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What are you doing right now? Part 2
Marina (Sonnenbarke) wrote: "dely, I'm so sorry that the situation is getting so difficult to handle! I hope things will improve soon. When is your son coming back? Is he going straight to the Netherlands, or is he coming to I..."He will go directly to Amsterdam. I know that he will leave Chennai on Sunday and I think he will stay the last week in New Delhi because he has his flight from there.
I told him that we have to close this situation before he leaves for New Delhi otherwise it will be more difficult and complicated.
LauraT wrote: "Sorry to hear such news dely!!! I hope he'll sort things out by himself, sooner or later - ancd that your mum will shortly settle down!"Thanks also to you for sharing the pics! In this moment I would be happy also with only two days of vacation! Seen that I can't do it, at least I took an appointment for next week for a relaxing massage. Better this than nothing!
How is your daughter? I hope she is improving!
dely wrote: "Marina (Sonnenbarke) wrote: "Dely, I'm so sorry that his answers are those you quote... He might have traveled more than you have, but you're his mother, you're older which makes you undoubtedly wi..."Beware scams - we received quite a few strange calls when my step-son was wandering like a hobo through southern Asia. They claimed he was having trouble with his bank card and needed us to send account numbers -
Joan wrote: "Beware scams - we received quite a few strange calls when my step-son was wandering like a hobo through southern Asia. They claimed he was having trouble with his bank card and needed us to send account numbers -"Thanks for the info! Do you mean they called you or your stepson? We know that we must never give such infos, but it is also good to know that such fake calls can happen.
Dely,They called us, claimed to be from our credit union, and said he was having trouble using his ATM card and would we please confirm the account number and his address. We did not agree and called my step son and the bank - both said it was a scam, probably trying to steal his account info.
Then we got a call again from someone pretending to be the bank, saying his card was frozen due to suspicious activity so would we please transfer money to a Thai bank so he could use that.
N.B. He wandered all over, off the grid, out of touch with us, in sketchy areas and came back healthy, wiser and more charming than ever.
I hope your son enjoys his trip as much.
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Esther, haha, no, I was trying to get in a rollercoaster car in a hurry, and the bottom of the car had a dip in it I didn't see. I tripped over the entir..."
That actually happened to someone I know once Esther! Ron's sister was dating a guy from Argentina who had never ridden an amusement park ride for some reason, and he threw up on Star Tours. She thought it would be safe because it is just a motion simulator, but apparently it wasn't, the poor guy!
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They called us, claimed to be from our credit union, and said he was having trouble using his ATM card and would we please confirm the account number and his address. We did not agree and cal..."
Your son sounds like a wonderful guy Joan! And glad you were wise enough to not get hurt by the scam!
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I had the exact same thing happen when my son was doing a semester in Costa Rica and I didn't fall for it either. My question though is how do the scammers know where he is. Someone on the inside of the bank feeding them this info?
dely wrote: "You will never believe what happened to my son. Sooner or later I will have a heart stroke or I will land in a madhouse because of a nervous breakdown (and usually I have selfcontrol, so it isn't e..."Wow, the things kids do!!! I'm so glad you had someone who was able and willing to help!
Yes, I have a 20 year old who doesn't like to be given advice, either, and at least one of my kids would use that same sort of "logic" for not carrying their ID. I have one who refuses to take her cell phone sometimes when she goes out, too.
Greg wrote: "Had a great time at Universal and at the beach in Oceanside, but today in a spectacular feat of clumsiness at Disneyland I think I might have broken my toe. So Dylan & my sister will be pushing m..."
Ouch!! I hope you get that toe looked at ASAP and that it's something less serious!
Joan wrote: "Dely,They called us, claimed to be from our credit union, and said he was having trouble using his ATM card and would we please confirm the account number and his address. We did not agree and cal..."
Whenever I get a call from a bank or anything else, I hang up and call back from the number in the phone book or their website. Always. I was taught this at a workshop on fraud at the job I had when I was pregnant 24 years ago and have done this ever since. This is with my now 23 year old, so it was actually a bit less now that I think of it, but 1994 or very early 1995.
Greg, ok small in the scheme of things but I’m sure it hurts ! Glad you’re having fun in spite of it . I broke a big toe years ago and it hurt ! Hopefully it will heal quickly !
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Thanks Angela & Karin - I hope so! I will make an appointment next week and stay off of it in the meantime, elevating it when I can.
It does hurt, but mainly when I put weight on it or when something touches it. The wheelchair today is helping a lot! I should've swallowed my pride yesterday night and rented one soon after it happened, rather than hobbling about the rest of the night. :)
Joan wrote: "Dely,They called us, claimed to be from our credit union, and said he was having trouble using his ATM card and would we please confirm the account number and his address. We did not agree and cal..."
Thanks Joan! I passed it on to my son and ex husband. I knew about the emails that say they are your bank, to click on a link, etc. but I never heard about calls.
As Diane said, how do they know when a kid is abroad? Maybe Facebook or other socials? But then they should know also my number or that of the father. Really weird.
Greg wrote: "Well, I did need a wheelchair today, mostly as a precaution not to make the swollen purple toe worse. But a toe injury is tiny in the scheme of things and am still enjoying the day. :)"Maybe on a wheelchair you can also skip the queues if there are a lot of people for an attraction?
I hope you will enjoy your day despite the hurting toe!
Karin wrote: "Wow, the things kids do!!! I'm so glad you had someone who was able and willing to help!Yes, I have a 20 year old who doesn't like to be given advice, either, and at least one of my kids would use that same sort of "logic" for not carrying their ID. I have one who refuses to take her cell phone sometimes when she goes out, too."
Yes, and except the receptionist both are GR friends!
Lol, if I were you I would be afraid now if my son someday will travel to the US, UK, Canada, Israel, Australia or other countries! :D
Also my niece never wants to take her ID with her, but at least she doesn't move far away so my sister, whatever happens, can always take the car and help her out.
Re how the scammers know the kids are abroad... I have no answer, but I am convinced that our phone numbers are somehow being sold to scammers and legit companies alike, don't ask me how. As you know, my boyfriend and I have been furniture hunting since the beginning of the year, and you wouldn't believe how many SMS's I have received telling me that a certain kitchen furniture was cheap at the shop so-and-so... all near here or near to my parents'! How the h*** did they know I was looking for furniture and that I live here but come from somewhere else?! Note that I can't recognize any of the numbers sending me these SMS's, but they all seem to be legit furniture shops. I'm afraid it might be the same with banks and scammers. Please don't think I'm paranoid, but I'm really afraid our phone numbers are being sold (and, of course, someone is doing research on us).I'm aware this sounds paranoid enough ;)
By the way, not carrying your ID with you, even in your home country, can get you into a lot of trouble. Once I was at the railway station with my boyfriend, waiting for his train, and the police came and randomly asked us for our IDs, which they checked and called the police station or whomever is it they called, to check that the data on them were true. They were probably looking for someone who was looking a lot like one of us, and I guess we could have got into trouble if we didn't have our IDs on us.
Marina (Sonnenbarke) wrote: "Re how the scammers know the kids are abroad... I have no answer, but I am convinced that our phone numbers are somehow being sold to scammers and legit companies alike, don't ask me how. As you kn..."You are not paranoid, it's simply Google on your phone if you have your geolocation activated. Before having an Android I had a Windows phone and it never happend with Microsoft. Since I have an Android, Google sees everything I do. I had to turn off a lot of settings. I keep the geolocation activated because sometimes I use it and it's helpful, but I disabled a lot of things. All depends on us and how we use the settings on the phone.
Marina (Sonnenbarke) wrote: "By the way, not carrying your ID with you, even in your home country, can get you into a lot of trouble. Once I was at the railway station with my boyfriend, waiting for his train, and the police c..."Yes, it is mandatory to have it also in our own country. But it's hard to put this info in the head of stubborn teens!
dely wrote: "Marina (Sonnenbarke) wrote: "Re how the scammers know the kids are abroad... I have no answer, but I am convinced that our phone numbers are somehow being sold to scammers and legit companies alike..."Good to know, thanks. I found out a couple of days ago that I had geolocation activated on my phone and I'd never even noticed it. Needless to say, I disactivated it.
Marina (Sonnenbarke) wrote: "dely wrote: "Marina (Sonnenbarke) wrote: "Re how the scammers know the kids are abroad... I have no answer, but I am convinced that our phone numbers are somehow being sold to scammers and legit co..."When you buy a new phone, those settings are all enabled. They always hope we don't turn them off.
I could find also an article about it: https://theantimedia.com/google-10-ti...
And trust me, never ever use Ok Google, Cortana, Siri or what else. Never ever! I still have to see how to take it away from my phone. I never used it, but I don't want it on my phone even if I don't use it.
dely wrote: "When you buy a new phone, those settings are all enabled. They always hope we don't turn them off."Interesting. I've had this phone for a couple of years now, and I've only noticed a few days ago... o_O
Marina (Sonnenbarke) wrote: "Interesting. I've had this phone for a couple of years now, and I've only noticed a few days ago... o_O "
Do you receive SMSs or other messages/notifications called airpush?
If they are SMSs, then it could be that you have given your phone number to a shop and they gave it to third parties because you signed one of those agreements we never read. It happened also to me because of a site I registered and where I was obliged to give my phone number.
If it's airpush, then it could depend on an app you downloaded or on Google. I solved it going to the settings and told Google to don't send me notifications (I also received the ring tone of the message: there were no new messages, but a notification that is like an ad).
Sometimes also old apps suddenly start sending these kind of notifications/airpush. Also in this case, you have to go in the settings, choose "app" and then you have to say "don't send me notifications".
But most likely it depends, as I said, on the geolocation of Google. If you see that you continue to receive those messages after have deactivated the geolocation, then it is something else.
And if you have a Smart t.v. these articles might be enlightening,https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/09/if-yo...
https://www.wired.com/2017/02/smart-t...
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Marina (Sonnenbarke) wrote: "Re how the scammers know the kids are abroad... I have no answer, but I am convinced that our phone numbers are somehow being sold to scammers and legit companies alike, don't ask me how. As you kn..."Smart phones track EVERYWHERE you go via the internet, which is one of the reasons I don't have one; it reminds me of the book 1984 too much. Also, they literally give me headaches. But there may be other things, too, I don't know.
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It is possible to turn off location tracking in most mobile phones via the settings icon (set "Location Services" to "Disable"), but less accurate and less precise location information can be derived from cell towers of course.
I really do love my smart phone for efficiency reasons - so nice to be able to retrieve email & check information on the go without being anywhere near a laptop!
Greg wrote: "Feeling a little sad, having just dropped them off at the airport - back to normal life. At least a weekend to rest before returning to work!"How is your toe?
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How is your toe?"
Thanks for asking Joan :)
It looks horrendous, but the pain is much less. Hopefully, the swelling will go down over the weekend.
I'm thinking I don't need to make a doctor appointment, but I'll make a decision on Monday based on how it looks then.
dely, thanks for the info. I'll need to check on that.Karin, I didn't like smartphones either but I need one for work - working as a freelancer means I always have to be able to read my emails because something important might come my way when I am away from my desk. I don't want to sit at my desk all day if I don't have work to do, I might need to go to a doctor appointment for instance, or want to meet with a friend, but I need to know if someone needs me for urgent jobs.
Greg, let us know how your toe is. I hope you won't need to see a doctor. I can understand you feeling sad because of going back to life as usual. At least I hope you were able to relax and have fun!
Karin wrote: "Smart phones track EVERYWHERE you go via the internet, which is one of the reasons I don't have one; it reminds me of the book 1984 too much. Also, they literally give me headaches. But there may be other things, too, I don't know. "Not only smartphones, also a common computer knows what we like and what not, what we buy online, where we go for a vacation or where we would like to go, etc. Also only keeping track on GR of the books we read they know a lot about us. As said, it depends upon us what we want to share, on what kind of sites we want to sign up etc.
A couple of years ago I checked also the settings on the computer because also here, using Chrome, Google keeps informations about everything.
But this happens also with those shopping center cards to collect points to have some discounts. They know how often you go for shopping, what you buy etc. The same with your credit or debit card. For example I have also an automatic system to pay the highway (I don't like to do the queue and pay cash). I know that they can see how much I move and where I go, but seen that that system is so helpful to avoid queues, I don't care if they see where I go.
As Marina says, seen that I'm a freelancer too, I need a phone. Not only for work emails, but also for skype because one site contacts me through skype when they need me.
Due to my work I have to have a smartphone and internet connected computer.I gave up the illusion of anonymity when a letter was delivered to me with just my name in English and the town. I live in the small place and even when the postal worker isn't an acquaintance my surname is unusual enough that they can figure out.
Also due to the school run and having worked in the library about a third of the residents can recognize me and I stick in their memory because of my English accent.
Don't own and don't want a cell phone. If I take a trip by myself I buy a throwaway. Find them too intrusive and after raiding seven children I value my slond time.Greg, I have broken a few toes, after the first when I went to the doctor and he just taped it to the next today in line, I started taping them myself. So far all the heSled toes seem fine. Keep icing, and propping it up.
Puppy sitting this week again. Though I do love my little Ona. Need to do a grocery shop, hich i will do shortly before it gets too hot. Ninties ecpectded here sgsin for the next few days. We are in desperate need of rain.
Greg wrote: It is possible to turn off location tracking in most mobile phones via the settings icon (set "Location Services" to "Disable"), but less accurate and less precise location information can be derived from cell towers of course.I really do love my smart phone for efficiency reasons - so nice to be able to retrieve email & check information on the go without being anywhere near a laptop! ."
Yes, I've heard that, but I still am not interested in the literal headaches or doing everything on my phone. And I'm a bit skeptical. I do know that all cell phones that are on can be tracked, which I already don't like, but at least my cell phone company doesn't know my online life. Of course, many people out there apparently do, as I learned to my horror recently. Even when being careful as I am with incognito and security settings. This is why I now use a much more secure offshore email account. Not that that's perfect when I email people with regular American email, but I do what I can.
Where's my foil hat? (kidding!)
I just got back from an excellent performance of Snow in Midsummer at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I loved it.I haven't read the play yet, but I hope to get it from the library sometime this month to refresh my memory. I was able to follow along pretty closely without having read it, though.
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Spent the past couple days studying up for the final in my class next week. I did take a little break to go to the movie theaters with Ron to see Christopher Robin, which I found absolutely delightful!
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I haven't read the play yet, but I hope to get it from the librar..."
Looks interesting Beth - I'd never heard of that play before!
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I was at the perfomance of Salomé at the churchyard of one of the most beautiful church of Perugia - and, modestly, one of the most beautiful church wherever - the temple of S. Angelo.
I was a bit prejudiced (it was a free perfomance payed by my Municipality - that's why I was there working) and I expected some amateur stuff.
I was mistaken: the actors were quite good, the performance classic, the setting - but that I knew! - outstanding.
Wonderful, Laura!Is this the round church we visited together?
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Is this the round church we visited together?"
Yes! I always bring people comeing to see me here!!!
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I was at the perfomance of Salomé at the churchyard of one of themost beautiful church of Perugia - and, modestl..."
How wonderful to be surprised by better performances than expected Laura .. and thanks also for the pictures!
Today when I was at the veterinarian’s office a Mother slapped her son really hard across the face.Her 5- year-old twins were taunting each other and out of control. The kids were wound up and just kept pushing their Mom’s buttons. The little girl told me that their dog was sick, their old cat had died a few weeks ago and their father was in the hospital.
The Mom told me that they are new to the area and family is far away.
I felt very sorry for all of them - it was a real “there go I but for the grace of God” moment.
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Her 5- year-old twins were taunting each other and out of control. The kids were wound up and jus..."
For sure Joan, under circumstances as difficult and stressful as those, no one would be at their best.
I felt similarly sone weeks ago after meeting a couple living out of their car while waiting to hear back from a couple prospective employers - I still think of them often and hope they are doing ok.
Life can be amazingly difficult, sometimes with little or no warning.
Greg and dely, your photos are fabulous.Greg, it must be clumsy week as on Saturday I rolled my ankle badly while down in the back paddock feeding the goats. Woke Sunday with major swelling and pain but after staying off that leg for four days and using lots of ice, it's back to normal size. There is a sickly cutting feeling happening if I put too much weight on it though.
dely, you just can't tell men (and sons) any advice, can you? They seem to approach things with 'a wing and a prayer'. I know you'll feel happier when he's back in the Nederlands.
B the BookAddict wrote: "Greg and dely, your photos are fabulous.Greg, it must be clumsy week as on Saturday I rolled my ankle badly while down in the back paddock feeding the goats. Woke Sunday with major swelling and p..."
Oh my, Bette! Why don't you go to a doctor so see if everything is ok?
Yes, and I can't tell him always "I told you! I told you!" because I don't want to make him feel bad. He continues to have problems and I will feel better only when he will be back in Europe. I'm really anxious about the whole situation and in fact I had an allergic rash Saturday. It could be something I have eaten, but I always have something wrong when I get too nervous and anxious. After a sleepless night, on Sunday morning I couldn't stand that itching anymore and I was full of bubbles so I called the doctor who came and made me a shot of cortisone and antihistamine.
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I don't know if we have such an office here. The lady at the phone apologized a couple of times, but I however don't accept the mistake they did. Such things don't have to happen. I will think with my son if changing bank or maybe he can open a bank account in the Netherlands. We will see when he will be back.