[major groan of disgust]

WARNING: Don't read this if you are in a good mood; I am venting and crazy today. Things may change up tomorrow, so come back and visit then. I mean it.

- - - - - - - - - You've been warned.

So....I have had sporadic sales of books through the online site - yea!

So, it hasn't been as great as I had hoped given the flying start at the beginning of the month.

So....I created an 'event' on a networking site, hoping to drum up interest and sales for the holiday.

So, it appears many of my 'friends' are lame and useless when it comes to depending upon them for a little help in spreading the word to their circle of people and making magic. I guess I knew that would be the case (I was just hoping it would be different and I would be proven wrong). I won't feel badly for ignoring their own pleas to share some news or in asking for help in the future.

Baaaah!

Many of you know that I had been hijacked (identity-wise) more than one month ago, AND that one of my bankcard accounts had also been compromised and abused by some cretinous ne'er-do-well since then. Long story short, that bank account was closed and the card number made invalid, but the lingering fear of banking/paying bills/shopping online is more than a little paralyzing for me, yet.

I believe the compounded hits on my personal accounts have left a bigger fear than would normally be here had there been just one corruption or the other taken on my identity and/or meager money pile.

In the aftermath of the change to those accounts, I didn't take into consideration what would happen when half.com attempted to deposit proceeds from sales of my books into my account -- the CLOSED account! Yikes!

I was sent an email telling me that there was an issue with depositing the money, and would I please make the necessary changes so that they could make the money transfer into [my] acct?

Well, sure, I responded, but with their help, since I was reluctant to make that sort of change online given recent events.

Would they help me? Could I deal with a human, please?

Their response was to suspend the online store account, rendering me invisible to customers and incapable of making sales!!!! HELLO!!

SO, I made the changes to my account myself and emailed them of this turn of events, asking them to please take my account from offline to available status once more.

THAT was two days ago! They have yet to respond in any way, shape or form, and I cannot believe the archaic methods they employ for contacting them.

Yeah, right....happy freakin' holidays.

[sigh]

I would dearly love to change my mood. Lighten up. Smile though my heart is aching. Put on a happy face. Yes, I would like to think that if I changed my mood then the rest of it would catch up and turn itself around. B-u-u-u-u-t, my mood is what it is because of the activities of the situations, and people doing unscrupulous things, and the happenings or the non-happenings. My cloudy outlook is a reaction to, not the cause of.

[grumble]