So we get home on Friday after work, as my fiancé and I are now car pooling since one of our cars has been repossessed. We get home and I go to wash my hands, there is a problem no water. It seems along with other things we are a little behind on our water bill. We call up the property management company to discuss what amount to pay to get our water turned back on. Well it looks like we can come up with the minimum payment; problem is we can’t make that payment until they open again on Monday morning.
You don’t realize how important water is in your daily life or how much we take it for granted until you are forced to go an entire weekend with out it. I will sum up some of the things we use water for in our homes. Dishes, Using the toilet (big one), shower, drinking water, washing hands, doing laundry, brushing your teeth. These are a few which we had to deal with. Good news it is Monday and when I get home tonight I can do the dishes with great enthusiasm, another good point I am actually excited about doing dished tonight.
The other good news is we survived the weekend, at our home I will fill you in on my survival secrets if you ever find yourself in the same jam. Number one remember to keep your sense of humor and try to laugh at yourself. It may be hard but it is one of those times you have to say hey one day when things get better for us we are going to look back and laugh at this.
The first thing we did is go and buy a few five gallon jugs from the supermarket. We need this for essentials like, flushing the toilet, brushing our teeth, and washing our hands, and of course we need drinking water for ourselves and our two dogs. Who did not get a bath this weekend as planned.
Friday night we get through with our 5 gallon jugs. The first big challenge came on Saturday morning when we needed a shower. I know you can call a neighbor, but hey it is a little embarrassing so far we have been pretty good at hiding how bad our economic crisis has become for the sake of keeping face. Human nature and pride what can I say.
Asking our friendly neighbor is out. As my fiancé and I are brainstorming ideas and little light bulb goes off in my head. The times you appreciate your college degreeJ I recall in our community we have a gym and in that gym they have showers in the men’s and women’s bathroom. We can dress like we are going to work out and use the bathroom in the gym facilities. This sounds perfect. Either that or I keep picturing those movie scenes when someone sits in bear clawed tub while someone pours water on them from jug. Hmmm maybe we can have a romantic movie moment. However I think the better of it and decide for the gym showers.
I pack a little shower bag and dress in some gym clothes to keep up appearances. We are in luck the place is empty and we shower and get dressed. On the agenda for today a double feature at the movies where there will be access to water all day. And we can use a little vacation from our lives today. Forget the sandy beach vacation of yester years today a mini vacations is losing ourselves in the story line of a movie. On the agenda, angels and demons, and star trek. I give the movies two thumbs up and I can’t help but wish Scotty could beam me up right now, I am sure they have water on the enterprise. And a little surprise Tom Hanks looks pretty good in a Speedo who knew, he is not even European.
On Sunday after some friendly debating we decide to take a ride to my sister in laws house, for a shower and to hang out in a water zone. The price, well my fiancé had to take some good old fashion heckling from his brother in law. As I started to contemplate if I pull off the grunge look for work on Monday morning.
Today as we have over come yet another set back in our economic crisis I can smile. We survived in one piece an entire weekend wit no water. As I again ask myself the question is my glass half full or half empty? Today as I fill up my glass with water from my fridge it is definitely half full. Why this sunny disposition? Because I can forget about having to embrace the grunge look and tomorrow morning take a shower in my very own bathroom!!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Recession or Depression?
As most of us I have been watching the news, listening to the radio and reading the newspapers. Every day I am hearing, seeing, listening, and reading about the doom and gloom of our economic crisis. In spite of this, there was one word that went unspoken until recently. It was hinted at, and danced around ever so carefully, but never actually verbalized.
I am sure around the dinner table, at the office water fountain, or let’s face it at the unemployment line. We have spoken about it, whispered it to each other, and pondered it in our heads. What vocabulary word is so scary that we can not say it out loud? What declaration is it that the media and the economist have not wanted to articulate? Like, it has not been the giant pink elephant in the room?
As if the whole world has regressed back to their childhood days. And if we don’t say it out loud, write it down, or read it in print, it’s not really happening….. nanananbobo
Until now! I guess it is time to throw our security blankets to the wind, stand up straight, and look the ugly little words in the eye.
Recession, last week it was made official. I can almost hear the collective sigh of relief as the news caster makes the statement.
Well that wasn’t so bad; I mean we all knew this as the truth. We don’t have to be economist to figure this one out.
However, once the band-aide has been pulled why stop there? The next thing is not only are we officially in a severe recession, but we have been in a recession for a year Hmmm… it was a little tougher getting rid of those security blankets than we thought.
Brace yourselves; our blankets are gone and our band-aides have been pulled. There is an even more frightening utterance yet. Since the term Recession has been officially vocalized. There is another ugly little word looming. It has been whispered about, eluded to, and danced around.
Depression….. Yep there you have it. The roaring 20’s are back again. Well that has a nice little ring to it……..they had those cute flapper dresses, and it seemed like it was a pretty fun time in spite of everything……. I mean they call it the roaring 20’s how bad could it be?
Oh crap, never mind! Put away your pearl necklaces and your vintage flapper dresses. Break out your monopoly board, your cheap wine, and put extra locks your doors. The last depression started with the stock market crash in 1929 the official end of the roaring 20’s. And brings us into the Depressed 30’s, with it came Monopoly, Al Capone, and the end of prohibition.
Well, at least there was the end of prohibition. I mean you could drink away your sorrows.
Maybe this is what our beloved stoners need to finally legalize marijuana?
On second thought AA was also started in the 30’s.
Well, this has made me wonder what the difference is between a Recession and a Depression. I was on a mission to find out.
Well actually not so much a mission as a date with Google.
This is what I found:
There is an old economist joke which says the difference between and Recession and a Depression is that when your neighbor losses his job it is a Recession. And when you lose your job it is a Depression.
Aaahh profound, I can just picture a couple economist, gray haired, smoking their cigars, and sipping their brandy. Chuckling over how clever they are.
Well I keep researching and found that most economists cannot agree upon the difference between a Recession and a Depression. There was a lot of writing about the GDP, BCDC, and the NBER.
Well I can break out my old economics text books. Or, I can put my faith of the truth in humor of my dear old cigar smoking economists.
I can’t remember where my textbooks are so I go for the latter of the two.
While evaluating the changes I have made. I discover I have given up my love for Veuve Cliquot, and traded it for another sparkling wine Arbor Mist. No more Rib eye steak, however skirt steak is delicious.
I like Ramen noodles, I have attributed to the rising stock of Wal-Mart and the dollar store. I clip coupons, and have renewed my library card. I stuff my purse full of snacks when I go to the movies vs. buying them at the concession stand. I also learned I can feed five people for under $10.00 thanks to the $ menus of our fast food restaurants’.
So, to all my fellow friends living their lives in a recession or a depression. Let’s raise our arbor mists to a toast and remind ourselves.
The 30’s brought about little orphan Annie, the Wizard of OZ, Clark Gable, and the end of prohibition.
So there are some good times to come even if history repeats itself.
We have earned our place in the history books.
And we have officially earned the right to tell our grandchildren stories about when I was a kid I had to walk five miles up a hill in the snow to get to ……….
I am sure around the dinner table, at the office water fountain, or let’s face it at the unemployment line. We have spoken about it, whispered it to each other, and pondered it in our heads. What vocabulary word is so scary that we can not say it out loud? What declaration is it that the media and the economist have not wanted to articulate? Like, it has not been the giant pink elephant in the room?
As if the whole world has regressed back to their childhood days. And if we don’t say it out loud, write it down, or read it in print, it’s not really happening….. nanananbobo
Until now! I guess it is time to throw our security blankets to the wind, stand up straight, and look the ugly little words in the eye.
Recession, last week it was made official. I can almost hear the collective sigh of relief as the news caster makes the statement.
Well that wasn’t so bad; I mean we all knew this as the truth. We don’t have to be economist to figure this one out.
However, once the band-aide has been pulled why stop there? The next thing is not only are we officially in a severe recession, but we have been in a recession for a year Hmmm… it was a little tougher getting rid of those security blankets than we thought.
Brace yourselves; our blankets are gone and our band-aides have been pulled. There is an even more frightening utterance yet. Since the term Recession has been officially vocalized. There is another ugly little word looming. It has been whispered about, eluded to, and danced around.
Depression….. Yep there you have it. The roaring 20’s are back again. Well that has a nice little ring to it……..they had those cute flapper dresses, and it seemed like it was a pretty fun time in spite of everything……. I mean they call it the roaring 20’s how bad could it be?
Oh crap, never mind! Put away your pearl necklaces and your vintage flapper dresses. Break out your monopoly board, your cheap wine, and put extra locks your doors. The last depression started with the stock market crash in 1929 the official end of the roaring 20’s. And brings us into the Depressed 30’s, with it came Monopoly, Al Capone, and the end of prohibition.
Well, at least there was the end of prohibition. I mean you could drink away your sorrows.
Maybe this is what our beloved stoners need to finally legalize marijuana?
On second thought AA was also started in the 30’s.
Well, this has made me wonder what the difference is between a Recession and a Depression. I was on a mission to find out.
Well actually not so much a mission as a date with Google.
This is what I found:
There is an old economist joke which says the difference between and Recession and a Depression is that when your neighbor losses his job it is a Recession. And when you lose your job it is a Depression.
Aaahh profound, I can just picture a couple economist, gray haired, smoking their cigars, and sipping their brandy. Chuckling over how clever they are.
Well I keep researching and found that most economists cannot agree upon the difference between a Recession and a Depression. There was a lot of writing about the GDP, BCDC, and the NBER.
Well I can break out my old economics text books. Or, I can put my faith of the truth in humor of my dear old cigar smoking economists.
I can’t remember where my textbooks are so I go for the latter of the two.
While evaluating the changes I have made. I discover I have given up my love for Veuve Cliquot, and traded it for another sparkling wine Arbor Mist. No more Rib eye steak, however skirt steak is delicious.
I like Ramen noodles, I have attributed to the rising stock of Wal-Mart and the dollar store. I clip coupons, and have renewed my library card. I stuff my purse full of snacks when I go to the movies vs. buying them at the concession stand. I also learned I can feed five people for under $10.00 thanks to the $ menus of our fast food restaurants’.
So, to all my fellow friends living their lives in a recession or a depression. Let’s raise our arbor mists to a toast and remind ourselves.
The 30’s brought about little orphan Annie, the Wizard of OZ, Clark Gable, and the end of prohibition.
So there are some good times to come even if history repeats itself.
We have earned our place in the history books.
And we have officially earned the right to tell our grandchildren stories about when I was a kid I had to walk five miles up a hill in the snow to get to ……….
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Repossession
I have made a new goal for myself that at the end of the day I am able to look at the glass and see it as half full instead of half empty. However today was a toughie and I am only on day one of my new attitude towards my economic crisis.
I left for work this morning and decided to bring my dog along with me to cheer me up through the day. We have a dog friendly office and I had not brought him with me for about a week. I was running very low on gas, these days I can’t remember the last time I filled up my entire tank, if you remember I am in my very own economic crisis. These days I only put in enough money to get from point A to point B. Well I definitely needed gas this morning and I had four dollars in hand ready to put in the tank. The gas station was right around the corner from where I live I was pretty sure I would make it.
I thought wrong, I pull up to the traffic light and my car decided it did not want to go any further. In a panic my mind goes blank as I am looking for the hazard lights and in true blonde fashion I cannot find them. They happen to be the biggest red button right in front of my eyes however that is what I call hindsight. I open the door and wave all the cars to go around. Picking up the phone to call my fiancé who was still home, I was only a few miles from my house.
No answer …..I had a few choice expletives mumbled and growing ill will at why no one was picking up the phone. To make matters worse my dog, he is a cavalier spaniel, and considering his size I imagine his brain is the size of a pea. If my dog were human I envision he would be the equivalent of the character Joey from friends. He is cute to look at, happy as long as he gets food, and love, and there is not much going on in the upstairs department. Long story short I did not bring a leash with me for him.
Ok…I should get out and walk home is what I was thinking; however I can’t leave my dog in the car. I was not sure how this was going to work. He is a small to medium size dog, however remember how I made the friends reference, he loves to eat so he has a few extra pounds on him which does not make the option to carry him very appealing.
So I open the door let my dog out and walk to the grassy median. I leave my car with no hazard lights on in the middle of the road. Cars are going by making a few choice hand gestures at the abandoned car. My dog with his pea brain thinks it is completely ok to wonder in the middle of the road. Then to top it off, as I am yelling at him to get out of the road, he gets scared and thinks he is in trouble and is running away from me instead of towards me. So for the love of my dog I jump into the middle of traffic to save his little pea brain.
I got a good vocabulary lesson and a good lesson in human nature. The lesson is that what people will say in front of children when road rage takes over is pretty remarkable. I make a mental note to remember that the next time my sister gets on my nerves about proper behavior in front of kids. Suggest a coffee and Trigger her road rage for an I told you so moment.
So now I got my dog who is supposed to weigh 10-20 pounds who in actuality more like 35-40 lbs. in my arms. Walking down the median, all of a sudden it did not feel so close to home. Try my phone one more time, no answer, my thoughts I will censure.
After what seemed like close to an hour although only a few minutes had gone by a car stopped and asked if I needed help. There are certain things that always stick with you since you were a child, “Never talk to Strangers”, and “Never get in the car with somebody you don’t know.” Well this lady seemed nice, and I did have my dog with me, however all the latest CSI I have watched it is always the nice normal looking ones who mean you harm. I think it over for a split second and decide I will take my chances. At this point I either get a ride home or it will lead to my untimely demise. At this point I would welcome either one.
I get home and it seems my fiancé was in the shower. I am still annoyed I mean how he can be taking a shower at the exact moment I needed him is beyond me. I guess we haven’t formed the psychic bond yet (who says women are not reasonable?) I make a mental note to be mad at him for at least 24 hours. I mean I could have been killed!
I get my car, get gas, and get to work. The rest of the day goes by without much occurrence. Then 5 o’clock runs around and I leave to go home. There seems to be a problem. My car is gone. No it was not stolen; I may be a little behind on the car payments. As you know I am in my very own economic crisis. So this was not a complete revelation. Oh….did I mention it was raining, I am standing out in the pouring rain at the end of a long day with no way to get home. I know a little dramatic, it really was raining and skies were grey!
I march back inside and call my fiancé and tell him he has to pick me up. I get home an hour later than usual and am sitting here staring at the glass. I need to program my mind to see it as half full not half empty. This is tough I mean did you hear about my day, I want to give in to my pessimism that glass sure looks half empty to me. I bet if I fill it with a nice brandy I could see it as half full. Brandy is only supposed to be a third of the glass so that would really be positive.
……………………………………..I got it That stupid car left me stranded in the middle of an intersection and it almost got my dog killed. The car had to be an omen. And now I don’t have to talk to the lease company about those pesky miles I went over, or the dent in my bumper. Getting the car repossessed was a piece of good fortune. Goal for today has been met I see the glass is half full. I will leave figuring out how to get to work in the morning for tomorrow, as I said one day at a time.
For today the glass is half full!
I left for work this morning and decided to bring my dog along with me to cheer me up through the day. We have a dog friendly office and I had not brought him with me for about a week. I was running very low on gas, these days I can’t remember the last time I filled up my entire tank, if you remember I am in my very own economic crisis. These days I only put in enough money to get from point A to point B. Well I definitely needed gas this morning and I had four dollars in hand ready to put in the tank. The gas station was right around the corner from where I live I was pretty sure I would make it.
I thought wrong, I pull up to the traffic light and my car decided it did not want to go any further. In a panic my mind goes blank as I am looking for the hazard lights and in true blonde fashion I cannot find them. They happen to be the biggest red button right in front of my eyes however that is what I call hindsight. I open the door and wave all the cars to go around. Picking up the phone to call my fiancé who was still home, I was only a few miles from my house.
No answer …..I had a few choice expletives mumbled and growing ill will at why no one was picking up the phone. To make matters worse my dog, he is a cavalier spaniel, and considering his size I imagine his brain is the size of a pea. If my dog were human I envision he would be the equivalent of the character Joey from friends. He is cute to look at, happy as long as he gets food, and love, and there is not much going on in the upstairs department. Long story short I did not bring a leash with me for him.
Ok…I should get out and walk home is what I was thinking; however I can’t leave my dog in the car. I was not sure how this was going to work. He is a small to medium size dog, however remember how I made the friends reference, he loves to eat so he has a few extra pounds on him which does not make the option to carry him very appealing.
So I open the door let my dog out and walk to the grassy median. I leave my car with no hazard lights on in the middle of the road. Cars are going by making a few choice hand gestures at the abandoned car. My dog with his pea brain thinks it is completely ok to wonder in the middle of the road. Then to top it off, as I am yelling at him to get out of the road, he gets scared and thinks he is in trouble and is running away from me instead of towards me. So for the love of my dog I jump into the middle of traffic to save his little pea brain.
I got a good vocabulary lesson and a good lesson in human nature. The lesson is that what people will say in front of children when road rage takes over is pretty remarkable. I make a mental note to remember that the next time my sister gets on my nerves about proper behavior in front of kids. Suggest a coffee and Trigger her road rage for an I told you so moment.
So now I got my dog who is supposed to weigh 10-20 pounds who in actuality more like 35-40 lbs. in my arms. Walking down the median, all of a sudden it did not feel so close to home. Try my phone one more time, no answer, my thoughts I will censure.
After what seemed like close to an hour although only a few minutes had gone by a car stopped and asked if I needed help. There are certain things that always stick with you since you were a child, “Never talk to Strangers”, and “Never get in the car with somebody you don’t know.” Well this lady seemed nice, and I did have my dog with me, however all the latest CSI I have watched it is always the nice normal looking ones who mean you harm. I think it over for a split second and decide I will take my chances. At this point I either get a ride home or it will lead to my untimely demise. At this point I would welcome either one.
I get home and it seems my fiancé was in the shower. I am still annoyed I mean how he can be taking a shower at the exact moment I needed him is beyond me. I guess we haven’t formed the psychic bond yet (who says women are not reasonable?) I make a mental note to be mad at him for at least 24 hours. I mean I could have been killed!
I get my car, get gas, and get to work. The rest of the day goes by without much occurrence. Then 5 o’clock runs around and I leave to go home. There seems to be a problem. My car is gone. No it was not stolen; I may be a little behind on the car payments. As you know I am in my very own economic crisis. So this was not a complete revelation. Oh….did I mention it was raining, I am standing out in the pouring rain at the end of a long day with no way to get home. I know a little dramatic, it really was raining and skies were grey!
I march back inside and call my fiancé and tell him he has to pick me up. I get home an hour later than usual and am sitting here staring at the glass. I need to program my mind to see it as half full not half empty. This is tough I mean did you hear about my day, I want to give in to my pessimism that glass sure looks half empty to me. I bet if I fill it with a nice brandy I could see it as half full. Brandy is only supposed to be a third of the glass so that would really be positive.
……………………………………..I got it That stupid car left me stranded in the middle of an intersection and it almost got my dog killed. The car had to be an omen. And now I don’t have to talk to the lease company about those pesky miles I went over, or the dent in my bumper. Getting the car repossessed was a piece of good fortune. Goal for today has been met I see the glass is half full. I will leave figuring out how to get to work in the morning for tomorrow, as I said one day at a time.
For today the glass is half full!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
My Current Economic Crisis day 1!
I have decided to enter the world of blogging. My inspiration came to me yesterday watching the Today show as I was getting ready in the morning. This guy had written a book (I can’t remember the name) about his struggles in today’s economic times, a possible foreclosure, raising credit card cost, family strain and everything that goes along with it. He mentioned a lot of people thanked him for writing the book, they felt as if they were not so alone and did not feel quite as ashamed being able to share in someone else’s story similar to theirs.
Quick synopsis of my past, I grew up very fortunate, I can admit even a little spoiled. After high school, I went away to college, traveled, graduated with my masters and then off to work. Missing my wonderfully dysfunctional family I moved back to my hometown.
I met my fiancé three years ago and falling for him almost immediately we wanted to buy a house. The market had started to decline but it was not near its bottom. However we thought it was the perfect time to get a great deal. And we bought a beautiful two story home in a great neighborhood which would be perfect to start a family in. At the time we were taking home a 6 figure income. Even at the time we knew we had to cut some expenditure to afford the home ex… trading in a car, selling the boat, cutting back on dinners, and trips.
But we were happy we were on our way to building a future, then the unthinkable happened and we both got laid off about two years ago. We survived for a while on our savings, doing some day trading; we kept up on our mortgage while other bills were put to the side. We both looked for other jobs but it was tough out there. I interviewed with several companies, but the competition was tough. My fiancé landed a job after a couple months which managed to let us stay afloat a little longer. Single income we could pay our mortgage, our cars, and basic survival bills, as credit cards and other debt fell to the wayside. Our credit score slowly getting worse and worse and the daily strain getting tougher. Some days I would cry myself to sleep out of fear. Things were getting worse not better.
The company my fiancé worked for eventually had to shut down and I had yet to find another job. I in the mean time got my insurance license and a teaching license in hopes of finding a job. I worked for 100% commission in insurance taking home very little and not steadily. With the economy slipping further and further into an economic crisis my job prospects kept worsening. And budget cut backs have led to teacher lay offs not hiring.
Today I am substitute teaching, and work in clerical work answering phones at an office, to bring home what I can. Far from what I had not even a third, my fiancé is trying to start a company although hopeful for this company it is not there yet and our situation worsening by the day.
Inspired I have decided to share my daily struggles trying to survive the U.S. Recession via blog. It is a daily struggle and the only way I have survived is one day at a time. And as of today I have not seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Each day I have to go to bed with hope and a dream of better days’ to come. If I did not I would crumble. Things have gotten worse and I have realized the only way to survive is to look at it all with a sense of humor and to cherish the one’s you love. If I survive my relationships will only be stronger and appreciation for little things truly never meant so much. So join me as I navigate one day at a time hoping to survive my recession. My house is in foreclosure threat and cars in danger of repossession. Will I survive….wish I knew…..To be continued……
Quick synopsis of my past, I grew up very fortunate, I can admit even a little spoiled. After high school, I went away to college, traveled, graduated with my masters and then off to work. Missing my wonderfully dysfunctional family I moved back to my hometown.
I met my fiancé three years ago and falling for him almost immediately we wanted to buy a house. The market had started to decline but it was not near its bottom. However we thought it was the perfect time to get a great deal. And we bought a beautiful two story home in a great neighborhood which would be perfect to start a family in. At the time we were taking home a 6 figure income. Even at the time we knew we had to cut some expenditure to afford the home ex… trading in a car, selling the boat, cutting back on dinners, and trips.
But we were happy we were on our way to building a future, then the unthinkable happened and we both got laid off about two years ago. We survived for a while on our savings, doing some day trading; we kept up on our mortgage while other bills were put to the side. We both looked for other jobs but it was tough out there. I interviewed with several companies, but the competition was tough. My fiancé landed a job after a couple months which managed to let us stay afloat a little longer. Single income we could pay our mortgage, our cars, and basic survival bills, as credit cards and other debt fell to the wayside. Our credit score slowly getting worse and worse and the daily strain getting tougher. Some days I would cry myself to sleep out of fear. Things were getting worse not better.
The company my fiancé worked for eventually had to shut down and I had yet to find another job. I in the mean time got my insurance license and a teaching license in hopes of finding a job. I worked for 100% commission in insurance taking home very little and not steadily. With the economy slipping further and further into an economic crisis my job prospects kept worsening. And budget cut backs have led to teacher lay offs not hiring.
Today I am substitute teaching, and work in clerical work answering phones at an office, to bring home what I can. Far from what I had not even a third, my fiancé is trying to start a company although hopeful for this company it is not there yet and our situation worsening by the day.
Inspired I have decided to share my daily struggles trying to survive the U.S. Recession via blog. It is a daily struggle and the only way I have survived is one day at a time. And as of today I have not seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Each day I have to go to bed with hope and a dream of better days’ to come. If I did not I would crumble. Things have gotten worse and I have realized the only way to survive is to look at it all with a sense of humor and to cherish the one’s you love. If I survive my relationships will only be stronger and appreciation for little things truly never meant so much. So join me as I navigate one day at a time hoping to survive my recession. My house is in foreclosure threat and cars in danger of repossession. Will I survive….wish I knew…..To be continued……
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