2 People, 4 Cats and a Dream: Chips and Dips

Jodi: OK, here is our exciting story from the outlets this weekend.

We were at the Gap outlet, which was having great sales, with an extra 30% coupon. I got a bunch of stuff with the extra 30% off, we got everything for around $150 (and we got quite a bit of stuff for that, score!) I'm feeling pretty triumphant, and I swipe my debit card with glee ...and it's declined. Which should be impossible, we just got paid the day before, so I asked her to run it again. She ran it as credit, once again, denied. At this point I am so embarrassed and I am muttering under my breath, "I just got paid, I know I have money in there, this can't be, this is so weird..." on repeat as I realize that I don't have my credit card on me. So I turn to Randy, and ask him for his card (Thank the Lord he was there!), but Randy can't hear me because his allergies are bothering him. So I ask him again for his card. He kind of shuffles around and I think he's getting his card, and he looks away. "Randy, I need your card!" I'm trying to get Randy to hear me without alerting the entire store. Ashley can tell what's going on and she's by the door. Randy looks at me, "What?" "I need your card now! Mine was declined. Please just pay." So Randy pays while I start the cycle again, "I just got paid..."

I check my balances, I have money. I try to get a water from the vending machine with my card. It's declined. So I call Wells Fargo. It turns out when I got gas on Tuesday, someone has put a card reader on the gas pump! It's called "skimming". You can read more about this practice here. I didn't even know someone could do such a thing. So Wells Fargo shut down my account because someone was on a shopping spree in Brooklyn after I bought my gas here in Philadelphia. Kudos to Wells Fargo for picking up on it quickly and being so nice on the phone. They are taking care of it, but please, be careful while you are pumping your gas! Be on the look-out! They look like regular card readers, but they stick out a little bit more because there is an attachment on them. If they are inside, there is probably very little you can do, but some are on the actual card reader. You can pull on it and see if the skimmer comes off, but my link above for consumer reports gives a lot of good info.

I felt unsettled, embarrassed, and a little violated. Ashley and Randy made me feel better and got me to laugh about it. Ashley asked me if I wanted to go back to the Gap and show the cashier my bank balance... which I did sort of want to do, but of course I didn't, and it made me laugh.

Randy: I had been planning to hit the Disney Store next time we were at the outlets. So while we were there with Ashley this past weekend, I bought 14 Chip (from Chip and Dale) stuffed animals. Why? Because I want to give them to the children of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). I bought all the Chip stuffed animals at the store. Why no Dale? Because they didn't have any. Why am I doing this? First, Chip (and Dale) are my favorite Disney characters. See other posts and the pictures below. But, I think I have a blessed life. Ok, I wish my cats were better behaved. It seems that my biggest problem is that we live in a mess. We're working on it. Those kids at CHOP are the real heroes. If anyone should have a chip on their shoulder, its those kids. So I bought them Chips. No, it's no guilt. Its not to protect my karma (Jodi does that). Its just because.

Jodi: Laughter really is the best medicine! So are a huge armful of soft, smushy plush Disney characters. I just wanted to bury my face in them and pretend the world was as innocent as those super-soft chipmunks. I really do believe that if you do something nice for someone, and you truly mean it from your heart and have no ulterior motive, you keep it a secret. The only reason we are sharing this is because I hope this helps someone to get over this kid of situation quickly, and maybe to inspire. I believe that even if you experience the negative of human kind, the best way to feel better fast is to do something nice for someone else. Make the world just a teensy weensy bit better. Do you agree?