Pomp and Circumstance and Things With LCD Screens

[uberreiniger]

These last couple of weeks have mostly consisted of managing our tax refund and putting it to use. This year M. and I got the biggest one we've ever had and I'm proud of the fact that we actually managed to use it almost entirely on things we planned on. We paid the property taxes on our cars and we were able to get our newest cat, Zinky Oreo Feet, her shots and get her spayed. We were also able to treat ourselves to a brand new 32" LCD television that we had been wanting for over a year now. That was a great feeling.

Unfortunately we couldn't do everything we wanted because crap got in the way. Late utilities needed paying and I had to unexpectedly fork over close to a hundred dollars to keep the garbage pickup service going. The waste disposal company around here is Deffenbaugh and I really hate them. They regularly miss our street so when the trash wasn't picked up one day I figured that was what had happened. No, it turns out they cut off our service because I hadn't paid them. The only reason I didn't pay them was because they never sent me a bill! Like every other complaint I've called them with, when I told them this they pretty much just blew it off. But of course since it's either them or nobody they don't have to provide good customer service.

Another unexpected expense hit last night when my computer monitor abruptly died altogether. I got the cheapest one I could and it's actually really nice: bigger and clearer than the one I had before. Still wish I hadn't had to spend that money. It prevents me from buying the thing I really wanted the most out of my refund, a new guitar. Or I should say a very specific kind of guitar that can only be found on the secondhand market these days. When I did get the refund money in hand, though, every single one that had been on the secondhand market up and disappeared. So I'm telling myself it was serendipity. I wasn't meant to buy it this time because I was going to need the money for other things. That eases the disappointment somewhat but the disappointment is still there.

Last but not least, today was a very big day. Today my wife graduated from massage therapy school. It's a big deal that she's done this and I am very, very proud of her. There was a really nice ceremony at the school followed by a party at one of her classmates' houses. I had not met anyone from her class before tonight and I'm really wishing I had because they are all really fun people. I felt like I fit in perfectly with all of them that I talked to and I almost never have that feeling at gatherings of this type. Everyone is really excited about being done and the career prospects it opens up. I have to admit the excitement is kind of contagious.

Back to work tomorrow but there's rehearsal in the evening to look forward to. So I leave my world of shiny new LCD screens behind and go to hopefully earn another good-sized refund for next year.

Comments

[rosehiptea.livejournal.com]

I spent a huge chunk of my tax return this year on Die Ärzte related items. (Plus German lessons, which may or may not be considered a related item depending on how sane you consider me... XD)

I'm really glad you got to use at least some of it for relaxation money.

Your trash company sounds like my cable internet company. They love to have people call me to ask me if I want to buy new services that I never, ever want to buy, but they will cheerfully let me rack up bills until they cut off my service without reminding me to pay. Don't get me wrong, I know it's my responsibility to pay the bill but you'd think with all those people on phones they could spare one to remind me I'm months behind.

Though I'd rather lose the internet than lose my trash pickup. And that's not something I say lightly.

I'm probably going to have to spend some of my next paycheck on a portable hard drive because a) I'm running out of space on my computer and b) the cloud service I've been using keeps giving me problems. But I don't need a very big one, so it shouldn't be a ridiculous expense. Sorry to hear your monitor died though...

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

I too have been thinking about getting one. My PC is getting awfully crowded too. And don't feel bad, I would definitely give up trash service before internet!

[howlin-wolf-66.livejournal.com]

Congratulations to your wife! :-)

[chassit19.livejournal.com]

Thank you :)

[avocado-love.livejournal.com]

Not receiving your trash bill is so common it's scary. My office is a small one, so I'm the one in charge of receiving returned mail. There are SO MANY customers that call in swearing up and down that they never got their bill, and it's not on MY desk as returned mail. It's out in the void somewhere. I have this personal theory that the Post Office isn't as reliable as it used to be, due to all the budget cuts. :/

That's great about your wife, though! Massage therapy is an excellent career choice, and I'm sure it'll open up many opportunities for her. (And she can always practice on you. heh-heh.)

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Can and does :)

Every single other person I pay can somehow manage to get a bill saying what I owe from their desk to mine. I'm not buying that the post office loses the garbage company's and the garbage company's alone, or that the dog ate their homework or whatever.

[gothicbeauty21.livejournal.com]

I have a friend who has a guitar he's giving to me to sell. All I know about it is it's a Les Paul, and there's a minor problem with it, a part that needs replacing, that he is going to do before he gets rid of it. And he's not asking a lot for it.

I have no idea if it's anywhere near what you're looking for, but I figured I would mention it. I'll get him to give me a little more info on it. He told me what it was at 2am the other night, and all that stuck with me was Les Paul.

[gothicbeauty21.livejournal.com]

Also, many congrats to M. It's not easy, and I'm glad that she had wonderful people in her class.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It's been a long journey for her and I'm glad she's had good people on the road with her.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Les Pauls aren't really my thing although they are wonderful instruments. I'm sure you won't sit on it for long as they are always in pretty high demand. Thanks for telling me about it.

My holy grail that I am chasing is a B.C. Rich NJ series Beast. They haven't been made since about 2005. I used to have one and sold it and it was one of the worst mistakes I've ever made. I've regretted it every day since and now I am determined to have one again. B.C. Rich is supposedly going to re-release the model but that's at least a year away and I'm sure the MSRP will be quite high. Used ones typically go for $300 or less depending on how chipped the points are, but they've got a lot of people like me looking for them and they never stay on the market for long.

[gothicbeauty21.livejournal.com]

I will ask my buddy. He's a young kid with too much money at his disposal, so he's always buying guitars, playing them for a bit, then selling most of them in order to buy something else. If he doesn't have one he wants to get rid of, he might know someone who does.

Granted, he's more blues than metal, but still. Everyone knows someone who knows someone who knows someone. You know?

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

I'll take help from any corner I can find it. Thanks. Have him put the word out to be on the lookout for red or blue ones. I don't really want any more black guitars and the red ones especially are just beautiful.

I've always envied those guitar guys who can afford new instruments all the time and have dozens of them. I've never learned the trick of being one. It sure must be nice.

[gothicbeauty21.livejournal.com]

He comes from money, and his family figured there were worse things he could do with it than spend it on a musical hobby.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

There are definitely far less productive expensive hobbies for a rich person to have.

[gothicbeauty21.livejournal.com]

I have no idea how close it is to you, but he inquired as to your geographical location and when I told him your part of the country, he said "if it's anywhere near close, have him ask Flint Hill Music in Emporia", that if they didn't have one they would probably know someone who does.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Emporia's a bit of a schlep but it's only a couple of hours. I've never heard of that store. I'll see what I can find out about it. Thanks!

[gothicbeauty21.livejournal.com]

This friend has family from EVERYWHERE, so I wasn't too surprised he might know of a little shop in the middle of BFE. He takes his toys very seriously.

Good luck!

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

They give you crappy service too?

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Technically we're in Mission but we're literally a few streets from being in Overland Park. The woman we're renting from told us to use Deffenbaugh so that's what we did. I'm not even aware if there's an alternative.

[redstar826.livejournal.com]

late to the party, but congrats to your wife :)

[flame-song.livejournal.com]

Yay for M's graduation!
And good thing you had that refunds, in spite of money going down the drain for unplanned stuff. Better now than when ypu are without a dime...

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

I am without a dime most other times so this was definitely fortunate!