Goods and services

At least three times in my life, I've left a store and not realized untill I get back to my car that I just made a very poetic purchase. The first time this happened was when I was first on my own, and this was the first real entertainment expense since being out on my own. I got out into the parking lot and noticed that I had just purchased a VHS copy of Dr. Strangelove and a CD single of Depeche Mode's Strangelove. A couple years later, I bought my DVD of American Beauty and a used copy of the Grateful Dead's American Beauty, again not realizing it until I left the store.

Tonight, while it may not fit the same criteria as the other two...I went into Target to get my friend Nate's wedding gift. The back story here is that when I first knew him, Nate had the most questionable hygiene known to man (he's gotten a LOT better over the years). What got me thinking-and laughing my ass off when I got to my car-was the fact that I just bought him a new SHOWER HEAD! I just had to call my friend (and Nate's former roommate) Mike and leave him a message telling him about it.

Well, in getting back to what's been going on with my finances. I knew that I'd have to do some serious soul searching over the bankruptcy thing given the deadline before the laws change. I was told today, the deadline is this Sunday at midnight. With everything I have going on over the next three days, there is not enough time, money, or energy left in me to try to beat the deadline.

So, what am I gonna do? Candy and I have decided to extend our lease for another six months. That way, I won't have to sweat out deposit payments while I'm filing for chapter 7. Second, I'm gonna wait until about February, when I have my tax refund in hand, I'm gonna see what I need to do. Until then, I'm gonna stay the course.

My case isn't as extreme as most people who've had to file bankruptcy. At worst, I owe around $20k, including my current car payment, credit cards and the evil that is GMAC. About half the people I've talked to about this have told me horror stories that can only be expressed in fractions of a million dollars. Eek! While that makes me feel a lot better, it doesn't help my balance diminish any at all.

Here's a pic of what I hope to see tonight...a couple empty glasses in front of me at Arnie's. Anyone who cares to join me, I'm there every Thursday night around 9:30.