I got all my ebay auctions out. It's up to USPS now. I hope I sell more, I've got a few more hundred bottles left. Who says collecting nail polish is silly? If you don't use it, just keep it pretty on the shelf, it usually retains value or increases. Nail polish is going to pay my heating bill. It's been in the 20's every night this past week.
In complete desperation I went to the plasma place on Wednesday at 7am, but after a two hour wait, they turned me down because I am on insulin. I was told in the the privacy of the nurse's exam room, and I am so ashamed that I cried. My bank balance was $0 and I had less than two dollars in change in my purse. They would have paid $50 for a donation that day, and another $50 for a second donation two days later. A veritable fountain of gold, right there in my veins, untapped and unwanted.
I kept waiting to hear back from the Food Stamp office because I submitted an application Sunday night and when you have zero resources they are supposed to expedite your claim and provide services within 7 days. Oops. I guess that with the holiday they're behind. I tried calling on Wednesday but I was on hold for a couple of minutes before my call was answered and I was told I would have to be transferred to another department with a hold time of 40 minutes. Yikes. My phone is Pay As You Go. I hung up. I am going to go to the local office on Monday morning with every possible piece of paperwork and proof of identity and circumstances and try to cut through the wait.
I have a little bit of food. Since I can cook, I won't go hungry, but I need to be eating low carb, to keep my blood sugar down, and protein is expensive. When I do get my approval and the EBT card, I am going to do an ongoing account of how well I do on $200 a month. I think I can make it okay. I won't eat all the things I want, but I will eat, and my goal is to keep the amount of processed food as low as possible. When I was working I easily spent $100 a week and the amount of food I ended up tossing makes me ashamed.
Okay, transportation. I own a 2001 Sentra, and it has that idle problem where it dies when you're not giving it gas, so at red lights and turning corners or slowing, the engine dies. If I am going fast enough when it happens, I just pop the clutch and it keeps going, but it's a bit dangerous at times (making a left turn across three lanes of oncoming traffic at a green light). Oh, and the thing is leaking oil, too. Luckily almost everything I need is within about a mile from my house.
My house. A bit of a misnomer. I rent half a duplex $575 a month. That's cheap anywhere, but for what I get, and the neighborhood (one of those charming mid-city communities with old houses that are beautifully maintained and landscaped and people walk their dogs) it's a good deal. I have a back yard that I never use, but it's fenced, and I'm allowed a dog (can't afford one but want one with all my heart), and I have a washer and dryer and gas heat, water, and stove that still all work if the lights go out during a storm. I park on the street but mine is an almost hidden two-block circle and there's little traffic on this end. I need something cheaper but in this town that will mean moving to a neighborhood where I would be risking my safety.
I have Asperger's Syndrome, and Diabetes with complications, and GERD & GAD (they sound like a couple of old biddies who run the church potlucks), and I don't like leaving the house. I hope I'll be approved for disability by March. My calculations say that with SSD and SSI, my monthly income will be a total of $775, and $200 in food stamps. Isn't this going to be fun, kids?
