Fingernails on a blackboard or two dogs fighting over a rabbit.

I feel pressed for money right now, though I know that over the course of the next month I have plenty to go around. Even without Woody paying me. Like, that was my comfort zone; one person not paying me & I could still scrape by. I hate the scraping, though, and moving is not a free endeavor.

I have secured a residence, and with my lease officially beginning the 22nd of June, I do not have to pay too much overlapping rent. Like I said, their original estimate for that house was that the lease would start the last week of May, so I’ve saved myself a month of rent because they have to install the equipment. (Or whatever excuse they give me. It’s something different every time. This leasing agency and the ball have not even heard of each other, let alone one being on the other.) Still, I have to pay for the pro-rated rent for June, a refundable deposit equal to 1 month rent, a non-refundable deposit of $175, and a $20 administrative fee, and I have to pay them ASAP. So, tomorrow. I don’t want to leave them waiting too long and give the place to someone else.

Then of course, I have the other bills to consider. Utilities, of course, but also phone and cable and internet access and how much of each I can afford. (On the phone with APS right now; they say the power bills for this address are in the $77-21 range for the last calendar year, which seems too good to be true. Maybe the previous resident was … more nuts than me.) I think I’m required by contract to continue to pay $39.95/month for Sprint Broadband Direct Internet Access for at least a second year. Cable comes into question, but I have spent so much time watching TV that it really seems to be something that is a valued part of my life. So, I’m going to look into different options. Maybe I can sacrifice a dozen premium channels. I just started watching a great new HBO series, though, and Queer As Folk is on Showtime, so … maybe I can afford those two. (I say two; for the price I get 7 HBO’s and 4 or 5 Showtimes.) I’d love to be able to put basic cable channels together a la carte. I use … network TV, Comedy Central, SciFi, MTV & VH1, sometimes Bravo, and then the premium channels and the movie tier. What else is there?