Whee! We have our new place! It's a nice little cottage on a quiet street, in walking distance of just about everything. We don't have everything moved yet, nor put away what we have moved, but we'll get there. One reason for the latter is that the landlord needs to come in (sometime this weekend) to finish painting; until he does, we can't put anything against the walls. I don't want to start putting things on shelves and desks until they are where they need to be.
Anyway, I'm just checking a little mail for the first time in days, and then I have to get back to unpacking the things that do have a place to go, like the kitchen.
Oh, the kitchen! It's smaller than our last one, but much better laid out, with lots more cabinets. And for the first time in decades, we have a gas stove and oven, with a huge broiler! Yay! And we have lots of sunny windows, and a yard, and...and... The cats like it, too!
On with the day...
1/13/2007
1/07/2007
The House-Hunt Scramble
So our friend D and I spent most of yesterday and today running around half the county. looking at places and taking down numbers for more. I put in two applications today, and should hear from at least one of them tomorrow. Cross your fingers for us!
I also left lots of messages at places whose offices were closed, and should get some call-backs on those tomorrow as well.
I am so wound up tonight I can hardly think, but pretty soon I need to have some supper and then start cleaning up and packing some things. We have a guy lined up to do most of the packing and hauling for us - a friend of D's - we just have to tell him when. If one of today's places works out, we'll be able to move in right away, so we'll hire a truck to haul it all from here to there. If not, then we'll hire a pod to stash everything in until we do have a new place. Obviously, we're hoping for the former - just to be done with it. If it's the latter, then we'll probably have to board the cats and take a cheap hotel room while we keep looking.
I also left lots of messages at places whose offices were closed, and should get some call-backs on those tomorrow as well.
I am so wound up tonight I can hardly think, but pretty soon I need to have some supper and then start cleaning up and packing some things. We have a guy lined up to do most of the packing and hauling for us - a friend of D's - we just have to tell him when. If one of today's places works out, we'll be able to move in right away, so we'll hire a truck to haul it all from here to there. If not, then we'll hire a pod to stash everything in until we do have a new place. Obviously, we're hoping for the former - just to be done with it. If it's the latter, then we'll probably have to board the cats and take a cheap hotel room while we keep looking.
1/05/2007
House-Hunt Scramble, or "How Much is That Window for my Kitty?"
We haven't had any further contact from the friend who was going to connect us to that RV.
Of course, as soon as I wrote that, she called. She'll be here in less than an hour.
Meanwhile, we continue to check other options. Wish us luck!
Of course, as soon as I wrote that, she called. She'll be here in less than an hour.
Meanwhile, we continue to check other options. Wish us luck!
1/04/2007
Well, folks, we lost
Honey looked the case up online, and found that the decision left the judge's hands yesterday - in favor of the plaintiffs, naturally. So we expect to see the sheriff any day now.
There is still some hope, however.
There is still some hope, however.
- We get a free consultation with a lawyer.
- (Yeah I realize now that I should have done that two months ago, but I thought it would all be pretty straightforward and I could handle it myself. 20/20 hindsight. I'm so used to there being no help available for me that I've gotten into the habit of assuming that I both must and can take care of everything myself.)
- Anyway, we'll be talking with him this afternoon to see if he can do anything to help us, even if it's only to get us a stay - to buy us some time before we absolutely have to be out of here.
- A friend of ours is connecting us with a guy who'll give us a down-at-the-heels RV. I hear it isn't much, but it could be home for awhile until we can get settled into something better. The guy will even deliver it; we just need to find a place to park it.
12/31/2006
And now we wait...
Well, we haven't heard anything yet from the court, the landlords, or their lawyers. I left a message for the landlords the other day, indicating my intent and ability (thank you, boss!) to pay everything that we should have paid this month.
Nothing.
What we're afraid of is that there may be a sheriff on the doorstep Tuesday morning after I've left for work. What we're hoping is that Tuesday's mail will contain a notice from the court that we have a month to find new digs.
Please cross your fingers for the latter.
Meanwhile, we do have sort of a backup, in that our friend has offered to sublet her Vallejo place to us if we have to get out pronto. It's small, with ancient wiring, and would do ugly things to my commute, but it does beat a homeless shelter - especially because the latter wouldn't let us keep the cats.
Nothing.
What we're afraid of is that there may be a sheriff on the doorstep Tuesday morning after I've left for work. What we're hoping is that Tuesday's mail will contain a notice from the court that we have a month to find new digs.
Please cross your fingers for the latter.
Meanwhile, we do have sort of a backup, in that our friend has offered to sublet her Vallejo place to us if we have to get out pronto. It's small, with ancient wiring, and would do ugly things to my commute, but it does beat a homeless shelter - especially because the latter wouldn't let us keep the cats.
12/28/2006
What Kind of Blogger Are you?
| You Are a Life Blogger! |
 Your blog is the story of your life - a living diary. If it happens, you blog it. And make it as entertaining as possible. |
The Saga Continues...
I spent so much of yesterday in transit or on the phone.
I gathered up all the info to back up my case, and left at 11:15 am to get to the courthouse (it took 2 buses) in hopes of getting one last chance to speak with the judge. When I got there, I found that there was not, in fact, going to be a hearing, or any chance to interact with humans at all (by the way, is it sad that the security guard at the courthouse knows me on sight?). The Court Clerk gave me the number for Legal Aid, and no other info - "I'm not a lawyer; I'm not allowed to give advice" - including whether there was a form or process by which to respond to the current situation (sigh).
It gets better. Legal Aid closed early because it's a holiday week, so no help there. I tried calling the attorney with whom I had spoken before, only to be told that (a) he was on vacation, and (b) he was unusually considerate in sending the notice when he did, as it is the practice of that law office to send it only 1 day before. Whee!
Meanwhile, I had been getting calls from my boss, who had indeed managed to get me an advance - even getting hold of the two regional officers who had to approve it, when they were on vacation! Hooray, Boss! Now, his office is at the extreme other end of the BART line from me, so we arranged for him to meet me at the station at that end.
So I finally admit defeat at the courthouse, and catch a bus back to my BART station, arriving at about 2:30 pm. Fortunately, I was just in time to catch a train, so it was only about 1.5 hours later that I arrived at my destination. (I wish I'd known that a trip to the courthouse would be a waste of time. Not only would I have been able to pick up my advance sooner, I'd have had my knitting with me instead of having to leave it at home because I wouldn't have been able to bring it into the courthouse. Oh, well. At least I have some good games on my Palm.)
So, mission accomplished, I got on the next train heading back home, and was back up here a little after 6. I walked around to the check-cashing place to cash the advance check, and then proceeded to pick up the things we needed. This quickly went from "just picking up a few essentials" to "we need some major grocery activity". I finally finished up at around 8, and called a taxi to take me home. By the time I got home, got everything put away, and dinner prepared and eaten, it was 9:30.
On a normal day, I'd be getting ready for bed at that hour. But last night, Honey looked over everything, and then instructed me in the writing of a letter to the judge that we could take to the courthouse - which we had to do right then, so that it would be considered filed on the same day. So I wrote (and rewrote), and typed it up on the computer, and made copies of everything that we wanted to attach as backup documentation. At midnight, all was ready, and I called another taxi to take me to the courthouse and back (there are NO buses that late at night). We ran over to the courthouse, dropped the envelope in the locked box provided for the purpose, and back home again.
I set up coffee for this morning and did all my other getting-ready-for-bed things, and finally sat down to relax with a little knitting at 1 am. I think it was somewhere around 2 am by the time I fell asleep.
Then this morning, Honey wakes me a little after 6 to mention that we should provide a copy to the complex manager as representative of the owners. So I made more copies and typed up a separate note to her, and dropped that at the office (they have a little drop-slot in the back for after-hours stuff. I used that even though they were open by then, because I just didn't want to deal with it any more.
My next such task is to write a similar letter to the state, with copies of everything, to see if I can get them to take a smaller chunk of my weekly paycheck. I'll work on that tomorrow, and get it in the mail on Saturday. If none of this works out in my favor, my next call is to someone who assists in filing bankruptcy, because that's the only other option I can think of.
Oh, and cross your fingers for me. I also bought tickets for last night's state lottery drawing, and tomorrow's multi-state lottery drawing. I haven't yet dared to check the one for last night, but I will soon.
I gathered up all the info to back up my case, and left at 11:15 am to get to the courthouse (it took 2 buses) in hopes of getting one last chance to speak with the judge. When I got there, I found that there was not, in fact, going to be a hearing, or any chance to interact with humans at all (by the way, is it sad that the security guard at the courthouse knows me on sight?). The Court Clerk gave me the number for Legal Aid, and no other info - "I'm not a lawyer; I'm not allowed to give advice" - including whether there was a form or process by which to respond to the current situation (sigh).
It gets better. Legal Aid closed early because it's a holiday week, so no help there. I tried calling the attorney with whom I had spoken before, only to be told that (a) he was on vacation, and (b) he was unusually considerate in sending the notice when he did, as it is the practice of that law office to send it only 1 day before. Whee!
Meanwhile, I had been getting calls from my boss, who had indeed managed to get me an advance - even getting hold of the two regional officers who had to approve it, when they were on vacation! Hooray, Boss! Now, his office is at the extreme other end of the BART line from me, so we arranged for him to meet me at the station at that end.
So I finally admit defeat at the courthouse, and catch a bus back to my BART station, arriving at about 2:30 pm. Fortunately, I was just in time to catch a train, so it was only about 1.5 hours later that I arrived at my destination. (I wish I'd known that a trip to the courthouse would be a waste of time. Not only would I have been able to pick up my advance sooner, I'd have had my knitting with me instead of having to leave it at home because I wouldn't have been able to bring it into the courthouse. Oh, well. At least I have some good games on my Palm.)
So, mission accomplished, I got on the next train heading back home, and was back up here a little after 6. I walked around to the check-cashing place to cash the advance check, and then proceeded to pick up the things we needed. This quickly went from "just picking up a few essentials" to "we need some major grocery activity". I finally finished up at around 8, and called a taxi to take me home. By the time I got home, got everything put away, and dinner prepared and eaten, it was 9:30.
On a normal day, I'd be getting ready for bed at that hour. But last night, Honey looked over everything, and then instructed me in the writing of a letter to the judge that we could take to the courthouse - which we had to do right then, so that it would be considered filed on the same day. So I wrote (and rewrote), and typed it up on the computer, and made copies of everything that we wanted to attach as backup documentation. At midnight, all was ready, and I called another taxi to take me to the courthouse and back (there are NO buses that late at night). We ran over to the courthouse, dropped the envelope in the locked box provided for the purpose, and back home again.
I set up coffee for this morning and did all my other getting-ready-for-bed things, and finally sat down to relax with a little knitting at 1 am. I think it was somewhere around 2 am by the time I fell asleep.
Then this morning, Honey wakes me a little after 6 to mention that we should provide a copy to the complex manager as representative of the owners. So I made more copies and typed up a separate note to her, and dropped that at the office (they have a little drop-slot in the back for after-hours stuff. I used that even though they were open by then, because I just didn't want to deal with it any more.
My next such task is to write a similar letter to the state, with copies of everything, to see if I can get them to take a smaller chunk of my weekly paycheck. I'll work on that tomorrow, and get it in the mail on Saturday. If none of this works out in my favor, my next call is to someone who assists in filing bankruptcy, because that's the only other option I can think of.
Oh, and cross your fingers for me. I also bought tickets for last night's state lottery drawing, and tomorrow's multi-state lottery drawing. I haven't yet dared to check the one for last night, but I will soon.
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