The past couple of weeks have been stressful, but they all kind of came to a head on Friday morning.

I woke up to the kids asking what was wrong with the t.v. because the satellite wasn't working. Corey came in at 10 a.m. and told me the satellite had been shut off.

First of all, I was deeply irritated over being woken up because the family couldn't watch the goddamn telly, then I was irritated because I KNOW I just paid that bill like two weeks ago. PLUS the fact that I didn't get any warning - no past due notice, no "Hey, dumbass, pay us" message every time we turn it on, no phone calls (Dish Network ALWAYS calls the day before they shut you off). So I got up, went into the living room, and looked at the screen. It wasn't the typical "hey, dumbass" screen - the t.v. was totally black, and when I hit the guide button, all of the spots were blank.

What it all boils down to is that we had a nasty little storm blow through town the night before, and it made the receiver a little wonky, so I just had to reset it.

However, this whole mess got me to thinking about our finances, so I checked the bank. Corey's paycheck was about half of what it usually is, because he only worked one day, and since it was his short week, he only got short term disability for two days. And they took out everything they usually do - taxes, 401k, laundry, insurance. So that left us about $150 short for our mortgage payment, which comes out on the 14th. This put me in "stressed, so let's take it out on the company" mode. Corey had to go to Guardian for open enrollment for insurance and to get his flu shot anyway, so I got up and dressed and ready to go for the throat. I had somehow gotten it into my mind that he was going to lose his job before the end of the year, and his production bonus along with it. I had this whole conversation in my head while I was getting dressed, which helped be get ready to rip the head off and shit down the hole of anyone who got in my path. The gist of it is that we're kind of counting on that bonus to help clear up a bill or two, plus to help with Christmas. The bastards have been able to count on Corey for 5 goddamn years, and GRRRRRROWWWWWWWWWWWWWL.

See?

So anyhow, we got there, and HR guy tells Corey that they've got some light duty available to him if he wants it.

He says, "Sweet!"

40 hours a week, 8 hour shifts, full pay, instead of 2/3 pay for 36 hours one week, and 48 hours the next. Mas bueno.

the last trail...the next path