I'm sorry

Dear Blog (and of course, Dear Readers):

I know I have neglected you.  There are countless numbers of reasons: work, family, "life issues" (also known as discovering more gray hairs and as a result having to schedule additional therapy).  The truth is, while my lack of writing has been a result of all those things and more, that is no excuse.  It is an explanation, but not an excuse.  Therefore, I am here to apologize to you and to promise to make amends. 

In the past month, much has happened that has been exciting and challenging.  My job has taken on additional dimensions and I am having the time of my life, while earning money at the same time.  That just doesn't seem possible, but it's happening, and I for one (well, not really for one, because Tom is also thrilled, probably because he gets more presents now) am really happy about it.  It is hard to describe what a sense of peace that can bring someone - I actually enjoy going to work every day.  Who'da thunk it?

I have also been kicking some major patooty on my health plan (see first blog entry noting blog theme, which I quickly abandoned) and have lost 12 pounds.  Therefore, instead of writing pithy blog entries over the past four weeks, I have been focusing on my appearance and obsessing over the amount of exercise I get (a lot) and the amount of food I eat (not much) which is of course totally shallow and meaningless and ridiculous.

Still, my skinny jeans are loose.  Ha!

This is me.  Really! 

What motivated me to write today was an experience I had with a total stranger that reminded me that we live in a world with really wonderful people in it, despite the existence of That Certain Divorce Lawyer Who Shall Not be Named.  Today we discuss Ruth, who I may also refer to as "Angel Ruth," "Nice Lady," or "She Who Rocks."

Yesterday I was negotiating online (or so I thought!) with two companies to secure a rental home in Las Vegas.  Both companies were willing to come down in their price, this being a really yucky recession and all, but one in particular really let me hammer them down.  Pretty quickly, in fact, I had them accepting about 50% of their regular rental fee.  While Angel Ruth (the woman I negotiated with on the other property) was exceptionally nice and very responsive, she just couldn't match the deal that I got from "David."  I have written "David" in quotes as a subtle form of foreshadowing which you should have picked up on if you have any experience with my writing "style."  No, that wasn't foreshadowing.  Get with the program.

To make a long story even longer, as I was bidding adieu to She Who Rocks and thanking her for her time, she cautioned me to check into the rental I had selected.  She provided me with links to the Secretary of State office in Nevada as well as some helpful hints for verifying that a property is a legitimate rental. 

"Pee shaw!" I laughed.  "Smart girl lawyers like me don't have to worry about being scammed!"  But something was nagging at me, my spidey sense was tingling, and I decided to check it out.  I won't go into the details since they are numerous and lengthy, but "David" was a dreaded Internet Scammer!  He may not have been pushing a Nigerian objective or promising me easy money, but he was almost sucessful in tricking me into sending him a large amount of ducats to rent a house that is not only NOT the house he advertised and not owned by him, but which also basically does not exist.

After I figured out the scam with a little help from my nosey sister Melinda (thanks, sis!) I called Ruth to let her know how much she had helped me.  Unfortunately, I got her voice mail so I just hung up and wrote her an email.  She then passed along my story to her supervisor and we had a great talk on the phone.  I plan to rent their property instead, and to write about my experience so they can warn other would-be travelers.

Anyway, not to sound too negative, but there are some really awful people in this world, and sometimes if you are anything like me, you may feel like you bump into more than your fair share of them.  However, I have got to believe that there are more people like Ruth out there: people who don't need to help others but they do anyway.  So today I salute nice people everywhere, and hope to become more like them every day.  Sometimes it can be a struggle to avoid snark and be gracious, or to go out of your way to do a favor for someone, but the resulting good feelings pay the bill for restraint and inconvenience.

Peace, out.

PS: I promise to write more in the coming weeks and to be exceptionally engaging.  Keep my feet to the fire and show me you are out there reading by contributing comments - please!