2004-08-17 - 9:49 a.m.
Finally, the deadbolt on my front door works again. It took em 4 days to get to it, but now I can finally get my key in and out of the door without worrying about having it break off in the process. Amazing what a little graphite will do. And yes I could have fixed it myself, but ya know what�I am getting tired of repairing everything myself at this place. I think that tomorrow they are going to be informed that the dishwasher in my apt doesn�t work for shit either. It won�t clean dishes�and it won�t rinse off all the soap from the dishes either.
Oh and while I am ranting about the complex management�here is some more. I was informed that I would have to remove everything from my balcony by the 12th (that would be 6 days ago) so that the contractors who are refurbishing the apartments could power wash the building. So far�there has been no power washing done. None. In fact I am not sure that it is going to happen in the near future either�hmm yet another thing to ask the office about.
Sigh�I really miss living in a house. Apartment life�well�sucks. I am much to loud of a person to live in an apartment. It is not fair to the folks who live around me. I also have to many hobbies that involve more space than you get in apartment living. Bah�I just need to keep telling myself that it is only temporary. Someday�yes someday I will have a house of my own�Even if is it just some tiny little box�
So I am sorely missing my bike today. In fact yesterday I wanted to go riding SO bad I almost put the bent pedals back on the Dino-bike just so that I could get a little riding in. Sigh�I wish that it wasn�t going to take so long to get the Giant back. Its funny, but I find that I don�t sleep as well on the days that I don�t ride. No it�s not like I exhaust myself and collapse into sleep�its just that I seem to rest better. No arms falling asleep, no restlessness, no�well nothing. Just good sleep till 5:45 am. and then bam! I am up and goring and ready to greet the day. I guess that riding must be agreeing with me or something.
Things at work are still as weird as ever. Today is my 6 month mark at the company, and I still don�t have my clearance. And no�it is not the fault of the company, it is all the DEA. For some reason, they can�t seem to get their shit together to get these things processed. They have had my paper work since DECEMBER! So how long is that now? 9 months? Sigh�now normally this wouldn�t bother me if this was the norm�but it is not. On average it takes folks here at work 3 months at most to get their clearance, but for some strange and fucked up reason it is taking 10 gazillion times longer than that to get them for my section (No I am one of 3 in my section that have not gotten cleared yet. We have all been waiting for months). All I can think is that somewhere, someone has dropped the ball�several times. And why do I think this? Well for starters, I have had to resign my packets 4 times now cause the signatures expire after a while. So somewhere they have sat on someone�s desk gathering mold for months�And just think yall�this is your tax dollars at work.
Speaking of dollars, I heard an unfortunate statistic on the radio today. Did ya know that the top 20% of our population control 56.8% of the US�s total income, while the bottom 20% control 3.2% of the US�s total income. I am not sure whether to be ashamed or angry or just plain ambivalent. I mean seriously�bah. Fuck it.
Did you know that the average income for Loudon County is $ 40,290 a year. That means that AT LEAST 50% of the population here in Loudon could NEVER possibly consider buying a place of their own�At least not by themselves�In fact the average price for a Townhouse or a small Single family detached home is $330,000. And there are tons of homes that sell for upwards of $475,000. with that said�HOW THE FUCK can you average person ever consider buying a home? After a little number crunching Mr. or Mrs. First time home buyer would need an annual income of $136,406.29 to afford (according to the mortgage calculators) something in the average $330,000 range�Even if you were married and your spouse made the average Loudon County salary you would only be able to afford (again according to the mortgage calculator) a $145,000 home�which I might add�don�t fucking exist here in Loudon County. But here is the kicker�oh I love this part�My apartment�yeah the rent that I am paying each month on it (nothing included) would be the equivalent of having a 30 year mortgage on a $152,000 home. Oh and lemme tell ya, I don�t make anywhere near twice the Average Loudon income (which if you remember sets you up for a $145,000 home). I just don�t get it. And to make things worse�I see folks buying up homes around here all the time�What the fuck do they do for a living? How can they afford $400,000 homes? What am I dong wrong?
Ugh�I am going to give myself an ulcer thinking about all of this, so I reckon I had best stop.
I so need to go riding�but oh yeah�I don�t have a bike right now. In fact I wont have a bike for another 11 days. Sigh�this sucks.
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