WTF????

Have you ever had one of those days? months? years? Mind you, I'm not complaining. In fact, I remain amazingly optimistic after the month that we've had. It's just sometimes I have to let off a little steam.

This month, thus far, has presented the following challenges:

1. My most faithful and loyal voice student has been out for the entire month because she had a baby. I had significant income loss as a result.

2. My youngest student, whom I teach in her home, has been out the entire month due to illness, (both hers and mine), and the fact that their living room is being remodeled, (and that's where the piano is). More significant income loss.

3. My newest, (and probably most talented), student has been out the entire month due to illness. Yet more significant income loss.

4. The kids' Dad, thinking he had mailed the child support check, realized that he hadn't because it had slipped between the seats of his car. (Not blaming him, he really thought he had mailed it.) The check was late and my bank account was overdrawn, resulting in a $22 overdraft charge. (Thankfully I have overdraft protection. My bank makes good on it, but charges me for it.)

5. Steph receives a monthly annuity check from an account that her now deceased uncle set up several years ago. Because he is now deceased, the check continues to come to us but we can't deposit it into our bank directly. We have to send it to our attorney who takes his fee out of it, deposits it in Steph's trust account and then drafts a check from that account. This month the check didn't arrive. Finally, after it was about a week overdue, Steph called our lawyer, who in turn, called Morgan Stanley to learn that they had "forgotten" to cut the check. As of last Friday they were going to cut the check and put it in the mail that afternoon. The check still hasn't arrived. I had to pay the bills anyway. My bank account has been overdrawn several times over. I now have about $120 in overdraft charges...and counting. I don't get my paycheck from work until tomorrow, and then I won't be able to deposit it until after I get off work. More charges will probably come through before I can get my check deposited.

6. If you read my earlier entry, you learned that the Bradford Pear trees are prolific this year, causing me much distress resulting in a nasty case of bronchitis that teetered on pneumonia. I was out of work two days. I don't have sick leave. More significant income loss.

7. Early this morning Steph and Joel left for California, where Joel is treating Steph to a nostalgic trip to Disneyland. He has been planning this trip for months and paid for it out of his own money. Micah drove them to the airport in our on-its-last-legs Ford Contour,(against my better instincts), which we have been praying would make it through until we can get into a better financial position to buy another one. The car broke down and died in Guthrie. Steph and Joel had to take a cab to the airport in Oklahoma City, and Joel paid for a cab for Micah to return home. I have a van that is old, but in good shape but won't start due to some electrical issues involving the security system and the starter. It has been sitting in the garage for several months waiting for me to get my tax refunds back so that I can have it towed to the garage and repaired. In the meantime we are going to have to use Micah's truck to get Heather to school and me to work and the car is stuck in a Love's station parking lot in Guthrie until after Steph and Joel return from California.

8. I just learned today, when inquiring with the IRS regarding the status of my tax refund, that they are withholding it because they don't have record of my 2004 returns! I was told by my accountant that I didn't make enough money in 2004 to file a tax return, (I only worked part of the year because I was in graduate school). Apparently he was wrong. That means more delays until I have money in my bank account to purchase the 2004 edition of TaxAct. (It's only $12.95, but remember, I'm in the hole right now.)


Someone shoot me!