Josie and I spent over 5 hours yesterday morning driving around and tracking the location of her stolen phone. The address we started with produced nothing. The application that I was using - AT&TFamilyMap - was doing a great job identifying the address where it could get a "hit". The problem with the application is that you can only get a reading when the phone is turned on. As a result, we would have to wait between searching each location until we got another reading. We guessed that the individual was constantly moving as we got 4 different readings during the morning, all within about a 5 mile radius. The last reading we got - and the best one - was at a Seven Eleven in Peoria. We arrived there and walked around the store and saw nothing except for a kid that was sitting outside the store, next to a trash can and leaning against the store, with a phone in his hand and listening to something using ear plugs. Josie and I both walked past him. I didn't think the phone was Josie's since the case didn't match hers. Josie walked past him and immediately noticed that the phone was hers with the case removed. She came over to me to tell me it was her phone and the kid ran off. He most likely recognized Josie from the shop and he took off. We called the police to get some help and waited over an hour for them to show. They arrived after we left as we received a call from them about 15 minutes after we left the area.
Following that experience, we went to the nearest AT&T retail store and had them suspend all service to the phone. We believe that the thief will eventually throw away the phone when it becomes useless to him and we can't wait any longer to have Josie go without a phone. We submitted a claim to the insurance - thank goodness we took out insurance on the phone when we got it a couple months ago - and we expect to have the claim accepted today and a new phone delivered within a couple days. Of course, Josie has to start over again with all her contacts, pictures, passwords and other applications. Some of what she lost will be recovered from the cloud, but we don't know how much at this point.
With the great news of her getting the new job at AJ's Fine Foods and the horrible experience with her phone at the same time, we are both ready to get off of the roller coaster...
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Incredible Events
The last day and a half have been incredible. First of all, I missed the entry yesterday for a good reason - we were involved in a desperate search for Josie's phone. More on that later.
I picked up Josie at work as scheduled on Thursday for her 1:30 PM interview for a new opportunity that she was presented with and wanted to pursue. The interview went well and she was suppose to hear back from the manager that interviewed her later in the day or in the evening. The manager indicated that she needed to get approval for the salary that was offered to Josie. As Josie hurriedly left for home at the end of the day on Thursday, she forgot her phone at the shop. She sent a message through Facebook to the manager and it was agreed they would talk on Friday AM after Josie got her phone. That's when the incredible events really began.
Josie could not find her phone anywhere in the shop yesterday - even with the help of the rest of the staff. I did some research on the ways to locate a phone. I found a program which I subscribed to called "AT&T FamilyMap" which is a program for folks to locate where their kids are located. I thought it would also work for locating a lost or misplaced phone. It does work. The phone kept coming up as being located at 650 W Bell RD, which is a good distance from Josie's shop. We thought that the location was probably that of the nearest tower as her phone was probably out of charge by then. It also suggested that the phone, maybe, was still in the shop somewhere. They spent all day looking for the phone with no success. Of course, Josie could not talk with the manager about the new opportunity from the shop phone.
I drove to the address where the phone was supposedly located. I didn't see any towers but thought perhaps they would be on top of a building in the strip mall at that address or on a telephone pole in the area. So, Josie came home yesterday and finalized her new job with AJ's Fine Foods:
It is a terrific opportunity for her as she will get her full time hours - 40 - and a nice hefty pay increase. The location is pretty far away - about a 50 minute commute - but we expect that to be temporary, as AJ's has store locations all over the Valley and she can transfer to any one of those at some time after she starts. She will start her new job following the visit by Patty and Debby at the beginning of August.
Now, the phone was traced last night to a different address - Indian School Rd in Phoenix. That was the indication that the phone was stolen from Josie's shop. Josie said she had her phone on the counter (something she never does) while helping a customer pay for an order at closing time. Another customer came in at that time and wanted to make a call so Josie let him use the store phone. Evidently, he walked out with Josie's phone without her knowing. The phone still comes up this morning at the Indian School address. Josie and I are going to drive to that address, call 911 for police assistance, and confront whoever is in that home. Wish us luck...
I picked up Josie at work as scheduled on Thursday for her 1:30 PM interview for a new opportunity that she was presented with and wanted to pursue. The interview went well and she was suppose to hear back from the manager that interviewed her later in the day or in the evening. The manager indicated that she needed to get approval for the salary that was offered to Josie. As Josie hurriedly left for home at the end of the day on Thursday, she forgot her phone at the shop. She sent a message through Facebook to the manager and it was agreed they would talk on Friday AM after Josie got her phone. That's when the incredible events really began.
Josie could not find her phone anywhere in the shop yesterday - even with the help of the rest of the staff. I did some research on the ways to locate a phone. I found a program which I subscribed to called "AT&T FamilyMap" which is a program for folks to locate where their kids are located. I thought it would also work for locating a lost or misplaced phone. It does work. The phone kept coming up as being located at 650 W Bell RD, which is a good distance from Josie's shop. We thought that the location was probably that of the nearest tower as her phone was probably out of charge by then. It also suggested that the phone, maybe, was still in the shop somewhere. They spent all day looking for the phone with no success. Of course, Josie could not talk with the manager about the new opportunity from the shop phone.
I drove to the address where the phone was supposedly located. I didn't see any towers but thought perhaps they would be on top of a building in the strip mall at that address or on a telephone pole in the area. So, Josie came home yesterday and finalized her new job with AJ's Fine Foods:
It is a terrific opportunity for her as she will get her full time hours - 40 - and a nice hefty pay increase. The location is pretty far away - about a 50 minute commute - but we expect that to be temporary, as AJ's has store locations all over the Valley and she can transfer to any one of those at some time after she starts. She will start her new job following the visit by Patty and Debby at the beginning of August.
Now, the phone was traced last night to a different address - Indian School Rd in Phoenix. That was the indication that the phone was stolen from Josie's shop. Josie said she had her phone on the counter (something she never does) while helping a customer pay for an order at closing time. Another customer came in at that time and wanted to make a call so Josie let him use the store phone. Evidently, he walked out with Josie's phone without her knowing. The phone still comes up this morning at the Indian School address. Josie and I are going to drive to that address, call 911 for police assistance, and confront whoever is in that home. Wish us luck...
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Deluge Number 2
The day was pretty quiet yesterday morning as far as monsoon activity. Once we hit the late afternoon, the storms formed and, of course, we got our taste of another heavy storm. This one didn't have the high winds that we had before, so it was just nice to watch the heavy rain:
It didn't stop there though. During the night we had a couple big thunderstorms that had lots of lightening and very heavy rain. Tis the season. We are thankful for the rain which is so desperately needed.
Josie has an interview scheduled today for what could be a fantastic opportunity for her. I will pick her up at the shop and take her to her 1:30 appointment. The results and all details will be presented tomorrow. We don't want to jump the gun on this one, but it is such a giant step over where she is today and we are hoping that it all comes together.
It appears that we will get a break today from the monsoon storms. That is good news as I had to clean up all the debris from the last several days and I may get a little reprieve from those unpleasant tasks...
It didn't stop there though. During the night we had a couple big thunderstorms that had lots of lightening and very heavy rain. Tis the season. We are thankful for the rain which is so desperately needed.
Josie has an interview scheduled today for what could be a fantastic opportunity for her. I will pick her up at the shop and take her to her 1:30 appointment. The results and all details will be presented tomorrow. We don't want to jump the gun on this one, but it is such a giant step over where she is today and we are hoping that it all comes together.
It appears that we will get a break today from the monsoon storms. That is good news as I had to clean up all the debris from the last several days and I may get a little reprieve from those unpleasant tasks...
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Storm Recovery
A good part of the morning yesterday was spent cleaning up the mess left by the massive storm we had on Monday afternoon and evening. I got out the blower and cleared both patios in the back and the front entry. There were leaves and other debris everywhere but it is all gone now and we are ready for the next one. Fortunately, we had no damage - except for the flagpole - and everything is back to normal. I did pick up a replacement for the flagpole yesterday afternoon for $6 at Walmart.
Josie was approached yesterday by a former coworker of hers who is now managing a nice, high end store in the East Valley, to come work for her. She has scheduled an interview with Josie for Thursday, so we will see how that goes. A lot more will be said about that as we learn more about the situation. She has been searching for better opportunities for quite awhile now.
I am planning to visit the AT&T store again today to attempt to iron out the billing problems that we just can't seem to fix. Commitments were made to us when we switched from Verizon that are not being reflected in the billing. I hope we can wrap that up today.
I have one more cute shot that Josie took last night of our newest quail family that hangs out in our yard:
Nature is sure fascinating...
Josie was approached yesterday by a former coworker of hers who is now managing a nice, high end store in the East Valley, to come work for her. She has scheduled an interview with Josie for Thursday, so we will see how that goes. A lot more will be said about that as we learn more about the situation. She has been searching for better opportunities for quite awhile now.
I am planning to visit the AT&T store again today to attempt to iron out the billing problems that we just can't seem to fix. Commitments were made to us when we switched from Verizon that are not being reflected in the billing. I hope we can wrap that up today.
I have one more cute shot that Josie took last night of our newest quail family that hangs out in our yard:
Nature is sure fascinating...
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Deluge
I kind of thought it would happen this way. Once we did get the much needed rain from the monsoon, we would be sorry. It reared its ugly face late yesterday afternoon and came through with a vengeance. I was tracking the doppler radar beginning at about 3 PM when it became very obvious that a massive storm was working its way west from the far east valley. Josie was working until 4 PM and I could see that the storm was going to hit her location head-on by about the time she would leave. I tried frantically to warn her and tell her to get out as soon as possible.
At 4 PM, I received a call from her that she was leaving work and I told her about the storm bearing down on her. She made it home at around 4:30, just in time to watch the dust storm blow through which precedes the rain storms. Then it hit:
Our agave plant blew over immediately and the winds started to blow at about 50-60 mph. we caught this shot of a woodpecker that was holding on for dear life against our palm tree on the opposite side from the wind:
The temperature took a huge drop during the storm - from 100 degrees to about 70:
If you enlarge the top photo you can see the thermometer as it began to fall.
We lost power at about 5 PM and didn't get it back until nearly 9PM. We weathered the storm pretty well - our flagpole was the only casualty as I forgot to take it down prior to the storm. We have leaves and debris everywhere outside which means a cleanup effort today. I hesitate to do too much in the way of cleanup as we most likely will have another visit form the monsoon storms later today.
The golf course workers were out early this morning picking up fallen branches from trees and trying to get the course in shape as quickly as possible. It looks terrific from our house.
I'll end this entry with a photo I took earlier in the day of the newest quail family in our yard. These two chicks must have been born recently as you can see how small they are:
Our fingers are crossed that we have a much more calm day today...
At 4 PM, I received a call from her that she was leaving work and I told her about the storm bearing down on her. She made it home at around 4:30, just in time to watch the dust storm blow through which precedes the rain storms. Then it hit:
Our agave plant blew over immediately and the winds started to blow at about 50-60 mph. we caught this shot of a woodpecker that was holding on for dear life against our palm tree on the opposite side from the wind:
The temperature took a huge drop during the storm - from 100 degrees to about 70:
If you enlarge the top photo you can see the thermometer as it began to fall.
We lost power at about 5 PM and didn't get it back until nearly 9PM. We weathered the storm pretty well - our flagpole was the only casualty as I forgot to take it down prior to the storm. We have leaves and debris everywhere outside which means a cleanup effort today. I hesitate to do too much in the way of cleanup as we most likely will have another visit form the monsoon storms later today.
The golf course workers were out early this morning picking up fallen branches from trees and trying to get the course in shape as quickly as possible. It looks terrific from our house.
I'll end this entry with a photo I took earlier in the day of the newest quail family in our yard. These two chicks must have been born recently as you can see how small they are:
Our fingers are crossed that we have a much more calm day today...
Monday, July 9, 2018
Still No Rain
It has been since early March when we have seen any measurable rainfall. The monsoon has started - about a month ago - and we have yet to see any rain at all in this area. It appears that the storms are coming, but so far have remained either just north or just south. Today is suppose to be the day. I'm not counting on any so I watered the plants anyway.
We will try to iron out the changes in our health care plan today. It should be an easy transition as United Healthcare has left messages for us to contact them and we suspect that the subject is the change in our Primary Physician.
Furniture in the two bedrooms was moved around yesterday and we swapped TV's from the bedrooms. It appears that something was screwed up with the transfer as we weren't able to locate some of the shows we know we copied. I will investigate those today, but the rooms look much better now and we are getting closer to a final arrangement. The TV issue should be an easy one to resolve. With all the work we are doing inside, the garage is being, pretty much, ignored. Of course, it has been way too hot to do any kind of work in the garage so that will have to wait its turn...
We will try to iron out the changes in our health care plan today. It should be an easy transition as United Healthcare has left messages for us to contact them and we suspect that the subject is the change in our Primary Physician.
Furniture in the two bedrooms was moved around yesterday and we swapped TV's from the bedrooms. It appears that something was screwed up with the transfer as we weren't able to locate some of the shows we know we copied. I will investigate those today, but the rooms look much better now and we are getting closer to a final arrangement. The TV issue should be an easy one to resolve. With all the work we are doing inside, the garage is being, pretty much, ignored. Of course, it has been way too hot to do any kind of work in the garage so that will have to wait its turn...
Sunday, July 8, 2018
Insurance Changes
We received a letter yesterday from our health care insurance - AARP Medicare Complete Insurance coverage through United Healthcare. They informed us that our Primary Care Physician (PCP) is no longer in the plan network. He has been our primary physician for at least 15 years. The health insurance has appointed another doctor - pending our approval - who will take over the plan coverage for us. Of course, we know nothing about the replacement but we knew nothing about our present physician either when we started with him. Our main concern is that all of our records are transferred over in a timely manner so that there is no question about any coverages. We will follow up on that situation on Monday when the doctors' offices are open.
I made some Philly cheesesteaks for dinner last night. Yum! It has been several years since I made those and, surprisingly, all went well and they were delicious!
Our plan for today is to get some furniture changed around in the bedrooms. We have guests coming at the end of the month (Patty and Debby) and there are some pieces that would work better if swapped around . I also have to attach one of our TV's to the wall in our bedroom which is always a fun project. Ho hum...
I made some Philly cheesesteaks for dinner last night. Yum! It has been several years since I made those and, surprisingly, all went well and they were delicious!
Our plan for today is to get some furniture changed around in the bedrooms. We have guests coming at the end of the month (Patty and Debby) and there are some pieces that would work better if swapped around . I also have to attach one of our TV's to the wall in our bedroom which is always a fun project. Ho hum...
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