BFCU / Dark Web / VVRMC / Security Breach

Last week I got an email notice from two of my credit card companies with whom I had signed up years ago for free credit monitoring. They informed me that a credit report had been pulled and that it had been Border Federal Credit Union with whom I opened an account earlier this month. Why didn't the account officer notify me one would be pulled? I would have agreed but I had no idea credit unions/and or banks needed to run a credit check to open an account...it is not like I was applying for a loan...grrrr!!!

A few days later I got another email saying my social security number had been found on the dark web...WTH?  It was the weekend so I could not reach anyone. I watched a ton of YouTube videos on the subject and decided to place a Credit Freeze at all the credit bureaus. 

I was going over my mail when I saw a letter from Val Verde Regional Medical Center (our local hospital) which looked like Junk Mail. Something told me to open it, I was stunned, and at the same time furious. They wrote to inform me that on March 10, 2022, VVRMC experienced a network disruption.

"We immediately initiated an investigation and secured our network. We also engaged third-party forensics experts to assist with the investigation and determine whether sensitive information may have been accessed or acquired without authorization during the incident. We then took steps to identify up-to-date address information to notify you. That process was completed on May 12, 2022."

What information was involved? The information affected during the incident may have included your first name, last name, Social Security number, date of birth, medical information, health insurance information, and other information."  Really? That's basically all my information!!!

What are they doing?  They will offer complimentary identity monitoring services for 12 months...big freaking deal! 

The letter is dated May 24 the breach was on March 10, 2022.  They sure took their time to inform the population considering they are the only hospital within a 60-mile radius of Del Rio. I do not know if I am more upset because they have the nerve to call it A Data Security Incident instead of A Major Security Breach or because of how long it took them to notify me.

What a lousy week followed by this equally dismal Memorial Day weekend I have had. The mass shooting in Uvalde has affected me as it has many other people even though I do not know any of the victims. I wish I was not such a news junkie, but that is on me.

Friday, the neighbors were going crazy popping fireworks. It has been in the triple-digits for days with strong wind gusts but this Thursday it should go down to 97 degrees.

The one positive was that I was finally able to talk to a dear friend of mine that I had not spoken to since December 2021.

Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid

A horrific day in Texas

My day started normal enough...I was grateful that the bad weather that was supposed to affect us last night did not materialize...not even a drop of rain.

I like to watch "The View" and I thought the worst thing that would happen today was that I would have to listen to that hideous Kellyanne Conway promoting her book whose title "Here's the Deal" which is a phrase often echoed by President Biden...is she shading him?

To say it was a train wreck is, to put it mildly, she was booed by the audience and fought with a Republican guest host with whom she worked during the prior administration along with having altercations with the other hosts and then went into one of her usual rants...the woman is a psycho!

The Noon News comes after the conclusion of The View and it was then that they announced there was a shelter in place at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas but nothing else. I went about my chores outside but left the TV on and when I came back inside for some water, is when I heard of what at the time was only the death of two people but no mention that they were children. I figured it was some angry boyfriend or ex-husband having killed his significant other who might have worked at that school...was I ever wrong!

It wasn't until the 4:00 p.m. News that I came back inside and turned the TV to Telemundo-San Antonio where I learned of the atrocity that had taken place as both news anchors, two ladies who recently came back from maternity leave were doing their level best to unsuccessfully fight back tears and keep their composure.

Del Rio is 70 miles from Uvalde, Texas...a city I know well and have documented several times on this blog. It has a population of about 16,000 people. You hear about these mass shootings but you never think it is going to hit so close to home and that the victims would be second, third, and fourth-graders.

Senator Murphy gave a tear-jerking speech on the Senate floor...is anyone on the GOP side listening?

You see more outrage from NBA coach Steve Kerr than from Republicans.

I am so glad we have an empathetic President in Joe Biden...and I ask the same question he did..."When in God's name are we going to stand up to the Gun Lobby?"

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has done everything in his power to make it easier to purchase guns and will along with the disgraced, twice impeached one-term former liar-in-chief, and Cancun Cruz address an NRA meeting in Houston, Texas this weekend. Only Senator John Cornyn remembered he had a prior appointment for which he will have to remain in Washington D.C. spineless bastard!

As I type this they have confirmed the death of 19 children, 2 adults, and the scumbag killer. There are other victims in critical condition at area hospitals which unfortunately can make the death toll higher.

My heart goes out to all the parents, and families of victims as well as to the residents of Uvalde, Texas.

I do not think I will be able to sleep this evening.

Severe weather on the way / Civic Duty / Photobucket

Decided to make my blog post this afternoon versus this evening because we are expecting severe storms with strong winds and the possibility of hail this evening. To some Del Rio residents, it also means power outages.

Sorry for the poor quality I had to use my old phone
 as I misplaced my current one

Sunday morning when I went to feed the cats I was pleasantly surprised that it was cooler outside than inside the house so I turned off the A/C and opened the windows. While it was cloudy we never received any of the promised rain showers we were expecting. One of my mother's friends who lives close to Laughlin Air Force Base said they got 1.5-inch hail yesterday.

Wednesday, May 18th I went to vote early for the statewide elections that will be held tomorrow Tuesday 24, 2022. I went to the Del Rio Civic Center where we had a very poor turn-out for the primaries last month. Only 10 percent of the eligible voters cast their ballots so they moved the elections from the main ballroom to a smaller banquet room.

Once again there were more election workers than voters. Many people were confused including me as I thought I was able to cast a vote during the April primaries for a hotly contested congressional seat but this race was not on the ballot this time? 

Our local channels come from San Antonio where they constantly bombard you with political ads. Is that where I got the idea I could vote for the 28th Congressional District between Henry Cuellar and Jessica Cisneros? I asked the election official and he did not seem to know anything about that congressional seat.

Another lady was very upset because she came to vote for governor and when she was told that the race wasn't until November she was not happy. We NEED a local newspaper!

Our Covid cases are on the rise in Del Rio while in Ciudad Acuña they do not have a single reported case as of today's El Zócalo webpage edition.

Yesterday afternoon I covered up dad's old car with cardboard and three tarps just in case we receive any hail. It is not a pretty sight but I don't care as last year during a hail storm his car suffered damages. I weighed it down with half-gallon and gallon water jugs and bricks...jajaja...I do not believe if dad was still alive he would consider it funny...but I do 😁😁

I misplaced my darn phone so no pictures today...hopefully, I can upload them later but with all the changes Blogger made I am not making any promises. 

That reminds me that Photobucket keeps on harassing me to either pay for their service or delete my account. I need to buy another computer so I can download the pictures off their site but I think that will mean I will also lose pictures from my early blogging years. At the time I had no other choice but to use their services as I had dial-up internet along with other equally slow internet providers and back then Photobucket did not have a limit on their free accounts.

Photobucket now charges $299.99 a month to host images for a blog...are they crazy? At that price, I guess I will just lose pictures.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid

Federal Credit Union / Ollie's Haul

For the past five years, I have been considering joining one of the local Federal Credit Unions. While I am a member of one through my last employer it is located in Amarillo, Texas and I have never been to one of their branches in person. My interaction with them is either through the telephone or by mail.

Today I finally bit the bullet and headed to the branch closest to the house. It has been at least two decades since I opened a bank account and had forgotten how long it took and all the paperwork involved. I will still keep my account at my old bank as they have branches in Houston.

Now that Dollar Tree has become the $1.25 Dollar Tree, I do not go as frequently as I can find things like dishwashing liquid, soap, and other items for less than a dollar at Ollie's. I died laughing as the first thing that greeted me coming through the door was the My Pillow guy...I would not accept it if they gave it for free! 😝

I would accept one of these recycle bags selling for $1.00...

Anti-Fatigue mats are expensive and this week they had them for a very reasonable $5.99 each.  Cheaper than Walmart and Wayfair.

With my plantar fasciitis, my feet get tired fast when I do the dishes or when I make a feeble attempt at cooking. Ollie's has a lot of As Seen on TV merchandise at very reasonable prices. Today I spent $2.99 on Copper Anti-Fatigue Foot Sleeves.

They only had men's Dr. Scholl's shoe inserts but I bought them anyway for $3.99.

Purchased another boot and shoe tray this time they were a dollar cheaper than the previous ones I bought.

I did not purchase these USB fans but I might go back and buy them...

The past three days we have been in triple digits and that is going to continue. Monday, May 16th...

Today, May 17th ...

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid

More Bad Weather / Power Outage

Last night we were under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 11:00 p.m. but the ten o'clock news said that the watch would probably expire without being extended as the rains in Mexico would not make it across the border as the radar "seemed" to indicate.

I was watching The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon but dozing off and on as I waited for Late Night with Seth Meyers, who had a guest I was looking forward to seeing. It was around 11:40 p.m. when I was rudely awakened by thunder, lightning, wind, heavy rain, and pellets hitting the living room window. What the heck happened to the storms not reaching the border?

Five minutes later there is a big bang sound I am very familiar with and then the power went out. The explosive sound was from the transformer that is located between Mr. Joe's property and his noisy neighbor. I often report our frequent power outages but it had been a while since we last experienced a prolonged one.

I was very tired and just went to sleep...thank goodness for our solar lights! The next time I woke up it was 2:00 a.m. and the house was feeling stuffy as the power had not returned. I opened more windows as well as the front door and was puzzled to find that all the street lights were on including the lights in some houses. I could even hear the air conditioner of the house in front of mom's.

The only reason I knew Mr. Joe did not have power is that his motion lights which come on constantly probably triggered by the cats, never came on as I was in the front yard for a long while with Nicolás (my cat).

Around 4:00 a.m. some terrible wind gusts began and I went back inside glad that it was only wind and not rain and/or hail. The good thing about the wind is that it helped to cool the house down. The next time I woke up it was 5:10 a.m. and the power was still off.

I kept hearing a heavy-duty vehicle and when I opened my eyes my alarm clock was flashing and the time on the cable box told me it was 6:05 a.m. That is when I realized that the sound I was hearing was the trash truck at this ungodly hour while it was still dark outside. Lucky for me I had brought the trash can to the gate last night and the guy saw me running and waited for me...thank you!

I do not know what time the power came back on as it obviously took place sometime between 5:10 a.m. and 6:05 a.m. I was glad I did not go to HEB yesterday as I had made room in the freezer for a small container of ice cream. We were without electricity for at least six hours. I am glad it rained as the temperatures did not rise until the afternoon when the clouds cleared and the sun came out. We had a high of 95 degrees today.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid

Breakfast tacos / Junk Mail / Severe Thunderstorm Watch

I was very hungry this morning so I decided to go buy some breakfast tacos as I am sick of eating cereal. It took me a while when Town & Country sold its stores to Stripes and now they have been sold to 7-Eleven to get the name straight. They are still greeting customers with the phrase "welcome to Stripes".

There must be a big trial because there were a lot of vehicles parked near the Post Office as the Federal Courthouse is right across the street. It was drizzling, cloudy, and very humid. I briefly considered going to Little HEB to get some water as I hear there is a shortage nationwide of this vital liquid...but decided I would rather eat my tacos.

As I passed the main HEB, unleaded gasoline was going for $3.999 and the corner Exxon was selling it for $4.199.

Last week one of the San Antonio TV stations did a report on junk mail and I almost died laughing when I saw that the lady being interviewed had as much mail from AARP as I do. I don't know how many times I have opted out of their magazine and e-mails and then they start right back up again.

I finally got around to checking my e-mails and they are a nuisance as well. How many times does Walmart need to remind me that the item I looked at "is selling fast?". Tractor & Supply, Home Depot, Triple-A, and Domino's Pizza hounding me to download their App...I don't do Apps...grrrrrrrrrrr!!!

I waited too long as we are currently under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch, so my trip to HEB will have to wait for another day. Here is hoping that we don't get any hail even if we lose power.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid

Funny Sayings

A tale of two cities

Yesterday afternoon the city alarms from Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila - México went off about ten minutes before strong storms hit our area. Long-time readers of my blog know I live on the southern tip of Val Verde County about five minutes from the International Bridge.  I, therefore, hear their alarms before I hear the ones from Del Rio. I still do not know if ours went off and the local online webpage that masquerades as our newspaper made no reference to it or if there was any damage in the city.

I have been busy all day trying to organize my grocery stock and fighting with the cats so I had not had time to watch the news. My uncle who lives in Mexico City called this evening very worried about what had happened in Ciudad Acuña. Understandably, I asked him...what happened?  He said he had just seen a news clip about a terrible storm that hit Ciudad Acuña last night but would not know any more until the evening news.

I went online to El Zócalo newspaper's webpage and found that the rain amounts, as well as damage, were much worse than the rain amounts reported here.  KENS 5 reported we received 2.3 inches but nothing else.

Ciudad Acuña received 6.5 inches of rain in less than an hour and hail up to 1.5 inches. There was city-wide flooding, fallen trees, swollen creeks, and streets that resembled rivers.  I know this article is in Spanish but pictures do not need translation https://www.zocalo.com.mx/tromba-dano-mas-de-70-viviendas-en-acuna/

This article makes reference to Del Rio receiving hail up to 1.5 inches in diameter and images of a thin tornado. There is also a video of a car being carried away by the strong currents in Cd. Acuña https://www.zocalo.com.mx/causa-tormenta-caos-y-destrozos/

I am glad that as far as I know nothing that severe occurred in Del Rio. I hope no one was impacted by the bad weather that still lingers this evening in other parts of the nation.

Mom's front yard

Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid

Wine Humor

Humid / Drizzly / Severe Storm

It has been very humid this week and mornings have been drizzly including today. I could not put off my errands any longer so headed to town this morning. My first stop was the post office, I thought with the real estate bubble about to burst and the rise in interest rates I would not be hearing from flippers any longer...I was WRONG...most of my mail was from them. At least they have given up on calling me and I have to credit my wonderful answering machine that screens all calls and even if they manage to leave a message I don't return their calls.

Back in early February, I considered using up the six-month grocery stash that I have maintained during the past two years due to Covid and just keep a one to two month supply on hand. Then Putin's invasion of Ukraine happened, inflation escalated, and now you can not go on YouTube without seeing prepper videos come up as suggested viewing.

With my insomnia, I have stayed up late watching a bunch of them so to make a long story short...I am back to my six-month stash going on eight-month just in case.  

My second stop was HEB where I managed to pick up a couple more items and had the good sense to bring in my umbrella. I was just about to check out when my phone notified me I had an e-mail (I only turn on my phone when I leave the house) and it just happened to be from HEB Pharmacy letting me know my prescriptions were ready. I was so happy as I saved myself a return trip to town.

On my way to the post office, gasoline at HEB was going for $3.69 a gallon for unleaded gasoline. Two hours later on my way home, it had gone up twenty cents to $3.89 a gallon.

I will upload some pictures of my purchases tomorrow as I am too tired to email them to myself tonight.

The weather forecasters had predicted strong storms from México reaching the border with the possibility of tornados, heavy rains, strong winds, and hail. Since these are San Antonio channels they told their audience not to worry as they did not think it would reach the Alamo city. 

We did get all that but lucky for our area only pea-size hail. However, Laughlin Air Force Base on the east side of town had winds that reached 65 mph. I was shocked to hear one weatherman (KENS 5) say they got it WRONG! Not only did it hit along the border but all the way to San Antonio.

Understandably, they focused on that and not on what happened in Del Rio so I do not know how much rain we received but we had a pool in the front yard. I estimate we received between one to two inches.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid