I feel like a zombie!

[ellenmillion]

I need braaaaaains.

But, I am at least entirely, completely, utterly caught up on orders. Done, done, DONE. Though, I asked at the post office and they said I could mail priority until Monday and still have it reach the lower 48 by Christmas, so there's more time than I thought for folks to continue placing orders. (And did I mention that grab bags were back? And purses and handbags back in stock?) :)

Inbox is down to 43 emails.

Gaming tonight - Ryan's last in-person session! *weeps*

Tomorrow, I'll be driving with Jen down to Nenana to do some as-builting, which should be fun. She's also an artist (cool work, more abstract and arty than mine by far), so we'll probably have plenty to talk about on the drive.

My credit card got declined at the grocery store last night! Thousands of dollars in good credit, and ding! No groceries for you! There was a fraud alert on it, because of a teensy charge ($0.81) from AT&T to call Jake's cell in Anchorage, followed by a hefty on-line charge for Jake's Christmas present, and the purchase of our Christmas tree at an 'uncommon merchant.' They were very nice about fixing it when I called this morning, and I guess I can't fault them for being careful.

Ordered from Dick Blick - was completely out of bristol smooth and ended up buying some here in town to fill the order instead of waiting on my order. Twice as expensive, even without paying shipping, but the orders needed to go out, and I don't think I actually LOST money on it. Desperately need to order from clearbags, too.

Blah blah blah... Desperately tempted by the idea of an ice cold Coke...

Comments

[redsaid.livejournal.com]

"There was a fraud alert on it, because of a teensy charge ($0.81) from AT&T to call Jake's cell in Anchorage, followed by a hefty on-line charge for Jake's Christmas present, and the purchase of our Christmas tree at an 'uncommon merchant.'"

Does it ever bother you that they track us in that kind of detail? That we are all so isolated and estranged from one another and our lives are shoved uncomfortably into their artificial and arbitrary pidgeonholes? The saddest thing is, there are humans on the other end. They may be swathed in miles of red tape and mountains of paperwork, their souls becoming fuzzy under the florescent flicker and the institutionalized fear - but still, nevertheless human, and they cannot seem to access it anymore? The holiday season brings with it all kinds of uncommon purchases, from gifts to decorations to specialty foods - you name it. Celebrate a little or a lot, either way you'll call more attention to account number blah-boing-zonk. Oh no, Person of x demographic did something unexpected! Quick! Stop their access to money! Argh * !

Sorry - feeling particularly crotchety and old. Having to rely on a walking stick encourages me, I think.

*Insert your choice of epithets here

[pseudopagan.livejournal.com]

Having worked on that side of the red tape, it's really nothing like that at all. Identity theft is a rapidly growing 'industry', and has cost people everything if allowed to go on too long. The pigeonholes aren't artificial and arbitrary, they're based entirely on our existing spending habits. When the 60 year old grandmother who hasn't used her credit card for anything but gas and groceries for the past five years suddenly buys a plasma TV and an iPhone, it sets off alarms.

And if your financial institution is any good, they try to resolve it asap. Some time back I used my bosses credit card (with her permission) to buy movie tickets for our whole team (22 people). Five minutes after the charge, she got a call from the customer service people for her card, asking her if she was aware of the charge. You may find that intrusive, but given how easy it is to just snatch up somebody's debit card and go to town with it, I find it reassuring.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

While I'm not really miffed that they're looking out for me and figure they're doing a good job of it (having once been a target of fraud and not desiring to reapeat!), it is pretty freaky the sheer amount of information that they compile and keep on my spending practices. Grocery stores, too - the targeted checkout advertising coupons you get now are pretty creepy.

I just wish I *trusted* the people who have access to all that information to ONLY use it in cases like this where they're genuinely looking out for me - 'cause I'm really sure they're usually not.