Household Blog

No better place in the heat of August than on a mountaintop in West By-God (that’s West Virginia, perchance you didn’t know). Last weekend, I had the incredible opportunity to visit Snowshoe for their annual Symphony Weekend.

Allow me first to say that that not only is a mountaintop the best place to chill out in August, but August is likewise the best time to visit an erstwhile ski resort. Winter sports never agreed with me—I’m all knees and elbows and on my one attempt to learn to ski, my instructor actually requested that I never endanger their slopes again. I happily took his advice.

But the mountains! Oh! And the music! Oh oh!

Two full-length performances featuring the West Virginia Symphony, an incredible ensemble, a wonderful selection of music, I was beside myself. And when we weren’t being bowled over by the sounds of Elgar and Byron Adams and the lot, we were riding the chair lifts down wildflower bespeckled mountainsides, picnicking by the lake, and enjoying some well-deserved rest.

To top it all, an encounter with a black bear in the parking area, and deer everywhere! Now yes, I’m admittedly a treehugging dirtworshipper, and I have a ridiculous love for all dem critters great and small. These two species in particular have always held a place of magic and reverence in me. So I find myself out on the back porch of our little cottage, a doe and two fawns grazing far down the lawn. The doe makes her way in our direction, stopping to graze occasionally, and though I originally thought she just hadn’t seen us, she is clearly looking right at us as she approaches. She ended up about three feet from where I sat on the steps, so close I could see her breathe and smell the forest musk on her hide, hear her munching the lawn. Eventually her fawns came bounding over and they all moved on (mothers seem to think I’ll be a bad influence on their chilluns, in general), but I was breathless and dazzled with the encounter.

I’ve always gotten stupid around animals. There’s a great xkcd cartoon about it, actually. When I was a wee lass (still all knees and elbows, just on a smaller scale), I used to listen to the Disney recordings of various and sundry children’s stories, and somewhere along the way I conflated that Snow White’s secret in winning over her forest friends was in whistling sweetly and holding a finger out for the birdies to sit upon. Perhaps I felt a sympathy with our common complexion. Regardless, here am I, in full oversized dress-up regalia at age 5, attempting to whistle something vaguely reminiscent of a ditty, and chasing birds in the yard, thrusting my demurely-extended finger at them in frustrated crescendo. Poor traumatized birdies.

I like to think that my understanding of human/animal interaction has evolved. But the enthusiasm remains.

slung round my neck, a sack, stone full
pebbles and pearls pecked for the pull
	and deposited
	indebted
	undoubtedly mine
		(the finder keeper
		the dusty porch sweeper)
each wound with twine and fishing line
	accompanied wishing
	hush against each
	stone shiny-tumbled
	by lips brush
			hush

it hangs heavy on my chest
pushing down ribs
lungs fight for the lift
the breathing to shift
two years and counting
scouting for change
eyes on the tree line
and looking for rain
I lean on my broom
                        no rush

counting still
count with each brush
one hand entwined
the wickery thrush
wish out this rhyme
there is time
there is time

Yep. Mean people suck. This week at the Purple House, I almost fell prey to an online scam. We have all heard horror stories and have received e-mails about internet security, identity theft, and avoiding e-mail viruses, etc., but I have never ever myself actually been personally touched any of those incidents. But dear friends, my scam cherry has officially been popped.

In light of increasingly tight budgetary situation (I’m sure many of you can relate) I decided to advertise for a roommate to live with me in the Purple House, alleviating my monetary stresses. I placed ads in several local publications, as well as the Richmond branch of CraigsList. So far, I’ve gotten one bite, a bite better left unbit. An alleged female in South Dakota by the name Lucy Okuyade (just Google that, for fun) contacted me saying she wanted to move to the area, that she was a social worker, of German birth, plenty of personal information, and would be willing to pay a deposit in advance of moving here. We exchanged a couple e-mails, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss.

Perhaps I was just nervous because I couldn’t check her out in person, face-to-face, perhaps it was because I couldn’t get through on the phone number she provided for her uncle in England as a reference, but I began to dig. I started by mapping the two addresses she’d given me for her current address and her uncle’s England address. Neither looked to be residential, and the one in England was a hospital. Then, on a lark, I decided to Google her name. Instantly I got several results with her name, CraigsList, and “scam” all featured prominently.

Turns out, I cut it pretty close. “She” (probably an 80-year-old Chinese woman or child pirate or a sentient computer named HAL or something) has stolen thousands of dollars from others in the same scam, wiring enough money to the victim to cover security deposit, the full first month’s rent, plus money for the movers, then asks (not sure why) that the victim in turn pay a portion to that for the movers. Of course, the victim cashes the check, wires the money to the movers, and finds out in a week that the check was invalid and they are responsible for the funds. The movers, in turn, have made off with their money.

So, yeah, fun. I’ve been on the phone with the police and the Atty General’s office this morning. All I can say is - yay for intuition. Other than that, here are a couple things I’ve learned:

• Never give personal information over the internet, or as little as possible, until you have verification of the other person’s identity.
• Always ask for references, and always follow up on them.
• Google is your friend. Look up people’s names, addresses, etc. Although it’s sort of creepy, I was very grateful for the GoogleMaps street-level view - allowed me to actually view the scammer’s alleged address.
• If someone wires you money, always be sure it is for the exact amount due and wait for it to clear before moving ahead with your plans. If it’s bogus, you won’t be out money, just pride. Never forward on a portion for them, regardless of their sob story excuse.
• A lot of people, myself included, are inclined feel guilty about being suspicious. Always be suspicious, always ask questions, always protect yourself as much as possible.

I’m sure there’s more, so feel free to comment additional tips below. In the meantime, I am still looking for a roommate. Know anyone?