Money for Nothing

Oh. My. God. My debit card has been compromised. I logged in to check my online bank statement today and found that someone has been making unauthorized charges at Sears and Marathon. Large unauthorized charges.

Panic sets in.

So I do the first thing you do in such a situation -- I call the bank. Sensible, no? And I tell the friendly and helpful operator about the situation. Three charges. One of them quite large. I made none of them. Please, please, get rid of them!

So Friendly, Helpful Operator tells me, "Hmm. These charges are still pending. They haven't cleared yet. I'm afraid we can't do anything about this until the charges clear." Um, what? When these charges clear, my checking account will go into the red and my overdraft protection and its associated fees will kick in, which will make the problem even bigger. Right? So don't we want to prevent that? Nip this problem in the bud? Am I missing something?

Maybe I'm stupid. I don't understand why I have to spend the next few days with no money, waiting for the charges to clear, before the bank will do anything about it. And on top of that, I have to wait five to seven days for my new debit card, so even if I had money to spend, I can't spend it.

I'm not blaming the bank, mind you. I'm blaming the jerks who got their hands on my debit card number and caused this problem. Possible suspects:

1) My brother David. Sears has lots of tools, and David loves tools. I can see him spending $700 on a new Craftsman set. However, I don't think he was in Ohio fueling up his car yesterday.

2) Airan. Perhaps he stole my card, went to Sears, bought me a fabulous present (that we can't afford), and slipped the card back in my wallet with me none the wiser. Now he refuses to confess because he doesn't want to explain what he was doing at a Marathon in Ohio yesterday.

3) Me. I was sleepwalking and decided I needed to a) buy a new washing machine and b) see the Midwest.

Further investigation is necessary. I'll keep you posted.

Cheese, Glorious Cheese

The choir in which I sing had an open rehearsal tonight -- anyone was welcome to sit in and listen to our preparations for the swiftly approaching concert series next month. After rehearsal, the choir hosted a wine-and-cheese reception for our visitors. Luckily for us choristers, none of our guests stayed until the end of the rehearsal, so the wine and cheese, etc., were all ours.

So I'm stuffing my face with some fantastic cheese because, like usual, I didn't have time to eat dinner before rehearsal. And a fellow singer, also enjoying the fromage, says "Cheese is great for when you need to gain weight quickly."

And I'm thinking to myself, "Funny, I don't have a problem with that. It comes to me naturally."

Finally, I'm getting the fashion help I've needed all these years.

Check out the latest post over at Friday Playdate, in which Susan is kind enough to tackle my fashion woes. (So many fashion woes, so little time -- be sure to check out the rest of Susan's Fashion Friday posts while you're there.)

If this is a 12-step program, I think I'm on step 2

Today, I stopped by the vet's office for the first time since June 24. As I was driving there, I realized that it would in fact be my first time back, so of course I spent the rest of the drive thinking about it. And when I got there, I stood at the counter with Pepper's pee sample in my hands and tears in my eyes, feeling both silly and wretched, dying to get out as fast as possible, preferably before the waterworks started. I guess I'm constantly surprised that the wound is still so raw. I avoid talking about it and thinking about it. I prefer not to use or hear his name. But, every now and then, I'm confronted with something that I can't ignore or shove away -- a picture, his quilt, an unmistakably Puckish hair on the couch or in my cereal -- and I find myself overcome all over again.

A Few Quick Notes

(Mostly TV-related, since watching television doesn't hurt.)

1) Sayid on Lost = so hot.

2) Tonight's Colbert Report = hilarious. If you didn't see it, catch one of the seventeen reruns tomorrow.

3) It's supposed to snow in Chicago tomorrow. I used to look forward to every snowfall because of the possibility that it might net me a snow day. I don't get snow days anymore (or sick days, for that matter), so I'm considering tomorrow's possible inclement weather with some trepidation.

4) If anyone has advice concerning collecting a urine sample from a dog with the least possible spillage and mess, please -- for the love of all that's good and pure -- share.

It Shouldn't Hurt to Blog

Tendonitis? Carpal tunnel syndrome? I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, it has my left hand and arm in a grip of fiery pain. And since I need to be using the little bit of typing I can do for activities that make me money (hello, big pile of freelance work!), I might not be blogging or commenting much until I have this sorted out. Forgive me! If you have any advice about setting up an ergonomic workstation, please send it my way.

Seriously, what's with those funny hats?

Tomorrow morning, we'll take Sophia and Evelyn for their twice-a-year check-up at the Shriners Hospital's osteogenesis imperfecta clinic. I don't mind telling you that this impending appointment causes me no small amount of anxiety.

What will the doctors find wrong this time? What is it that's been lurking undetected lo these many months? Fractures we never suspected? Dangerously bowed limbs? Limb length discrepancies? Other ailments my hypochondriac mind hasn't even dreamed up yet? Here we've been thinking they're fine, no OI-related problems -- things are tripping along nicely, thank you very much (as long as no one actually trips).

But since our last visit in April, both girls started crawling, then pulling up to stand, then cruising. Sophia had a bit of a fall. Both girls have bonked their heads and behinds countless times in the process of learning to stand. What damage has been done?

At our first Shriners Hospital visit, we didn't have this fear. We waltzed in with our miracle babies who survived a 10-week NICU stay and who, by golly, wouldn't be held down by this blasted OI. They're made of steel, I tell you! So we were not at all prepared to learn that, somehow, without us even suspecting it, both girls had broken several ribs. How does that happen? How does a baby who can't even roll over yet, whose parents have been trained to be so cautious they never pick her up by the midsection, how does this baby break -- not one -- but several ribs? And -- not one -- but two babies did it! How?

So, let me tell you, we lived with fear after that appointment. Every time we picked them up, we worried that we were breaking a bone. Every time they cried for no reason we could discern, we were sure they'd broken something. It was constantly in our thoughts. What's broken this time?

Turns out, nothing (as far as we know). Nothing has broken (as far as we know) since those ribs nearly a year ago. The girls sailed through their second Shriners Hospital visit six months ago with barely a comment from the doctors. They have survived all of the normal learning-to-be-a-toddler stages with no damage (as far as we know).

And yet, the fear is here to stay.

So, we'll find out tomorrow if the (as far as we know) becomes an (I can tell you for sure). We'll see if we can start the next six-month cycle with a cautious optimism instead of a petrified terror and guilt about a) having allowed them to break bones and b) not even knowing it, that's what bad parents we are.

Wish us luck.

Laura Roslin for President

While I'm on this TV kick, why not out myself for the total geek I am? Who else watched the series premier of Battlestar Galactica last night? (I'm guessing not one of you, with the possible exception of my mom.)

It was so great! More of the BSG we've come to know and love. So tense! Depressing! Timely! A little violent, let's be honest. I'm going to just come out and say it, and you can all mock me if you so choose: Battlestar Galactica is the best drama on television.

I'm Totally Lost

So who saw Lost last night? Take the title of this post seriously -- I have no idea what's going on on that island. I'm so confused! Can someone explain it to me? I kept thinking I was missing really important, revealing clues that would explain crucial aspects of the story to me, but they were all just flying right over my head as I stared blankly at the screen saying, "What? What's going on? I don't understand!"

And still, I love that show.

I Have a Green Thumb for Couch Potatoes

My new favorite channel: Sprout.

What can I say? The girls are sick. (And today we find out they have asthma to boot. Fantastic.) Everyone is grumpy and tired and needs a distraction. Who better than Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, La-La, and Po?

I know there are plenty of critics, but I say "Hooray!" for 24-hour toddler-oriented programming.