After a bland, exhausting Monday, I came home from Ruby's to find that KimKim's room was completely empty. She had picked up and moved. I looked around the house for some sort of note or explanation, but there was nothing. She left completely without notice. We had a rommie meeting when Tiffany and Courtney got back a little after that. I was sitting knitting contently, excited to start my newest project. We discussed the matter and Tiffany said they caught her on her way out earlier that day. If they wouldn't have seen her, we all would have had my same experience. She reported that KimKim was very vague and acting very suspiciously about her "sudden" decision. We believe she didn't want roommates and everything else she said was just an excuse. I knew KimKim had problems with Tiffany (like I had), but apparently she wasn't able to tough it out, learn and grow. So she was gone, and there was nothing we could do about it. Rent checks needed to be on the fridge in a couple of days and we needed a plan of attack.
When KimKim had moved in, the attorney, Marc, had said that he's not sure if Kurt would withdraw his offer of a lowered overall rent ($750 instead of $875) as a result of the Grace situation or not. We weren't counting on it. So when Tiffany texted me on Tuesday morning while I was a school and told me that as of now, we were going to need to have a check for over $290 prepared for rent collection, I was none to happy. I asked if we could have Grace pay it, and she informed me that she never responds to either her or Courtney. Since I didn't have a relationship with Grace, I didn't have issue with being direct about the issue. Long story short, after my messages, Grace responded. To all of us. We had another roomie meeting that night and talked things over so we were all on the same page. Tiffany was grateful I had taken action; she didn't think she could have said what needed to be said because Grace was her friend. Courtney didn't even want to know what happened, she just wanted to fix the issue now that we had Grace's attention.
Meanwhile, I am currently trying to further educate myself in the world of knitting. I am intrigued by the idea of selling my creations, and figured I would begin learning how to create cup cozies, or mug sweaters. They're super cute, but I'm stumped by the pattern's directions of creating the ribbed look at the top. I've had the hardest time discerning the difference between "knitting" and "purling", because when I look at how-to's online, they look exactly the same! The pictures of "purled" yarn looks just like that of "knitted" yarn! I can feel the conflict in my brain; I can feel my thoughts coming to and end, like they're hitting a wall. My thoughts are being beaten and bruised! However, I have finally come to a conclusion. They must simply be the same movements, going in opposite directions.
I was super excited to get home last night and give it a shot. So I picked up my needles and knit (sticking the needle through the stitch pointing away from me) and purled (sticking the needle through the stitch pointing at me) all the way down the row. Success! I could see the backwards/forwards, in/out pattern beginning to form. However, when I got to the second row, I knew I had to knit where I'd purled and purl where I'd knitted because now it was all facing the other direction. Between trying to keep that straight and seeing the crisscross on the needle that I'm not used to seeing and not being able to discern which was a stitch and which was not, I got so frustrated and lost and tight that I couldn't find a stitch or pick it up when I could find it. The entire thing was turning into a mess, and I got so mad, I yanked my needles out and decided I was going to pull it out down to the knit section again, stick the needles in and start over. But as I was trying to get the chosen row back on the needle, a stitch was too small to grab and it fell through. That was it. I grabbed the yarn and unraveled the whole thing, tossed it to the side, and threw myself back on the bed.
This was the exact moment Kal came over to pick me up for dinner. Bless his heart, he sat there with me and listened to my woes. At least that was the worst part to my yesterday. Then, I got a text from Courtney late last night concerning the Grace situation. They had all met up at Starbucks (Grace did not invite me, coward), and discussed the matter. When they got home, Kal was over, so Courtney just sent me a text. She said she would explain later, but I should just plan on writing a $219 check for rent in the morning.
After Kal left, I asked her what happened. The basics are that Grace does not feel responsible to fulfill the lease since KimKim had moved in and paid for a month. My problem with that is KimKim never signed anything. So the lease is still under Grace's signature. But whatever. Courtney and Tiffany are just done messing with it and they know I can't afford an extra $80 a month. Kurt is allowing us to pay only an extra $90 between us, so they chose to split it between the two of them and round me up to the nearest dollar amount. I made sure she knew I didn't want to stick that on them and I could make it work, but they insisted that this was better for everyone.
This morning though, I completely forgot to put the check on the fridge as the result of a whole new problem. It was difficult to get out of bed in the first place, so I was already dragging. I noticed there was a layer of snow covering the world and realized I was going to have to head out early to start my car or poor Libby wouldn't want to budge.So I went out ten minutes earlier than usual, went to unlock my car...and I couldn't even get the key in. The car was so frozen, I couldn't even get the key into the lock. I usually only have trouble jiggling it enough to get it to break free, but this I had never encountered. I called Leesburg and let them know I was going to be a few minutes late, so I didn't get the crazy eyes from Krista again. I texted Dad and Kal and eventually concluded that hot water was my best option. I filled up my watering jug for my gerber daisies and poured a little bit over the handle and lock, following it up with a dry towel. I didn't want to be counterproductive. I got the handle free fairly easily after only a few seconds, but I had to work for a few minutes on the lock since I couldn't get the water in the hole directly. When I finally got my key in, I had to jiggle and jiggle and jiggle for several minutes before I finally felt it start to give. Once I had it going a little bit, the rest of it soon followed. Libby sure put up a fight when I tried to turn over the ignition, but she eventually complied. I let her run for ten minutes before I made her drive anywhere.
When I got to school, I realized I had forgotten the check and had to drive all the way back home to deliver it to Tiffany and Courtney who needed to make the deposit today. It has to be processed by the first. So I spent my lunch break driving back into Warsaw and then back to Leesburg. Super. That was four dollars in gas, right there. Plus, some more frustrations because I had to fight to get into my car again.
Some highlights for the week so far however are that I was actually able to put some money into savings after I did all my budgeting. Sure, I had to go spend it on gas later, but I still felt good about myself for a moment. Also, Randy asked me today if I would be willing to start a volleyball club or run a clinic for girls who would like to participate and learn more about the sport. I was so excited! He said I have so much talent and it seems a crime that it's not being put to good use. If I can't fit a day into my schedule from 4-5 after school, then he would like me to give lessons to his daughter and he'd pay me $20 an hour. As good as the money sounds, the clinic would just be super fun! So I'll have to think about how I'm going to do that. Being able to put in my resume that I started and directed a school club is just a flat out good idea.
However, just like all things awesome, life threw something totally not awesome at me to follow it up. After BYC, I spent 20 minutes trying to get into my car before I finally called Mom in tears. I went back inside and Kal agreed to come get me. I decided to try hot water again, and on my way down the hall, the ESL teacher, Amber, caught me and asked what was going on. I explained, near tears again from my stress and frustration. She had actually de-froze someone else's car just a few days ago. We filled three gallon buckets with water and marched outside. The first we poured all around the door, and the rest directly on the seam by the lock. It worked. I got in and drove off to meet my friend Emily from Ruby's for coffee at Courthouse.
When I got there, I had the opposite problem I had been having. Instead of not being able to open my car door, I now couldn't close it. Go figure. I had no idea what I was going to do. I can't not have my car. Losing other things like my computer or my cell phone would certainly suck, but to lose my car? Oh no. That's an unbearable thought. My life depends on that vehicle. I have to work to survive. I'm living paycheck to paycheck, as much as I hate it. I struggle to break even every month. I can't not have a way to get to work everyday.
Emily pulled up beside me as I was banging at my door, trying to close it, trying even harder to not cry. It was so cold though, that I just stuck my computer in the trunk and left it as is. No one was going to try to steal a broken car. At least that was my thought. I texted Kal and told him about my newest predicament and he asked me what I wanted him to do for me. I told him I had no idea, but asked if he could come pick me up after me and Emily were finished. He called and asked where my car was and if it was just sitting out there, and I confirmed it. Bless his heart, he came out right then and there. I was expecting him to say something, but the next I heard from him, he called and told me he'd gotten it to close because "I'm just that good", and had left the passenger door unlocked for me to get into the car. I ran out in the cold without my coat to catch him before he left to kiss him because he's just the most wonderful thing ever.
So now, I have to climb in and out of my passenger side door and leave it unlocked (I don't have a keyhole on that side). Fantastic. But you know what? My car runs. The door is shut and I can drive it. She will still get me to work. It may be ghetto, but I get there.
I am being challenged in my soul by something I had never expected. I have faced a lot as I've ventured out on my own to begin my own life. My attitude when I wake up in the morning is simply to put on the coffee because it's going to be another crappy day. How am I going to make it until I get home again...? I don't want it to be that way, it bothers me. My mind was troubled over starting the day with coffee to sustain me. Coffee to de-stress. I called mom last night and talked to her about feeling like I needed to give up coffee for a while, trying to force myself to search for fulfillment in other places.
Her response was that maybe I didn't need to give it up completely. Instead, I should pray over my empty cup and ask God to fill it. Pray for the strength and power to keep on moving forward. If I still need a cup of coffee, I should have one, but only after I have gone to the right source of strength and fulfillment.
Although this week has been extremely difficult and exhausting, Prof Cox mentioned to me today that I seemed as if I had a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.
Yeah. God's gonna fill my cup. And He'll be faithful to fill it til it overflows.
I was super excited to get home last night and give it a shot. So I picked up my needles and knit (sticking the needle through the stitch pointing away from me) and purled (sticking the needle through the stitch pointing at me) all the way down the row. Success! I could see the backwards/forwards, in/out pattern beginning to form. However, when I got to the second row, I knew I had to knit where I'd purled and purl where I'd knitted because now it was all facing the other direction. Between trying to keep that straight and seeing the crisscross on the needle that I'm not used to seeing and not being able to discern which was a stitch and which was not, I got so frustrated and lost and tight that I couldn't find a stitch or pick it up when I could find it. The entire thing was turning into a mess, and I got so mad, I yanked my needles out and decided I was going to pull it out down to the knit section again, stick the needles in and start over. But as I was trying to get the chosen row back on the needle, a stitch was too small to grab and it fell through. That was it. I grabbed the yarn and unraveled the whole thing, tossed it to the side, and threw myself back on the bed.
This was the exact moment Kal came over to pick me up for dinner. Bless his heart, he sat there with me and listened to my woes. At least that was the worst part to my yesterday. Then, I got a text from Courtney late last night concerning the Grace situation. They had all met up at Starbucks (Grace did not invite me, coward), and discussed the matter. When they got home, Kal was over, so Courtney just sent me a text. She said she would explain later, but I should just plan on writing a $219 check for rent in the morning.
After Kal left, I asked her what happened. The basics are that Grace does not feel responsible to fulfill the lease since KimKim had moved in and paid for a month. My problem with that is KimKim never signed anything. So the lease is still under Grace's signature. But whatever. Courtney and Tiffany are just done messing with it and they know I can't afford an extra $80 a month. Kurt is allowing us to pay only an extra $90 between us, so they chose to split it between the two of them and round me up to the nearest dollar amount. I made sure she knew I didn't want to stick that on them and I could make it work, but they insisted that this was better for everyone.
This morning though, I completely forgot to put the check on the fridge as the result of a whole new problem. It was difficult to get out of bed in the first place, so I was already dragging. I noticed there was a layer of snow covering the world and realized I was going to have to head out early to start my car or poor Libby wouldn't want to budge.So I went out ten minutes earlier than usual, went to unlock my car...and I couldn't even get the key in. The car was so frozen, I couldn't even get the key into the lock. I usually only have trouble jiggling it enough to get it to break free, but this I had never encountered. I called Leesburg and let them know I was going to be a few minutes late, so I didn't get the crazy eyes from Krista again. I texted Dad and Kal and eventually concluded that hot water was my best option. I filled up my watering jug for my gerber daisies and poured a little bit over the handle and lock, following it up with a dry towel. I didn't want to be counterproductive. I got the handle free fairly easily after only a few seconds, but I had to work for a few minutes on the lock since I couldn't get the water in the hole directly. When I finally got my key in, I had to jiggle and jiggle and jiggle for several minutes before I finally felt it start to give. Once I had it going a little bit, the rest of it soon followed. Libby sure put up a fight when I tried to turn over the ignition, but she eventually complied. I let her run for ten minutes before I made her drive anywhere.
When I got to school, I realized I had forgotten the check and had to drive all the way back home to deliver it to Tiffany and Courtney who needed to make the deposit today. It has to be processed by the first. So I spent my lunch break driving back into Warsaw and then back to Leesburg. Super. That was four dollars in gas, right there. Plus, some more frustrations because I had to fight to get into my car again.
Some highlights for the week so far however are that I was actually able to put some money into savings after I did all my budgeting. Sure, I had to go spend it on gas later, but I still felt good about myself for a moment. Also, Randy asked me today if I would be willing to start a volleyball club or run a clinic for girls who would like to participate and learn more about the sport. I was so excited! He said I have so much talent and it seems a crime that it's not being put to good use. If I can't fit a day into my schedule from 4-5 after school, then he would like me to give lessons to his daughter and he'd pay me $20 an hour. As good as the money sounds, the clinic would just be super fun! So I'll have to think about how I'm going to do that. Being able to put in my resume that I started and directed a school club is just a flat out good idea.
However, just like all things awesome, life threw something totally not awesome at me to follow it up. After BYC, I spent 20 minutes trying to get into my car before I finally called Mom in tears. I went back inside and Kal agreed to come get me. I decided to try hot water again, and on my way down the hall, the ESL teacher, Amber, caught me and asked what was going on. I explained, near tears again from my stress and frustration. She had actually de-froze someone else's car just a few days ago. We filled three gallon buckets with water and marched outside. The first we poured all around the door, and the rest directly on the seam by the lock. It worked. I got in and drove off to meet my friend Emily from Ruby's for coffee at Courthouse.
When I got there, I had the opposite problem I had been having. Instead of not being able to open my car door, I now couldn't close it. Go figure. I had no idea what I was going to do. I can't not have my car. Losing other things like my computer or my cell phone would certainly suck, but to lose my car? Oh no. That's an unbearable thought. My life depends on that vehicle. I have to work to survive. I'm living paycheck to paycheck, as much as I hate it. I struggle to break even every month. I can't not have a way to get to work everyday.
Emily pulled up beside me as I was banging at my door, trying to close it, trying even harder to not cry. It was so cold though, that I just stuck my computer in the trunk and left it as is. No one was going to try to steal a broken car. At least that was my thought. I texted Kal and told him about my newest predicament and he asked me what I wanted him to do for me. I told him I had no idea, but asked if he could come pick me up after me and Emily were finished. He called and asked where my car was and if it was just sitting out there, and I confirmed it. Bless his heart, he came out right then and there. I was expecting him to say something, but the next I heard from him, he called and told me he'd gotten it to close because "I'm just that good", and had left the passenger door unlocked for me to get into the car. I ran out in the cold without my coat to catch him before he left to kiss him because he's just the most wonderful thing ever.
So now, I have to climb in and out of my passenger side door and leave it unlocked (I don't have a keyhole on that side). Fantastic. But you know what? My car runs. The door is shut and I can drive it. She will still get me to work. It may be ghetto, but I get there.
I am being challenged in my soul by something I had never expected. I have faced a lot as I've ventured out on my own to begin my own life. My attitude when I wake up in the morning is simply to put on the coffee because it's going to be another crappy day. How am I going to make it until I get home again...? I don't want it to be that way, it bothers me. My mind was troubled over starting the day with coffee to sustain me. Coffee to de-stress. I called mom last night and talked to her about feeling like I needed to give up coffee for a while, trying to force myself to search for fulfillment in other places.
Her response was that maybe I didn't need to give it up completely. Instead, I should pray over my empty cup and ask God to fill it. Pray for the strength and power to keep on moving forward. If I still need a cup of coffee, I should have one, but only after I have gone to the right source of strength and fulfillment.
Although this week has been extremely difficult and exhausting, Prof Cox mentioned to me today that I seemed as if I had a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.
Yeah. God's gonna fill my cup. And He'll be faithful to fill it til it overflows.
.jpg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment