Violation

Amy called yesterday afternoon, and it didn't take long to figure out it was one of those calls parents hate to get. She was very upset, on the verge of tears - her purse had just been recovered in the restroom at work - without the wallet of course. Matt, her boss, fished it out of the toilet.

Amy, Jenna, Rachelle - 3 of the 4 Amigos

She was flying out for a long-awaited trip to Los Vegas (Vegas Baby!) with her college roommates - Jenna, Allie and Rachelle at 7:20 PM. What a crappy thing to happen, and what bad timing! She had her winnings from last week's Once Upon a Race in there - $100. She partnered with Allie (who just moved to Denver) and another friend to solve clues and dash between Denver bars, dressed as their fave fairytale characters. Amy was Ursula from Disney's Little Mermaid. Their team won the whole thing - beating some 700 others. That's my girl - way to know your way around bars!

Her wallet contained a few more funds too but it was lucky she hadn't yet gotten more $ for the trip. Credit/debit cards, insurance card, driver's license, library card and other assorted important stuff were in there too.

I felt helpless as she then did begin to cry as the reality of the situation sunk in. I tried to remain calm - and to keep her calm. She realized she had her passport at home, so she would still be able to fly with that ID. She would leave immediately to report the theft to her bank and get vacation money - as she wouldn't have plastic for her purchases. She's staying until Monday a.m. I advised her to cancel anything she could immediately and contact the police.

Amy works as a graphic designer at a meat packaging facility called Custom Made Meals. She designs labels and all the marketing materials for the reps who sell the products to supermarkets around the country. Super Target (Archer's Farm brand) and Krogers are two companies of their customers. There are only a few people in the CMM office, and several hundred on the production floor. I wondered how someone had waltzed into her office and stolen her purse so easily. It's such a violation!

Amy later called me from the airport to report that Matt had had reviewed security (lack of?) film. The evil girl/woman was not an employee, but had come in with people stopping at the office to pick up paychecks. She went by the reception desk and up the stairs to Amy's office, evidently quickly finding her purse. Amy was out on the production floor at the time. She snuck into the restroom across the hall, ditched the purse in the potty (why'd ya gotta do that?) and took the good stuff. Amy's migraine meds are wet. Hope she stays headache free until she can get replacements!

By the time the banks checked, the stealer had racked up $700 in charges on Amy's cards. I hope they can nail this bitch! The cops were there when Amy stopped back at work after her bank visit.  I'm not sure if she charged purchases online or in person. They said the chick would be charged with identity theft as well as stealing, since she used the credit cards - but first they must catch her!

Amy sounded much better from the airport. She will call today with a few things to take care of - like paying her cell phone bill, since her credit card is cancelled. And her library card, cuz that chick is probably planning to head to the library today to check out a bunch of stuff. Yeah! I actually emailed Amy a list of things to to when your wallet is stolen. She'll have to deal with the driver's license next week. Yuck.

Our family has been so fortunate. We've not been touched much by crime. I've had my credit card cancelled because others were trying to access it. But I was home and it wasn't much of an inconvenience. I left my purse someplace and had my cash taken - not a lot of $. Jud's TV was stolen from his apartment his sophomore year of college - those flatscreens are easy to walk off with. We suspected an inside job from the one loser roommate's friends. But heck, we used to leave our house door open - never locking it, until the past couple years.

Generally we're very surprised when others take our stuff. It's not the way things are supposed to work. My baby learned the hard way that there are some bad people that think otherwise - that our hard work is theirs for the taking. It makes me sad when my baby is upset. Coulda been worse I guess - our niece in NYC was robbed at gunpoint! 

I hope Vegas and Amy's buddies help take the sting of this violation away. And this lesson is another of life's tough ones - there are bad people. Amy did a good job reacting to and dealing with the situation. I'm glad to support my children, but am proud that they are equipped to handle life on their own!

Kinda like Momma got a raise...

Paul and I were in Florida when we went through the exciting drama of Amy's job interviews and subsequent job offer for a new job! How exciting! It all started the week prior...as I recall. Amy called me that Thursday when I got home to Creston after another long week of work. I was preoccupied with finishing up work stuff before vacation and what to pack for my trip. I was tired.

Amy rang me up - frustrated with insider knowledge from her new position at the small family-owned gourmet grocery firm she works for. I'm afraid I didn't give her much sympathy...I was channeling my inner Pat (my mother Pat Bullock was not known for her gushy sympathy). I didn't say "Oh my goodness, you're kidding!" clearly, what she was looking for. I said, "Amy, you're going to hear this kind of thing in your position. You need to find a place to file it or it will drive you nuts. Or find another job." She rang off quickly, obviously irritated with her dear old mommy.

Irritated enough to look at Craigslist and notice there was a job posted just that day that was right up her alley - designing labels in the grocery industry. So she quickly applied and texted me later that night saying she'd heard from the company already. She was a bit freaked out. So was I, frankly! Normal companies don't reply that quickly - was this a fake job, out to take advantage of my girl? Evidently not, they set up an interview the next week (and not in a back alley - and she wasn't supposed to arrive naked or nothin...).

We heard from Amy after interview 1, when she had a bit more information. The company packages pre-cooked meat products for large companies - under their labels. Companies like Archer Farms (the Target label) and Krogers. The company needs a graphic designer (new position) to design the labels and other stuff. Quickly.

They arranged interview 2 right after interview 1 - a good sign. I could tell Amy was becoming enthused about the idea of working there. Come Friday - she called to say she had a job offer - a mere 1 week after she got ticked at me and had a bad day at work.

Her Marczyk's job was a godsend - perfect at the time. She needed them, and I think they needed her. Amy worked a part-time, sign/marketing job there into a fulltime job. The people there realized what a good and valuable worker she is - they just didn't pay well. It was a great first job and she learned a lot.

This next job - with Custom Made Meals. (they have a pretty weak website, maybe she can work on that too) http://www.custommademeals.com/
looks to be more of a career position. I'm thrilled for my kid! She starts next Monday, May 1. But we get to see her when she takes Amtrak home for Jud's ISU graduation Friday, May 6th. Can't wait!

Last week, when we heard Amy had taken the new job, and it was more $ and it was just...well serendipity... meant to be. She got mad, she looked at Craigslist, that job had just been posted, those are just the things she thrives at. Of course it won't be perfect in reality - that's why they do call them JOBS. But it's a great opportunity for Amy to expand her experience. And it's only a 15-20 minute drive from her apartment and is a growing company.

So last week in Florida, when Bets, Cindo and I went back to the outlet mall, I felt kinda like I'd gotten a raise! (at least that's what I told Pablo when we went shopping...) He fell for it too!