New Era (part three)

It's hard to describe a "new era" in one simple post, so this is part three of my story. Please bear with me, if you are so inclined and hear more about the changes in my life. Let start by saying that while change is tough, especially changes that are not wanted, or expected, they have all created a better situation for me. Of course the change in our country's leadership is still up for debate as to whether it is good or not... but that's a topic for another time!

If you didn't read the last few posts, let me do a quick review:

• I have become single again, and started dating again.
• I got fired from my job of 15+ years, but I got a new job working at a company that I enjoy.
• We have a new president of our country

A few things haven't changed, but are significant to the rest of the story:

• I still have my wonderful car, a red 2006 Chevy HHR.
• I still have the duplex that I bought in May of 2007.
• I still have the marital home that my ex-wife returned to me.
• I still have my health.
• I still have four wonderful kids, and
• a semi-decent outlook on life.

This past September I moved into the marital home. The place isn't the best place in the world, and feel free to read any of the stream about the marital home if you want to catch up. The place is still in serious need of repairs, especially on the inside, from all of the water damage from when the roof was leaking, and from the lack of maintenance on the place in the last 10+ years. The good news is that because of this move, that the other half of the duplex became available for rent, and I was able to find a tennet.

My oldest daughter, "One", was having a rough time keeping up with her bills, and needed a cheaper place for her and her boyfriend, "PlusOne," to live. She asked if I would "cut her a deal", because she couldn't afford the full rent I was asking for. I agreed because, well, she's my baby, and I couldn't say no. She moved in around Thanksgiving, and during the move the strain of the money and the move soured her relationship with "PlusOne" and they seperated. They have since recovered, and I believe they are still planning a wedding sometime this year. My daughter has me wrapped around her little finger, and since she was struggling (worse than me) with money and her relationship with "PlusOne" at the time, I let her slide on her first month's rent (December). In January she also slide a little bit on the rent by giving me an xBox 360, that was worth less than the month's rent. The xBox is wonderful, and I love it, but it didn't help to pay the mortgages or the utilities, so my money has been tight this month. This month, February, I should have my first month of full rent from both sides of the duplex, which should give me just enough money to pay all of the mortgages and utilities for the place! - Yeah, no profit, just break even.

The hope was that I would have enough money from the rental and my job to pay all of my monthly expenses, but no matter what I do, I am just not able to do it. My expenses are over $1,000 more than I make a month, and to make matters worse, this has been going on for so long that my savings is drained, I have used up all my credit, and during my change of jobs, I emptied my 401k retirement plan and use it to pay bills. I am now actually worse of financially than I have been in many, many years.

I spent the last 6 months of last year trying to figure a way out of the financial crisis I am having. I went to credit counsolers, attorneys, friends, family, random people on the street, basically anyone that I thought I could get advice from. There was no real good answers, only one answer seemed to provide any shred hope. So, this past month I have did the one thing I never, ever wanted to do ever, and is probably the biggest change in my life (outside of divorce). I filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy!

In the bankruptcy claim, I am trying to keep the marital home so I can have a place to live, and the duplex so I can keep a source of income, and my car so I can to and from work. Even though I am trying to keep all of those assets, it will still be tough, and I may not be able to keep them all. As a matter of fact, one of the mortgage companies on the marital home is now trying to foreclose on the house, in spite of my attempts to get all of the past payments caught up, and reaffirm the mortgages in the bankruptcy. (BTW: There are two mortgages on the marital home, together both total only around $22,000, so we aren't talking a fortune here.)

This last and biggest change is still "in progress", and I am not sure of the final outcome, but I only hope that like the other big and unwanted changes in my life, it too will end up being for the better.

Maybe now that we have a new president, I could petition the government for a bailout, like the banks, and the auto industry have done. I mean, I am very similar to them, in that I made poor choices and have been a victim of circumstances beyond my control. Unlike them though, I wouldn't need the billions, just about 50 grand would do. What do you think? Should I apply?

The new era has other smaller changes, but I have spent enough time and words on this topic. I will end with a joke: If want to donate to the "Lou Laughlin New Era Foundation", contact me for the details. The foundation accepts PayPal, personal checks, cashiers checks, money orders and of course cash! :-)

Later Lou

Moving

Well I am living out of boxes. Last weekend my brother, his wife and kids, and my sisters all came to my apartment and boxed it all up.

I had planned that during this past week, I would move all the boxes, and this past weekend, I would move all the furniture. So this week, I would be completely moved into the old martial home.

Well, I am not yet moved. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view. I mean the old marital home needs a lot of work, and cleaning before it can be truly "livable", but I have to do this move for financial reasons. The marital home is still for sale, so if you are looking for a good deal, check out the listing on Howard Hanna. It's a "fixer upper", but I am selling it for a really good price, and when it's fixed up it would be a great rental for the nearby (2 blocks) Geneva college. Ok enough of me trying to once again sell this property...

This was my weekend with the kids, so my youngest two stayed with me, and living out of boxes made it a little complicated. Three got a job at Wendy's, so this was her first weekend working there, and I had to get up early on Saturday to get her to work.

My son, Two, got a puppy a few weeks before he left for college. He can't take the puppy to college with him, so he is now my 5th child and goes back and forth between the two homes like the girls. He also spent the weekend with me, and we had a great time. He loves to chase my cats, that are more than twice his size. By the end of the weekend though, the cats got a little more bold, and are starting to stand their ground. The puppy is a little Jack Russell Terrier, and his name is "Ollie", which is short for "Oliver". Here's a picture of him playing in the laundry basket.

I have gotten attached to Ollie and I am hoping that "Two" will let him stay with me full time instead of moving back and forth. But I need to settle on a house first.

Later Lou

Thank you... customer service?

Wow... I didn't expect people to be back so soon, or that they would forgive me so easily. Thanks! You guys are awesome!

(The puppy dog picture worked so well yesterday, I thought I would try another one today!)

The weather outside is good, I feel good, now I need to turn this positive energy into positive results. I wasn't as productive at work as I wanted to be today, but I am planning to move a couple loads of boxes from the duplex to the marital home. If I get really ambitious (although I doubt it), I will mow the lawn at the marital home.

How many people have Comcast as their TV/Phone/Internet provider? Well I have been using Comcast for many, many years. Not because they are the best, but because for the longest time they were really the only option in my area, unless I wanted to switch to satellite. Recently Verizon has opened up their phone service to include TV and Internet connection. I haven't looked into them, but I am seriously considering it.

I was reviewing my bills today and I see that Comcast has started to charge me for HBO and Starz which I have had for well over a year now for free as part of some "bundled package". Well apparently the package expired and no one told me, so they just started charging me for the extra channels. I called them today and asked them to remove the channels, and asked what else they could do to make my monthly bill a little more affordable. Angie, who was a nice representative, told me that they had a bundle that would last a year, and would give me three additional premium channels, along with HBO and Starz that I am getting now, and PAY LESS than I am now. Of course, I have to remember that next September I will need to call back in again to see what new bundles they have then, if not I will get a heck of a jump in the bill with 5 premium channels!

I asked why didn't I get automatically switched to this bundle so I would be a happy customer when I got the new channels with only a very modest increase in my bill, instead of a huge increase in my bill with no additional services. She said, that they can't add channels without the customer calling and requesting it. Apparently, it's not against their policies to increase my bill, but it is against their policy to increase my services...

I really hate the lack of customer services some of these companies offer... I have complained about this company before (Comcast 9/2007), but I think it bears repeating... What can we do to go back to a society where customer service is important?

Later Lou

Been awhile...

Well, it's been a long while since I have "rambled" here.

I have to start by apologizing to the readers and friends I had before I abruptly stopped writing. I am really sorry for just stopping cold turkey and not saying good-bye, or telling anyone that I was going to take a break or anything... I kinda just "fell" off the edge of the world.

I didn't plan on stopping, it just sorta happened. The holidays have always been a rough time for me, and this year it hit me rather hard, with all of the things that were going on in my life. I ended up in a serious depression that lasted for quite a few months.

Since I wrote last my financial situation has become pretty serious. "Sweetie" has decided to move on without me. My son, Two, has moved away to college, and my two youngest daughters have stopped coming over as frequently. So I have been dealing with money issues, loss of the love of my life, and an empty nest.

I have started to recover emotionally through a little medication, therapy, support of my friends and family, and sheer of will to finally get myself moving again.

"Sweetie" said she needed "time" last spring, and I spent most of the spring and summer hoping that after awhile she might come back. I signed up to match.com and eharmony.com and met some new people, and had a few dates. Through those sites I have made some new friends, some of which have become really good friends.

I am still looking though for someone that might be interested in being more than a friend, but then again, I am not in a real hurry. Although I will admit I prefer to not be alone. I thought I was over "Sweetie" because of the length of time it's been, but recently I saw her car at a local restaurant. I hung around a few minutes to see who she was with, and when I did, I realized I still wasn't completely over her. She wasn't with anyone I knew, but I saw she was happy and having a good time, and it filled me with mixed feelings. I was happy that she was smiling and having a good time, but at the same time sad that it wasn't with me.

We have talked since then and she has told me that she has moved beyond needing time to finally saying that she doesn't want to be with me any longer. At first, it hurt pretty bad, but very quickly that feeling was replaced with a feeling of closure, or weight being lifted off my heart. I was holding out hope that she would come back and it was weighing me down, and my heart was growing heavier day by day, without me realizing it. When she finally said to me that we weren't going to get back together, the weight lifted and I realized how much weight I had been carrying.

I still care for her, but now I feel able to really move on. One of the hard parts, besides saying good bye to her, was ending the relationship with her son. I have been a part of her family for almost 6 years, and I love him like he is one of my own kids. I wanted to continue the relationship with him, but I can't because she doesn't want to be a part of my life, and if her son is still in my life, then she has to be. I know I hurt him by telling him I couldn't hang or talk with him any longer, but I also know it's for the best. I wish him the best, and I hope and pray he becomes a great guy and someone that I can be proud of.

I am now in the process of moving my duplex to the marital home. It needs a lot of work, and because of that I can't rent it out. I can however, rent out the duplex I am living in. So I am going to move out of the duplex and rent it, so I can hopefully relieve some of the financial stress.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and I will try to write more frequently, and if I decide to stop again, I promise I will not do it as abruptly. I also want to once again apologize for anyone that used to read, comment and talk with me for my bad blogging behavior. I hope you forgive me.

Later Lou

December Updates

A lot of stuff has been happening, as it usually does as the year is preparing to close. Here's a brief rundown:

1. Saturday we cleaned out the Ex's old house, what I call the Marital Home. The same house I am trying to sell because she abandoned it, and it fell on my shoulders. It seems I am perpetually cleaning up after her.
2. The 13 yard dumpster was filled to the top with stuff that she left in the place.
3. The dumpster cost me $230.
4. My realtor called last week and said that she wanted to take inside pictures of the place so they publish a "virtual tour" online. This phone call prompted the cleaning up.
5. My realtor called again this past weekend and said the people that showed interest in buying and "gutting" the place, are no longer interested, and that no one else has showed interest yet. HOWEVER, the interest rates are down in the 5% range, so she is confident this will help boost sales...
6. My brother and Sweetie helped me to clean up the mess in the martial home, and I bought them lunch (actually Sweetie paid, but I paid her back).
7. The virtual tour isn't online yet.
8. I had a big fight, actually I lost my temper, with my middle daughter, "Three", Monday night.
9. She only visits me when she needs something and then leaves when she has gotten what she needs, without spending any time with me. I told her that I was tired of being used and that my "stuff" was no longer open for use, but she was welcome to come visit.
10. Three left a voice mail on my phone last night cursing (using multiple swear words - all of the good ones) at me about fixing a computer for her boyfriend.
11. Three is only 16.
12. Went Christmas gift shopping last night with Sweetie to prepare for our annual family get together scheduled this Saturday.
13. I spent money I don't have.
14. I don't have money, because my tenant still hasn't paid December's rent (which isn't surprising given her past performance the last few months).
15. I over-drafted my bank account by $21 dollars and had to borrow money from my 17 year old son, "Two" to cover me until this Friday when I get paid (sigh).
16. One of my projects at work is causing major problems at some customer's stores, and I have to rework the project in an emergency attempt to fix the problem. Only no one, including me, knows if my "reworked" design will fix the problem.
17. I just got disposable contact lenses that can be worn for up to a month. I am wearing a "test" pair this week and if the work out I can get some more for next year. Bye bye eyeglasses!
18. Sweetie bought me a new watch for Christmas. She told me to wear it to work today, so I am. It's a gold and silver Fossil watch with four diamonds in the gold face, at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 positions. It's really nice...
19. The watch band needs adjusted slightly as it is a little loose on the wrist. Either that or she needs to keep feeding me so I can grow into it.

OK that's all I can think of at the moment...

Later Lou

Vacation is over...

My unplanned vacation is over, and I am back to work.

When the "bad check" crisis hit last Monday, I took an unplanned vacation for the three days before Thanksgiving to resolve the issue. Well, it took practically the entire time to get it resolved. If you want to read a lengthy post about the details click HERE.

My tenant's son said he was going to pay December's rent in advance so I "wouldn't have anything to worry about." He also said he would pay it this past Friday (11/23), but as you probably already guessed, I haven't seen the money yet. I am sure next month will be another battle.

My tenant is now telling me she is going to move out after the "Holidays," which I took to mean in January. I don't know if it will happen or not, but at least I am getting a possible heads up. I received an unsolicited call this past weekend asking if the apartment was available for rent. When I mentioned it might be in January they said that was perfect... So if they do move out, I may have someone ready to move in right away.

I got the marital home listed for sale. If you are interested in seeing the property, or are just curious you can click HERE. My realtor said she may have an interested party already, so I am hoping to hear some good news from her soon.

Regrettably, I am back to work. My boss isn't here today, so it seems pretty quiet in the office. Even though my vacation was unplanned, and except for the money crisis, it was for the most part, very enjoyable. Now that I am back, I wish my vacation was longer!

It snowed again here Thursday evening, and neighbor kids were making a snowman in the shared yard in front of Sweetie's place, but they didn't get to finish it... So there were a couple of large "snow balls" in the yard for the weekend.

My family is planning a Holiday gathering and gift exchange, so I have to create a wish list. I am having a tough time coming up with a list of things I would like to have. Actually my real "wish list" is quite lengthy, but most of the items don't fit within the monetary limit set for the gift exchange! If you had to create a list of things you wanted under $50... What would you ask for?

Later Lou

Vacation Day...

Another Scout leader training session was completed on Sunday, and we trained 8 more people. This brings the total to 26 newly trained cub scout leaders. The final two sessions are planned this week on Tuesday and Wednesday evening.

Sweetie and I took a "vacation" day on Friday. Actually I took a vacation day, and she called off. The fact that I wasn't at work probably explains why I didn't create a new 'rambling along' post. It seems as if the only times I can find an opportunity to create a post is when I am at work. I wonder if that means; I am not doing enough work? or I don't care as much about work to actually do it? or If there just isn't any work to do? Hmmmm... that's a good set of questions.

We took the day off with a plan in mind: To clean the second apartment in my duplex. It was expected that the tenant was going to be moved out on Thursday. I say "was expected" because Thursday night they had not yet moved out. I came home Thursday night after our team got creamed in bowling, to find a note on my door that said:

Lou, I won't be out till next wend. "My son" gets a big check from work next week you'll get a lot of it. "Your Tenant" The names were changed to protect the innocent. (me)

The note means I have to wait another week to get into the apartment and clean it, and get it listed to re-rent. Hopefully, it also means that I could see some money this week, and that would be a nice change of pace.

You know I just realized that my tenant could be reading this blog... It's not like I am hiding myself very well. I mean, my profile does list my real name and the real town I live in (or at least it appears that way right?)... Oh well...

Anyway, Sweetie and I ended up cleaning MY apartment instead, and after two hours she stated we "still weren't done..." (sigh)... Apparently I am not a very clean bachelor. I guess I could use a good life partner, a good child or two, or a good maid to help me keep it clean.

This past Saturday afternoon, we also went and visited the old marital home, and checked on the roof construction happening there. I don't recall if I mentioned it or not, but I did manage to scrounge up enough money credit to replace leaky roof, and I hired a Realtor recommended contractor to do the work. The contractor told me the work would be done in one week, and that he would start on Saturday (11/3/2007). When we stopped in this Saturday exactly one week after construction was started, it didn't appear like the job was done. As a matter of fact it didn't look like it would be done by Sunday. True to our expectations, when we drove by late last night (Sunday) and it still appeared as if there was work to do, and there was a lot of clean up yet to do. So it's taken so far, 1 week and 2 days. I wonder if I will get a credit since the job wasn't completed within the contracted time? Or do you think I will get charged more because the job took longer than expected? In either case, I am sure the project time will be blamed on the weather - It did rain, and there were a few snow flakes this past week.

The weekend was otherwise a great one, because I got to spend it with Sweetie, even though we ended up doing a lot of chores together all weekend.

Later Lou

Lost Patience... twice...

Well finally happened.... My patience got lost, and got lost good. Fortunately I found it, but then I lost it again. WARNING: If you like a quick read, you might want to skip today's post.

Yesterday was going to be a great day, because it was a vacation day, and only things I chose to do would be done, and done at my own pace. I took a vacation day because the marital home needed the heat turned on so the pipes wouldn't freeze this winter, and also so the house would be more appealing to the future owner. Running water, working electricity and heat are good selling points, I think. Columbia Gas scheduled an an appointment with me at their earliest, which was Wednesday morning. They said a technician could be there sometime between 8AM and 12PM, and since they had no weekend or evening appointments available, I accepted the appointment and submitted a vacation request.

Being that work is so important and I didn't think I should miss any of it at all (smirk), so I briefly considered taking only a ½ day off, and saving the rest for the holidays. But I reconsidered and submitted a vacation request for the entire day. Besides, it was Halloween and I wanted to enjoy the holiday, by cleaning up the marital home yard, getting the gas turned on, checking to make sure the furnace was working, and still have a little spare time to relax and get ready to take the kids out for "Trick or Treat."

Halloween morning started with me awaking in a panic. It was 8:15AM, and I was late for work. Slowly when the Halloween cobwebs cleared, the panic subsided as I remembered that it was a vacation day, and that I only needed to get up and get ready to go to the marital home to get the gas turned on, and to clean up the yard. Before I packed the car with the yard care equipment, I cut the grass at my Duplex, and picked up the street garbage from the sidewalk and the side of the building. I then packed and arrived at the marital home around 10AM.

Since the lawn mower is incapacitated, I had to use the weed-whacker... (remember I bent the blade back in September). It was slow going, and I hadn't gotten very far when the phone rang. While it was ringing, pleasant thoughts were going through my mind, about how smooth the day was going; I was not at work, grass was getting cut, the gas company is calling right on time to tell me they are on their way. Surprise! The call was from Sweetie, and my day was made perfect. It just couldn't get better.

At this point, it should be mentioned, (and it is pretty close to a scientific fact) that I have really bad luck.

Sweetie called not to be sweet, but because she was upset because her son "Other Two" was sitting in the principle's office at school, and she was stuck at work. I offered to go, but she said that her Ex (his Dad) was going, so I didn't need to, just that she was upset and worried because she didn't know what had happened. To help her calm down and get some answers, I suggested that since she couldn't be there, she should call and talk with the principle. She liked my idea and she called the school, and then quickly called me back and and gave me the scoop, with even more concern than before the call. She told me that he was being suspended, but didn't give me any details, because she didn't know all of the facts yet. He was OK, just sitting in the school's office waiting on his Dad to pick him up. She went back to work, and tried really hard to not worry too much about "Other Two", and I went back to work on the yard.

BTW: Patience was still there at this point, but with that bit of bad news, I felt my luck was starting to run out, which doesn't bode well for patience.

As it started to near lunch time, about 11:30AM, I called Columbia Gas and asked where the technician was, since he was supposed to be at the duplex in the morning, and morning was just about over. The gas company representative politely put me on hold, apparently did a little research and told me that the tech was in the area, and I would be his next stop, but it would be just a little after 12. After a brief complaint that my morning was wasted waiting, I asked if they would make it up to me by giving me a credit on the account. The response was "Sorry. I can't do that." The phone call was ended with a snide comment on my lips about how "convenient" it was for them to not be able to help or make me feel better... Patience almost got lost, but it held on.

An hour later, 12:30PM, still no technician. A second call to Columbia Gas and a different representative, that told me some interesting facts I hadn't heard before. The appointment was listed in their system as an "all day" appointment and that the tech would be there sometime before 4:30PM, instead of before 12PM. My explanation to the rep that I had a morning appointment, and that I had recently spoken to another representative that fell on seemingly deaf ears. The representative told me sorry, there wasn't anything they could do to help, I would just have to be patient, and the tech would be there sometime today.

That's when the patience got lost.

A tone started to develop in my voice, which was hard to contain, and I expressed that waiting was unacceptable as I had already waited a long time. I tried to calm down and ask the representative if they could find out how soon the tech might arrive. They said they had no way of knowing. My teeth started to grind together, and between the clenched jaws, I attempted to ask politely for the rep to check with the dispatch department, or a supervisor, or a manager. "Sorry, I can't do that" was the immediate response. At this point the jaw came unclenched, the lungs filled with air, and my voice got very noticeably louder, and reminded the rep that "I am the customer" and I demanded I be helped and helped now. "Sorry, there is nothing we can do for you". My voice rose a few more decibels and demands to talk with someone else, another representative, a supervisor, a manager, or any other living person working for their company. "Sorry sir, I can't transfer you, no one else will be able to help you". My face when deep red and the patience didn't just get lost, it fled! In my loudest, angriest, nastiest voice, which is usually keep reserved exclusively for "Ex", I said, "Give me a supervisor NOW!" And after repeating those words multiple times, I finally got transferred to a supervisor.

The supervisor came on the phone all polite and kind, and immediately called the dispatch department and found out that the tech was detained on an emergency call, and that they apologized for my inconvenience. With just a little consideration my face returned to normal colors, my noise level generated by my own voice lowered so I could hear the music on the radio, and patience returned. I quickly explained to the supervisor that I had scheduled a morning appointment but that it was put into their system as an "all day" appointment, and that I was pretty upset at the amount of time I have been waiting, and how upset the representative I was just speaking with had made me. To appease me even more, the supervisor gave me a $40 credit on the account, and almost all feelings of displeasure left me.

Hopefully that phone call was recorded or monitored for quality assurance, and the representative is told to find another job where their talents could be used... maybe they should work for Comcast.

Patience was recovered, and all was right with the world again.

After I got my $40 credit for the wasted morning, I went to lunch, and read the newspaper. The technician finally did arrive at 4PM, after a third call to Columbia Gas in which I was politely told that he was still on his emergency call, but would be there shortly. When the tech arrived, I found he was a very personable guy and we started talking about the day. He said his day a pretty bad one. He was at a house that had a pretty bad leak right outside and he was trying to fix it before there were any major problems, like explosions.

He took a few minutes and adjusted the gas meter, and quickly got the gas turned on, checked for leaks, and even went above and beyond and helped me insure that the furnace would light.

While we talked he told me that his son was looking for a cheap place in the area to fix up and move into, and I said I was selling this place, and maybe his son would be interested. He asked the price, and I told him and he said he thought his son would be very interested. I showed him around the place, and he was the first person I showed the house to that saw potential instead of problems. I gave him my business card. Now the question is, was he blowing gas up my tail pipe, or was he serious? If he was serious, I could finally get the Albatross off from around my neck, without the need to hire the Realtor, and all of the other repairs.

Later that night, I took the kids trick or treating and afterwards I went over to visit "Sweetie" and "Other Two," since "Other Two" was not allowed to trick or treat because of his school suspension. From talking with "Sweetie" earlier I knew she was short on dinner and that "Other Two" was still a little hungry, so I offered to pick up a hamburger on my way. I brought a couple of hamburgers, and some ice cream to smooth Sweetie's nerves. I also brought some for myself and "Other Two" since he didn't get to go trick or treating. We ate and watched a little TV and when it was time for "Other Two" to go to bed, things got a little out of control. I don't think it's fair to give the details, but needless to say, my patience got lost again. My face didn't get red, nor did the voice get loud, but I stormed out of Sweetie's house angry and upset.

I wrote her an angry Email that was quite a bit longer than this post... yeah, I tend to be a little verbose... Maybe I should change my Blog title to "Rambling Verbosely Along..." (Is that a word? "Verbosely"?) After I wrote the Email, I re-read, edited it, and re-read it, considered not sending it, and then promptly hit the send button.

I don't know if she read it or not, but she called me this morning, and we apologized to each other, and all is right with the world again. The only problem now is that I am back at work, and I didn't get to have any fun on my day off, except for a very short time during trick or treat.

I am bowling tonight, and for some reason when I try to hit ten 3lb wood sticks painted white, with my 16lb ball and get them to all fall down, my patience tries to escape again. Hopefully I can keep a hold of it tonight.

Later Lou

Whammie...

Well the loan company never called me back, so a little while ago, I called them. I asked them "Big Bucks or Whammie?", and they said.. "What?"

After a brief explanation of the old game show "Press Your Luck" (not really, but it makes a better story), I was told that the representative I spoke with yesterday had just stepped out to go to lunch, but if I gave them my SSN they would look up the loan for me. After a brief pause, I got the response, "Yeah, this just came in...!! Oh Sorry, you didn't qualify for the loan." Yeah, right, they had it probably most of the morning, just didn't want to call me and give me the bad news. (sigh)

I asked if I could qualify for a lesser amount, but was quickly told "No," because my credit score was below the minimum value for giving out a loan. I tried to once again express to the representative that most of the bad stuff on my credit was due to "Ex", whom I haven't been married to for seven years, didn't refinance debt "awarded" to her in the divorce settlement. I said that they should look only at the items that were new since our separation, and not the things that I was listed as a co-borrower on before my separation, and they would see that I have paid all of my stuff on time. I tried to argue that the bad credit score wasn't all my fault, and there should be someone alive to review my history other than a computer rating system, but I was told "Sorry, there is nothing we can do."

So basically the 30 minutes I spent on the phone giving my entire financial history was completely in vain, as all they did was pull my credit score, say "No", and move on. (sigh)

So, I guess I am going to either need a lot of baked sale items, or one really, really unique item I can sell on eBay? Any one have a rare old comic book, postage stamp, coin, or other collectible that I could buy cheap? I promise to not return it. :-)

Later Lou

Press my luck...

I spent most of yesterday talking to everyone I knew well enough to ask, how to go about getting "Big Bucks and No Whammies." The results were not great, but they have a little potential:

• Find a loan company that will grant me a loan. A co-worker suggested a company that I called last night. I spent about 30 minutes on the phone giving them my entire life's financial history. The representative told me I would get a call this morning, and I have been waiting all morning for that call... It hasn't happened yet, which leads me to believe from past experience that no news is definitely not good news.
• Ask the head guy at our office, who has a little money, to give me a personal loan. The issue with this is he is my boss's boss. I am saving this suggestion for next to last resort.
• Ask "Sweetie" to get a loan in her name and I make the payments to her in advance. This option sounds good, except that "Sweetie" doesn't want to have anything to do with this house because it involved "Ex", and because she feels that my luck is really bad, and that things aren't going to go as planned, and she will end up having to make the payments. This option is last resort.
• Ask my one of my uncles whom I have hardly spoken to for years, to loan me the money. I wasn't a good kid growing up, so there is a little bit of bad blood there. And to top off the situation, my brother had a similar situation a few years ago, and when he asked to borrow a few bucks, they told him they wouldn't help him. And he was the good kid growing up, so this one is beyond the last resort.
• Hope that money falls out of the sky, or that some lucky lottery winner decides to read my blog and show me pity and send me a small portion of his/her winnings. Yeah, I am dreaming, but I figure it's better than having a crime against my imagination - Right Limpy?
• I could petition the government for a grant... or I could sell them a few of my hammers... I understand they were buying a few for a couple grand each a few years ago. Nah, they would probably arrest me, or worse yet, make me work for them.

OK, so I am rambling... but it's what I do.... I am trying really, really hard to be patient for the phone call from the loan company. But it's only 15 minutes until the morning is over, and they did say they would let me know in the morning... Unless their office is in California, or Hawaii, then maybe I have a little more time...

Later Lou

Good News...??

This weekend I talked with a Realtor and I met with a contractor about the marital home.

Real quick update for new readers:

I separated from "Ex" in January 2000, and divorced in Dec 2001. She got to keep practically everything including the marital home. She lived there with her new husband and my kids until Sept 2006, after she bought herself a new $170,000 home on the outskirts of the school district - good for her. She put the marital home up for sale.

I lived in rental apartments for 7 years until I was able to buy the duplex building I have been living in for the past 3 years. I closed on the duplex in May 2007, and in July I rented out the second apartment.

In June 2007 the "Ex" had not yet sold the marital home, and decided that she no longer wanted to pay the two mortgages on the old marital home, and since I had all this money to buy my property that she would stop making payments on the mortgages. In the seven years of our separation she never refinanced the mortgages, so they were still in my name, and when she stopped paying on them, my credit rating took a nose dive. To stop the credit score "bleeding" I had her sign the property's title back over to me, and I paid the back mortgage payments, and have continued paying the mortgages and utilities since then.

Now back to the present:

My tenant has not been a reliable, on-time rent payer, so I don't have the rent money to offset the new expenses and I have had to use my credit cards more than I would like in order to survive. I have stopped the downward spiral of the credit rating, but in it's place I now have a downward spiral of available money.

So, I have decided to try to get rid of the marital home. This past week I contacted a Realtor who is supposed to be really good at moving properties, even in my real estate depressed area. The Realtor reviewed the property and told me that it could definitaly sell, but that I had to do some repairs to the place to make it appealling to potential buyers. Before this, I had already had a few people look at the place and give me estimates. Just to be sure they were good estimates, I had a new contractor come out this weekend and give me another quote.

The property needs about $10,000 worth of work to make it "sell-worthy". The Realtor said that with those repairs it could be listed for an amount that if it sold at that amount I would would be able to recoup the repair money, and still make a profit. The really good news is that I could accept an offer much lower than the listing price, and still break even or make a few bucks. The Realtor is pretty confident that the property could move pretty easily with the right advertising at the right places. So if the Realtor is right, I could be rid of the drain on my income and get a little extra money to pay off all my credit card debt, and finally get my head above the debt level.

There is only one road block to this whole scenario... coming up with the $10,000 to do the repairs. I only have roughly $6,500 in available credit, and my savings have been pillaged to purchase my duplex back in May. I am roughly about $4,500 short, and I don't know how to get the remaining amount.

I have already tried my local bank, my immediate family and other mortgage/loan places. No one is willing to loan an amount that small to someone who has the credit rating I have. As a matter of fact, one of my credit card companies recently reduced my "available credit" from $2,000 to $0 because of the dip in my credit rating... Yeah, thanks "Ex" for bailing on the mortgages in May, you were very thoughtful! (yeah, right!)

Anyway, I may have to take Tysgirl up on her offer to start a phone sex company... Or maybe I could have a bake sale?

Later Lou

Sick...

I am sick and tired... or tired and sick... but mostly sick of the run around. When people don't want to give you good news they give you the run around, or they make you wait by postponing the conversation as long as possible...

What makes me even sicker, is that I do the exact same thing!

I mentioned in a previous post, the one where I write about what I did to my brand new lawn mower, that I had contacted http://www.webuyuglyhouses.com/ in an attempt to get rid of the marital home. Well after 3 weeks, and multiple phone calls I got a final answer from them about whether or not they would buy my ugly house or not. They made me an offer... however, the offer wasn't realistic. They offered around $13,000 less than I currently owe on the mortgages of the house. So if I accepted their offer I would have to come up with $13,000 in addition to the money they would give me for the house in order to close the deal.... If I had $13,000 I would fix up the place, and rent it, or live in it, and I wouldn't need them at all!

The point I am trying to make, even though I am extremely discouraged that they didn't give me a reasonable offer, is that it took them 3 weeks to come straight with me and tell me that they couldn't really help me.

I have noticed recently that this happens a lot when I am dealing with this house. I tried to get the property refinanced through my local bank, and a process that normally takes 2 weeks, took over 5 weeks. After all that time, they said "Sorry, we can't help you, but here's the name of a private investor." I called the private investor, and the last I heard from him after 3 weeks of working with him, was that my credit score wasn't really strong, and he would have to do a little more research on how he could help... He hasn't called back since.

So, I am stuck with the house. I can't get a loan to help me fix it up, and it's not in any condition to live in... but I still have to make the monthly mortgage payments and the yearly tax and insurance payments... In otherwords I am flushing a lot of money down the toilet every month, and I am not even getting the relief of a good, clean lower intestine!

Speaking of sick, "Four" was sick at school on Thursday. The school nurse could not get a hold of her mother (who was at her home sleeping), so she called me. I had to drive 30 minutes from work to the school to pick her up and drop her off at her mother's house (which is about 5 minutes from the school), and then drive back to work. It was a wonderful extended lunch hour. "Four" is fine, and she went to school the next day. I am glad I was able to get her, but I am thinking I need to send her mother a bill for my time and the gas for my car... I think that's fair isn't it? I mean, she asks me to pay her monthly to take care of the kids at her place, why can't I ask her to pay me when I incur expenses for activities she should have done?

Nah, that would probably only increase her feelings of being "sick and tired" of me! :-)

Later Lou

My new lawn mower

I went to the marital home tonight to do a little more yard work. I hadn't been there for two weeks ago Wednesday with "Sweetie", "Two" and "Other Two" when we did the first major clean up of the yard. It wasn't really bad, but after the last few days of rain, it started growing up again.

I got the lawn mower out, and pulled the starting cord, and it started in one pull... You just got to love new mowers! I had only used the lawn mower once before since I bought it a few weeks ago from Home Depot. I started mowing along the front of the property, where there is a small strip of grass between the street and sidewalk, and then I moved to the side of the house near the alley. I knew that "Ex" had thrown into that area broken cement blocks in an attempt to turn that section into a parking spot, and I thought I knew where all of the blocks were because I had cut the grass there before.

I used the lawn mower, which did a great job, around the edges of the area where the block is, and when I was done it looked a lot better than it had before when I used the weed whacker. I got a little ambitious since things were going well, and I decided to walk the area and pull out any blocks that were sticking up and mow that area with the mower. It was going really well right up until I hit a big stone that I didn't see during my walk through. It stalled the mower. Well I found the stone, removed it, restarted the mower and continued, only for the mower to hit another stone and stall. I decided I better take a look because I was pretty sure there was no stone there.

This is what I found:

Here's another view in case you can't make it out:

If you still can't make it out, let me "'splain it to you, Lucy..." The blade hit the rock or block, and bent down, so when the blade spins it digs a trench in the ground, which is why the second time I started I hit something that I couldn't see, because the "something" was IN the ground.

Well so much for being "ambitious", and thinking I could spot, remove, and otherwise avoid all the obstacles and cut the grass with my new mower. I now have to remove the blade, figure out where to get it fixed or get a replacement. Both of which cost money, that I don't have.

BTW: On a semi-related topic, I contacted "webuyuglyhouses.com" and they are going to meet with me and see if they are willing to buy my "ugly" house! So maybe I will get rid of this money pit, and possibly recoup some of my losses? Well, I may be training myself to be optimistic, but in this case I am not holding out much hope. Based on how things have been going with this property, I am sure I am going to be stuck with it.

Wanna buy a house? Cheap?

Later Lou

YMCA visit

Last night after work I picked up "Two" and "Four" from "Ex's" place, and we decided to go visit the YMCA. At the beginning of the year, one of my resolutions was to start working out more frequently so I could improve my health, and get in better shape. I haven't done a very good job at that resolution. I make it once or twice a month now instead of two or three times a week, like I did when I first started.

It's not because I don't want to, it's just with the fact that "Three" doesn't like to go to the Y and buying my home, getting another house dropped on you, and still working a 40+ hours a week at my job, it's not like I have had a lot of free time... OK you are right, that's an excuse. I could get up earlier in the morning and go before work, or make it a priority and do it in the evenings... BUT... (we will leave it there)

The reason I brought up the Y is because recently they remodeled and added on a few new sections to the building. There is a new gym, and a new pool, both of which I haven't used yet. As a matter of fact, I am not sure how to even get to the new gym and the new pool is only used for special programs (I think)... So for me a YMCA visit is exactly the same as it has been since I started... I walk on the elliptical machine for about 35 minutes, working up a good sweat, then I shower, and hit the pool for 15 - 20 minutes, and then I clean up and get out of there.

Before we went to the Y, I did a drive by to check out the yard at the marital home, and saw that I am going to need to run the lawn mower again. I am planning to do the yard work tonight after I drop of "Two" at his Boy Scout meeting. Speaking of the martial home, I went online to "webuyuglyhouses.com" to see if they would be willing to take that building off my hands. I got a response saying that they would have a representative give me a call. So I am going to cross my fingers and see if they want it, and then I can walk away from it. Of course, I would love to make money off of it, but to do that I need money to do a "refurb", and that I don't have, and I haven't found a lender to help me out. If you want to send me money, just let me know and I will Email you my address so you can send me a check! :-)

Later Lou

Bowling season starting with a ticket...

Today we start the new bowling year for our league. I belong to the team "Retalix Strikers". Retalix is the name of the company I work for, and they have sponsored the team by getting us team shirts. This is the logo that is on the back of our shirts.

The team is made up of my boss here at work, myself, my brother, and two of my brother's co-workers. It's a a men only leauge, which is a sore spot with a few of my women co-workers. Last year we made it to the playoffs, and ended up making it to the "Super Bowl" of the league, and played the number one team. We didn't beat them, but we did win one out of three games against them, but just making it to the final playoffs was worth it, and a new experience for our team. If you are interested in watching our statistics you can check them out at this link on "League Secretary".

On a different topic, I mentioned yesterday that we were going to the old marital home and doing some major yard work. Well I got home later than I had planned, and we didn't get started until almost dark. We got an hour's worth of work into the place, and most of the yard was mowed and trimed. The hill side in front of the house still needs work, and the small piece of land next to the garage where "Ex" spread broken cement block needs to be done. Even though there is still a lot of work to do the place looks 100% better.

The reason I was late getting home last night wasn't because I left work late, but rather than I got pulled over by the state police for speeding. Apparently I was going 77 in a 55 mile an hour zone. Well, he found that my car's inspection sticker was expired, and made me an offer. He said he would only give me one ticket, and I could choose which one I wanted. I could either have the ticket for speeding or the ticket for the expired inspection stickers. It wasn't much of a choice since the speeding ticket is a moving violation and would add "points" to my driving record and cause my insurance rates to go up. So I chose the expired inspection ticket, and it came to $107.50. I am thinking of starting a legal defense fund, so if you want to donate to the cause, please Email me! :-)

Later

Lou

Bring you up to speed.

It's been awhile since I have posted. I don't have any big reason or excuse as to why I didn't post. I just didn't, and I am not going to spend time trying to analyze why, I am just going to move forward and start posting again. I presume most readers (if I had any) gave up checking for updates... So that means I have a new opportunity to start over again with a new audience. If you are reading this, then you are part of that new audience!

So let's get started with the updates:

The biggest update is I am still here, and I am still alive, and I am still healthy. Woo Who!!!

Let me take a moment to give a little background about myself, and a little review of recent history, and then we can move forward.

I am a single parent with four kids. My oldest (we will call her "One") has left the nest and is on her own. She is working full time and managing her own home in Ohioville, PA with her fiancè (we will call him "PlusOne"). "One" and "PlusOne" haven't set a date for their marriage yet, but are doing well. The other three kids are living between my house and the Ex's house. My second oldest (we will call him "Two") who is a senior in high school, is living primarily with me, and the two youngest girls ("Three" and "Four") are living primarily with Ex. "Three" is a junior in high school, and "Four" is in middle school.

I have been on my own since February 2000, and I have moved quite a few times, improving my living places as finances allowed. I have been living in my current home for over 3 years, and just recently (May 2007) I bought the building. The building is a duplex, and I have rented out the second apartment, which is helping to defer the cost of the mortgage.

I am a computer programmer working for an international company with HQ in Israel, and has a main office in Dallas, Texas. I live and work in Western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh.

I am dating a wonderful woman (we will call her "Sweetie") who is a nurse, and a mother of two. Her oldest (we will call her "Other One") has also left the nest, has graduated college, gotten married, and is now working full time. Her youngest (we will call him "Other Two") is in High School. We have been dating for quite a few years, and we currently aren't talking about marriage, but who knows what the future might hold... You will have to stay tuned to find out more on that topic.

So now that you know a little about me, let me tell you a little about what's been happening in my life.

The last 6 months have seen a lot of changes in my life. First, as I have already mentioned, I became a homeowner in May. It's the first time since 2000 that I have owned property. Even though it's been almost 6 months since I bought the place, I am still thinking like a renter rather than an owner. The building needed some serious roof work when I purchased it, and a few other minor repairs. I got all of that done, and rented out the second apartment, and any day now I will be receiving my 3rd rent payment. It's a unique experience having someone else pay you rent. I have good tenants that pay rent on time, which I understand is a rare thing... So I hope they stay for quite some time! :-)

Buying my home was planned, and took 4-5 months to complete, but I am very happy with my decision. However, the second house I have acquired was not planned. Yeah, you read correctly, I have two properties. In June, Ex decided she no longer wished to pay for our old marital home. In August of 2006 she purchased a new home, and had been trying to sell the old marital home since then, but couldn't find a buyer. Her finances grew tight with the mortgages from both the old home and her new home, and she felt she could no longer afford the old house, so she just stopped paying the mortgage (actually there are two for that house, but that's not really important). She attempted to arrange a "short sale" with the mortgage holder, but I stopped it. Why would I stop it? Well it's actually quite simple: The mortgages were still in my name as she did not refinance after the divorce, and I did not want my credit score to be screwed over by a "near foreclosure". So to prevent the almost foreclosure, I had to take over the property, and pay the mortgages myself.

The cost of taking over the property (2 months of back mortgages, and title transfer fees) was approximately $1,800.00. Since I just spent all available cash I had on the purchase of my home, I didn't have the cash. I asked Ex to pay half and I would pay the other half, and then she wouldn't have to worry about the property any longer. I thought she agreed with that, but apparently didn't so when I withheld a support payment, she took me to court. Two unexpected things happened at the court hearing: I did not have to pay her for the withheld payment, and they lowered the amount of money I pay her each month. The only negative was that they now withhold the support payment from my paycheck instead of me paying her directly.

The marital home is in extreme disrepair. The roof needs replaced, water damage, and other damage inside the house needs to be repaired before someone can move into the place. I haven't decided if I will sell the place, or if I will fix up the place and live in it, or rent it. I don't think I can sell it easily since Ex wasn't able to sell it, and there are many homes in the area for sale, as well as the current housing market problems. So that leaves fixing it up, and either living in it or renting it. I could probably rent it pretty easily as it is very near a college, however, if it is fixed up, it would be a nicer place than where I am living now, and I could just rent out the other half of the duplex I am living in now.

So that's big financial stories, now onto the more important family stories. "Two" and "Other Two" spent the summer as counselors at Boy Scout camp. "Two" is currently ranked second in his class, and is trying very hard to get to first by the end of the year. He is also trying to decide what he is going to do next year for college, and he is trying to get his driver's license. "Three" just turned 16 last month and is spending most of her time with Ex. She hasn't been coming over to my house recently, and I am not exactly sure why, although I have heard it's because she thinks I have a flea problem in my house and I don't believe her. I haven't found any fleas yet, and I have sprayed. "Four" is coming along, and is spending something like 70% of her time with Ex, and the rest with me. All of the younger kids are now in their second week of school, and are still getting acclimated to getting up in the morning, and completing homework in the evenings.

Today "Four" said she wasn't feeling well and didn't want to go to school. She didn't look sick, and didn't feel feverish, so I sent her to school and told her to see the nurse if she didn't feel well. I hope she is OK, and will make it through the day. It's hard to tell if she is sick because she has not always been honest in the past about her health.

Tonight I am going with "Sweetie", "Two" and "Other Two" to the marital home, and we are going to do some major yard work. The lawn has gotten a little out of control.

The next post I will put up some pictures, and I will do my best to update more often!

Later