Baby steps
I posted this in a note on facebook, but in case you didn't see it there...
Just a warning to everyone, especially young women (because let's face it, we're often the targets of these types of crime) - watch out for people trying to scam you at a gas station.
This is what happened to me yesterday: I was filling up my gas tank at a gas station in Oakland (no, not the best place to be, it's true) and I was sitting in my car waiting for it to finish filling up, talking with my boyfriend, Rudy and my friend, Shawn who were in the car with me. Suddenly a man appeared outside my door, gesturing as though he had something to say to me. I tried to pay no attention to him, but the fact remained that I had to get out of my car to remove the pump from it once my tank was filled up. So I warily got out of my car and the man immediately asked me for some change. I refused and I proceeded to take the pump out of my car. I turned around to hang the pump back up, and the man was still there and he took the pump out of my hand before I could hang it back up, at which point I told him "No, I'm very uncomfortable with you being here, you need to go away" or something to that effect. At this point Rudy and Shawn were getting out of the car telling him to leave, and I just got back into the car. The man didn't go away, and he just asked for change again. Once I was safely back in the car we just drove away, anxious to get away from this weirdo.
Later, when I went to use my bank card, it was declined. Awhile later, either Rudy or Shawn asked me if I'd seen the man hang the pump back up. I couldn't remember, and neither of them could, either. Suddenly we suspected that perhaps this man had not hung the pump back up, and he was scamming people for gas at the pump, using my bank account to pump for other people.
Today I tried using my debit card again only to have it declined once more. This was when I knew something was up for sure. I looked at my bank account online and lo and behold, the full sum that was in my checking account had been taken out and spent at that gas station.
Lessons to learn here: Don't let strangers intimidate you so much that you don't take note of details of the situation. I did not remember very many details about what this man looked like when I went to call the gas station and tell them about him; thankfully, Rudy did. I also did not notice that he didn't hang up the pump, which was my biggest mistake. I'd never heard of this kind of fraud happening before, so I was completely unprepared for it. Being aware might have saved me a bunch of money.
I won't be able to get my money back, but thankfully it wasn't really even that much money. I'm also grateful I have friends and family who are extremely supportive, so I don't have to go through things like this alone. And of course, I'm glad it was only my money that he took and that I am okay and so are my friends.
So, Sunday mostly sucked horribly. I found out about what had really happened on Saturday, and when Rudy and I went to our banks so he could loan me some money, I parked in a spot without realizing that I was blocking a crosswalk and I got nailed for a $90 parking ticket. I cried a lot that day. Not only did I have no money in my bank account, but now I was going to have a $90 ticket to pay. I can only say I have an amazing boyfriend who is extremely generous, because he loaned me about the amount of money that was stolen from me, and he insisted that he will take care of my parking ticket. I hate it, really, because he shouldn't have to take care of me financially so much. I hate not being independent and I hate having to give in to his enormous generosity instead of just being taken out on a date once in awhile. At the same time I do love it because he is really proving to me how much he cares, and how much he wants to take care of me. These are really good signs, and I feel immensely cared for and loved.
Oh, and on Sunday he got home to find that his bedroom ceiling was leaking (it had been raining a lot that day) and a corner of his bed had gotten soaked. Yeah, no bueno. I felt really bad for him after everything we'd gone through together over the weekend. :/ I guess it's drying out now, though.
All of that crap aside, I am now residing in San Francisco. It feels good to be living here and it's been great to have to drive only five minutes these past two mornings to get to work. I still have a lot of things I need that I'm working on getting. I got a couple of small cooking pots, some plates and some bowls, as well as an electric kettle from Target that was cheap, but I really can't spend much right now with the situation I'm in. I have been wanting dual electric range burners so I can cook some things easily, but the electric kettle makes it so I can at least heat up some water for oatmeal and tea. I'm also hoping to get a toaster oven at some point so I can bake things, I also need a microwave, and I'd really like a new bed. The bed I've had is the same twin size bed I've had since I was a child, so it's rather old and not all that comfortable, not to mention it doesn't work all that well when Rudy stays over. So I need something newer and bigger (maybe full-size).
This whole process has definitely taken a lot of baby steps, and I feel like I'm still confined to taking baby step after baby step, painstakingly waiting things out til I can get everything I need or want. I've applied to CSU East Bay's credential program and interviewed and I only have one letter of recommendation left to turn in before I'm simply waiting to hear back, but I'm really nervous because I think I missed the FAFSA deadline, so even if I'm accepted to the program, I may not be able to go there this year if I don't get financial aid.
I've posted pictures of my new place on facebook, but I'll also share them here. These are pictures I took after the first day of moving stuff, which was just a few boxes and my fridge. Once I have all my stuff organized in my room and it's all put together the way I want (new bed and all) I'll post pictures again, but that might take awhile.
View of my room from the bedroom door. You can see the boxes I've already moved in and my fridge on a table on the right.
Rotating to the left from where the last photo was taken, this is a good view of most of my room, with a nice big window.
View from the corner where the boxes and fridge are. Those shelves are no longer in my room. You can see the closet on the left.
View from the corner on the other side of the window. You can see my closet and my bedroom door.
View from the corner near the bookshelves that aren't there anymore.
View from my window. The tree is kinda in the way, but in person it looks awesome. :)
I really like it here. It's definitely the best place I've lived in since I moved out of my parents' house. It's nice to be in a house and I really like my neighborhood and my bedroom is really nice (I love the floors!) The lack of kitchen part kind of sucks, but when you look at how little I'm paying each month for this room, it's definitely worth it.
I think that's all for now, this post is long enough! Sorry it took me so long to post.
Just a warning to everyone, especially young women (because let's face it, we're often the targets of these types of crime) - watch out for people trying to scam you at a gas station.
This is what happened to me yesterday: I was filling up my gas tank at a gas station in Oakland (no, not the best place to be, it's true) and I was sitting in my car waiting for it to finish filling up, talking with my boyfriend, Rudy and my friend, Shawn who were in the car with me. Suddenly a man appeared outside my door, gesturing as though he had something to say to me. I tried to pay no attention to him, but the fact remained that I had to get out of my car to remove the pump from it once my tank was filled up. So I warily got out of my car and the man immediately asked me for some change. I refused and I proceeded to take the pump out of my car. I turned around to hang the pump back up, and the man was still there and he took the pump out of my hand before I could hang it back up, at which point I told him "No, I'm very uncomfortable with you being here, you need to go away" or something to that effect. At this point Rudy and Shawn were getting out of the car telling him to leave, and I just got back into the car. The man didn't go away, and he just asked for change again. Once I was safely back in the car we just drove away, anxious to get away from this weirdo.
Later, when I went to use my bank card, it was declined. Awhile later, either Rudy or Shawn asked me if I'd seen the man hang the pump back up. I couldn't remember, and neither of them could, either. Suddenly we suspected that perhaps this man had not hung the pump back up, and he was scamming people for gas at the pump, using my bank account to pump for other people.
Today I tried using my debit card again only to have it declined once more. This was when I knew something was up for sure. I looked at my bank account online and lo and behold, the full sum that was in my checking account had been taken out and spent at that gas station.
Lessons to learn here: Don't let strangers intimidate you so much that you don't take note of details of the situation. I did not remember very many details about what this man looked like when I went to call the gas station and tell them about him; thankfully, Rudy did. I also did not notice that he didn't hang up the pump, which was my biggest mistake. I'd never heard of this kind of fraud happening before, so I was completely unprepared for it. Being aware might have saved me a bunch of money.
I won't be able to get my money back, but thankfully it wasn't really even that much money. I'm also grateful I have friends and family who are extremely supportive, so I don't have to go through things like this alone. And of course, I'm glad it was only my money that he took and that I am okay and so are my friends.
So, Sunday mostly sucked horribly. I found out about what had really happened on Saturday, and when Rudy and I went to our banks so he could loan me some money, I parked in a spot without realizing that I was blocking a crosswalk and I got nailed for a $90 parking ticket. I cried a lot that day. Not only did I have no money in my bank account, but now I was going to have a $90 ticket to pay. I can only say I have an amazing boyfriend who is extremely generous, because he loaned me about the amount of money that was stolen from me, and he insisted that he will take care of my parking ticket. I hate it, really, because he shouldn't have to take care of me financially so much. I hate not being independent and I hate having to give in to his enormous generosity instead of just being taken out on a date once in awhile. At the same time I do love it because he is really proving to me how much he cares, and how much he wants to take care of me. These are really good signs, and I feel immensely cared for and loved.
Oh, and on Sunday he got home to find that his bedroom ceiling was leaking (it had been raining a lot that day) and a corner of his bed had gotten soaked. Yeah, no bueno. I felt really bad for him after everything we'd gone through together over the weekend. :/ I guess it's drying out now, though.
All of that crap aside, I am now residing in San Francisco. It feels good to be living here and it's been great to have to drive only five minutes these past two mornings to get to work. I still have a lot of things I need that I'm working on getting. I got a couple of small cooking pots, some plates and some bowls, as well as an electric kettle from Target that was cheap, but I really can't spend much right now with the situation I'm in. I have been wanting dual electric range burners so I can cook some things easily, but the electric kettle makes it so I can at least heat up some water for oatmeal and tea. I'm also hoping to get a toaster oven at some point so I can bake things, I also need a microwave, and I'd really like a new bed. The bed I've had is the same twin size bed I've had since I was a child, so it's rather old and not all that comfortable, not to mention it doesn't work all that well when Rudy stays over. So I need something newer and bigger (maybe full-size).
This whole process has definitely taken a lot of baby steps, and I feel like I'm still confined to taking baby step after baby step, painstakingly waiting things out til I can get everything I need or want. I've applied to CSU East Bay's credential program and interviewed and I only have one letter of recommendation left to turn in before I'm simply waiting to hear back, but I'm really nervous because I think I missed the FAFSA deadline, so even if I'm accepted to the program, I may not be able to go there this year if I don't get financial aid.
I've posted pictures of my new place on facebook, but I'll also share them here. These are pictures I took after the first day of moving stuff, which was just a few boxes and my fridge. Once I have all my stuff organized in my room and it's all put together the way I want (new bed and all) I'll post pictures again, but that might take awhile.
View of my room from the bedroom door. You can see the boxes I've already moved in and my fridge on a table on the right.
Rotating to the left from where the last photo was taken, this is a good view of most of my room, with a nice big window.
View from the corner where the boxes and fridge are. Those shelves are no longer in my room. You can see the closet on the left.
View from the corner on the other side of the window. You can see my closet and my bedroom door.
View from the corner near the bookshelves that aren't there anymore.
View from my window. The tree is kinda in the way, but in person it looks awesome. :)
I really like it here. It's definitely the best place I've lived in since I moved out of my parents' house. It's nice to be in a house and I really like my neighborhood and my bedroom is really nice (I love the floors!) The lack of kitchen part kind of sucks, but when you look at how little I'm paying each month for this room, it's definitely worth it.
I think that's all for now, this post is long enough! Sorry it took me so long to post.