When it Rains...

As if its not enough that this is my busiest time of the year at work, it seems it is also destined to be a bit nuts in my personal life as well. First there was the 7th annual crab fest. A great party that I love but that is a ton of work, though it is worth every bit, it makes me tired. For this sole reason alone I plan it a full two weeks before the BIG WORK conference of every early August. Oh, good times...

In other news, some genius, going by the name of Young Jay from Miami, Florida, decided to try to access my bank accounts and transfer $1000 internationally. He was not so much smart or successful but did manage to create havoc in my life as I am not positive if it was simply random or if one Young Jay (what is he a rapper) has actual personal information on me. I am inclined to think he had my checking account and routing number (anyone can get that from your check) but not much else.

Anyway, genius Young Jay called BofA and requested an international wire transfer. He had my account number. He, yes HE, claimed to be me. The BofA representative took his information, put him on hold and proceeded to immediately call the number they had on file for me. It was my work number. I was at lunch. They left a voicemail, went back on the line with Young Jay and indicated to him that they had called the primary account holder and confirmed that I am, in fact, as suspected, a woman! CLICK. He promptly hung up.

They promptly locked down all of my accounts and suspended my online banking login and password.

I happily return from a yummy lunch and realize I have an email from BofA saying someone was trying to change my login or email address. I try to log in to my account and realize I can't. I call BofA and they fill me in. So, their recommendation, which I gladly accepted was to go to the local banking center and establish new accounts and close all of my old accounts just in case. So, an hour later, 2 new checking accounts, 2 new debit cards, 2 new credit cards, and a new savings account and I am on my way. Pain in the ass, yes. Worth it, also yes. So what I have to change a few automated payments to the new accounts, but that's a small price to pay when I don't know what information this guy may have.

BofA also initiated a credit report for me, for free, so I can check to see if anyone is trying to establish any other type of credit in my name. In other words, to see if this was just a random idiot or someone truly trying to engage in a little identity theft. Oh the joys of adulthood!

So that was my Thursday. Fun, no?

In other news, a few weeks ago my mother-in-law had a car accident. In the course of swerving to miss a squirrel she ran off the road and hit a telephone pole, setting off her airbag. She cracked a few ribs and her sternum and had some pretty nasty bruising. My brother-in-law, a doctor, insisted they do a full CT scan to check for internal bleeding. They found none. However, they did find a spot on her lung. The doctor ordered a biopsy. Biopsy came back negative. My brother-in-law, being thorough, asked his buddy an oncologist to look at the scan. Oncologist says, I don't care what the biopsy says, it looks like the big C to me, and orders a Pet Scan. Apparently, especially with small tumors, false negatives from biopsies are common. Which I guess, kind of makes sense, its easy to miss a small tumor and get healthy tissue. Reassuring, no?

Pet scan came back today, Cancer. The problem is she is too weak from the accident and the cracked ribs to undergo immediate surgery. The spot/tumor is in her left lung, which is the one that feels fine right now. The right lung is where the cracked ribs are and she is unable to breathe well on that side. So they are waiting, about a month, for her to get stronger and then plan to operate and remove all of the tumor that they can.

The good news is that without that damn squirrel she would have never known she had a tumor until it was probably too late. The other good news is that though she is 70, she is feisty, she is in pretty good shape, and she is doing everything she can to get stronger. The other good news is that her mother lived to her mid-90s.

So it looks like mid-August she will undergo surgery and then we will know more about kind of cancer, aggressiveness, stage, etc. It is no secret that my MIL and I aren't especially close but she is a good woman who has worked hard all her life to accumulate what it is she has, which is substantial, and to raise 5 wonderful, productive sons. So please if you are the type to pray, add her to your list. If you prefer to send warm fuzzies or good vibrations, those are more than welcome as well. Thanks.