Official CS blanket fort

[Kanalah]

Ugh.

Both kids are out of school this week. My daughter starts summer session next Monday. My son currently has strep. I am trying to keep them separated as best I can. Daughter keeps throwing tantrums all day because she misses school. She's kicking, screaming, hitting, spitting on me, and running through the house naked peeing on things. Today she added breaking my last few breakable things to the mix.

I am so tired and I get no help from hubs. Last week he worked 40 hours, over the holiday weekend he worked 43 hours of OT, and now he's putting in another 40 hours this week.

I am all out of booze and chocolate.

[Gizmo]

Been awake for 24hrs now with panic attacks and shaking. Friend is ordering me to go to the doctors tomorrow and is going to do the call for me so no need to lecture. Not sure if I've taken something that interacts with my Zoloft or what is wrong though.

(I was only getting 2-3hrs sleep a night before this just to add fun to the matter.

[AriGriffin]

I am done with trying to help out at work.

This year's summer reading program is Dig into Reading... I was looking through the work website to see what they were doing for programs and nothing showed up. Considering the program starts on Saturday, SOMETHING should have been posted. So, I sent the director an e-mail asking if they were going to post info on the library website since patrons have been asking me about programs.

I told them I could do a program about Archaeology or Ancient Egypt (since hey, DIGGING), for free in July or August. I was in charge of a week-long summer day camp with an Ancient Egypt theme. One of the things we did was bury junk (Ancient Egyptian statues from a dollar store, scarab beetle pendants, puzzles, mummies (Barbies wrapped in gauze and decorated like mummies), and a few other things), in a huge sand box. The kids had to treat it like an actual dig site. Some of the statues were covered in dried mud and had to be cleaned off.
I said I could do a program like that with the scarab pendants since I still have a bunch leftover and they are cheap and easy to make out of plaster of paris (which I still have a ton of it left and want to use it before I move). I also have a slide show about a dig in Egypt and other crafts like writting your name in hieroglyphics.

The director must have forwarded it to the children's services director, because they e-mailed me- saying they didn't want me to do the program. I made a point to mention that I would do it for free and that I already have everything I need. I wonder if I would have any takers if I offered to do the program at any of other libraries near me. Most people willing to do this would charge the library $100 or more to come out.

Also, while browsing the library website, I noticed they are violating the movie license agreement. You aren't supposed to name the movie title or studio name if you are advertising it online, on the radio, or in a hand-out. You can only mention the movie title/studio name on a poster inside the library. They have the movie poster and title on the library website. I didn't mention it to the director though. If the movie license agreement company finds out, the library could either have to pay a fine or have their license revoked.

[Mishi]

Ugh! Just found out that Nanna J has taken in my brother-in-law again*, along with his dog, because she can't bear to have him living in his car. Their lovely garden will be ruined and that will break Pa's heart because he's worked on it for so long while having Parkinson's (which has recently gotten worse). I really wish they'd just let him go instead of constantly rescuing him. He's older than I am, he should know how to behave better by now!

(*She took him in after we kicked him out for drug use, refusal to pay board, and bringing random strangers into the house while we were sleeping. He left her place after a few months as he found them "too annoying to live with" because they were angry about him having a rowdy party while they were on holiday.)

[AccountingDrone]

We already did the free energy audit. We use the energy saving light bulbs and keep the TV and other stuff unplugged while not in use.

We pay $0.22 per kWh. My aunt that lives 10 miles away pays $0.09 per kWh. Electric bills ranging from $800-$1,000+ are common around here.

According to an article in the local newspaper:
The inflated utility rates are the result of a long-term Power Agency debt, which dates to the early 1980s when the company purchased an interest in generating facilities from CP&L. That debt initially stood at over $3 billion.

The town's share of the Power Agency's current $2.2 billion debt is $14 million. That $14 million is being paid through its customers' electric bills over the next 14 years. Currently, 46 percent of each person's bill is the town's share of debt payment to the Power Agency.

I can't get a job where my Mom works. Mom is the lead event specialist (product demonstrator) at a warehouse store and I would be under her. The company she works for does not allow family members to work at the same location. I have an application in at the warehouse she works at for multiple jobs (cashier, stocker, working in the cafe, doing membership cards, greeter).

The director said I couldn't apply for the job at the main library because I don't have a driver's license. They don't have to drive anywhere for work realted stuff. The guy that drives the book mobile and the children's services director are the ones that take holds and book returns to other libraries back and forth, not the librarians or assistants.

I'm looking for anything- house, mobile home, apartment, duplex, townhouse.

Even at that rate it sounds like you are being overcharged - with as little as you have plugged in it should still be less that $600!. You should be down around $300 or so, you really do have minimal stuff plugged in and drawing. I think you two should at least check for a short to ground trickling juice into the ether.

And honestly, the company, not the subscribers should be the ones paying to purchase capital equipment or access to generation facilities. Has anybody questioned the state authorities on that? If the customers have to pay, then the entire customer base should be paying, not isolated communities. It would probably be cheaper to have a little honda gen set and make your own electricity than buy it from Duke.

[protege]

Yep, that truly does suck!

In my world though, I was a bit upset the other day. Why, you ask? Since I no longer live at my parents' house...my mother had been after me to pick up a few things. Namely the spray booth I once used to paint models, and the pile of old kit boxes that were gathering dust in the attic. As I was getting all of that stuff together, I found an old box of slides and some old books.

Inside the box were slides of my first haircut, trip to Kennywood (local amusement park, for those of you not from Pittsburgh), shots of me and my grandparents (both of whom are gone now), the farm, childhood friends, etc. I was fine when I opened that box.

The second box...soon had me in tears. I remembered my dad reading those books with me at night. Now I'm about the age he was when I was little...and I don't have anyone to read those books to

[Gizmo]

Currently, 46 percent of each person's bill is the town's share of debt payment to the Power Agency.[/I]

That truely sucks/

[AriGriffin]

We already did the free energy audit. We use the energy saving light bulbs and keep the TV and other stuff unplugged while not in use.

We pay $0.22 per kWh. My aunt that lives 10 miles away pays $0.09 per kWh. Electric bills ranging from $800-$1,000+ are common around here.

According to an article in the local newspaper:
The inflated utility rates are the result of a long-term Power Agency debt, which dates to the early 1980s when the company purchased an interest in generating facilities from CP&L. That debt initially stood at over $3 billion.

The town's share of the Power Agency's current $2.2 billion debt is $14 million. That $14 million is being paid through its customers' electric bills over the next 14 years. Currently, 46 percent of each person's bill is the town's share of debt payment to the Power Agency.

I can't get a job where my Mom works. Mom is the lead event specialist (product demonstrator) at a warehouse store and I would be under her. The company she works for does not allow family members to work at the same location. I have an application in at the warehouse she works at for multiple jobs (cashier, stocker, working in the cafe, doing membership cards, greeter).

The director said I couldn't apply for the job at the main library because I don't have a driver's license. They don't have to drive anywhere for work realted stuff. The guy that drives the book mobile and the children's services director are the ones that take holds and book returns to other libraries back and forth, not the librarians or assistants.

I'm looking for anything- house, mobile home, apartment, duplex, townhouse.

[AccountingDrone]

Was chatting with my hubby over breakfast and he suggested also it could be a short to ground that is minor enough it doesn't trip a breaker, but is trickling the electricity off steadily. He says you can check for this one yourselves - with one person outside by the meter, the other person by the breaker box. turn off / unplug everything. If the meter is still registering electricity use, you have one of the circuits [or more] with a short to ground. Then you do need an electrician, but if you consider that you are probably really using maybe $150 to $200 a month *really*, the money spent on the electrician is definitely worth it. You might be able to find an electrician through one of the aid societies that will let you pay on time instead of all at once.

[I think if everything is unplugged, you can find the actual circuit the short is on by flipping the breakers off one at a time until the trickle stops. What you do then, I have no idea hence the electrician.]

[Pixilated]

*snip*

Is it possible you have someone tapping into your electricity illegally that you don't know about? [where do you live and what is your per KWH and delivery cost like?!]

A very good question! I live in a three-bedroom house; don't shut my computer off (and I'm told computers really suck up that electricity) and my electrical bill doesn't come anywhere near that. Any way you can get that checked out?

[mathnerd]

Excuse me?! We live in CT which apparently has one of the higher costs for electricity in the country, and have 3 computers, 2 televisions, um 7 or 8 lights, 2 alarm clocks, a 25 cu foot fridge and a 25 cu foot freezer, microwave, dishwasher, stacked washer and dryer, water pump for well and circulating pump for the water system and we max out at around $250 a month, and might hit 600 if I run the air conditioner on max all day and night for a month.

Is it possible you have someone tapping into your electricity illegally that you don't know about? [where do you live and what is your per KWH and delivery cost like?!]

I had a similar thought. Electricity in Florida is very expensive. When I had my own house it was 2100 feet with 18 foot vaulted ceilings, an old, inefficient a/c and an in ground pool with a filter that needed to be run for at least an hour every day, with a 12 hour cycle once a week. I also had two extra adults (my uncle and grandmother) living with me for a total of 6 people in and out of the house, with the kids leaving doors open all the time letting the a/c out. Even with all that, my highest electric bill ever was about $550, but was more typically about $300-$400 in the summer and $150-200 in the winter. My parents have a bigger house with a bigger pool and their bills run in the same range.

Also, for disability, did you know it's procedure to deny all first time applications unless the reason is one of seven specific auto-approved diagnoses? It's annoying, but you have to request a hearing to dispute the original "rejection". Then, most cases are still rejected and you have to request an appeal for the hearing outcome. It's not usually until that point where things are approved.

[AccountingDrone]

I might be moving soon. I live with my Mom and her hours at work have been cut back. Our electric bill is $900 despite only having the oven, fridge, internet plugged in all the time and occasionally the tv, an alarm clock, lamp, and my computer.
.

Excuse me?! We live in CT which apparently has one of the higher costs for electricity in the country, and have 3 computers, 2 televisions, um 7 or 8 lights, 2 alarm clocks, a 25 cu foot fridge and a 25 cu foot freezer, microwave, dishwasher, stacked washer and dryer, water pump for well and circulating pump for the water system and we max out at around $250 a month, and might hit 600 if I run the air conditioner on max all day and night for a month.

Is it possible you have someone tapping into your electricity illegally that you don't know about? [where do you live and what is your per KWH and delivery cost like?!]

[Pixilated]

You seem to be talking to a lot of brick walls out there. I would taking a lot of your energy out of that job, leaving just enough to get by on a daily basis, and put it towards looking for someplace to live and another job. It sounds as if you are working with a lot of people who are jealously guarding their little fiefdoms and will continue to do so come hell or high water -- no matter how much attendance drops. It's too bad, because your suggestions and proposals sounded like good ones, especially the medieval faire. You don't need a freakin' Masters in anything to have good ideas!

Any chance you can get in where your mom works? Can you apply for the better-paying job in the main library?

As for the move, am I understanding it correctly -- you AND your mom are looking for a new place to live? Just wondering what you're looking for ... apartment? House? Duplex? Do you and/or your mom go to a church -- if so, could they help -- maybe with referrals if nothing else?

Would it be worth your while to file again for disability? (Did they tell you why you were denied last time? If so, is it something you can "fix" this time ... maybe you didn't have the right paperwork from your doctor or something?)

Sorry if the questions are redundant. I'm nowhere near your area so don't know what might be available ... hopefully others will have better advice. I hope things improve for you.

[AriGriffin]

While talking to the library director one-on-one, I told her about the kids not coming to storytime and why they said they stopped.
I suggested that the children's services director might want to try offering different things for storytime- puppetry (I have them), getting the kids to act the story out, an easy sing-a-long, or crafts. I offered to help put some programs together and said they could have the craft supplies I bought when I was doing scouts. They never got back with me about it.

[AnaKhouri]

As the mother of a preschool-age child, that storytime sounds wretched. Is there a higher power to whom you can appeal?