Life so far...

Much has happened since my last entry. I really should update this more
often. I might do that, after things settle down. No... We're not done
with moving. I mean, the moving part is done, now there's the settling
in thingy.

Ok.. Here's the thing. When the previous owner lost the house due to
bankruptcy... He came back in and ripped out the pump and storage tank
to the water 'system' in the house. I think we should find out who that
was and sue them. I found out how the property came up for sale due to
one former tenant, rudely walking in as Myers and I went through the
basement trying to staple up any of the insulation that was falling
down. They were interested in moving back in, and I had to explain that
Apartment 1 was already spoken for.

So... We had to get some guy to set up a submersible pump in the well
and hook up a storage tank. The toilet in Apt. 1 was replaced as well.
Next, we hired a general contractor to fix the pipes. Things from that
point on went well, until...

Well, during the month of December, I had been eating sandwiches and
used Mayo in my sister's frig. Only thing is, it was past its Sell By
date. When you get bad mayo in your innards, there's very little you can
do and you have few options as to what you're going to do about it. The
new toilet ended up getting used. I had some really good paper towels to
use for wiping... And while I was trying to deal with the mess, the
general contractor ended up finding it before I had that solved, got
pissed, called my older sister and my mom, which ended up having me
return home one Friday with everyone mad at me. I pretty much told them
I'm mad at them right back, I knew about the problem, and why do you
think I was taking buckets of water as well as a plunger out to deal
with it???

I ended up one Saturday morning buying a toilet snake ($7 at TruValu)
and some drain opener stuff ($3 or so) and had it clear in about 20
minutes. I used pine oil cleaner to finish the job.

The general contractor guy didn't return for almost 3 weeks, until this
past Saturday there was evidence he had been here, did something in the
bathroom and so far hasn't returned to do much else. Right now, I think
he's planning how to route pipes to the bathroom since all the PVC ones
had frozen and split and leak all over the place.

As for the money from the sale of my grandparents' house... My older
sister claims mom isn't getting any, yet she took $20K and bought this
property, and with another estimated $35K that my mom is due... My aunt
has gotten $10K so far in a cashier's check, and when she asked for
more, she got told it was in bank deposits... She did that without
asking or telling anyone.

AND to top that off, my older sister is expecting my mom and I to pay
"rent". Rent, on a property bought with my mom's money, which should be
in my name at least... There's property taxes to be paid. This is a
multi-unit property, with 2 available apartments to rent out. I barely
make enough to cover my own bills, and if I were forced to take on
anything else, I'd cancel the TV service first. I have a trip to Japan I
want to save up for first!!!

I've reviewed some of the rights renters have. I can take her to court
and demand a reduction in "Rent" if the conditions aren't suitable.

Maybe things will get better. Supposedly, in "Early February" as was
witnessed by several people, I, along with 2 others, are to receive
training for ringing on cash registers. This is supposed to mean better
opportunities such as better pay and access to benefits.

January 12th is when this was witnessed. I gave up on that a long time
ago, but at least I have experience from working at Big Wheel before it
closed years ago.

Got the update for my DVD recorder!!! It works great now. Before it had
crappy audio, and now it's just fine. Wow.

Toys for the English dub of Ojamajo Doremi are out, and I finally have a
variation of the Musa doll from Winx Club. I have had such a darndest
time finding her any other way... Grrr...

I've got some stuff to send to a penpal in Japan. I should have sent it
a long time ago... T.T gomen ne!

Moving, moving, done...

In the past 6 days of moving...

Friday - got mom and the dog out to my sister's house, moved some loads
and picked up 14Foot Uhaul.

Now, when Uhaul says the truck is $29 a day, what they don't mention is
that there's $79 insurance you have to buy from them unless you have
insurance to cover you on 6 wheel vehicles. And then the $14 fee for
something I didn't want as well when I reserved it. And then the 99
cents a mile charge.

So they advertise $29 or $20 a day - but that's a complete lie. My cost
to rent the truck for one day was over $123. And that's not counting $32
in diesel fuel!!!

Saturday - didn't do any shopping nor picking up or any manga. We did 2
huge loads of all the big stuff, and managed to get the truck back by
5:58 pm. Also moved my bed from the basement to my sister's house.

Sunday - A day of rest, as I was sore all over. Ate our thanksgiving
meal.

Monday - Myers had the day off, so we pretty much borrowed my younger
sister's van and we made good on several loads.

Tuesday - more van borrowing. Moved more stuff from upstairs, as I went
room to room and just emptied it out.

Wednesday - got the cats and the food out and the last of stuff from the
basement.

That leaves the mowers, the plant, and the garbage thingy. My truck will
be used for that, then I go back to work.

At least I'll get to play with my DVD recorder at some point.

SOLD

And tonight the SOLD sign went on the reator's sign in my grandparents'
soon to be former home.

Well, there's the sign I was waiting for. Saw it this evening after I
came home from voting after work.

I left around 8:25 am and it wasn't there, so some time between then and
10 am or so, someone came out and placed it there. Pisses me off nobody
came to the door to tell mom about it. We've also been trying to contact
my sister in Florida about stuff that needs done with the house in
Bayard. It's got electric and maybe phone - we just need running water
through a softener. Stupid her sold my grandfather's house with our
softener as being installed (it's not). We're going to need that.

I have this Friday off, so I'm going to see about moving stuff already
in boxes during that day. I don't know how many loads I'll be able to do
by myself. Good thing I got more Ibuprofen.

30 days or so and counting...

I have this Friday off so I plan to do as many loads of stuff still
packed up from our move out of the Euclid house and this will be what is
being moved first. I'd like to move our refrigerator and get it set up
at the "new" place. I also may need help ripping out carpet in the
kitchen. Yes, you read right, carpet in the kitchen. We had carpet in
the kitchen and bathroom when we first lived at Euclid, and here we got
it again.

If I end up moving stuff by myself this Friday, and it doesn't rain, I
got a lot of boxes I want to move that I need to do by myself anyway.

I'm also going to need to see about the next month or so that I need 2
days off in a row, culminating with my week's paid vacation that I
should have earned by now. Also I need to see when I'm supposed to get
my raise. I'm looking for the Rurdev letter that has info the store
provided to the US Government about said raise, and if they lied on that
form they sent back to the rurdev people, then I've got a case to
present to people. I want my raise!!!

The week I will get off I will be renting a Uhaul van to move the rest
of the big stuff. Anyone showing up with big vehicles is still muchly
appreciated. I'm hoping this time we can follow through with the Thank
You party we should have had 2 years ago. I guess we'll make it a good
one for this time.

A lot of cleaning will also be needed. If I can borrow a power washer,
all the better. I plan to get our air cleaner in there ASAP as well as
getting the dehumidifier going again, maybe with a new fan I have on
hand, and getting that over there. I'll likely have to buy a bunch of
light bulbs and bring a sweeper.

As long as my older sister gets running softened and filtered water
going, and hookups for mom's waster and dryer, we could be good to go. I
have to find out how to get our digital dish moved there as well and for
free.

Sorry for lack of updates... but...

Well, life still sucks but at different rates.

Even though I got more of a response from the rurdev office, my mom
can't co-sign for a loan because of her bankruptcy. Or any other loan
for at least 2 years afterwards. I got another envelope from the rurdev
office, but I haven't opened it. I'm not going to.

Erroneous stuff on my credit report is going to be excised, just as soon
as I can remember to do it and not fall asleep sitting around the house
on my days off. I hate my job, like what's new with that.

So at any rate, I've decided to not pursue getting a housing loan
anymore. My older sister instead found a HUD Repo property and the bank
needed only $20,000 on it.

The lady trying to buy my grandparents' house had her credit fall
through, and the lady who said she'd help her refused. So the house went
back on the market and at a higher price than before. Just as soon as
that happened, bam - we had 2 more couples look through it in the same
day. Good thing I had just cleaned up around here. Also had to give
Tinkerbell the boot. She's outside, but she had been peeing and pooping
on stuff in the basement. 2 days after that, I saw more of that and
blamed Griz. However, I'm going to work with Griz because he's a
sociable cat. We were going to get rid of Tink anyway before we moved.
However, the times she had gotten out when we were back in town, she
mainly stayed around the house or whatnot. This time she's clearly run
away for good. I haven't seen her in the 2 weeks since I let her run
away. I'm trying to feel sad about it, but I hope she's found another
home.

One of the 2 couples who saw the house 2 weeks ago put a $500 holder
thingy on it. The previous family didn't do that.

So the upshot of the whole thing: My sister buys the apartment building
that is/ was the HUD repo. We move in and she tries to charge us rent.
When the house sells, the loan on the repo is paid off, rendering any
"need" to charge rent moot. The property should be in my name anyway.
It's going to need some work before it's really ready, and we may have a
friend lined up to rent one of the other 2 apartments already. I don't
have a decent paying job that would let me pay rent and cover my bills
and I'd still be able to live, basically. I think we'll be moving later
this month.

My older sister says she may try to get more properties in this manner
and fix them up and turn them into housing that can be rented out to
people with subsidized rental vouchers from the government. She wishes
the place we'll be moving into was ready right now to help people
displaced by hurricanes. At least we get to keep our phone number, and
I'm taking the digital dish with us!

The other upshot of all this would be I'd be her building manager (aka
Kanrinnin) and therefore I'd get free rent for watching over the
properties. I'm still looking into getting another job, or a better
paying job altogether. I don't like the prospect of working without a
union contract, though.

It's been a year since I left that horrid restaurant. The abuse I
suffered at the hands of customers and bad management. Those corporate
jerk inspectors, too. Getting out of that place was perhaps the best and
worst thing that happened to me. I know what I'd like to see happen as
revenge and it would be perfectly legal and sweet. Heh!!

My friend who won the 2005 Monbusho research fellowship grant left for
Japan a few days ago. I see by his blog he's doing well. ^_^ I hope to
see him in Tokyo sometime next year, as well as a penpal or 2.

So far...

Well, all that other info got back to the office. August 9th, the
underwriter for the rurdev office did some figuring. I got a letter that
basically said, yes, I could get a loan through Rural Development. Only
thing is I couldn't get enough to buy a house.

So the figures go on my monthly gross, use 29% of that, then use $150 a
month in estimated real estate taxes and $35 a month in insurance. That
would leave a payment that qualified me for only $4,977.00.

First off, I wouldn't even consider a place that required $150 in taxes.
One house I want to get is $72 a month in taxes. Cheaper house might
also mean cheaper insurance. Mom figures if we can make a downpayment of
$10 to 15K or so, we would need to borrow much less. How we get the
downpayment, I'm not sure.

Distraught and depressed, last Friday I wrote a letter back to the
rurdev office requesting an informal review and suggested some
alternatives. I also wrote a letter and sent copies off to TV stations.
Hopefully I'll hear from one of them soon. I also tried contacting a
local Habitat for Humanity office via email. I haven't heard anything
back from that, so I will end up having to call them.

Might be talking to the real estate agent who has this one loan officer
coming into her office at the end of this week. There's gotta be a way
for me or us to get a loan to buy a house. I want to get a federally
subsidized loan like my mom got through Farmer's Home Administration
years ago. I should be able to do this.

I'm also considering alternative forms of employment. One is a 2nd part
time job, and the other is getting management training where I work for
getting me out of that store and into another. If one friend who used to
work there can get it and pass the test, I know I can do it, too. I'd
likely end up in a salaried management position, which would suck. After
getting burned on one non-union protected job, I don't want to work
without it ever again.

I don't know if I'm going to get screwed over or not

Well... I've begun the process to apply for a Uniform Housing Loan
through the government's USDA Rural Development office. I sent in at
first an incomplete application, then I got it sent in with the $30
credit reporting fee and additional info they requested.

A week after that, I got an envelope with a few other papers (credit
reporting disclosure, Truth in Lending data), and sent those back in.

Now they're checking info with my current landlord, my current employer,
my past employer, and the bank.

Two of those bits have replied. I called on 8/2 about how things were
going, left a message on the processor's voice mail about how if things
were looking good that I had a house in mind and where it is. The
processor of my application called back saying the landlord info was
received as well as my current employer.

But the thing that caught me off guard was them checking my past
employer. My heart sank when I heard they were checking that. I have no
idea what info they'll be asking for, or if how my employment with them
ended will make any difference. I hope all they need and get is how long
I was employed by them. I also hold no hope for their timely response.
If the errors in my credit report with the Bank of America account I
never had doesn't mess things up, this thing with my previous employer,
for whom I worked 10.5 years, just could depending on what info the
rurdev people ask for.

I woke this morning feeling like crap and with a bit of a sore throat.
Autotoxemia? Heh, I wouldn't be surprised. I've started getting boxes
from where I work now, but haven't begun packing anything, and I got a
lot to pack.

Damn.

Hoping for a future

A few days ago I sent in the application for the Rural Development
Uniform housing loan. Or something much to that effect. I hope I hear
from them soon so I can snap up one of a few houses I have en eye on.
The house we're currently in went on the market in April without our
consent. My older sister claims she's upset that mom's upset for that
happening, but I know better. It's crockadile tears. Then, just because
it's been... what, 3 months? since that happened and the house here
hasn't sold? She's trying to blame the unsold house on us? I heard talk
of her wanting to kick us out so the house will sell. All I know is,
when the name on the deed for the house is mine, my older sister will
never be in my house ever again.

Something of a revelation

After reading over the text of stupid customers that I had saved, I
realize something but only after having some exposure to Gordon Ramsay
and his Kitchen Nightmares, Boiling Point, and Beyond Boiling Point, as
well as the current Fox series Hell's Kitchen - I should have had
complete free reign and control of how I wanted to deal with stupid
customers when I worked at the restaurant. When that one stupid woman
complained of "cold fries" when the dish had just been dished up from
product that was still under the hold timer, I should have been given
the right without retaliation, much like Gordon Ramsay, to go right up
to her and ask what the problem is.

"What's the problem?"

"The fries are cold."

"Oh really? Let's have a look at one then."

Pick up a fry, break it open (crisp fries should snap open), and have
hot steam come out of the broken ends.

"That certainly looks like a hot french fry. I can grab some of the cold
ones out of the freezer if you need something to compare these to.
Satisfied now?"

Oh man, the things I wanted to do. Gordon Ramsay is like an idol in
regard to how chefs should be. Perfectionist, demanding of respect, and
willing to fight for the quality and reputation of the food they create.

Damn straight.

Anywho, here I sit at my mom's desktop working on files for a CDrom and all, and I realize something. It's Tuesday before Anime North, but I'm not doing something I feel I should be: gathering at a friend's house with all of our group that goes to Toronto around this time of year, waiting to leave Wednesday morning, an extra day or 2 ahead of time so we can do shopping at Pacific Mall before the convention. This feeling is odd. It may also relieve the tensions of crossing the border into Canada as well as the post-convention blues when coming back and all. Everything tells me something is wrong. I should be somewhere else feeling good - but I'm not. It's kinda depressing. I don't have my camcorder ready with charged batteries or blank tapes; I didn't get any clothes ready; I don't even know what panels they'll be holding. I'll have to ask my anime friend in Toronto to see if he can get me an additional program book. I never really expected to go this year. I didn't even pre-register! Instead, the Wednesday before Anime North, I have to get ready for work, then a day off, then I work during most of the convention. And things at work aren't the greatest either, so I will likely not be in the best of spirits right now. I have my friends and I work with people I like, more or less. It's just sad.

Everything right now says this is wrong. My friends' plans also imploded, which in turn imploded my plans. I have money that I won't be spending where I want to spend it. My exposure to Asian and Japanese culture will be lacking. This was not how 2005 was supposed to be like.

Anywho, I must plod on. Somehow. I'm going to miss all those people in costume. Damn.

Pioneer DVDs marked down at Valu City

A friend on a whim for something else went to a local Valu City store
and noticed a rack over by the toys and small appliances with Pioneer
DVDs on them. Of note, a Card Captor Sakura DVD, one CardCraptors DVD, 2
Adventures of the Mini Goddesses (Urd and Skuld files - dunno why they
can't just number them), Black Heaven. $5.99 each. There may have been
others, I don't know. I know of one other Valu City store and may try
checking it out to see what they got.

Interesting to see stuff like this popping up almost all over. Dollar
General, Big Lots, and now Valu City? It was a few years or so ago I
found MEAD's Sailor Moon design notebooks at Valu City and ended up
collecting all 6 designs. It's nice to see stuff like this still popping
up. And it sorta makes up for our group's destroyed plans for Anime
North this year. T.T