BIG FAT UPDATE AS OF 10:00 PM, Monday, 3-26-12:
Back home in the new place which has internet access, posting before I
sleep. I am going to be back out again at the east-end-of-Charleston
place tomorrow morning to try and pack some more.
My landlady has no choice on the matter of having to get us to move
us out... the law in Nevada unfortunately does not protect tenants in a
short sale. If the bank says "We got an offer, now give us an empty
house in X time or else" the house owner (and their tenant) is just
plain stuck with it.
In the meanwhile...
A hell of a LOT of stuff happened today. First of all, the landlady
was able to give us some moving money to start with to try to help us
out, then a friend of mine from out of state gave 100 bucks.
A fellow Redditor has a wife who works at a small, local moving
company. We were able to use that combined cash to reserve a
professional moving truck and a couple of guys for a decently
compassionate price. AWESOME. The truck will arrive at the old
end-of-Charleston place at 9am and we should be done with 95% of the
move by 12 noon if the packing works out OK to start with.
So I spent the day knocking myself out trying to freaking PACK... and
I pretty much crashed in the middle of the day while trying. Yikes.
:(
The now-former landlady (who normally lives out of state) is here for
a few hours trying to help with the packing while trying to do other
stuff she has to do at the same time. She's just clarified that the
time we needed to be out is actually Friday. WTF?
OK, I can't blame her... she's been jerked around so much by this
whole real-estate thing that a lot of miscommunication had been going
on. She's actually a really nice lady, but has a hard time thinking
things through under stress. Besides, that gives us two whole extra
days to do a basic cleanup or move stuff we didn't have time to pack
after the major truck move is done, so that works out anyway in our
favor. I decided I don't want to be at that place again after Thursday.
Now that we have the professional truck, we do need help packing on
Tuesday, if anyone's available. After I quit typing this update, I'll
start answering comments and dealing with PMs.
A twist in the story: the landlady has a bunch of furniture in the
house that she is unable to move out in time. She needs to make a
decision by at least the end of tuesday what she wants us to do with the
big, heavy, wooden dining room table, the two overstuffed chairs, and
the two not-fantastic-but-usable/acceptable dark green recliner sofas.
Stay tuned for updates.
If the former landlady is willing to let us decide what to do with
her old furniture, I'd want to offer it all for free to my fellow
Redditors rather than to just anyone on craigslist. (It would take too
long to try to sell it all anyway.)
My new landlady has dibs on the dining room table. Unfortunately
adding that big table to the professional move might cost more than what
is budgeted for the moving company. If that's true, I may need help
with some Redditors and a truck anyway later Wednesday afternoon. (No
worries about needing a covered truck for that table.)
If you still want to help, PM me with your phone number. I'm
getting up early to go back to the end of Charleston by bus starting
around 8:30am tomorrow (tuesday). There's no Internet access there at
the old place, but I will try to a break and bringing the laptop to the
local McDonalds on Charleston and Sloan mid-morning and then
mid-afternoon to see what you guys have to say. (I have no smartphone)
Thanks in advance, guys. :)
(Third update from 7am Tuesday morning: (I just woke
up.... I REALLY hope that my energy for packing does not give out today
before everything is taking care of. Yikes. Wish me luck.
TUESDAY NOON UPDATE:
Next door neighbor at old place is letting me on their router with an
ethernet cord right now. YAY! Don't have to drag myself to McDonalds a
mile away... I'm tired enough.
It's official: Free furniture everyone! Pizza and free furniture for all who help!!! :-D
Turns out that we need packing help today (and thanks to those who
offered it - I just sent you PMs). Someone came through with a little
extra cash for us, so we can definitely afford pizza for anyone who can
help.
On wednesday it turns out that the biggest thing will be last-minute
packing, then a ride to follow the truck to the new place. The movers
said they will arrive with their professional truck sometime between 9
and 11. Anyone who helps us get from here to there will be fed PIZZA
and have their choice of free furniture. :)
If you have a truck and are only available in the afternoon, that can
work... you'd have to grab us near our new place and drive us back to
our old place, though.
TUESDAY 4PM UPDATE
Long story short... EscoAK came over and REALLY helped me knock out 90% of the packing. Wouldn't have been possible without him.
We just have a little packing left, but I am REALLY shot, as in
burned out, exhausted, blasted and fried so I am just going to sleep for
a few hours. I or my life partner MIGHT be able to handle a little
more packing work after 6pm tonite after a good rest... stay tuned.
I will post again if we can use help in the evening. There's a
chance that we can have Redditors over for a couple hours then, if
anyone wants to be here then.
I am also going to get up early tomorrow and take care of the last
10% before the truck comes. Redditors are welcome in the morning for
help.
I now have permission and the password to the neighbor's wifi (awesome neighbor!) so we can keep in touch.
TUESDAY 9:30PM:
ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz
Wednesday 8:15am
I woke up TIRED, but my guy has some energy and can handle and
coordinate stuff. Still some packing to do. 2 redditors due at 9 am to
help. Truck due between 9 and 11. I am going to ask for it to be
closer to 10 to 11 if possible.
Wednesday 8:25 PM
All stuff moved into new house. That part's over.
Current health state: shaking exhaustion. It was damn hard to hold it
together today enough to be normal enough make this move work.
Unfortunately I have to go back to the old place tomorrow and deal
with final clean-up and taking pics proving we are out. Landlady also
wants us to deal with getting rid of her old furniture, since she live
out of state. She made me and my guy sign a legal agreement that we do
this for her (under pressure) or else we would not get funds for moving.
Legal agreement also includes a clause that we do something we have no
permission to do from a certain third party - or else.
Crap... I am too tired for this sh**. I just want to sleep for a
week. The first treatment for my new round of chemotherapy is coming up
and I am tempted to tell my oncologist to delay it because I can't
handle this much exhaustion and chemo at the same time. I just sent the
landlady an email telling her this.
I'm looking forward to having all this behind me, being able to give proper thanks to the Redditors who helped, etc.
Thursday morning
Finally had my first GOOD SLEEP at the new place in nearly two weeks.
Woke up with an idea. I think I know how to handle the pressure from
the landlady. Without revealing certain legal details, I figured out an
angle which will make that pressure go away. :)
Thursday evening
Got the legal help I needed to clear the legal crap mentioned above.
Also getting help with the clearing-out of the old house. I am one day
away from being finished with this whole move. YAY!
Friday night
It's over. I'm safe in my new home now. :)
Saturday: took all this text off of my original post and moved it to this blog.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
My original posting to /r/vegas asking for help with moving
In March of 2012, a whole lotta crap happened to me at the same time, and I posted this text on /r/vegas below. I am now changing the original posting to stay something different, but saving the original text for posterity.:
Imagine learning that the cancer tumor which had spread to the liver (and you thought had been defeated by your previous round of chemo) is back - AND that you are being kicked out of the place you live at - both in the same freakin' week? :-(
I am being treated at the Comprehensive Cancer Centers Of Nevada. I has just discovered I have to go back into to chemo in a couple of weeks. My life partner (who is also my caretaker) is out of work with a severe back injury, though he has been getting some good treatment recently.
Both of us have a perfect longtime rental history with our landlady. However because of her legal/financial problems (which have nothing to do with either of us) she is losing her home in a short sale where we were her tenants. We were supposed to get several weeks warning if/when there was a sale offer, but unfortunately there was no word until we recently got hit with less than a months notice to move out.
Even worse, the bank just changed the deadline of the house sale closing to much earlier than they originally said. I found out yesterday we must have ALL our belongings out on Wednesday. There is no legal recourse here for us as renters. We don't have access to a car anymore. Plus cancer is an expensive, bankrupting son-of-a-bitch. We have no credit to use for renting a truck, nor the energy to deal with loading and driving it. :(
We do see how we can have enough energy to at least box up our stuff completely.
I was scared of ending up homeless because we didn't have much spare energy or time to find a new place. I didn't expect that the first place we looked at would look at would be THE perfect new, safe home for us both to rebuild our health and lives. It's a nice master bedroom in a house with storage in the garage.
Now for the next hard part. Help, Reddit! We need affordable moving help SOON! On Wednesday, we need help for an hour or two to load near Charleston and Sloan, then transport to the new place near Palace Station and then unloading into the garage.
The only pieces of big furniture we have are two mattresses and a coffee table. (We were also given a good TV, but if there is no practical way to move it, we'll have to abandon it.) Since the notice was so short, we have no chance to sort through our stuff first to reduce the moving burden. We are tossing everything we have into a whole lotta boxes (the small, file-box kind you get at Office Depot) to make them easy for the move.
Our money is very tight but if you have some kind of van or maybe a pickup truck with a cap on it to protect against road dust, that would be wonderful to safely move the larger pieces of furniture. We could probably reimburse the cost of renting a large moving van or small truck. (Our concern is that we might not be able to cover any deposit on a rented van or truck of our own. Of course you'd get the deposit back.)
Anyone else with a working car can join this reddit convoy by helping us transport maybe a few boxes each. I understand that a lot of people have to work in the daytime. If you can get us safe to our new home before 9pm Wednesday, that would be wonderful.
We got our small deposit back from the landlady, so we can use it to help cover your gas costs, offer a little cash as well as feed you some delicious pizza near the new residence. Plus you get positive, real-life karma out of all this. :)
If you know someone else who might want to help, please forward this. I know most of the /r/vegas action these days is on the reddit vegas facebook group, but I am not involved with facebook very much in the first place. So if you could let them know, I'd appreciate it.
I am writing this in the empty bedroom at the new place near Palace Station. The old place on east Charleston has no Internet access anymore, but when I get there Tuesday morning to pack, I'll be checking Reddit via my local McDonalds wifi every few hours for messages. PM me with your phone number and your ideas for help. I appreciate anything practical and positive you can offer.
(as of the evening of 3/26/2012, things have improved... see this posting for details.
Imagine learning that the cancer tumor which had spread to the liver (and you thought had been defeated by your previous round of chemo) is back - AND that you are being kicked out of the place you live at - both in the same freakin' week? :-(
I am being treated at the Comprehensive Cancer Centers Of Nevada. I has just discovered I have to go back into to chemo in a couple of weeks. My life partner (who is also my caretaker) is out of work with a severe back injury, though he has been getting some good treatment recently.
Both of us have a perfect longtime rental history with our landlady. However because of her legal/financial problems (which have nothing to do with either of us) she is losing her home in a short sale where we were her tenants. We were supposed to get several weeks warning if/when there was a sale offer, but unfortunately there was no word until we recently got hit with less than a months notice to move out.
Even worse, the bank just changed the deadline of the house sale closing to much earlier than they originally said. I found out yesterday we must have ALL our belongings out on Wednesday. There is no legal recourse here for us as renters. We don't have access to a car anymore. Plus cancer is an expensive, bankrupting son-of-a-bitch. We have no credit to use for renting a truck, nor the energy to deal with loading and driving it. :(
We do see how we can have enough energy to at least box up our stuff completely.
I was scared of ending up homeless because we didn't have much spare energy or time to find a new place. I didn't expect that the first place we looked at would look at would be THE perfect new, safe home for us both to rebuild our health and lives. It's a nice master bedroom in a house with storage in the garage.
Now for the next hard part. Help, Reddit! We need affordable moving help SOON! On Wednesday, we need help for an hour or two to load near Charleston and Sloan, then transport to the new place near Palace Station and then unloading into the garage.
The only pieces of big furniture we have are two mattresses and a coffee table. (We were also given a good TV, but if there is no practical way to move it, we'll have to abandon it.) Since the notice was so short, we have no chance to sort through our stuff first to reduce the moving burden. We are tossing everything we have into a whole lotta boxes (the small, file-box kind you get at Office Depot) to make them easy for the move.
Our money is very tight but if you have some kind of van or maybe a pickup truck with a cap on it to protect against road dust, that would be wonderful to safely move the larger pieces of furniture. We could probably reimburse the cost of renting a large moving van or small truck. (Our concern is that we might not be able to cover any deposit on a rented van or truck of our own. Of course you'd get the deposit back.)
Anyone else with a working car can join this reddit convoy by helping us transport maybe a few boxes each. I understand that a lot of people have to work in the daytime. If you can get us safe to our new home before 9pm Wednesday, that would be wonderful.
We got our small deposit back from the landlady, so we can use it to help cover your gas costs, offer a little cash as well as feed you some delicious pizza near the new residence. Plus you get positive, real-life karma out of all this. :)
If you know someone else who might want to help, please forward this. I know most of the /r/vegas action these days is on the reddit vegas facebook group, but I am not involved with facebook very much in the first place. So if you could let them know, I'd appreciate it.
I am writing this in the empty bedroom at the new place near Palace Station. The old place on east Charleston has no Internet access anymore, but when I get there Tuesday morning to pack, I'll be checking Reddit via my local McDonalds wifi every few hours for messages. PM me with your phone number and your ideas for help. I appreciate anything practical and positive you can offer.
(as of the evening of 3/26/2012, things have improved... see this posting for details.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Help sezzme fix her car (UPDATED)
As of April 20, a cancer charity has decided to write a check to cover the cost of the car repair. :)
That's awesome. :) :) :)
---------------
Goal: Raise a minimum of $750 to get the car running again.
I need the car I use fixed in order to be OK. Since I am in a crisis where I may lose my home, the least I can hope for is having the car fixed so I can find shelter soon. The transmission is broken and needs to be replaced. Fortunately we have a 100% honest auto mechanic named Kevin at a local auto shop named “Car Doctor” who has promised to fix the car for $750. Kevin is willing to take donations on our behalf.
In order to participate, contact Kevin by phone at (702) 732-0112, Monday to Friday: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm or Saturday from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm Pacific Standard Time. Tell him you want to donate to the “Sezzme Ford Transmission Fix Fund”. (He DEFINITELY knows who “Sezzme” is!) Ask Kevin for his opinion on the best method of payment.
Kevin can also be contacted via his website at cardoctorofvegas.com
That's awesome. :) :) :)
---------------
Goal: Raise a minimum of $750 to get the car running again.
I need the car I use fixed in order to be OK. Since I am in a crisis where I may lose my home, the least I can hope for is having the car fixed so I can find shelter soon. The transmission is broken and needs to be replaced. Fortunately we have a 100% honest auto mechanic named Kevin at a local auto shop named “Car Doctor” who has promised to fix the car for $750. Kevin is willing to take donations on our behalf.
In order to participate, contact Kevin by phone at (702) 732-0112, Monday to Friday: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm or Saturday from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm Pacific Standard Time. Tell him you want to donate to the “Sezzme Ford Transmission Fix Fund”. (He DEFINITELY knows who “Sezzme” is!) Ask Kevin for his opinion on the best method of payment.
Kevin can also be contacted via his website at cardoctorofvegas.com
Sezzme's Wishlist Part 3: Artistic Materials
Stuff that would help me to be able to afford my own darn food and expenses after awhile... I am still in the process of learning my new craft.
I make pins and pendants with astronomy themes out of artistic material called "polymer clay" that cures at 300 degrees. This silicone stuff listed below would help me upgrade my artwork efforts to a MUCH higher level. Silicone molding material also makes great candy molds too, even though I'm not into making candy.
Silicone mold materials:
1. http://www.makeyourownmolds.com/silicone-spread
2. http://www.makeyourownmolds.com/silicone-plastique
3. http://www.makeyourownmolds.com/ez-shellmaker
(NOTE: There are several brands of polymer clay out there. I've already listed what I need in my Amazon wish list, but if you have any knowledge of the stuff, please avoid "Sculpey III". That stuff is substandard compared to other polymer clays such as Premo, Fimo, and Kato.
I make pins and pendants with astronomy themes out of artistic material called "polymer clay" that cures at 300 degrees. This silicone stuff listed below would help me upgrade my artwork efforts to a MUCH higher level. Silicone molding material also makes great candy molds too, even though I'm not into making candy.
Silicone mold materials:
1. http://www.makeyourownmolds.com/silicone-spread
2. http://www.makeyourownmolds.com/silicone-plastique
3. http://www.makeyourownmolds.com/ez-shellmaker
(NOTE: There are several brands of polymer clay out there. I've already listed what I need in my Amazon wish list, but if you have any knowledge of the stuff, please avoid "Sculpey III". That stuff is substandard compared to other polymer clays such as Premo, Fimo, and Kato.
Sezzme's wishlist: Part 2: Foods and supplements
**Foods and supplements**
Bulk foods bought wholesale online are an AWESOME value! Beats the hell out of grocery store prices. I bought a 50 pound bag of oat grains once and only had to pay $1.10 a pound for it. Put it in the rice cooker and end up with something MUCH healthier and tastier than oatmeal. That lasted for 7 months.
I have learned a valuable lesson: if you get bulk foods wholesale, you get a MUCH bigger bang for the buck. They will store forever and food scarcity will no longer be an issue in your life for quite a loooooong while.
So here's my food list (look for frequent re-edits):
50 pound bag of brown rice so I can always have something healthy to eat. (link will go here, stay tuned)
[Freeze dried veggies so that I can have awesome instant veggie stew whenever I need it](http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/freezedriedvegetablecombo.aspx)
[Dehydrated refried beans seem to be pretty useful](http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/refriedbeanflakeslargecan.aspx)
[Freeze-dried MUSHROOMS! I love mushrooms!](http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/freezedriedmushroomscan.aspx)
[Whole eggs in powdered form](http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/powderedwholeeggscan.aspx). It beats the livin' heck out of the price of fresh eggs while being a more efficient way of delivering the needed protein.
- [Omega 3 pills, exact brand as recommended by doctor](http://www.nordicnaturals.com/en/Products/Product_Details/514/?ProdID=1428)
Bulk foods bought wholesale online are an AWESOME value! Beats the hell out of grocery store prices. I bought a 50 pound bag of oat grains once and only had to pay $1.10 a pound for it. Put it in the rice cooker and end up with something MUCH healthier and tastier than oatmeal. That lasted for 7 months.
I have learned a valuable lesson: if you get bulk foods wholesale, you get a MUCH bigger bang for the buck. They will store forever and food scarcity will no longer be an issue in your life for quite a loooooong while.
So here's my food list (look for frequent re-edits):
50 pound bag of brown rice so I can always have something healthy to eat. (link will go here, stay tuned)
[Freeze dried veggies so that I can have awesome instant veggie stew whenever I need it](http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/freezedriedvegetablecombo.aspx)
[Dehydrated refried beans seem to be pretty useful](http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/refriedbeanflakeslargecan.aspx)
[Freeze-dried MUSHROOMS! I love mushrooms!](http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/freezedriedmushroomscan.aspx)
[Whole eggs in powdered form](http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/powderedwholeeggscan.aspx). It beats the livin' heck out of the price of fresh eggs while being a more efficient way of delivering the needed protein.
- [Omega 3 pills, exact brand as recommended by doctor](http://www.nordicnaturals.com/en/Products/Product_Details/514/?ProdID=1428)
Sezzne's wishlist, Part 1: electronic stuff (VERY short list!)
RECEIVED: THANK YOU! :)
Replacement laptop battery for my creaky old laptop. (EDIT: YAY! Someone helped me with this!!!)
[Replacement fan for same laptop) The bearing is wearing out, making a rattling noise and also scares me in the process. (EDIT: YAY!!! We GOT that one! That is a relief!) :) :) )
Replacement yellow cartridge for my Epson R200 printer: (EDIT: GOT IT. :)
NOT RECEIVED (fortunately not hugely critical)
- Some kind of DVD/blue-ray burner which attaches via USB.
- Alternatively, just a DVD/Blue-ray player. I don't own any disks, but I can borrow ones from the local library.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Fave movies and TV shows?
I
loved "Nova" and Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" on PBS
when I was a kid.
"American Pickers" is always teaching me
something new about the history of some interesting object I might
have never known even existed.
"From the Edge With Peter Lik"
is also excellent, since I've done some amateur photography.
"Mythbusters is good too.
Other works and TV/movie folks I've
loved include Ernie Kovacs, Metropolis, “The Wizard of Speed andTime,”
[“Dark Star”](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069945/)
(hilarious!) and Allegro NonTroppo.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)