I Got Mugged In Istanbul-Part 2
(This post was originally posted on Ms Sparky on May 21, 2008. I moved it to Blue Behind Bars when I separated my personal blog from my political blog.)
Continued from “I Got Mugged In Istanbul-Part 1-See Below
Fortunately, Cal had enough taxi fare to get us back to our hotel where there was an internet cafe. I needed to contact Wells Fargo Bank so I logged into my Wells Fargo account. I checked my accounts and and after several tries was able to contact Wells Fargo via the “International Number” and cancel my cards. It would appear I had acted quickly enough and had averted any potential damage to my accounts. So I thought.
I then contacted the US Consulate. I was so afraid I was going to be stuck in Istanbul for weeks without a passport. But, do to the large number of US Citizens needing replacement passports, the US Consulate in Istanbul is one of the few in the world that can make you a temporary passport “while you wait”.
I didn’t sleep well that night. I just replayed the mugging over and over in my head. What could I have done differently? How could I have prevented this? Why was I targeted? Who knows, but being the victim of anything is just not OK with me.
The next morning we headed out bright and early to the US Consulate across town. There was a shop owner right across the street that took passport photos….how convenient. Read more
If You Have That Kind Of Extra Money….Send It To Me!!!
(This post was originally posted on Ms Sparky on May 17, 2008. I moved it to Blue Behind Bars when I separated my personal blog from my political blog.)
Since Tiffany has been down (prison lingo for incarcerated) now for about 2 1/2 years we thought it was time to get a copy of her credit reports and see what the damage was. I figured she’s not that old….how bad could it be? And because your FICO score is tied to just about everything…employment, insurance, apartment rental, I thought it’s best to get it squared away now.
I have an account at FreeCreditReport.com (love it) so I signed her up as well. Oh My God!!!! Not only was there Identity Theft (on her), bogus accounts (not hers), there was nearly $6000 worth of traffic tickets.
$6000 WORTH OF TRAFFIC TICKETS!!!! What the hell. What a damn waste of money. For someone who has never had a traffic ticket (me) it’s like throwing your money out the window. The thought of turning my “run to the store” into a $250 or more trip, all to gain 5 or 10 minutes is incomprehensible. It’s makes that gallon of milk real expensive.
Granted, $1800 worth of those tickets is due to identity theft and we have hired an attorney to take care of that. But the rest are legit. They are hers.
I just don’t understand wasting that kind of money of traffic fines.
If you have that kind of extra money….send it to me. I can make better use of it than the State.
Do you know what your FICO score is? If you haven’t looked at your credit report lately, you may be amazed at what’s on there.
I will be blogging more about fixing Tiffany’s credit reports. I am getting to be quite the credit report pro. Feel free to ask me questions.
Ms Sparky
Christmas Is About Giving And Caring
It’s so difficult these days to teach children the art of giving and caring for others. Our society is so very “me, me, me”. Even on the children’s channels the ads are “buy me” or “eat me”. Keelen is always asking “Grandma can I have that?” Most of it is just crap. Especially the food. With Christmas on the way, it’s especially difficult. It’s a no holds barred “guilt fest”.
I am trying to teach Keelen that Christmas is really about “giving” not “getting”. Last year Keelen and I bought a toy for “Toys For Tots”. I let him pick it out. At four, I don’t think he really understood the whole concept and he had a hard time letting it go and putting it in the collection box.
This year I have been talking about it for awhile. In an effort to teach him the art of giving and caring, this is our list of things to do:
1. Buy a couple nice toys for “Toy For Tots”. (And put them in the box without crying.)
2. Donate food to our local food bank. I kind of look at this a a food savings account. You never know when we might have to make a withdrawal.
3. Sending Christmas cards and needed items to our soldiers. He just sat down and signed “Love Keelen” on 30 Christmas Cards. Click HERE to see more. (photo above)
4. Donating socks to the “Sock Drive” at the prison. It’s for the homeless not the prisoners. Actually, the prisoners have to buy their own socks.
I’m sure I can come up with something else before the “giving” season is over. Actually, the giving season should never be over.
And it’s not “gimme, gimme, gimme”. It’s “give, give, give”. There’s a big difference.
I think I have my work cut out for me.
Debbie
