HELP!

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Good. You have a plan.
I second the campground idea, also truck stops, but you might have to fork over a five or something, dunno. You can use body soap on your hair. Not pretty, but you get clean and it'll do for a few days.

[Imogene]

Well, my morning searches have unfortunately brought me no luck just yet... BoA doesn't do unsecured loans, however, they could get me a secured credit card, which would do me no good at all as I'm broke until next month... but, try this credit union just down the street...
She was about to say yes, then must've realized I said I'd been living out of my car, and went, "So, what's your address?"
"I don't have one currently...?"
"You would have to live or work in a county we service for me to approve this loan."
Damnit... but she pointed me at USBank, which will be my next stop after I charge my lappy.
Also, still need to stop back at Carmax and discuss with them, they don't open for half an hour yet, though...
In other news, my friend's current roommate (my future other roomie) wanted to talk to me just before I went to sleep last night. He is very, very protective of my friend, to the point he suggested I start thinking of a different name for transition, as my friend knew a Jewel who screwed him over royally... Also, if we break up, it's okay for me to live there still, but he will have NO bitchiness or drama about it. Think I'm gonna like him, too.
Also, I"m sorry I ever bought these flip flops/sandals from my job... they just make my feet hurt when I'm not wearing socks, and they only get socks dirty... and my ankles are bloated all to hell from the past few days. I will be so glad to get the hell to NY

[Imogene]

Well, new update:
None of the banks around here do signature loans... and CarMax does NOT transport cars that've been bought... however, I did a little searching and found a company that DOES, but it will cost $700 to get it to NY... Add about $200 for a one way ticket to Plattsburgh... I guess I just have to wait and hope my friend has better luck getting a loan or credit card...

[hotelslave]

Reading your story has made me sad. I wish there was some way that I could help you.

[Imogene]

Short update: Friend applied for a loan, but couldn't apply for anything less than $50,000... yeah, Fifty thousand... says it'll take her forever years to pay off... I told her if she could pass along the money to get me to NY, she could just pay her first bill with the remainder to kill most of it... now, the waiting game...

[Jester]

A month post running away from the family, the hotel I was staying at for the employee rate finally said, "Enough" and booted me...

I'm confused. You were originally going to go to New York, but stayed a month in a hotel in Independence? Stupid question: why? Why not head straight to NY if that was your destination, rather than spending money on a hotel in a town you didn't want to be in? Am I missing something?

I'm not about to sell the laptop...

You might want to consider it.

This is what I've seen you say so far: You have no money. You're wearing the same clothes. You have no place to stay. You have no food. You have a car you can't afford gas for and don't really want to drive. And the only thing you have of value that you can sell, you won't sell.

Well, if selling your laptop will get you enough money to get food and gas to get you to NY, well damn it, sell the freakin' laptop. You can always buy a new one when you are settled in NY, working, and have a roof over your head and food in your belly.

Because honestly, right now it doesn't look you're in a position to be picky about what media devices you do or do not have.

[Imogene]

I'm confused. You were originally going to go to New York, but stayed a month in a hotel in Independence?

The hotel was in Chesterfield... I drove to Independence hoping I could sell the car, and ran out of money getting there.

Why not head straight to NY if that was your destination, rather than spending money on a hotel in a town you didn't want to be in? Am I missing something?

My friend in New York originally lead me to believe that once I got to New York, she'd have a place for us to live, but it turned out she was getting evicted...

You might want to consider it.
Because honestly, right now it doesn't look you're in a position to be picky about what media devices you do or do not have.

It's a custom build, I have no idea how much to sell it for, much less how I would get anywhere to sell it...

[Imogene]

Quick update for those who weren't in the chat:
I emailed my brother, hoping he could loan me the $300 to get to NY...
I got an email back, saying he's getting laid off at the end of the month...
And, predictably, he told his wife I emailed him, and she told Mom, who told Dad, who started looking into renting me a cheap room for the night, and ways to get me enough gas money to get back to St Louis, and fronting me the money to rent an extended stay room for a month... they won't just front me the gas money to get to NY, cause he expects he'll be getting a call down the lines from me needing an escape...

Yeah, an escape from the wonderful person who was willing to take out a $50,000 loan just so I could pay off and sell my car.
And her friend, who has already promised no matter what happens between myself and my friend, I will always have the couch, at least.

[Sapphire Silk]

It's a custom build, I have no idea how much to sell it for, much less how I would get anywhere to sell it...

This is going to sound brutal, and I'm sorry.

Walk. Check out the yellow pages and find a pawn shop.

They won't give you much for it. If you can get a hundred bucks, that'll be a hundred bucks you didn't have before. How old is the laptop? If it's brand new, you're more likely to get a decent price for it.

If it's more than 2 years old, you might not get $100 for it.

Negotiate. Bargain. Don't take the first offer, and if the first place won't give you what you need, try another.

If you're in the Midwest, and headed to NY, that's won't get you there, though.

You're not going to be able to sell your car. The bank won't let you unless you can pay off the loan, and you can't. You'll probably have to surrender it and take the hit on your credit report. I'd contact the bank and arrange to surrender the car, since you don't want it any more. Or you can hang on to it and wait for the repo man.

Your main priority is to figure out how to get some cash in hand so you can make your trip and get food/shelter until then.

Unfortunately, I see no chance of your getting a loan from anyone. You have no fixed address and no income. No one is going to give you an unsecured loan for any reason.

Check out the local homeless shelters and see what resources they can help you with. At the least you should be able to get a bed and a meal. If you can't get your friend to spot you the fundage for a bus ticket or plane fair, you'll have to scrimp until you can get the cash.

In the meantime, the shelter may be able to direct you to temp jobs to help you earn a few dollars.

Be tight with your next disability check. Splurge on nothing. NOTHING. Not a coffee. Not a bagel. Eat the bare minimum at the cheapest price and save every nickel towards getting you to New York.

Good luck. I'm sure this must be very very hard. But it's temporary. You can survive this. You'll just have to take it one day at a time.

If you're not already using the public library for Internet access, use the public library for Internet access and keep us posted.

[Imogene]

The laptop is all of... three weeks old...? I've been grabbing internet from McD's and the local mall... I'm in a motel room for the night, and Dad's gonna wire me gas money to get back to St Louis tomorrow... and hopefully my friend there can still spot me one night at the motel I was in before I went to Independence, and dad mentioned getting me a month at an extended stay room, so I can get a job, and not be in Texas...

[Jester]

That sounds like a reasonable solution. I say go for it. After all, what other viable options do you really have?

[Imogene]

Ah... *steps out of the shower* Took the offer from Dad... washed all the dirty clothes I wasn't wearing... I'll hang on to the new dirties until I can get to another washer... this room is apparently stuck in a time warp, though... the TV schedule on Toonami is an hour behind the alarm clock... which is at least close to the clock on my computer and my cell... not sure at this point how I'll be getting the gas money... but I'm sure Dad will figure it out.

[ParkingWitch]

If you were going to be in the area longer, I'd tell you to come on out to the airport and get a sit down cashier job.

Best of luck to you.

[Mikkel]

At least you know now that you can trust your family to back your decisions up.
They (or your father anyway) didn't tell you to come back home, but tries to help you to be independent.
You might think ParkingWitch's suggestion over. It won't hurt to make the money to go on to NY and arrive a month later.
You might even be able to sell the car yourself in that time and make enough to pay the loan off.

[Imogene]

Okay, I got up and checked my account balance this morning, to see if my Dad had just deposited money for me... and my friend in Chesterfield's hotel charged me for a night's stay there. Uh, no, I was in Independence, and I didn't sign anything for this... it was never 'pending', it just went right through...