The Card Game of March
Monday, March 31st, 2025 10:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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38F tonight, going down to 30F, after a chilly day around 45F.
Okay, so... QUICK REFRESHER:
Back on WED MAR 19, I called in sick to make the evasive maneuvers;
- Settled up with PNC, for both February & March.
- Switched my direct deposit to that 5/3rd account I opened last spring.
- Confirmed that Chicago Title still had that 5K in an escrow account, and texted Mr. Taylor to let him know I still didn't have it, and Jim the lawyer never took care of it.
So, on FRI MAR 21, Mr. Taylor texted back and said, Jim suggests you call BMO yourself to get the foreclosure dismissal document, because they're more likely to give it to you than to him.
Which is basically saying, Fuck you! Nobody wants to deal with BMO's lawyers, so it's your problem!
That obviously wasn't very good news!
Also on FRI MAR 21, I got an email saying my PenFed card... the only card left with a large amount of available credit, had a possibly fraudulent charge, and so was frozen!
I tried to call them from work but the bot said the hold time was 45 minutes, so I hung up!
On MON MAR 24, I forced myself to get out of bed an hour early to sit on hold with PenFed. But I did successfully confirm the fraud, and got them to send out a new card... which they said could take 7 to 10 business days.
Then, when I got to work on MON MAR 24, my work phone was finally there waiting for me on my desk!.. after a month and a half of waiting for it!
Lastly, on MON MAR 24, over down time at work, I consulted DeepSeek about the foreclosure dismissal form, and it confirmed that the County Recorder should have a record of it!
I'd already slated PTO for FRI MAR 28, for the orientation at Elgym, but that wasn't gonna be until 3PM that day, so I could just go to the County Recorder early in the morning on Friday!
On TUE MAR 25, my paycheck deposited at 5/3rd bank!
I'd been told it would take two weeks longer, but I'd gotten lucky, and it went through immediately!.. less than a week after I'd changed it.
So that was some good news.
On FRI MAR 28, I got up early, and drove to the County Recorder in Geneva.
The lady in their records room told me they wouldn't have a record of a foreclosure dismissal form, but the County Clerk, certainly would!
So I drove further north to the County Clerk, in St. Charles!
The man in their records room needed to know the case number, and luckily I still had the summons I'd been served last March, so I handed it to him and... in about five seconds he found the document on the computer.
He printed me up a copy and certified it, for $4.00!
Why hadn't Jim the Lawyer done this SEVEN MONTHS AGO?
Okay, so I drove back to Aurora, and over to Chicago Title.
I gave the dismissal form to Jessica, who had handled the closing, and she said yes, this was exactly what they'd been waiting for... but they were very busy at the moment, so they probably couldn't cut the check until Monday.
At 3PM, I made my appointment at Elgym.
Of their four studios, two are big enough for bands to rehearse live, or record, and the other two are just for mastering and vocals, with small vocal booths.
Of those two, Studio C is the one that rents for $25.00 per hour. The other one rents for $30.00 per hour.
They do have computers in there, and a mike in the booth, but... the young dude who was with me didn't bother to even try to show me how to work any of it.
He just acted like I should know, and... I didn't want to look stupid.
But it doesn't matter, because I can just bring my own setup, in a backpack.
So I signed some forms and such, and they emailed me a PIN code for the front door, and a link to a place where I can book time.
He said I should be able to get time on any Satruday afternoon, as long as I book 3 or 4 days in advance.
And then Studio C has a PIN code that changes weekly, so I get that PIN code when I book.
No cigarette smoking in the studio, but weed is okay, and you can drink. Just don't make a mess.
And they took a credit card number to use if I do trash the studio.
I got back home around 4PM, and figured I was in for the night.
But right at 4:55PM Jessica from Chicago Title called!
She said they DID cut my check, so I should come get it before they close!
So I got my shoes on, and then Jessica called back!
And, I shit you not, she was like, Oh my goodness, Patrick, I just looked in my files and saw that I actually cut you this check two days ago and put it in the mail!
I was like, How could that be possible? I only obtained the dismissal today!
I don't know, somebody emailed me that dismissal document, and... then on Wednesday, I saw it in my email and I cut the check and put it into the mail! Oh!.. but don't worry I'll just stop payment on that check and you can come get this one!
OH NOOOH!... WAIT!.. I don't have authority to stop payment on that check! Jenny does! But Jenny is gone for the day!
OOOOHH!
I said, Why don't I go down to my mailbox and see if it's in there, and if it is, I'll just deposit that one tomorrow!.. and then you can stop payment on the one you have there, on Monday!
I go down to the mail room and... there's no check... but here came Fernando, down the stairs.
His manager's office was closed and dark, but he'd forgotten his car keys inside, and had run back to fetch them.
He told me he may have an 05 unit opening up soon, and I reminded him I'm actually now looking for a corner unit.
We had discussed that a week earlier, but he just hadn't retained it.
But on this chance meeting, I actually got through to him.
I explained that I'm recording music, and right now I'm renting space at Elgym to do the loud stuff that can't be done in headphones... but I need a corner unit that has a bedroom buffer between me and my one neighbor.
He was like, That'd have to be either an 07 or an 01 unit.
I said, Okay, then just so we're straight, I will NOT be picky about the floor! Any 01 or 07 will be fine, and I'm willing to wait months to years, if necessary.
He said, No, no.. Ideally we'd like to get this taken care of in May or June, because after July gets here it's just... impossible!
So... we're finally on the same page, and Fernando finally seems like he wants to get this done!
So, by SAT MAR 29, I knew I was gonna get that 5K, but not until Monday!
And I knew I'd be getting that PenFed card back, but not until Tuesday, or Wednesday.
So I was kind of in limbo the rest of the weekend.
But I did bust out that little laptop I had, from 2020 and...
That things WAY too slow!
It's also probably cursed!
I'd forgotten that that stupid thing was always kind of a lemon... super slow from the day I got it.
But we had that thing set up on a stand in Dad's bedroom while he was on his death bed, to play music for him... and Kevin played like two hours of church music on it, for slowly fading and dying Dad on morphine.
And Dad died, with his head laying right next to that thing!
And my desktop background for it was a drawing of a Tyrannosaurus Rex that Dad had done in his childhood... which I'd found among a bunch of his childhood drawings down in the basement, saved in a box by his mother, back during the war!
But it's a scary looking Tyrannosaurus, and I was like.... Nooooo!... this thing is WAY cursed!.
But I was coming into some money, so... could I find a decent deal on a refurb laptop for recording vocals at Elgym?
Again I consulted DeepSeek, telling it I needed a refurb unit for recording vocals in Audacity.
And it spit out a bunch of specs that I should be looking for, and recommended four specific models.
So I looked up those four models on Ebay, and amazingly found that versions of all of them were going for under $200.00!
I settled on the Dell Latitude, and put it into my cart, but didn't buy it.
It has an Intel i5 8th gen processor, 16G of RAM, and 512G of SSD storage... with a 15" screen, and all the different ports I'll need... for only $180.00!
I told DeepSeek about it, and they were like, Okay well this sounds like a great deal, but verify the seller and make sure there's a warranty... and this, and that, and bla bla bla!
So, I did, and I said, okay so the seller is Blair Tech. 98.9% positive feedback. Also Microsoft authorized refurbishers. It's ebay certified refurbished as well. 1 year warranty. they say guaranteed to include all parts such as power supply. windows 11 professional, digitally licensed. very good condition. has dings and scratches but runs like new.
And DeepSeek concluded, This is one of those rare eBay listings that balances price, specs, and seller reliability. For vocal recording in Audacity, this Dell Latitude is more than capable, and the 1-year warranty removes nearly all the risk. Go for it!
So, here I was today, on the LAST day of the month, forcing my ass out of bed an hour early, just like last Monday, to get over to Chicago Title, to get that goddam check for 5K!
I walked into their office around 10:45AM, and as soon as I told the receptionist that Jessica had a check for me... we heard splooshing water sounds coming from a nearby break room, and Jessica and Jenny both screaming!
I was like, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
A water pipe had broken above the ceiling in there, so everybody was suddenly in a huge tizzy about it!
And I have to pause right here to focus on the bullshit energy that's been surrounding this check for 5K... final loose end of the house sale... since last August!
Because if you scoff or chuckle at the idea of me being worried about a laptop being cursed, because it was in the room when Dad died, and has one of his drawings on the desktop... no!
After texting with Mr. Taylor, and talking to Jess over the past few days, the clearest picture I can get of what's been going on is... nobody wanted to try and get that dismissal document from BMO... and everybody was too stupid to realize they didn't have to!
Taylor & Jim have been saying to themselves this whole time, Chicago Title needs to get that themselves! It's not our job!
And Chicago Title's been saying, Taylor & Jim need to get that themselves! It's not our job!
But then SOMEHOW.. some MYSTERIOUS, unknown party DID email the dismissal document to Jessica... a some UNKNOWN point in time!
And she dragged her feet on it for God only knows HOW LONG... but DID managed to FINALLY cut that check and get it into the mail just TWO GODDAM DAYS... before I'd finally take care of the matter myself!... CUZ I DIDN'T KNOW ANY BETTER, AND IT HAD BEEN 7 MONTHS!
So after all this IDIOCY!.. I walk in to finally get the fucking thing this morning and a fucking pipe broke in ceiling... literally one second AFTER I said, "Jessica has a check for me."
"Jessica has a check for me."
SPLOOSH!.. GLUG GLUG GLUG!..
OH MY GOD! NOOOH!
Like... no!.. this is EXACTLY how curses operate!
But I DID finally get the damn check, and I drove it strait back to 5/3rd bank and deposited it!
And then I got to work early, and had a fairly easy day, because this week is spring break.
And when I got back to the building, I found in my mailbox... BOTH the errant check from Chicago Title... AND the new PenFed card!
Sadly, the check I deposited this morning in the bank has not yet cleared.
So... I thought maybe I'd pay all the bills tonight, and buy that Dell Latitude tonight, but... maybe tomorrow!
At the start of February, it still looked like I had enough income to upgrade to a 1BR, and keep up with PNC's loan payment.
But that illusion was dispelled in early March, and by mid month, it was clear I actually cannot afford even one more $780.00 payment to PNC!
The illusion was created by the 13K that I originally got from the house sale, on August 1st. I threw it into checking, and didn't keep track of where it was going... or how much I was really bringing in... because my pay had changed so drastically, also in August.
I was just coasting through the fall, and trusting things would be okay... because I had so much trauma processing to deal with.
But in reality, that 13K, lasted 8 months, and nearly ALL of it, went to the PNC, and higher than minimum payments to the credit cards, for months.
But this meant that the clouds of a huge financial crisis were gathering for April!
Thanks to all the hoop jumping I've done, over the past 12 days...
- PNC cannot snatch my paychecks (and I did pay the minimum on my little credit card with them tonight, so they won't start freaking out until the 16th).
- I have money to pay all the other bills, as well as my income taxes.
- My one good credit card for emergencies is back in operation, after being shut down for a week.
- I'll have $780.00 more per month from here on out!
- My credit score will not begin to crater until May, so... if I can line something up with Fernando before then... it won't affect my getting into a 1BR.
And even if it does crater, all they'll ask for is more deposit money, and the PenFed card can do that!
Yes, PNC will harass me for months, and eventually sue to have my wages garnished.
But that takes a long time, and I'll have options to negotiate, and there's a limit to what they can garnish... which is probably way less than what I was paying.
So, that's probably next January's problem?
And that means I probably have 8 or 9 months to buckle my finances down, and do research and prepare for that battle.
This has been a KNOWN problem, since way back last May, when it became clear I could neither resolve the foreclosure, nor sell the house for enough to pay off my debts!
It was always coming, but I managed to forestall the conflict for nearly a year, while getting settled in at a new place and a new job.
And I've now managed to avoid the worst case scenario... a catastrophic paycheck theft... and so there's more time.
THE IDEAL SCENARIO: Get into an 07 unit... and make it work for the seven years it's gonna take to outlive all this bullshit!
A Dell Latitude, for $180.00 is not only a great deal, but... it's justifiable!
Two hundred bucks for a workhorse computer that'll last five years is not an extravagant luxury!
It's gonna have a better processor than the one I bought in 2023, to run FL Studio.
And while that one's fine for running FL Studio, and will continue to do so... that machine has a lot of latency with recording vocals.
The new machine may not have so much latency, especially if it's being used to record with Audacity.
So, even if I were to get an 07 apartment tomorrow, I'll probably still use the Dell for recording the vocals.
But it's also gonna be a Windows 11 machine, so, unlike the other two, it's gonna be able to run the latest drivers, and be updatable for a long time to come.
The two I'm using now run Win10, and I can keep them going for years to come, but they'll never be able to do more than what I'm already using them for.
The all-in-one is fine for my everyday uses... writing, painting, watching YouTube, talking to DeepSeek, etc.
The studio computer's perfectly fine for composing music in FL studio, and mixing and mastering it... and exporting it to WAV or FLAC format.
And it's even fine for using Audacity to layer in sound effects in post and stuff like that.
But both of them kinda struggle with recording vocals live.
They can DO it... but there's too much latency to monitor my own voice live in headphones, and they DO glitch out from time to time, and freeze up.
So the Dell will be a new, single purpose machine, like the studio computer... for vocals.
And that's fine!
That's no different from the olden days, where I had a bunch of different components to deal with specific tasks, in a recording studio.
They were analog componets back then.
These are computational components.
Doesn't matter, because at the end of the day, I can still produce a finished WAV or FLAC that will be valid on all platforms across the internet.
And maybe even tape cassette... if I ever scratch up the money for a tape deck!
So, that's where I'm at, on the final day of March, 2025!
TWO YEARS AGO: Dad had just died. Tim had left town. I thought I owned the house. I'd just gone full time at Cloud. And I was applying for that goddam PNC loan, to do home improvements, and float me until I could refinance the mortgage in the fall.
ONE YEAR AGO: BMO was suing to foreclose, because the refinance had failed, and I was paying defense lawyers to try and resolve it, while living off of credit cards!.. still working at Cloud.
THIS MARCH: Still alive!.. living in a studio apartment in Allerton Tower downtown, and working at PVHS as a maintenance guy for much higher pay!
No longer living off credit cards, and out of danger with the feds on taxes over the house sale, but hunkering down for seven years of credit hybernation, and the storms that my creditors will bring, as I begin to default on all the unsecured debt that mortgage refinance was supposed to pay off.
But the job is secure... the car's doing okay... I can make the rent...
And I have what I need to keep myself occupied... in the different refurbished computers and other equipment I've cobbled together as a new recording studio... that should continue to function for most if not all of these next seven years.
Life... when you're in the working class... is ALWAYS, a month-to-moth, and year-to-year struggle!
If it looks like you're getting ahead... some asshole from the financial class is ALWAYS ready to fuck you over.
And if you try to fight back... some dumbass, or all the dumbasses of the professional class, will be happy to take your money, and drop the ball.
And the government?
They're absolutely useless!
The ONLY way to survive is by wits, wiles, intuition, and luck!
But I will say... for the moment at least... DeepSeek's been SUPER helpful in a way that Google just never was, and a way that... asking some friend you think knows what they're talking about... also, never was!
Now, DeepSeek is free... so... they'll inevitably shut it down!..
But it's all part of the game!
You play the cards you have today!
And then you pray!
°¦}
