Monday, February 16, 2009

So, what's up with us?

I do not blog as much as I used to; some would say that blogging is dead, replaced by Twitter and Facebook, while others say blogging is alive and thriving. Hey, if you are interested in my daily (and I do mean daily) updates, follow me on Twitter or join Facebook. I don't intend to drop the blog, I just don't have as many large things to say.

All the same, I don't blog as much now that I spend my time on Facebook... but there are some things that just feel like it should be a blog post rather than note on a social network.

At long last, here's a real update on us.

As of the last update, we're living in the RV now down by the beach. Cathy's mom continues to live on her own (yeah!) and Cathy and I are adjusting to living on a single income.

I cannot sugarcoat it; Cathy remains unemployed and money is very tight. We're barely squeaking by financially, but we're thankful for everything we have, like a roof over our heads and my job, which is good.

The Census Bureau is hiring in the next few months - I am applying for a job as I am bilingual. We'll see how that works out... It's barely 2009, so I doubt it'll mean extra money any time soon.

I continue to send any extra money to my mother - I remain her sole source of income, and I am not able to send her enough to live decently. I am thankful that I am able to help my mom out; it is my opportunity to honor my parents, but it isn't enough for her to pay all her bills. *sigh* I keep hoping and praying that the VA will finally give aide to my mom.

I am not a big TV watcher, but we used to watch some shows on Hulu. We have a crappy Internet connection at the RV park, with a pathetic download speed and practially non-existent upload speed. Given that we are by the beach, there's no open wifi portals nearby, either, except for the Starbucks that is too far for us to reach from home. So, I deal with crappy Internet now. If I had a Blackberry Bold or Blackberry Storm I would tether off the 3G - as it is, the EDGE network almost outperforms the wifi. But hey, it's free.

We've dropped our mail-order DVD service to save money and use Redbox instead. I spend $4 a month and can get at least 8 movies ($1 per movie plus a free movie on Monday). That helps us control our cost but still gives us some entertainment. Some of you may remember that entertainment center we first put up in our old house in the Inland Empire. There's no room in the RV for a 96" projector screen, and I have yet to try to hook up the surround sound system. So, we're watching movies on my 15" Dell laptop. It's pathetic by comparison, but it works for us.

Cathy stays busy keeping house and reading. You wouldn't think a RV would take a lot of work, but the smaller kitchen makes dinner preparation more difficult. We also have a tiny refridgerator, so she needs to go grocery shopping more often. We do a lot of the chores, anything we can, together. I grill a lot on the patio to keep the kitchen clean, and we do the weekend shopping together to spend time together. It's a good life; simple and nice.

The furkids are healthy and have adjusted to living in the RV. The closer proximity has forced Zechariah to get along with the other cats, and I find her grooming Fanny and Bubba on occasion, while Cathy and seen three or more cats share the bed where only two would share it before. Oliver gets a lot of walks, so he's the happiest of all!

I thought that I would be done with plumbing problems now that we live in a studio apartment on wheels - I had to deal with a couple of clogs, and that was unpleasant but not overly difficult. The recent storms, today being the latest, showed me that the RV's slideout is not sealed against weather very well. The last storm caused water to pool on our slideout roof and it found a way onto our carpet at the front driver-side corner of the slideout. I think I found the problem and attempted to address it, and Cathy reports a minor leak today. I have a couple more adjustments to make.

That's it for now...! :-)

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