My baby sister is in trouble with the law. It's her own fault, but I think they're going a bit overboard I think. She wrote a bad check (she didn't know it would bounce) and put off taking care of it after she was informed of it. Then, she got a letter saying that she had to take care of it or risk being arrested. She just didn't have the money to take care of it. Now, a warrant has been issued for her arrest and she can't afford bond (it's been set at $1000 according to the letter she was sent telling her the warrant had been issued). And to top it off, apparently the check she wrote to pay for the renewal of her vehicle registration also bounced, and her license plate has been suspended. So she's now driving illegally.
She is supposed to go to Georgia on Thursday to look at a college she hopes to go to. Does anyone know, is it illegal for her to leave the state? I can't seem to find out, I've been looking on the internet and can't seem to get any information. I am finding plenty on restrictions placed on the arrestors, but none on the arrestees. She's not fleeing the arrest, she's just going for the weekend.
Now, not stressful for me but any prayers you may want to offer would be appreciated.... my Chiropractor's house burned down on Friday afternoon. He's got insurance, but the family lost EVERYTHING. The house and garage were a total loss. They consider themselves lucky that it was during the day when nobody was home, since that means that everyone was safe elsewhere. I'm posting a link to the news article from the local paper, I hope it works. You may have to register with the paper to read the article, I don't remember. This is the wonderful person who is footing the bill to take my sister to Georgia this weekend. He also has paid her application fee to this college, and I believe he's pulling some strings with the college she flunked out of to get her transcripts so she can transfer some credits to the new school. This is a really wonderful family and it's very tragic that it has happened to them.
Monday, October 25, 2004
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Just a short one to prove how dumb I still am when it comes to blogging....
I want to put links on my blog, too! I've read my friends' blogs, and they all seem to have a section on the side where they have links posted - links to other blogs, links to FF and/or their chart, links! But I can't seem to find where that option is. I'm such a doofus with this stuff. Maybe it's because I don't have my blog as "public" - which is because I don't want it to be found by a certain someone I know IRL.
If any of my readers (not that I think I have many) knows what I can do to get links, please let me know!!
That's it for now, though I will be back later. I just need to get dressed and get some food (okay, I don't NEED the food; I'm not about to waste away or anything) and I'll be back after eating.
If any of my readers (not that I think I have many) knows what I can do to get links, please let me know!!
That's it for now, though I will be back later. I just need to get dressed and get some food (okay, I don't NEED the food; I'm not about to waste away or anything) and I'll be back after eating.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Temping and such...
Well, AF has acted like... AF. Really, really heavy the first 2 1/2 days (a super-plus tampon lasted me 2 hours if I was lucky). But then, day 3, very light!! Light enough that I just had some spotting on a regular tampon after over 4 hours, so I decided it would be okay to BD. Afterward there was a bit of bleeding again, but overnight I didn't fill even half of a regular tampon, so I'm counting AF as pretty much done.
Last cycle I tried temping vaginally. It was awkward, and I truly did not notice any difference in the stability of my temperatures. It didn't help much that I missed temping several times because of getting up early (I never temp earlier than my normal time) or not being at home (I wasn't about to explain why I was sticking a thermometer there!). So, I washed my thermometer really good in hot, soapy water and gave it a good rinse in rubbing alcohol. And it's back to oral temping for me.
I'm starting Clomid today. This cycle it will be on CDs 4-8 instead of 5-9. I wanted it to be days 3-7, but we didn't have the chance to pick it up yesterday so 4-8 will have to do. I hope taking it earlier helps me to O faster. This time I was still rather late O-ing and much as Jon & I love each other, BD gets tiring when it's something we have to do that often as opposed to something we want to do that often. I'm sure you understand the difference.
Last cycle I tried temping vaginally. It was awkward, and I truly did not notice any difference in the stability of my temperatures. It didn't help much that I missed temping several times because of getting up early (I never temp earlier than my normal time) or not being at home (I wasn't about to explain why I was sticking a thermometer there!). So, I washed my thermometer really good in hot, soapy water and gave it a good rinse in rubbing alcohol. And it's back to oral temping for me.
I'm starting Clomid today. This cycle it will be on CDs 4-8 instead of 5-9. I wanted it to be days 3-7, but we didn't have the chance to pick it up yesterday so 4-8 will have to do. I hope taking it earlier helps me to O faster. This time I was still rather late O-ing and much as Jon & I love each other, BD gets tiring when it's something we have to do that often as opposed to something we want to do that often. I'm sure you understand the difference.
Friday, October 15, 2004
A fairly decent day.
So aside from the fact that today is CD 1, and CD 1 always sucks simply by being CD 1, I had a pretty good day. The cramps weren't so bad that Advil wouldn't take them away, and I didn't leak onto my clothes at all (always my biggest fear). Also, I had no snotty customers and my manager let me spend the last half-hour of my shift on the computer, and off my feet.
I don't remember if I mentioned it before, but I auditioned for a local community theatre production of "Oliver!" and I got a part. I'm going to be a "Workhouse Assistant". It's not much, but it is something. I had been hoping for a bigger part, but maybe next time. I'm just planning to have a good time with this and not complain about what I got.
That's it for now, more later!!
I don't remember if I mentioned it before, but I auditioned for a local community theatre production of "Oliver!" and I got a part. I'm going to be a "Workhouse Assistant". It's not much, but it is something. I had been hoping for a bigger part, but maybe next time. I'm just planning to have a good time with this and not complain about what I got.
That's it for now, more later!!
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Oh, one more detail...
I'm leaving the old blog link in my FF signature. Why? Because if Mandy does decide to go into FF looking for my blog again (I don't know why she would, but it's possible) I want it to look the same as it always did, and I want the link to still work if she chooses to follow it. I just want her to think I've stopped posting there, which is pretty much the truth.
The story of why....
I didn't want to make a new blog. I liked the old one. But someone I know IRL got too nosy and came onto FF and found that blog, and bookmarked it so she could read it. Which really sucks, because that was my blog for my online friends, where I could vent about people that I know in real life without having them come back and get all bent out of shape about it. I have a Live Journal for my real-life friends to read if they wish. Unfortunately, the person who hunted down and bookmarked my other blog is the one most likely to get all bent out of shape about things. She takes everything way too personally, so any little vent (or if I just said, "Hey, please don't read that blog") - it would be a nightmare.
And a couple of weeks ago, I really needed to be able to vent. And I couldn't. I had to hold it all inside and just hurt by myself. Because while Jon was completely pissed over the whole thing, I was hurt deeply and we weren't able to really discuss it. So I'm going to post the story behind the issue I need to vent about, and then the vent itself. They kind of mesh together. You might as well settle in for something of a long read....
Each year in May, several of us go to Chicago for an anime convention. Generally, one person puts the entire hotel tab on their credit card, and everyone else pays them back. Being as I'm quite short on money, I'm always the slowest person to pay people back. As an example, I paid the couple who paid for the hotel in 2002 just this past Febuary (2004). It makes me feel really bad to owe my friends money, and this year we almost didn't go because we still owed the friend who payed for last year's hotel (Mandy). But she insisted it was fine with her that we still owed her, and she was the one paying for the hotel again this year, so we went.
Mandy moved out of her dad's house and in with her boyfriend about 6 weeks after our trip to Chicago. She went from having few bills (car payment & insurance, and student loans) and making over $11 per hour to having a normal person's bills (rent, phone, cable, electric, plus the above-mentioned car payment/insurance & student loans) and making only $6.15 per hour. She had absolutely nothing in saving when she moved. And at the time, I had just gotten a job after over 6 months of being unemployed, and my husband had been working a little over a month at minimum wage ($5.15 per hour). So we're not making a great deal of money, and we're struggling to pay enough of our bills to keep things from being shut off. (I guess here is as good a place as any to mention that Jon does have a fairly large savings account that we don't touch unless it's absolutely necessary. It is from a settlement from a car accident that nearly killed him when he was in high school. He wants to save it for when we're ready to buy a house, so we have a good down payment to offset our less-than-stellar credit. We've had to use a lot of it this year, because both of us were unemployed for over 6 months, and we're just now being able to start paying back into it. So using it to pay people back for vacation has not been an option.)
Things were actually going okay until Mandy found a new job. At her new job she was guaranteed 40 hours per week and making $10 per hour. That was great, until the job unexpectedly ended after only 3 weeks. Even though the employment agency she was going through found her a new job almost right away, it paid less ($6.75/hour) but the hours are worse (longer hours, and swing shift). Suddenly, it became a large issue with her that we hadn't paid her back yet. And the worst of it is, she didn't tell me any of it. I knew she was having money troubles due to the sudden loss of income (she's never been good with money or planning ahead, and when she was making $10 per hour she overspent) - but who doesn't have money troubles?? And I know that I'm bad with money - I nickel & dime myself to death sometimes, and Jon & I each got a new video game recently that we shouldn't have gotten because we couldn't really afford it.
One day, out of the blue, Jon & I both got emails from Mandy's boyfriend (Todd) saying that he's very pissed that we haven't paid Mandy back yet. And he says that if we don't pay her back by Halloween he's going to convince her to take us to small claims court to get it!! They never even asked us if we'd forgotten, or when we'd be able to pay her back, or anything. Just one day, boom. Nasty email. Then right after the one from Todd, I get an email from Mandy saying that she had nothing to do with the email from him. But the reason that Todd (and apparently her dad is pissed at us too!) is so mad about it is that "everyone knows that Jon has all that money" and they seem to think we just don't want to pay her back!! And truth be told, she'd be in the exact same place she's in right now if I HAD been able to pay her back right away, becasue she'd have spent all of that money before she even moved.
Also, at the beginning of September, Jon quit his job. He had to cut back his hours because of school, and they were giving him less than 10 hours per week (when he asked for 24) so it really wasn't worth it for him to keep working there. Plus, he's near the end of his degree, and his classes are really hard this semester, so the combination of the two of those led to his decision to quit his job. Truthfully, it hasn't affected our finances all that much, him being out of work.
I don't think I've ever felt more hurt in my entire life. Mandy is supposed to be my best friend, and this is how she goes about asking me to pay her back faster? When I paid Bree & Geoff (the couple who paid in 2002) - even though I had owed them the money for almost 2 years by the time I paid them, Bree called me and asked why I had sent her the money - she said she knew that we couldn't afford it and would pay her back when we could. She actually complained that I paid her back!!
Mandy and I have settled it between us. Now that I know it's such a big deal to her, I'm giving her something each paycheck (and I'm writing a check each time so I've got proof I paid it) and if I would have known all along that the money was that important to her, I would have found a way to do something like this long time ago. But Jon is still pissed at Todd (and vice-versa) and it looks like things will stay that way for a good long while. Which to me is doubly sad because Jon & Todd have been good friends for close to 25 years. And now it looks like that's over. It just makes me so sad and hurt that Todd values Jon's friendship that little, that he's going to get that worked up over money that isn't even owed to him. True friendships transcend things like money.
I'm sorry I had to post such a downer as a first post in this blog. And of course, I just now came up with - "I hope and pray that Mandy never finds this blog" - because although I simply needed to vent, and mostly I just posted the story and how hurt I am over the whole thing, I know her, and she'll see it as a personal attack if she ever reads it. Any of you who know more about this blogging than I do - do you think there's any way she can find this without me telling her about it? Does blogger allow searches of blogs that aren't made public? Maybe I should have changed the names..... I guess I can always come back later and edit names out if I so choose... Someone who comments, please let me know about the search thing? And thanks, many many thanks, for having the patience to read through this whole post.
And a couple of weeks ago, I really needed to be able to vent. And I couldn't. I had to hold it all inside and just hurt by myself. Because while Jon was completely pissed over the whole thing, I was hurt deeply and we weren't able to really discuss it. So I'm going to post the story behind the issue I need to vent about, and then the vent itself. They kind of mesh together. You might as well settle in for something of a long read....
Each year in May, several of us go to Chicago for an anime convention. Generally, one person puts the entire hotel tab on their credit card, and everyone else pays them back. Being as I'm quite short on money, I'm always the slowest person to pay people back. As an example, I paid the couple who paid for the hotel in 2002 just this past Febuary (2004). It makes me feel really bad to owe my friends money, and this year we almost didn't go because we still owed the friend who payed for last year's hotel (Mandy). But she insisted it was fine with her that we still owed her, and she was the one paying for the hotel again this year, so we went.
Mandy moved out of her dad's house and in with her boyfriend about 6 weeks after our trip to Chicago. She went from having few bills (car payment & insurance, and student loans) and making over $11 per hour to having a normal person's bills (rent, phone, cable, electric, plus the above-mentioned car payment/insurance & student loans) and making only $6.15 per hour. She had absolutely nothing in saving when she moved. And at the time, I had just gotten a job after over 6 months of being unemployed, and my husband had been working a little over a month at minimum wage ($5.15 per hour). So we're not making a great deal of money, and we're struggling to pay enough of our bills to keep things from being shut off. (I guess here is as good a place as any to mention that Jon does have a fairly large savings account that we don't touch unless it's absolutely necessary. It is from a settlement from a car accident that nearly killed him when he was in high school. He wants to save it for when we're ready to buy a house, so we have a good down payment to offset our less-than-stellar credit. We've had to use a lot of it this year, because both of us were unemployed for over 6 months, and we're just now being able to start paying back into it. So using it to pay people back for vacation has not been an option.)
Things were actually going okay until Mandy found a new job. At her new job she was guaranteed 40 hours per week and making $10 per hour. That was great, until the job unexpectedly ended after only 3 weeks. Even though the employment agency she was going through found her a new job almost right away, it paid less ($6.75/hour) but the hours are worse (longer hours, and swing shift). Suddenly, it became a large issue with her that we hadn't paid her back yet. And the worst of it is, she didn't tell me any of it. I knew she was having money troubles due to the sudden loss of income (she's never been good with money or planning ahead, and when she was making $10 per hour she overspent) - but who doesn't have money troubles?? And I know that I'm bad with money - I nickel & dime myself to death sometimes, and Jon & I each got a new video game recently that we shouldn't have gotten because we couldn't really afford it.
One day, out of the blue, Jon & I both got emails from Mandy's boyfriend (Todd) saying that he's very pissed that we haven't paid Mandy back yet. And he says that if we don't pay her back by Halloween he's going to convince her to take us to small claims court to get it!! They never even asked us if we'd forgotten, or when we'd be able to pay her back, or anything. Just one day, boom. Nasty email. Then right after the one from Todd, I get an email from Mandy saying that she had nothing to do with the email from him. But the reason that Todd (and apparently her dad is pissed at us too!) is so mad about it is that "everyone knows that Jon has all that money" and they seem to think we just don't want to pay her back!! And truth be told, she'd be in the exact same place she's in right now if I HAD been able to pay her back right away, becasue she'd have spent all of that money before she even moved.
Also, at the beginning of September, Jon quit his job. He had to cut back his hours because of school, and they were giving him less than 10 hours per week (when he asked for 24) so it really wasn't worth it for him to keep working there. Plus, he's near the end of his degree, and his classes are really hard this semester, so the combination of the two of those led to his decision to quit his job. Truthfully, it hasn't affected our finances all that much, him being out of work.
I don't think I've ever felt more hurt in my entire life. Mandy is supposed to be my best friend, and this is how she goes about asking me to pay her back faster? When I paid Bree & Geoff (the couple who paid in 2002) - even though I had owed them the money for almost 2 years by the time I paid them, Bree called me and asked why I had sent her the money - she said she knew that we couldn't afford it and would pay her back when we could. She actually complained that I paid her back!!
Mandy and I have settled it between us. Now that I know it's such a big deal to her, I'm giving her something each paycheck (and I'm writing a check each time so I've got proof I paid it) and if I would have known all along that the money was that important to her, I would have found a way to do something like this long time ago. But Jon is still pissed at Todd (and vice-versa) and it looks like things will stay that way for a good long while. Which to me is doubly sad because Jon & Todd have been good friends for close to 25 years. And now it looks like that's over. It just makes me so sad and hurt that Todd values Jon's friendship that little, that he's going to get that worked up over money that isn't even owed to him. True friendships transcend things like money.
I'm sorry I had to post such a downer as a first post in this blog. And of course, I just now came up with - "I hope and pray that Mandy never finds this blog" - because although I simply needed to vent, and mostly I just posted the story and how hurt I am over the whole thing, I know her, and she'll see it as a personal attack if she ever reads it. Any of you who know more about this blogging than I do - do you think there's any way she can find this without me telling her about it? Does blogger allow searches of blogs that aren't made public? Maybe I should have changed the names..... I guess I can always come back later and edit names out if I so choose... Someone who comments, please let me know about the search thing? And thanks, many many thanks, for having the patience to read through this whole post.
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