Hey guys,

These past few months have been...shitty, to put it bluntly. Ever since being forced to scramble for a place back in September, I've been living paycheck to paycheck; I only get paid weekly because I'm working through a temp agency. I also had to withdraw from college; between the stress of moving, struggling with finances, and working a full-time job second shift...yeah, college could wait. However, I should've withdrew way early so I could get a refund; even if I did graduate, I still would've owed for tuition before I could get my physical degree, so I would've been fucked regardless if I graduated or not.

Oh, but it gets better.

Last Friday, I get a 5-day quit or pay rent notice on my door, which I didn't see until I got home from work that night close to 11pm; this meant I have to pay off what I'm overdue, which is close to a full-month's rent, or leave the premises by the 23rd...you know, the day before Christmas Eve.

After calling my building manager every day since getting that, writing a letter explaining my situation, and getting nowhere when I called the main office of the company that owns the building, I get a response yesterday and was able to talk to someone in-person that morning. I was told I had to come up with some kind of payment plan to pay off what's overdue and going forward; I did just that and emailed the proposed plan to the person I talked to (another manager, not mine), left a hard copy in the office, and kept one for myself. Now I have to wait until Thursday due to how shitty office hours are. All in all, I just hope this payment plan is approved and I'm allowed to stay a little bit longer; with getting weekly paychecks rather than bi-weekly paychecks, I can only do so much at a time.

I'm hoping to get hired onto the company I'm working for right now (it's a cheese factory); I know for sure I'll get better pay, bi-weekly paychecks, more benefits, PTO, holiday pay, and who knows what else.

But my overall plan is to get out of this hick town and live closer to my mom and grandma, along with other friends and family. I feel so distant from everyone with where I'm at right now, plus I'm starting to see more and more that this town is full of crooked backstabbers, at least when it comes to landlords.

Needless to say, this has put my writing to a screeching halt, and I was really hoping to get caught up on that this past weekend. And now with Christmas coming up this weekend and waiting anxiously on if I have to get out by the 23rd or not, I don't know when I'll get a chance to make more progress on commissions and personal projects. Just been feeling like I'm watching a train wreck happening, only to wait and see if there will be another one immediately after....

TTFN,
Ricky