Friday

It's odd that while Kaylee is the one who is fighting jet lag, I feel like I am too.  She and I both woke up at 5:30 a.m.  She couldn't go back to sleep, I did but had the weirdest darned dreams.  Anyway.  I took her to a party this morning with her singing group friends, where they got together and practiced their audition pieces in front of each other.  The auditions are coming up soon to either stay in Starlets or be advanced to Encore.  Once you're in Starlets you can't be kicked out unless you break the rules too much or you want out, but you still have to "audition" each year anyway, and if you want into Encore you have to audition for that.  She's going to try for Encore, thinks this year is probably her best and maybe only shot at it, as if you don't get in by your Sophomore year you usually don't get in.  So, we shall see.  These things make me more nervous than they do her, but I don't tell her that.  I don't remember being warned ahead of time that one of your biggest jobs as a parent was going to be smothering or facing your own issues in order to prevent them from negatively affecting or limiting your child, from spiders to public tryouts/auditions.  ;)

Well, my credit card was compromised today.  The card company thinks there might have been a card scanner/reader at the gas pump.  It started with a $1 charge at that gas pump before the real charge was made, and then they proceeded to rack up several thousand dollars worth of stuff the rest of the day.  Steve got alerts, and he called the card company pretty quickly, and while they were talking, more and more charges kept coming through, all down in Florida.  They'd hit the card for $1 to make sure it was still working, then buy something for just under $100.  Finally while I was on the phone with them too, they got my card officially shut off, and the lady said "Another charge for $1 is coming through just now, and...it's been declined.  We got it shut down."  So they'll be sending me a new card soon, but they just did that with Steve, when HIS card was recently compromised, and now his card doesn't work half the time.  If I have the same issue with my card, it'll be a real pain, possibly a real problem.  The credit card lady suggested we go inside at gas stations and not use the card swipers at gas stations.  Because THAT'S convenient, going backwards here.  Ah, the times in which we live.

I spoke to the airport manager in Michigan there, and I will be getting a refund of the $50 landing fee, which he says was a "miscommunication" on the part of the line guy.  The city owns/operates the airport, and the fellow in charge there said the airport is not to be charging landing fees, and he'll make sure that's taken care of.  In their defense, I think they were calling us a "commercial" operation rather than general aviation and charging thusly, but still.  I'll take the $50 back.  I couldn't get past spending $250 on fuel and still paying a $50 landing fee at Podunk, Michigan, even if it wasn't my money.  It wasn't right.  D laughed at me, but he's glad to get the money back too.  ;)  Unfortunately, in the process, a guy I don't even know personally went ballistic over the whole landing fee thing, and did his own contacting of the airport, public postings on the websites, ranting on my facebook wall, calling the city guys...I told him nicely to stop about three times, and the last two times I flat out said I didn't want anyone else calling and I wanted it to stay between me, who had the problem, and the people with whom I had the problem, not middle men.  He said "As you wish, just trying to help".  I get that, and I appreciate the moral support, but I'm a big girl.  Would he like it if he said something about a company he had trouble with and I started calling everyone from the city mayor to the CEO of the company, started an online campaign to smear them, and stepped in and didn't let him handle it himself?  I think he'd think it was weird and maybe even insulting.  Well...guess what.  If I need a White Knight, I'll ask for one.  In the meantime, let me handle my own stuff, thanks.  He just made the whole thing worse for me in dealing with the people.  Awkward.  I hate awkward.  But at least I got the money back.  ;)

Kaylee and I had some good conversations today about personal strength, about tough times and what they can do to a person and how you have a choice to make.  We talked about the concentration camps again too, and a few other things.  I'm glad we can still talk.  She seems older again since she got home, our little world traveler.  :)