The Continuing Catch-Up

We made the August rent, despite my expensive detour in a Lyft home from Knoxville, because my yearly bonus came through. While my team at work had made our calendar year performance goals, our being granted this bonus was by no means guaranteed, as everyone, everywhere, seems broke these days. Nonetheless the extra paycheck came in just in the nick of time, and I did not have to go into further debt to keep our family housed.

The debt instead this month came from a broken clothes dryer and then a broken car. The 2008 Toyota that had been on life support for a year gave up the ghost early in the month when I discovered nearly 5k in repairs were needed during the yearly checkup. The car needed new bearings, and both the sway bar and front struts replaced. Fifteen years of duty on rough Atlanta roads and nearly two hundred thousand miles driving around the Southeast had done their damage. Despite all the professional care, we had nearly driven the wheels off the thing.

I was ready to resume the carless life I had previous to 2004, but the husband’s parents came through and gifted us a 2015 economy car they had in their garage. I didn’t really care about the car, as my professional job and part time job are both easily reachable by bike, and the kids walk home from school already. Still, since we’ve had the replacement car I have to admit it is handy. There are social things the youngest needs a car to get to, and having a car makes the logistics of our four person household easier to manage.

I thought the night job at the restaurant would make rent this month manageable, even with the $200 increase we’re covering as we start our second year in the townhome. The second job has me working as a hostess at a restaurant on the Beltline, and while my co-workers are great the crowds are often rowdy, especially when the heat index rises. In the four weeks since I’ve had the position, I’ve been yelled at, called a bitch, and netted two negative reviews online that mention me specifically. I’ve also been complimented just as often (if not online), and have made friends among my co-workers and some of the regulars. Viva Atlanta.

But the second job was no match for those surprise expenses. I need to find about 2k more per month in the budget, and the restaurant work netted me only about two-thirds that amount. Then the husband landed a promotion at his job, one that should, we hope, bring in just about 2k more per month. It’s just that his pay raise won’t show up until one more month passes. So we will have one more month of late rent before we hopefully stabilize again. I’ll keep working my second job through the winter holidays, just to be sure. I’m exhausted from being unable to afford the unknown.

Due to now working over sixty hours per week, I had little time to help gather signatures for the Cop City vote initiative, though I did what tiny bits around the edges I could. I’m hopeful about the vote getting on the ballot in November, the first direct voter initiative the city has ever held. The crushing heat was not helpful to organized activity outside of any kind, yet still we managed to gather the number of signatures needed.

The kids went back to school this month, the last first day of school where I have them both in the house. Everything we do this year is the last thing we do as a unit of four people who live together, and it makes me sad even as I celebrate the triumph. The oldest is signed up for free college credits from the local state university in the afternoon. The youngest is celebrated in her after school pursuits. We’re moving along, slowly towards the end of the summer this way. A newer car and more income should have me celebrating, but the last three years has me too cautious to party. For the first time in two decades I won’t be at DragonCon this year, despite our eternal passes. Instead, I’ve taken paid time off from my day job and will be working my night job, giving myself forty hours of more restful time at home. I’ve muted friends at the big party on my social media feeds. Have fun without me, folks, I’m focusing on my own recovery.