The Enemy Within

The New Place

For four years, I lived in a large apartment complex right across the street from 3M’s corporate HQ. The apartments were originally built to house 3M employees who were there on long term assignments. People lived there for years, often 20+. The last year that I lived there was a nightmare, though. There was an armed robbery, thefts of personal property off of balconies and from storage areas within the building. The final straw came when I had to call the police when two men were threatening each other with guns out in the parking lot one night. One of them lived in my building.

The old place

So I moved about five miles away, to a new townhouse in a much safer environment, or so I thought. I filled out my application for a credit check to prove that I paid my bills, giving my SSN and other information. I had friends who moved in there who did not have such a positive experience. They paid their first month’s rent, signed the lease and moved in. When their bank statement came through, the check to the management company had been altered; the name of the management company had been crossed out. In its place was the name of the assistant manager. She also endorsed the back of the check. When questioned about it, she said, it was no big deal, since she worked for the company. That was not a satisfactory answer for my friend, whose wife is in Utah right now. She went to the bank, got a copy of the check and faxed it to the Management company and asked just what was going on.
Obviously something WAS going on. They started to look at the reports and bank statements and found a severe shortage. (If they had been more on the ball, they would have caught it sooner.) The employee was questioned, arrested, and put into jail.
It seems that every day brought new discoveries. I got a phone call on Tuesday saying that my November rent check was missing. Mine, and several others never made it to the management company or the bank. I guess she was getting bolder and just resorted to outright stealing the checks this time. I don’t know what she was thinking, that she wouldn’t get caught?
But it’s thrown things into a tizzy for me. I put a stop payment on the check immediately. But since the original check has not been found, things are still not settled. The police searched her apartment, but none of the missing checks were found. So, the question has to be, is someone else involved here who might be in possession of a check with all my banking information on it?
She is guilty of forgery and identity theft. I cannot assume otherwise. With the information from the credit application and the banking information from my check, she could do a lot of damage in my name. So yesterday I closed out the old account, opened a new one and then proceeded to call all the people who had permission to take money from my account, such as Qwest, PayPal, my investment people, and the IRS. The last is a bit scary, since it takes a while to process such requests. But the last thing I want to do is have the government think I am trying to get out of paying a small tax bill.
I also have to contact all the Credit Reporting agencies and put a freeze on my credit, and then go buy a new paper shredder. My old one gave up the ghost a while back and I got lax in destroying old receipts, etc. I had to order new checks. I got the management company to spring for them, since I had just bought new ones for when I moved. I go for goofy ones, and these have a Where the Wild Things Are theme.
After all the reading about identity theft that I had done, as well as keeping up with various phishing scams, I thought I was safe. I never buy online from unsafe people, only vendors I trust, such as Amazon.
It turns out the enemy within, without a gun or physical threats, has put me a lot more jeopardy than I ever thought.

Birthdays

Kayla

Yesterday was Breanna’s sixth birthday. She celebrated with her friends at Chuck E Cheese and I sent her some homemade socks and other goodies. I am waiting for pictures from her mom, which will be coming soon.
But today I am celebrating the birthday of my other granddaughter, Kayla. She turns 13 today. My daughter, Heather, was 17 and unmarried and wise enough to know that she did not have the resources to raise a child on her own. I was still reeling from my divorce and barely holding my head above water, financially or emotionally. The young man involved was not even ready to acknowledge paternity, let alone take over any responsibility for her welfare, or have any sort of ongoing relationship with Heather or his daughter. By the time he got around to admitting that he could have fathered this child, it was too late. Decisions had already been made. He signed over his rights without much resistance. Heather has seen him once or twice since then and had to mightily restrain herself from going over and knocking his block off.
It was a tough decision to make, and one of the most heart wrenching memories I have is the day that we gave her to Robert and Michelle to raise. It was supposed to be an open adoption, and for three years it was. We saw her several times and took lots of pictures. She was a beautiful little girl and her parents loved her. So did we. She was being raised by two loving parents who had two older boys, also adopted, and lots of animals all around. Even though we lived a few miles from each other, we respected their boundaries and tried to not interfere with her upbringing. Michelle is an excellent mother, and she works very hard at providing the best she can for her children.
And then things changed. Robert and Michelle got a divorce, then Michelle took the kids and moved several states away. We corresponded for several years more. We sent Christmas an birthday presents. Kayla has known from the beginning that she is adopted. She has pictures of her and Heather from when she was younger.
I don’t’ know what happened about seven years ago. I know that Michelle stopped responding to emails, and then stopped sending pictures. Did she feel threatened by Kayla’s independence? Did she become afraid that one day in a fit of anger, Kayla would want to come live with Heather? I don’t know. I do know that from our side, that Heather never ever considered that as an option. She has abided by her decision from day one. We would have sent her right back to Michelle.
So, today my thoughts are with Kayla. I wonder what she looks like now? Is she a typical teen ager, interested in lots of things with her friends? Is she still taking dancing lessons? What subjects does she like in school? Does she like school? What are her dreams and hopes for the future? Does she still live in a household with lots of animals?
I know where she lives. I found Michelle online last year, living in a small town in Washington. Robert is also living up there, too. I don’t know whether they are together or not. I wrote a letter to Michelle last year, and it was returned. It was a friendly, non-threatening (I hope) letter wishing her well and updating her on the rest of the family. It was returned to me. I sent it to Robert. I don’t know if he got it or what. I just know that it was not returned. I really don’t want to intrude on her privacy, but I wonder what my granddaughter is up to these days.

Church Service

Jody, (the Prez), Linda (Education) , Diane (Personal Enrichment), and Me (Secretary)

I haven't written much about my church calling, though it is a big part of my life. About 13 months ago, I was called into the stake Relief Society presidency. Since we Mormons haven't a paid ministry, people are called to serve from within the community. You don't volunteer for a calling. A ward is a geographical area composed of about 500 people and is presided over by a bishop and his two counselors. A stake is made up of 10 to 12 wards or branches (a unit smaller than a ward). I live in the Oakdale stake, which is made up of 11 branches,half of which are in Wisconsin, since we are right on the border. You generally don't get to choose which ward you will attend. You are assigned, based on where you live. It makes sense, since you worship and serve those who live in your area. In Utah, wards can be a few blocks long by a few blocks, wide, but out here, they are way bigger.

Anyway, it was a bittersweet calling, since that meant our previous stake Relief Society president was being released, due to being overcome by a brain tumor. She died this past February. The new president, Jody, is way cool. She's a bit shy by nature, but so grounded and sensible. Her counselors, Diane and Susan are really great ladies. We work hard and laugh hard, too. Since our stake is so big and we have to do visits on a regular basis, we carpool often and have a great time.

Our main function is to support the leadership in the wards and branches and help them strenghten their organization. I love meeting the women in the other areas. I am amazed and impressed with them and their love and welcoming spirit. This is a huge organization that focuses on educating and supporting women in today's society.

My First Norwiegan Sweater

In the winter of 2005, I took a sweater knitting class and did my first sweater in the round. It's actually three tubes, a main one for the body and two for the sleeves. Then everything gets put together and the yoke is knit. This is a traditional pattern with the roses and all. I made it in Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride yarn.

I learned a lot, but the neatest part is that it is wearable.

This will be my third winter wearing it. In this picture, I am with my nephew Kevin and his wife Emily, who came to visit when I was in Ohio in the spring of 2006.

Sweaters and Socks in The Cities

Here are last year's projects from Christmas. I went all out for the grandchildren.
I made Bre a multicolored turtleneck sweater.

And Jordyn and Liam got dinasour sweaters!

Just a quick posting of some of my other socks. It's turned cold here, and so I have an excuse to wear them every day. I need to get a few more pairs done, but am so busy with Christmas knitting that I won't get to them until after the holidays. I have so much yarn that I have put myself on a yarn diet. Now new yarn until ........ but then there is this gorgeous new sweater pattern that I have ordered.

About my sock yarn. There is an online company called KnitPicks. I am always ordering from them. Their prices are reasonable, and the yarn holds up. Both of these pairs of socks are probably four or five years old and have worn well. They are good every day socks.

So many patterns, so much yarn and so little time!

Socks in The Cities

I have made many (over 30) pairs of socks in the past few years. I have given most of them to others. But now I am going to record some of them for posterity. This is a pair that I just finished for my grand daughter, Bre. They are for her 6th birthday, which is next week. They go into the mail later today. I used a fun yarn from KnitPicks, 100% merino, which makes them extra soft. Another unusual feature is the Eye of Partridge heel that I did this time. It's a new pattern, but extra simple. Now if I can just get this program to cooperate and download it.

I Knew It!

Don't You Marry the Moromon Boys is already being recognized as a special book. Janet received word yesterday (release day) that it has been chosen as finalist by USA Book News for an award in the religious fiction category. She gets to put this stamp on copies. This is so cool for all of us. Go Janet!
More at her blog http://janetkayjensen.blogspot.com/