“I couldn't live a week without a private library
- indeed, I'd part with all my furniture and squat and sleep on the floor
before I'd let go of the 1500 or so books I possess.” ― H.P. Lovecraft

Thursday, January 20, 2005

OK, here's what's going on.

TerriblyWrong.com has been updated. There is a new comic strip.

Go there now, you fools!

Thanks to Ryan my computer is now fully functional. We had to completely wipe the drives, but two out of three of them are now working. I had my art files backed up in multiple places so I only lost the most recent work I'd done.

My electric bill is now in manageable shape. I could have gotten the DHHR to pay it had the electric company not put it into a payment plan, but the plan is reasonable so I'm going to try to keep it paid.

My gas bill is now funded by the state (thanks taxpayers!).

My police, fire and trash fees have been sent to a collection agency. They only went as long as they did because they were something I could live with having shut off and the DHHR told me they could help with the bills when they got shut-off notices anyway. What I didn't realize is that this particular bill doesn't get a shut-off notice. So fuck 'em.

So I went to the DHHR this morning at 11 AM (after the mail came in case more shut-off notices arrived) to get the past due portion of my water bill taken care of.

After an hour of waiting I'm taken back to see a different person than usually takes care of the emergency aid. She tells me they can take care of the past due portion and suggests I go to a couple of places to see if they can take care of the rest.

So she sends me out to talk to those people without paying my water bill in the hopes that one of those places will pay most of the bill.

So I drive all over Hell and back finding these places and I'm frustrated because, as I knew they would, they all told me that they couldn't help me.

So I decide to go back to my place to make some calls and find out what to do next. On the way there a guy was riding my blind spot and I got a little close to him trying to pull into his lane. I see him before it really matters and pull back into my lane. He then backs off and I pull into the open space figuring that he's being courteous.

He ends up following me all the way to my house.

I park. He rolls down his window. He's obviously not happy. Well I don't have power windows and I didn't feel like leaning over to roll down the passenger window, so I get out of my car.

I'm a big guy. His expression clearly changes when he sees the fack that I could fuck his day up.

He doesn't know that I'm not really in the shape to fuck him up right now, but I don't feel like telling him that.

Even though he's feeling a little less bold as he was a moment ago he still kindly informs me that "If you cut me off one more time I'll cut your fat fucking throat."

First of all, who cut's someone off intentionally? I mean looking over and saying to oneself "That guy looks like an asshole. I bet it would be fun to cut him off."?

Second, I don't know who the fuck he is (nor do I care) and I don't have the kind of time to find him and cut him off again.

Third, I readily admit I'm a fat guy. It doesn't bother me when people bring it up. What does bother me is when people try to insult me with it. I know I'm fat. What else have you got? Are you reall that unoriginal? Can you not think of anything else?

At this point part of me wants to drag this guy out of his open car window and stomp his head into the curb and I admit there was a time when I might have done just that, but today I was feeling rather like Sam Jackson at the end of Pulp Fiction after his epiphany had sunk in.

I decided to go the peaceful route.

I calmly explain that I didn't see him, but I realized he was there before I hit him. I said it was my fault (which it was) and I apologized.

He didn't seem to know what to do.

Here was a guy that just pissed him off, who SHOULD be pissed off by his retalitory threat, who could really fuck him up if he so chose, and he apologized.

You know that wierd look your dog gets when you make a funny noise? Ever see it on a grown man?

I have now.

He accepted my apology, told me I was the first person to ever apologize for cutting someone off (which makes me wonder how many times this guy follows people home and furthermore how often he gets his ass kicked) and thanked me for being civil about it.

So with that stuck in my brain I go back to the DHHR to get them to pay just the past-due portion of my bill which is all I wanted them to do this morning.

Remember, they're the ones that told me they coulf fix the bills when they were shut-off notices.

Well they can't pay the past-due on this one because it's in my Grandfather's name. They paid the gas bill which was in his name, but that was on the emergency heating program. Water is a different program and has different rules.

So after spending 4 hours, a 16th of a tank of gas, and getting my life threatened, my bill is still not paid.

I have till 8AM Monday morning to get the bill changed into my name and get the DHHR to pay the over ammount.

So that was my day. How was yours?