...right back where we started from!!!
I never thought that I would be writing these words – much less saying them, but with the current situation that Wifey and I are living with it seems that we are left with only one option and one option only…
…we have to sell our house in Boise, Idaho and move ourselves and our five cats to Whitmore, California to live in two rooms in Dad-in-Law’s double-wide trailer.
Life sucks sometimes.
We both hate this situation with a passion, and we swore to ourselves that we would never be in this situation again when we moved up here nearly six years ago so that I could better my job prospects. Unfortunately things have not worked out as we had hoped and we now find ourselves having to sell a house that we love so that we can start all over again somewhere else. We don’t want to leave Boise however as we both love the area, but we have both had to face some harsh truths:
1) There are no jobs here – well, no jobs that I can get with my credit score in the sewers like it is now. McDonalds and Wal-Mart won’t even take me, JR Simplot says I’m underqualified, the job placement agencies won’t have anything to do with me and DirecTV says that I’m good enough to be their customer but not good enough to work for them.
2) Things on the job front are only going to get worse – not better, for a long, looooong time. With all of the reports coming out that this will be a “jobless recovery” and that companies are not going to be hiring again for another year at least, we have to figure out a way to survive in the meantime. Right now the only way we can do that is to sell the house, get what we can out of it, sell as much stuff at a blow-out garage sale, pack up what’s left, drive to NoCal, put what’s left in storage at $75-$100 a month (I don’t know how we’re going to pull that off), and squeeze ourselves, two computers and five cats into two small rooms.
3) We are not going to be able to afford to be on our own again for a very long time. The only way we will be able to either rent an apartment or a trailer is if I get a steady job. Like I said before, that doesn’t look like it is going to happen for a looooong, looooong time. So we are going to be living in those two small rooms for at least 3-5 years. Wifey sees us living there for 3-6 months. I’m still trying to get her to pull her head out of the sand and face reality.
This is not a good situation that we are in right now, but I also know that we are not the only ones who are facing or who have faced this. There are millions of stories like this all across the country because of medical bills or job losses. People out here are hurting just like we are, and we are just not getting the help that we need. Its not that the help is not out there – it is, it’s just that it either falls short, is denied because some people (like us) just fall between too many cracks in the system, or we are being called lazy, selfish, good-for-nothing deadbeats who need to “get up off of our fat-asses and get ourselves a job” only to be denied much-needed employment by those very same detractors.
To say this is demoralizing and infuriating is an understatement, and I now understand why some people get so desperate that they turn to bank robbery in an effort to save themselves. No, don’t worry I’m not planning a heist even as I write this, I’m just saying that I think I have a better understanding of the mentality that goes with someone who would go that route.
Yesterday we actually met with a realtor who gave us some sobering numbers about how much we could get for the house and what we had to do to get it ready. We started on his to-do list yesterday and we are both pretty tired – both physically, and in my case – spiritually. We still have a lot to do but it can be accomplished by this Friday, which is when he wants to list the house for showing. In the meantime we are having to deal with bills that we need to either pay or put off for a while so we can get moving on this, keep quiet about it to the outside world, and have a 16-year-old cat follow us around the house yowling her head off because she is picking up on the fact that we are really upset and are starting to pack up the house – again! This time we will remember to pack up their toys and stuff earlier than we did the last time so that she will not start crapping outside the litter-box to express her displeasure of being left behind – which we would never, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVER do!!!!
There are so many other things that I want to be talking about right now:
- The “Baccus Bill” which amounts to nothing more than a tax on the Unemployed and the working poor.
- The fact that the deal between Roger Penske and GM broke down and that Saturn will not be saved after all and all of the Conservatives who are not only gloating about the loss of 13,000 jobs, but also the fact that another American car company has bit the dust.
- Conservative Republicans celebrating Chicago not getting the Olympics and the loss of even more jobs. Just whose side are these un-American, FOX-News humping, McCarthyites on anyway?
- Toyota having to recall millions upon millions of vehicles because of a design flaw that would make every Southern Republican take a second look at that Chevy truck that they turned their nose up at only a few months ago.
- The Minnesota teen who had his reputation trashed by a couple of bullies who spread the false rumor that he was a homosexual – and the bullies happened to be his teachers!!!!!!!
Rest assured that I will be talking about these and other subjects as the months, and hopefully years go on. But right now I have to help Wifey clean this place up and run a few errands around town. I will keep you guys up to date with what is happening as best I can before I have to go on hiatus as we get settled in “The Land of the Battery-Chuckers”. This is going to be very strange for someone who grew up a Dodger/Ram/Laker/King/Angel/Trojan fan who has turned into a BSU Bronco fan to suddenly be surrounded by “the enemy” wearing nothing but Giant/49er/King/Shark/A’s/Golden Bear gear.
Oh well, there is at least one good thing about moving back to Cali…
IN ‘N OUT BURGER!!!!!!!!!
That's what a hamburger's aaaall about!!!!
They don’t have In ‘n Out in Idaho.
Well, that’s something I guess…
Seriously, think about writing and trying to pursue that avenue. Your talent shouldn’t be wasted, even in times like these. You might find writing will relieve some of the stress, and who knows, dream big, you could write a book about your experiences…Just something to ponder….
We made the choice to move after the job market back east went belly up in the area we were. I left a nice house, family and friends to move back to New Mexico, where I have a daughter from a previous marriage and in-laws. We moved in with my mother-in-law for just over a month. She already had a housefull with my brother-in-law, and his girlfriend, who were both unemployed and my husband’s younger sister, plus my other sister-in-law who was home on weekends from school. she had four dogs, I had five cats. talk about cramped! We had one room, my son was sleeping on the living room sofa, until he went to College back east, and my sister-in-laws shared one room, my mother-in-law had her’s and my brother-in-law/girlfriend had their’s. It wasn’t easy. I found a two bedroom, two bath trailer in the boonies for $350- a month, which needs a lot of work, has no heat, only a wood stove, and propane for cooking and showers. Did I mention it needs a lot of work? But we are managing. Since moving out, I found a minimum wage job, working ina hotel three days aweek at the front desk, and have aquired two dogs and my landlord’s cat, which had five kittens outside. We are hoping to build our credit up more and get some of bills paid, by cashing in our life insurance- which only pays a fraction of the twenty years we have already paid into it monthly!- but it is paying off my hosital bills, IRS, and a few other small bills we were making interest payments on.
I know from experience it won’t be easy for you or your wife but you will manage and hopefully, with the move, your luck will improve and you might be able to find something. The move might be rough at first but once things settle down, a change might be the best thing. don’t worry about the cats. Once things are back to somewhat normal circumstances, they won’t rebel so much. (This, too, I know from experience!)
I wish you the best of luck and let us know how things go. We will all wait to hear from you
I actually have been thinking about writing a book, not just about my experiences, but about the job market in general. Years ago there was a book called “Why Can’t Johnny Read?”, and a few years ago there was another one called “Why Johhny Hates Sports” about the abuses in youth sports.
I’ve thought about calling any book I write “Why Can’t Johnny Get A Job?”
It sounds as if what we are going to undergo is somewhat easier than what you’ve gone through. Dad-in-Law is actually getting excited about having us there, and his brother-in-law has already asked me to send him my resume. They have a few connections where we are going so we’re hoping that any job search I start there will be a short one.
There’s a chance that we may have access to three rooms because dad-in-law is thinking about moving his computer out of one room and into his living room. This would make things easier for us and the cats to adjust. We need to seperate the cats at feeding time due to age and different foods, so having three rooms and a closed-off hallway would grease the rails as it were. Plus dad-in-law already has two cats that come and go – one of which is an unfixed Tom – so we really need to keep them seperate.
I’ll actually write more details in another post since we have finished cleaning the house and are now, officially on the market. In the meantime we’re going to get some rest so I’ll write more later.
I wish you the best. sometimes things happen for a reason, and beyond our control. I honestly believe it is how we deal with situations that will either break us down spiritually or it will make us mentally stronger. This move could be the best for both you and your wife and I wish you all the best. Just keep us all informed how things are going.
I really hope the market is better where you are going. In rural areas, it is harder to find work due to areas where jobs are not as plentiful as bigger cities and not all conveniences are offered. Where I live to get gas for the car requires I drive 20 minutes to a small town and to get groceries, another 60 miles.
It wasn’t easy at first but one learns to adjust when necessary. Patience is sometimes unwaveled but hey we all have to do what we have to survive.
Good luck!