Exodus 20:15

Got a phone call from my bank's credit card fraud department on Thursday evening. They wanted to verify some unusual activity on the Visa card that I almost never use except for internet purchases. Specifically, they wanted to know if on Tuesday and Wednesday, it was actually me who made $6300 in charges at six or seven different clothing stores in the Naples area. I informed them that not only could I not possibly fit that much clothing in my house, but I'm also just not that well-dressed that I would know what clothes to buy with $6300 if I had it. They were actually really good about the whole thing; they cancelled the card and they're not holding me liable for any of the charges.

They said someone must have managed to counterfeit the card, because the purchases showed up as swipe transactions (vice punching in the numbers). And I think I know who did it. Sunday night I took my parents and my cousin to the opera, and afterwards we went to a restaraunt nearby that had the worst service I've ever experienced in Napoli. When it was time to leave, I gave the waiter the above-mentioned credit card to pay (I certainly wasn't about to give him my debit card; good thing, too), and he took it inside. He came back out a couple minutes later and said, "sorry, we don't take Visa, only Diner's Club." We just wanted to get out of there at that point, so we all just sort of thought, "who the hell takes Diner's Club and not Visa?" and paid cash and left. Didn't occur to us to think, "why didn't he just tell us that when I gave him the card instead of taking it inside with him?" Given that's the only place in the Naples area I've used that card in at least a month (if ever), I'm sure he managed to make a copy of the magnetic strip when he took it inside and is now living the high life with a bunch of nice fur coats and Gucci loafers. Unfortunately I didn't find out about this until the night before a four-day weekend, so I have to wait until Tuesday to go talk to our security guys who liaison with the Italian law enforcement organizations and report it. And I'll be more than happy to ride down with the Caribinieri or the Guardia di Finanza or whomever and point out the guy. Or punch him in the face. Either way.

Arrivaderci, mama e papa

My parents and my cousin survived their first trip to Europe okay, even when I sent them off on their own to Rome without the benefit of my incredible linguistic skills and they had to fend for themselves. Had a good time with them out here, but hosting guests for two weeks is exhausting. Besides, many of you who read this probably know how high-maintenance my parents are--you know, always crying because they're hungry; always fighting for the front seat; my mom whining because my dad is wearing her clothes again....um, nevermind.

I'm still alive

I know all two of you who might still be checking this are relieved to hear that. Between the computer being broken and having work and visitors and other stuff, I haven't really been able to lavish these pages with the attention they deserve. Sorry. Give it a couple more weeks and maybe my machine will be fixed by then.

My parents came into town last week; I took the week off from work to take them around the area. We went to the Amalfi Coast, Pompei, and the opera here in Napoli, among other things. They seem to be having a great time so far. I sent them off to Rome on the train this morning. Hopefully they'll survive for me to pick them up at the train station tomorrow. I have lots of great pictures (oh, my mother turns insane when you put a camera in her hands, by the way; we have more than enough close-ups of plants, walls, roads, whatever you want), but they'll have to wait until I have an opportunity to actually put them on a working computer.

Any bright ideas?

So, kudos to Gateway tech support for getting back to me within three hours of my telling them about the problem with my computer. Their response, on the other hand, did not make me too happy:

"Thank you for using Gateway's Online E-mail Support. If your screen no longer works and appears completely black, even with the computer on, please be informed that your computer needs to come in for out of warranty service to be repaired....The approximate charge involved in the service is $299.00. This charge may vary if any additional components need to be replaced or any undisclosed information is found. "

So, anyone have any ideas on how to fix this that don't involve spending $300. And if not, should I just cough up the $300, or should I shell out another $600 on top of that and just get a new laptop altogether?

Technical Difficulties

The blogging is probably going to slow down for a bit over the next several days while I deal with an issue with my computer. Namely, that the screen of my laptop doesn't work. Or rather, it works, but I have to shine a flashlight on it to see it. It has no self-illumination capability anymore apparently. Just decided to stop lighting itself up yesterday. Which makes it tolerable for quickly checking email and the like, but not very good for very much else.

As long as I'm here, though, I'll mention that I went to a Neapolitan cooking lesson this evening. (No, that doesn't mean we cook everything in strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla.) Learned how to make country-style bean soup and Neopolitan meatballs. That'll be a hit at the next family potluck. Good stuff.

For the record, because I couldn't see the screen, I touch-typed the entire above paragraph and only made one mistake. Man, I am so marketable...

Naples Area 106th Submarine Birthday Ball

The above-mentioned event took place this Friday at the lovely Cala Moresca hotel and restaurant just outside of Naples. As you can guess from the great title, it was in fact, a great time. I happened to be the co-chair for the event (which basically meant, "he didn't do much this year except run a few meetings, but next year, it's all on him"), and I have to say, it was one of the most fun sub balls I've ever attended. Hey, any excuse to put on a bowtie and suspenders, right? (Bonus points if you can guess which person at the above table actually tied his own bowtie. Hint: he looks a lot like the guy sitting next to the lovely young lady in blue.)