The Internet Is All Up in My Business

and it is creeping me out.

I finally got a Facebook account a few months ago.   The only information I entered was my name and my birthday.  Not my high school.  Not my current city.  Not my email address.  Not my mom's maiden name.  Just my name and birthday.  Within seconds, I was given a list of approximately 120 people I might know.  I knew 119 of them.

That is creepy. 

I know that my name was probably in their email address books, but how did they know it was me?

And then, I was searching for pendant lights for the kitchen.  I hate shopping online, as I am a tactile person.  I want to see it, touch it, and, if clothes or shoes, try them on.  However, I couldn't find any lights that I liked, so I looked online.

I didn't enter my name on any site.  I didn't put anything in any cart.  I didn't "like" anything on Facebook.  I simply googled "mini pendant lights" and looked around.

The next day, I was online catching up on my blog reading, and the exact lights that I had seen and liked were popping up on every ad.  They still are, actually. 

Creepy, creepy, creepy.

I'm not a fan of the computer knowing more about me than my husband does.

I had a small bit of creepy on Saturday.  This was a good creepy, though.  I went to a friend's party, and as I walked into a different room I heard someone say, "She was talking about Buttercup, wasn't she?"

Huh?

I turned around and got to talk to someone who reads this here blog.

A stranger until that day.

I know, in theory, that people are out there reading this.  I just forget that not all of them comment.  It was my first fan meet-up.  Cool.  But kinda creepy, having someone I don't know in the least knowing so much about me.  I'm so glad that she was such a nice, sweet lady and not some creepy stalker.

Today, I was sent over the edge with computer creepiness.  And not the good kind.

I ended up buying some pendant lights from Overstock.com last weekend.  On Wednesday, I got a confirmation email that they had been shipped.  Friday I received an email telling me, "Your pendant lights have been delivered!"

Come again?

I have not seen any package.

Later, I got the mail and found a note from the post office saying the mail lady didn't deliver our package, because she was afraid of our dogs.

Aha!  There's our lights.

Yesterday, I went to pick them up.

The package did not contain lights, but Christmas presents for the kids.

The first thought in my head was, "Where the hell are my lights???"

I checked my email and found that Overstock sent them through UPS.  I checked my tracking number, and it also said that the package was delivered.

That is when I went around the yard to see if the dogs had gotten ahold of it before I got home.

No torn-up box to be found.

I hunted down a phone number for UPS, entered my tracking number, and heard, "The package was delivered to Southern Mist Drive.  LETT signed for it."

We don't live on Southern Mist Drive.

However, we did live there 14 years ago.

My lights were delivered to an apartment we lived in 14 years ago!  To a person who clearly is not me! 

Tell me, how in the name of all that is good does something like that happen????

I may be losing my mind, but I know for certain I did not put Southern Mist as the shipping address.

Overstock.com didn't even exist 14 years ago.  Besides the fact we didn't have a computer 14 years ago. 

UPS did deliver packages to that address when we lived there, but they have also been to our last house and this one.

How did that address get on the mailing label????

I called up the apartment office, gave them my name, and was told the current resident of our old apartment was kind (and honest) enough to leave the package at the office. 

I had to drive 30 minutes out of my way to go pick up my lights.

Sure, it was a nice little trip down memory lane, as I got to show Phoenix where he spent the first 9 months of his life, but it is not something I have any time for.

And to top it off, I don't think the lights are going to work.  They are purple.  Not the beige shades I was expecting.  Blast it all.

I do believe I'm done with ordering online.

Or doing much of anything online.

It's too creepy.

And frustrating.

Well, except for blogging.

That's fun creepy.

I'll keep doing that.

Duh.

Have a lovely day!