I received a troubling phone call today. I answered, and a nice sounding lady asked for my husband.  I said he wasn’t home (most people are at work at 9 am), and could I take a message.  I forget the next round of exchanges, but I became the target.

Long story short, she wanted to “give” me free gas vouchers, worth $100. That’s  a lot of gas, especially for us these days. The gas vouchers last for a year.

I shouldn’t be so greedy. I stopped to listen.  All she had to do was confirm that we had a checking account. I told her we did. She then asked what the name of the bank was. I told her (she already had our mailing address). In the back of my mind, there are red flags popping up all over the place. How many times have you heard to not give out personal info over the phone, on line, etc? Was the info I gave out personal? She already had our name and address, and was wanting to know the name of our bank.

I recall repeatedly asking her who she was. She never gave a straight answer. Our names were on a list, we were pre-approved. I don’t know. I was trying to justify how they could give out free gas vouchers, plus she talked really fast.

So then she needs to verify that we do indeed have a checking account. Why is that necessary if you are giving me gas vouchers? What does it matter that I have a checking account. This should be the biggest red flag of all. But I continued.

She asked the name of the bank. I told her reluctantly after asking a few more questions about who she was and who she worked for. Sounded legitimate. Then she read off a routing number.  “This is the routing number for your bank?” she asked. Of course, it was not. No where close. I told her I didn’t know what the routing number was. She said it was on the bottom of the check.

Now, I’ve paid bills online using this method. The first set of numbers is indeed the bank’s routing number. But I think once they have this info, they can find out more info.

I told her I was uncomfortable giving her the numbers over the phone, besides she could be a scammer! She said these numbers were there for anyone to see. I told her I would forego the vouchers for now. She argued a little more and said these numbers were public, that anyone could see them.  I still voiced my reluctance.

She hung up.

No goodbye, thanks, nothing. She hung up. I can’t believe I almost got scammed!

After a little bit of research, I called my bank and told them what happened. I asked them if the scammer could get any info with just my name and address. She said as long as I didn’t give out the numbers, I was fine. Whew. What a relief.

Funny how you can swindle someone using greed. I am glad my sensibilities kicked in.

http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/gascoupon.asp

It happens all over the country on a daily basis, yet it is still shocking and hard to grasp. Those that protect and serve are sometimes killed for their job.

This is a little note to say thanks to all the police officers who put their lives at risk for us every day…the police officers who sometimes die for the people they work for.

My prayers go out to the family and friends of the fallen officer, who died protecting and serving the community he worked for. I also pray for the officer who was wounded, and his friends and family. I pray for the South Bend Police and all involved in this senseless violence.

Take a minute today and silently thank the police officers for the job they do. We don’t really hear about it until tragedy strikes, but they do maintain order and make our communities a better place to live.

Here’s a link to the story.

First off, who cares? In light of the recent tragedy in VA, who cares how a rich actor treats his young daughter? Sure, he can call her a little rude pig, but did he aim a gun at her and pull the trigger?

Come on, even a metaphorical gun such as his words do not count. I mean, we don’t know the exact circumstances, and he sure sounded angry! What led up to this message? Sounded to me like he was taking his anger over his ex-wife (or soon to be?) out on his innocent daughter.  The sad truth is, millions of adults call their children worse things every day. It must suck to be in the spotlight.

So the message was put out on TMZ, and now there’s all this bruhaha over it. I can understand his frustration. I have missed appointments because of my children’s lack of responsibility (not getting home in time), and I’ve said some pretty nasty stuff myself. I sure am glad there’s no tape of my daily reaction to little frustrations. You know, when the two year old eats sugar for lunch and leaves the trail all over the just cleaned kitchen. How about when they argue every time you ask them to pick up a piece of paper, blaming the other siblings. Or when they eat the last of the leftovers you had been dreaming of all day…and all this without a hint of remorse from them. Dirty bad children!

Really, I love my kids. They have made me smile when I was too mad to spit. They help me to laugh at myself every day, and bring wonder and color into an otherwise drab world. But you do have to admit, along with all the positives, they can be buggers.

So, in response to Alec’s dirty little phone message to his innocent pre-teen. We only have half the story. We only hear HIS message. Sure, it could have been handled better. Sure, he sounded threatening. How many times have you or I said things out of anger that was very questionable, especially to our kids? Give the guy a break. I don’t totally agree with what he did, but Alec is a human being, not some perfect god who never makes mistakes. Only his mistakes become public for the world to hash over. Does my opinion change of him? No. He said some harsh words, but I have too in my lifetime.

Remember, those who cast the first stone….

Not another blog blog….

There has to be some stats out there as to how many blogs there are in cyberspace. So many blogs…why should mine be any different, unique, or special. Why would you want to read the garbage that comes out of my head any more than the next guys? Am I more funny or creative or witty? Or cute?

Hmmm. this is actually my 4th blog I have. I have 3 others on blogger, one of which I update regularly. It is a blog about knitting, my newest obsession, so I have lots of pics to post of my finished work, mostly dishcloths, but I am getting adventurous and branching out now, to  knitting my first bag and I think I’ll start a wrap next. (I don’t like the word shawl…kinda like saying I’m gonna warsh the dishes).

Anyway. I have the best intentions of blogging regularly, but you know how life goes. Right? I have 5 kids, one a teenager and 2 under the age of 3. Needless to say, I don’t have tons of time to write out all my thoughts and feelings, unless I ignore the little buggers, but then I will probably have to put out a fire or pull something (or someone) out of the toilet. Oh yeah, there’s always the fun vaseline on the doorknob surprise, too.  With kids, every day is a journey.

Hope you like the blog, even though it is one more of millions…. I really have nothing special to offer any of you. I am just another faceless person trying to find value in an ever increasingly valueless world. That sounds so depressing…I am not really a depressed person normally.  So, maybe I’ll post later

Ok, Ok.  I watched Borat for the first time last night. It was funny in parts, shocking in others…

The social commentary was pretty good. Acting like a foreigner who doesn’t know the customs allows for a  fresh look. People open up to strangers, especially foreigners. What I found the most interesting is those who were actually REAL. They were the ones who handled the awkward situations with ease and laughter, who made personal connections. These are the people who didn’t take themselves too seriously, who were not fighting a cause, but were just living.

What about those whispers of prejudice and racism? The old man and the college students, different types of people but with the same pervasive attitude. Yes, it still exists today. It is in our blood, so to speak. The grandfathers pass it down, the grandmothers talk about it to everyone. We smile politely but underneath we distrust those who are different than us.

I think in his effort to be funny some things were just too shocking.  In his effort to be a stranger with strange ways went too far in some situations, but it must have taken a lot of balls to go on and do that stuff. They say we don’t know what we’re made of until something like that happens. So what would I do if I were in a convention in a swanky hotel and in rushed two naked men who then proceeded to try and wrestle onstage? I don’t know. Maybe laugh, maybe even be outraged that they took up my time and imposed on me.  Who knows? I hope I would not be as rough as the security though. Anger can easily get out of control.

All in all I liked the movie. It wasn’t as funny as I thought it would be, but Borat did not grate on my nerves like Tom Green does. Borat is funny without being gross. He goes for the laugh, sometimes using the shock value, but not constantly.  And finally, the movie had a message. It was a journey…I liked that it wasn’t just random stuff, but it all led to the climax.

I recommend Borat, but the language is questionable for those sensitive to the F word. Be warned, this movie will probably make you mad at some point.  There are no areas he is afraid to broach, including Jews, slaves, women, speaking in tongues, porn, and racism. If you are easily offended, skip Borat. If you want a good laugh, watch it. Just remember I told you so!