I need a break

From life, not from the web. I have been neglecting much of the web community that I have grown to love (various sites and blogs) namely because I haven’t had the energy to visit and spend time sharing stories of books, life, photos and how much more ice cream and candy I need. The constant back-n-forth exchange of comments is fuel for the soul and actually keeps me driving straight in the daily world of chaos we all live in.

I need to get back on that plan, so days like yesterday won’t be as frustrating. Oh what’s that? I didn’t tell you about yesterday yet! Where do I start…

After a tough weekend, lots of time staring at the wall, a tough day at the office yesterday, rumors of layoffs, pressure in my volunteer work…I came home to change after work and run up to get my book before class so I can study for my exam Thursday. On my way in I checked the mail only to find court papers for a lawsuit…naming me. Wonderful. An hour later I am in class trying to focus, without my book and waiting to call my attorney on break. It would take me an hour to explain why I got the papers, but let’s just say that there was a paperwork mix-up and everything is fine now. No need to break out the defibrillator, I survived.

When life throws you lemons, make lemonade right? Right. I have a new outlook on things. I have now made it my mission to make applesauce, add rocks to the lemons and throw them back via high powered canon. Oh! Also, get back into things online.

Cheers.

I have Logic issues

Most of my friends know that when something is illogical to me, I go crazy. Yesterday (Wednesday) was a good example. I’m about to “out” my roommate as a knucklehead, but I still love him…which makes me feel bad -but you’ll laugh. So enjoy.

First, some background:
I take care of the rent & utilities at my apartment with very little problems. I lived with two guys, roomie-A and roomie-B. Roomie A and I lived together for 2 years in college dorms and 5 years in an apartment -so we know each other’s idiosyncrasies. Roomie-B moved in for the last 2 years at the old apartment. Roomie-A is getting married and roomie-B and I just got a new place together. As many of you know when you pay utilities some bills come two months after you used the utilities. Additionally you get your security deposit back within 30 days of moving out.

More background:
In the last year that we lived together roomie-A became a little too lazy and put a pause on the socialist style of living that is typical with friends/families living together. Common toilet paper, paper towel, cleaning supplies, etc…he stopped buying toilet paper. He did, however, take back the bottles on a regular basis of which 75% belonged to roomie-B…never offering a dime nor buying stuff for the place. This enraged me and became a joke. We would have no visible toilet paper in the apartment for MONTHS. I bought my own and kept in under a blanket in my closet. Roomie-B kept a few rolls of his own in his dresser. At one point roomie-B called out roomie-A on the issue of bottle returns and the response was “dude it’s like two bucks.” 20 bottles = $2, but $2 15-20 times a year is $30-$40 that could pay for toiletries…not to mention it was 50 bottles usually…which would cover for what we need on a regular basis.

The story:
The last month’s bills left roomie-A with a $75 tab. In his defence, he asked if I needed the money right away and I said no. He doesn’t have a great paying job at the moment, he is finishing up his last semester at school, getting married and he just closed on a place for him and his wife-to-be. I can float the money for a little bit. The last round of bills left him with a $30 tab. We got our security deposit check (note: everyone has to sign it to cash it, which has not happened yet) and we were shy $180 for giving our place a late notice. Rommie-A calls and gets us the money. Additionally he asks if he needs to pay me the $30 and “like $70” from before.

This is where I lose it.

In an email to roomie-B:

Is it bad that I am so annoyed with roomie-A that when I try to write an email to him I just can’t?

I just can’t figure out why $75 or $30 or $100 must mean so much to his wallet that he can’t pay me. While it isn’t breaking me, it is breaking him (I assume)…so if you were in his shoes wouldn’t you pay attention to how much you owe someone? His comment “like $70” annoys me because it’s $75, and who cares about $5? I don’t, but obviously he’s in a position where money is an issue so you would think he would know at least to the nearest dollar what he owes someone.

After that I start thinking about him telling you that the bottle returns were “like $2″…that gets me fired up.

Conclusion:
This whole thing gets to me not for the $100 or the $2, but because I CANNONT BELIEVE HE HAS A MASTERS IN ACCOUNTING.

See you thought the money was the issue, while annoying, it’s the logic process that makes my head explode.

Growing up

Everyone grows older, but not everyone grows up. I’ve always taken great pride in thinking on the level of kids and not letting my imagination disappear with age. I like to be silly and I still love cartoons. One thing is different, I have some serious responsibilities now, growing up is a fact of life.

There are times I think about my bills and expenses and how I could change things. I’m not hurting too bad, but things could be better. After today, I am looking at things with a different angle.

I do some work on the side, along with a few others, where our decisions can have a negative impact on other people’s financial situation. Today I had to make a decision to lay off an employee. They knew it was coming and had planned accordingly. I realize I need to start thinking about the same thing.

Life is tough when you have to grow up…and here I thought being a kid was hard. :)