May and June roll on through.

   So, I have most of my stuff here and dont want to organize it yet. Moving is such a hassle and I really dont look forward to unpacking everything to then repack it in a couple of months. I always hate moving and had thought that the house would be where I would stay, but life is always changing and getting in the way. The job is about the same and I have fallen into a completely dull routine of going to work, coming home for a long lunch, going back to work and then back home again to play on the computer for a few hours, then read a little and go to bed (around midnight or 1am). The problem is that I am not doing anything constructive with my free time and can not seem to get motivated to do that. It is just easier to while away the time on that stupid game and let other stuff go.  I am spending some of my mornings making flash cards for the terms & definitions I will need to know for the train test...so I am doing a little before lunch while I wait for my bus. I am not sure exactly why I have let myself sink into this lazy mood, and cant seem to find a way out of it. It is getting hot and I am not eager to go outside to do much of anything, other than work; which makes it much more difficult to get motivated.
   I got good news from the Dr. last month, I'm still non-detectable and the T-cells are getting stronger, so I dont have to go back for 4 months and we set the appt for my birthday!!!!  I'm really twisted!!  Life is rolling along in that "same old thing, day after day" mode and I have gotten completely lazy.  At the end of the month, I check the credit union account and find that the roomie in Austin had not put the money in there for 2 weeks and it was already the  30th. I sent my friend Chuck over the check the place out and see if Mike was around to chat, meanwhile I tried calling and got no answer. I did manage to get his friend Logan to call me back and tell me that he was not going to be moving in after all. It seems his girlfriend was pregnant and they wanted a bigger place. I also got the message (from Chuck)  that the house was empty and the power was turned off, and Mike was obviously avoiding me.  Chuck spent a couple of days cleaning up the place and talking with a real estate agent about the possibility of selling it or renting it again.  Reality check: there are lots of things that need to be done to the house to sell it & there is no money in the budget for any of them. I also need the income from the house in order to pay all the bills (there & here). So, once again, I am stuck in the middle of a catch 22. It seems that most of my life has been in that mode ~ need ____ and dont have ___ , cant get ___  because I dont have ___ ?!?!  It is just so very frustrating and annoying to always be stuck in the middle with no visible way out.  
    I posted the situation on facebook and started the search for someone to rent the house, and we also started the process to try to sell the house (just in case we couldn't rent it). First issue was a water heater that needed to be replaced before the gas could be turned back on. The refrigerator needed to be cleaned out and the house needed a good cleaning. Chuck got started on that and a couple of other friends helped him get these things done; meanwhile, I am stressing out in Dallas because my success up here depends on Austin being successful.  I really love that house and do not want to sell it, but if I have no other option, then I will do what needs to be done. I spoke with the realtor and told her exactly that, so she knew what the situation really was. She started working on it, and did a good thorough walk through with Chuck, to determine what really needed the most attention first.  Got a few folks interested and started talking to them about the situation and what we really needed to get someone in there, and after almost a week we finally got someone that could move in. This will get the budget under control as soon as they start paying rent.
   The reason this is such a big deal is that last month, I managed to read the holiday schedule wrong & was late for work on Memorial Day (which screwed up my holiday pay & the extra money involved in that) and so now the paycheck would be short. Add to that the shortfall from Austin, and you now understand why I was on the verge of panic. The house payment is automatically deducted from the credit union the day after the paycheck goes in, so I now needed to find the money to pay my other bills. I managed to juggle a couple of them around and will be able to float along for 2 weeks until I get some money from Austin. The folks moving in will begin that process in the middle of the month (just in time to save the budget) and start paying then. I am squeaking by until then and barely able to pay all the other things along the way. 
   I have been talking to my friend Zina about her extra car. We have discussed the issue of me taking over her payments when I can afford to. This is an ongoing discussion we started back in December, and it is still being put on hold, yet again. Every time I get close to being able to afford the car, something happens to destroy my budget and I have to start all over again. Maybe this is a sign that I really shouldn't get that car from her?  I need to think about this for awhile, or maybe just get out of GOD's way???!!!
   Something to think about while I drive my life away!!!  Look out now, I got you caught up and now let's roll on down the road.
   

April already?

   April is a new month and Im living across the street from work, which is a really good thing. It will save me time and money getting around town, to work & back, and running errands. There is a train station on the corner as well, which is good because I can now get Martin out and about with very little difficulty, and we dont have to worry about the neighborhood.  
   I make plans to take a day off and go to Austin to get the house cleaned out & the stuff organized into either storage, or a moving truck to bring back to Dallas. This is a 3 day trip, leaving on Sun, packing( & throwing stuff out) and organizing, and then getting ready for the big drive back to Dallas with a loaded truck. Oh, I forgot to mention that I had a Dr. apt & an eye Dr. apt while I was in Austin. Got them both on the same day to cut down on the travel, and make the move easier. My friend Kelli helped me pack up and throw out lots of stuff, and we got most of the office filled. I spent Mon going through most of the rest of the house, setting things aside for Dallas, and moving others into the office. By monday evening, I was through with the packing & storing; then got ready for Tuesdays appointments & packing the truck. My friend Mike helped with the loading of the truck and drove it to Dallas (my eyes were dilated at the eye doctor). We stopped along the way in Waco, for some really greasy burgers & fries from the Health Camp. This is a fabulous burger joint from the 50s and is still one of the most popular places to eat in Waco. I give it 4 ****, and will definately be back.  We made it into Dallas about 8pm and unloaded the truck & dropped it off and went to bed, exhausted.
   Next morning, I took Mike downtown to see some of the sights & then catch the train back to Austin. Amtrak is a good cheap ride, but it only runs once a day in both directions & is not very convenient to most schedules. There were a few aggravations involved in the Austin visit: the current roommate spent most of his time away from the house (possibly avoiding me), there were lots of items in the back yard that had been damaged and he didn't seem to know what really happened/or care, he didn't know what had happened to my bike (which was on the back porch when I left in Dec), there was a big split in the doorframe to his room from obviously breaking into his room.  All these should have been a wake up call for me, but I was too busy trying to get the place cleaned out so his friend Logan could move in soon {getting more money for the house will help the budget & enable me to get the bathroom fixed}.
   The month of May flew by and I decided not to empty all the boxes and try to organize them here, because we are going to move in about 4 months (hopefully we will have a house by then).  I noticed that I was almost out of meds, and went to get them refilled, but the pharmacy didn't have a new prescription, so I had to call the dr. office and get them to send one. That set off a chain reaction that shook me up. I called the pharmacy to see how much the meds would cost, and got the news that I had not met my $1500.00 deductible and so, I would have to pay that when I got them filled. I was used to co-pays for the meds with my old insurance, but this deductible is a new thing for me. DART is self-insured and so they set up the accounts with the insurance, and they have this type of plan available. The problem is that no one was able to explain it to me in terms I could understand. I finally got a friend to explain it all to me in simple terms, and I remembered that there was an account set up for personal emergencies that happened to be $1500.00 and so, I was able to get my meds filled without any major problems.
   There is still no word on Sparky and I have almost given up hope of ever seeing him again. I had hoped that he would pick up on my vibe while I was in Austin and would be able to get to me, but that didn't happen. I did manage to get to see Fez & Wigglez while I was there, Jan was sweet enough to bring them into town for a quick visit; which was so very nice. I was able to relax a bit and just play with them. I miss them terribly and cant wait until they are up here with me, but until then, they are in very good hands with her in Shiner,TX. I only wish I had been able to get them to her before I left (Sparky would probably still be with us). Anyway, that is not for me to know.
   

Class dismissed, time to start your life!

OK, If we can continue where I left off...I spent the first few weeks after graduation learning the routes in the NW Division.  There are are about 55 of them, so I have lots to learn. I picked a shift and started learning those routes first (some of them were in my training, so I had an advantage there). I did this shift for 3 weeks and then the entire system changed routes, which means that folks can change divisions at this time.  I ended up with a decent shift (off Sun & Tues) and working mostly mid-days & Sat. evening. The only problem is that when I get off work Sat. night at 11:35- there are no buses that will get me back to the apt, so I have to sleep in the quiet room until about 6am (then catch a bus to the apt Sunday morning). This made it difficult to go to church at 10:30am and so I cancelled that Sunday morning event for awhile. 

   I forgot to mention last time that I made a new friend, Matt Dudenhofer, that has been extremely helpful in keeping me sane and helping with all the crazy details of life. He fed me very well during those dark days in the winter when I didn't have money for groceries. He drove me all over town getting everything gathered for the replacement SS card & driver's license. He made sure I had plenty of clean clothing and fun to keep me going.  He has been a very special friend and I would not have made it through all this madness without him. Thank you so much for everything, I can never repay you for all your kindness, but am extremely grateful for your friendship. God was so good to send you my way.

     I spent a few weeks learning new routes and getting used to the people on them, same kind of madness from Austin, just lots more because the city is bigger.  During the month of March, I find out that the laptop has been damaged and is now useless.  That was my biggest link to the outside world, and now needs to be replaced with no money in the budget. Luckily, Matt is a computer guru and likes to tinker with them, so he said he would do what he could to fix it. There is still no word on Sparky, but the other 2 boys are doing fine. I had friends all over Austin looking and checking with the animal shelter, but no good word.  Gotta keep going and get the job done, its only been a couple of weeks.  Life is moving along at a quick pace and it is already mid-March.   Schedules have changed and I am rolling along.  My old friend Martin moved to Dallas and we start making plans to get a different place to live (bigger and closer to work).  This helps a bit with the budget, and also adds a few wrinkles to life; always more to think about & be responsible for.  The meds become a major problem at this point.  I have not been able to get into the dr.s office until now, and have run out of  one of my meds, so we get an emergency supply while I am there. I get labwork done and make an apt for  2 weeks later to get a full visit and gameplan.  No major health issues, just a sore throat that wont go away (afraid it might be Strepp throat).  By the end of the month, we are moving into a new place across the street from work, and I get to the dr again. The throat problem is just a major sinus infection that is causing drainage & keeping the throat sore (good news). I get some antibiotics and they help to get rid of it, and life continues. Matt & Zina help us get moved into the new place and we start to unpack everything & get settled in. It's gonna be so nice living right across the street from work, can't wait.

   
 

What a wild way to start the New Year!

  So, I promised to keep you informed of my progress and have already failed at that. Here goes: I had limited funds and so I moved to Dallas very quickly (a few bags on Greyhound), and got settled into  Zina's place for a few days. We hurried through Christmas, I started the new job and got moved into the apartment. Right away, I realized this would not be the safest neighborhood and so I started paying close attention to what was going on around me. I have lived in rough neighborhoods in Atlanta, so I know how to survive and am quickly getting back to that mode of traveling about in the city. The constant police presence helps to make me feel a bit safer, & I do not make the mistake of thinking I am safe because they are there. I know that they need to be there & that is why I am safer, so I stay alert any time I am outside doing anything.
  At work, we got a few surprises: we got paid for Christmas, New Years', & MLK Jr  days (with a day off for each holiday); our training would be 8 weeks instead of 6; it took 2 weeks to get the new computer system to allow us to sign up for benefits & we found out that those benefits will not start for 3 months; and lastly, we found out that our probationary period will be 6 months.  All of which made me start to search for some assistance with my meds. I was expecting the benefits to start about the time the training ended - not  at 3 months. My insurance from Austin ended at the end of December, and I was expecting to be without it for a few weeks, not 3 months. So, I made an appointment with AIDS Arms and started the process. I found out that they only do case management, and I would need to set up separate appts for meds, & COBRA coverage. I made appts for those while in the office and things were rolling along nicely. My schedule changed abruptly, and so I had to change the appts for meds & COBRA paperwork.
  Classwork & road training were moving along nicely.  Obstacle course practice and test went well ( Aced it!) and our schedules changed again. We started our Behind The Wheel training- which is only during weekdays, so we get weekends off for a few weeks. I  had to reschedule my meds appt. with the Trinity Health Center, but was able to keep the COBRA appt. Unfortunately, the paperwork for COBRA Coverage was more extensive and we had to put that off for another week (needed to gather more info & papers), and I got started with the process to get signed up with ADAP med program to get my monthly meds until the insurance takes over. THC will get me emergency meds while the state gets everything in place through ADAP.
  About that time,I find out that Sparky has gone AWOL when the fence got knocked loose, and we started our Revenue Training, (driving a specific route with a specific instructor) all our schedules changed dramatically ) we were not going into the classroom  at 6am anymore, but showing up in our divisions at weird hours of the morning. I had to reschedule both appts because of conflicting times with work, so that slowed down the process, yet again. It is now the end of January and things are running smoothly. I have gotten accustomed to the changing hours & the body is slowly getting used to moving about before daylight. I was extremely tired most of the time & didn't have time to get online to do anything on the book, facebook or check my emails. I was able to send out messages to get folks looking for Sparky, so we shall see what happens there.
  On January 31, 2012, at approximately 5:50pm, I got mugged in north Dallas and everything changed!! I was going to Zina's apt after work (having run a few errands in the meantime) and was very tired. It had been a long day & I didn't want to wait 20 mins for the bus, when I could walk it in 10. I started walking and stopped at the little park area by the train station to play with some kids & their dog. It was nice to relax for a couple of mins, and I then started to Zina's place. About a min. after that, I got hit from behind (running body block) & punched in the face at the same time. A couple of punches to the face and because I didnt get my wallet out fast enough, he threw me in the air & down on my face in the dirt.  He pulled a gun and finally got my wallet and ran with it. I called Zina to come help and she called 911 with the info. The cops & EMS arrived shortly thereafter, and the street was busy. I got to take a visit to Medical City and experience the inside of the ER  for myself, (not on my list of Must Do's while in Dallas).  The mugger got the wallet with no cash, but all the important cards were there, including my Social Security card that I had needed earlier in the day. Which meant that all these cards would need to be replaced & cancelled, etc.
  Zina called the boss for me and told her what had happened, and she assured us that my job would not be affected, and demanded that I take the rest of the week off to rest and recuperate. I am glad, because the swelling that happened made it almost impossible for me to be able to drive anywhere. On thursday, I went to the DPS office to get my driver's license replaced and found out that I would need to get the replacement SS card first & then return. So, I started that on friday morning & the resulting madness took almost all day - including all the running around we had to do to get all the paperwork gathered.  It was a successful day, filled with lots of drama & aggravation, and I got a lovely mug shot for me driver's license - because they can't use the existing picture on file!
  The next week starts off with our mid-term test and then more route training. We got our uniforms and finished some things in the classroom. I finally got all the info gathered for the COBRA coverage & got signed up for ADAP, but have not yet gotten into the Trinity Health Center and am quickly running out of the very meds they are supposed to help me with. I am very frustrated at this point and need to check with the credit union about the craziness of the account. There were a total of 5 different transactions against my debit card & lots of NSF fees because the paycheck popped in just before the credit transactions hit, so that got very convoluted.  The cops have not called, so I assume they are busy on the case.  Meanwhile, I am trying to survive on a very minimal budget and figure out how to eat on next to nothing. Luckily, I got hooked up with the Resource Center of Dallas, and their food pantry has helped keep my shelves stocked with essentials, which saves the money for more important things.
  We are now getting very near the end of our training and we start our preparations for Graduation. There are last minute classroom sessions to get all our training finished, and we get to ride with ParaTransit for one day to get the feel of what disabled passengers and their driver's got through in a day - which means getting to work at 3:45am. The next day is our Graduation Day, friday Feb. 17,2012.  In the middle of all this activity, we  had planned on a potluck for our celebration lunch, so I had to find some money to gather items for that. Friday arrived and the ceremony was a huge success, with all the pomp & circumstance you can imagine. DART makes a special occasion out of this because they say, "we are a special group of people and deserve to be treated as such". That is nice to know and I realy do appreciate all their efforts in our training. There is still no word on Sparky.
  Graduation was a great event and I reported to my division around 1:30pm to fill out paperwork and get the tour of the facility. I also started to work that afternoon, since a driver did not show up for work & I was already dressed & ready to go. Not to mention the fact that I need the $$ to make up for the 3 days I missed a few weeks before. I am jazzed that my pay has now gone up by a couple of dollars, so my budget will settle down very soon. I will be getting 3 paychecks in March, so that should also help get the budget under control. It has been difficult paying the mortgage & rent, utilites & phone for both cities. I never thought it would completely happen, but it is almost over.
  I need to fill in here, that I indeed went to church on Christmas morning and have been involved with White Rock Community Church the entire time. They have helped me tremendously, and have helped to keep the faith alive and keep me grounded during all this madness. If it weren't for them, I would have given up already and gone back to Austin. GOD has gotten me through this and will continue to get me where he wants me to be, I just have to remember to get out of HIS way & let HIM do it. That means, not stressing out over all the little details - which is what I do best. I also need to trust that GOD will bring Sparky back to me safely, and I can get my boys up here very soon. Life is very aggravating without them.
 So, I think I have gotten you caught up with the biggest majority of the wild ride in Dallas. I look forward to starting my routes & getting on with life. In the month of March, I should be able to get some time to move my stuff up here and get the house cleaned out. There will then be room for another roommate, to help with the household expenses, so I should be alright. Until then, happy trails & keep your eyes on the road!  I might be in your rear view mirror.