We all harbor fears of Friday the 13th. No matter the month. Pictures of unlucky things happening to unwary travelers, or commuters back and forth to work. Walking under ladders, or breaking mirrors accompanies these images of doom and mayhem. Things such as losing a job, or a loved one. Maybe your vehicle breaking down. Losing a place to live. A pet dying. All of these things people think more of when a person says "Friday the 13th" right after images of the movie of the same name flash through their minds eye. Well, I am here to tell you that this past Friday the 13th, of July, 2012, wasn't a bad day for me after all. I wake up around 9a when my owner leaves for work, like I do every other day, and listen to him open the door, then the screen door, and walks out to his car. I'm laying there thinking that I could do the same thing. I lay there until around 11a, when I get up. around a half hour later, I get a call. I talk to this person, and when I hang up, I have a potential job. A couple hours later, my mate calls a hotline to see if he has been accepted for food stamps, and he has.
As of this posting, I am employed, making $9/hr. I start July 25th at 11a. The class begins at noon, and from then on, I will be Customer Support and Service Rep. Working from home. Finally, this four year, one month, eleven day stint of unemployment is at an end. Finally, after all of this time, I will be working again. So, Friday the 13th....Not such a bad day for me.
*start Rant*
You know, I was talking to a friend the other day over Yahoo IM. I had asked him about a situation. Mine and my owners roommate has registered for a furcon in November. Now, this roommate has a job, of which I transport him to and from each day he works. He hasn't helped my owner with anything, aside from a couple gallons of milk every week or so. Which is appreciated. He hasn't tried to help with the electricity bill, the rent, or grocery bill. When we go shopping, he gets a $3.79 loaf of bread. This is fine. But here is the thing. He doesn't offer to help pay the grocery bill at check out, nor make any verbal communication with my owner about "Hey. I will start paying for the things I would like foodwise, beings as they are rather expensive.". No, instead he uses my owners money for all of the food he eats, without contributing to it. Not only that, but he eats a lot. Not as much as he used to, no. But still, quite a bit to where its very noticeable. Through all of this, this roommate hasn't helped with much of anything. He is upstairs doing the dishes now, which would be his fourth or fifth time in the two months he has been living here. Yet he is going to a furcon he already registered for in November.
I wonder how he is getting there... The moment he says "I'm going to be getting a plane ticket to this furcon.." I will itemize what he owes for living here. He owes, as of this post, $600 for rent, $100 for my gas for his transport to and from work, $200-$300 for groceries. All of this was agreed upon before he moved in. "You're gonna need to help with rent and food, and gas for taking you to and from work." ... "Ok, I can do that. May not be much now, but once I start getting more hours, I can help." Granted, up until two weeks ago, during the Waldo Canyon Fire, he was only working one day a week. But even then, not one word about helping out my owner. Nothing along the lines of "Ok, I will be able to give you this much for rent, and this much here for gas, Ghostie. Next week, I can help a little with groceries." Nothing like that. I even talked to him about it a few weeks ago. He had the look of incredulousness about him, like "You're asking me to help? Really?" I ignored it then. I also warned him that he needs to close his account down, so his money doesn't get sucked into the bank for his overdrafts. I reiterated this several times through the conversation. on Friday, this past Friday, the 13th, his bank sucked his entire paycheck into said black hole. He comes and tells me, with this look of rage and whatnot. He had said something like "You don't seem to upset about it." ... I looked at him and said "I told you a few weeks ago that this would happen, that you needed to close your accounts. That you needed to do that immediately. You didn't listen to me, and it happened. Suffice it to say, I told you so. I was expecting this. I knew this was gonna happen. So no, I'm not mad, nor surprised. I warned you it would happen, and it did." Inside, I was like "Dude, really? You didn't listen to me, and your mad that what I said was gonna happen, happened? Fucking dumbass...next time, you'll listen ya?"
This person, from what I've seen is rather self centered. That is good, but not to this extreme. Me, personally, when I manage my income, I have no fun until stuff is taken care of. For example: Rent, utilities, food, car insurance and payment, and gasoline. All of that is taken care of before I even think of going to a fast food place, or the movies. Before I spend $1 at McDonalds, I make sure everything is paid for. Then, and only then, after I double check all accounts to make sure payments have gone through, on the sites, as well as my bank, before I even attempt to go to the movies. And, even after I do that, I wait about three days, for everything to clear. After that, if I'm able to help someone, I do so.
I've given my newly bought meal to a homeless person. They were hungrier than I was. I've helped random people on the side of the road. Last time I did that, I was driving down a street, and saw a jeep in the middle of an intersection, a busy one at that. It had three middle aged women in it, whom were waiting for AAA. I pushed their jeep out of the intersection, because it was extremely busy. I didn't want them to get hurt. When I got back to my car, a woman ran up to me and handed me a $10 bill. I didn't need it. I didn't help them for money. I helped them because they needed it. A line from a movie always sticks out in my mind. "Don't try and make miracles. BE the miracle." Oddly enough, its from a Jim Carrey movie, "Bruce Almighty". Don't try and perform a miracle. Be someones Miracle. Help them push their car from the intersection. Give someone a meal.
And if you're staying with friends, help them pay the bills. If they refuse your money not once, but twice, then and only then are you guilt free from not helping them. And when they do accept your help, do not view them as money hungry. You don't know what it could be taking to keep you as a roommate.
*end Rant*
