My roommate and I returned bottles so we could buy a can of refried beans and have dinner.
Which wouldn't be so bad, but we did that since we were waiting on his food stamps to come in.

*sigh*
I went to college for this?

Beg the bank lady in tears to take off the many overdraft charges caused by the fact that they don't check the ATM for weekend deposits until Monday afternoon. She took off two. Of seven. Even though I said I would be evicted and my children would go hungry. Which was only a slight exaggeration.

I had a meeting with my colleagues today discussing the forthcoming redundancies (two jobs are going from sixteen of us). We discussed the fact that we have the highest percentage of redundancies of any department and that even for those of us who make it through this first round that didn't bode well for our future job security. We discussed the poor package on offer, the terrible money and that we would have to work a notice period too. We discussed that if we're put "at risk" we'll basically have to beg for the jobs we've already been doing.

We discussed many things and at no point was there anything resembling good news. Time to update my CV...

Wow, I don't feel so alone anymore. I paid for $5 worth of gas in mostly dimes and nickles. I'm sick of this paycheck-to-paycheck shit.

But there is a new Lost on tonight, and somewhere the sun is shining. Mums are in bloom here, and the leaves are turning. There is good, if I remind myself to really look for it.

is that too sappy?

Full ACLS protocol on a 92 year old woman. :(

People.. TALK about what they might want (in extremis) with your elders. I started crying as her ribs cracked.

I went to college for this.

ACLS=Advanced Cardiac Life Support--as in heart massage--for those not in the know.

Well, my heart goes out to you on that one.

i begged for samples from my cardiologist because despite my health insurance, i can't afford the prescription copayments

er, Episode 4 of House MD still hasn't been torrented?
and er, the bus to IKEA didnt come?
yes, its that sad, and im embarrassed, but you did ask.

reflected, did the woman live? i hope so.

Oh, reflecked, wow. Tough stuff.

Oh, my. Ouch. Sad, bad and horrible.

Swimming somewhere in the same money sea as many here... We sat down with a list of clients who owed us money, and tried to figure out who we had the best chances of collecting enough from to pay current bills. This is pretty much SOP, though, so I'm used to it.

These overdraft charges are such a fucking scam.

I mean seriously, you spend $20-30 and suddenly you owe the bank $200!

WTF!

One month I had a ton of overdraft charges because i stupidly deposeted a check at an ATM at the mall, which didn't clear for a week.

The total amount of money spent was less then the amount of money put in, but I was at -$300. It was sureal.

Fortunetly the bank was nice because I had gotten a high-paying job.

Just recently I got hit by the OD monster because I mistakenly thought amazon wouldn't charge me for something untill they actualy shipped it. They didn't, but they did authorize the card right away.

bleh.

Aw, you guys...wanna come over for dinner? I'll fix you all a nice doggie bag to take home (and slip a few bucks in your jacket pocket when you're not looking.)

This thread makes me want to throw a barbeque for all of metachat.

I used to get nailed by silly charges until I became a fanatical quicken user, and switched entirely to online bill-pay.

Deposited $1500 in cash, only to have to wait two days for it to post.

[mosch, you throw the barbeque and I'll happily make the 'ritas and non-alcoholic tasties. Hell, we could rotate 'tenders like dj's.

Damn, that would be pretty grand, though, wouldn't it?]

But, truly: ain't no woes like the money woes. Makes you feel about this tall.

A MeCha BBQ would be sweet.

*group hug*

I've been screwed by every single bank I've ever done business with. They make their money off people's forgetfulness.

When I was still back in college, I would cannibalize my motorcycle carcass for parts to make my rent.

Frisbee Girl, I'll take a rotation behind the bar. I might be a wee bit rusty but I can all but guarantee nobody's walking out after I make a few Long Islands.

I apologize for bringing that experience here; if we could edit our posts, I would have done so. It's not fair to y'all to bring a slice of that pie to the table. Thanks y2karl for translating the acronym; I speak too much alphabet soup.

No, she did not survive; most elders who do initially survive that kind of treatment don't do so for long.

Even though i regret dumping on you good people, I will re-state my plea: Make sure you and your loved ones discuss what should be done in extreme circumstances. Make sure that, if there is not agreement in the family, that someone who respects grandma's wishes has her power of attorney for health care.

Banks and money worries are plenty to keep people frustrated.There are days I'd like to see usury criminalized.

This is the one thing that sucks about internet-based communities... no BBQ over IP technology to go along with it!

reflecked, please don't apologize. One of the best things about MeCha is that people seem to be comfortable being open about both their joys and the sorrows here. Personally, I'd take reading about all of the heaviness bearing down on a person's heart than slag through a pissing contest of displaced grief and anger.

I doubt I'm in the minority on that, but do know there's an active email addy attached to my profile. I have no money or power to speak of, but I care and I listen. Sometimes, I even make people laugh. If you ever need an ear or a shoulder, it's there 24/7.

Nothing wrong with the comment, reflecked. Been there, too, and I remember them all. We honor them with our sorrow and our attempts to keep others from steering that course.

Yesterday was not such a good day for me.The damage so far:
House - 4 broken windows, 40 broken roof tiles (then I stopped counting), outside security lights smashed off, hot water system damaged, guttering dented and one section pulled partly off the house, shade cover over patio torn, gardens completely decimated (including our beloved Poinciana tree which was the feature of out front yard and which has had the growing tip broken off so it will not grow higher).
Car - smashed windscreen, smashed LHS rear window, entire LHS covered in dents, along with the bonnet and roof (some up to 1cm deep - the photos don't really show the dents very well), rear air deflector smashed, radio arial broken.
Boat - (was sitting outside uncovered because I was moving things around) around 10 holes punched through the deck, mostly in the thin areas over the sponsons, but 2 were in the main deck area which is strong enough to walk on, rear view mirros smashed off, multiple craters where paint has been blasted off.

All up, I estimate about $5k damage.

To add insult to injury, I was in Brisbane at the time and was told by phone what was happening. When I go to my appointment, I was distracted and locked my keys in the car.

To add even more insult to injury, we are between insurance companies and, for complicated reasons, find ourselves with no insurance on anything this week. It seemed like an acceptable risk at the time...

Some days you should just stay in bed. I know this is absolutely nothing compared to what some people have been through recently and I have no real cause to complain, but that doesn't really help.

Is that depressing enough for you?

[deleted]
let's just say things have not been shiny
and food would be nice
and dodgy, a new job may be even better.
i see good things for a lot of people here.
i just wish i could join in it

Okey- dokey, I've been with my Mom for the last few weeks, and this next week I am finally getting her into assisted living so that I can go home to get my stuff and have my husband finish divorcing me, then in the spring after the snow has passed I'll drive back to Nowhere, PA to live here and look out for my obsessive/ compulsive anxiety- ridden physically challenged mom. Who I love. I haven't had a paycheck in 5 weeks and I'm running out of money. So, to sum it all up, I'm broke, I'm having to dump off my mom so that I can get dumped by my husband so I can move back to a place I don't like. I'm sure that there's a bright side to this that I'll see any minute now.

I just wanna give MeCha a big hug. And reflecked, let me add my voice to those who say nothing wrong with your comment. Frisbee girl summed up MeCha very well. Sometimes it's happy bunny smiles, sometimes it's YELLING YOUR PETTY FRUSTRATIONS and sometimes it's a good place to talk and get support.

Blech. I think I puked all over myself :)

I don't have anything big going down at the moment, myself. The usual my mother doesn't love me crap, but that's ongoing.

I manage an apartment building, which handles the rent and get money doing odd jobs, buying and selling various things collectible. Last year, I managed another building, where I had managed to get on the bad side of a very cranky owner. I was a day late serving a 3 day notice the day after Christmas and got my walking papers. I ended up selling everything I bought for resale at a dime on the dollar, sold all my books to a used bookstore and had a yard sale where my friends got the pick of my things--some of the same people who bought my things (and haggled over the price) turned around and told me I couldn't stay with them without me even thinking of asking them if I could. I mean the thought had not crossed my mind. Another person asked me if I had a sleeping bag, as if she would lend me one. In both cases, these were home owners, mind you. Well, I ended up staying with another friend, poor and renting, who needed help with her rent and spent my time finding a place to stay. I spent two months without a place of my own with my cat stashed in the back room of a bookstore. Have no car so I was on my bike a lot and I got hit twice by a car--I was unhurt both times but it cost about $80 both times to repair it. One person who hit me paid for the repair, one blew me off and hid behind a lawyer. Some friends completely avoided me, others gave the most unctuous and useless advice, some helped me out. If you are down and out, some people feel this incredible entitlement to say things they would never say to anyone in any other circumstance. I will tell you this--I would rather be ignored and shunned than given useless and patronizing advice. It was a miserable, horrible time and my worst fear is it could happen again overnight. My life is nothing but worry all too often.

i failed a stat mech exam. i'm leaving graduate school, but that decision was made a few months ago. i'm looking for an in to get into some fancyh pants east coast law school. if i have to suffer 80 hours a week, i might at least pull some bills for it.

Oh puddinghead. I'm in a close to the same boat. My mother fell and broke her pelvis (after facial reconstruction surgery due to cancer on her nose) two weeks ago and since then I've had a full time job taking care of her, even though she's (temporarily, god we hope) in a nursing home. I'm there every day and between times I run errands and worry. It's ridiculously hard. And I'm not getting divorced (btdt, burned the t-shirt) right now so I can only imagine what you're going through.

and for the simple fact of us all - I have a couch and, most of the time, a spare bedroom. I wish there were jobs here, but there aren't a lot. However, if you need a place to crash, can handle dogs, cats, kids and North Carolina, well, email's in the profile.

Thank you for your kindness, people. Yes, puddinghead, you have it exactly right: "honor them with our sorrow and our attempts to keep others from steering that course". Well said.

What indomitable spirits you all have. Courage isn't absence of fear; courage IS what i see people like yourselves possessing.

y2karl.. EXACTLY! "I would rather be ignored and shunned than given useless and patronizing advice." heh.. ideally, a little slack and a few minor miracles now and then are what we all deserve.

Mostly... TANJ.

Wow, y2karl - I seem to remember your woes coming up on MeFi at some point, but I pretty much glossed over it then. People seem more human here, for some reason.

I wish I could help you all out, but you will have to make do with some cyber-best-wishes beamed in your direction.

Fuck banks. Fuck 'em all.

Unfortunately, life is not a meritocracy and there's not a heck of a lot we can do to change that. We do, however, have the choice as to whether or not we'll use that fact as an excuse to act like assholes.

....and another "well said", to you Frisbee Girl.

Horrible to be the (metaphorical) bank teller who tells someone something they don't want to hear, and receives misplaced abuse and invective. It's unacceptable to shoot the messenger just because they're available.

Thank you for your kind offer of an ear; you're right that the community here is accepting of each other's joy AND pain.

Update, in case anyone is still reading: a freelance project where I thought I was going to have to sue the client to get her to pay (like I could afford a lawyer) finally paid off, so my bank account is safe until next month.

Fris, I second the "well said." Everybody else, you are all inspirations to me. I hope things get better for you.

*smiles at friends*