beckerbuns: (icon_demonsofstupidity)
Here I am, trying to use LJ again.  :)  We will see how long this works.  :)

So, spring of last year, I found out from work that my license had been suspended.  It turned out to be an error.  The county had told DMV to suspend me for failure to appear even though I *had* appeared and made payment arrangements for a fix it ticket.  I got it straightened out with the court and DMV within a week and since then, my DMV record has consistently showed no problems.

Yesterday I spoke with Geico about my auto insurance and they said they were going to be DOUBLING my monthly payments because of last year's suspension.  What???  I looked at my record on the DMV website and sure enough, the suspension was back (resolved, but still there).

So now I've got to take time out of a workday (at my new job; I can't be just bopping off to do errands whenever) to go to the traffic court and probably also DMV to get this resolved.  Because that's *totally* what I want to be doing, losing wages to deal with this stupid crap that's not my fault.

Meanwhile [livejournal.com profile] ozzwepay and I have been renting a room from [livejournal.com profile] cerulean_me and family (and paying $500 a month to keep a bunch of stuff in storage) and hoping to save up money for a place of our own where I can also get one or more kids back to living with me.  He's been out of work for a while and is looking for a job (tech support, email, spam stuff -- if anyone knows of a position, let me know).  The rents in the area in the past year have gotten to be completely out of control.  To give you some idea, in 2011 I was paying $1750 for a three bedroom, two bathroom duplex in a decent part of San Jose.  I just looked on Craigslist and found that comparable units in the same area are now renting for at least $3200; most of them are closer to $3800.  I am beginning to despair of ever being able to rent again.  Even if I go for a two bedroom unit I'm looking at at least $2500.  I don't even make that much per month, and most places want you to make at least three times the rent per month.

If I didn't have my mom and the kids here I would move out of the Bay Area in a heartbeat.  But I am stuck.  Please tell me how a regular lower middle class working person is supposed to be able to survive here?  (Section 8 has a waiting list many years long and the list hasn't been opened up in ages anyway.  There are no other low income housing programs available, and anyway I've found that I make too much or too little for most of the controlled rent places around here.  Catch-22.)

I'm alive!

Jun. 23rd, 2011 10:40 pm
beckerbuns: (icon_getintomyownpants)
Thanks for the nudges. I really am alive. As some of you know, we did score a great house and moved in, in the middle of May. It's a charming little 98 year old farmhouse in the Rosegarden area of San Jose. It's actually not TOO little... Four bedrooms and two baths, with a 10,500 sq ft lot. It's HUGE. And I finally have my own garden. Like, an in-the-ground garden, not in containers.

Our garden 2011


There are lots more pictures of the house here. It's an old house and as such we have been dealing with lots of old house issues... Windows that won't open or are otherwise defective, a garage that needs work (and therefore we have EVERYTHING in the house... it's still quite cluttered and maddening, especially to Liz), no air conditioning (I'm the fan queen), funny construction (the house seems to slant downhill in places, for instance). But overall... We love it. We have christened it "The Farmhouse in the Garden" (or FiG). :)

(And if any of you would like my new address, please let me know.)

Things with the kids are going okay. We've had to shuffle around school placements. We are now in San Jose Unified School District, the biggest one in the area but not without its faults and frustrations. At this point it looks like Andrew will be allowed to keep his county program placement. Ricky will be going to the same high school as Liz's son Kevin, which is down in south San Jose by their old house. There's a life skills program there that's a lot like the one he was going to transition into in the old district. Both boys are going to be in summer school. Well, Ricky is right now; Andrew starts on July 5 (my birthday). Andrew's county program is the same one Ricky was in for 2-1/2 years so ultimately Andrew will graduate from the same middle school Ricky did. :) Misty is going to be starting kindergarten in the fall (!) and turns 5 next month. She will be going to the neighborhood school. And she is EXCITED.

In June I have had plenty of hours but that will be changing because the library's hours are changing drastically starting next week and all branches will be on a four day schedule. I am not sure how this will ultimately affect me; we shall see.

Oh, the new house is a block and a half from the Y. So we have renewed our membership and have been walking over to swim a lot lately. In fact tomorrow I am going back there with the kids (mine and Kevin).

And now... The knee saga. Sigh. I'm on state funded insurance. I injured my knee in December. My doctor refused to do anything until March, saying it could heal.  Then I had a negative x-ray and she referred me for an MRI which I finally got 3 months later (because the wait was that long). Then she waited 3 more weeks even to give me my results and I had to hound staff and dial random extensions to get an appt. Turns out I have a torn medial meniscus, torn MCL, and patellofemeral syndrome, which has caused knee instability and made me fall down the stairs in the new house twice, injuring my other knee similarly. It has now been 6 months since my original injury and I am looking at a wait of at least 3 months to see a surgeon. And then? Who knows.

So that's it for now... I will again promise to be a more regular correspondent. I spent a lot of today catching up on other people's LJs. I hope you haven't all given up on me!

So...

Apr. 13th, 2011 12:25 am
beckerbuns: (icon_believinginyourself)
So much going on.

House hunting... Looking for a new place with [livejournal.com profile] foreverlizzy and her son Kevin. There are precious few houses big enough in the high school district. We went to see a PERFECT one on Sunday. Well, close to perfect. It had been almost entirely remodeled. It's a four bedroom, two bath house with completely new kitchen and bathrooms, double pane windows, and a yard! We applied for it on the spot. There were three other families applying.

We gave the owner of the house a day to run the credit checks and then Liz called today. The guy told her that they're still running the credit checks and checking the references and that he hopes to have an answer before Friday. Please pick us. Please please please. I don't want to get to the point where I am *desperate* for a place to live. I want to be somewhere where we are comfortable and have time to move in and settle down.

I spent today sitting with Liz, helping her pack some, and also being there when she and her family said goodbye to their pit bull Lulu, who cannot move with us. Luckily, Lulu has found a wonderful home. Yay!

Guess that is all for now, for this public entry. I need to get to bed! It's spring break, but I do have a doctor's appointment in the morning so I can't sleep in.

Profile

beckerbuns: (Default)
Becky's journal

July 2020

S M T W T F S
   1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031 

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 11th, 2025 04:39 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios