Moot Thoughts & Musings

Yesterday I was feeling pretty awful, but then I thought to myself "you know, you're being pretty selfish for being so stressed out". And managed to pull myself together. I think stress is largely a self-control issue. I mean self-control in the good sense, at least how I'm using it hear. Like the kind you have when you don't throw a tantrum in the grocery store when your favorite kind of potatoe chips are sold out. Don't get me wrong, stress is real and valid, but we have to deal with it, because if God has given us a task to do, He will also give us the grace to do it. The sun has come out after weeks of rain, and that helps, too.

Anyway. So I left school early yesterday so that I could go to the grocery store. We were so out of food, since I hadn't gone in nearly two weeks. Steaks were onsale, and I was thinking that maybe some red meat would perk us up a bit. So I had my mouth set on steak and baked potatoe dinner. But as I got to through the checkout, my debit card was denied. I knew we had sufficient funds, so I tried again, and again it was denied. I tried to get cash out the ATM, and again, denied. Well, I knew something was wrong, because I mean, we're not rich or very well organized, but we know if we're getting close to empty. So I had them put my groceries in the cooler and went home. Thank goodness for banking online. We looked up our account, and saw several large transaction in the very recent past that more than cleaned out our bank account. We called the bank and found that they were made from Gainesville, FL, where I was this past weekend. But I know I didn't make them. I don't know how someone got my card number. I was very careful with my things all weekend. The only thing I can think of is if someone got ahold of my number the two times I purchased something with it, once at Starbucks and the other a pizza joint. Well, anyway. That was distressing to behold. New debit cards are ordered. And we're in conversation with our bank and trying to track down where exactly at the Univ of Florida those purchases were made (since all that shows up is the U of Fl). And our church is lending us a little money for gas and groceries until we get this straightened out. Phwew. It's so crazy, this world!! It's also kind of a weird feeling, because I've never really been robbed at this magnitude before...it's around $400...wh. isn't a lot in normal people's terms, but in our terms it's almost a month's rent! So the sting factor is a bit high.

Well, best turn my attention to the language of the ancients, and Boethius' consolation... exspoliatum propriis bonis esse doluisti...sed sospitatis auctori grates