Hi Peeps. It’s been a while since I shared updates on what’s been going on in my world. To be honest, this past month’s Mercury Retrograde has been quite a volatile one for many, and although I did my best to stay under mercury’s radar, when it comes to tech, it’s hard to avoid.
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I did manage to dodge much of what I’ve read many have dealt with in their technical snafus, but one thing is for sure – WordPress is always chaotic in a retrograde – especially when they decide to do upgrades in the midst of one! For example, I have had many a trouble being able to comment this week in particular, on blogs I follow. It seems to me WP has made commenting with different sign-in boxes, and apparently, I am no longer recognized on some blogs I follow. Some blogs allowed me to comment after several stubborn attempts, where others seem to have the security of Fort Knox and won’t allow me to comment. Now, I already had this problem with blogs that aren’t on WP, more specifically – Blogger. But now WP is giving me grief. So if you’re a blogger who noticed my ‘like’ and avatar on one of your posts, but received no comment from me, please know I had good intentions. 🙂
How do I know when WP is doing an upgrade? Many signs! First, for most of mercurious September I had trouble logging into my own blog, Spam comments were in the hundreds – daily, when I tried to preview a post before publishing – it wouldn’t show me the post, only that ‘the page I’m trying to see doesn’t exist’. Instead of pre-drafting my posts, I had to post when I wanted it out at the specific time because then I could preview the new post and make changes immediately after viewing the actual post, hoping nobody sees it before I edit spacing, which can be a problem in the block editor. So annoying!
Also, the amount of scamspam I’m receiving in emails and on my mobile are ridiculous! I think I’ve had text messages from every bank of Canada that I “apparently” have accounts and credit cards with (NOT), asking me to log in to update my banking info, LOL, again, NOT! And let’s not forget the scam mails trying to get me to log into my Canada Revenue account. I’ve also had scamspam galore in emails from Amazon, Netflix, Paypal, and surprisingly, from Apple (which I own no devices from), intricately designed to not look like scam, but for the ridiculous tail ending of the sender’s email address. All of these ‘scam’ tech firms have sent scam mail urging me to update my credit card info on file because it’s expired or didn’t go through. Hmm, didn’t go through because I owe them nothing, and update my credit card which is far from its expiry date. Oh sure, why don’t I just click on your links so I can be robbed by you scammers? Remember: NEVER, EVER click on ANY links sent in an email to input personal data! GO DIRECTLY to the site and log in to see what’s actually going on.
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Also, important to note about these scam emails, by just deleting them, these criminals keep going and finding new suckers. But did you know that many of these sites have a forwarding ‘spoof’ or ‘phishing’ email address that you should forward these emails to so the respective companies can squash them down like Wacamoles as they come in? For example, Amazon has an address where you can forward the scamspam – spoofing@Amazon.com. Paypal has one too – phishing@paypal.com. Most of these sites we use with our credit cards have spoofing/phishing forwarding emails I always use to send scammers mail along to. It’s easy to locate these email addresses by simply Googling a particular site’s ‘report spam’ emails.
So where else did Mercury Retrograde get me? Well, there were a few times my laptop wouldn’t even turn on, leaving that dreaded fear of the ‘black screen’ syndrome. A new laptop is not in my budget right now, so thankfully, Google helped me out to get it turned back on. But, I am heart-broken, and still fighting stubbornly to find a way to turn my damaged Kindle on again.
It was a chain of mercurious events that led to my soggy wet Kindle. In a hurry as always, I’d just changed my big purse to my smaller one, and my Kindle no longer fit in the purse. I also was given a new water bottle from a friend who works at the gym I frequent. I put the full water bottle in a bag with my Kindle. After a ten-minute drive to the gym, I picked up the sopping wet bag. Yup, it leaked all over my Kindle. I immediatey took off the cover and wiped it and the Kindle dry, then left it in the car as I hurried to gym class. By the time I got home it was a few hours and I immediately put my Kindle in a bag of rice. This trick has saved mine and my husband’s cell phones once before. It’s been a week now and my poor Kindle is resting in yet, a new bag of rice. I’ve prayed to the Kindle gods and still hoping one day it will turn on. With over 1200 books on my Kindle, and it only being two-years-old, I am devastated that the price now is DOUBLE what I paid it, and again, not in the budget. If anyone here has any new tricks to get my, what must surely be dry now, Kindle working, please share.
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What else has Mercurious Retrograde brought? Oh yes. I spent a lot of time surfing around last week for a place to stay for winter in Puerto Vallarta. Due to the craziness in rental prices out of control there now, it was difficult finding something in my budget. And after several hours of searching and thinking I found the right place, I hit the ‘book’ button – to no avail. The gear just spun round and round, leaving me unable to book. I tried fervently three more times to book by logging out and back in – to no avail. I took it as a sign – NOT MEANT TO BE. So, as of yet, I’ve booked nothing as the pickings get slimmer. But if something doesn’t feel right by me, it ain’t happening. So I’m awaiting the universe to let me know where it is I should be going. Also, I am still trying to work a trip to Spain – still uncertain about those details of where and when. Oh, the uncertainty of Mercury Retrograde!
As for what else? Well, I’ve also been quite busy going to the gym three to four times a week and taking classes, and socializing with my many new women friends. I’ve gone for lunches and dinners with a few, shopping with others, and my friend Dorothy who runs the women’s gym, has invited me to her home for Canadian Thanksgiving. I can’t tell you how much these women have meant to me coming into my life. Many of them are younger than me and couldn’t care less about age. The empowerment from that gym is amazing!
Last but not least, the writing front. Admittedly, I have to say that throughout the summer I haven’t been very productive on the writing front. Oh yes, lots of unpublished poetry and more thoughts written for my Grief book, as well as my articles I write for Sally’s Smorgasbord Blog Magazine in my Spiritual Awareness column, as well as my book reviews. But other than that, I just felt like going with my procrastination on my book writing, and just enjoyed being with friends instead. Truth be told, I have been wanting to begin the revising and rewriting of my writing for my Grief book, but every time I have attempted to begin, my stomach turned and the PTSD kicks in at the thought of reliving the nightmare of watching my husband’s dying for months, and then his passing. I know in my soul I want to write this book, but I’ve yet to figure out a way to numb myself enough to begin. Again, I will trust in the universe to let me know when the time will be right.
So, does anyone have anything to report here about their own Mercury Retrograde encounters?
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DGKayewriter.com 