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I usually go to bed around 11:30 or so. It is clear my bladder holds about 4-1/2 hours of liquid. So it goes. Normally I can go back to sleep, but not always. Today is one of those days. I couldn’t go back to the comforting arms of Morpheus. Probably because I think I’m getting sick.

I feel a cold coming on. My sinuses are dripping, my ears itch, and my throat is scratchy and sore. You would probably be standing at the doctor already, begging for relief. My superior superhero-like constitution allows me to laugh off disease and the common cold. It is like water on a duck’s back to me.

I once used the “duck’s back” colloquialism in a conversation with a colleague. He thought it was the silliest thing he had ever heard. He claimed I made it up. I blamed his ignorance of midwestern wisdom on his New York roots.

In the past few weeks I have been the target of a pretty sophisticated scam. A supposed Japanese company has asked me to be their agent in the US. It is a product I am qualified to represent. Several legitimate-looking documents have been forwarded. The first warning bells were that all conversation was via email. Who “hires” anyone without speaking to them? At no point was I asked to sign a contract or employment agreement. Second, at no time was I asked for my SSN or other info to send my stipend. I would not have provided it in any case. Finally, my first assignment was to collect an old invoice from a customer. I was told I would get a commission on the unpaid invoice if I could collect it.

Every alarm went off when the supposed customer said he would send me a check. Sorry, why not just wire the funds like most businesses do, especially when the recipient is overseas and the total is over a half million bucks? Sorry, this is not my first merry-go-round ride. That horse ain’t real. So far I’ve done nothing but email with these characters. I’m glad I got wise before I got into real trouble.

Apparently, this is a real scam that has gone around for a while. These guys were good, they had real letterhead listing the real principles of the company. The just made a mistake with the customer- no such business exists. I guess they didn’t count on a curious sort like me looking up the company. They had a fake voice mail set up, but the address was no good and the area code didn’t match the address.

That was a scam indeed. But I have another opportunity: there is this Nigerian lawyer who says I own part of an oil well..