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Disappearing Act, Intermission

Posted on Sat Oct 4, 05:39 PM in Livin'

Allow me to state the obvious to the few who read this blog: I haven’t made a meaningful post in a while. I guess when the going gets tough, I fail to say anything.

And that isn’t surprising, given that I will spare friends from my goings-on, good or otherwise. I always enjoy the re-telling other people’s little victories and challenges, but for some reason when it I have to file my own timesheet in that regard, I assume that I have a big ego. In all probability, I have too little of one.

So what’s been going on, then, since late August:

• Sentra Dilemma: No action taken on any of the 4 items that need doing (oil change, tire repair, CV boot repair [if I’m lucky and it’s not now the joint itself], and gas tank repair). Consequently, I haven’t driven it hardly at all unless I am tooting around the neighborhood. Our van, ironically, has become the daily driver, even though we thought it never would be. And in our case we’re lucky because it isn’t even needed daily (since the SO takes the bus to work).
• Speaking of the Van: I was right, it did need an Idle Air Control Valve. I was wrong, however, in assuming it would be simple… unless you consider $600 to be simple. Let’s hope that’s it for wacky repairs; just having come from a used car lot I was rather paranoid, even though we had it independently pre-inspected.
• My (lack of) employment: Since September of 2007, I have applied for about a dozen jobs. That may not seem like a lot; however, part of what my little “Quit my job to find my passion” experiment has been about was to not take just any job. I’ve been applying to companies that seem like a good fit for me and my beliefs or interests, or for work for which I could really enjoy doing 8 hours a day. Only recently have I been called in for an interview—my first in all this time—and I have not heard back within a reasonable timeframe so I can assume that will not happen. A shame, really, since it was for a local music instrument dealer. I try not to get depressed about it, especially knowing that these days there are many many other equally qualified candidates out there looking for work. Still, though, rejection is never easy to swallow. Now, I may amend my search to include part-time work opportunities, and maybe those that are closer to home to save on gas or even allow me to walk to work.
• The Great Ripping Apart of the Backyard: We don’t have a big backyard (after the garage, actual “yard” is 52’ x 18’), and even in the middle of that is a huge ash tree. However, when we first moved here there was a ginormous playset taking up half of it. After removal, we were left with a huge patch of land that was not grassed in. After a couple years of not deciding what to do with it, and consequently dumping unused topsoil and cobble stones on it, it has repeatedly turned into a mudpit (best-case scenario) or a weed haven (worst-case scenario) every year. There was also a “patio” the previous owners had “installed” adjacent to the house; however, they failed to prep the area with weed barrier, so after two years, the grass and other species have grown so thick that if you weren’t aware of the pavers, you might very well trip over them. And, ultimately, the lawn that did exist was uneven and sparse. So we removed all the cobblestones and pavers to the garage. I sprayed the whole lawn with Round Up. Then my dad (who is also unemployed, coincidentally) came down one Thursday and we rented a tiller from Home Depot (self-propelled, thank god). We did one pass to rip up the dead grass and rake it off, then we did a deeper pass to fully turn up the soil. We raked it flat and even (as best we could, anyway). Then I seeded it with a proper shady grass mixture and laid straw over it. Now I spend my free time estimating future rainfalls and am usually watering my backyard every day at least once. My worry is that it’s a little late in the season, but it’s too late for worry; I’ve just gotta nurture this stuff along.
• Picture Pages, Picture Pages: I try not to be a Flickr whore, but I admit, taking pictures is fun. And I really do like taking the live band shots. There’s something satisfying to me about capturing a moment so fleeting of someone enjoying what they do. It was not just a little flattering to have members of Madison’s own Sensuous Enemy not just enjoy the photos I took from Rev 08, but in the end actually select one for their upcoming CD (to be released this November).
• Here, Kitty Kitty: And if you have looked at my Flickr pages recently you’d know we have a feline addition to the household. His name is Higgins, and he originally belonged to the SO’s sister. When she moved to Seattle, the SO’s mom took him in, allegedly “briefly” in order to allow the sister to settle in and then fly the cat out there. For a variety of reasons, this never happened, and for a good year or so he has been in the care of their mom, a wonderful pet person who happens to be very allergic to cats. It should be mentioned that the SO is also allergic to cats, but agreeing to this arrangement was very much his idea (as much as I love cats I do want my boyfriend to breathe). So in early September we while the SO’s other sister was visiting the Midwest, we met their mom in Steven’s Point to hand off the cat. Higgins is about 8 years old and is large male longhair, white with gray spots. He has what we call a very dog-like temperament: he loves being around his people, likes laptime, runs to the door when you come home… and he can be pretty mellow about things. He used to be a mouser and birder at the farm, so I make sure there is some playtime everyday to keep him active, and he loves it. There were about two weeks of adjustment when some egregious nighttime noises were going on; our guess is that the plaintive endless mewling and pawing/scratching at our closed bedroom door had something to do with his own adjustment period. However, I put an end to that (or would like to think I did, anyway) by interrupting one of these performances with a loud clap and lots of hissing. He bolted, and has not tried it since. Yes, he does have all his claws and is not nuts about clipping, but he’s been pretty good about keeping to approved scratching items. Nothing destroyed yet. All in all, he’s a great third family member, and with vigilant cleaning the SO’s allergies do not seem to be affected. We have our fingers crossed that this is going to work.
• 86 the 401(k): My small 401(k) account from my last job has not done well this week, as can be expected. However, it made me think about taking money out of it to pay for some credit card debt we have this year. While I would normally poo-poo the notion of messing with retirement money, a few things stand in my favor this year, thanks to my CPA who gave me this information; (1) since all of my medical expenses were out-of-pocket this year, I can use these on the itemized deductions, and if I withdraw from my 401(k), I can claim the amount over 7.5% of my AGI penalty-free… (2) I found out that any income under $13K is free of income tax, and since my income this year is well below that, I could conceivably take out funds from my 401(k) which, when added to my actual take-home pay, total $13K and not owe taxes (the 10% penalty would still apply to amounts over the “medical” withdrawal). It helps to talk to people in the know!

I’m sure there’s stuff I’ve left out, but that’s a wrap-up as far as I’m concerned.