Yesterday we learned that we had unauthorized charges on our Discover card - one showed up on our statement, and in the past 24 hours we had three messages left on our machine regarding pending transactions from online stores we had not dealt with. What a nice surprise when we came home from work! Ironically, on the same day, my sister and brother-in-law learned that their bank account had unauthorized withdrawals, from Spain.
My husband and I experienced this once before, also with our Discover card, a little over a year ago. We learned that our card was somehow being used in person by someone in Hawaii. That helped us to determine where the theft might have taken place (we had just returned back from our own trip to that state), though apparently a duplicate card had been made because we had both cards in our possession. This time the transactions are all on-line, making it more difficult to determine where/when the theft occurred.
A little plug for Discover here - both times they handled everything with great professionalism and speed. In fact, they had already closed our account and reissued cards before we had a chance to contact them. We simply told them which charges were not valid and they were immediately removed from our account.
And for that, I know we are extraordinarily lucky. My sister-in-law had her identity stolen so completely that she had to go to court to get a new Social Security Number and a new name. I cannot even imagine how difficult that must be, to have something so fundamental taken from you so completely. Even these minor instances are jarring, however. It also feels rather surreal because the violation is remote.
Normally (though of course not always) when somebody harms you, whether on purpose or by accident, they are in close proximity. This is a whole different animal because I'm sure all the thief sees is numbers. He/she/they have no idea who we are, nor do they care. In fact, if they have any conscience whatsoever (though that is debatable), they probably need the remoteness of the crime to distance themselves from the impact. Or at least I hope they do, or they really have no soul.
I thank my lucky stars yet again that Discover has handled this for us, so that the impact on us is minimal. I hope we never experience anything more severe than having to get new credit cards, and I hope the same for you.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
One Thing At a Time
I consider myself a rather accomplished multi-tasker, but even I have to admit defeat at a few of my "big goals" for 2011. I actually set 3 of them this year, focused on body, mind, and spirit. If you've been following some of my earlier posts, you'll note that my "body" goal was to lose weight. How's that been going for me?
Rather well, thanks for asking. To date, I have lost over 40 pounds, marking the halfway point on my journey. I am very pleased with my progress and look forward to continuing down the path to a healthier, more active lifestyle. Right now I am in another maintenance phase of my protocol, so I won't be losing again until mid-June. But maintaining is a struggle all its own, isn't it?
I have made the weight-loss goal my primary goal of 2011 - my main thing which trumps all others. I have the will power right now, and need to take full advantage of that. I know when I'm in the weight loss zone, and I know when I'm not. I can't fake it, or wish that it would materialize on command. I wish I could bottle the motivation that it takes to accomplish something like this, because then I would solve one of my other big challenges - finding financing for the house Scott and I would like to build.... but I digress. Sadly, I can't bottle it. Hell, I can't even always find it when I need it. So the fact that it is here, in abundance, means that weight loss is always on my mind.
What about my other two goals? Let's see... "Blog twice a week for a total of 100 posts this year" was my stated benchmark for the "mind" goal. How are we doing so far, nearly 1/3 of the way into the year? Not even half way to the 1/3 goal, if that makes any sense. I know some people would say you just have to prioritize and "make time". And I would agree with them, except for the fact that I already prioritized my weight loss goal above the blogging goal. Despite my fervent desire to "do it all", in my decision tree of life, something must win.
If I wasn't trying to design our dream home, plan 50 Events for Padua's 50th Anniversary, and organize a trip to the Olympics, all at the same time, I just might have some extra energy for blogging. 'Tis true, I cannot deny it. Those are reasons, not excuses, because I fully own my failure in this category. At the end of the day it is still my choice to (1) stay late at work; (2) screw around on Facebook or watch the Penguins lose in hockey on TV; or (3) insert other desirable or necessary activity here. I guess I am just having a hard time coming to the realization that my capacity for improvement and change is less than I had hoped.
This is not to say that I won't change, it simply may mean that the change will come at a slower pace than I had publicly committed to.
As for my third goal - spirit - you can probably guess I've been slacking on that, too. I promised myself a renewed focus on my spiritual life, including additional attendance at liturgies/services that are not obligatory and additional reading. I've done some, sure, but not nearly what I had set out to do. I suppose that is why another New Year's Eve will be headed our way before you know it - so I can simply change the date on last year's list (though crossing off and getting a new goal for "body" will feel mighty good in the process!).
Rather well, thanks for asking. To date, I have lost over 40 pounds, marking the halfway point on my journey. I am very pleased with my progress and look forward to continuing down the path to a healthier, more active lifestyle. Right now I am in another maintenance phase of my protocol, so I won't be losing again until mid-June. But maintaining is a struggle all its own, isn't it?
I have made the weight-loss goal my primary goal of 2011 - my main thing which trumps all others. I have the will power right now, and need to take full advantage of that. I know when I'm in the weight loss zone, and I know when I'm not. I can't fake it, or wish that it would materialize on command. I wish I could bottle the motivation that it takes to accomplish something like this, because then I would solve one of my other big challenges - finding financing for the house Scott and I would like to build.... but I digress. Sadly, I can't bottle it. Hell, I can't even always find it when I need it. So the fact that it is here, in abundance, means that weight loss is always on my mind.
What about my other two goals? Let's see... "Blog twice a week for a total of 100 posts this year" was my stated benchmark for the "mind" goal. How are we doing so far, nearly 1/3 of the way into the year? Not even half way to the 1/3 goal, if that makes any sense. I know some people would say you just have to prioritize and "make time". And I would agree with them, except for the fact that I already prioritized my weight loss goal above the blogging goal. Despite my fervent desire to "do it all", in my decision tree of life, something must win.
If I wasn't trying to design our dream home, plan 50 Events for Padua's 50th Anniversary, and organize a trip to the Olympics, all at the same time, I just might have some extra energy for blogging. 'Tis true, I cannot deny it. Those are reasons, not excuses, because I fully own my failure in this category. At the end of the day it is still my choice to (1) stay late at work; (2) screw around on Facebook or watch the Penguins lose in hockey on TV; or (3) insert other desirable or necessary activity here. I guess I am just having a hard time coming to the realization that my capacity for improvement and change is less than I had hoped.
This is not to say that I won't change, it simply may mean that the change will come at a slower pace than I had publicly committed to.
As for my third goal - spirit - you can probably guess I've been slacking on that, too. I promised myself a renewed focus on my spiritual life, including additional attendance at liturgies/services that are not obligatory and additional reading. I've done some, sure, but not nearly what I had set out to do. I suppose that is why another New Year's Eve will be headed our way before you know it - so I can simply change the date on last year's list (though crossing off and getting a new goal for "body" will feel mighty good in the process!).
Monday, April 4, 2011
My Husband, the Adrenaline Junkie
I guess you can always learn something new about your spouse. This latest revelation came as a result of my last post about my bucket list. I shared with Scott what I had on my list, and asked which activities would make his own list. At first he started answering my questions with questions in return.
First, what was my definition of something that was worthy of the bucket list? Was it something that was really cool that you always wanted to do some day, or something that, if you failed to accomplish it, your life would somehow be unfulfilled? Though approaching the same objective, I did appreciate a distinction between the two perspectives. I answered the latter, so he replied, "Then nothing."
Um, okay? Though this really shouldn't come as any surprise to me, given what I actually *do* know about my husband. A little background is probably in order for those who have never met Scott in person. First of all, Scott is a very easy-going, centered, low-key guy. Nothing much phases him, at all, which makes him the perfect partner to keep me from going off the deep end. His high's don't get very high, and his low's don't get very low. In fact, we joke that his emotional scale runs from 3 to -3, and he rarely moves off 0. I, on the other hand, have a far greater variation to my emotions - my high's get much higher (10) and my low's get much lower (-10).
Second of all, though Scott is a very accomplished professional, he is not very goal-centered. By that I mean that he never set himself very specific goals for what he wanted to achieve in life because the goal itself is not how he derives his satisfaction. His satisfaction comes from achievement - whether that is goal A, B, or C is irrelevant. Or at least this is my non-professional analysis. : )
Case in point, when we started dating he explained to me that his main life goals were to 1) graduate from high school; 2) graduate from college; 3) get a job; 4) get married; 5) retire; and 6) die. Really and truly. This again stands in stark contrast to me, the ultimate planner. So should it really come as any surprise that no task, no feat, no achievement was so personally important to him that he would feel that life was unfulfilled without its accomplishment?
Since my choice of bucket list definition was obviously a non-starter, I opted to revert back to the "really cool" version. Scott still countered with a question - "Should we add in things that we've already done, that most people probably have on their bucket list?" For clarity, I told him that we would only include prior activities that we had described as "bucket list" to others. Otherwise, the list had to consist of future activities. Finally, I got the answers I was looking for:
1. Fly (as a passenger) with the Blue Angels or equivalent
2. Experience weightlessness (e.g., Vomit Comet, Zero G)
3. Drag race at over 200 mph
4. Climb/summit a mountain (but nothing that requires actual mountaineering skills)
5. See a decent-sized tornado in person
Huh?? How did Mr. "3-to-Negative-3" go from self-professed computer geek to adrenaline junkie? Perhaps it is hard work maintaining such an even keel that he has to let loose every now and then! Regardless of the rationale, I just love the fact that I learned this about him. I know that he will do everything in his power to help me achieve my bucket list, so of course I want the same for him. Now, starting at the top, does anyone know how I can hitch him a ride on the Blue Angels?
First, what was my definition of something that was worthy of the bucket list? Was it something that was really cool that you always wanted to do some day, or something that, if you failed to accomplish it, your life would somehow be unfulfilled? Though approaching the same objective, I did appreciate a distinction between the two perspectives. I answered the latter, so he replied, "Then nothing."
Um, okay? Though this really shouldn't come as any surprise to me, given what I actually *do* know about my husband. A little background is probably in order for those who have never met Scott in person. First of all, Scott is a very easy-going, centered, low-key guy. Nothing much phases him, at all, which makes him the perfect partner to keep me from going off the deep end. His high's don't get very high, and his low's don't get very low. In fact, we joke that his emotional scale runs from 3 to -3, and he rarely moves off 0. I, on the other hand, have a far greater variation to my emotions - my high's get much higher (10) and my low's get much lower (-10).
Second of all, though Scott is a very accomplished professional, he is not very goal-centered. By that I mean that he never set himself very specific goals for what he wanted to achieve in life because the goal itself is not how he derives his satisfaction. His satisfaction comes from achievement - whether that is goal A, B, or C is irrelevant. Or at least this is my non-professional analysis. : )
Case in point, when we started dating he explained to me that his main life goals were to 1) graduate from high school; 2) graduate from college; 3) get a job; 4) get married; 5) retire; and 6) die. Really and truly. This again stands in stark contrast to me, the ultimate planner. So should it really come as any surprise that no task, no feat, no achievement was so personally important to him that he would feel that life was unfulfilled without its accomplishment?
Since my choice of bucket list definition was obviously a non-starter, I opted to revert back to the "really cool" version. Scott still countered with a question - "Should we add in things that we've already done, that most people probably have on their bucket list?"
1. Fly (as a passenger) with the Blue Angels or equivalent
2. Experience weightlessness (e.g., Vomit Comet, Zero G)
3. Drag race at over 200 mph
4. Climb/summit a mountain (but nothing that requires actual mountaineering skills)
5. See a decent-sized tornado in person
Huh?? How did Mr. "3-to-Negative-3" go from self-professed computer geek to adrenaline junkie? Perhaps it is hard work maintaining such an even keel that he has to let loose every now and then! Regardless of the rationale, I just love the fact that I learned this about him. I know that he will do everything in his power to help me achieve my bucket list, so of course I want the same for him. Now, starting at the top, does anyone know how I can hitch him a ride on the Blue Angels?
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