Stolen Wallet

So, I got an automated call from one of my credit card companies last night, asking about possible fraudulent activities. I was just going to call the number on my card instead of the number they left in the message, but when I looked for it, my whole wallet was missing. This is when I realized I should be worrying. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but my guess is that it fell out of my purse and an enterprising thief snatched it up.

So, I called one of my other credit card companies and my bank (debit card and check card). Neither of them had any activity. Meanwhile, Todd called the police. The police officer showed up before I had a chance to call my third credit card company (Target). He took my information and my statement and all that. So far, the only charges that had shown up were $35 at a gas station and $95 at Big Lots, which I believe had been rejected. I'm guessing someone at Big Lots caught on to suspicious activity, because otherwise I'm not sure how the credit card company knew something was off. I've never spent that much at Big Lots, but it's not unthinkable.

After the cop left, I called Target. I didn't get off work until 9:00, so this is like 11:00 at night. There was a charge of $265 made with my Target card at the Target store. The guy I talked to on the phone acted all weird about it, like he didn't believe I hadn't made the charge. He said he'd blocked my card, but I'd have to talk to the fraud department about the $265. He "transferred" me, but after two minutes, came back on the line. "The fraud department is closed," he said, telling me I'd have to call back in the morning. I asked for a direct phone number, since it had taken me forever to get through to a live person. He gave me a number. I asked what their hours were and he said, "Normal business hours- 7 to 5." So, the fraud department had been closed for over 6 hours when he put me on hold for them. I guess I should feel grateful it only took him a couple minutes to figure it out.

I called the number he gave me this morning, it gave me the option to enter an extension. Since I didn't know an extension, I didn't enter one. Then it hung up on me. I called back through the system and finally got through to the fraud department. The fraud department lady told me that the guy last night hadn't blocked my card. Susposedly, she's taken care of it now. She listed off my recent charges (which the system had already made me listen to, twice). The ones I had made, I said I had made. When she got to the $265, I said, "That's the one I didn't make." I'm feeling pretty down and I didn't sleep well last night, so I guess I wasn't speaking very loudly, but the next thing I know she's yelling, "HELLO? ARE YOU THERE?" I said I was and she was like, "Well, did you make that charge?" I said, "I said that I didn't." She said, "Well, I didn't hear you say anything." Oh well, at least it should be taken care of now.

So, I have all new credit cards and debit cards coming in the mail. I stopped by this morning (my boss let me leave work, which was nice of her) and picked up the police report, so that I could go and get a new driver's license with a new number (so someone else can't get me speeding tickets!). I forced myself to smile for the photo, so I look really freaky in the picture, like I'm pretending to be super excited about something.

I have to remember who I need to give my new driver's license number to... vehicle registration and my car insurance, I think. Then I need to buy a new wallet to put all my new cards into. So crazy. I have to think back to all the things I had in my wallet. My 10% off at Target, I had been saving, which the thief probably used! How dare he! $20 certificate at Mellow Mushroom. Todd called them and asked them to tell us if someone tries to use it. Ha! Anyway, I'm too tired to think very clearly, so hopefully this post makes sense.

I am an alien

So, I think Christy wrote a post about this once, but, you know, I'm original like that.

A lady was talking to me today in the library. She was a very nice lady and she was talking about interesting things, but I felt super awkward. Some of the time my eyes were kind of glazing over as I thought about the awkwardness. She kept on touching my arm and thanking me. I thought, that's nice for her, she's a touchy person. Then, she tried to give me a hug. So, so weird. Nice lady, I am sorry that I had to treat you like a serial killer when you tried to give me a hug. That's just not the way I roll. Insert awkward laugh.

A lot of people do that casual arm touch. I've actually caught myself doing it with one of my sisters once of twice. I'm like, "Wow, where did that come from?" It doesn't make me feel less alien-like, though, because I don't think I quite pull it off. When people do it to me, I think I kind of wince.

It's not just touchy feely stuff that makes me an alien, either. There is this careful balance between saying what's on my mind or keeping it to myself. If I start thinking about it too much, soon I've overthought it, and it's too late to say anything, or it comes out really forced. But, if I don't think about it enough, I end up just blurting something out. "I like your pants," I say in a strangely overexhuberant voice, even as I realize that I do not, in fact, like those pants. I start talking in weird self-referential circles. Commenting on the words I'm using or making fun of the fact that I misspoke without actually finishing a single thought. I can feel that I'm losing the attention of the person I'm speaking to. They don't know what the heck I'm talking about. "What's with this girl?" they're thinking. It's not that I can't pick up on social cues as much as I can't follow along with them.

Some days I get an overload of alien situations. Then, I just want to go home and go back to bed, or take a shower and wash it all away. Alien situations create more alien situations, because people who feel like aliens act like aliens. You really need to start over fresh in order to break the cycle. Now, I know my fellow aliens will sympathize with this post. Everyone else will just think it's weird.