit cheated as it pours with rain that really should be a huge snow storm. Stupid global warming ruins everything.

Things that make me laugh

When George the Jack Russell falls out of bed in the middle of the night and starts growling… at the bed.