It seemed like something out of a movie, our visit to the local  FBI office yesterday.  Except that it wasn’t a movie, and the office wasn’t exactly local…

Let me back up.  It’s December, and don’t you know, that seems to signal a yearly torrent of bad luck thrown our way.  Shortly after turning the page on our calendar this month, we found out (among other things) that my husband’s website (and our family’s livelihood) had been attacked.  And I don’t mean a little harmless virus or an annoying spam attack – it’s a DDoS – simply put, someone targeted this website, and essentially used thousands of computers around the world to overload this website and crash the server.  It’s enough of an incident to capture both the interest of the local media and the FBI, both of whom politely requested interviews yesterday.  So we drove out to the city, found the government building that houses the FBI offices, walked inside and checked with the doorman who wanted to know who we were there to see.

“I have an appointment with Mr. X at the FBI (name changed for privacy).” said my husband, and once it was confirmed that he was on the list, the doorman stated that he “would get us up.”  He led us to the elevator and punched in a special code – can’t just push the floor number for the FBI these days it seems.  We got off the elevator and waited around for a few minutes, entertained by the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted posters.  One in particular caught my husband’s eye.  “Doesn’t that look like our neighbor?”  He asked me, and I had to agree.  I began to read the description and was surprised to see that it did seem to describe our neighbor – he’s into sports like golf and dirt-biking, and it’s strange because my husband and I would often notice the neighbor packing up his car for weekend trips and coming back, unloading things like helmets, golf clubs, and lots of other sporting equipment.  Such is life when you don’t have kids, we thought, and I guess you should know that the reason we pay so much attention to this neighbor’s activities is because he happens to have a nasty cat that terrorizes our neighborhood.  So while keeping tabs on that darn cat, we’ve observed some of our most wanted neighbor’s behavior.  The kicker of this whole coincidence is that the Wanted-by-the-FBI guy was listed as possibly having bi-sexual tendencies, and that fits in with what we’ve seen about our neighbor as well.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s him, but it was an entertaining wait, to say the least.

So then an agent comes out of a door and asks if we’ve been helped.  We said not yet and repeated the name of the agent we were there to see.  We were led to a door, and there was a sophisticated series of security measures that the man went through to enter (not going to repeat them here on the internet out of respect for the security of the FBI – not that I even knew what he was doing anyway).  In this small waiting area, there was a metal detector, which began to go crazy every time this guy went near it – I forgot to mention that he’s carrying 2 or 3 very large bags.  He disappears behind a door, and the man we were supposed to meet with appears and introduces his assistant – a lady carrying a notepad, a pen, and oh yeah, I shouldn’t forget to mention the large gun she was packing tucked into the back of her skirt.  What kind of assistant is that?!?

Two of the most famous fictional FBI agents in pop culture history: Agents Mulder and Scully from the X-Files.  Ok, so our agents were not Mulder and Scully, but I couldn’t resist making the comparison.

So we go into a conference room of sorts, and the interview begins.  The agent and his assistant are not unfriendly, and they want to know the facts of the case.  They are both taking notes, but probably most surprising to us is the absence of laptop computers –  these FBI guys (from the cyber crimes division) are taking notes with pens on Steno pads, and that’s not even a joke.  But it is hilarious.

The entire day had a Men in Black-like feel…  If you’ve seen the movie, then you remember the part where Will Smith is recruited to be a man in black – he goes to this bland looking government building that turns out to be very sci-fi on the inside with all the security measures and things like that.  Such was the case here – lots of doors, signs about authorization, keypads, things like that, very sci-fi, and my husband told the agent so at the end of the interview.  Mr. X seemed to chuckle (we wondered on the way home, are FBI agents trained to drain themselves of personality?), and he told us that we could just take the elevator back downstairs, no special code needed – thanks for the advice.

All in all, a very interesting trip.  Made me want to do things like see Salt (a movie about the FBI) or read Special Agent: My Life on the Front Lines as a Woman in the FBI again.  Did the FBI interview do any good for my husband’s business?  We don’t know yet.  It depends if they catch the people who are doing it.  The FBI disclaimed several times that it doesn’t seem as if the damages the business has incurred will be recovered, and we of course are praying otherwise.  Whatever happens, this is part of learning to trust God’s plan for us, isn’t it?  Easier said than done.  I’m really hoping that the stress on my husband dissipates soon…

And oh yeah, a little souvenir from the FBI (the property we gave them was received and not seized, in case you are wondering):

It seems like I have been getting sick a lot lately. Last Friday, I felt terrible after working all day. I had to call and let my leaders know that I wasn’t going to be at my first Bible study lesson! I didn’t feel any better by Saturday, but I was not going to miss a seven hour work day either, not when we need that money. I didn’t stay the entire time. I left two hours early, after I got sick from my lunch. Sunday, I stayed home and did nothing, just so I could be well enough to go to work on Monday. By Monday, I was fine. I was up and about, nothing wrong at all. HA! Now I have no voice and a cough that keeps my voice from coming back. Well, that and having to try and talk at work. That’s always fun to do. I have had no voice sine Tuesday night and it’s now Saturday. Thankfully, that is the only thing wrong and isn’t keeping me from work.

Tony is also sick, though he doesn’t want to admit it. He insisted on going to work yesterday after waking up with a fever. I am pretty sure he will go to work tonight also. True, his fever had gone down by the time he had to go to work, but it came back. I could feel it. I guess he’s just stubborn, not that I’m not. 🙂 We are very stubborn people. One of the many reasons I love him.

Hopefully, Amie doesn’t get sick from us. She can’t get miss any work any any more than Tony and I can. We have a house full of poor people who need to work and need insurance. Though Amie will be able to get that soon enough from her work. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to get it from Goodwill when I am working more with my head cashier position, which I start training for today! Pray that everything goes well.

I finally have internet, so hopefully, I will be writing more often. I was working two jobs for awhile, just so we could pay bills and get food. I was working at KFC with Tony and at Goodwill. Thankfully, that is over with now. I was getting very stressed and Goodwill offered one of my co-workers a promotion. She took it, which gave me her job. I would be working the morning shift which would give me close to 30 hours a week, which was what I needed! For a couple of weeks now I have been working the morning shift, but wait…there is more to my tale! I am being promoted as well! Kelsey is now head cashier and starting Saturday, I will begin my training for head cashier! That will give me at least 35 hours a week! Which definitely helps since Tony and I now have four cats in our house.
Padme is not happy with us, but I am hoping that she will calm down after a week or so. If she doesn’t, they will have to go back, but she calmed down after we brought home Beru, so we are hoping that she will calm down with Darth and Chewie soon enough. I love them all, but Padme is my baby! She is so spoiled and I know it’s my fault, but I cannot make myself regret what I have done with her.

In a couple of weeks, my little baby and her sister, Beru, will be getting fixed and I (and Tony) are hoping that Padme will become calmer and want to cuddle again. That is one of the things I miss from when she was a kitten. She loved to cuddle. Now, she loves to play. I have to say that that is all right too. I get plenty of picture opportunities from that. Though, of course, at the moment, she is being grumpy and anti-social.

Tony and I now have a roommate. Amie has move and is spoiling my little babies. Not that I need any help with that any!

Well, I guess that is the main things to update, since my lap is being occupied by one of my kittens, which makes it a little difficult to type.

I often wonder if I will ever get lost in my thoughts and not be able to find the way out. I tend to think about some strange things when I should be getting some sleep. I have a feeling that this is the main cause of all my sleep problems. I just can’t turn my brain off long enough for sleep to come easily. I tend to stay away until I can no longer function.

Maybe my body clock doesn’t conform with the standard 24 hour day. Maybe I’m really a night person and should be working a 2nd or 3rd shift job. Maybe I just think too much. Hmmm I need to think on this.

I’ve worked both 2nd and 3rd shift jobs, but I had the same problem with sleeping. I never seemed to get enough until the days I had off. Sleeping late wasn’t what I intended to do, but I slept late because that gave me my 8 or 9 hours of sleep.

I’ve been involved in a sleep study, but never one that would allow me to ‘set’ my body’s clock. I think that may be an interesting study. I don’t think I would mind finding that out. That could explain the times I feel like sleeping and those times that I don’t. I’ll have to keep that in mind if I ever see that sort of study in the area.

And of course I could think too much. The various ramblings on this blog and other places tend to show I have a lot on my mind. I could talk about all subjects, but there are a couple that I stay away from just because I really don’t want any conflict on this blog. Maybe I should start another blog or two under other assumed names for controversial subjects. Now that may be able to clear a thought or two from my mind to let me sleep.

Goodwill has not opened officially yet, but they have gotten us back to work and hired seven new people. At the moment, I am putting clothes onto racks while everyone else is filling up racks and sorting clothes. Working full-time is a different experience and after working just one week at full0time, I am not used to it. My legs have finally stopped hurting after work, but my feet still hurt after only a couple of hours walking around. I have gotten very lazy around the house right now, since standing on my feet after work is very difficult to stand in front of the sink for about 15 minutes. By the time I am finally used to the full-time, eight hours on my feet, I will be back to my cashier position with only a couple of days a week and even less hours a day. 🙁 I was supposed to be either working in the back as a full-time sorter or going through the housewares, but that for some reason didn’t work out. Then I was going to be a head cashier, but that didn’t pull through either. I am not sure why, since Sarah, the manager, said to everyone who had be hired back that we would get first pick because we had waited so long to be back to work. Obviously, that did not happen for me and I am still a cashier. I  am full-time at the moment, up until the store opens, and then my hours will be cut.

Because of all the bills Tony and I have building up, I will have to find something else to do as well. Tony’s hours are being cut at KFC because they are not staying open as late and we keep having bills added to our already long list of bills. Next month, we have to add the electric bill to out list and then probably shortly after that, we will start paying rent for the house. We are staying at his parents’ old house and thankfully, they weren’t making us pay anything because I was not getting a lot of hours at work. Then, when Sarah and Sue went to work at the new store, I started getting more hours at the outlet store, so we had to get the gas in our name and start paying that. Once again, things changed for the worse, Sarah and Sue had to stop working at the new store because things became a standstill, so they came back to work and my hours were once again cut. We are hoping that things will change, that we can find jobs, either a second job or one that is full-time that will help us through this tough time. We are willing to stretch our food, just to make sure our cat and frog will be comfortable and have enough food. Our animals are so important to us and we want them to be happy. 🙂

I like to play with computers. Both hardware and software. I like to take them apart and then put them together again. My first computer was one I put together from bits and part. I’ve added this and that, played with software and hardware. And since I work in the computer field, it is like getting paid to practice my hobby.

Many times I’ve helped friends with their computers. I’ve replaced hard drives, installed software, added memory and video cards for friends. There are times when they want to pay me for the things that I do. I feel a bit strange about taking money for helping my friends. I never know how much to ask or accept. After all, I am again getting paid for something I would do for fun.

Funny as in strange, my wife had the same problem. She was very good with everything involved in thread, yarn and material. She enjoyed working and creating with these things. Again she would help out friends when they needed a bit of sewing, knitting or some other needlecraft done. She often wondered about how much to accept or charge when friends wanted to pay her.

I have no such worries when I go to work. I know what I get paid to do my work. Why would I think that something less than my hourly rate is to much too charge for computer work. Someday I may figure it out.

Don’t I wish!! At work I have a Major project again or is that still. I need a break!!! I’ve scheduled time off between Christmas and New Years, but that is still over 1 month away. Oh what fun.

Time…. If I could save time in a bottle, and words could make wishes come true… (Jim Croce “Time in a Bottle”) Again, something I would wish for. Just a little more time.

Longer… Longer than there’ve been stars up in the heavens… (Dan Fogelberg “Longer”) Yep, longer than that and still.

Day… One more day, one more time, one more sunset, maybe I’d be satisfied (Diamond Rio “One More Day”) But then again….

Life… I know I’ll often stop and think about them, In my life I love you more (Lennon/McCartney “In my life) Like now maybe?

Sanity… I’m not crazy, I’m just a little unwell. I know right now you can’t tell (Matchbox 20 “Unwell”)
Sometimes life just goes that way.

Reminiscing … The memories come along Older times we’re missing Spending the hours reminiscing (Little River Band “Reminiscing”) Yep, been doing a lot of that.

Why all the songs. Many with special meanings to me, some I just like the words, but today they all project just a little bit of what I am thinking. Much easier sometimes to use the words of others, when they match your thoughts.

Does anyone view the videos I post?  There have been no comments at all on either the Godtube one I posted two weeks ago, nor on the Archie videos.  Are they just uninteresting?  No time maybe?  I’m thinking of posting more videos, but if no one watches them then there’s probably no point.

As for this site, I suspect if I continue it will have to undergo a name change.  Now that I am no longer on a track to teach, at least for now, I am not likely to go back to subbing.  I usually enjoy it, but it really doesn’t pay the bills.  If I was capable of running an online business in addition to it I would probably continue, but I have to find a real job, doing what is still to be determined.  I still believe God was trying to tell me something those years ago when I was reading an article about teachers. I can only trust that if it wasn’t to be a teacher, then that something is still out there waiting for me to determine what it is.

I have been finished with babysitting since Wednesday. I left and spent the night at my boyfriend’s grandma’s house for two nights. Let me telling you, these children really drain you. With the first child to arrive at 5:30 in the morning and the last two children to leave is between 8:00 and 10:00 at night, it is a long and tiring day, but to do so for an entire month almost, it was so tiring, especially since I do not really sleep that well anyway. Sometimes I feel like I was not really helping my friend, but she insists that I did a lot to help her out, and she did not know what she would have done if I had not agreed to help her out. I had to take about three classes so I was qualified to help, but apparently my friend really appreciated my help, and I am glad that I was such a help to her. That is why I went over there anyway. She wanted my help and after I met some of those kids, I could not leave her by herself, they really start gettin on one’s nerves and just grate them against themselves. I really do not know how my friend’s mom can handle it, but this is what she said she wanted to do, and that is what she is doing now. I love kids, but after helping my friend babysit these five kids, I am really wondering if I want any of my own. There was one little girl that was a sweetheart, but I know that not all children are like she is. Maybe I will want some of my own, but of course not until I am married and even then, not until at least a year into the marriage so I can have that time to work on making my marriage stable and steady to be able to put children into the mix.

Somewhere along the way I missed Monday.  Not really, but today seemed like a carbon copy of yesterday.  The problems that came up at work were the typical Monday problems.   Seems like people go away from their job for the weekend, and forget where they were on Monday.  Today was Tuesday, but it seemed like some of the things I had to deal with were the Monday issues.  Maybe people took an extra day for the weekend, and were getting back into the swing of things, I’m not sure.  I just know I don’t like work weeks with two Mondays.  I hope tomorrow is actually Wednesday.