Day 189: Fraud?

I was having a good day today...

I got an illustration job the other day... through email. It was an assignment to do a few portraits... So, as you can imagine, I was excited...

They sent me the money very quickly... surprisingly quick. Obviously, I cashed the checks and thought I had made a couple thousand for my talents. Then, I get an email asking me to send half of it back because the company decided that they didn't need the rest of the portraits, and, that one piece was enough for now... So, I sent the money back...

The man in charge of the assignment called me today to make sure I had sent the money out, and, I told him it was ready to be picked up and that I would pay for the extra fees and not deduct them from the total, because he had calculated $100 more into my pay. He replied, "ok, that's good..."

Then, a few minutes later, I figured out that the original checks that were sent out were insufficient and the money had actually been taken out of my other joint account. Right then, I put the payment, I had sent out, on "hold..." until I hear from him... It turns out that this whole time, I got a check from my own account and have been spending my own savings, without knowing it...

I hope this turns out to be some kind of a mistake, because, honestly, it feels so bad to be taken advantage of... the feeling is indescribable... "Shit" is the only word I can think of to describe my feelings right now...

It's not the funds I'm disappointed about... it's the portrait of Obama sitting on my desk... the chocolate and wine my sister and I celebrated with when I got the assignment... and the money orders I waved in front of Armen's face when I received them in the mail. Pretty much... it sucks, but... today, is still going to be a good day...

Tip of the Day: When something sounds like it's too good to be true, it probably is... Always be honest in your heart, no matter what some "Shitty Assholes" might do to bring you down.