How Do *You* Spell Relief?

Well, it turns out that someone didn't intend to steal $165 from my bank account; it was an honest mistake. Someone with the same name as me asked a bank teller for her account number and they gave her mine instead. Go figure. I am, to be sure, quite relieved. Not only that someone isn't running around with my personal information but that I don't have to change my account number!

In other news, I've started a Habit of Attraction process. The idea is that you get what you focus on. So, I'm focusing on jewelry design success!

And, now, because I liked SmileyMamaT's meme responses so much, I'm going to do the meme even though I wasn't tagged (is that a breach of netiquette?)!

1. Who was your best friend? Maggie and Nora - jointly - we'd been friends since elementary school when we called each other Smelly, Snore, and Maggot.

2. Did you play any sports? You have got to be kidding me. I think coaches would have paid me NOT to try out for the teams!

3. What kind of car did you drive? Well, I didn't have my own car but I did a lot of sibling chauffering in a silver blue 2 door Datsun 310 4 speed. Underpowered, tiny, but loved.

4. It's Friday night. Where were you? Home. I was rather a social pariah and, besides, wasn't Remington Steele on on Fridays?

5. Were you a party animal? See #4.

6. Were you considered a flirt? Nope - that would've required me to talk to boys!

7. Were you in the band, orchestra, or choir? We didn't have an orchestra but, oh yes, french horn in band (first chair, senior year!) and both choir and special (jazz choir).

8. Were you a nerd? Absolutely. I didn't get cool until I was 30.

9. Were you ever suspended or expelled? Oh God, no. My mother would've killed me.

10. Can you sing the fight song? I don't think we had one. I can sing the alma mater though!

11. Who was your favorite teacher? Mr. Biviano - English teacher. Very cool (even if he always did park in the no parking zone) and very understanding of geeky young kids that love to write.

12. What was your school mascot? An eagle.

13. Did you go to the prom? Both junior and senior year, with the same guy (much to his mother's eternal chagrin!). Wore the same dress both years but pulled the shoulders down the second year to make it look new. He wore a white tux with a ruffled shirt - ah, the 80s!

14. If you could go back, would you? No, no, no, and Hell No!

15. What do you remember most about graduation? It being an anticlimax. I guess I expected to feel more triumph or something - just another day in the life...

16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day? In school. See comment above about my mom.

17. Did you have a job your senior year? Yep. I filed repair orders, did basic administrative stuff, and ran the cash register at a car dealership.

18. Where did you go most often for lunch? No choice in our area: cafeteria all the way.

19. Have you gained weight since then? What do YOU think??!

20. What did you do after graduation? Worked all summer. Oh, and tried to take up smoking. It was just nasty.

21. What year did you graduate (HS)? 1985

22. Who was your Senior Prom date? My boyfriend of a year who I figured I was destined to marry but, no, I was only destined to date him for a couple years listening to my sister call him "ape man".

23. Are you going/did you go to your 10 year reunion? They had a picnic. I went. It was ok. I still feel awkward around them all though!

See, now, Graymama, 23 things isn't so hard if it's direct questions! ;-)

Misadventures in Banking

Sometimes people just astound, and horrify, me.

I checked my business checking account online last night. Hmm, said I, what is this $165 "check withdrawal"? I'd bought a fair amount of supplies lately so I checked all the invoices - no $165 even. Now, I know that, in the general way of things, $165 isn't considered a lot but, you know, I'm a microbusiness; it's over $15% of my checking account balance so, by now, I've started to get a little concerned.

And, it turns out, I had right to be.

Someone walked into a branch of my bank and withdrew $165 from my checking account. They spelled my name wrong on the slip, the signature doesn't match mine in the slightest, and the driver's license number doesn't match mine. Fortunately.

I am also very fortunate to know the branch manager personally. I can't swear to this, obviously, but I'm pretty damn sure I wouldn't have gotten the help and belief I did from a customer service rep on the 800 number. They'll credit my account with the money (eventually) and they're going to try to track down the thief.

Unfortunately, unless they do catch her, I will probably never know how she got my business checking account number. I don't use but 2-3 of those checks a month and don't carry the checkbook with me. So the simplest conclusion is that either (a) one of the companies/offices to which I wrote a check has a dishonest employee or (b) someone I welcomed into my home copied the number down from where my checkbook sat in my back hall. And the kicker about the second one is that only friends ever get into my back hall. I'd really prefer to believe that none of my friends would be so despicable.

Assuming it wasn't one of my friends (please, God!), and barring anything really bizarre, it was probably, then, either someone at our town tax collector's office or the secretary of the state's office. While that, too, would be despicable, it at least wouldn't be quite so personal. Also, if it is that situation, she's probably doing it to more than just me.

The whole situation just makes me feel slightly sick.