For the most part (and take this for what it is because the emotion might be different in 30 seconds) I think that we are both done being traumatized by the idea of bedbugs. This is, in part, because we have our second extermination on Wed. morning. Everyone needs more than one chemical extermination. About 20% of people need more than 2 chemical exterminations. So, we're hoping for the best on Wed.
Before we can sue the panties off of our management group (who are bloodsuckers themselves), we really need to get our here and now in order. We need to know that our present life isn't compromised. This means, we need to know that we can pay our bills and feed our children. Really, not having furniture and rewashing all of your bedding and clothing every day isn't the end of the world, stressful as it may be, if all your other bases are covered. For us, the financial burden of this situation has stung and this has exasperated our already stressed out state of mind.
Step one to recovery: Jay called the credit card companies who were pretty reasonable. The second company suggested we call a number for a credit council. We did a conference and the lady was really helpful. We can use the service and cut our interest rates drastically. It will take us four years to pay off our credit cards (we obviously had some debt before. It was more manageable though. This huge bed bug problem pushed our manageable debt over the edge and made it unmanageable).
Step 2: Have our second extermination. The exterminator is coming at 11 on Wednesday morning. To avoid one of our pets dying, I called the vet who has agreed to pet sit for Sherbert and Pandora from 10-6 on Wed. This should give our house plenty of time to dry and we don't have to worry about our cats being trapped in little pet carriers in our car, totally stressed out with no food water or way to go to the bathroom. It's $30 bucks per pet, but I think that's money well spent. After all... what did our "Sherbert Almost Died" vet visit cost? A whole helluva lot more than $30 bucks. Thatsfersure.
Step 3: I need a job. I applied at Whole Foods, my favorite place on earth. I'm going to go in tomorrow and talk to someone. I'm going to go around from place to place on South street and see if I can find something. Anything will do I will totally work for minimum wage. Honestly, the whole reason that I need a job (outside of digging myself out of this financial hole) is because I'm scared that I won't be able to afford Christmas this year. That's just unacceptable to me. I will NEVER let fucking bedbugs strip the magic of Christmas out of my children's lives. NEVER. NEVER. NEVER.
Step 4: Get furniture. No explanation needed.
Step 5: Organize everything that we need to present to a lawyer to make a case against Philadelphia Management.
Step 6: Sue the MoFo's.
Okay, so this is where we stand. I feel like I'm in a slightly better mental place (for the most part) right this second than I have been since the whole bed bug thing began.
Hopefully I can survive this without running away. Hopefully the worst is over. Hopefully things will just get better from here.
UPDATE:
I just called this place and the mailbox was full so I was unable to leave a message. Why does that strike me as bad?
Fair Housing Commission 34 S Eleventh Street, 6th Floor Philadelphia PA 19107 215.686.3237
Fair Housing addresses housing code violations and unfair rental practices
I sense you are in a MUCH better place right now! Getting mad and organized with a plan is what gets me though most things! ha!
ReplyDeleteI think getting a job will be awesome for you! Now that both the girls are in school it will give YOU something to do/have during the day too!
PLUS if you work at Whole Foods would you get a discount on food? I love WF too, but the closest one is in Ft. Collins, Colo. I couldn't shop there all the time because it definitely is a little more expensive, but for certain things I love it! I would give my left foot for a Trader Joe's in Wyoming! :)
Here's a little story for you: The owners of the house we bought in Cheyenne last year decided to sell nearly all their belongings and only take with them what they could basically fit in an old Scotty trailer. This was awesome for us because we got first pick of the items to buy, but it was a neat story too.
When I asked the woman, Jackie, how she felt about giving up all their really cool stuff she told us of how she had been in a very abusive marriage before her current husband and had to even go into hiding because he was a cop and had the ability to track her down. She and one of her daughters left in the middle of the night with a suitcase. They had to leave everything else.
She said she realized then that stuff is just stuff. Your family, life, etc. are the important things. After that, she had very little attachment to "things", even the really neat antique stuff they owned. To them, it was perfectly ok to be without all the knick knacks and little things they had because they were going to travel together then land in Washington state where their kids and grandkids are.
I thought it was cool. And hard. I have things I am very attached to and it would be hard to give it up, but...at the end of the day Jackie's right. You can't take it with you when you're gone either.
You can always get new stuff. (And you can do it with the sweet check you'll get in the settlement!) :)
Hey Kim! Thank you for all your motivating support! You really have the go-get-em attitude that I need to adopt. Seriously, no company should be able to treat people like this and get away with it. It's been awful. I'm starting to believe that we'll be okay though. We really can replace all of our stuff. It's gone now. It almost seems easier now that it IS actually gone. Now all we can do is look to the future and rebuild. It would have been easier if it were a choice. But, we had no choice and we'll survive.
ReplyDeleteSilver lining: I do not think that I'll ever take anything that I have, including my safety and sanity, for granted again.