UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE !!!

So the nice apartments we moved into here in West Palm Beach from New Smyrna Beach, with the three bedrooms and nice neighborhood and gated community, it's not around anymore. This place got real ghetto real quick. Let's see in the past month, and this is just what we've heard of, our neighbors below us had some bikes stolen from their patio after someone cut open their screen and lifted the bikes over the railing (of course the screen is repaired and more bikes have replaced the stolen ones, duh); two cars were stolen and several others broken into in the townhome area of the development; and police raided an apartment in another building for drug dealing (we heard the concussion grenade and shouting across the parking lot and through our doors and windows). Needless to say we have actively been looking for a new place to go when our current lease is up at the end of September.


Bad news on that front first. Our credit sucks so we wouldn't be able to get any kind of a mortgage with even horrible interest rates. So we won't be buying a place anytime soon so we won't be able to use that $8000 tax credit that expires in November. Our credit isn't even good enough to get an FHA loan from the state (I think that's where that comes from). Also our first choice of where we would have bought into wouldn't even be acceptable to use an FHA loan because of the amount of empty units, units owned but rented out, foreclosures in the area. FHA wants at least 50% of the area to be occupied by non-renters.


Good news on that front now. We spoke with a very nice and very helpful person from Rent 1 Sale 1 who found us six places in that original area where we wanted to buy that are for rent. From those six, 3 of them showed promise due to price, acceptable pet restrictions, and pretty pictures available. So that day she took us to see all three of those choices and two of them made the cut (the second one we saw had not been well cared for by the previous tenant, holes in the walls covered with tape and painted/plastered over, nails and screws still in the walls, and damaged doors and hinges). We're waiting to hear back from the R1/S1 lady after she speaks with the owners of the two units we liked on how much they want down and if they'll hold it for a month before we actually start to move in.


This is a VERY nice neighborhood continuously patrolled not by hired security but by PB Sheriff's officers who live there and also as part of a deal with the county I suspect. The two places we like are very nice and each have a different floor plan and have their own pro's and con's so it will be difficult to decide which to agree on between us. One is a 3-story plan with the kitchen and living room on the second floor and beautiful bay window in the kitchen and a half bath on that level. One bedroom is downstairs with a full bath and the garage (this is where "they" will be). The third floor has the master bedroom with 2 walk-in closets and a bay window as well as the third bedroom with its own full bath. The bonus on this one would be that "they" are far away from us. The con of this one is that the stairs are somewhat tricky when bringing furniture upstairs as they go up then have a switchback to continue upwards. The other unit is a 2-story with a large living room and dining room, beautiful kitchen and breakfast nook room. upstairs are all three bedrooms with two of them sharing a full bath. A half bath and the washer/dryer are downstairs near the front door. The bonus to this place is it's $250 cheaper, a larger balcony and awesome kitchen. The con to it is that as you come up the stairs...there are all 3 bedrooms, including "theirs".


Jeanne and Amy have started with Avon so if you want any of that stuff talk to them, they have a website to sell from as well. Chris apparently is starting school again at PBCC but who knows what will come of that. He does however have a "job" of sorts but we aren't allowed to discuss or go into that since other people might actually read this. Aflac is still going slow for me as I have only signed a single direct policy so far and opened no groups. But I am now working under someone else instead of the original person who wasn't all that helpful in the first place. He is still there but this new person is just under him and has taken control of the majority of training and helping out new folks, so that has been a large help so far since it has started.

Our cruise to the Bahamas and Key West was awesome. Hot as hades and more humid than ever but we still had a great time. Dinner was the highlight of every day with the great food and great waiter/asst. waiter that we had (they were brothers). Saw some really neat sights in the Bahamas and in Key West Jeanne started marking off places for us to go in the spring when her mom comes to visit for places to go and see. It was simply great to not have to give a crap about anything for a whole week.

Lately

Okay so here I am in the Aflac Regional Office where I come and make phone calls all day trying to get appointments, it's 830 in the morning so I decided to write a little bit just so that I can say I do update this blog once in a blue moon.

It has been several weeks since I started and I have had 2 (TWO) appointments set, one with Marks Brothers construction and the other with a car importer who wouldn't even let me in the door. I have gotten LOTS of names of people to talk to but for some reason or another they are never there to talk; either in a meeting, not in yet, off today, called in sick, or straight to their voicemail. Oh well the law of numbers must kick in somewhere so I'll find it sooner or later.

Well Jeanne and I will be going on a cruise at the beginning of July (6-10) and we can't wait to go and finally get time to ourselves and to relax. We've been together for 4 years now (I think, you know I suck at telling time) and this will be the first time where it is just the two of us with no dogs, kids, or other family with us (unfortunately Star Wars Weekends don't count as alone time, pity).

Also at the end of June "boy" and his girlfriend will be at their final time to live with us, Jeanne gave them the final date after several back to back events where she found just how much she could take until she had enough. As a hint, it involved recently purchased items returned for the money and also a missing ATM card (2nd occurence). They have been looking for jobs and also for apartments in between their trips to the beach. Well at least I know SHE has been looking alot since she will be on the computer late at night looking up jobs and apartments while he is on Jeanne's laptop playing World of Warcraft. Oh well he'll figure it out when the locks get changed and he's no longer on the lease.

So there you go, an update from me and with some updates from our end. Time to go bang my head on a phone and choke the little stress duck I keep on the desk with me for just this thing.

Lately

Well hello there everyone, I bet you're wondering where the hell I've been lately and if you're not wondering that then you should be. I have been sorta hired by Aflac (yes the duck company) and been busy studying to take a test to be licensed in Florida to sell insurance. It's pretty silly to be taking this test since the only part of it that would apply to me and Aflac in general would be the ethics and laws section of it all.

Anyways once my background and fingerprints get into the system I'l be able to take the test and finally have a job where I can start making money again. It will be all commission based but the bosses at the office have lots of ways to help and are extremely friendly and helpful whenever I have a question about something. Also once a commission is made they offer lots of ways to receive it to make it easier for me.

So hopefully by the end of the month I'll be out there selling to people. Of course the rest of this month is just chocked full of fun too. Mid-month Chris ("boy") has his court appearance for his arrest in february though we are confident it will be thrown out, of course he is lazy and hasn't called Volusia county about the reason he was picked up in the first place. At the end of the month I found out that I have to go downtown for jury duty, first time in 4 years or so, yay.

Also between those two times Jeanne's mom is coming to visit us here and lots of stuff has already been planned. The two of them will be wandering around looking at swamps and stuff during the week since I'll probably be at work (I hope) and during the weekend we'll be going down to Miami to see MetroZoo and spend a night at my mom's house (surprise), and then a sunday spent at the Deering Estate where they'll be having a big seafood and art festival on the grounds.

Okay back to the study stone and time to make some mashed potatoes for lunch mmmm

Ungrateful Bastards

A plane scheduled to leave Columbus, Ohio the other day for Orlando, Florida was delayed and finally cancelled after 10 hours, during which the airline and its ground crews tried repeatedly to de-ice a plane that overnight had literally become frozen to the ground. These ground crews used three trucks of de-icing fluid (a single truck usually lasts for 3 days of de-icing operations) and yet the aircraft was still too iced up to fly safely. The company, AirTran, finally cancelled the flight and placed the passengers on another flight of theirs to Orlando. Not only that but they gave each passenger a free round trip ticket at a future date. Rarely does a company, especially an airline, take the hit for something like this and make good on the experience by not offering but giving each passenger what amounts to their money back in the form of a free round trip flight later.

So being the happy, forgiving, and social Americans that these passengers were they right away complained and moaned and whined about their so called most horrible experience they've ever had. Oh shut the hell up you babies. Is it the airline's fault that the weather turned to crap and put the plane under so much ice that it couldn't even move? Is it their fault that you were surprised that in January in Ohio that it is actually snowing and cold enough for ice to form? Be lucky that you still go to Orlando within the same 24 hours that you were expecting to anyway.

The most horrible experience ever? Try having your spouse shot in front of you because some crack-head wants the $5 you have. Try seeing your best friend's face smashed by a piece of valve that blew out due to high pressure in the line, all while you stand 2 feet away chatting about what the night's movie is going to be. Try riding through in a convoy and stopping at an intersection only to have a 9-year old child smile at you as they throw a hand grenade under the truck in you. Horrible? How the hell is sitting in an air-conditioned airplane with drinks and snacks and a bathroom available for you horrible? Sitting in an airport terminal for hours though there is plenty of shopping for you to do and restraunts to eat at is not a horrible thing. An inconvenience maybe, but not horrible. Shut up, deal with it, and get on with your whiny bitching life.

Everyone, meet Fred. Fred, meet stupid-world.

This is Fred. Fred is a decently sized red clay brick. Fred is the brick that I want to use to stab stupid people in the face with. Many of you just stopped just now and thought, "But wouldn't it be hard to stab someone in the face with a blunt heavy object like that? Wouldn't something sharp be more useful?" Yes a sharp object would be more useful when stabbing someone, however the stupid people who need to be stabbed with Fred do not rate the quick and easy stabbing of a knife or glass shard. They deserve Fred. With Fred it would most likely take several attempts to successfully stab someone in the face leaving them with a more beaten and bludgeoned look. That's the point, to beat some sense into the person who is on the receiving end of Fred's happy hugs.

So I say this to the world now, stop being stupid. Stop arguing stupid things, stop paying money for stupid things, and if you think you're one of the stupid people then just stop talking. Hold your breath for awhile until the edges of your vision start to get closer and closer. Bang your head on the wall for a few minutes or just ask the person sitting next to you to hit you with the waste paper basket. I thank you and Fred glares at you threateningly.

Oh Well

So apparently not many people give a flying rat fart what I have to say or think here on this blog page anymore so I’m just going to start rambling to myself about past memories and anything else that comes to mind regardless of whether it’s current events or something that just pops into my head at random. It is my personal idea that the human brain can only hold a certain amount of information and from time to time it requires a cleaning session, a field day of thoughts if you will. As an example, I used to be able to recount from memory everything I had read about the history of the Zentraedi; an alien race of giants from the Robotech book and cartoon series. Then one day I sat down and wrote out an entire timeline and description of this history, filled almost five pages, and to this day there is barely a spec k of Zentraedi history that I can remember. So in the hopes of moving on and letting go of everything in my past that I try to hold onto since most of it seems to have been a series of screw ups and let downs, this is what will be filling these blog pages for the coming future posts. If you don’t like it tough shit, deal with it. My page, my rules, my thoughts, my posts.

Official Study

Hello there everyone, today I’m going to share something different with you my loyal readers. Over the years I have learned many things that are quite easy to realize and yet so many people either don’t care about them or they just don’t understand what is going on. I will present these things to you in a bulleted list format since my mother has told me that the long paragraphed posts that I have been doing are too long for her to read and she wishes for me to make a Condensed Reader’s Digest version of each one for her since she apparently has the reading attention span of a 9-month old boston terrier/beagle mix puppy. So here is my list of observations and if anyone things I deserve the same government money as all those other studies that go on to show the blatantly obvious then go ahead and send me a check or money order (or come visit with cash in hand).

• My new puppy is dumber than the walls he keeps losing fights with
• Majority of students do not care about passing their classes because they believe they will make it big in the music or movie industry and just have to drink and party the rest of their lives
• Some school officials refuse to admit that their schools have a gang problem so as to keep parents happy in the hopes that they won’t lose attendance when those paranoid parents send their kids to “safer” schools
• Parents these days need to beat their children more often, not necessarily in public but at least punish them once in a while for being such rotten creatures. Use a wooden spoon or a shoe now and then
• Every country in the world hates every other country still
• Cars with huge tires look so cute since they resemble life-size Matchbox or Hot Wheels toys
• Firefly should be brought back on the air with new episodes
• Everyone deserves the same size bonuses as the CEO’s who steal money
• Video games don’t kill people, actions taken by stupid people who are too pathetic of taking responsibility for what they did do
• Parents have come to believe that school is simply a day care facility for them to use and expect school personnel to raise their children for them
• Pipe smoke has the scent to make you think of sophistication, a den full of books, and brandy (or whisky)
• Cigarette smoke has the scent to make you cringe and think of cheap beer, squirrel hunting, and motor oil stained underwear
• Star Wars is awesome
• Star Trek…eh sometimes
• People drive really stupid these days, they prefer to speed in and around other drivers and endeavor to shove their SUV’s up the exhaust pipe of the small econo-car in front of them
• Obama is an amazing orator and has a lot of work ahead of him, but I am very optimistic
• Slavery is no longer a reason to expect better treatment, you were not a slave, your parents were not slaves, get your own job
• Racism is the stupidest reason ever used to promote violence or hatred
• I like pig; ham, pork chops, bacon, roast pork, all of it
• If we could have our wishes my wife and I would have Chinese food almost every day (preferably PF Chang’s or May Wah’s; a local place here that is amazing)
• My mother needs to sit and read my posts in their entirety you lazy lady geez.
• My niece likes me more than her own parents since she sleeps in my arms and not theirs. Nyah nyah
• I miss all the game nights my friends and I have had in the past; Xbox party nights, D&D sessions, Star Wars RPG days. Good Times
• Only four people actually read this at one time or another
• I need a job

Good day and have a root beer float for me.