Took the kiddos in to karate this morning since I hadn't done it all summer and so that Steve could get a jump on his end of the hurricane prep.
Rain started gently falling at 10:15 in Old Town and I headed home, with one more errand en route and a quick stop at my mom's place to make sure all downspouts and drains are clear.
I returned home hopeful to find hurricane prep list almost done. Came home to find a less than aggressive push on the to do list, which was quickly remedied by some mama hollerin' and some quick steppin' from the kiddos who jumped into the fray like troopers. All last minute items were done in less than an hour. Woo-hoo! Go team Otto!
Last of the pool deck furniture in - check
Pool hoses, chemicals and various minutia secured - check
Oil lamps filled and ready - check
Hanging plants down - check
Random tools and toys brought in from back and front yard - check
Bikes secured - check
Dry well pump on - check
Sump pump working - check (with fingers crossed that the ancient well hangs in there for one more storm before crumbling to bits or getting repaired this Fall.)
Chain saw gassed up and ready with easy access - check
Dogs hunkered down in the Master Bedroom - check
*shew*
Play Doh is out and inside play in progress, and mama gets to sit down for a breath before fixing lunch. As Steve just said - "Our deck and porch have never looked so good. If only it stays that way through the storm and after."
We are done and inside for the duration, I hope.
That said - I do believe (and hope) that all is for naught. My gut is telling me that the Weather channel is waaaayyyy over-hyping this storm. Anything to feed the 24 hour news beast. I am calling it now, that we will get rain (lots), wind (lots) and probably power outage from downed tree limbs, but not much more than a bit of water in our laundry room, which happens whenever it rains super hard.
This is a category 1 hurricane, at its most a category 2. While significant, it shouldn't bring about the widespread devastation of Katrina, Andrew, Charley, or for a more realistic comparison Hurricane Gloria. Gloria was a category 4 hurricane that hit the Outer Banks in 1985 and bounced up the Eastern Seaboard, fairly similar to the projected path of Irene, hitting all up the Washington-Boston Corridor and beyond. Eight people died and over $1.8 BILLION in damage in today's dollars. THAT was the hurricane of a lifetime, or at least of a generation. Category 1 or 2, just off shore from DC, not so much, I am hoping.
Is it a big storm? Yes. Will there be lots of damage up the East Coast? Yes. Is it the storm of a lifetime? No, I think not. Talk to folks in New Orleans or Haiti to be reminded of a storm of a lifetime.
Well, I hope I didn't just jinx us.
This is Staci, reporting live from Casa D'Otto. Warm and dry for now. More later.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Hurricane Hysteria Updates
Hey family and friends -
Since I can post to the blog more easily via text than I can to Facebook, I will be keeping updates here on what local news is saying about rainfall, wind and potential storm force in our 'hood specifically. There is a lot of hysterical news out there, but right now, the impact on our specific neck of the woods isn't terror inducing.
As of 9:33, Friday morning, forecasts of the current track mean Casa D'Otto could get anywhere between 1 -6 inches of rain and experience sustained winds of 30-35 with gusts up to 50-60. Basically Tropical Storm forces, but not hurricane strength.
Now this is nothing to sneeze at, but also nothing to lose sleep over either. That said, a very minor jag in the storm track to the West and we could experience significantly more weather. A jag to the East and significantly less. So there you have it. Preparation goes on as if we are going to get hit full force, but expectations of major damage at Casa D'Otto remain low.
Will keep you updated. And if anyone wants to come over and help clean gutters on Sat. morning, we'd be happy to have you!
For anyone outside our area (I'm looking at you Larry) who wants regular feed to DC weather updates, on Facebook - friend Capital Weather Gang as they have timely and frequent updates of local neighborhood activity during storms.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/hurricane-irene-frequently-asked-questions/2011/08/26/gIQAsIFsfJ_blog.html
Since I can post to the blog more easily via text than I can to Facebook, I will be keeping updates here on what local news is saying about rainfall, wind and potential storm force in our 'hood specifically. There is a lot of hysterical news out there, but right now, the impact on our specific neck of the woods isn't terror inducing.
As of 9:33, Friday morning, forecasts of the current track mean Casa D'Otto could get anywhere between 1 -6 inches of rain and experience sustained winds of 30-35 with gusts up to 50-60. Basically Tropical Storm forces, but not hurricane strength.
Now this is nothing to sneeze at, but also nothing to lose sleep over either. That said, a very minor jag in the storm track to the West and we could experience significantly more weather. A jag to the East and significantly less. So there you have it. Preparation goes on as if we are going to get hit full force, but expectations of major damage at Casa D'Otto remain low.
Will keep you updated. And if anyone wants to come over and help clean gutters on Sat. morning, we'd be happy to have you!
For anyone outside our area (I'm looking at you Larry) who wants regular feed to DC weather updates, on Facebook - friend Capital Weather Gang as they have timely and frequent updates of local neighborhood activity during storms.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/hurricane-irene-frequently-asked-questions/2011/08/26/gIQAsIFsfJ_blog.html
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Anyone need a student loan or life insurance? Because I sure don't.
Several times this Spring and Summer, I have gotten calls from various student loan companies asking to help me with student loan information "that I requested from them".
Huh?
The calls often include some fluff like...
"We know you are excited about going to college and getting your degree! Please call us back as soon as possible so that we can help you and make your school experience easier."
When I call to ask them not to call me, the call centers cannot tell me where the information came from, just that it "was from my information request on the web" which, of course I never made.
These sales folks are fairly intense, as phone marketers are want to be, and persistent to the point of being obnoxious and rude. Several times a day, from several different call centers, I would get these solicitation calls telling me that I had requested the student loan information from them, craftily getting around the DO NOT CALL list rules allowing folks to break the do not call barrier if information is sought out by the call recipient. Argh!
In fact, quite often the Alec Baldwin/Glengarry Glenn Ross-esque closers are shooting for the steak knives and won't take no for an answer and start to ridicule me - "Hey! You are never gonna get anywhere without your college degree! You should listen to what I have to say!!"
Me: "Umm - ok chuckles - except you AREN'T LISTENING TO ME! I ALREADY HAVE A DEGREE and don't want another! And if your final hard sell is to ridicule and belittle your marks, then you ought to take your own advice and get another degree - 'cause sales ain't your thing."
Finally, I called the police to see what I could do as this seemed almost like harassment, and got the equivalent of a virtual shrug across the phone wires. Thank you Alexandria's finest.
"Have they attempted to get money from you?" No.
"Have you given them your personal information or SSN?" No.
"Then you really can't do much about it since they claim to have gotten your information online from your request. Check your credit report and make sure no one is actually taking the loan out in your name."
*sigh* Thanks, I think...
Checked our credit report and all was fine. Finally, our desperate solution was to unplug the answering machine for a month. We figured if they didn't get a live response, or answering machine, then they'd stop calling. And it worked. Somewhat. Steve's job search earlier this Summer nixed that strategy and the phone was plugged back in, much to my chagrin.
Just this week, the calls have begun again - this time for life insurance requests for information.
Huh?
I was finally able to get a person who could/would tell me where he got the information. The Kindly Eric at Bankers Life Insurance took pity on me and told me that "I had requested the insurance quotes from insureme.com at 7:14 am on 8/24."
I informed him that I didn't, in fact I was in the process of oversleeping at that time and had not been on insureme.com, nor had I ever been on insureme.com. The Kindly Eric was as puzzled as I was.
He read off the information that he had... my actual name (spelled correctly, which can be hard to do) ... my actual phone... my actual address... my age, incorrectly listed, as 22 years old (thanks fraudster!), requesting $150k in insurance.
Huh?
Now - my question is... Who (but me) would be entering my data into ANY site at 7:14 in the morning? To what purpose? Is it puckish harassment by some 15 year old programmer in the Philippines who made a webot to do this and populated it with my stolen information from some hijacked data source? Is someone trying to really steal my information - and how would they do this through a sales call center? Or is the goal just to annoy me with prank calls from unsuspecting sales people who have been fed false sales leads? I don't get it.
I finally called the FTC to register a complaint since this time I actually had some data as to where this sales call originated. Kindly FTC Lady registering complaints was all business, asking questions off a checklist and entering the data in some monstrous database, I am sure, lost in the bowels of some data storage facility in Rosslyn or Tyson's Corner. She thanked me for calling and gave me a claim number and prepared to hang up.
Kindly FTC Lady: Once again... virtual shrug. "There is nothing you can do but register the complaint. I am sorry and I understand your frustration."
Kindly FTC Lady: "We track trends and if we see something happening with a verifiable trend, then we try to act on it."
Me: Seriously? That's it? I just keep calling you back and reporting my various harassment events? There is nothing I can do but shut off my phone?
Kindly FTC Lady: "Frankly - I am sorry to say, yes. That is all you can do. That and call the police and check your credit report regularly."
Now is my turn for the shrug. So instead, I turn to the geeks in my electronic world to help me out - what is the answer? Why is this happening? Have you heard of it before? And how do I make it stop? Or is it time to shrug and unplug the phone again?
*sigh*
By the way - if anyone DOES need life insurance or student loans - let me know and I'd be happy to pass on your information. It seems the entire loan sales community has my number.
Update: Just found out that the information is being populated, at least at two of the groups, from an IP address of a known hacker/spammer from the Ukraine. 24.126.122.242 Some jerk with an email address of electronikapraha@gmail.com. Think I may use that email address from now on when filling out surveys online. Hmmm.
Huh?
The calls often include some fluff like...
"We know you are excited about going to college and getting your degree! Please call us back as soon as possible so that we can help you and make your school experience easier."
Huh?
These sales folks are fairly intense, as phone marketers are want to be, and persistent to the point of being obnoxious and rude. Several times a day, from several different call centers, I would get these solicitation calls telling me that I had requested the student loan information from them, craftily getting around the DO NOT CALL list rules allowing folks to break the do not call barrier if information is sought out by the call recipient. Argh!
In fact, quite often the Alec Baldwin/Glengarry Glenn Ross-esque closers are shooting for the steak knives and won't take no for an answer and start to ridicule me - "Hey! You are never gonna get anywhere without your college degree! You should listen to what I have to say!!"
Me: "Umm - ok chuckles - except you AREN'T LISTENING TO ME! I ALREADY HAVE A DEGREE and don't want another! And if your final hard sell is to ridicule and belittle your marks, then you ought to take your own advice and get another degree - 'cause sales ain't your thing."
Finally, I called the police to see what I could do as this seemed almost like harassment, and got the equivalent of a virtual shrug across the phone wires. Thank you Alexandria's finest.
"Have they attempted to get money from you?" No.
"Have you given them your personal information or SSN?" No.
"Then you really can't do much about it since they claim to have gotten your information online from your request. Check your credit report and make sure no one is actually taking the loan out in your name."
*sigh* Thanks, I think...
Checked our credit report and all was fine. Finally, our desperate solution was to unplug the answering machine for a month. We figured if they didn't get a live response, or answering machine, then they'd stop calling. And it worked. Somewhat. Steve's job search earlier this Summer nixed that strategy and the phone was plugged back in, much to my chagrin.
Just this week, the calls have begun again - this time for life insurance requests for information.
Huh?
I was finally able to get a person who could/would tell me where he got the information. The Kindly Eric at Bankers Life Insurance took pity on me and told me that "I had requested the insurance quotes from insureme.com at 7:14 am on 8/24."
I informed him that I didn't, in fact I was in the process of oversleeping at that time and had not been on insureme.com, nor had I ever been on insureme.com. The Kindly Eric was as puzzled as I was.
He read off the information that he had... my actual name (spelled correctly, which can be hard to do) ... my actual phone... my actual address... my age, incorrectly listed, as 22 years old (thanks fraudster!), requesting $150k in insurance.
Huh?
Now - my question is... Who (but me) would be entering my data into ANY site at 7:14 in the morning? To what purpose? Is it puckish harassment by some 15 year old programmer in the Philippines who made a webot to do this and populated it with my stolen information from some hijacked data source? Is someone trying to really steal my information - and how would they do this through a sales call center? Or is the goal just to annoy me with prank calls from unsuspecting sales people who have been fed false sales leads? I don't get it.
I finally called the FTC to register a complaint since this time I actually had some data as to where this sales call originated. Kindly FTC Lady registering complaints was all business, asking questions off a checklist and entering the data in some monstrous database, I am sure, lost in the bowels of some data storage facility in Rosslyn or Tyson's Corner. She thanked me for calling and gave me a claim number and prepared to hang up.
Me: WAIT! What do I do now? What is the next step? How should I deal with folks who can't tell me where they got the information? Have you heard of this before? How do I stop them? Why are they doing this? ..... hello?
Kindly FTC Lady: Once again... virtual shrug. "There is nothing you can do but register the complaint. I am sorry and I understand your frustration."
Me: WHAT? I feel so helpless! That is it? What do you do with the complaint that I filed?
Kindly FTC Lady: "We track trends and if we see something happening with a verifiable trend, then we try to act on it."
Me: Seriously? That's it? I just keep calling you back and reporting my various harassment events? There is nothing I can do but shut off my phone?
Kindly FTC Lady: "Frankly - I am sorry to say, yes. That is all you can do. That and call the police and check your credit report regularly."
Now is my turn for the shrug. So instead, I turn to the geeks in my electronic world to help me out - what is the answer? Why is this happening? Have you heard of it before? And how do I make it stop? Or is it time to shrug and unplug the phone again?
*sigh*
By the way - if anyone DOES need life insurance or student loans - let me know and I'd be happy to pass on your information. It seems the entire loan sales community has my number.
Update: Just found out that the information is being populated, at least at two of the groups, from an IP address of a known hacker/spammer from the Ukraine. 24.126.122.242 Some jerk with an email address of electronikapraha@gmail.com. Think I may use that email address from now on when filling out surveys online. Hmmm.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Dear John letter to the Simple Carbs in my life.
Ahhh, my beloved Carbohydrate, how I love thee!
Warm buttered rolls, noodles, tortillas, bagels, pizza crust, crackers, chips, fluffy rice, sticky rice and the bread...my Lord, the bread - in all its lovely fresh baked forms! I cannot even mention the baked goodies or I might faint from pleasure and anticipation of just a taste of you. Once I get started, I just cannot resist any of you. In so many ways you seduce me and wrap me in your yummy goodness, intoxicating me with your yeasty deliciousness. How I love thee.
But oh carbohydrate! How fickle and hateful you can be!?! Often, the mere scent of you, sets my mouth to watering, and my insulin levels rising, pounds of flesh adding on to my tiny frame before you even pass my lips. What sweet torture. You may very well be the devil.
Well Satan, I am afraid the time has come for me to send you packing. As much as I love you, I can no longer take you and your evil deliciousness. I denounce you in (most, but not quite) all of your forms! After many trials and errors with my food intake, I realize that YOU are the primary culprit keeping me from a healthier lifestyle. When I allow you into my world, I gain weight faster than Roseanne Barr and my energy levels suffer peaks and valleys like a toddler binging on snickers bars and soda.
So I have decided it is time to break up with you. Love you as I do, I need to banish you from my life. I may dally about a bit with your cousin, the Complex Carb, for items like my morning oatmeal, but you, in your simplest - most evil form, must be banished whenever possible from my diet.
Been nice knowing you - we had some good times together. I will always love you, you know. Perhaps on the rare occasion, we may have an occasional tryst, but for now, don't call me, I'll call you.
Warm buttered rolls, noodles, tortillas, bagels, pizza crust, crackers, chips, fluffy rice, sticky rice and the bread...my Lord, the bread - in all its lovely fresh baked forms! I cannot even mention the baked goodies or I might faint from pleasure and anticipation of just a taste of you. Once I get started, I just cannot resist any of you. In so many ways you seduce me and wrap me in your yummy goodness, intoxicating me with your yeasty deliciousness. How I love thee.
But oh carbohydrate! How fickle and hateful you can be!?! Often, the mere scent of you, sets my mouth to watering, and my insulin levels rising, pounds of flesh adding on to my tiny frame before you even pass my lips. What sweet torture. You may very well be the devil.
Well Satan, I am afraid the time has come for me to send you packing. As much as I love you, I can no longer take you and your evil deliciousness. I denounce you in (most, but not quite) all of your forms! After many trials and errors with my food intake, I realize that YOU are the primary culprit keeping me from a healthier lifestyle. When I allow you into my world, I gain weight faster than Roseanne Barr and my energy levels suffer peaks and valleys like a toddler binging on snickers bars and soda.
So I have decided it is time to break up with you. Love you as I do, I need to banish you from my life. I may dally about a bit with your cousin, the Complex Carb, for items like my morning oatmeal, but you, in your simplest - most evil form, must be banished whenever possible from my diet.
Been nice knowing you - we had some good times together. I will always love you, you know. Perhaps on the rare occasion, we may have an occasional tryst, but for now, don't call me, I'll call you.
Monday, August 1, 2011
And then...exhaustion sets in...
This summer has been lunacy. And I have allowed it to happen. I am exhausted and set myself up for it, like teeing up a golf shot. Too busy, as usual, and all due to my own over scheduling.
I am caught between my desire to simplify my life, and my desire to have the kids do fun things. To let them catch up on summer travel missed for the last several years while I spent 9 hours a day in the pool. And I must say I am motivated by my guilt at moving my children away from various grandparents - stationed out in the Mid West. Is it my duty to make sacrifices in order to get the kids out to see relatives that are far away? I think so.
Each trip that I have taken has been wonderful and I wouldn't have eliminated any of them, but man, am I tired! What I would eliminate is the driving, driving and more driving. To recap my travels in the last 30 days and those to come in the next couple weeks...
Shall I look forward to a September reboot of the Year of Me, and hopefully I can finish it out on a smoother path than this year so far? I doubt it. With the Little Man starting Kindergarten, me being a troop leader for Margaret's Brownie troop, and the resumption of all the sports and after school activity, I am not expecting a huge life change, but hoping for a little. So what do I do? Quit being a parent? Do nothing and sequester my children in the home after school? Or just focus on keeping the chaos as low as possible. I think I will have to choose option 3 - and keep as chill as possible, rolling with the flow.
I guess instead of limiting myself to the Year of Me, and being disappointed in myself for not completing as much as I wanted during a set amount of time, is just setting myself up for failure. I just need to take baby steps in the right direction. Keep daily trying to push forward and make things better, bit-by-bit, day-by-day. Maybe all of Dad's training was right. Take it one day at a time.
So tonight I accept the fact that I have done too much this Summer, and am not done yet. I have earned the right to be tired. So I go to bed early, and wake tomorrow with an attitude of doing the best that I can in that one day. With discipline, effort and a realistic schedule, I can get closer to keeping my sanity. I will schedule time for me, and next Summer, I will try to listen to the Best Husband Ever and make the travel schedule a little looser. Baby steps in the right direction. Good night.
I am caught between my desire to simplify my life, and my desire to have the kids do fun things. To let them catch up on summer travel missed for the last several years while I spent 9 hours a day in the pool. And I must say I am motivated by my guilt at moving my children away from various grandparents - stationed out in the Mid West. Is it my duty to make sacrifices in order to get the kids out to see relatives that are far away? I think so.
Each trip that I have taken has been wonderful and I wouldn't have eliminated any of them, but man, am I tired! What I would eliminate is the driving, driving and more driving. To recap my travels in the last 30 days and those to come in the next couple weeks...
- Starting July 4th weekend - The trip to Indiana was a lovely reminder of my childhood and definitely an eye opening experience for my totally city-fied kids. Grandma Dawn and Grandpa Gary spent a wonderful long weekend with the kids, even during an extremely trying and emotional time spent dealing with a tragic car accident involving Dawn's nephew. Despite the traumatic events, the kids were not aware of any problems and had a great time.
- The trip to Michigan was full of joy and peace too, spent with Grandma and Grandpa Otto, looking out onto Lake Huron. It makes me want to buy a home on the water and have my kids spend all summer there every year. I found myself trying to figure out ways to re-order my work life, and wire the Sue-Ann cottage for technology so that I could spend more time there next summer. Perhaps really, really relax, for once in my life. We shall see what happens next year. I was lucky enough to miss the horrific heat wave that roasted the whole country, it seemed. While others were sweating it out in 120 degree temps in DC, we were uncomfortably hot at about 88-89 degrees, but still cooled by a lake breeze.
- Dropped the kids off in Ohio on the way back to DC, so that they could spend the week at Camp Defiance (grandma's house) with all of their cousins. I drove home alone, which was actually kind of nice. But had to turn right around the next weekend to drive back and pick everyone up. *sigh*.
- This weekend, I go solo (thanks to my loving hubby) to the Outer Banks to spend the weekend with an ISR buddy who lives in Kitty Hawk.
- Then the week after, off to Seattle for Jen and Barb's wedding, with the whole family in tow!
Shall I look forward to a September reboot of the Year of Me, and hopefully I can finish it out on a smoother path than this year so far? I doubt it. With the Little Man starting Kindergarten, me being a troop leader for Margaret's Brownie troop, and the resumption of all the sports and after school activity, I am not expecting a huge life change, but hoping for a little. So what do I do? Quit being a parent? Do nothing and sequester my children in the home after school? Or just focus on keeping the chaos as low as possible. I think I will have to choose option 3 - and keep as chill as possible, rolling with the flow.
I guess instead of limiting myself to the Year of Me, and being disappointed in myself for not completing as much as I wanted during a set amount of time, is just setting myself up for failure. I just need to take baby steps in the right direction. Keep daily trying to push forward and make things better, bit-by-bit, day-by-day. Maybe all of Dad's training was right. Take it one day at a time.
So tonight I accept the fact that I have done too much this Summer, and am not done yet. I have earned the right to be tired. So I go to bed early, and wake tomorrow with an attitude of doing the best that I can in that one day. With discipline, effort and a realistic schedule, I can get closer to keeping my sanity. I will schedule time for me, and next Summer, I will try to listen to the Best Husband Ever and make the travel schedule a little looser. Baby steps in the right direction. Good night.
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