Monday, April 11, 2011

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder... And All That Jazz

So, I've been slacking in my blog posts. Well, not so much slacking as trying to get through this month alive and intact. A lot of stuff has been happening and I'm just trying to stay above water over here. Between leaving my job at the drugstore and taking a job as a pizza delivery girl (oh, the joy), trying to find an apartment to move to and desperately hoping I can come up with the money to fix my car so I can pass inspection and therefore keep my job, I haven't had much time to write out anything worth sharing.


My sister and brother-in-law recently came to stay with me for a while until they get back on their feet and my sister has a dachshund she's had since he was a teeny tiny puppy, about 8 years. There's no way she could part with him and I'd never ask that of her. We hid the little man as long as we could. It was pretty easy since he's old and really quiet. Well, my crazy landlady found out and requested my 30 day notice. So now the race is on to find an apartment that I can afford, will allow pets and isn't totally in the ghetto. That last part is pretty difficult since most of the nearest "city" is ghetto. I put city in quotes because this is a very small area and there has been a mass exodus of the population and many businesses going on for about 5 years. I may have a lead and I keep following up on it because I haven't gotten a call or email back on about 10 other apartments I've inquired about.

I left the drugstore and took the next available job as a pizza delivery person. It's not too bad, although the pay is significantly less than they led me to believe, both in the ad as well as in person at the restaurant. I made fast friends with a guy there only to learn he's leaving to pursue other, better interests. I'm not too sure when exactly he's leaving, but seeing as he is the only person there I really connected with, it's just another push to keep avidly job hunting. I'm trying very hard to save from my paychecks as well as my daily take home of tips and mileage. The good new is, after only 4 or 5 days there (including the 2 days I was off) they want to train me on cooking food and running the shifts. Which is great! Except for the 12 to 13 hour days. That is a huge drawback. While most of my workday would be while Ick is sleeping, I already spend most of my mornings with him barely conscious and wishing I was asleep instead of spending precious quality time with my one and only baby.

The inspection on my car was up in February and since I have to have a valid inspection on my car to drive for the restaurant, I decided it was time to take it in. Well, in order to pass inspection, the greedy eyed mechanic told me I needed to replace both bearings in the front, the front brake shoes and pads and replace the gas filler neck tube that rusted out early this past winter. I took my car to a very nice, honest mechanic that I've used before and he added control arm to the list of things to fix. Well, the first guy told me the cheapest he could find the gas filler tube was $181 used. I, however, found the same part brand-new online for all of $70 with shipping. It should arrive tomorrow and if I can save anything at all, I'll get that put on right away. The estimated total for fixing my car came to $800. Yowza! But it is much cheaper than buying another car.

In addition to all of those expensive repairs, I have to replace my TN license with a NYS license or my car insurance will drop me. To get a NYS license from another state, I have to pay another $70 as well as show about 15 different kinds of identification not including my TN license. I'm only sad to part with it because it is the most beautiful picture of me ever taken! No joke. And that's not an easy thing to accomplish!

Add to all that the usual bills that are way too high for this place. $200 electric bill, $90 quarterly water bill, $50 cell phone prepaid card, $50 internet bill. My output is so much higher than my income! Hence the continuing to look for another job.

So clearly my life has been pretty hectic and stressful to say nothing of the lack of support (financial or otherwise) from my baby's pointless "father." I won't even get started on that topic, it will only make me even more upset and stressed out. So hopefully I'll be back soon with an informative, interesting post that is a little more upbeat than this one.