Hey gang,
I'm running a limited-time competition whereby you, yes you, can win the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of having a real-life AGS Celebrity (http://ags-ssh.blogspot.com/2011/07/1000-postiversary-special-celebrity-top.html) come live in your home and mooch off of you while he tries to get back on his feet financially! Candidates probably must live in the U.S. (considering that's where I live and I have no passport! 8))
And just so you know this isn't a joke, it's been officially endorsed by our very own, strazer:
Quote from: strazer on Mon 18/07/2011 23:37:42
No worries! I'd gladly offer you a place to crash if I lived in the US...
You know as well as I do that there are great guys in the AGS community, so I suggest asking around here if you need a place to stay.
I hope everything works out for you! Keep your chin up!
Chris
In all actuality what's happened is that over the course of the last week, I've gotten my truck out of the shop only to have it break down three days later, my roommates who were helping me out with rides (with me paying their gas) decided 1) they will never give me a ride anywhere ever again and 2) they want me out of their house, and so as a result of these former reasons, I've also lost my job (because 32 miles (each way) is a hell of a walk).
I'd never even think of asking around here in this fashion, but strazer said I should, and I don't know any better than to blindly follow everything strazer tells me to do. :=
If anyone is capable and willing to help me out with my situation, that would be incredibly awesome and also incredibly unexpected (simply because we don't really know each other in "real" life). So, discuss. :=
By the way, I do have other familial-related options, but they are very limited (in resources, not in a desire to help me out). Just to let you know.
Hey man, sorry to hear about your troubles. I would help out, but I am not in a position to since I am preparing for a newborn child to come into my life soon. But keep your chin up. You will definitely find some way to get by. If I Can make some suggestions, since you are out of a job, I would try collecting unemployment. As far as a vehicle goes, try zipcar.com. It might actually be handy for you to try their service for now. As far as housing, try income based homes in your area or carabetta.
I know these are not pleasant options, but they will help you get by until you get back on your feet. I hope this helps.
If I was a single man, I'd help you out.
Hope you find somewhere to crash and somewhere to work!
That totally sucks man. Why did your roommates just suddenly decide not to help you anymore? Did they have a geniune reason, or just being total arseholes?
Hope you get sorted, mate.
Quote
1) they will never give me a ride anywhere ever again and 2) they want me out of their house...
Dude...what did you do? :-\
Anyhow, keep hanging in there. I came close to finding myself in a similar situation once, and my best advice is to take any steady paying job and, if you can, move in with family. Hopefully for free. What you need now is the security of knowing you won't be homeless, while you figure out any future plans.
1) where do you live ? and what kind of work do you do ?
2) Do you swear to not sleep with my wife even if she is incredibly hot and comes onto you
3) Do you promise to teach me everything about AGS without telling me to check the manual first
All kidding aside...Life can really suck sometimes, you sound like a very smart guy so you should have no prob getting on your feet pretty quickly. Good friends and family and of course a significant other is a must these days to get through every day life. If you live in New York and follow rule 2 and 3 maybe we can talk.
Regarding the roommates, I should explain further. As with any people living together there is give and take in what we all contribute to the experience, but they have explained that I didn't really so much do anything wrong that they are holding against me. They have simply explained that due to my current financial situation they are not financially able to help me in getting back on my feet. Considering the fact that there was a time period that I was the only person contributing food while they were both unemployed, I was a tad bit, well, bitter about it. But I'm presently staying with a married couple in their house, so, I don't much have a real say in the matter as we had an entirely open-ended agreement about my residency.
Oh, and regarding them not giving me a ride, they said that I wasn't giving them enough gas money. However, I weekly calculated the amount of driving that was actually used in relation to taking me to work, and the gas mileage of the vehicles given, and am rather confident that I actually put more in than what I used. Without "conclusive evidence" to prove that though it's just down to a difference of opinions I suppose. Also, for the record, their only working vehicle broke down a few days after mine did. := Karma much?
Unemployment is not a viable option for me because, speaking from experience unfortunately, they won't consider "lack of transportation" as a valid reason for quitting the job that I had.
Given the fact that I am currently in debt, I doubt that I would be able to find any type of apartment or anything that would allow me to move in without a deposit, which I don't actually have the ability to provide (hence the reasoning why I can't just pay to get my truck immediately fixed and pay my roommates off to convince them to settle ;)).
Finally (I guess, for this post), I'm currently residing in Texas, but I have zero strong ties to this place. As a matter of fact I believe my entry in the wiki still says something to that effect. Having had experience in "rooming" with married couples and committed relationships alike, I can assure you that I've never caused issues of any sort in that regard, and I have nothing to hide.
I am actively looking into "other" options, perhaps involving staying in the same area that I'm currently in (despite my vehicular, financial, employment, and housing situations, there may indeed be some unexplored options available...). To anyone who is or has actually seriously considered this proposal to any degree, let me say thanks. As serious as my situation is, I'm ill experienced in this type of proposal, and the idea that anyone would consider it is beyond my comprehension for awesomitity. So, whatever may come of all this, thanks for all the kind words and consideration given here. ;)
Ouch. Sorry you're going through some tough times. Hang in there. I believe in you, Oceanspirit Monkey! :)
That sucks man, hope you find a place soon. If I didn't have a roommate I'd consider having you come and stay awhile. :D
Is there no form of public transport which would allow you to reach your workplace?
How much is it for a car (used)?
How many dollar bills to get you back on your feet?
A tad curt, I know, but maybe I could help.
The nearest public transportation would probably be the Metro buses that run routes about 45 minutes to an hour from where I live. One of the many advantages of living in Cleveland, Texas.
I haven't looked into used cars, probably because I figured I wouldn't have the money to buy one right now anyway. When I got my truck out of the shop most recently it was about $400, and if the reason it's now broke down again is something different I suspect it would probably end up being something similar again.
It's difficult to give an exact figure considering the number of variables that kind of caved in on me all at once. The first priority I feel is probably to get transportation again (considering I have a very open-ended understanding of when I'm actually expected to leave my present residency, and have discussed a timeframe as late as a month from now). I figure I'd probably need some way of actually moving out.
For the record, if anyone did want to help me out after any fashion, I would consider any help given as a type of loan to be repaid once I have the means. I can provide the names and contact information of friends who can vouch for my honesty in this matter if you don't believe me. ;) I don't want to come across as some guy asking for a free hand-out. That's not me. I actually hate having to ask (and wouldn't have if strazer didn't seem so keen on the idea), but you've all been very kind about all of this, and for that I thank you.
In any case, I'm gonna be alright. One way or another I'm gonna get this all figured out. I may not know where the future will lead me, and sure, that can be a scary thing to face, but I'm gonna face it like a man. A monkey man! 8) I'm gonna look that future straight in the face, make some monkey noises at it, and if it does something I don't like, well, I'll throw some poo on it!
Monkey that sucks man! I'd offer to help out but alas, I am in South Africa which is pretty far away :/
Quote from: monkE3y_05_06 on Wed 20/07/2011 08:55:34
It's difficult to give an exact figure [..]
Well, make up your mind, I might be able to help a bit! And in the meantime, don't lose your coolness and let us know how things are going.
If I wasn't a poor bastard myself I'd say you could stay at my apartment. But me and my fiance are probably breaking up so I might be in the same situation soon myself.
Just keep your head up. You're a smart dude, you'll figure it out. ;)
Move to Canada man. My house is definitely looking for someone to clean it. And once I get grass, which will be a matter of weeks, I'll definitely need someone to mow it. :=
Anyway, I hope you make it out alive. I've noticed with money it doesn't feel like there is an in-between. It feels like you either have money just piling in and saving up faster than you can even think of what to spend it on, or you're juggling your paychecks to pay your bills. I actually expected that once I bought this house in December, that I would have been struggling to pay my mortgage. I was unbelievably stressed signing the documents from the lawyer, the bank, calculating my monthly payments to realize how tight it was. But it's crazy, I'm very relaxed and seem to have more money than I did while renting, even though this works out to be a hundred or two more than the apartment a month.
Is there any way you could get a loan or credit card to help out your situation? Sometimes spending more money than you have is the only way to remedy the situation. Of course, unless you're bad at budgeting your money and end up in even more of a mess.
I have a brother who was always in debt. He would always find things he'd rather spend his money on instead of saving it up. Smokes, alcohol, video games, women, expensive snacks, etc. Even while he had a $1000 rent a month, he decided he didn't like his job anymore and just randomly quit. He was throwing everything onto his credit cards and living like someone who still had a job. Rent was backing up. The landlords were threatening to evict him. Everything he bought new was tossed onto a credit card or he signed up for a buy-now-pay-later deal where he didn't have to pay for a year or something. Anyway, where my story was going, he ended up owing $30-50,000 on credit cards and such. Of course no one can pay that off in a sensible time and it'll end up just costing more in the long run.
His credit rating is so messed up, he couldn't even get a car with my dad cosigning for him - and my father has an outstanding credit rating. I didn't realize how important your credit was until his little spending moment. Maybe with him there as my older brother, he taught me before I even had a credit card, what NOT to do with it. Maybe he's the reason I don't go spending crazy no matter how exciting it may be, or easy it may seem.
Anyway, sorry for sidetracking, it was kind of a related topic. I'm not saying you're crazy with your money or anything. I know what losing a job can be like. I walked away from my job about a year ago and didn't worry about getting a new job for about a month. I literally sat around at home and said screw getting a job, I'm enjoying this sitting at home. I ended up spending my entire nest egg, and once I got a job, it took me months to balance everything out back to normal.
I hope everything works out for you. Or just move to Canada and be my cleaning bitch. haha
I would totally move to Canada and be RT's cleaning lady.
Actually Monkey_05_06 and I did discussing getting a place in Canada together at one stage. Sounds perfect :=
Is that a serious offer to move to Canada? Coz if it's even remotely serious then we should discuss it. I have a Google Voice number so I have absolutely no qualms in posting it on the internet in a public forum because if someone starts harassing me I can just block you. := My number is 8323031724. Call me if your offer was serious in the slightest. (You don't need a passport to go to Canada from the US, right?)
Regarding getting a loan, that's not really something that's probably viable as banks are reluctant to give out loans to people who have debt, no job, and absolutely no collateral.
Based on the story of your brother, Ryan, I want to explain something that I was just explaining to my brother the other day. Two years ago I had my own apartment. I say "my own" because I was the only person on the lease. 3 bedrooms and a garage on this lease. I had two awesome roommates and we actually enjoyed the hell out of the shared experience. I lived a mile from my work, so worst case scenario in the vehicular realm I'd still be perfectly fine, and I had $1000 in the bank. Not a particularly huge nest egg, but to get me to that point I was pretty much living paycheck-to-paycheck with relatively little extra spending. All-in-all things were pretty good two years ago.
From there, I went out to San Antonio (from just north of Houston), where the starter on my truck went out (it's a 1988, so give it some slack :P). My mom convinced me, "why don't you just move out here?" My roommates were already planning on moving because one of them was moving back to a newly renovated unit at his prior complex, which the owner had renovated specifically for him. I didn't have any particular reasoning to want to stay where I was at, so moving somewhere new for a change of pace and scenery seemed a viable option. I decided to take her up on it. A month later I realized that with no vehicle and no job, San Antonio wasn't going to work for me. Place is like a desert, only hotter (I grew up in a very "green" area in terms of plant life (not recycling fanatics :P)).
Since that point, I have moved around and I have been trying to fully recover from the move to San Antonio (which retrospectively was my biggest mistake). At the present, I actually have somewhere around $600 of credit card debt (which is growing exponentially since it's actually over the card's limit), and I have to get my truck fixed. So to just get my finances stabilized would probably be around $1000. For me to actually get back on my feet will actually depend how long it takes me to find a job once my truck is running again. So to answer bicilotti's question, that's where I'm at.
Ben posted while I was typing, and yes, we did discuss that. So Ryan give me a call and Ben..get in touch with Ryan to discuss the terms of surrender of his household. Also, stop spelling my name wrongly. It's "monkey_05_06" not "Monkey_05_06". Geeze! 8)
Don't do it, monkey! It's a trap! Canada has the metric system! And their milk comes in bag form!!1! ;)
Quote from: Ponch on Thu 21/07/2011 02:51:15
Don't do it, monkey! It's a trap! Canada has the metric system! And their milk comes in bag form!!1! ;)
And they have those bugs that are a cross between roaches and scorpions!!!!
At least the metric system makes some form of sense. I mean, 12 inches in a foot, three feet in a yard, 5280 feet in a mile?? I refuse to accept the logic here. You can prove me wrong and I'll refuse to accept it.
Bagmilk sounds wonderful to be honest. I could sew some straps on it, insert a straw, and I'd have milk foreveerrrr! :=
However, this roach scorpion sounds like a serious and previously undisclosed flaw. I mean, you might as well tell me they have bloodthirsty flying chupacabra dragons. Ryan, I demand you address this matter!
Come to Australia, we sleep on scorpions here!
As of the last time I went to Canada, that fine nation did indeed require a passport to enter into its glorious domain. Also, from what I've heard, the cost of living is somewhat higher than in the US, at least in terms of real estate and food. But RT is much more qualified in this regard.
You could try to monetize the incredibly valuable Oceanspiritverse that you apparently own. Aside from that, maybe sell your body on the street?
Apparently, I just read up on Canada, you
could leave the U.S. into Canada without a passport,
except:
1) Canada won't allow U.S. citizens to enter the country without having the legal right to re-enter the U.S.
2) The U.S. Passport laws have changed in accordance with recent border law, and you now have to have a passport to enter (but not necessarily to leave) the U.S. from Canada.
So basically the U.S. says, "Yeah sure, you can go to Canada without a passport but we'll never let you back," and Canada says, "You can only come over here if the U.S. is willing to take you back if (when) we don't want you any more."
It's actually the U.S. re-entry laws that require it (which inherently causes it to be required for all travel across the U.S./Canada border). That's dumb.
Well, Drew seeing as you responded here why don't you let me live with you? :=
Spoiler
I really hope that nobody's as bitter about my professed creatorship of the OSDenniverse as you sounded there Drew. I mean, when we talked on the phone and I pitched the idea to you it seemed to have gone across fairly well, but I do ponder on occasion whether I might have inadvertently stepped on any toes for the sake of a bad joke.
What the hell? Are all the Square-Peniks members chatting on the phone? I never get any calls! I get no respect around here at all. :'(
( ;) )
Quote from: Ponch on Thu 21/07/2011 02:51:15
Don't do it, monkey! It's a trap! Canada has the metric system! And their milk comes in bag form!!1! ;)
Mmmm I love bag milk. You can't get any closer to a tit than a big bag of milk.
As for the metric system. What sounds better: my penis is 6 inches long, or my penis is 15 1/4 centimeters long. Hmm? Need I say more?
I definitely won that argument.
Quote from: ThreeOhFour on Thu 21/07/2011 02:21:15
I would totally move to Canada and be RT's cleaning lady.
I hope you wear skimpy little clothes too. ;)
My house isn't unbelievably filthy, it just lacks a little cleaning. Like sweeping the hardwood or vacuuming. That's pretty much the only thing that's horribly dirty. So most of the time you'd be sitting on your ass, Ben. :( And that's no fun for me if you're wearing skimpy clothes. haha
Quote from: Armageddon on Thu 21/07/2011 03:16:02
And they have those bugs that are a cross between roaches and scorpions!!!!
I know nothing of these scorchions. But we do have mosquitos and deer. Watch out for the deer, they like to accidentally attack cars.
Quote from: ddq on Thu 21/07/2011 04:13:49
As of the last time I went to Canada, that fine nation did indeed require a passport to enter into its glorious domain.
Oh now you sound like you're just trying to suck up. I'm not the prime minister. I can't get you citizenship unless you marry me. :P
Quote from: ddq on Thu 21/07/2011 04:13:49
Also, from what I've heard, the cost of living is somewhat higher than in the US, at least in terms of real estate and food. But RT is much more qualified in this regard.
Well minimum wage here is $10.25 and according to wikipedia US is approximately between $5-$8. So yes, food and the cost of living should be a little higher. I know McDonald's and other fast food restaurants is nearly half the price in the US, which pisses me off every time I drive down there. A case of 24 beer bottles is no cheaper than $28.95 (I believe I'm correct on that figure). And the sates is probably around $15-20 at the most. Damn alcohol taxes. Hell even Quebec has beer that's 2/3's the price of Ontario's.
I know my father has spoken of buying land in the US since it's dirt cheap compared to here. My house was $212,000 and it's a semi-detached (meaning my house is attached to another person's house making two houses one - but divided down the center. no idea how popular these are in the US).
So yes. The cost of living is a little more expensive than what you're used to in the US.
Quote from: monkE3y_05_06 on Thu 21/07/2011 02:24:14
Is that a serious offer to move to Canada? Coz if it's even remotely serious then we should discuss it.
I was half joking, half serious - just putting it out there. I know if I didn't own half this house with my twin brother, I would definitely be down for it. But he may not be. And since he makes almost $10 more an hour than I make ($15 versus $24), I kinda need him to share the mortgage and bills. lol
He's gone for the week so I wouldn't be able to bring it up to him.
With you living somewhere near Texas, that would be one hell of a climate change for you, especially considering summer is nearly half through and you'd be jumping into our lovely winter soon. lol
And
IF you'd be able to move in here, I do have a spare bedroom that you'd be able to pretty much live in. I'd of course have to move several boxes out of it. lol. The day we moved in we placed literally every box that wasn't important into the spare bedroom and haven't touched them since. lol Damn we're lazy.
It's a brand new house that we built (Travis, my twin brother actually framed it). The basement isn't finished yet. Grass hasn't been laid yet. But I think it's pretty nice.
But there is actually one really large problem, monkey. It's a very small town. There are only a few businesses here that you could actually get a job at. No taxi's. No buses. 25 minute drive to the nearest city / large town, fortunately there is one in nearly every direction of us.
I'm currently working in the grocery store in town. It used to be my father's business but he sold it in March and I'm sticking around for now. You can Google it if you want, you may only see Wellington street on the street car view thing, the satellite view is low res and blurry. It's Drayton, Ontario, Canada (n0g 1p0). You'll actually be able to see the grocery store too, but other than that, it's varieties stores owned by Asians and there several churches - actually way too many for such a small town.
I'll admit, 5.08 cm does sound a lot more impressive that .16 feet. I may have to rethink this whole metric system thing. And I'll have you know I like my milk in a hard, plastic jug -- just like a badly done boob job. :=
Well, with no passport it would be somewhat difficult I think. I'd have to contact the Department of State to get a valid copy of my birth certificate before I could even get a passport ($50.00 plus any type of notary fees to get the request notarized). After receiving that in the mail (I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing probably at least 2-4 weeks), then I'd have to apply to actually get a passport. That's another $165 ($225 for expedited service) plus 4-6 weeks (2-3 for expedited service). Then if I booked a flight in advance (at least 3-4 weeks) (I'm guessing here because looking for the nearest airport to Drayton yielded no results meaning that you'd probably have to drive a fair distance to actually get there?), I could get a flight for probably around $165.
So, 10 weeks, and say, $400 later, I could be there. It's that 10 weeks in-between that's the immediate issue though. :P
Oh, and Ponch, yes, I've actually been talking to every member (except you) on pretty much a daily basis. Didn't you get the memo?
Quote from: monkE3y_05_06 on Thu 21/07/2011 02:24:14
Since that point, I have moved around and I have been trying to fully recover from the move to San Antonio (which retrospectively was my biggest mistake). At the present, I actually have somewhere around $600 of credit card debt (which is growing exponentially since it's actually over the card's limit), and I have to get my truck fixed. So to just get my finances stabilized would probably be around $1000. For me to actually get back on my feet will actually depend how long it takes me to find a job once my truck is running again. So to answer bicilotti's question, that's where I'm at.
Well then, first things first. If you need it and can eventually pay it, I can lend you 1000 USD.
No interest; I would just ask you to pay paypal/bank fees (if any) and let me know how long you think it will take for you to pay it off.
I think somebody's gunning for the Most Generous AGS Forum Member Lifetime Achievement Award (or as it's more commonly coined, the MGAFMLAA). :=
So with help from bicilotti I'll be able to get my truck fixed and then brow-beat my roommates into letting me stay for another 10 weeks while I prepare for the move to Canada!
Actually, I have one door that's been sitting there in a semi-opened state that has been somewhat overlooked, so I'm checking into it now. Hopefully there's not any zombies hiding behind it, but if there are then I guess problem solved! ::) Actually, the potential opportunity I'm referring to would be slightly more advantageous for various reasons, not the least of which would be the costs involved in the move.
Again (again, again), thanks for all the love and ..er..the kind words of support and encouragement! I appreciate it guys! 8)
And bicilotti, whatever you decide to do, I can assure you it will be most appreciated. ;) Thanks!
Good luck pal ;)
Quote from: monkE3y_05_06 on Thu 21/07/2011 07:20:38
Oh, and Ponch, yes, I've actually been talking to every member (except you) on pretty much a daily basis. Didn't you get the memo?
Of course I didn't get the memo. I'm being completely ignored over here. And good luck in Canada. Don't let the snow drifts eat you. :=
Not sucking up about Canada. Actually really liked it when I visited, have considered moving there after my education is finished. And certainly no offense taken with regards to the OSDverse. I didn't mean to sound bitter because I think that making an OSD game is like making love to a beautiful woman: you are completely free to do/take ownership of whatever you want. As long as you wear a rubber while coding. And no, you can't live with me as my living situation is also quite ethereal.
No! Don't move to Kanada! Move to Sweden! It's just about the same as Kanada, but with a really silly language! ;D
Quote from: jon_swe on Thu 21/07/2011 16:42:39really silly language!
From the POV of an American, that describes nearly all of the rest of the world ;D
Well, I got my truck in the shop today. It was quite the adventure, but it's there. :) They said it sounds like the starter is the culprit, which considering how (relatively) recently the starter was rebuilt, kind of upsets me. They said if it is, since it's been rebuilt before, it will have to be replaced. Awesome.
Anyway, I'm starting to feel hopeful about my scenario instead of just blindly soldering onward. Don't have definite plans yet, and I don't know what I'm gonna do, but I'm gonna be alright. Jon, if that's an offer, I'll take you up on it (so long as it means you'll pay all of my passport fees that I described above, and buy my plane ticket). Anything to put me closer to Finland and Santa Claus is a step in the right direction. :=
voh's right though. I mean, really, why doesn't everyone in the world speak Amerikaan Engrish? That's ridiculous and anyone who doesn't learn our way of doing things, our way of thinking, and most importantly, our way of speaking, is ignorant and not worthwhile at all. :P
Actually, I'm somewhat surprised that through these forums and into my young adult life I have learned a fair amount of how much other countries really do know about "us" in comparison to how relatively little I know about all of you. Movies like "Finding Superman" (which I haven't seen and am only aware of the premise and purpose of), exemplify the root cause of the problem (insofar as I understand the movie which I haven't seen :=): the Amerikaan public education system is borked.
Anyway, I'm really holding out for one of the current options I'm looking into to come through for me, but if it doesn't I have other plans to fall back to.
By the way, found out today that apparently a warrant was issued for my arrest (which should be getting canceled, or voided or whatever the terminology is) in relation to the traffic ticket I think I must have mentioned somewhere in this thread. I have a court date set for next month (17 August), and have the paperwork that shows that, but apparently without telling me the court set a "pretrial" for last month. Awesome! So I called them today and got the pretrial reset for September. When does that push my actual court date back to? No idea exactly. But I'll probably just try and pay the $210 and get it over with.
You can come and live in Greece. We'll burn the parliament every night and sleep on the benches during the day. :D
Quote from: monkE3y_05_06 on Fri 22/07/2011 05:55:54
Jon, if that's an offer, I'll take you up on it.
If I had the money... :(
UPDATE:
Got my truck out of the shop today (again!). It's running for now! := Hopefully that's the first step in getting me back on my own feet..next up is finding work again. Regarding the living situation, I've been granted an open-ended partial pardon by the roommates. I believe I already mentioned it's a married couple I'm staying with. Anyway, she (of the couple) said the other day, "If you're about to get your truck fixed, then what's the difference with you staying till you find a job? The main reason we said you should stay with your mom is because we didn't know how long your truck was gonna be down again."
I'm not sure if I discussed the reasoning why I didn't move from north of Houston to San Antonio with my mom, so if I haven't (I forget who all I talked to about it, and I'm too lazy right now to re-read this thread :P), and you're really concerned, feel free to ask. It's pretty complicated, which is why I wanted to keep it as a "last resort".
Anyway, as a very nice bonus, which I'm sure Dual would love in particular, the shop decided with my truck breaking down on me twice in a month, that I must be a penniless hitchhiker, and gave me a free towel with my new starter! :=
(http://meleepta.x10hosting.com/images/monkey_05_06/Free_Towel.jpg) (http://meleepta.x10hosting.com/images/monkey_05_06/Free_Towel.jpg)
It just randomly happened to be in the back of my truck when I picked it up. Pretty cool I thought! Kinda helped cushion the blow.
Hey great to hear things are looking brighter for you monkey. I hope you'll get back on your feet soon. And hey, a free towel, you never know when that might come in handy. :=
Especially one that disguises me as a shark, and even says "SHARK" all over it in case the pictures weren't clear enough. :=
I feel an adventure game coming on, oh wait, that's just real life without the puzzles. ;)
Glad to hear thing are getting better.
Quote from: +monkE3y_05_06+ on Tue 02/08/2011 01:01:00
[...] I've been granted an open-ended partial pardon by the roommates. [...]
That usually happens with girlfriends! And it's all trouble after that :P
Glad to hear you're back on your feet!
Well, I'm not living with a girlfriend (thankfully?), but yeah I get what you're saying there.
I'm on the hunt for a job, but so long as I can find something by the end of the month then I should be all good. So there's a light at the end of the tunnel, yes, but I'm not quite out in the clear just yet. ;) But I'm staying confident. 8)
Keep believin', buddy! Even if the odds seem against you, keeping a positive outlook will definitely help you land something sooner rather than later!
Though, well, you seem to be doing that quite well anyway :)
*has a tiny eProud moment*
I am "officially awesome". FACT! :=
Quote from: monkey_05_06 on Sat 06/08/2011 00:18:05
I am "officially awesome". FACT! :=
I hereby acknowledge the above case, as true beyond words and nations.
There was a point I was consigned to just giving up on everything. It was horrible. Then you guys got my head back straight, with some help from a certain some of you, I was able to get things set back in motion. I have a running vehicle. I have a place to live. And as of today...
I HAVE A JOB!!1
I probably won't start till this coming weekend, but the interview was more of a pre-hiring declaration of factual facts about pizza delivery.
So, I've been prioritizing things, but the next big step on my checklist is:
SAVE MY ROOMMATES (and myself!) FROM BEING EVICTED! (for defaulting on rent; but the landlord is the father(-in-law) of the roomies, so..it shouldn't be too hard to negotiate now that I have a job)
So, I'm not quite fully in the clear yet (with insurance and registration on my vehicle coming up due, and my rent cost likely going up for a short duration), but things are looking very much up. Very, very much up. ;D
Thanks to all of you who have supported me with your words (and other ways). :-*
Rock on!
That's good to hear :)
Hooray! Free pizzas all around!
Hell yeah, good to hear!
Our Monkey is going "triple A" soon!
I've been told that if [female roommate] doesn't get one of the jobs she's applying for that we have until the end of the month to raise $400 or we're being evicted. [male roommate] has told me that apparently both of his checks, including tips from delivering pizzas, go toward (vehicle) gas, (auto) insurance, phone, and electric, leaving him absolutely nothing to pay rent with. I smell a load of crap there, even as ridiculous as the phone bill is.
So, I guess this all means that I'd better finish this project for Dave and get my money from him before we all get kicked out. ::) I actually owe Steve (McCrea, not you Leafshade) a big thanks for his vote of confidence and personal recommendation for this particular project. Yay AGS people knowing who I am and stuff! :=
Who are you? Tits or GTFO.
:P
But on a serious note, I'm really glad you're semi-back on track. And yes, if Santa exists he's definitely not amazing as bicilotti.
Hey glad to hear things are better for you! :=
Too bad you don't live in LA, or else I would have linked you to this. (http://www.ihatemylife.us)
It's basically a poor man's guide to surviving. It gives addresses to shelters, pantries, and other stuff. I'm sure you have those in your area, but I'm just saying, you know, in case this happens to get worse. But, I'm hoping for the best, so hopefully you won't have to resort to that! ;)
Anyways, good luck dude, and best of luck. I've been there before, and I'm doing well now, so I believe you will too!
Seems that she got the job, and from what I understand, that means we get to stay. I dunno, but I'm gonna try and get some money in the bank from all those rich people I'll be bringing pizza to, so hopefully I'll have something to fall back on. Saving money is hard with no job though, so it's a good thing I've got one again.
First day of training is tomorrow. Hooray! 8)
Edit: Apparently "training" means "getting handed a pizza and told to deliver it." I heard (through a third party) that the manager said something to the effect of "if he doesn't know how to drive then he doesn't need to be delivering pizzas." My response (not to him, but just to myself upon hearing this) was, "Well it's not so much a matter of the how as the where to drive." My first delivery was..interesting..but it started to feel a bit easier toward the end of my shift.
Worked 4 hours today and made 7 deliveries. At the end of the night I walked out with $28.50 in tips, which by my calculation comes up to somewhere around $4.07 per delivery. Seven deliveries in four hours comes up to an average of 1.75 deliveries per hour. So from there I extrapolated (while driving home :P) that this comes up to $7.125/hour above my base pay of $7.25/hour. So for delivering pizzas for four hours, I got paid $14.375/hour. Nice! :=
I'm also compensated $1.25 per delivery to account for gas/wear and tear.
This was apparently "THE BUSIEST FRIDAY OF THE YEAR" although the person who said that was unable to elaborate any further, even before we actually got busy. Still, for my first night on the job, I must say that I walked away reasonably happy.
Just thought I'd share that with you all, and again thank you for your love and support. Especially you bicilotti. And Jon. And Steve. And Dave. And Dualjim.
Things looked bleak for a while there..but hey, maybe this was all for the best. I mean..hey..my base pay is the same as the job that I lost because of all this, but I'm making tips on top of it...I could potentially be making quite a bit more than I was at my other job. :D
Awesome man! I work at an italian/seafood restaurant cooking now and I still get $7.25 an hour, and no tips. Only if I'm lucky... one of the many downsides to working at a family owned restaurant and having an asshole for a boss.
I don't know a lot about cars, but I know some... if you have problems you can shoot me a PM and I can run it with my dad (worked in a shop his whole life) and I can probably get you on the right track. Not much help, but I figured I'd offer instead of not helping at all. :P
Way to go, Monkey!!
QuoteOnly if I'm lucky... one of the many downsides to working at a family owned restaurant and having an asshole for a boss.
I read this as if you were working on
YOUR family-owned restaurant. :P
I thing you are a sucks man. Please control yourself otherwise very soon will feel sexy. Ha Ha HA.........
Quote from: Roodypool on Mon 22/08/2011 07:12:47
I thing you are a sucks man. Please control yourself otherwise very soon will feel sexy. Ha Ha HA.........
EH?
I agree.
Snake, it's pretty obvious what he meant. If I can't control my now almost totally under control situation, then I very shortly shall begin to have an insatiable libido that will ruin my life. Not that hard to figure out. :=
I'm raising this thread from the dead (heh, rhyme) for a double-post by the way of a two month update for you folks. It's been a long and hard two months, but things are certainly looking pretty good from where I'm at now. This Thursday I start a second job. Don't worry, I'm not coming up so short as to need another job just to make ends meet. As a matter of fact, pizza delivery has proven to be quite sufficient in covering my month-to-month bills.
So, the second job is more about getting out of debt and saving up money (improving my situation) rather than just stabilizing my finances. It's a 3-6 month contract job in a call center making $13.50/hr. full-time (40 hrs. a week). Who knows, making that much I might even decide to get a better vehicle by the time the contract is up, as a step in preventing this whole vicious cycle from cropping up again. When the contract is up, I'll have the opportunity to extend or renew the contract, or just get hired directly through the company I'll be working with (it's a temp job, so my direct employer is not the company I'll be working for). Hopefully I'll prove a decent enough employee to make that a viable option at the time, but for now, I should be good. Oh, and also since it's the same place that the female portion of the married couple I stay with works at, we'll be able to carpool.
Thought I'd let you all know that my situation is now immensely better than it was when this thread started. To be honest, I owe a lot of it to you all for the kind words and support you've shown me...emotionally at the time I was kinda jacked up, but you've helped more than you might all ever know. So once again, thanks!
-Michael/monkey :)
"Greece, this is monkey_05_06, you should behave like him."
:=
Your good mood is getting me in a a good mood monkey! Hooray!
Quote from: bicilotti on Wed 12/10/2011 11:48:38
"Greece, this is monkey_05_06, you should behave like him."
:=
Your good mood is getting me in a a good mood monkey! Hooray!
Leave greece out of this plx, kthxbai.
Also you see, you loaned monkey some money, without interest. Only taking the interests from the loans that greece has taken, we would have paid you back and saved our economy. But as long as banks go, there's always interest.
Never loan monkey's money.
Are we really going to argue over who loaned me the most money? I mean, sure, bic's loan was somewhat larger than the contributions given by Dual, but am I gonna hold it against him? Nah! :D
With this new job I shall be starting tomorrow, there's a good chance that I will be out of debt even sooner than I had previously projected. Famous last words and all that, but this is looking to be a very good step for me, financially speaking anyway.
And Dual, if you're really that worried about the economy, I can repay you with interest if you'd like, but only if you're willing to "reinvest" (read as: "spend") that money back into the economy.
Awesome news Monkey! :D
It always puzzles me why there are so many smart people stuck in dead end jobs... I always figured Monkey would be some sort of high-up IT guy... and yet, there he is delivering pizza. I don't consider myself an idiot either, but there I am, an auxiliary nurse, band 2 in NHS, same as cleaners. Speaking of cleaners- recently I met one who has a Phd in quantum physics, and yet he mops the floors every day and wipes the toilets clean...
Then we have the rich people, so often total assholes, two-faced, back-stabbing morons, who have got so high in life by sucking up to their superiors at the price of their own dignity, the doormats who were all of a sudden handed a whip....
This world ain't right........... is it?... :( :( :(
Grim, when I worked at my brother's farm a friend of mine was looking at a bunch of "comics" I had done and he says, "What the fuck are you doing milking cows?!"
After that it dawned on me how many times similar comments had been said to me through my life. Here I am several years later a stay-at-home dad. Not that I don't enjoy spending every day with my daughter, but I'm still just the same as I was back then (although in a better place). Life is a funny thing. Maybe things will change in the future, you never know.
You see, I had that all my life, too... People saying: what the hell are you still doing here? But here we are, stuck in a moment we can't get... no no, wait, that's a U2's song. What I mean is.... oh, fuck it. I did a 13 hour shift today. I feel so angry! I swear one day I'm gonna break out of this miserable life of a servant... I too love my son and even though it's now a lot harder to work full time, be a dad, be a husband, and have a dream of making a living using my mind rather than my hands... I will get there, even if that means sleepless nights and losing friends and... and even though I might fail terribly and be told I suck... I will still give it a damn good try.
Grim, I hereby vow that if I ever get my game company to the point of Dave Gilbert's (he makes a living off the proceeds of Wadjet Eye Games), I will take you under my wing and employ you.
I've explored some IT-related options, but they all require a piece of paper that says I know a bunch of stuff, quite a bit of which I already know. However, I lack that piece of paper. Survival, when living paycheck-to-paycheck, has been my greatest opposition in a way. If I didn't have to worry so danged much about that, I probably could have found the time, resources, and money to get said piece of paper.
My current goal is to get out of debt. From there, I'd like to imagine that I'll have my finances stable enough, in a stable job, to be able to continue moving forward, with an education, and then a career. In the meantime, I'll continue developing the skills I'll need to get said career. I've had some notable experience in programming efforts, especially that tied to commercial game projects, which I very much intend to use on a resumé some day. As I already alluded to, the ultimate goal would be to get to a point where I could be my own boss. I think if I changed my last name to Gilbert that I'd probably be taking a step in the right direction. ;D
A lot of people have tried to discourage me from my specific programming-related goals, supposing that if I've been at it this long and still haven't made a break into a career field, that I never will. There's a lot of things that I should have done differently that have led me to where I am now, but I'd like to think, and hope, that I can learn from those past mistakes. I feel your pain about being stuck in your job Grim...but don't give up on yourself. I've given up on myself enough times to let you know how much it sucks. Keep doing what you have to do, until you can make a way to do what you want to do. ;)
I've been asked lately what is that I want to do with my life, and what are my plans. I don't have an answer really. That's why this fantastic line from Brazil, really hit me in the face, and well, yes, Brazil again, but that's my life in a nutshell.
Sam: I don't want promotion. I don't want anything.
Sam's mother: Don't be childish, Samuel. Of course, you want something. You must have hopes, wishes, dreams.
Sam: No, nothing. Not even dreams!
I really don't know what to do. I am just doing stuff. And i feel like i am prisoned. And this is the part that I love Brazil. I felt related to Sam Lowry, and when he escaped, i felt i escaped too.
Dualnames hums Brazil
Quote from: monkey_05_06 on Thu 13/10/2011 03:02:07
Grim, I hereby vow that if I ever get my game company to the point of Dave Gilbert's (he makes a living off the proceeds of Wadjet Eye Games), I will take you under my wing and employ you.
Just work on learning how catchy Dave's game titles are. Yours are missing the mark on simplicity. ;)
(Joking obviously, I know they're joke games)
Haha, i didn't go to my stupid job agency temp work today, you guys are a bad influence! Twelve hours of checking deodorant cans for printing errors, standing up all day!
Everyone else there was insanely dumb, i was paired with a guy who a few years back stole a load of money off some mates of mine. Screw that.
Plus i have a bad knee and standing up all day yesterday caused it to swell D:
High five for having lots of debt!
Ryan, my next game project will have a name much simpler than my last two. Perhaps not as simple as Ben's "!", but simpler nonetheless.
That is assuming I ever finish writing the danged story...ah heck, I've got time before orientation starts. Google Docs, here I come!
Quote from: Grim on Thu 13/10/2011 01:25:14
I will get there, even if that means sleepless nights and losing friends and... and even though I might fail terribly and be told I suck... I will still give it a damn good try.
I am planning to put that as my sig along the "praise CJ" one.
You rock man!
This thread rocks man!
You can do it!
That's great news monkey_05_06, I'm happy you're back on your feet. :)
Like Grim I also wondered why you're doing pizza delivery, since you're obviously a very good programmer. Since you lack that piece of paper, I was wondering if you considered or made an attempt in the direction of freelancing.
I'm not sure since I never tried it myself, but I think that in those freelancing websites out there, people can hire you based on portfolios/experience, and very likely that they will not care about degrees...
Monkey... Bici... thanks. That means a lot. ;)
Regarding freelance programming, my biggest issue in doing that, and it is something I've looked into, is that I've yet to come across a website that would actually allow me to properly portray my experience. Maybe I just haven't looked hard enough, or known where to look exactly for it, but a lot of the freelance sites I've encountered have seemed somewhat shoddy operations anyway, and a lot of the projects seem to never come to fruition.
I'd certainly be willing to take another look into it. And tzachs, coming from you, "obviously a very good programmer" is kind of an amazing compliment. :=
For now, I'm just going to relax a bit before I have to go to bed, but I will dig around a bit more and see what other opportunities I may be able to find.
(As a matter of fact, there's currently a payment for a freelance project en route to my bank account, but I can't discuss that just yet! 8))
Oh, and Grim, having faith that you'll realize your dreams comes naturally from my belief in my own dreams...it would be kind of hypocritical for me to say that your dreams are stupid only to turn, and in the same breath express a hope in mine. We'll figure it out, someday. ^_^