Reflections

Well, that big news that I’ve been hinting about for about 2 months finally came to pass yesterday. Despite having a former roommate damage my credit, despite being owed money (which came from my credit cards), and despite draining my own resources to see a girlfriend (now ex-girlfriend, thankfully!!) out of state, I have made a great stride to turn it all around.
Yesterday, I finished the process of re-financing my condo. Since I have gained about over 33% of the condo’s value in equity in just over year (in common words, it’s worth $50,000 more now than when I paid for it), I’m borrowing against that equity. So, in re-financing, I’m getting a much lower APR than the last-minute change I was forced into when I bought the house. And that difference makes me pay about the same mortgage price each month, while I cashed out some of the equity to pay off almost all of my credit card debt. Again, my credit cards are paid off, and I have almost the exact same mortgage payment. My credit score will rise very soon, as my income to debt ratio has turned around tremendously.
In short, I can afford to live now, and more importantly, I can afford to have a life again!!! I can now afford to go out for a drink, or to go out to dinner, and I can certainly afford to date again! So, to all of those who put me into that bad situation to begin with, FUCK YOU, I dug myself out of it. And even more, YOU STILL OWE ME MY FUCKING MONEY!!! Yeah, act friendly, but your debts to me are still your responsibility!
More good news, I don’t have to make a mortgage payment for December… first payment is due January 1. Even more good news, tax refunds should be here by mid February. And even better news, when I decide to sell my condo, there’s still more equity in the property, and the real estate prices are continuing to grow!!! Buying this place was the smartest thing I ever did, even if I did have to suffer for 16 months to get to this point.
So, what’s the bad news? (click on the extended entry link to see)
The bad news is that today, I got a letter stating that I’ve been selected for jury duty.
Ugh, the thought of the necessary time to make up for the missed time at work, just doing my civic duty… just ugh.
I’ve heard it put this way… “Jury duty is the punishment for being stupid enough not to get out of jury duty”. But, since I have the right to vote, I have the duty to serve jury duty. Besides, who knows, I might not even have to serve.

Well, that big “world-changing” occurrance that I’ve spoken and hinted about for the past nearly 2 months, happens tomorrow!
I’m still not going to mention it until it’s final, but it’s a lock that’ll it’ll all be over with by the end of the day tomorrow!
Want one last hint?
This will go a long way to accomplishing one of my major goals for this year…
Search away!

Well, I never got that call from the Promotions Department, to tell me what kind of prize I’d be getting…
But instead, I got a manilla envelope in the mail today, containing my prize…

read more…

I won a prize from a radio show!!
I listen to Ron & Fez just about every evening on my way home from work, and the format of their show is that they’ll bring up a topic, and then callers will bring up ideas that support or refute the topic, or are just funny.
Well, tonight, they were talking about how it’s been proposed in Brazil that pets can no longer have people’s names. I just called in to say that I have a pet named “Buddy”, and that is a valid pet name, but could also be a human name (a la Buddy Ebsen). Well, Ron said to ring the cow bell (that’s the prize bell), because I had named a pet a good name (silly logic, I’ll admit, but hey, it’s a free prize). They told me to hang on, and I could pick something out of the “Big Ass Prize Closet.”
Well, they took down my information (phone number, address, whole name), and told me that someone from the promotions department would be calling, and that they weren’t sure what the prize was yet.
Cool! I expect that it’ll be something like a CD or a station T-Shirt, but who knows?!?
The thing is… I wasn’t even expecting to get on the air, much less to get a prize… I wasn’t even trying for a prize!!
Again, Cool!
In case you’re wondering, that still-looming “big thing” is still in the wings. I know… it’s been nearly 2 months now, but it looks as if we’re within a week or so more… and then things will be all new, and all better!!!
BTW, I was pretty close to having no hints in this post! But as usual, there’s STILL a hint!

This is the second year I’ve entered into Yahoo’s Survival Football Challenge. They place you into a group of 25 people, and the goal is simple…
You get to pick one NFL game… any game you want. And if the team you pick wins, you continue. However, if the team you select loses, you’re eliminated. It’s that simple. Your goal is to outlast the opponents.
But, there is a catch… you can’t pick the same team more than once. It still sounds kind of simple, but really it isn’t. Last year, I entered and lost in the first 4 weeks. And then I re-entered, and lost again. There are too many upsets in the NFL, and there are too many teams that can lose to a “lesser” team.
But this year, I had a different strategy. Avoid picking the big favorites. I never picked Philly, and I never picked New England. Besides, if you don’t pick them, they’ll be available later in the season. Turns out, I didn’t need them. I survived! Everyone was eliminated within 7 weeks, except for me!
I did have 2 close calls, though. In week 2 I picked Cincinatti to win. They were playing Miami, and won only 16-13. And in week 6, I picked Atlanta to defeat San Diego. That was even closer… 17-16.
Anyway… yay, me! I won! I survived!!!

It seems like my inundation of all that is Las Vegas continues… but this time, into the Video Game Realm.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which comes out this week, focuses on an entire state this time, not just a city. And one of the cities in San Andreas is Las Venturas, obviously an homage to Vegas. And the game made Las Venturas pretty similar to Vegas… There’s the “old part of Venturas, which is comparable to Downtown… There’s the strip, which is comparable to well, the Strip. The Mirage Casino is the “Visage”, Caesar’s Palace is “Caligula’s Palace”, The Luxor is “The Camel’s Toe” (that’s funny as shit, BTW), the Excalibur is the “Come-a-lot Casino” (again, funny!), and Circus Circus is “The Clown’s Pocket”.
This is going to be a fun game!
And a return trip to Vegas will indeed happen, just when?