Not Another Homeschool Blog

If you've kept up with my sporadic blog, you know I spend a good year commuting to and from NYC, where my husband was working.  I tried several different types of transportation, as all that travel gets expensive. I ended up using Frontier, for most of my travel as if I traveled in advance it was dirt cheap... but dirt cheap is well... dirty and cheap. Like that time I took the China bus and spend several hours locked in a frantic gaze with a cockroach. So anyway, here are the problems I have had, the last one, I am currently still having. 1. Dirty...  The airplane itself could be cleaner.... but when flights are dirt cheap, you are dealing with a population that gives a pass on that, so between the effort to clean and the fact that everyone is getting on with enough food to last on a 3 month Trek to Alaska, then nastiness will happen. Frontier is the MegaBus of the air. 2. A-la-cart.  Sure, you can fly to NYC and back for $$60.00, but that's just for you, your lu...

UPDATE: There is a God in heaven.  I was contacted by the insurance adjuster.  I will get cash value for my broken items. Wow.  ...wonder why???... Sept 30... 2nd update.  Insurance appraiser came by today... I think he is going to recommend they pay me to have the sofa repaired, but the rest, I might actually get paid for.  We shall see. Final update:  I got a check for 1135.  Enough to get someone to repair some items (they will never be the same) and to replace my desk/console.  These guys are the worst. Everything on their website is a lie.  They went out of their way to try to rip me off and when I did not fall for it, they purposely destroyed my stuff. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yes, we moved back from NYC and ended the adventure, that's a story for another post.  In the meanwhile, the moving company decided to keep things interesting. I'm gonna be petty now and copy and paste my ...

This month has certainly raised my blood pressure. It started when we decided to not take the new apartment in NYC, and instead to fold back and go back to GA full time, for family reasons mostly. Hubby's company was great about it.  We lost some money with the apartment complexes (just this moment realized I have not gotten my deposit back from the new apartment complex.) The biggest headache came from the movers who pulled a big time bait and switch, and the then destroyed our belongings like a gorilla destroys a suitcase .  I wrote a review ... and I am working on the issue... lawyer involved. The theatre show I am currently costuming, and my daughter in is ... stressful.  But the costumes are great, and the actress is pretty good too... photos later. I found myself also working on set with a children's theatre camp, while my daughter worked on

I have a partial view for the WTC from my apartment Yes, NYC is a blast. But it is also stressful. And it is also hard. And I love it. And I don't like it so much. I thought I was going to blog about it a lot, but I don't like to be negative, and honestly, there are things that have been a strain. Living apart. Financial strain... it costs so much more than you'd think. Juggling being available for the kids. Taking care of the house. The way things are going right, now, we are probably in it for at least another year... But... we are starting the apartment hunt right now, as our current lease is up in May. We had no problem paying for rent insurance, the first time because if we were new tenants and also own a house, and they want to make sure you won't cut and run... but if you have been a perfect tenant for a year, and financially, you exceed the requirements, then why would you get a letter stating you need to renew this insurance, that amou...

The Atlanta airport TSA now screens with one of those full X-ray machines. Sometimes, I get flagged to be expedited though security, where at most, they check my palms for residue, and sometimes I get the full she-bang. When I do have to go through the X-ray machine, I have to say it is kind of humiliating. First, you go in, barefoot and put your feet on the germy looking painted feet on the floor, then you lift your hands above your head... and you know... just know, someone is checking out your body and all of its secrets.  Some people do this step and then keep moving, shaking off the feeling of personal violation.  But me... no, not me. I have to then stand on the next germy foot pad and get felt up.  Apparently the girth I hold around my middle region looks like strapped-on explosives.  The last couple of times, someone rubbed the back of their hands over my stomach, to which I replied... "It's just fat."  They usually giggle and agree.  This tim...

I found an airline that flies to and from NY from Atlanta every morning.  Just one flight a day. The price is astronomically low. I took it and survived!  I'm going to do it again. To backtrack a little, I tried taking the bus to NYC to save money, and I was traumatized a little. Over the summer, I paid about $70 round trip to take the China Bus as it is usually called, and it was crowded, smelly, and people were really disgusting and threw food on the floor.  And there were roaches!  Next, my husband and I took the Megabus for about $100 round trip and while it was cleaner, and better, the lack of leg space was physically painful and I had to wear compression socks to stop leg swelling. The next time I traveled to NY it was me and my adult kids and for $600 we flew round trip.  That's $200 each.  After that trip I prepared myself to only fly and be prepared to pay $200 per trip to NY.  Imagine my surprise when I came across a discount advertise...

update: GETT gave me a partial refund, but would not communicate with me.  It's been some kind of week.  I wrote about the problem with Time Warner and Acceller in my last post.  I am waiting for my reimbursement that was promised AFTER I wrote a blog about it, tweeted it, and forwarded it to Acceller. So everyone knows not to trust Time Warner, that is not a big surprise. But what about your friendly hot dog vendor.  A couple of days into my first trip to NY to apartment hunt back in April, or was it May, I heard about the following new story where a hot dog vendor was caught charging $30.00 for a hot dog.  This was the day after I paid $6.00 for a hot dog and a Snaffle.  I found out later that should have cost me $3 to $4 and prices should have been posted.  I walked by that same vendor yesterday, and I really wanted to punch him.  I'm just tired of people being dishonest like that. Update of GETT situation, (below) no one would speak to m...

Don't mess with a woman who takes notes I knew getting an apartment in NYC had its pitfalls.  Needless to say, I got ripped off by companies that you would expect to do good business... but wait, they are monopolies, why should they bother.  I should have expected to get ripped of. It went like this.  I called ConEdison to set up my electricity.  That went well. Before I ended the call, I was asked if I wanted their help in setting up my TV and Internet. I said sure.  They said, OK we are transferring you over to someone who will verify that your Electric was set up properly, and then they will help you with your TV and Internet.  I thought this meant I would be sent to another department within Con-Ed, but that was not the case.  They transferred me to a company called Acceller (AKA Home Connections), and no one ever once mentioned that I was now dealing with a company that gets paid to "help me" set up my utilities. I asked the operator (nam...

My cell phone camera is like a memory bank.  I don't use it so much to take photos of beautiful things I see... first, because I don't fancy myself a tourist.  Second, because everything is beautiful.  I can get caught up in the most fascinating textures of gritty places, and gleam of glass and steel buildings.  In NY, It's all art to me, but I digress. <<Here's my most used photo.... a reminder of when the ferry to IKEA runs. It can be kind of hard to ignore social issues when you are in NY. Right now everything around here is rainbow colors in celebration of the right for gay people to marry.  People are literally celebrating in the streets, since there is an actual parade going on not too far from my apartment, and this week I went to Broadway sings for Pride, which was an AMAZING show and since the main goal was preventing young people

So I am coming to the end of my first few weeks in NYC, I am heading back to the suburbs of Atlanta in a few days, where I will be furiously working on a costuming project, spending time with the young adult kids, and then coming back here to finish setting up the apartment. I will bringing some stuff from the house like plates, and other stuff I have in triplicate to make the apartment more homey. I am very lucky to have pen pal of sorts.  Writing to someone daily helped my chronicle my journey. Here are some of the more "fun" occurrences as they happened: I am on the bus to NY right now. I should be there In a few hours. I need a Xanax. I thought I was all hardy and such. I could rough it. I'm not above the bus. Ummm. Apparently I'm a delicate flower. First, the lack of communication. How dare I expect customer service and think my questions should be answered. This is the bus lady and it costs $50 round trip. Shut up and get in line. I climb onto the bus...

My current life's journey/adventure includes setting up a second home (an apartment) in NYC, which I will spend as much time as possible at, and which hubby will work from.  Being a very thrifty person, I am struggling with a lot of the costs of NYC.  Which brings me to the question, how far will you go to save money?  When I first quit my working full time, while pregnant with my son (who is about to turn 21), I did some reading of a very popular series of books called the Cheapskate Gazette.  There were lots of tips and ideas for stretching money so a family could survive on one salary and even prosper.  Some of the ideas were great.  Buying in bulk, freezing meals, couponing, etc.  But some of the ideas were off the wall... for my sensibilities anyway.   I drew the line at the menstruation cup.  Thanks, but no thanks.  I stuck to sanitary napkins and tampons.   Likewise, being here in NYC, my first impulse is to...

I am blogging from an iPad which has its challenges.  Whenever I have computer access I will go back and fix typos and better format anything that looks wonky. I will also turn video links into embedded videos, please be patient. I recorded a YouTube video today that talks a little more about where we are and what we are doing. http://youtu.be/9e0zx98zjQk Setting up a new home definitely has it's challenges.  In NYC, the challenges are magnified. We supplied everything but blood samples to get into a doorman building in the financial district... But that is done. We picked out furniture and also got case goods from IKEA... done and done. We set up utilities, got into it with Time Warner (no surprise) cancelled and set up new utilities. When the issue is played out, or settled, I will blog about it in full.. I will say this much now, don't let Con Edison set up your other utilities for you.. They are actually patching you into another company that may very well cause a g...

I feel so unfocused lately.  I want more than anything to pick up the sketchbook and canvas again, but when you have this kind of adult distraction disorder (ADD - without the hyperactivity) It doesn't take much to remove your focus. In short, I haven't done my art-a-day run because we are about to be dually located.  Hubby's job is moving him to NYC, but he wants to keep our home here as well.  I talked about this a little in the fall, then, that got changed, and now it is back on again.  Just when I thought I had let go of the dream of that happening (I really, really, really, really love NY) it became not just an offer, but an order. The struggles of being a corporate employee's wife.... i.e. first world problems.  Waaaaah, I have to manage two homes... (but I get the HAVE two homes). So no more whining... but serious distractibility... for sure. So in case you wondered... that's what's going on. The Rugrats will be home this weekend from college. ...

I am starting to see the gentrification of NYC in action. I can clearly handle the rent. The numbers meet and/or exceed the requirements to live in any such building... even the best of buildings.  But, there is that one line on every application that says what your credit score has to be to be accepted.  Brooklyn or Harlem 600.  Upper East side, Lower East side, Hell's Kitchen, Chinatown 650-700. Upper West side or SOHO or Chelsea 750. (this is approximate, but you get the idea).  If you want to live in the nicer areas you must have a pristine credit report. But there was/is this great recession. Who's credit report survived that unscathed?!!!  I know for us, there were a few years that were pretty hit or miss... one paycheck away from homelessness kinda stuff.  The credit report is not perfect. ...And we are doing BETTER than most people we know.  So that means that in order to get into the nicer areas of NYC, even if you can clearly afford the r...

In shifting my mindset for living (even if only part time) in NYC, I have inventoried my belongings and am considering what I am bringing with me and what I am leaving here.  I looked at my purses, and then I threw some away... maybe I should just get a money clip and skip the purses, I thought, but perhaps, just for special occasions, maybe my old Coach purses will do. Burberry bags $500-$3000 + So I took them out, and polished them, and ordered new hang tags, and wrapped them lovingly.  But then I asked, what is the big deal with designer purses? Sure hubby purchased them for me as a gift because women he worked with insisted his wife should have these purses... and I used them for a couple of years, and then put them in the closet, because they cost too much to throw away even though I was tired of them, and because they were still in excellent condition. I started researching designer purses, and if my old Coach bags still even qualify as such.  I found tha...

So.  Hubby got a job promotion which requires him being in NYC most of the time.  Wow. At first, the thought seemed just CRAZY.... but now I am quite excited.  It's not like I am selling my house and actually moving or anything, we will be able to get a small place in Manhattan or Queens and still be OK. I'm in such an excited tizzy, that I can't express it on the page! So with that said, I need to get my home organizing project finished cuz I need to start apartment shopping, and deciding what 1/4 of my furniture and items I am going to ship off to NY, and what I will just buy.  This is not exactly what I had in mind when I said we would be downsizing, but I'm gonna be reading a couple of books on the idea... maybe that will help me in time get rid of some things in the house when we eventually do get rid of it for a retirement home.