mistaken identity

I haven't been around here much lately. Part of it is that it's summer, and the busy-ness that goes along with it. And part of it is that I seem to keep disappearing. I wonder if it's something on some weird cosmic level. From where I sit, it's just plain weird. The sequence of events went something like this...

Sometime last week I agreed to make some Memorial Beads for a woman in Ireland. I sent her a PayPal invoice, she paid it, and then PayPal decided to hold the PayMent, "pending further investigation". I figured it was just routine security stuff they do at random. I'm still not really worried about it. But then things got weirder.

I went to renew my driver's license, which is always so darn much fun. Rick, the darling man that he is, came along to keep me company. When my turn finally came around, it all went as expected, until it came time to take my picture. They have a new system here now. It's probably everywhere. The fancy new computer technology that reads your facial structure for more accurate identification. Well, we're a little behind on most things here, so we just got it. I sat there and moved my hair away from my face, which was difficult, as it's so short now, and kind of springy. I move it, and it goes right back to where it started. But she took the picture, and we went back to the other end of the place, where the computer said, Nope, that's not Kim... So, back to the camera, more hair arranging, a little head tilting, a smile comparison - Smile bigger. Bigger. OK! Hold it right there. Snap-o. Another picture. Back to the computer, and Computer says, Hmmm, it might be Kim. Guess we'll call it close enough.

I want to know how this fabulous technology is going to keep us all safe and secure. I want to know how it's going to stop the bad guys from being bad. If it can't even agree that I am indeed me, when I'm standing there in the very office that issued my original license, what's going to stop some creep from arranging his face just so, and convincing Very Important Officials that he is who he isn't? Total absurdity.

But I got my temporary license, and in 20 days or so, unless it's disapproved, they'll mail the real one to me... after careful review of the potentially dangerous beadmaker's background, of course.

The upshot is, by the time we were finished, the woman behind the counter, who generally scares me because she's always so stern and grumpy, was actually laughing along with me. That in itself was a personal triumph.

So back home, a quick Friday afternoon email check tells me that PayPal is still suspicious of the scary Irish bead buyer, and now, to make it even more fun, Blogger has informed me, in a not very friendly manner, that I'm locked me out of my own blog. They suspect it of being a Spam Blog, because it has so many interesting links to other places. The remedy is to request a review, and then to wait for an actual human to look at my blog and determine its validity. I requested, and waited. After 24 hours went by, I hadn't heard a peep. So just out of curiosity, I went to my Blogger account, and whaddaya know, I'm back in. But I'm still kind if pissed off. They didn't even bother to send an email saying something like, Oops, sorry for the inconvenience. Blog on my friend! Nope, nothing. I really think someone should make amends. Fat chance of that I guess.

But anyway... as of this morning, I appear to be me, at least for the time being, and I'm able to babble on here all I want. Still not sure about the Irish PayPal Connection, but I'm in no hurry. I haven't even made the beads yet. Today I'm going to lay low and keep out of the way of anyone who could complicate my world. I heard that the eclipse the other day was supposed to unstick everything that's been stuck up till now. We'll see.......