it's been a rough month, and not just for us. dii has lost 5 members this month, probably the highest loss we've seen in awhile, and most of those losses were just from hard times and no time. one friend had to move in with her mother because of finances and is having other issues as well. another was removed from a position she liked at faire. j.e.'s wife and dcat have both lost jobs recently, and mcat's job is looking not so good as well. others are struggling with jobs, money, and relationships. it's like march became the month to gang up on just about everybody.
march for me has become a month with no time (i am so far behind in my editing it's not even funny, and my writing is following suite) and disconnections that can't be avoided any longer. right now we're doing a lot of the little house on the prairie kind of thing because the water is cut off. the cable was also cut off this past week and we're just waiting for them to come pick up the boxes. next week: the phone. and we're still trying to take care of the car--last paycheck went to food, the gas bill, and laundry. no car money left. the next couple of pay checks are all slated for rent and maybe some food.
the good news is we have a plan. even if i screwed up and we end up losing the $400 the screw up added to our return, our tax return (due sometime in the next week or so) should cover all the utilities and the basic necessities for the car. our "economic stimulus" check in may should finish off the car and cover the washer and drier we need. once the utilities are caught up and reconnected, i plan to pay $25/week on each, with an extra $25/week on either the gas or the electricity (depending on the season: electric goes up in summer, gas in winter). hopefully, that will keep us caught up rather than robbing one to pay another and constantly be dealing with disconnect notices.
that return check can't come soon enough.
saxy is also considering getting an additional part time job come fall to help cover the months in the biz when there is no biz. mid-december through march seem to really be killed in terms of cabinet/finishing work.
so, we're planning our way into a much more managed financial situation. it won't cure all, but it might help us stay afloat a bit better. i just hope we can manage it all like we want.
beyond that, i'm struggling a bit with the weather being what it is. the headaches haven't been as bad as they could be, but they are persistent. i feel like i'm living on tylenol. and the bleeding thing is just plain annoying. the financial stress is making my sleep at night not as good as it once was, even when i get more than 5 hours, but i'm managing. i'm starting to nap in the afternoons, which is annoying. hopefully all that will clear up when the money does.
i know all i need to do right now is hang on until our check gets in. i'm not looking beyond that; i can't look beyond that. these days, it's one day...one pay check...at a time.
that return check still can't come soon enough. :P
~*~
word of the moment: ergomania
excessive devotion to work especially as a symptom of mental disorder; a passion for working, esp. excessive; also called workaholism
