An "occasional journal update," since the blockchain is a nice place to make a permanent record of things...
First It Was the Fraud Incident
Evening wake on the Puget Sound
It has been about two weeks since we got the notification from PayPal that there had been some "fraudulent activity" on my wife's account. Next thing you know... $681 has automatically "run through" to our bank account, resulting in other payments bouncing around due to lacking funds.
Of course, PayPal is pretty good about refunding things like that, so a recovery process started pretty fast. I already wrote about that, a couple of weeks back.
But the hassle factor is huge, and it's still ongoing since now we have to jump through 47 hoops in order to recover the overdraft charges from the event. I guess they make it so difficult in hopes that people just give up and "let it slide." Seems like the entire world is set up that way...
And Then the Gallery Flooded
Me in wellies, cleaning our store
The night of 10/10 we experienced something that's a rare thing around here: A "Microburst." Strong winds with following hail and intense rain that dropped 0.77" of rain in about 30 minutes. Resulting in a small flash flood that ended in the alley behind the gallery, so we and several other stores down in our below-grade shopping arcade were thoroughly flooded.
Which, of course, immediately shut everything down.
Finally-- today, nine days later-- everything has been professionally dried out and cleaned and the store is open for the first time again. Nine days without income from that... not good.
Although the damage to the gallery is relatively minimal it is not covered by insurance because evidently there is an exception for water "from the outside." Had it been a damaged water pipe in the building we would have been fine. But since it was rain, we're hosed. Also not good.
And then the Window Broke
Red fall leaves
Then-- in the middle of all this-- for no reason at all, the inside pane of one of our large picture windows overlooking the water spontaneously burst.
I mean, just burst. 6'x6' pane of glass in 1000s of tiny pieces; nothing hit it, no earthquakes... and it's the INSIDE pane. Shattered.
Of course, the insurance doesn't cover this, either. A tree falling or a kid throwing a rock would have been fine but "mystery shattering" evidently falls under the heading of "manufacturing defects" which would have to be taken up with either the manufacturer or the company that installed the window... before we moved into the house.
Thankfully, the outer pane (since it was double glazing) is intact, so we still have a window... till we can come up with $2000 for a replacement.
And Then Steemit Seems Broken...
Red salvia
Not that it's really much of a personal thing, but on top of everything else, Steemit has been "acting wonky" for about a week.
It's just another small annoying issue in a long string of unfortunate events.
But it does have an impact because I've had to start powering down my Steemit account to help pay for all these unexpected expenses, and when I can't get to the site to make transfers... that gets annoying, too.
I'd really hoped I wouldn't have to power down-- that this could just be a gradual savings account of sort-- but that was not to be. Oh well.
Not Ranting, Just Tired...
I thought I was going to sit down and have a good rant here, but truth is that I am just tired.
It feels like being pulled in opposite directions... the load of life is ramping up, and the tools I have to meet that (in this case, mostly financial) is getting smaller and smaller.
And I find myself wondering where that's going to end. So I sit here and write... not because it's productive, but at least it's cathartic.
How is your life, these days? Leave a comment-- share your experiences and feedback-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Published 20171020 16:58 PDT
I'm really sorry to learn of all your troubles. I had known about the flooding but didn't know that it caused the store to be shut down for that long. The problems with PayPal is unfortunate and hopefully will be resolved successfully. As for Steemit... the stuff I have been reading lately is very discouraging.
They say bad things happen in sets of 3, so that's yours all done. Now things can only get better. Hang in there and soon all this will just be a memory.
As for my life... I'm a Steem junky and spend WAY too much time on here. My work is piling up and my eyes are starting to fail from too much screen time I imagine. I need to find a way to get more balance in my life. I read too slow. I type too slow and I spend a lot of time thinking of what to say; Or thinking about the things I just read. I love it here and I just spend too much of my time here.
Thanks for the kind words!
You always offer great comments and contents... and I understand about spending "too much time" on here. On the other hand, it is thanks to quality content contributors that the site remains interesting enough that it keeps attracting new users. But they do need to step up and address some of the problems...
In outside life, yes things often come in threes and I can only be hopeful that there will be some kind of turnaround soon.
That's a lot to be dealing with, seems like one after another going on here. Stay in it, and make sure to take it easy sometimes, but dont give up hope.
It must feel disheartening to have to power down in orer to help your situation. I know you're doing your best to move past this, I also run into obstacles that make me question if my efforts are worth it.
Looking forward to your next diary c: hopefully you can turn it around!
Thanks @shello-- life comes with ups and downs and I've been through downcycles before and I know we'll come out on the upside from this, as well.
Yes, it's a bummer to have been powering down-- I had dreams of just "letting it ride" for several years. On the other hand, it's a blessing that we did have this "reserve" to draw on rather than have to borrow really expensively on credit cards.
Don't you just LOVE insurance companies?
Yep... they are my favorite kinds of crooks! (not)
I'd forego it, except for landlords requiring the insurance...
Not much use in having it if it doesn't serve the intended purpose.
Note: Perhaps consider replacing the broken window with Lexan or Plexiglass?
I feel you. It's gotta be cosmic. Things have been intense over here too. Mostly stuff I can't post on here. Anyway, sending you some juju!
Might be... my wife is a life coach and she has clients calling at all hours and she keeps telling me that "everyone is going through the wringer" at the moment. I have to believe we are all connected in some way...
Appreciate the good vibes!
I believe it. At least her business is picking up I guess?
It is... but there is a slightly disturbing subtext there... record numbers of people asking for "freebie" or "sliding scale" discounts, because "I can't really afford this, right now." It's a slightly scary inside pulse of what may be going on in the greater economy...
Yikes. I do have a sense of a dark undercurrent. I am more and more often glad that I am somewhat off the grid. Ultimately I think the coming shift is positive, but it may be a shitstorm first.
Shades of that old saying "The Truth will set you free... but first it will piss you off."
😂 People have to let go of that old paradigm. Shit hurts.
Hey @denmarkguy. So sad to hear about your experiences. I can relate to all of this because my life is full of such experiences too. My son's tuition bill came the other day and the fee has increased which was quite a setback for us. Then we had to get our car fixed then some more expenses. Honestly, financial expenses and the unexpected ones are always sabotaging so I can relate to each and everything you said. My prayers and good wishes are with you. And I completely understand what you said about being tired. Sometimes when things become tough to handle, we aren't just ranting or complaining but are just tired. So I am often but it's good to see like-minded people here sharing their experiences.
Thank you for your kind words!
Sorry to hear you are also struggling with life "piling up." I am generally not one to complain about life, but I do find it very interesting to watch the patterns in the world-- and how often "bad things" happen in clusters, and then good things happen in clusters.
source: http://juliopeironcely.com/archives/5-phases-of-phd-motivation-explained-the-roller-coaster-curve.html
@denmarguy Also, you can look at my latest post, I think you will like the free video on
https://steemit.com/life/@vedernikov/six-minutes-to-success-for-steemers
You linked a good article @vedernikov! After reading it, I can feel this type of struggle is similar to something I'm going through. Thank you for sharing it!
@shello your welcome, glade you liked and happy to know it help you someway :)
It already is helping me! Thank you again ^_^
Interesting article @vedernikov, thank you... I guess these curves can all be attached together one after another to form what we call "life."
indah sekali
I feel you. It's gotta be cosmic. Things have been intense over here too. Mostly stuff I can't post on here. Anyway, sending you some juju!
I can relate to this post more then you know ---unfortunately. I too was hacked on Pay Pal and that was on my birthday! It was hell to undo the damage took 6 people to resolve. Hope things get better for you guys very soon.
Mate, I feel for you.
When it rains it pours ( definitely no pun intended).
Ain't that the truth! - the same with insurance companies - will find no problem in taking your money- but will fight tooth and nail to give you any back...
It is indeed cathartic, to write on here (if the glitchy stickiness doesn't stress you you out too much!).
I can only give you an upvote, to help out, unfortunately.
Don't let the bastards grind you down, matey.