Just Stuff (and part of why I wasn’t writing the other day)

So I’m reading Bag Of Bones by Stephen King & like (almost) all of his books I have trouble putting it down to do other things. I think this one is going to rank up there in my estimation of his books with his short stories which are always my favorites by him. This one is good & creepy but not so gross as some of the others.

When I finished the Kent Chronicles – all 8 of them- which I have been reading for months now- I was surprised & amused to find myself disappointed that it only went up to the 1890’s- I wanted to know more & up to present day would have been fine with me!

I truly believe that is the mark of a good author- if you’re sorry when it ends & you just want it to go on & on! (Even if it’s your eighth book about these people!) Not sure what I’m going to read next though & I’m more than halfway through Bag of Bones so I do have to decide soon….

I’m a little embarrassed to admit I haven’t begun the final Harry Potter book yet. Mostly because it is so BIG! I am dreading carrying it back & forth to work & I do much of my reading on my breaks & lunches at work so I can’t not bring it to work & keep it here at home- with the computer & the kids I’d never get through it if I only read at home.

I say that after spending something like 5 hours on the couch ‘hogging the tv’ in my 12 year old’s words Thursday night because the computer was down (it was raining- darn satellite internet) & I was sick so I just wanted to read & I had the Sirius radio from my satellite tv provider on to listen to – which is where the hogging of the tv comes in.

I had the worst stomach pain I have ever had Thursday – it started while I was at work doing my overtime & I hadn’t done anything different at all. I had my Soy protein drink on the way to work- drank a Sobe lean first thing upon arriving & the pain started around then- at 12:30 I had a bottle of diet mountain dew (Because I’m still off the diet coke & it’s been long enough now that it tastes funny to me) I carried that bottle of “Dewski” (as we used to call it back in the 1980’s) around all day but couldn’t drink much of it at all.

I was convinced (temporarily at least) that I was getting an ulcer but couldn’t reconcile that with it coming on so suddenly also part of the time I felt gassy like I needed to burp but couldn’t I also felt like I was going to throw up a few times but never did. After my 5 hours of hell was finished with I had a bunch of errands to run & so went ahead to do them.

The company which did the work fixing my house after the tree fell on it hasn’t been paid yet. The insurance company sent me checks in both my & the mortgage company’s name & I had to sign them & send them to the mortgage company who has been holding them since then.

At the end of June when the work was complete I sent back the final paperwork & they sent someone out to inspect. A week later the construction co. (we’ll call them C&C) called & said they were still waiting so I called the Mortgage co. (we’ll call them WFHM because that is their initials & I’m still pretty annoyed so I don’t mind naming them at least partially- anyone in real estate or finance can figure out who that is) WFHM said I hadn’t included a ‘certificate of completion’ I knew I had but I said ok send me one & I’ll fill it out.

5 days later I got paperwork telling me they need a signed certificate of completion but no certificate was included for me to sign. I called them back & they apologized & said they’d send one right away. This was 2 days before vacation so I called C&C & explained the delay & promised if I didn’t get the paper before leaving on vacation I would send it as soon as I got home. Sure enough it didn’t come- we went on vacation ms 18 confirmed it did arrive a couple of days after we left & so when I got home I got the paper- signed it & dropped it in the mail box with my bills on my way to go grocery shopping on 7/18.

That was the last I thought of it because I never heard another word- which is what I expected. I’ve signed the checks- I’ve signed the certificate. All WFHM has to do is send C&C a check for the full balance owed- the sum of the 3 checks the insurance co. sent to me in both my & WFHM’s names. Of course it can’t be that easy. On Wednesday I went to break & found a voice mail from a woman in the C&C offices on my phone saying that the claim had about 10 days left before it went to collections.

The woman who called is a go between or mediator in the C&C company who has been really sweet through the whole procedure- not that I had any issues with C&C they’re the only ones in this whole mess who have been anything like nice. The Insurance co. especially was horrible but I didn’t blog about it at the time as I was way too upset about the tree on my house at the time to dare begin on the treatment I received at their hands (let me just say that as soon as I find someone better Augusta Mutual will no longer be my homeowners insurance company of choice)

So when H from C&C told me they still hadn’t been paid I was furious. I called WFHM immediately & they said they didn’t have the paperwork at all. I asked that they send me another form & they pointed out if I only had 10 days that wouldn’t work. Recently we have hooked up a printer at home & so I was able to print one when I got home Wednesday night & filled it out.

I was rather upset to discover that at the bottom of the form it asked for multiple phone numbers to reach me at ‘so we can schedule your home inspection’ now I ask you- if they have already sent someone to inspect (the third of July to be exact) HOW could they have not had this form already?

On my way to hell ahem- work on Thursday morning I called C&C & told them the situation & that I would drop it in the mail on my way home from work. H pointed out that it might still not make it & I said I’d been thinking about having it sent certified but then H reminded me it’s Labor Day weekend & so it wouldn’t reach them until Tuesday & we were looking at next Friday as a cut off. She asked me to fax it instead.

I don’t have access to a fax & she said mail boxes etc. has a service where they’ll fax for you for a low cost. I actually had to go to Mail boxes etc after work & drop off a satellite receiver because mine had a nervous breakdown last weekend – which it recovered from the next day but I had already had a replacement sent so I had to ship the receiver I didn’t need after all back- So I agreed to fax it.

I then did my 5 hours of forced overtime (mandatory doesn’t even begin to cover it & I have 3 weeks more of doing this before we “might” be done with it) and left work thankful that I was finished & although I have only today off- I am relieved to say that I do have Monday off for the holiday & I have taken Tuesday off too in order to give myself a little breathing room on this mandatory overtime thing. (you just can’t do anything in a day & a half)

I realized somewhere in there that I can’t fax without a phone number to fax to & so while I was killing time in the parking lot of the grocery store- working on my finances- before picking up some groceries (& getting packing tape- because in order to send the box back I had to open the packaging to get the shipping label out & so it had to be taped back up again) I called WFHM again to get the fax number.

The first woman I spoke to apparently saw the notes from where I had called before about this & said she wanted to give me the ‘escalated fax number’ so she put me on hold for about 10 minutes- came back & said she didn’t have it so she needed to transfer me to the ‘escalated department’ I held another 8 minutes for them & spoke to a lady who started to argue with me about whether I had ever sent the form at all.

I should note here that I have a note book. I keep a top bound spiral 5×7 notebook in which I work out my bills- write grocery lists- keep track of my paid days off & the hours I’ve worked (among other things- Christmas lists- vacation plans- blog ideas- hopes & dreams for the money pit house we live in- are all in here too) I go through a book about every 4-5 months & keep them all. The one I’m in has lasted awhile- I’ve been too upset by my finances lately to try to crunch them very often- when things don’t come together well- I just don’t look- So it had the listings of everything that had happened on the house since the tree fell.

I was able to state the dates I sent the paperwork both times & point out as I said before- that how could they have scheduled an inspection which already happened if they didn’t have this form which is the only one which even mentions the scheduling of the inspection. She hemmed & hawed & apologized. Then she gave me the fax number & said to direct the fax to her attention & she would get a check overnighted to C&C either that night or first thing Friday.

I called H at C&C who was about as skeptical as I feel about the whole thing. She’s going to call when/if she gets word that they’ve received the check. We shall see- since it’s now Saturday & she didn’t call Friday – I certainly hope it goes through by Tuesday- which will be the next business day.

In the meantime- on top of this- the ex is in touch says he’s going back into the service again (they’ve got to have installed a revolving door just for him) Joining a unit of reserves who’ve just come back from Iraq. Meaning he’s not going to have to go back over there soon. So he needed birth certificates- Social Security card copies & a copy of our divorce decree. I get worried every time he wants paperwork. Because he’s asked before in preparation to launch a custody battle & to try to get tax refunds he wasn’t entitled to.

I’m probably stupid- but I believe him this time that he’s not attempting anything like a custody battle this time. He’s got enough on his plate with his second ex – his son by her – his pregnant girlfriend & her daughter. I don’t think he could handle our two- they’re enough to keep me running 24-7 as it is.

Just keeping the house clean (18 still takes care of that – thank goodness- because she hasn’t moved out yet- hasn’t even found a job & the college thing is stalled out because she didn’t get her loans stuff done- didn’t persist & keep on them & the date passed specifically) is a full time job & then making sure they do their homework – chores & keep their rooms clean (& in mr 9’s case the garage where his tv is located is required to be cleaned by him because no one else hardly ever goes out there) is another one.

Still though- the stress of hearing from him & having all those ugly emotions caused by our previous interactions over the 8 years since the divorce (we’re nearing the point where we’ll have been divorced longer than we were together- odd feeling) stirred up again & worrying over what the ‘latest scheme’ is with him – because there always is one.

I really wanted to go to the Hillsville flea market this year again but multiple things- especially finances are keeping me away- it’s probably for the best. I got to hang out with Chrissie for awhile on Friday afternoon. I stretched $100 to feed all 5 of us in my house for another 2 weeks & then headed home to find that gas prices had jumped a dime since I drove past the gas station at 4:30 Friday afternoon- something like 4 hours before!

This rant is only the tip of the ice burg of stress which is rapidly overtaking me these days & on Wednesday when I sat down to write every line I wrote seemed to be negative & dark so I decided it wasn’t a good idea to post & put it all in my diary blog which is private instead.