Into January
Friday, January 3rd, 2025 10:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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17F and cloudy tonight going down to 11F.
So, this work week was like, Monday, Friday, Sunday, Monday, Friday... with Sunday being New Year's Day (actually on a Wednesday).
So the 1st was a hazy blur, where I slept until 5PM, and had no energy to pay bills.
Then the 2nd was this slow day at work with the building still empty, so again... I couldn't muster the energy to pay the bills.
But this morning, with my coffee, I did manage to get the ball rolling on the bills... paying the rent, car, phone, insurance, storage unit... and throwing $30.00 into my laundry app.
That was all I could get going before it was time to leave, but luckily it was still slow enough at work today that I managed to pay all the credit cards on a break.
I always get nervous if it gets to be the 3rd and I haven't dealt with the bills, so... it's good I got it taken care of, here on Friday, before the weekend starts.
So December was the sixth month here in the tower, and I noticed here at the start of January, that for the past three months... November, December, and January, I've consistently had $6,200.00 in the bank on the day I pay the bills.
After their all paid, it's $3,200.00.
And then the 16th comes and I pay PNC their $780.00.
But I still wind up with $6,200.00 by the start of the next month.
So, it seems like I've settled into some kind of stable situation already!
Up to July of 2024, my actual income could only cover the bills, but not the daily expenses like gas and groceries, so I was maxing out credit cards, one at a time, to get through those six months... and even had to pay the first month's rent here in July, with a credit card.
But by July, I was finally getting full paychecks at the new pay rate for the promotion to maintenance, and I was finally able to lay off the credit cards.
Then in August I got the 13K windfall from the house sale.
And over August, September, and October, a lot of that went to paying down the credit cards!
I mean, flush with money, I wasn't keeping as close track on what was in the bank over those three months.
I knew it was an abnormally large balance that was gonna go down over time, and I was spending a little more on things like a new mattress, and socks and stuff...
And I thought a lot of it was going to PNC, with that $780.00 monthly.
But I was also throwing a ton of money at the credit card debt.
But by November, there wasn't much left of that windfall, and I wasn't sure where it had gone... but that's when I started tracking the bank balance again, and returned to more normal credit card payments.
Closer to the minimum.
And as of November, my special spending really fell off too... like... no more stuff to get for the new living situation.
Things leveled off.
And the only question left was... how badly is that PNC payment depleating my bank balance... now?
The answer seems to be that I can actually afford to service my debts, pay my bills, and get my gas & groceries... more or less in perpetuity now... with a small cushion of both cash, and credit!
Like, my income is good enough now... and that windfall took care of enough... that I've landed in a sustainable position!
I probably can't qualify for a bankruptcy at all!
I am able to service my debts... at least for the foreseeable future!
And this is the first month I've been able to see that with any clarity... or say that with any confidence.
But yeah... the financial crisis is over!
It's gonna take about three years to really get out from under that debt... but it's actually gonna happen!
So with that information... here at the half-way point of the lease, and the start of the new calendar year... I'm thiking it would probably we wise to upgrade, next July, to a 1BR, in the building, if it's possible.
Because my car has a low payment, and while it's old, and high on miles... I can limp that thing along fine for another couple years at least!
But meanwhile, that van is full of stuff that doesn't fit in the storage unit, or this studio apartment.
And the monthly on that storage unit just climbs ten bucks higher every month!
And a 1BR here in the building (if one is available) is only 300.00 more than what I'm paying now.
Thus... it would be well worth the extra 300.00 per month to have a bigger place, where I could store more of the stuff thats currently in the van, or in storage... and lose the storage bill... and keep the low car payment!
I could afford a 1BR in the building right now, without any hardship!
So, I do now think the plan needs to be... keep the car running as long as possible... and upgrade to a 1BR in the building, whenever that becomes possible.
My journals, my bass guitars, my other rug, my little kitchen table, and pretty much everything I have in either storage or the van could fit in the bigger closets and living space of a 1BR here.
And the place would be big enough to possibly host a cat!
Indeed, a cat carrier and litter box are two of the things now in my van that I've been hanging on to... that I do not have space for in this little flat.
And to have a cat is only an extra 10 bucks on the rent.
I'm probably getting ahead of myself with the cat plans, but... it still does make sense to shoot for that 1BR upgrade as soon as possible.
An in-house move wouldn't be very disruptive either.
Way faster and easier than a cross-town move that included a whole extra evacuation of legacy family shit from an old house!
So, in summary of the six month report...
- I don't need to do a bankruptcy.
- Hanging on to my current car is pivotal.
- Upgrading in-house to a 1BR is also pivotal.
And that's what the focus needs to be, between now and July!
On the album front, I think I need to spend time this weekend just taking notes on what each song still needs now, productionwise, to be worthy.
Everythings on an even keel as far as the level of production, and the general mix.
All the instrument lines are there!.. and the songs are all sounding clear.
But on a listen through tonight, I'm thinking, for example... NYC Gargoyles needs an overhaul in the dynamics?.. because it's just full throttle from the start to the finish... and it should probably start out more simple and quiet, and build over time!
I have similar notes for all the songs... ways to make them all more listener friendly... now that the composition of the music and the rhythm's all coded.
So I need to take those notes down, and then go through the list, over the next few weekends, systematically addressing each song in turn.
In a way, that's what the entire process has been about, since the start... and this is just another phase of that.
But I am back to that strategy of working equally on all tracks, and developing the album as a whole work... rather than obsessing over one song... then another... then the next... which leads to them all being very different creatures that don't play well together.
I feel like the stakes are kinda high!.. because I'm one of the only ones left from my generation of local, loser musicians, who is still in the game!.. and as such, I've gotta prove I'm worth your attention!
And, "still in the game," is not quite true... I'm actually returing to the game after a very long retirement.
The guys who stayed in the game?.. well, they all kinda fizzled out for this reason or that.
They either took it, and themselves, too seriously, and ran it into the ground... or they got too drunk and overwrought about the struggle and... pooped out, or died!
I've gotta get this album right... but not lose focus on everyday reality... or turn into an attention whore, or a sobbing drunk, or a pretentious art snob talking about how I am but the vessel for the message of the cosmos... but my genius is a burden!
I don't intend to make any money off the album, and do intend for it to be freely available for whoever wants to play it.
And that probably won't be many people.
But as a point of integrity, I'd like it to be said of me... that my stuff was actually pretty catchy, and done sincerely... and that it's a shame I didn't make it!
I'd rather it be that... than people lambasting it as, Would'ja listen to this IDIOT, with this BULLSHIT, thinking he had any talent!... when he was just a poser hack!
Soo.. yeah... notes!
But I'm not gonna obsess so much over this stuff that it never gets done!
There is still a deadline of... October 1st, 2025!
By October 1st, Archeology has to be in the can, an up online... warts and all!
And I'll hold myself to that!
It's the same as any other kind of project... ya only got so much know how, and so many resources to work with, in so much time!
But whatever it's gonna be... has to get done!.. and then you move on.
So... welcome back to a healthy January, I guess... where I'm using it for what January's meant for!
I'm planning!
I'm assessing and planning the year ahead!
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