So… I changed my mind about doing a session at BlogHer.  I would rather do something with Kathy and since she can’t be there this time, we’ll wait until next year.  A 30-minute session is pretty darn short to cover much that requires actual instruction, at least from a design standpoint, which is why I wanted to make it more of a “conversation with the Moxie Girls” — a place to just hang out, dish and answer questions about blogging and design.  But, despite the positive response it got, there was also a little confusion, so I think it’s better to just go this year to get a vibe of what the attendees want out of a session.

I was also kind of unclear about how BlogHer handles the submissions and presenters. It would be perhaps several weeks, if not a couple months before I even heard if my panel was chosen, and since it doesn’t appear that speakers get free admission (like SXSW), I wanted to make sure I got my ticket before “early bird pricing” passed me by.  Then I decided if I was going to pay for my ticket, I didn’t really want to be anxious about presenting, too.  Despite my gregarious nature, I get a little nervous speaking in front of groups… alone.   I want to enjoy myself, network, sign some books (I’m working on setting up a signing with our publisher) and mingle with all them fine ladies.

I changed my mind about something else this weekend, too. I’ve been considering a move to a larger place so that Lulu could have a ‘room’ that’s not the dining room and I could have a proper office.  I found a too-good-to-be-true place in Encinitas, a beach community about 30 minutes from here:  3 bedrooms, 3.5 bath, fully-loaded, utilities included, private beach access (so basically a block or so from the beach), ocean views… it sounded like a dream.  And all for only a couple hundred more than I’m paying now.

Of course, if it sounds too good to be true, it generally is.  After exchanging a few emails, I decided this had to be a scam.  Here are the red flags:

1. Homeowner on “missionary work” in West Africa
2. Doesn’t have anyone in the States — not a broker, not friends or family — to show me the unit.
3. Insists I send a deposit, at the very least, for them to send me the keys and documents (who goes on a missionary trip knowing they’ll have to rent their home, but takes all of their home documents and keys with them?)
4. Contact info given by the homeowner is in Nigeria.
5. The name the homeowner gave was a decidedly Anglo name, but the emails clearly indicate that English is not the first language. Major spelling and grammatical errors.
6. The name the homeowner gave doesn’t own that property according to public record, though there is someone by that name who lives in the same city… but he owns another address which is actually a business, not a residence.
7. Despite the incredible price and despite him telling me he had “a lot of interesting” in the property and it would be “first come first serve”, he kept lowering the price every time I told him I wouldn’t send money overseas to a stranger without meeting someone in person in the States with a viable background check and the appropriate legal documents.
8. A reverse lookup indicates someone else of a totally different name currently resides in that property.

So… I told them thank for playing, but I’m not some 75-year old Jesus-loving retiree from some yokel town who fell off the turnip truck yesterday.  I know a scam when I see one. I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but not to my own detriment.  It’s sad that someone will probably fall for that.

I reported them to Craigslist and flagged the ad as ‘spam’, as well as contacted the Federal authorities in the internet scam department.  Take that, Nigeria.  You messed with the wrong broad.  Of course, probably nothing will ever come of it, but at least I didn’t fall for that crock.

I am, however, still looking for a little house, preferrably two-bedrooms with a yard for Lulu to play in and washer/dryer hookups. I’m feeling increasingly unsafe in my neighborhood, despite it being so lovely.  Three cars have been broken into in the last couple months, a guy got pulled over for a DUI on my street last week and mikey‘s car even got broken into last year parked in front of my place.  So if anyone in the San Diego area hears of a bungalow or small home for rent in an area of town that doesn’t require Truck Nutz or that I put bars on my windows, please let me know.