It is one of those months ...

Ever feel like life is moving too fast and you didn't have time to put your seatbelt on?
We are having one of those months.
We have had one of those months where all the bills hit at once. And we are flat broke. And now we have to find a new place to live. It is a long story ... but the basic is this, our landlord (family friend hahaha) says that after 3 years she wants us out. Under the excuse of late rent, she has given us until Sept. 17th to move out. The truth is her grandson needs a place to live. What ever, she has the right so we are out.
So here we are broke and looking for a place to live. The real struggle, besides the money, is finding something in our area that will keep Corey in the same school. This is of the upmost importance to me and let me tell you it is not going well. So the frantic search is on, hoping to find a suitable place to live before time runs out.
SO, I guess I feel a lot like this pup ... getting sucked backward, ass first, as life thrusts out of control at a high speed!!!!

Can someone explain this to me please???

Banks are in the business of money right? I mean they distribute it, collect it, hold it, transfer it, count it, post it, deduct it, lend it, process it, etc. Their job is to handle money. We pay them monthly dues to do this with our money. Am I right? I thought so.
So can someone please tell me why my bank charges you a $5.00 fee to cash a paycheck? I can deposite it for free, I can withdraw for free, but to cash my pay check through my account, it is a 5.00 fee. Um, I'm sorry, what? Why? WTF?????? (That is Wiskey Tango Foxtrot!!!!)
It isn't like they are doing an extra service. It is not like it is delivering a pizza or adding a side dish. I am not doing anything complicated. I have a check, you have cash. I want cash for my check.
What gets me even still, is when you take a check to the place it is issued from and THEY charge a fee to cash a check from their bank, written by one of their members. Again. WHY? I mean that is like going to the grocery store and paying for your merchandise and then getting charged a check out fee. Or paying to see a movie and having to pay to leave.
It's like that Les Miserables song, Master of the house, about the Inn keeper. It's x amount of money to open the window and twice as much to close it.
It is just a one scam after another with these people.

Best Buds

So this eve my parents, my mom's best friend Mary, and I took Corey and Mary's grandson KJ to the fair. The boys love it. They beg to go every year. This year they were braver about the rides. They rode on a couple that I wouldn't go on. They laughed feverishly, they sqweezed their eyes shut, they screamed at the top of their lungs, and smiled non stop. They had the kind of fun you see in the movies. The kind of fun you would hope two young boys would have. They ate Elephant Ears, Hotdogs, and CottonCandy. They played the carnie games. They teased eachother about being chicken, dared eachother to do it, and tried to act cool when they got off a scary ride and pretend they thought it was easy.
These boys have known eachother their whole lives, but thier friendship started three years ago. However, it really blossomed this summer. KJ lives in Colorado, and comes to visit a couple of times a year. This year he spent all summer here. He has stayed the night at my house, went to Corey's swim meet, and they have played at the grandparents houses at least three times a week.
(Mary and her husband Reggie share a wall with my parents in a duplex. Actually Mary owns it and there is an ajoining room between the two kithchens at the back of the house, so the kids just go back and forth between the two sides. When one set of grandparents needs peace, they send the boys over to the other set.)
I think of how lucky these boys are. And thier grandparents. They have a bond many of us never knew with our grandparents and would be lucky to have with our grand children. (Of course this would mean that I, Nicole, Denise, and Penny would have to get a four plex upon retirement ... but Nic and I would have the sweet end of that deal since Denise and Penny will be retiring much earlier than us and they can set it all up. :) )
The other wonderful and amazing thing about Corey and KJ is that they are the perfect reflection of diversity at it's pureist. KJ is African American, and Corey is so white he glows. And they are being raised in very different house holds. Yet these two boys don't even see any difference. I love that. I just love it. I think I may have to document thier friendship over the years and write a book about them. I think it could be one of the greatest gifts they could ever get, besides their friendship. I pray they stay close. Or as they would say, "Best Buds."

ok, not so tough!!!!

From Stud to dud in 24 hours.
Yesterday I went home sick. It came on like a Tsunami. BAM! My gut hurts. Dislocated finger, I forge on. Hugging the bowl, I head home.
Today I am weak and green, but I can't afford the hours lost and we are short staffed as it is ... so off to work I go.

So you think you are a tough guy huh?

Well let me tell you about tough! Last night at work I was alone in the back room/warehouse. I was unloading a very large piece of art when a great deal of pain shot from my finger through the rest of my body. I dislocated the end of my middle finger. Not completely, but it was deffinately not in the right place. Thankfully I was the only person back there because I did the "oh crap this really hurts and looks really gross" dance. Knowing that there were about 4 hours left in my shift and thanks to a cut in hours, I need what ever hours I can get, I had little choice in what to do. I had to put it back in place and get back to work. So I did a little paceing, a lot of breathing, some planning, and some dancing around. I had to talk myself into it. I had to pshyc myself up. I got the nerve and the juice up and grabbed my finger, pulled and twisted. My face went flush, tears filled my eyes, and my legs went weak. I did a little more dancing, then knelt down behind some boxes to catch my breath and gain my composure. Again thankful for the fact that no one was aroung to see my little display. Unfortuneately, I later remembered there is at least one Camara in the back room, and the entire thing was on video. However, my back was to said camara the entire time, so if the video is viewed, they will see a lot of arm shaking and bending over. So basicly I will look like a blone chimp dancing around and squating over. Nice. A little humiliation with my pain. BUT I did put it back in place, and finished my shift with very very little complaining about it. Yes, I get the tough guy award this week!!!!