Update XVIII: 15 Miles From Lunch

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, will you at least cancel the cable package when you don't live there at all?

Realize every month that one entire week of your work will be spent on the rent and utilities at a place you don't live in at all. Perhaps more than a week when factoring in gas.

I thought about cancelling the cable package, but that would incur a huge disconnect fee that it wouldn't be worth it.  I called today about downgrading, but the agent spoke to me honestly and said I currently have $175 in discounts and if I take items away, I lose the discounts and that could likely cause my bill to actually skyrocket.  So, it's more cost effective to keep it as is.  That's okay with me because I will be come up here every other Friday after work and spend the night and watch some football and go back to Grandma's Saturday evening.

This clarifies everything.

I'm mainly coming up here to check on things and pay rent.  Football is a nice additive.

[Joe Biden 2020]

bushie you love the cable tv, but when was the last time *you* paid a cable bill?

September

[Joe Biden 2020]

I won't go into the specific dollar amounts, but it is high.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, will you at least cancel the cable package when you don't live there at all?

Realize every month that one entire week of your work will be spent on the rent and utilities at a place you don't live in at all. Perhaps more than a week when factoring in gas.

I thought about cancelling the cable package, but that would incur a huge disconnect fee that it wouldn't be worth it.  I called today about downgrading, but the agent spoke to me honestly and said I currently have $175 in discounts and if I take items away, I lose the discounts and that could likely cause my bill to actually skyrocket.  So, it's more cost effective to keep it as is.  That's okay with me because I will be come up here every other Friday after work and spend the night and watch some football and go back to Grandma's Saturday evening.

This clarifies everything.

I'm mainly coming up here to check on things and pay rent.  Football is a nice additive.

That's a pile of shit. Do you believe it yourself?

Considering I can watch football at my grandmother's just as easily as I can at home, then yes.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, will you at least cancel the cable package when you don't live there at all?

Realize every month that one entire week of your work will be spent on the rent and utilities at a place you don't live in at all. Perhaps more than a week when factoring in gas.

I thought about cancelling the cable package, but that would incur a huge disconnect fee that it wouldn't be worth it.  I called today about downgrading, but the agent spoke to me honestly and said I currently have $175 in discounts and if I take items away, I lose the discounts and that could likely cause my bill to actually skyrocket.  So, it's more cost effective to keep it as is.  That's okay with me because I will be come up here every other Friday after work and spend the night and watch some football and go back to Grandma's Saturday evening.

This clarifies everything.

I'm mainly coming up here to check on things and pay rent.  Football is a nice additive.

As if you're in the position to be "checking on" anything. Go home and leave your poor grandma alone.

Okay, that makes no sense whatsoever, so I'll dismiss it.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, will you at least cancel the cable package when you don't live there at all?

Realize every month that one entire week of your work will be spent on the rent and utilities at a place you don't live in at all. Perhaps more than a week when factoring in gas.

I thought about cancelling the cable package, but that would incur a huge disconnect fee that it wouldn't be worth it.  I called today about downgrading, but the agent spoke to me honestly and said I currently have $175 in discounts and if I take items away, I lose the discounts and that could likely cause my bill to actually skyrocket.  So, it's more cost effective to keep it as is.  That's okay with me because I will be come up here every other Friday after work and spend the night and watch some football and go back to Grandma's Saturday evening.

This clarifies everything.

I'm mainly coming up here to check on things and pay rent.  Football is a nice additive.

As if you're in the position to be "checking on" anything. Go home and leave your poor grandma alone.

Okay, that makes no sense whatsoever, so I'll dismiss it.

You're a burden. I'm sure she's cooking for you and cleaning up after you, ugh.

Where do you suggest I live while I work?  Under a bridge?  At the homeless shelter?

[Joe Biden 2020]

Ah, but of course you have no choice but to impose on your elderly grandmother while paying rent on a weekend apartment in another city. Poor you.

Listen, I'm not doing anything wrong, so bug off.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Ah, but of course you have no choice but to impose on your elderly grandmother while paying rent on a weekend apartment in another city. Poor you.

Listen, I'm not doing anything wrong, so bug off.

This claim would staring credulity even if you were not acting so embarrassed about your behavior.

I'm not embarrassed by my behavior.  I know I'm not doing anything wrong and I am comfortable with my actions.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I suggest you sublet your Tulsa apartment and use the money from that to find temporary accommodations in Oklahoma City. If the job lasts, then you'll be abandoning your apartment anyway. And if it doesn't, you won't have thrown away what is likely $800 a month on an apartment that sits empty with an extravagant cable package that won't be watched.

Also, keeping an apartment there so you can put 212 miles round trip on your car on weekends to have a church picnic and watch football alone is utterly ridiculous. As if you weren't throwing enough money away by sitting on an empty apartment 100 miles away, you decide to rack up miles on your car and gas by making a meaningless trip.

Again, I'm not doing anything wrong.  I'm a different duck.  I'm not a wrong duck.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I'm not embarrassed by my behavior.  I know I'm not doing anything wrong and I am comfortable with my actions.

If that were so, why would you need to tell us that it is?

Because I'm being relentlessly and needlessly barraged by vicious attacks about my way of doing things that are not what everybody else would do.  Right now, it feels like I've got a bunch of flies and mosquitos buzzing around my head, but I can't swat them.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I'm not embarrassed by my behavior.  I know I'm not doing anything wrong and I am comfortable with my actions.

If that were so, why would you need to tell us that it is?

Because I'm being relentlessly and needlessly barraged by vicious attacks about my way of doing things that are not what everybody else would do.  Right now, it feels like I've got a bunch of flies and mosquitos buzzing around my head, but I can't swat them.

Most of us refer to that feeling as guilt.

No guilt here.  I'm just annoyed.  The only thing I'm guilty of is continuing the Update.  I am very comfortable with my decisions while I work this job.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Terminating the lease might not be a bad idea. His credit rating is terrible anyway.

That would be even more silly.  As of right now, I plan on returning to Tulsa after this job ends, unless I am kept onto a new contract after this one expires.

Why are you returning to Tulsa?  You don't have any other obligations there, do you?  It's not like you have some deep roots there.  And OKC is a bigger metro area, no?  So if/when you have to job search again, you'd probably have more options in OKC.  If the penalty for breaking the lease isn't a killer, why not just do it, and use the money you're saving from rent there to get your own apartment in OKC and stay there?

You bring up a good question.  To be honest, it's not a question I can fully and definitively answer right now.  I'm still going to see what this job is like and form an answer to that as the job goes on.  I like Tulsa and while OKC is a bigger metro, I seem to have just as many opportunities in Tulsa as I do in OKC.  In my field, Tulsa has just a little bit more, I think.  I've got a lot of stuff to think about over the holidays.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Is keeping the other apartment part of the latest game plan cooked by Mama and Papa Bushie?

It's mostly my decision, they are just endorsing it.  The reason is just in case this job turns out to be a bust, I'll have something to go back to with very little hassle.

[Joe Biden 2020]

you don't make a 90 year old woman cook and clean for you

Like I said for most of the meals, we will cook together and I will clean up after myself, do my own laundry, and do everything that I would normally do by myself except eating somewhat healthier meals with more frequency, eating less fast food.  I will insist on pitching in on the grocery bill.  She has a very nice yard that I can walk around in so I can start following my doctor's recommendations from my September appointment.  Walmart is just 3 miles away so I will have an indoor place to go walking when it gets too cold outside to walk.  Plus, I can start walking with my pastor again.  I'll live there rent free, because she won't accept my money, but I will pitch in on certain things.  I'll make enough money that I can live a little more comfortably with her and not have to worry about too much except getting up every morning for work.

Really, the benefits of this stay with her far outweigh the negative.  She will drive me up the wall on occasion and I may drive her up the other wall, but I can work and get a head start on the next bill that I hope to pay off in 13 months.  I can also look after her and make sure she's doing okay and be there to alert Mom if things go south with her.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Where do you suggest I live while I work?  Under a bridge?  At the homeless shelter?

Yes. At some point in your life, you need/are going to have to learn the consequences of your stupid and selfish decisions, so it might as well be right now.

No guilt here.  I'm just annoyed.  The only thing I'm guilty of is continuing the Update.  I am very comfortable with my decisions while I work this job.

You shouldn't be, because they're either fycking stupid decisions or selfish decisions. How you can say "you're not wrong", "I feel no guilt", "I'm different" with a straight face is laughable. YOU'RE SPENDING $1000+ PER MONTH ON A STORAGE BIN AND CABLE, AND YOUR RECOURSE FOR SAID STUPID DECISION IS TO GO MOOCHING OFF OF YOUR 90 YEAR-OLD GRANDMOTHER. You shouldn't be "comfortable" with the decisions you're making. You should in fact be made to feel very uncomfortable, so that maybe you'll snap out of this permanent rut you've been in where everyone around you lets you get away with acting like a child because they most likely think you're semi-handicapped. You shouldn't be comfortable; you should be flensed.

...

[Joe Biden 2020]

Listen, guys, I know my decisions are rarely popular, but this one is no worse than any of the previous decisions.  You are trying to get me to admit guilt.  I can't find where I should admit guilt, because my conscience is completely clear.  If you were here in Oklahoma with me you would understand where I'm coming from a lot of times.  If you sat in on the family meetings you would understand.  As it is, you are all arm-chair quarterbacking and pointing fingers.  You did know that every time you point a finger you have three pointing back at you, right?  Do not judge me.  I'm not a horrible person.  None of you are any better than me.  You're not any worse, but none of you are any better.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Like I said for most of the meals, we will cook together

STOP LYING ABOUT THIS. You don't know the first thing about cooking.

I have no problem with you staying with Grandma or her cooking you meals. Wasting money on that worthless apartment in Tulsa on the other hand is maddening.

She will teach me to cook, which is something I've wanted to do for years.

Right now, keeping this apartment in Tulsa without subletting it is a safety net in case things go south on this job.

[Joe Biden 2020]

but this one is no worse than any of the previous decisions.

Yes, this is why you should be incredibly worried that you're headed for disaster.

At least I have a job.  That's more than I could say all of October.

[Joe Biden 2020]

but this one is no worse than any of the previous decisions.

Yes, this is why you should be incredibly worried that you're headed for disaster.

At least I have a job.  That's more than I could say all of October.

Nah, you have a job offer. Your ability to have a job is still in question.

Well, a job offer is better than no job offer.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Wait... you intended to live with your grandmother? I had read this as 'stay for a bit', which is a rather different situation. Unless you intend to be her carer, that's not on.

No, you were right initially.  I intend to stay with her.  If things go well at the job, I will terminate my apartment contract in Tulsa and find an apartment in OKC.  If things do not go well at this job, then I have a place to live.  I will, though, be her carer while I'm with her.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I suggest you sublet your Tulsa apartment and use the money from that to find temporary accommodations in Oklahoma City. If the job lasts, then you'll be abandoning your apartment anyway. And if it doesn't, you won't have thrown away what is likely $800 a month on an apartment that sits empty with an extravagant cable package that won't be watched.

Also, keeping an apartment there so you can put 212 miles round trip on your car on weekends to have a church picnic and watch football alone is utterly ridiculous. As if you weren't throwing enough money away by sitting on an empty apartment 100 miles away, you decide to rack up miles on your car and gas by making a meaningless trip.

Again, I'm not doing anything wrong.  I'm a different duck.  I'm not a wrong duck.

It's not "wrong," Jeff. It's financially wasteful. And the fact that you've become so irritated and keep reiterating how right you are is revealing. You know you're holding onto an apartment you're not living in, an expensive cable package you're not watching and will try to justify that all by wasting gas and mileage to have a weekly confab with a church group you've known for all of a few months. At this point, you're not facing the reality of that foolishness and are too proud to admit otherwise.

I'm not irritated at the forum being perplexed, but I'm irritated by the viciousness of the attacks.  I thought we could talk about things cordially and calmly, not insulting someone because they don't like what they're doing, but apparently chivalry is dead.  You yourself are not being mean, but there are posters here this evening that are engaging in very vicious and vile attacks and insults over something they really shouldn't even care about.

[Joe Biden 2020]

It's my money and if I want to be "financially wasteful", I should be allowed to.  I should not be subjected to hours of insults and character assassinations because of it.  I'm seeing clearly what kind of people some of these posters are, and frankly, it is disturbing.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Listen, guys, I don't have all the answers.  I never meant to imply that I did.  I've been awful prideful this evening.  I still don't think what I'm doing is that bad, but I apologize for acting prideful and arrogant.  This is more prideful than what I usually am.  If someone can tell me how to sublet an apartment easily and pain-free, where I don't have to find anyone, then please tell me.  I don't have the time or the connections to find anyone to sublet the apartment to.  I'm leaving for OKC on Monday morning and won't be back up here until Friday night, November 7.  I do recognize that subletting it would be the best move financially, but I frankly don't have the time to do it right now.  I start work a week from Monday and I have several things to do in OKC next week, so I won't have time to be up here to sublet it or sign any paperwork or make any kind of arrangements.  That's the main reason I'm pushing back so hard is I just don't have time.  Plus, if I sublet the apartment and something goes awry with the job, I can't just up and evict the person I'm subletting to.  I would probably have to give him or her 30 days notice and that would be valuable job search time in Tulsa.  If someone can calmly explain the process, I would be very appreciative.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Jeff, on so many fronts you have ample time. You are either just too lazy or scared to get things done.  Life isnt always sunshine, lollipops, football and brief relaxations. Some things are unpleasant but with discipline you push through them and learn from your experience. Playing around at CADD and putting arbitrary deadlines on developing what should be valuable life skills, so you can dick around and watch football?

You are falling back on your pride as an excuse but this is false pride man. Be better, stop being a jerk off.

I'm trying, Patrick.  My focus is not this apartment, rather my focus is trying to make the most of this job opportunity.  I welcome any and all pointers on how to make the job itself successful including working on my AutoCAD (is that word better?).  Leaving the debacle of the apartment subletting or not subletting, can we return to pointers on the actual job that is causing this apartment discussion, please?

I'll start by asking you, Patrick, what have you done that makes you successful in your employment?  I'm willing to listen and take note.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Have you inquired with your landlord as to what it would cost to break the lease and leave the old apartment behind?  I don't think you've given that sufficient consideration.  Yes, you might get some future job offer in Tulsa, but that's rather hypothetical.  Your job right now is not there, so I don't see why you wouldn't consider ditching it.

That's an idea that has been tossed around, but considering I still have through May 31 on my lease, I imagine it would be a very high price and potentially damning to my credit score.  It's already suffered enough, it doesn't need to be permanently ruined.