a ray of hope
in an attempt to finally resolve the issues going on with my bank(s), i had to head in to the branch yesterday and speak with a real! live! PERSON! (shocking in this digital age, but it had to be done). on the way in to the branch, a panhandler was stationed near the door, leaning against a post, and soliciting all who walked by for some help getting some food. he flung the same plea towards me, and i laced my answer with the frustrations i've been swimming in since this whole fraud thing started. i told him, "if i can get money out of this bank, i'd be very happy to help you out." he smiled wide and wished me luck.
45 minutes later, i left the bank, more frustrated than ever, and sans any cash in hand. the guy looked at me hopefully, and asked "how'd it go?" i gave him a sad look and shook my head, and he did something unexpected... he offered me money. he said that he had made ten dollars so far, and that i could have five. i smiled and said that was okay, he should keep it, but he shook his head and told me to take it. i insisted that i would be able to work things out, and he sent me off with an encouraging, "tomorrow will be a good day!".
wow. i couldn't help but feel good about this guy... not that i condone the begging part, but a little slice of sunshine in a cloud of frustration is never a bad thing.
current mood: inspired

to call me lucky would be a gross understatement
i'm sitting in the kitchen, having my dinner made for me, but that's not why i love him. my car has new shoes and some new oily blood, thanks to a valentine's day come early, but that's not why i love him. he made dinner for me AND my pregnant-sans-hubby (who's in the mid east, keeping the soldier's teeth in line) bestest girly-friend, steak and lobster on valentine's day... but THAT'S not why i love him. and, i came home to a house full of hershey kisses, flowers, teddy bear, more chocolate, messages on my bathroom mirror, and: CLEAN DISHES... THAT may be why i love him so much. he knows how to sweep me off my feet. chocolate and flowers are nice, but new tires! (gasp!!) AND an empty sink! (SWOON!!)
current mood: very cared for

like night and day
i noticed an odd charge in my debit account over the weekend, and decided to call the bank today to see if they could shed any light on the matter. i had been wracking my brain, trying to remember if i had made any purchases on friday (only a few days ago, mind you) that would have resulted in the description line in my account reflecting anything "gunworks", as it does now. after coming up short on recall, i thought the bank would be able to give me more information than the mysterious string of letters shown online: POS DEBIT STAR S GUNWORKS ASHBY SD
after coaxing the telephone banker to look a little farther than what i could see, and suggesting that perhaps the SD actually stood for south dakota, and not san diego as she was insisting, she was finally able to come up with a phone number for the alleged point of transaction, and she insisted that i call the company and ask why they felt it was okay to charge $20 on my account... like that's my job?!
ON THE OTHER HAND: this morning, i also noticed a $20 charge on a different credit card, from a different bank, from a different unrecognizable company name... this time U NAME IT (ha, right) in buffalo, alabama. calling THAT bank resulted in them immediately advising me to cancel the card and referring me directly to the fraud department.
NOW I ASK YOU: which company deserves my business more? and who the heck has my card and address information?! on an interesting development, i did call the number that the first bank provided me as the point of sale contact, and it turns out that the number is for Chattahoochee Gunworks in ALABAMA. Address listed is a residential home in phenix city, AL. ... i'm considering going out there and getting my $40.
current mood: grr, what a pain!

the universe provides
i have a friend who has taught me quite a bit about taking the universe in to account when trying to carve your path in life. her solution to most of life's problems was to put it out there to the universe, and see what answer it came up with before jumping to any conclusions on your own. a lot of times, we'd draw a picture or write down our best possible outcomes in order to help guide the universe in its work to manifest our fate. but sometimes the universe has its own ideas, and if you're lucky, you are made aware that your wish is actually coming true.
this morning, my facebook status was the following: "brittan would like to win the lottery, please and thank you." i'm not exactly a lottery player, so to win would require some effort on my part (in addition to those emails notifying me of all the millions of pounds i seem to have miraculously won in the UK, of course). but more i was expressing a worry about financial belt-tightening, as february and march are shaping up to be some expensive months for me. valentine's day, fundraisers, baby shower(s), the dominican republic all seem to have dibs on my moola before i do, and i tend to worry about money more than anything else in my life. but, the universe has put the virtual note-in-my-lunchbag to tell me not to worry: walking out of the on-campus convenience store this morning, i picked up a dime from the ground. a few feet later, i found another, and then one more before getting to the stairs. it reminded me of my graduation day from college, when my dad found a nickel and then, later, a dime on his way to my ceremony, and remarked "this is a good day... i made fifteen cents!". i was feeling good about making double that this morning, and when i just ran downstairs to grab a little pick-me-up diet coke for the afternoon, i found one more. 40 cents up for the day, i got back to my office to a blinking voicemail light, and a message from an on-campus colleague offering to pay for my program fees for the dominican. (!!!) it's not the lottery, but believe me when i say i appreciate that the universe would like to invest $600 in me.
current mood: thankful... and excited!!

when it comes to fashion...
i am one who it can be said that i have a definite style. what that style is exactly defined as is a totally different story. more than a few times this past week, i've had the funny feeling that i was looking ... not normal. not that the fashion choices i was making were "bad", necessarily, but perhaps a better word would be "themed". last week, i had a few moments of niggling recognition of ___________ (something?), and by the time i reached the office, i knew what that something was. Thus followed the solicitation from my colleagues, which usually went something like:

colleague: "i like your outfit today" or "oh, you look cute"
b*: "thanks... do i look like i could be a part of ABBA?" or "yeah, i seemed to have dressed like mister rogers today."
colleague: "hmmm, now that you say that... totally."

don't get me wrong, i'm not complaining; i don't find putting an outfit together a chore at all. but as mo said, "britt doesn't just get dressed in the morning, she puts on her costume for the day."
well said, my friend. i guess there are worse things to be known for.
current mood: change your outfit, change your life!

oh hey there, february
i didn't see you come in...