The Dust Settles... Finally

Finally, we got everything done - we moved to the new house, changed our mailing address, got rid of the junk my mom loves to keep, and kept the stuff we really need. Like my Playboys xD just kiddin.

We were actually very lucky to get this house, because we couldn't find an apartment to live in for the time being, and time itself was winding down. My mom talked to one of her friends, who was a real estate agent (go figure -.-), and it turns out she knew my friend's brother had a house that he was renting out. I had no idea, but he's rented it out to the Thai foreign exchange students when they were here, and I guess he decided to keep at it. It's weird since he still lives with his mom xD. Smart guy.

So we talked to him and he agreed to let us stay here in this halfway renovated house. There's no carpet, the heater is messed up, and the landscape design is horrible. Not to mention there's no ramp on the driveway like the other houses, so it's like runnin over a curb when I pull up. But the work he has done to it is really nice though. I like the paint job and the living room renovations. He put in one of those skylight type things on the ceiling where you install the t.v to the wall, looks real nice. Well, it's not a skylight, but it's one of those overhead lights... you know what I mean.

He also kept the furnishings he had before we moved in, which is good, because my bed before was just a mattress with no spring board or bed frame, that's why I usually slept on the couch xD. But now I got a real bed to sleep in. One of those full sets with the drawers on the bottom. HELL YEAH! We also got two more beds and a futon, which I've never used before. Only problem is we have so much stuff that my mom kept over the years that we have no place to put it. So it's still kind of cluttered here. I gotta try to convince her to let some of this stuff go!

But it's refreshing though, to live in a house, and not an apartment. We actually have a front/backyard now, and it's got 4 bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms with a dining room and a laundry room. The works. Soon I'm going to start on the landscaping job, and hopefully he'll knock some of that off from our payments. It's gonna be a huge project.

Even though I don't own this house, it still feels like home sweet home! Still can't wait to move out and get my own place though.

Be Proactive

I love my mom to death, but there are differences in the way we live our lives. She reacts to problems, instead of acting beforehand to possibly avoid them. And now the problems are multiplying, so she can only react to each of them, instead of making a strategy to deal with them all at once. We just don't have the money.

My definition of proactive is to be prepared, to act beforehand. I'm not always proactive, but I try to be as much as possible. When I make a purchase with my credit card, I don't just pay the minimum balance, I pay extra. Sometimes I pay the full balance. Helps keep my account in good standing. I don't workout all the time, but I try to fit in a couple ab exercises and push ups when I'm pressed for time. Helps keep my body in good condition, so I can possibly avoid health problems in the future.

There's alot you can learn when you understand the difference between being proactive and reactive. Don't accept a telemarketing offer unless you can do research on whatever it is they're offering. When you get "pre-approved" for a credit card, don't just immediately sign up for it; instead do your research beforehand to see if that card is really for you. When I chose my bank, I did research on them before I opened an account with them to see if they offer a good service. And they do. And as a result, my bank account is in good standing. No fee is hidden. Before, I had an account with a cell phone company, but I didn't have this mindset until recently. So that cell phone company gave my information to a collection agency. I reacted to that situation, instead of proacting before my bill was late and avoiding the agency thing. See my point?

When you react, you're following someone elses lead. They make the decisions, and you react to them. I mean, it's bound to happen, for instance, like in the stock market. If you invested in a company, and stock prices are down, you have to react to protect your investment. So there are times when you have to react to situations. Since you know you'll face those situations, you have to have a proactive mindset, to keep those situations to a minimum.

You're your own boss. Don't react to life's situations and then struggle with life's problems. Take the reins, and steer your life in the right direction!

Finally, Time to Blog!

That was probably the longest time I haven't updated any of my blogs (sorry!). Busy week, with parties springin up from here to there. I think I lost a couple lbs from the all runnin around I've been doin xD.

Still some issues in my personal life that needs to be resolved. But other than that, I'm starting to make moves. I'm about to work on my uncle's restaurant website, I'm about to get my Capital One credit card in the mail soon, and I'm looking for another job, hopefully doing something different, cuz my hands are wearin out from doing too many dishes!

But yeah, I'm gonna have to make alot more posts to make up for the time I've been away. So keep checkin back here!

Shake a Soda Too Much and It Will Explode

So I've just got back from the hospital. Had to stop by my mom's case worker's office to try to apply for a reconsideration, because her first application for disability was denied. I guess liver diseases and the possibility of her dying without a liver transplant doesn't concern them.

One of the case workers remarked that it might be because of the recession - and it makes more sense. If you get approved for disability, you get social security checks from the government. They give you money. And last I heard... we're about $9.5 trillion dollars in National Debt right now. So I guess the government is trying to cut their losses as much as possible. By denying what my mom needs most. Financial aid.

In a nutshell, my mom has a liver disease in which her liver is attacked by it's own antibodies. The doctor prescribed her some medicine for her, but one of the side effects it has is that she might be a diabetic. And now she is. So now she has to worry about her liver shuttin down, as well as her insulin levels from spiking up and down. SHE IS DISABLED. She cannot work because of this.

Her case worker already filed for a reconsideration, and recommended a conference to be held so the social security people can actually see she's not well. You can't really blame them though, as they are not doctors. But at the same time... they run into these types of cases on a daily basis. They should know that a liver disease is very dangerous to a person's health. C'mon, it took me 2 seconds to research all this crap on the internet and find out more about her diagnoses.

If we get that conference, I know we'll get approved. Because this problem is destroying my mom's life right now. Mine too. Check out the cumulative effects on the second segment of this post.

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In my older post, I mentioned that I'm gettin the boot from my apartment. They initially gave me till July 31 to return the keys. And guess what today is?

I went to the Century 21 office (this post can double for a review about these crime figures here -.-) when they told us (me and mom) about the notice. They said because we weren't making payments on time, and missed a couple (relates to the 1st segment in a way), that we had till the end of this month to return the keys and leave. Stay another day and we'll have to face penalties.
We had to sign the notice.

But then next week, they send another notice telling us that our lease is up at the end of August. But in this notice, we had another option. We actually could renew the lease. I'm not a real estate agent, with no knowledge of real estate affairs, so I try to renew the lease. I go in there and schedule an appointment with the director of the property (is that right?) and ask to renew the lease. He tells me that since we've made late payments, there are late-fees that have to be paid, as well as security for two month's rent (since we used it to pay for those two months we skipped), and the actual rent money. Total comes out to over $2.000 dollars. For a small ass apartment with one bathroom and no washer/dryer hookups. Our best option is obviously to move out and put Century 21 in the past. Except there's a little problem regarding the actual date our lease is up...

The director guy says that the property owner stated we had to move out by the end of this month. But my mom called the office and the lady there said it's actually the end of next month that we have to move, because the security deposit was used for July and August. So August's rent is paid. That makes more sense. But it's stated on our notice that we're to leave the apartment tomorrow. So I'm hoping that lady is right, but I'm still packin my stuff, and will finish by today (sike).

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So my next move is to pack all the stuff, rent a storage room and store most of the stuff there. We're probably gonna have to be light on our feet for the next couple of months. And for my mom, I'm gonna start writing all of her symptoms down on paper, as well as take a before and after picture, so the social security people can actually see the difference. I'll have to also talk to some of my mom's friends to see if we can room in with them until we get shit straightened out. Aw crap! What if she gets approved for disability, but we have to change our address? I hope she doesn't have to resubmit her application!! All this plus my own problems I have to deal with....

Oh yeah... and it's my birthday today.

Life's Twists and Turns...

Not sure why, but I live my life in a spontaneous manner. I'll be driving by some restaurant and just decide to go eat there, or I'll hear about something on the net, like Adbrite for instance, and just join it. Sometimes I'll just wake up and decide to check out the flea market with my friends in a different county miles away, just to see something different, I guess. Being spontaneous can be good, but there are also moments when I do bad things, like catch a charge and get into trouble. I wrote a post all about it on the Endless Possibilities blog. That one's more of a personal blog than this one.

My life now: I'm currently on state probation and I'm getting kicked out of my apartment. Those are the big things going on right now. I was working at Kmart for only two months when I just walked out. Low paying job, like 20 hrs at the most, no real benefits... I had to quit.

I go into the probation office and they said if I don't find another job soon, they'll violate me (probation officers are too kind -.-). So I'm putting in applications everywhere like it's a video game, where the objective is to put in as many applications to different places before the time runs out, and hopefully I pass and advance to the next level. Trouble is no one calls me. I know it's because of my record, but still. If they gave me a shot, I know I can exceed their expectations and leave a good first impression. But I didn't get that shot - and soon I begin to count the days until I go to jail... for not keeping a job (is that even legal?).

Well, I was with one of my cousins drinking a couple beers, trying to cool my jets about the situation, when I hear a knock on the door. It's my other cousin, and he tells me that my uncle needs another person to help maintain the restaurant his wife owns. He didn't want to do it, so he refered me. Err... more like he stuffed me into a car and drove me there. And I was drunk xD.

The place is called Gus Corona's Cafe. I've worked here before, but after my experience here as a dishwasher, I vowed I would never work in the restaurant business ever again. I broke my vow this day.

Me and my cousins stagger our way in the cafe, and we talk to my uncle, the "bossman", for a couple minutes. At first, he was iffy about me working here, because I quit last time. But I do some talking (don't know if I was slurring or not xD), and he tells me to throw on an apron and start on the dishes. Back to the same position I was in before. Ain't that a b****? Oh yeah, and my cousin was a huge help too. He helps refresh my memory about what he did when he worked here, and he brings me to the front to ask the customers if they needed a refill or whatever. And he asks me to do the same. And I was drunk. I could barely walk straight as it was, but I did the damn thing. Don't think they noticed anything out of the ordinary at all!

Well, at closing time, I go head the talk to my uncle about what's been up with me since I left. I tell him about probation, and I tell him about my previous job at Kmart. He says, "You did a good job today, worked fast, the dishes are clean... can you start on Monday?", I was like, "Sure can. And thanks for giving me this opportunity! Can I have a Singha?". I got the job. And just in time, too.

So what's in my future? For now, I'm back to work at the restaurant me and my cousins hate, doing the job I hate the most. I still have about two weeks to pack my stuff and ship out of this dump. I'm working on the Muscle Armor blog, so hopefully that will help me balance out the crappy pay I may be earning at the cafe. This and that. But it's a good thing. I'm not in danger of violating probation, and I have this job until I get a better one. I just have to work on my networking skills.

Even though my situation is preventing me from really living life to the fullest, I still keep a positive outlook on life in general. I never know what I'll run into next! Maybe I'll talk my way into working in Destin with the rich folks, or maybe I'll get huge earnings from Muscle Armor, so I won't have to work anymore (hopefully), or I just might haul ass to Thailand and check out the scenery (once I'm done with probation, of course!).

So if you're in a tight situation, always know that even though things are not looking your way at the moment, they won't be like that forever. There is a God up there, and he may not throw a million dollars at your doorstep, but He will save you from real dangers - if you ask Him.