Trials, Tribulations and Things to be Thankful For

Roaring Lion By Steven Jervey CC-BY-2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

This post starts out sounding like a whine, but ends with a roar, so read on!

Trials and Tribulations

I had a rather large check that I had to cash, so instead of paying the 20% fee at a check cashing place, I decided to open a bank account. Wrong move. I opened my account on August 14th and STILL have not received my debit card. I ordered checks from Wal-Mart that never came, so I had to get that straightened out and reorder them. I have all this money in the bank, and I can't get to it because nobody will take a starter check. Can't blame them, really. I wouldn't either.

So then PayPal completely screwed up my account by transferring money out of the wrong account. The money was withdrawn out of the first account, so it is not accessible to me, but it has yet to show up in the PP account. More money I can't get to.

My Net10 phone service is up today, and I can't get it reloaded online because there is no money in any of my accounts that I have any access to. I am going to have to walk down to the Dollar General (if it doesn't rain) this evening (when -- of IF --  it cools down) and buy a card with cash, then hop on a bus in the morning and take two busses to get to the bank and get money out. This is INSANE!  I've never had a bank take longer than a week to send me my debit card. Things like this are why I didn't have a bank at all for 3 years.

It's very hard to enjoy my new place with all this going on.Thank heaven I have enough food to last a few days. I did buy a bag of black eyed peas the other day, so if worse comes to worse, I have those and brown rice to eat.

Top all this off with the fact that Writers Domain just cut our pay by 25%, and it has not been a good week. So I decided to look for things to be thankful for.

Things to Be Thankful For

1. I have my own place, finally. It's not perfect, but it's mine, and I have a yard that is a clean slate that I can do just about anything with. I have my own kitchen, where I have plenty of space to store my food and all the utensils I need to cook the way I want to.
2. Even though Writers Domain cut our pay, at least there is work, and if something happens there, I still have other eggs that are viable, even if they don't pay as much. So I won't starve, and I'll be able to pay my bills. That's a huge plus. 
3. I am so much better off than those who are living in tents in the woods right on the other side of town. Some of them choose to live this way and some don't, but at least I have a house with decent a/c and heat and running water. Those are things so many of us take for granted, but it's important to think of these as blessings. If we truly do run out of oil, we may not have these things forever. We may not even have electricity.
4. I have the ability to grow my own food and feed myself, and teach others how to grow their own food and feed themselves. I know how to sew and crochet and create useful things from other things. There are so many people who will be in a load of trouble if the shit really does hit the fan. I may be too, but I won't be as bad off as some who couldn't grow hair without instructions and expensive products. Trust me, $700 heels will be useless if there is no food.
5. I am blessed that I have the ability to care for myself. I have a friend who was bemoaning the fact that her son who lives with her is getting married and she wouldn't have him to take out the garbage or bring the groceries in. I did not realize she was so disabled. I can't imagine not being able to take out my own garbage or bring in my own groceries, even up to a third floor apartment like she lives in.
   
   It's hard for me to shop, because I have to walk a mile to the store and back, or get on a bus to get to some places, but I'm thankful I can do that. When I have to ride the bus for hours to get places, I'm thankful at least that there ARE buses to ride. What if there is no more oil? How will people get places? I guess we will all have to move to the country and ride horses, or learn to walk long distances.

So overall, there is a lot to be thankful for, and I will deal with the rest as it comes along. There is something about being poor for a long time that makes you very resilient, and able to do with so much less. I guess I should be thankful for my poverty too, in that case.

I really do know people who, even though they look down on me, could not make it if they were suddenly stripped of everything their happiness depends on. I feel so sorry for them. The things they say to me hurt, but then I picture them without their high-paying jobs, fancy homes, designer clothes and gas-guzzling SUV's and they look very alone and afraid and honestly -- pretty useless. I may be a lot of things, but I will never be useless.