Sunday, July 21, 2013

woe is me

Remember this song?!


GLOOM, DESPAIR AND AGONY ON ME
From the TV Show "Hee-Haw" (1969 -1992)

By Buck Owens & Roy Clark

Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me

Here are my woes over the last month.

We went to Phoenix to see what the employment market looked like.  Hubby's been unemployed for three years now and it is time to do something.  Phoenix is Hubby's old stomping ground.  Job market looks fair and we found places to live that were as economical as where we are at now.  On the way back to Kansas our diesel pick-up crapped out on us in Albuquerque.  We spent a week in a motel room eating bean-n-cheese burritos and dollar menu items at Mickey D's.  We had to borrow money from my sister to get home.  We ended up renting a car for Sister Suzy and I to come home in.  Hubby limped to Guymon, OK with the diesel after spending a second week in Albuquerque and the Ford dealership telling us the truck was fixed a second time.  Don't use Rich Ford is all I'm going to say about them.  The truck is still in Guymon waiting for parts and repairs. We have to sell the travel trailer to pay for repairs.

Next, the car's transmission is going out.  Hubby thought he would just pull it and rebuild it himself.  After getting the rebuild manual and reading through it he has rethought that idea.  Still not sure what we are going to do there.

Next up, the washing machine had stopped filling.  A quick search on the Internet said we needed new brushes in the motor.  So we ordered a pair; tipped the washer on its front and pulled the motor and replaced them.  Tipped the washer back up, hooked everything back up and plugged it back in.  Hey! Everything works!  NOT!  Something is now wrong with the water pump!  When we tipped the washer over something that was in the trap fell over the edge and got caught in the water pump.  Great!  Now the washer needs a new water pump!  More trips to laundry mat until that is fixed and the roulette game of, "Is this washer or dryer going to eat my money or work?"

Oh, it just keeps coming!  Sister Suzy came in this morning and said her air conditioner has stopped running.  The good new is we have an extra one we bought on sale a couple of years ago.  The bad news is it is larger than the one currently in her room, so the hole will need to be cut out and re-framed and finished.


One final woe, we had a series of frog drowning, gully washers last night.  The roof leaks, guess where?  Yup, my side of the bed!

 Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me
 



I know just how they feel.

I hope everyone is having a better day than me!

Judy

10 comments:

Shadowmoss said...

YOU WERE IN PHOENIX AND DIDN'T LET ME KNOW!!! sigh. What are your husband's skill sets? I can ask around. The guys I work with are mostly locals.

ps: don't let that happen again! :)

Judy said...

I thought about e-mailing you and then I worried we would be an imposition, so I didn't. When we get back I will, promise!

Hubby is an elementary teacher, (K-9), with an endorsement in middle school math. We got his finger-print card done while we were there, so now he can complete the process of having his license provisionally transferred to Arizona. He will have to take a couple of classes at the college level in Arizona history and constitution and some ESL classes. He's also three or four classes short of having his Master's in Special Ed. He is looking at cab driving and substitute teaching until he can get the ESL classes and the AZ history and constitution done.

Before he left in '86 he had been a Machinist, a welder, and worked for the State of Arizona. Interestingly enough, Rose Mofford was his supervisor when he was working for the State of Arizona.

Shadowmoss said...

Please do let me know. One co-worker says that he has friends who make a living doing substitute teaching. He also said that Charter schools basically just need the fingerprint card and not a lot else extra. I'll keep my ear to the ground.

Teri said...

Oh, I think the rain leaking on my side of the bed would have been it for me. Hope things start to get better for you guys.

Judy said...

That's what Hubby would be doing if we lived closer to town. 50 miles one way just doesn't work. If I remember right the Charter school teacher's license is a bit different than the public/parochial teacher's license and are not interchangeable. Our biggest issue is not living in the area. So we are selling anything and everything of value to finance a move if we can get past the 'it's-falling-apart-faster-than-we-can-fix-it' stage.

Judy said...

I finally saw the humor of the situation when I wanted to pull the covers over my head and hide in bed, and I couldn't, because there was a bucket setting in the middle of my side of the bed. That's when the song popped into my head.

We just have to hold our breath until my birthday at the end of the month then it should be smooth sailing until next July. Typically July is a financial disaster for us for some reason. LOL! Probably need to get a Feng Shui practitioner out to rearrange the furniture or paint the door frames some funky color.

Shadowmoss said...

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/forum/share-your-badassity/college-education-the-$6000-bachelors-degree/?topicseen

This is a 4 part paper written about how to pass exams in leu of taking classes to get college credit. There are a couple of different ways. It might help your husband with some of his required courses.

Judy said...

Thanks, I will pass the link on to him!

Shadowmoss said...

From one of the local on-line local papers or news show (not sure which since I don't get a paper or own a TV):
http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/local_news/hiring/10-valley-companies-hiring-workers-now-7282013

It includes the Scottsdale school district. They need positions filled that include non-teacher jobs.

I have time on my hands trying to stay awake to shift to the opposite shift in about 36 hours.

Judy said...

Thanks, the frustrating part now is getting everything repaired so we can get to Phoenix. It seems like the Universe is playing with us like a cat with a mouse.

I don't envy you at all trying to change shifts. I'm worthless for ages after a shift change. Particularly if it is getting up earlier because I am a night-owl.