I am so tired of getting screwed in the ass by credit card companies lowering my credit limit due to the economy. How much money have these fucktwits been given? Tax payer money?! And then, Bank of America blames ME for this? I have made every single payment on that card on time and I dealt with any collections issues three years ago (a 2004 physical that should have been covered by insurance anyway, and no one sent me a bill). Yeah, I made a few credit mistakes in my younger years, but Kimberly and I have all but thrown our credit cards into the freezer. Because of rich people fucking up this economy and then padding their cashmere chinos with lower- and middle-class tax dollars, regular people continue to get destroyed over and over again.
Lord, I know I fail you every day. I am so, so sorry for that. Still, so many of your children are suffering at the oblivious hands of a few of your other children. Guide them away from that path, and guide them down a constructive one. Open their eyes; open all our eyes. Make us all grateful for our countless blessings. Amen.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Freakonomy
I just wanted to write a quick note to express my disgust with the economy. If I told you precisely what Kimberly and I make each year, most of you would expect we lived in a McMansion and we had matching BMWs in the driveway. But this is Northern Virginia, one of the most overpriced places on this planet. We're only here because this is where our jobs are, and there's no way in hell we could sell and relocate now.
We've gotten several letters in the mail, all singing the praises of FHA refinances and loan modification. Uh, how dumb are these people? No one these days has money for closing costs. I know I don't. And house values have fallen so damn far you need to go spelunking to pull them out of the hole. It's infuriating. And loan modifications, even though I don't know much about them, seem to require thousands of dollars up front. Great. To get yourself a little more out of debt, you get yourself a lot more in debt. That makes sense, yes.
Eighteen years from now, a year of college tuition - at a public university, mind you - is projected to cost $50,000. How the f*&k am I going to send Richard to college? Just my salary alone sets us way over the limit for financial aid. Of course, the dopes in those financial aid offices think a rose is a rose is a rose and say, $100,000/year in New York City is the same as $100,000/year in Missoula, Montana. I refuse to burden my son with a six-figure pile of debt when he goes into the working world. My family worked their asses off for years so Katie and I didn't need loans. A big part of being a parent is to give your kid every chance you had and more, right? Am I wrong here? No, I'm not.
Someone actually suggested to me I stop paying my mortgage so my loan servicer would be more than happy to negotiate with me. Who the... what the... how... whatever. If I stop paying my mortgage for any reason, my credit rating plunges. That means I lose my secret security clearance. That means I lose my job. I don't have tens of thousands of dollars sitting around to support my family while I hunt for something that pays as well and doesn't require clearance.
We've cut every expense we can. We go to work, we come home, we go to church, that's it. We keep track of every penny that goes out, and every penny that comes in. These days, it feels like only pennies. Kimberly and I are both looking to start freelancing in addition to working 40+ hours/week at our current jobs. We are so, so tired.
This may not sound related, but I should not have gone to the Washington Auto Show this past weekend. There were so many cars there that would usually be in my price range, and God forgive me, I became green with envy at people who could afford them. I hate it when I go to that place. I'm a huge car enthusiast, and I've never had a car to be enthusiastic about. I can't stand to see those Sweet Sixteen shows on MTV or whatever they're called, because it only reminds me of the quicksand so many Americans are standing in while children are being handed $90,000 cars and have birthday parties that cost more than what most people make in a year, some in a lifetime. Despite my father being a corporate VP, for my 16th birthday, I got a Van Halen t-shirt, some CDs, and we ate cheeseburgers. I drove a 1981 Volvo wagon with a 2-speaker radio and no air conditioning.
All told, I am grateful for my Lord and Savior, my family, friends, our good jobs, cars that function and are paid off, and our home. So many people, here and around the world, don't have any of that. I try to tell myself that when Kimberly and I become frustrated with money to the point we feel utterly hopeless. Even with all the ranting I do here, I commend all of you to look to what God has given you when you feel you have nothing. Sometimes it isn't easy. I usually suck at it.
Like everyone else, I want to thrive. Not so much for me, but for my wife and my son. Just getting by will not do for much longer. But please, Lord, don't let me lose myself in the process.
We've gotten several letters in the mail, all singing the praises of FHA refinances and loan modification. Uh, how dumb are these people? No one these days has money for closing costs. I know I don't. And house values have fallen so damn far you need to go spelunking to pull them out of the hole. It's infuriating. And loan modifications, even though I don't know much about them, seem to require thousands of dollars up front. Great. To get yourself a little more out of debt, you get yourself a lot more in debt. That makes sense, yes.
Eighteen years from now, a year of college tuition - at a public university, mind you - is projected to cost $50,000. How the f*&k am I going to send Richard to college? Just my salary alone sets us way over the limit for financial aid. Of course, the dopes in those financial aid offices think a rose is a rose is a rose and say, $100,000/year in New York City is the same as $100,000/year in Missoula, Montana. I refuse to burden my son with a six-figure pile of debt when he goes into the working world. My family worked their asses off for years so Katie and I didn't need loans. A big part of being a parent is to give your kid every chance you had and more, right? Am I wrong here? No, I'm not.
Someone actually suggested to me I stop paying my mortgage so my loan servicer would be more than happy to negotiate with me. Who the... what the... how... whatever. If I stop paying my mortgage for any reason, my credit rating plunges. That means I lose my secret security clearance. That means I lose my job. I don't have tens of thousands of dollars sitting around to support my family while I hunt for something that pays as well and doesn't require clearance.
We've cut every expense we can. We go to work, we come home, we go to church, that's it. We keep track of every penny that goes out, and every penny that comes in. These days, it feels like only pennies. Kimberly and I are both looking to start freelancing in addition to working 40+ hours/week at our current jobs. We are so, so tired.
This may not sound related, but I should not have gone to the Washington Auto Show this past weekend. There were so many cars there that would usually be in my price range, and God forgive me, I became green with envy at people who could afford them. I hate it when I go to that place. I'm a huge car enthusiast, and I've never had a car to be enthusiastic about. I can't stand to see those Sweet Sixteen shows on MTV or whatever they're called, because it only reminds me of the quicksand so many Americans are standing in while children are being handed $90,000 cars and have birthday parties that cost more than what most people make in a year, some in a lifetime. Despite my father being a corporate VP, for my 16th birthday, I got a Van Halen t-shirt, some CDs, and we ate cheeseburgers. I drove a 1981 Volvo wagon with a 2-speaker radio and no air conditioning.
All told, I am grateful for my Lord and Savior, my family, friends, our good jobs, cars that function and are paid off, and our home. So many people, here and around the world, don't have any of that. I try to tell myself that when Kimberly and I become frustrated with money to the point we feel utterly hopeless. Even with all the ranting I do here, I commend all of you to look to what God has given you when you feel you have nothing. Sometimes it isn't easy. I usually suck at it.
Like everyone else, I want to thrive. Not so much for me, but for my wife and my son. Just getting by will not do for much longer. But please, Lord, don't let me lose myself in the process.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Holy 2009, Batman!
Hello everyone! I hope all have been well. Christmas was a good time: Kimberly, Richard and I had Christmas Eve at the in-laws, opening presents surrounded by screaming children and just enough wine to go around. Then we went over to Mom and Dad's house. It was 9:45 p.m. when we got there, but hey, you gotta feed the baby and make sure he's gotten in his second nap, or else you'll have Cranky McPoopypants on your hands.
We had hoped to get in a Christmas Eve service at Bonsack Baptist, like good Christians would do, but we didn't watch the clock and things just got away from us.
Christmas morning was great: Mama Q (my mother in law) made eggs, biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausage, and a fruit salad (and it would have been fine if that was the only gift she gave me). Richard stared amorously at his new toys, including the Fisher Price Singing Stage, which he babbles at every night now. Kimberly is very excited about the waffle maker I bought her, and her oversized Vera Wang purse for girly stuff and baby stuff. I got "Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles" for the Wii. Katie came down from Maryland, and I think she's still in town right now. Justin came down on New Years' Eve, a few days after Kimberly, Richard and I had gone back up to Gainesville to restart business as usual. It stinks I didn't get to see Justin, as he's a hell of a great guy, and he makes my sister happier than she's ever been.
It also stunk that I didn't see my Uncle Marc. However, I am proud he stepped up to let his bartender with a wife and family take Christmas Eve and Day off to spend with his family. Uncle Marc is my mom's brother, and he's been divorced twice. I don't know why; he seems like quite a catch to me.
I worked Tuesday, Wednesday, and today. Monday was a good housecleaning day, and I spent a big chunk of yesterday hammering away at Umbrella Chronicles. Damn good game. It would be easier with two players, because some of those bosses are really hard. I'm hoping Stevedogg will come up to visit soon and we can tackle those bastards.
So, my New Year's resolution is the typical lose weight resolution. Last night on TLC I watched this show about the "super morbidly obese" and I was horrified at all the health problems. This 29-year-old woman had a fatal heart attack two weeks after gastric bypass surgery, and this other guy was 1,031 pounds with the worst skin I've ever seen from bedsores. Doctors had to cut the fat off of his legs. I am overweight, but not that by that much.
I know how I got here: not enough sleep, not enough exercise, and too many times my schedule was too hectic to cook myself healthy food. I generally ended up grabbing something somewhere, and that's usually the worst option. Oh, and let's not forget my love for beer.
I think if I force myself to exercise for the first few days, my body will start to crave it. And I've always loved vegetables. Kimberly has started making several meals at once, saving some for the rest of the week when things get nuts and we're too exhausted to make a meal from scratch. I'm not averse to healthy food at all. In fact, I was on Weight Watchers the summer before my wedding, and I lost 10 pounds before things got even crazier and I fell off the wagon. I wish there was something geared for men, though. WW was nice, but the support groups were all women in their 40s and 50s. I have so little in common with them. Anyone kow of anything?
We had hoped to get in a Christmas Eve service at Bonsack Baptist, like good Christians would do, but we didn't watch the clock and things just got away from us.
Christmas morning was great: Mama Q (my mother in law) made eggs, biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausage, and a fruit salad (and it would have been fine if that was the only gift she gave me). Richard stared amorously at his new toys, including the Fisher Price Singing Stage, which he babbles at every night now. Kimberly is very excited about the waffle maker I bought her, and her oversized Vera Wang purse for girly stuff and baby stuff. I got "Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles" for the Wii. Katie came down from Maryland, and I think she's still in town right now. Justin came down on New Years' Eve, a few days after Kimberly, Richard and I had gone back up to Gainesville to restart business as usual. It stinks I didn't get to see Justin, as he's a hell of a great guy, and he makes my sister happier than she's ever been.
It also stunk that I didn't see my Uncle Marc. However, I am proud he stepped up to let his bartender with a wife and family take Christmas Eve and Day off to spend with his family. Uncle Marc is my mom's brother, and he's been divorced twice. I don't know why; he seems like quite a catch to me.
I worked Tuesday, Wednesday, and today. Monday was a good housecleaning day, and I spent a big chunk of yesterday hammering away at Umbrella Chronicles. Damn good game. It would be easier with two players, because some of those bosses are really hard. I'm hoping Stevedogg will come up to visit soon and we can tackle those bastards.
So, my New Year's resolution is the typical lose weight resolution. Last night on TLC I watched this show about the "super morbidly obese" and I was horrified at all the health problems. This 29-year-old woman had a fatal heart attack two weeks after gastric bypass surgery, and this other guy was 1,031 pounds with the worst skin I've ever seen from bedsores. Doctors had to cut the fat off of his legs. I am overweight, but not that by that much.
I know how I got here: not enough sleep, not enough exercise, and too many times my schedule was too hectic to cook myself healthy food. I generally ended up grabbing something somewhere, and that's usually the worst option. Oh, and let's not forget my love for beer.
I think if I force myself to exercise for the first few days, my body will start to crave it. And I've always loved vegetables. Kimberly has started making several meals at once, saving some for the rest of the week when things get nuts and we're too exhausted to make a meal from scratch. I'm not averse to healthy food at all. In fact, I was on Weight Watchers the summer before my wedding, and I lost 10 pounds before things got even crazier and I fell off the wagon. I wish there was something geared for men, though. WW was nice, but the support groups were all women in their 40s and 50s. I have so little in common with them. Anyone kow of anything?
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Glad I left Micron.
I learned from an unidentified source Micron Technology, where I spent a year as a technical writer, will be cutting employee salaries as part of its effort to stave off further financial injury. The chairman of the board, Steve Appleton, and the CEO, Mark Durcan, took a 10 percent pay cut on top of the 20 percent cut they already took. Sounds like true leadership, right? Hardcore going to bat for your employees? Going without so the people who help you out can get by a little easier?
No.
They're also cutting the salaries of anyone making over $60,000 by one percent. That's 600 dollars. Cumulatively, that's an insurance payment someone won't be able to make. That's five or six months of electric bills. That's 25 or so tanks of gas. Anyone making over $100,000 gets a five percent cut. $70-79k, two percent. $80-89k, three percent. $90-99k, four percent.
Maybe that would fly in Boise, Idaho, where the company is headquartered and the cost of living is stupid low. But Micron has one of its flagship, 300mm fabricators in Manassas, VA, right in the middle of the super-expensive Washington, D.C., metro area. Most folks there are tool operators, associate engineers and cubicle warriors who are barely cresting the $60,000 mark; beginning operators make half that, so thankfully they aren't affected. I know from living up here it's really hard to get by on $60k; in fact, I made less as a technical writer during my entire, painful tenure there. Rent is higher, mortgages are higher, insurance is higher, taxes are higher, groceries are higher... the list goes on and on. You need all you can get up here.
Micron has sent another big middle finger to its non-Boise crowd.
The right thing to do would be for the entire board to go without salaries and live on their accumulated hundreds of millions until this economy calms down. But no, they won't. Appleton could sell his planes and other six-figure-price-tag toys for some cash-on-hand, but no, he won't. Appleton's salary outside of options was $900,000 in 2006, or thereabouts. That would be $720,000 after a 20 percent cut, then $648,000 after the most recent 10 percent.
Boo fucking hoo. I hope Micron gets bought out by Samsung and then some major housecleaning takes place.
No.
They're also cutting the salaries of anyone making over $60,000 by one percent. That's 600 dollars. Cumulatively, that's an insurance payment someone won't be able to make. That's five or six months of electric bills. That's 25 or so tanks of gas. Anyone making over $100,000 gets a five percent cut. $70-79k, two percent. $80-89k, three percent. $90-99k, four percent.
Maybe that would fly in Boise, Idaho, where the company is headquartered and the cost of living is stupid low. But Micron has one of its flagship, 300mm fabricators in Manassas, VA, right in the middle of the super-expensive Washington, D.C., metro area. Most folks there are tool operators, associate engineers and cubicle warriors who are barely cresting the $60,000 mark; beginning operators make half that, so thankfully they aren't affected. I know from living up here it's really hard to get by on $60k; in fact, I made less as a technical writer during my entire, painful tenure there. Rent is higher, mortgages are higher, insurance is higher, taxes are higher, groceries are higher... the list goes on and on. You need all you can get up here.
Micron has sent another big middle finger to its non-Boise crowd.
The right thing to do would be for the entire board to go without salaries and live on their accumulated hundreds of millions until this economy calms down. But no, they won't. Appleton could sell his planes and other six-figure-price-tag toys for some cash-on-hand, but no, he won't. Appleton's salary outside of options was $900,000 in 2006, or thereabouts. That would be $720,000 after a 20 percent cut, then $648,000 after the most recent 10 percent.
Boo fucking hoo. I hope Micron gets bought out by Samsung and then some major housecleaning takes place.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
I think it may be over...
I sent back the assemblies with broken adjustors, and I'll get a full refund. My mother-in-law used to work for Berglund, a big car dealer in Roanoke, and we can get new assemblies for the Cadillac for a lot cheaper than most folks would pay. It can pay to have connections.
I'd like to be connected to the winning numbers in Friday's MegaMillions jackpot drawing. I can't seem to pull up the MegaMillions site to see what it's up to now, but it has to be close to $200 million. If the winner were to take the lump sum amount, then pay the taxes on that, it'd be around $90 million or so. That's nothing to sneeze at.
I play every now and then. I don't feel too bad when I find out I didn't win even $2, because the money went to schools. But it'd be nice to win a little something, to say nothing of the big prize. We could use some extra cash: this economy is sucking my family dry. With a 1 in 176 million chance of winning, the odds are against most everyone. But when it grows huge like this, tons of people play, and someone eventually wins.
I think everyone has his/her jackpot winning fantasy. Here's mine:
I'd like to be connected to the winning numbers in Friday's MegaMillions jackpot drawing. I can't seem to pull up the MegaMillions site to see what it's up to now, but it has to be close to $200 million. If the winner were to take the lump sum amount, then pay the taxes on that, it'd be around $90 million or so. That's nothing to sneeze at.
I play every now and then. I don't feel too bad when I find out I didn't win even $2, because the money went to schools. But it'd be nice to win a little something, to say nothing of the big prize. We could use some extra cash: this economy is sucking my family dry. With a 1 in 176 million chance of winning, the odds are against most everyone. But when it grows huge like this, tons of people play, and someone eventually wins.
I think everyone has his/her jackpot winning fantasy. Here's mine:
- Pay off every debt we have. Mortgage, credit cards, student loans, bookies (just kidding on that last one).
- Pay off every debt my parents, in-laws, sister and siblings-in-law have.
- Build our house on "the farm" in Hillsville, VA. Make it big enough to fill with people during the holidays, but not so sickly big that vacuuming becomes a week-long task. And it'll be run fully on solar panels.
- Start college funds and IRAs for all the kids in the family, even those not born yet.
- Donate a pile of money to religious organizations, and NPOs dedicated to finding cures for cancer, Alzheimer's Disease and uncommon diseases (like polycythemia vera, a mostly nuisance myloproliferative disease my father has).
- The indulgent part: new cars! For us, an '09 Ford Flex Limited, an '09 Cadillac CTS-V (yes, it's a Cadillac, but it's not like the one I have now, not by any stretch of the imagination), and something to commute in, maybe an Infiniti. I think we'd donate our current cars (it's $90 million bucks for goodness sake, how much more do you need?!). For my parents, some kind of station wagon for Mom, and an '09 Nissan 370Z for Dad... in roadster form, if it's available yet. Plus a '50 Mercury 2-door hardtop in "driveable dream" condition. For Kimberly's parents, an '09 Ford F-250 XLT Lariat 4X4 with PowerStroke Diesel for Ronnie, and an '09 Ford Mustang GT for Evelyn. And I'd buy every part Ronnie needs to finish his '70 Mustang Fastback and Evelyn's '69 GMC Pickup.
- Invest in gems and metals on top of different stocks, bonds and mutual funds.
- Finance Kimberly's ideas to start a line of baby clothing and open a professional theater.
- Start really working on my creative writing projects.
- Spend more time volunteering in the community and going on mission trips.
- Take Richard out to see the world.
- Would I keep working? I don't know. Seems like this hypothetical schedule is even crazier than the one I have now. Might not be time for "cubing."
Yeah, I think that's about it. I may just pick up a ticket before Friday's drawing; you never know, but I do know you have no chance of winning if you don't play. Whoever eventually wins, let's pray s/he looks to God for guidance on how the money must be put to use. I'd hate to see such a blessing be squandered on golden teeth and Maybachs (dude, I looked those up on Cars.com... they lose their value quicker than Audis... that's not good at all).
Sunday, December 7, 2008
whew retracted.
DAMN IT. The headlights arrived on time, but with broken adjustors. I am calmed down now, somewhat, but still mad. Will send back parts via UPS ground, and I expect to get the parts (not broken) this coming weekend.
Everytime something small goes wrong in my life - something small - it always mushrooms and becomes inflated to ridiculous proportions. Someone always doesn't listen, someone always doesn't update the system, someone is always speaking without knowing all the facts, and someone always assumes I have no idea what I am talking about. Nothing can be simple, and everything has to cost money I sometimes don't have.
I've got a lot to be thankful for. Doesn't mean bumps in the road piss me off any less.
Everytime something small goes wrong in my life - something small - it always mushrooms and becomes inflated to ridiculous proportions. Someone always doesn't listen, someone always doesn't update the system, someone is always speaking without knowing all the facts, and someone always assumes I have no idea what I am talking about. Nothing can be simple, and everything has to cost money I sometimes don't have.
I've got a lot to be thankful for. Doesn't mean bumps in the road piss me off any less.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Whew
Got the parts for the Cadillac from that supplier in Chicago. They'll be here before 5 p.m. tomorrow. It cost a bit, but that's OK. I'm predicting things are going to go wrong often with a 10-year-old American car.
I realized I didn't write out what the first part of my blog URL is (you can figure out the name of the blog). I am living in the city, but I am in love with mountains. So there you go.
I guess you could have figured that out on your own, too.
I am very stoked to see "The Day the Earth Stood Still." Apparently Keanu Reeves never does remakes, but he thought this was a "reimagining." We'll see just how Klaatu and Gort pan out in this 2008 flick. Kathy Bates as Secretary of Defense should be interesting. What I know for sure is the original, which came out the year my parents were born, is damn near flawless. Seriously. It's almost as good as The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" or a perfectly mixed margarita. I wish I had a chance to meet Patricia Neal when my parents brought her to the Buchanan Theatre and asked her about the role. Apparently my parents had a great conversation with her.
And when they brought in Father Mulcahy from M*A*S*H*, also known as Bill Christopher, my dad and he apparently talked to no end about canals. They now have a standing invitation to each other to go canal gawking. I don't know if that's what it's called, but it's appropriate.
Canals! To see canal enthusiasts talk about their passion, you'd think you were watching a 14-year-old boy learn Vida Guerra would be the main ingredient in his birthday cake. You should see my dad geek whenever something comes up about a canal. Buchanan was supposed to be the end of the James River Kanawha canal, but that was thwarted by the railroads. If you look hard enough, you can still find the building blocks of some canals in the brush and ailanthus trees off the side of U.S. Route 11 just as soon as you cross over the river.
As much as I want to continue writing (this is a very good thing... maybe I'll get back on that novel!), I need to do some dishes, then get Richard up and feed him some vegetable and fruit goo.
Slaintè!
I realized I didn't write out what the first part of my blog URL is (you can figure out the name of the blog). I am living in the city, but I am in love with mountains. So there you go.
I guess you could have figured that out on your own, too.
I am very stoked to see "The Day the Earth Stood Still." Apparently Keanu Reeves never does remakes, but he thought this was a "reimagining." We'll see just how Klaatu and Gort pan out in this 2008 flick. Kathy Bates as Secretary of Defense should be interesting. What I know for sure is the original, which came out the year my parents were born, is damn near flawless. Seriously. It's almost as good as The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" or a perfectly mixed margarita. I wish I had a chance to meet Patricia Neal when my parents brought her to the Buchanan Theatre and asked her about the role. Apparently my parents had a great conversation with her.
And when they brought in Father Mulcahy from M*A*S*H*, also known as Bill Christopher, my dad and he apparently talked to no end about canals. They now have a standing invitation to each other to go canal gawking. I don't know if that's what it's called, but it's appropriate.
Canals! To see canal enthusiasts talk about their passion, you'd think you were watching a 14-year-old boy learn Vida Guerra would be the main ingredient in his birthday cake. You should see my dad geek whenever something comes up about a canal. Buchanan was supposed to be the end of the James River Kanawha canal, but that was thwarted by the railroads. If you look hard enough, you can still find the building blocks of some canals in the brush and ailanthus trees off the side of U.S. Route 11 just as soon as you cross over the river.
As much as I want to continue writing (this is a very good thing... maybe I'll get back on that novel!), I need to do some dishes, then get Richard up and feed him some vegetable and fruit goo.
Slaintè!
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