Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Friday, November 09, 2007

I've been kind of terse lately, sorry about that

The Time of No Money has stretched further than I thought. I've started getting cheques from the gas station now, but it's been very tight. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten that my AAA fees come out of this and the next paycheque at the hospital. That coupled with the fact that some of my vacation time didn't get put in means that although I have my actual rent, I don't have the late fees ($50 for the 6th, plus $5 a day thereafter). My rent was due on the 5th. The good news is that my gas station cheque was about twice what I thought it would be, so I'm only $60 short for my rent as of tomorrow.

Yesterday it seemed worse. I was afraid I would lose the apartment and be living out of my car. I broke down last night and was absolutely miserable.

My mother, apparently sensing a disturbance in the Force, called this morning (I didn't hear the phone, as I am usually still asleep when she gets off work) and left a message asking how I was, how my foot was coming, and how my baby was doing (meaning Cerys). I haven't talked to her since mid-September, so she doesn't know I put Cerys down yet. I called her back tonight but we're playing phone tag. I really don't want to borrow money from my mother (I know all their kids tend to show up at payday with their hands out), but it may be the best solution, and it's not a lot of money. (Okay, it's a lot to me, but not for most people). On the other hand, last time I was home, John and Momma mostly complained about the kids wantng money every paycheque. I just plan to tell her how things are going and ask if she can help. If she can't, I talked to the rental office today and here's the thing: They'll file for eviction seven days after the notice that I received Tuesday. I get paid Wednesday or Thursday at the store, and it will be a pretty big cheque, at 25 hours (most are about 15 hours) and I get about 88% of my gross pay as net (which may explain why I still had a tax liability this year). As long as I pay the rent, late fees, and $100 in court costs before the actual court date, I can stay. I did some calculations and worse case scenario I would still be short by about $15, but I should be able to borrow that from someone. Of course, none of this includes gas or food. In the meantime, I'm working 18 hours on top of my other 20 this week so hopefully that will help the week after.

I'd rather not pay that much more; however, I'm glad I'm less likely to be out on the street. I don't know how hard it would be to get an apartment with my credit and with the evictions on my record. But I feel a little better today about being able to stay here. So I'm a little, a smidge, less stressed today. In the meantime, I have my phone ringer set to 'high' in case my mom calls. And it's also temporary, as are most things.

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