So I finally got it worked out with Sprint today that my account is being disconnected (I have not had internet access since the end of June) now, and I will NOT be charged an early termination fee. Theoretically, they will let me know when they begin offering service that works despite the presence of trees. I will also pay close attention to Cox@Home’s presence in my neighborhood, because it uses the hardware I already own @ a lower cost than Sprint BBD. Anyway, no internet access at home for a while yet to come, but maybe I can pretend that an antique typewriter is the internet.
Category: Money
Something yellow
My bike is in the shop right now. I took it there Friday night after work. I asked them to do a complete overhaul on it. I also asked them to replace all the parts that were worn out. Based on a quick once-over, this includes the tires, the handlebar wraps, the brake pads, and the chain. The cost of the overhaul is supposed to include the cost of replacing all the cables and the ball bearings, but the guy I talked to wanted to charge me for those, too. With any luck, they’ll replace the rear tube, as well. The estimated cost of the overhaul and parts is $330. If done properly, I should only have to get an overhaul once a year, with maybe a $40 tune-up at 6 months.
The overhaul includes taking every part off the frame, and cleaning everything and replacing all the ball bearings and the cables. So, my bike should very much be in good condition when I get back to it this afternoon. Very much ridable. Very happy. Very good. Yay!
Silly microwaves not going through trees.
Would you believe that the only thing standing between me and the internet is a couple of trees? Did you know that there was a relationship between the physical location of trees and my ability to access the internet from home? Well, as it turns out, the pecan tree in the neighbor’s yard (and theoretically another tree a couple of blocks away as well) prevents me from getting internet access at my new house. So, I’m looking into other options and future technologies, but it looks like I won’t be having internet access at home any time soon.
Oh, and because the trees are breaking my contract, Sprint wants to charge me $161 to not give me internet access for the next year. So, I’m working on speaking to various people with Sprint about that. We’ll see what happens. Maybe it will lead to some sort of breakdown.
Reaching Zero Balance
It is unfortunate that I will not reach a Zero balance between all my accounts for over a year (possibly two years; I haven’t finished the calculations). I am doing my best to cut down my spending overall to be less than what I earn, but I’ve already done such a good job spending money I don’t have yet that it’s a wonder I spend anything at all these days. I just can’t seem to let myself stop having a good time just because I’m in debt. I’m paying off my debt at a VERY reasonable rate. All my accounts are kept current and as a matter of habit I pay no less than twice the minimum payment on any card, though I pay as much as my income will allow on the card with the highest itnerest rate.
After this move, I will not be putting anything new on any of my cards. Because I have a roommate who doesn’t ever pay rent, I’ve had to put a few of my expenses on credit this month, but as soon as he pays me, those monies will go directly to preventing interest charges from applying. The really important thing for me right now has been making sure that I’m scraping by and not springing a leak. I guess I discovered that through creative financing, I could go about 5 months without payments from one roommate (that is how far he was behind at the beginning of the month) before I am no longer able to manage paying all the bills comfortably. Which says a lot for my financial savvy, considering I didn’t balance any of my accounts for most of the last year. Anyway, I’m looking forward to getting a little more breathing room after I’m able to know what my bills will be instead of guessing all the time about whether I’ll be paying for one or for two.
Time is (not) time again
Today seems to be going by very quickly. I (intentionally) didn’t get much sleep last night, and this morning seems to have walked past me in a haze. I noticed that I had got to the last glass of my first half-gallon without going to the bathroom, then remembered getting up to go to the bathroom just moments before. I could not remember more than the first few steps of the trip, and then only because I stopped to say hello to someone. Like, I didn’t really get up, but the memory of it has been planted in my head so that when I try to think back, it is there. Doesn’t worry me that this might be true; just another little quirk of the world I’m immersed in.
I’m thinking of taking up sleeping from when I get home until 10 or 11 at night, then using the whole of the night to get things done. To get things done, I will need to make a list or something; my memory and motivation seem not to do the trick.