Naloomi’s Dungeon's & Blog

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Well, I have FINALLY used the 'pillar' that Mr Fibble was kind enough to give me over a year ago. This is the first thing I have built since the train wreck that was The Hirst Arts Express. The pillar does light, up, although getting that to work was difficult. While trying to get the innards of the piece inside of the Hirst Arts blocks two of the wires came off. I have a soldering gun (really really old) and some solder that I used on a pot wrack I built for a Christmas present some time ago. I have not yet painted the piece, but I thought I would share it anyhow. I do hope you like.

"You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe."

Okay, as I mentioned in my last post my wife and I have to find another car. Last June we bought a clunker, to get from point A to point B. That's all we bought it for. Unfortunately, life is not quite working out to make that feasible all the time. With my wife's workplaces changing their hours, it changes when she has to leave for work. Sometimes that means taking the clunker to Ohio. Not optimal, and not a place anyone in their 'right mind' (hi witt) would want to spend any timer longer than necessary...

We paid $1400 for it, and figured we needed to get at least 6 months of use out of it to 'make our money back.' My reasoning is simple. The 'average' household has a 'minimum' car payment of $250, and they usually turn around and either sell the car for a down payment on another car, or trade it in for a down payment on another car. If we got anything more than 6 months we got our 'moneys worth' out of it.

Well, it's been 6 months, and she is through with the car. It keeps stalling on her, recently died at the bank's drive through, and just, in general, has been an annoying POS. So, I took one of my precious vacation days and we went daycare/car shopping. Daycare was fairly successful, the car was much less so.

We found a place, selling used cars, that will finance us for $12,000 for 3-3.5 years. That is with our $3000 down. With the possibility of me going on strike on April 4th (or shortly thereafter) and my car having 192k miles on it (ie, likely having to replace it in the next 1-2 years) we don't want to be tied into a car payment for 3+ years. So we kept looking. We found this 2004 Saturn Vue (which is what we really want) with 94k miles on it. With our $3,000 down, (50% of what the car is selling for!!!!) we are unable to get financing for it.

I want a short-term loan, maybe 1 year, for less than what I was already approved of through one creditor, yet I can't get the financing for $3,000. I am trying to be responsible. I am trying to NOT get myself to far into debt or into trouble that I can not get out again. Yet I can't. I can either go without, or get into something that in 2 years I will not be able to afford.

This is why the financial system is breaking down. Places will give out credit for stuff we CANT AFFORD to buy. They then keep giving out MORE credit, getting you deeper and deeper into financial trouble. Then, when you can't afford it for one reason or another (Car repairs, on disability at work, loss of job, etc) they take it back and sell it at a (possible) loss. They then look at their books and try to justify 'what's wrong' and demand that the government 'fix it' for them by buying the loans that they screwed up on by giving out, buying homes that have no one living in them, etc. 

Well, I'm back. Stressed (as usual) but back none the less. My hope is to update this blog at least once a week.

Recent events: we were told 3 weeks ago that we had 4 weeks to find a new daycare. Why? Our daycare was closing it's infant/toddler room. No child less 30 months old could stay. We asked around, called a few places & checked a couple out. In the end we chose a daycare based in a church. Not ideal based upon my religsous beliefs but it is good for the children to be exposed to such things.

The same weekend my wife's car died while at the bank. Searching for a new(er) vehicle has been a trip. I'll explain my frustration in my next post.

Ingredients

An at-home vacation is good for the soul. It has been nice and relaxing. I got little accomplished, but what I did get done was important to get done during my time off. I've played some Fallout 3, and some Lego Batman for my PS3.

I'm also updating the old Furyondy website to 'hopefully' become the central repository for the RPGA in Michigan. Here's hoping....

Naloomi

On my way to lunch break on Tuesday, 6-3-08, I decided to go to Rio Wraps for lunch. A friend of mine had bought me a gift certificate there for my birthday last year, and I fell in love with the place when I finally tried it out. Well, on my way there the car 'stops running'. Not know what was wrong I tried to restart it. FAIL!

The car tries to turn over, but nothing. After stressing out, I walk up to Rio's, call a cab, and get back to work 45 minutes late. (mind you, I'm on a last chance agreement at work, meaning I can't even be tardy else they have 'cause' to terminate me without union intervention.) So, we get it towed to the car place that just worked on it (having just spent nearly $700 fixing it). They look at the car this morning, and guess what? The timing belt broke, and took with it several gears by bending them. $1500 to fix it. Minimum. Now, IF we fix the car we will have officialy spent more on repairs than we have on the car itself...

Now, the car is worth about $1200 trade-in, or $2000 if I sell it directly, IF it is running. But my wife loves her car. But, at best, we can hope to get $2000 for it, after spending $2200 in repairs...

You do the math...

We lost Bob Asprin yesterday.  Another guy younger than me, but not by  much. Born June 28, 1946, Bob and his then wife Lynn Abby, created  the Thieves' World series, a series I had the pleasure of first  discovering  thirty years ago, and which led me to meet Bob and Lynn.   I was working with Steve Abrams at Midkemia Press when we got a call  from Bob and Lynn asking us to adapt some stuff in our system to a  Thieves' World game.  My association with them was social until I  wrote a story for Lynn's newly reformed Thieves' World anthology.

Bob was one of those guys.  He always had something going and was  always laughing and smiling and telling stories.  His divorce with  Lynn was painful and messy, and part of the reason he more or less  dropped out of sight for a while in the early 1990's, the other being  troubles with the IRS.  Divorce and taxes are both subjects with which  I can strongly relate.  He wrote funny stuff, most notably the Myth  Adventures series and Phule's Legion series.  He is responsible for  what I consider to be the single funniest line uttered by a villain in  a fantasy, "I haven't had this much fun since I made love to my week  dead sister."  No other single line in fantasy reveals a villain  that sick, depraved, and devoid and any redeeming quality that effectively, as well as make the reader laugh and feel guilty about  laughing at the same time.

Here's what I remember most about Bob.  He had this wonderful deep  booming voice and laughed at his own stories, most of which were  funny.  At once convention, a BayCon in San Jose I believe,  he held an  impromptu workshop (in the bar, of course) on how to "make it" in SF/ F.  With gusto and humor he started talking about a dozen little  things authors could be doing and none of which I was.  As my first  bestseller had hit the previous year I was at a loss and then as we  went on, I realized something: Bob wasn't telling anyone how to make  millions in writing--if he'd known that little tidbit he would have been a millionaire.  Rather he was teaching tricks of the trade  designed to give a book a chance to find an audience, and give the  writer a way to survive, because to Bob surviving as a writer was  successful, more than making more money doing something not so much  fun.  And it was obvious he thought writing was fun.  Like a little  kid, he seemed to be saying, "Hey! I'm having fun and getting paid to  to it!"

Written by Raymond E. Feist

Well, Kate and I were discussing things over my 'baby vacation', specifically the job situation. We were trying to decide whether I should look for a new job (which I had been doing since day 1), wait and see what happens with the current job, or become a house-husband. For the most part we had decided on the latter. I would stay at home with the kids while Kate supported us. We looked at the numbers and we could do it without to many issues. However, Kat would not be able to be in daycare, and we would have to make a couple minor lifestyle changes.

Well, on 5-14-08 I received a phone call from the Union, saying that I could take a 'last chance offer' and come back to work either Friday, or the following Monday. After a long discussion with Kate, I decided to go back, which would allow us to put Kat back in daycare, with all of her 'friends' that she misses. We are hoping that by going back that certain things will now correct themselves (mostly the retro back to pull-ups from being fully potty trained). The last chance offer is basically a 'last chance'. Any mistakes which include, but are not limited too, arriving late to work or from break, unexcused absences, work not meeting expectations, etc.

Naloomi