From the files of Things I Learned in Movies That I Never Thought Would Be True:
"It's pretty much my favorite animal.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Daily Affirmations
Sort of fitting, I suppose, that since my last blog was about Credit Card Fraud, that this one should be about the fraud that I often feel like. I constantly feel like I am not as good as people tell me I am, that I cannot possibly live up to their (or my own) expectations. Today that phenomenon hit a real note with me, as I dropped the ball on the new student orientation at my school. The students were all taken care of, and got the essentials out of everything that they needed, but there were a lot of little details along the way that I could have, or felt I should have, taken care of to smooth things out. A few details, but when added all together they made a real mess, at least to my perception and (from the frustrated reactions of coworkers) others as well.
I've felt for months now, ever since I took this new position, that I am a fraud, that I got the position not by merit, but by luck, or by fooling others into believing that I am more capable than I am. I mentioned this to my dad this evening, and he pointed out that the feeling is common, and that it is well documented. Sure enough, the phenomenon is fairly well documented, and is known as "Impostor Syndrome" or "Impostor Phenomenon." Only a few short weeks ago, a friend of mine pointed out the symptoms to me, and finally, thanks to my dad, I was able to put a name to the symptoms that I've been struggling with for, literally, years.
Sad to say that there doesn't seem to be any quick fix from those who have identified the phenomenon- a very modern (American?) hope. In any case, I hope that I can finally begin to wrestle with and overcome it, maybe to be the success that I know I can, if I would only allow myself to be.
"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like me." - Stuart Smalley
For more information on Impostor Syndrome, check out these sites:
http://www.impostersyndrome.com/
http://www.counseling.caltech.edu/articles/The%20Imposter%20Syndrome.htm
http://talentdevelop.com/impostor.html
I've felt for months now, ever since I took this new position, that I am a fraud, that I got the position not by merit, but by luck, or by fooling others into believing that I am more capable than I am. I mentioned this to my dad this evening, and he pointed out that the feeling is common, and that it is well documented. Sure enough, the phenomenon is fairly well documented, and is known as "Impostor Syndrome" or "Impostor Phenomenon." Only a few short weeks ago, a friend of mine pointed out the symptoms to me, and finally, thanks to my dad, I was able to put a name to the symptoms that I've been struggling with for, literally, years.
Sad to say that there doesn't seem to be any quick fix from those who have identified the phenomenon- a very modern (American?) hope. In any case, I hope that I can finally begin to wrestle with and overcome it, maybe to be the success that I know I can, if I would only allow myself to be.
"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like me." - Stuart Smalley
For more information on Impostor Syndrome, check out these sites:
http://www.impostersyndrome.com/
http://www.counseling.caltech.edu/articles/The%20Imposter%20Syndrome.htm
http://talentdevelop.com/impostor.html
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Credit Card Fraud
My first experience with online credit card fraud happened today.
When doing my monthly bill paying/checkbook balance ritual, I noticed a couple of charges for $9.95 from two online companies I've never heard of- Moball LLC and U-Webtemplate.com
Now, I do use my credit card online from time to time- most notably with a recent surge of Ebay purchases a couple of months ago- and I'm pretty aware of the transactions. I keep all records of them in my email, so I can go back and double check a charge if I'm unsure of where it came from.
No record of these companies, and just the names sounded off (in particular, the U-Webtemplate one- I do my own html programming, and use Eversoft Firstpage- freeware- for my web design, so I know I've never made a purchase for any sort of web template.)
I did a little bit of research online, and found a couple of places where other people had been victims of fraudulent charges by these two companies. Most notably, at Robert K. Brown's blog. A quick look over that blog shows that many, many people have been the victims of this fraud.
Sadly, outside of blogs, no one in the mainstream media seems to have taken any notice of this, or cared enough to report it. From a lot of the posts, it doesn't even seem like the credit card companies are all that concerned about it themselves.
Anyway, long story short, I called my bank, cancelled my card, and filed a fraud charge with them. Hopefully that will take care of things.
In any case, I hope the awareness of these fraudulent companies will be raised, and hope that this blog will help a little bit. Be careful!
Some links:
A Work In Progress: U-Webtemplate
A Work In Progress: Digital Age Update
Credit Card Fraud Security
Internet Crime Complaint Center
When doing my monthly bill paying/checkbook balance ritual, I noticed a couple of charges for $9.95 from two online companies I've never heard of- Moball LLC and U-Webtemplate.com
Now, I do use my credit card online from time to time- most notably with a recent surge of Ebay purchases a couple of months ago- and I'm pretty aware of the transactions. I keep all records of them in my email, so I can go back and double check a charge if I'm unsure of where it came from.
No record of these companies, and just the names sounded off (in particular, the U-Webtemplate one- I do my own html programming, and use Eversoft Firstpage- freeware- for my web design, so I know I've never made a purchase for any sort of web template.)
I did a little bit of research online, and found a couple of places where other people had been victims of fraudulent charges by these two companies. Most notably, at Robert K. Brown's blog. A quick look over that blog shows that many, many people have been the victims of this fraud.
Sadly, outside of blogs, no one in the mainstream media seems to have taken any notice of this, or cared enough to report it. From a lot of the posts, it doesn't even seem like the credit card companies are all that concerned about it themselves.
Anyway, long story short, I called my bank, cancelled my card, and filed a fraud charge with them. Hopefully that will take care of things.
In any case, I hope the awareness of these fraudulent companies will be raised, and hope that this blog will help a little bit. Be careful!
Some links:
A Work In Progress: U-Webtemplate
A Work In Progress: Digital Age Update
Credit Card Fraud Security
Internet Crime Complaint Center
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