Landlord - Tenants Act

I am really beginning to wonder what my superintendant does all day. I have lived here since May 1. Pretty soon that will be 7 months. When I first moved in the heat was 90 degrees. I went down to complain and they said there were a few apartments having heat issues and left it at that. A month later they turned off the heat to the entire building. it was their way of not dealing with it. took them 2 months to deal with any of the other issues. Shortly after I moved in I had to get an air conditioner from Steve and it has been running ever since. Needless to say air conditioners are not meant to run for extended periods of time like this. So now the air conditioner is dying. It is the end of November now... About a month and a half ago they replaced the thermostat but that wasn't the problem. A week and a half ago they came in and told me it would be 1/2 hour of work... Nope... then they brought in a plumber. I had to move one of my bookshelves and I am pretty sure it was off the wrong wall. Came home... still hadn't been fixed. Right now with the air conditioner on full and the balcony door open it is still close to 80 degrees. The air is also really dry so I end up being super congested and dehydrated. It's brutal. So now it's also affecting my health and that's not a good thing. Plus I need a humidifier and I need to replace the air conditioner. So it's getting expensive for me. You would think that they would want to fix it since they are paying to heat the apartment and for the electricity to run the air conditioner. I guess not. They are about to get another nice letter from me about not fixing it and this will be the 5th time I have had to request that something be done. It will be the last letter they receive. Failing this I will be cosnsulting a lawyer and more then likely taking it to the tribunal. As a tenant I have a right to speedy repairs and this has been anything but. Hopefully it doesn't come to that... but I'm tired of being a doormat and paying the price. I want what I am entitled to. I want my heating fixed.

Lessons From the Cat

When I was at Tammy's I was wondering how Azrael was doing and felt bad for leaving him behind. Sometimes I think he's my child and not my pet... I was also wondering what he was going to destroy. Last time I went away and left him he grabbed the roll of paper towel and destroyed it. It was strewn all over the kitchen floor. Tammy was suggesting I get another cat to keep him company so that he is not dependant on me. But it quickly became clear that Azrael wasn't really the issue... it was me. I can practically count the number of times I have left him on one hand.... The conclusion: Mommy needs to get a life. He's only this dependent on me because I have no life and am always here... so he takes it hard when I am not home, simply because he is so used to me being there. I need to get out more. And that was today's lesson from the cat. Thanks Azrael.

RRSP

Last week I finally decided to take some money out of my RRSPs. It was definitely not an easy decision for many reasons. For one, that money is supposed to be going towards my future. Once you take the money out it also becomes taxable income. But I really didn't feel like I had much of a choice. While I was finally making some headway and was able to start paying bills on time I still wasn't getting ahead at all. The main reason though is the dental work that is becoming more and more important every day. I think the nerve is exposed or something. Either way the pain is increasing and I really need to get it taken care of. As a result of leaving it this long there is a possibility I will not be able to save the tooth. But we'll see. It could've been worse... I couldn't been in this deep and not had any savings to draw on. By December 1 I should have the money and tomorrow am calling the dentist to see when they can fit me in.

Thanks Guys

Thanks go out to mom and to Suzanne & Dave. Mom paid the phone bill for me just in the nick of time. And the money from Suzanne and Dave will pay for another bill... So thanks guys for helping me out :o) It was greatly appreciated!

As a side note... forgive me if I don't call. It's not that I don't love you... or want to talk to you. But when you don't have a home phone the long distance adds up quickly. I already have the new phone bill and there was $40 in long distance charges. I've decided that email is a wonderful invention and allows me to give in touch... so does my blog.

Call Me a Quitter

You can now call me a quitter... It has been 6 months since I quit smoking. A lot of people seemed to think I would cave and go back to it. They figured with the stress at work I'd never make it. But I did what I do best... proved them wrong. There are still times when I am tempted but overall it's been okay. I keep myself busy at work so I don't think about it. Pat and Christie really helped me get through the initial withdrawal... Neither of them smoke but they were both supportive. The Zyban also made a huge difference. I'm trying to decide how to celebrate that milestone. You have to recognize the milestones and reward them... That's how you keep going and reach other miletones. Next stop: the one year mark.

Relaxing Weekend

My vacation officially started on Thursday. I went straight from work to Tammy's. Aside from a couple of hours spent working on a spreadsheet the computer was even away. Now that is impressive. I don't do so well with the whole relaxation idea. I always have to be doing something. But it was nice to actually take a break. I was there for the UFC PPV on Saturday. I came home on Sunday after the last Nascar race of the season. It was nice to get away for a few days and to spend some time with friends. That's what it's all about.

Cogeco

Back in September I ordered the UFC PPV event... might be the last UFC PPV event I order. There's nothing wrong with them... but I can't afford to be spending $50 a month on them. It would be one thing if they were every couple of months or so. Any ways... that was a mini-tangent. At the same time I was having issue with my digital cable and they had to send someone out. The image was pixelated and barely watchable. I called within 10 minutes of the even starting because of it and they said they were going to credit the account. They never did. I got billed for it. So today I called about that. They refused to give me the money back claiming there was no notice on the account and no information about that call. So... because they don't document it I am out $50? Nice... how's that for customer service. Good thing I watched the event then since I had to pay for it. Kind of frustrating...

Happy Birthday to Me

Today I turned 28... I am still just a big kid at heart though. I had a couple of errands to run and the first thing I did when I got home was unpack the Nerf dart gun and had some fun with it. Azrael loves it so we both win. In about an hour I'll be going out to dinner with some coworkers. Already did the birthday cake thing when I was over at Tammy's on the weekend. So far it's been a good day... nice and relaxing. What more could you ask for?

Vacation in 5-4-3-2-1

After my shift ends at 5:30 tomorrow I will officially be on vacation.... I will not be at work for 11 days. I am not entirely sure what I am going to do with myself. I am definitely going to be relaxing. That much is for sure. Spend plenty of time with Azrael. I won't be thinking about who I need to listen to... and who needs extra coaching... Just rest. Now it would be nice if they fixed the heat in here. It is really making me dehydrated and congested. And is all too warm as well... But any ways.... I'm just happy to have some time off.

Tomorrow, after work I am heading to Tammy's for the weekend. It's Wayne's birthday this weekend as well. Going over there to watch the UFC event on Saturday. It will also be a nice chance to get away for a few days.

Of course I already feel guilty about leaving Azrael. He's my baby. I was looking forward to spending all day Friday with him but Tammy invited me over after work tomorrow. Back home on Sunday so I will likely be offline until then. Now I just need a nice trip to somewhere tropical and I'd really have it made.

And then the Unthinkable Happened

Okay so I am still broke and about to have my phone cut off... just as soon as the next bill comes out... so if anyone wants to donate to my phone fund I won't say no... Just call it a birthday present. But... this afternoon there was a posting at work for team manager. Now it's a longshot... but it's also a rare event. It's about the only chance of advancement, short of moving to another location. It was quite a shock let me tell you. So now I have to make sure my resume is up to date and create a cover letter. If nothing else I can dream.

Hard Day at Work

Today was not one of those days that I enjoy at work. Just when you thought you've seen it all someone manages to surprise you. I don't like being the iron fist or anything that resembles disciplinary action. Don't get me wrong, I'll do it when I need to. I just don't enjoy it. I suspect that most people in management find it to be a necessary evil. It's not something they enjoy but it's part of the job. It's tough. It was even harder because the person involved couldn't seem to grasp the big picture and see the importance of their actions. In fact, had it not been for the manager that was involved stepping in it was clear that they were going to fight me on it. Show some respect for me and for the job I do. I am not out to fail anyone, despite what some people seem to think. I want to develop them and help them become better. It seems that some people just have too much pride to admit their own weaknesses. We all have areas that we struggle with. Get over it... and let us help.

Bankruptcy

As everyone knows I have been extremely close to bankruptcy for quite some time now. Somehow I have managed to just keep going and haven't even had any bills go to collections yet. *Knock on wood* I'd like to keep it that way. It's been pretty stressful. Most people have been pretty understanding and have been sympathetic to the hell the Student Loan Center has put me through. Steve has been the exception to that. He shows no understanding and always turns it around to be about him. He was whining at one point that he would be filing for bankruptcy before me. I found out recently that he is paying $1200 a month in storage fees. Maybe it's just me but that seems a little excessive. We're talking $14,400 a year. He doesn't pay rent since he lives with his mother. But with that money he could be renting a house, investing in the future, replace his van, etc. I refuse to have sympathy for someone that could very easily turn things around by getting rid of the useless shit that he has. If I had the $1200 a month I'd be able to pay rent and would almost have enough to cover my student loan. Now Steve was talking about loan consolidation with the bank. What I found interesting is that he said he has consolidated them before. Seems to me he is missing the point if he constantly needs to get bailed out... especially since he lives at home. At his age you would think that he had learned responsibility and would've just got rid of some stuff to reduce his payments. Right now I don't even like talking to him. He's doing a good job at pushing all my buttons and getting me angry.

Career Options

My degree is in psychology and I work in a call center. To most people those two ideas don't really go together all that well. Personally, I think that call center employees don't get the respect they deserve. There's too much of an emphasis on temporary employees since the wages aren't going to attract people for the long term. But that was a bit of a tangent. I find that I do use the psychology degree every day. After all my job is to coach and develop the other agents. I also use it when communicating with customers. So it is a useful skill to have in my line of work.

The big issue I have... and the reason I am at a bit of a cross-roads is that there are very few opportunities for advancement at work. They have done away with the team leader position here and with the turnover rate no manager positions will be available on the horizon. And even if there was there is a LOT of competition among all the performance coaches. The most I can make as a performance coach is $15.65 an hour ($32,552/year) and that is after 5 years of being a performance coach. Not to mention the fact you have to meet your metrics to even get a raise, something I didn't do in February. If it wasn't for my student loan it wouldn't be a big deal but that is still hanging over my head.

Steve seems to like coming up with career options to make more money. Now none of his ideas involve me actually leaving to pursue other opportunities. He does know that I applied for a promotion in Niagara Falls so he already knows I am willing to leave. I don't think he was quite so happy about it. So what is his current thought? He seems to think I should start a counselling practice specializing in people who self-injure. He thinks I would do well since I understand the behaviour.

I have a few issues with that thought. As an unlicensed counsellor you are a lot more vulnerable. Self-injury is a behaviour and in order to treat it you have to treat the underlying causes. That's not exactly short-term therapy. You really do have to change thought process and behaviour. It's also extrememly frustrating. There is a reluctance to change. You need a mix... otherwise you risk facing burnout. You just can't deal with the same thing over and over and over... especially when it is a behaviour that is resistant to change. Then there is the whole self-harm behaviour. Generally speaking you have a duty to report any threats to self or to others. So it's a bit of a catch-22. The last thing I would want to do is force someone to sign a no-harm contract.

While I do understand the behaviour and have been there that is only so beneficial. And since I still struggle with it I am not sure I would be the best counsellor. You can treat it as long as you can empathize with the person... which should be true in any therapy relationship. If it's not there then you should be looking for another therapist.

Now I can see me more as an advocate and generating awareness about self-injury. I could handle that. I do think there is a need for that. But as a counsellor... I'm not so sure about that idea. Unlike Steve I try to take a practical approach and not just have the idea of the week.

Decision Time

So today was pay day... and decision time for me. I had to decide which was more important... groceries and the phone bill or rent. I really didn't like the decision. I knew that rent should be the priority but I also knew that it would leave me with absolutely nothing to get by on. The alternative though was hoping that the other money came through. I didn't like taking that chance since the student loan center already screwed me on that one. Seemed like too big a risk. So I ended up paying my rent today. Now I have about $20 left and Bell was already threatening to cut off my phone if I didn't pay it since it's now at $125 with the long distance charges and all the calls I had to make during the day fighting with the National Student Loan Center. The cable bill isn't a big deal... and neither is the credit card bill. But groceries and my phone are weighing on me now. I really don't like to be this broke... It really bothers me. I hate it. Adds too much stress to my life. And I know the saying is that "It's only money" but when you're continually broke it is not a fun place to be.

Regrets

I was watching an interview with Green Day. They said something interesting. "It is better to regret something that you did then something that you did not do." There's a lot of truth in that. It really is one thing to regret a decision that you made because of the consequences... but another to have never taken that step... never taken a chance. Fear of failure has become today's mantra. How many people stay in their job because they are scared that they might fail at something else? But is that fear holding you back? I seem to be at a crossroads at the moment. Not to say I don't love my job. It is challenging and I do work with a great group of people. But I don't make enough money at the moment. Assuming that I qualify next month for interest relief I will have a 6 month reprieve but will it be enough? There aren't too many opportunities for advancement these days. Part of the reason I don't leave is the job security. It's nice to know that I have a job and a steady pay cheque. There is fear about stepping out into the unknown. And in today's economy I am not sure that I can even find a job that pays enough. I just wonder if 6 months from now I am going to regret not taking a chance and seeking employment elsewhere.

"Keep a Stiff Upper Lip"

I was talking to my mom today. Figured I should update her with the latest news on my student loan today. What stuck with me was when she said to "keep a stiff upper lip" about the whole situation. This attitude is reminiscient of the attitudes I was tught when growing up. And you know what? I am frustrated right now. I have a low income job, I'm broke, and they still seem to think I can afford to give them 25% of my income. I have been fighting this since May. I can't afford to pay my bills. I think I have a right to feel something about that. I'm not a robot. I have a right to be upset. I think I have a right to cry if I need to. It sucks and I will freely admit that I have shed a few tears over the whole thing. I don't feel bad about that. You can only take so much after all.

The Hits Just Keep on Coming

I am really wondering what interest relief really means... I mean the last time I checked it was a time when you did not need to make payments and the government paid your interest. At least that was how it worked in the past. And whenever there had been a delay the Royal Bank was always good about refunding the money to me. Not so with the Student Loan Center. I got another voicemail stating that they were not going to be refunding any money after all since I hadn't paid for June the money had gone towards that. It's all BS. I made the payment for June after my application for interest relief was denied.

Let's recap the payments I have made for the record. To the Royal Bank I have made 4 payments of $219. 3 of those should be refunded to me as I have since been approved for interest relief during that time period. The 4th was the payment for June when I did not qualify. Simple enough.

The National Student Loan Center was really slow with the decision on interest relief and as a result I was 2 months behind by the time I even found out that I had been denied. August's payment of $290 was automatically taken out. Then I went and paid June's payment. Then they said that they had put the money towards June and July since I was behind. Then my application for interest relief got screwed up again but since it was being processed I was told that the money would not be taken out. They lied. The money was taken out October 31. So for the 3 payments that I did make I paid $916. Now there is no way that this went towards my June payment... at least not all of it. Their creative math and not having the correct loan payment amount is not my problem. But still... that is 3 months worth of payments and for 2 of those months they have told me that I was in interest relief for. So why am I not getting it back? It's a lost cause to even try to fight for it... but still. I just get the run around.

Looks like a priority is to remove the automatic withdrawal from that account. At least then they can't steal my money. I'm thinking the government has their own creative scheme going on. Back the borrower into a corner that they absolutely cannot get out of. They can't file for bankruptcy so you basically own them. And then change the loan payment amount on them so they end up paying more... even if they did not agree to it. There is certainly nothing fair about the system.

I'll be the first to say that right now I really do feel at a loss... I feel like my hands are tied and there is nothing I can do. I have tried everything I possiby can and gotten nowhere. When you work full time it's very tough... Tough to think that the government can actually do this to you... take 25% of your income and leave you basically nothing to live on. I just got a call today from my phone company threatening to cut off my phone if I don't pay the bill this week... And then there is the rent that is overdue. They can put up a notice of termination at any point and threaten me with eviciton. What am I supposed to do? In spite of working full time I can't even make ends meet any more... and while I should be getting the money back from the Royal Bank considering everything that has happened I'm not sure I should be holding my breath on that one.

I think the light at the end of the tunnel has finally been extinguished. Ever since this nightmre began I've been telling myself that I can't take much more of this... The stress... the anxiety... not being able to even catch up on bills... yet I keep going. I think I am finally at that breaking point. Really they have now taken everything from me... I've lost count of how many bills have been at least a month behind. There have been times when I couldn't buy groceries. and then the ultimate was when they told me they weren't taking the payment and then bounced my rent cheque. And to be told that even though I am on interest relief I am not getting back the $600, that is like a slap in the face. What good is interest relief then? You can only take so much of this. And I am finally at the breaking point.

Maintenance Request for the Apartment

The heat still seems to be on the rise in my apartment. I have put in a few maintenance requests since I moved in. They finally got around to fixing the thermostat last week. But the heat is still an issue. In fact I think it's going up. We're up to about 78 degrees in here. Needless to say that's a little warm. I wake up in the morning and am dehydrated. I have trouble breathing and feel congested. The fibromyalgia also tends to be aggravated when it's hot. I feel like I should force them to act... by withholding the rent until they comply. Or maybe I should just take it up with the tribunal, especially since they don't bother giving me notice before entering the apartment. When they did fix the thermostat they didn't call or even knock. I don't like that. I do have some expensive stuff and am not comfortable with someone just walking in. Having said that I would really like my heat to work properly. I prefer to be bundled up when I go to bed... not in shorts and a tank top. But seeing as my rent is currently late I don't really want to talk to the supers about anything. I just can't win... that has been my conclusion.

Good News, Bad News & Everything In Between

So on Friday I got the letter telling me that my application for interest relief had been approved. Finally some good news. Today I was at work and I get a message to call the National Student Loan Center about my revision of terms. I had sent a not-so-nice letter with it since it will cost me about $900 more to pay off my loan. But I was forced to do it. So I call them up and all they tell me is that my interest relief had gone through, nothing about the revision of terms. So I decided to ask what that meant for the payments I had already made. I was told that the money had been put towards the principle of my student loan and in no uncertain terms that I would NOT be getting it back. I was told that they were not able to do that. I was also told that if they did then my interest relief would have to be taken off, recalculated and then put back on. Oh yeah and I would owe them the interest. WTF? So let me get this straight... My interest relief was approved (which generally means you don't need to make payments and the government pays the interest) but I'm still making payments... Umm... how does that work? Oh yeah and I can't claim the payments on income tax because it's money put towards the principle of the loan, not interest. Then why did I apply? I might as well have just made the payments and then applied for interest relief effective now. At least then I'd have a reprieve in the payments. But obviously I wasn't going to get anywhere with that one... Customer skills were a wee bit lacking with that person... And my stress level shot through the roof.

My second phone call was to the Royal Bank. I must admit it is much nicer to deal with them. They have been good at delaying payments and what not. As soon as I called them they put in a request to get back the three payments that I have made. Unfortunately, the request does take 2-4 weeks but still. That's $660 that I should be geting back. Okay so now my day was getting a little better.

Now I had been playing phone tag with one of the guys from the Student Loan Center. I might have let it go and just been pissed off over it but they bounced my rent cheque the same day my interest relief was approved. So I thought I'd call and bitch about that. After all my application for interest relief was still being processed which means the payment should not have gone out. I got ahold of im this time and he said that despite what I had been told earlier I would be getting the money back. Now I am not sure if that is all three months, or just the last month... but still. Since they really don't seem to know what they're doing... and I just keep getting mixed messages I'm holding my breath until I have the cheque in my hand. Which again, will take 2-4 weeks.

So for the most part it was good news... And then my landlord called to let me know the cheque bounced. Decisions decisions... If I pay my rent off this week then I will have absolutely no money left over. And I do have other bills to pay... some that are at least a month behind. Or my cell phone that is on a cap and will be cut off. Or hey how about groceries. So I'm not sure I really want to go that route... especially since I am not sure when I'll be getting the money back. But that waiting for money is the reason that I really want to get my rent paid off. The longer I leave it the worse I'll be... and having a roof over your head is kind of important. But since my rent is now late does it really matter? For once living in a ghetto building is actually a good thing. Decisions decisions... Or maybe I should just start playing the lottery. I think my odds of winning are about the same as me not defaulting on my loan.

Sunshine Breaks Through the Clouds

I got home from work and there was a letter waiting for me from the Student Loan Center. My first thought was "What do they want?" I'm a little jaded and don't exactly hold much hope in a letter from them. But this letter said that my application for interest relief had been approved. Interestingly, it was dated the same day they took out the most recent payment. Finally some good news. Hopefully, I'll even get the money back since it is retroactive to July. Time to breathe a sigh of relief.

That fact really should bring a smile to my face. After all it means I won. And should mean that I have money coming back to me. But after 6 months of fighting I just don't feel quite so good about it. The nightmare comes to an end... but it's not like there will be much left over. I have to pay rent and get caught up on bills. They killed my credit rating (not that they needed much help) and have already cost me at least $100 for late payments/NSF charges. Not to mention the high stress levels.

Oh and it's not like I get much of a breather... I start the fight all over again in a month. My interest relief is only good until December 31st and I have to have the application in and a decision made by then. If I am not mistaken after that time period is up the 30 months will be over and I will no longer qualify for interest relief. I have no idea what I will do then. You can apply for extended periods of interest relief (up to 54 months) but they reduce your loan payments first and then you have to qualify (based on the reduced amount). I already know I won't qualify. I still don't understand how they can justify taking 25% of your gross income. I can understand 25% of your take-home pay... but not the gross income. After all that is before any taxes are taken out. I guess they expect you to live on 65% of your income. If I wasn't living just above the poverty line that mgiht be one thing... but I have a low-income job. I struggle to make ends meet. I also have a disability that doesn't exactly leave me with the energy to take on another job. I might not have a choice though. There are very few promotions available at work... fewer all the time. And my wages are certainly not going to go up enough to cover it.

I suppose there is another option. I could try and find a sugar daddy. *lol* But knowing what the wages are like in Peterborough I suspect I would be moving to a different city for that as well. It's like the poverty capital. Low wages seem to be the theme. Mind you Peterborough also has a high percentage of mental health issues. I'm sure there is a correlation there.

So I guess I am back to doing it the old fashioned way. And for now I can just enjoy the fact that I am on interest relief and don't have to make payments. Hopefully, in the near future I'lll even get my payments back.

Stress and the Workplace

We commonly say to leave your life at the door when you get into work. It's about the job and you need to focus on that. While I believe that is true it is certainly not an easy accomplishment. At the beginning of the month I was actually pretty relaxed. I finally thought that my interest relief was going to go through and it made things a lot easier. Pat was still there so life was easy. I worked overtime so that I could get caught up on my bills and thought things were finally turning around.

But like a house of cards everything just collapsed. There were two pivotal moments in that. One was Pat leaving. There was no one to replace her... So for three weeks it was just me trying to do the work of 2 people. Needless to say that has a HIGH cost. Now that it's the last week I don't want to do anything... I don't want to listen to calls. It's my own mini burnout. Now that one is directly related to work and not something I can just forget about when I'm there.

The other big one was when the Royal Bank took out my student loan payment... and then my interest relief application was denied. Suddenly I didn't have any outs and there didn't seem to be an end in sight. There still doesn't seem to be an end in sight.

Those two events really added a LOT of stress. makes it difficult when I am at work to think about the job... well for the most part it's not that hard but when I am on calls it's a little more challenging. My mind just isn't in it. This week that is especilly true. I am back on nights so I find that customers aren't as nice. They are much more argumentative and won't accept your answer as readily. My last call tonight turned into a bit of a fight. I was actually trying to be nice. Turned out that was a bad idea. For the most part it's probably just a subtle change in tone... but a change none the less.

I guess the other thing that is affecting me is the pain... All down the right side of my face and into my neck is pain. I can even feel it into the sinuses. Most of the time it's a dull ache. But it's also causing me to clench my teeth more which is just causing more damage. I am constantly trying to massage away some of the pain. Even while I write this I have to take a break every couple of minutes trying to lessen the pain. If I ever have money one of the first things I am going to do is get the dental work done. Or perhaps I will just yank out the tooth.

But what I have learned is just how difficult it can be to separate home and work. Now I don't use it as an excuse. Or justify poor behaviour with it. But I do know that it does play a role and impacts how I take calls. I've learned to control it so for the most part it is slight but stress affects everything. I know I've got a vacation coming up but unless my student loan gets sorted out that thought doesn't bring me much pleasure right now.

All I really want is some peace... Well peace and no pain. I just want my stress level reduced. And somehow I've got to learn how to not let it affect me when I'm at work. Easier said then done.

Back to the Starvation Diet

I seem to be back to the starvation diet. Feel free to lecture me. It's not like I don't know better. I'm still eating 2 meals a day... I'm just skipping lunch when at work. I'm really busy and have so much that I am trying to accomplish. I think I am still in overload mode from trying to do everything myself. I just havent recovered. Then there is also the stress level. I have been battling with the student loan center for almost 6 months now and every time I think I just about have everything sorted out I get screwed over again. I know it's taking a toll on me. And, as far as that goes, I really am at my wits end. I've got no way out. And then they even caused me to bounce the rent payment. Even if they do put my interest relief through I'll only be three months from applying again. So it's not like there is an end in sight. I'll just be starting this battle all over again. And facing the reality that pretty soon I will have used up all of the interest relief and will have no choice but to either pay the loan or be in default. So I am definitely stressed out at the moment. And the last reason is the pain in my teeth. I am in agony right now. I already know that I have to get a pin put in the tooth. But I can't afford to go in and get it fixed. With the pain I don't even want to open my jaw. I just hope that it doesn't get to the point of infection. I guess there is one more big reason. I have no money... so I can't afford to even buy groceries. Tough place to be all the way around. I could really go with some good news right about now.

Vancouver Olympics

I came across an article last night about low-income families being evicted as a result of the 2010 Olympics. When you think of the Olympics you think about community, national pride and the global community. The justification is that hotels need to be built, along with various other buildings. It's all about business and economics. Having this many tourists and athletes will bring in a great deal of money. Hosting the Olympics is a big deal. But at what cost? They already destroyed a rare forest in favour of the roadway to meet the traffic demands. And now, even though the Olympics are 4 years away many residents have been displaced. Who decided that their needs were not as important? Who decided this was an acceptable trade-off? But as the article stated, "With an event like the Olympics... the poor are usually the last consideration."

Just When You Thought it was Safe to go Back in the Water

It really isn't Jaws and I'm not actually being attacked by sharks.... I did however think that things might finally be going my way. Then I woke up this morning and it all went to hell again. I knew as soon as I woke up that I should just go back to bed. I walked to work and now I'm paying for it. I was in a lot of pain. But I still hauled myself out of bed to go to work. I decided to check my bank balance before heading out. I was a little surprised to find out that my loan payment had been taken out... and once again for a completely different amount then I ever authorzied... Remember what I said before about increasing my loan payments but not changing the payment length? That was what they took out... And then they argue with me about how by making payment I agree to the loan payment amount. I never made a payment... they took a payment. Trust me I would not have been making a loan payment at the moment. I never authorized it. In fact I was under the impression that it would not be taken out. And now... because of that loan payment I just bounced my rent cheque. That was returned as an NSF cheque which will cost me $25. Plus I lose out on the discounted rent for paying it on time. There goes anohter $25. Them taking out the payment will cost me an additional $50... $50 I really don't have. Plus now my rent is going to be 2 weeks late and there may be additional repercussions for that. It's like this bottomless pit... They just keep taking more and more money. Right now there doesn't seem to be a way out.