Credit ratings suck. I've been the leaseholder on an apartment and had my name on various utilities for two years, and I still don't have a credit rating because I refuse to use a credit card (no, I'm not looking for advice about credit/credit cards at this time. I already know how to get a good credit rating if I want it. I don't think I should have to. Shouldn't not being in debt after several years of being financially in charge of myself count for something? In fact, I'd probably qualify for more if I did have debt. Grr).

We want to switch cellphone service to Sprint for a number of reasons. However, they require a security deposit since I don't have a credit rating, and they don't allow you to add an additional line to your account if you have to have a security deposit. You have to have to separate accounts, which dramatically increases the cost (adding a second line to the plan we want is $7.50 a month, the next lowest account that does what we want is like 5 times that).

So now we have three options: 1. stick with our current AT&T plan, 2. keep my line AT&T and switch koyote to Sprint, or 3. do two lines with Sprint.

1 isn't going to work since koyote needs the data capabilities that Sprint offers for work. 2 may or may not be practical if we have to pay extra to downgrade our plan, or if we can't get down to a lower cost than the lowest Sprint plan.

We could always just drop my phone entirely and use long-range walky-talkies (not as silly as it sounds...we saw some with a seven mile range, which is more than enough for our usual needs), our landline, and a calling card for emergencies.

Probably not going to happen because we like our cell phones too much. Plus radio reception in koyote's office apparently sucks.

As koyote mentioned yesterday, we're seriously thinking about getting rid of our car. Trader Joe's and the ghetto K-Mart (plus other things) are within a 20 minute walk. That's all we really *need* on a regular basis. All of our favorite restaurants except one are also within this 20 minute range. A whole bunch more of our favorites (koyote's work, the library, a shopping mall type place, Barnes&Noble/Starbucks, Target, Whole Foods) are within an hour's walk. We discovered today that it may actually be quicker to walk to the pediatrician's office than to drive (we can get there more directly, without having to deal with traffic). Public transportation is close, too.

If we sell the car, we can afford to get good, comfortable bikes and trailers, which will cut down the time to all these places significantly. We'll also be able to do things like take a taxi if other transportation isn't a a good option for whatever reason.

We're going to try to avoid using the car as much as possible until January. If things are working out well, we'll sell it.

I was carless for three years before I met koyote, and for part of the time after that, so it isn't really something new to me.

My initial reaction to the idea is that I don't want to lose the safety net of having a car. But really, it isn't a safety net. The ambulance is the safety net. The car is the lazy net.

We're also thinking about withdrawing large amounts of cash from an ATM as needed, and using that instead of the ATM card for most purchases. Avoids ATM fees, helps with budgeting, and keeps Big Brother from tracking our purchases (unless they track cash now, in which case we're just screwed).

This does nothing to solve that pesky credit rating problem, however.

The weather suddenly switched from hot to comparatively chilly. I wore a long sleeved shirt the whole time I was outside today. I'm so spoiled from growing up in Coronado. When it was hot, I was dying for it to be cooler. Now that it's cooler, I'd prefer it to be just a little warmer.

I can fit into a pair of jeans that didn't fit a week ago. Not pre-pregnancy size yet, but I guess I'm shrinking.

We have this June bug problem. They somehow manage to die all over our apartment. I don't even know how they get in, since we have the door closed unless someone is going in or out. It reminds me of the scene in Lost Boys by Orson Scott Card where they find all the dead June bugs in the window. Except they aren't in the window. And it isn't June. Can't they go away already?

I like the fireflies, though. I haven't seen fireflies since we visited Wisconsin when I was 4. When we walk down by the stream behind the apartment, it looks like something out of a fairy tale.

The window fell out of our car. We were just sitting at a stoplight, and it fell. Apparently this is a well known problem with Jettas. The really bad part is that no one can replace it before the 25th, so our car is wide open to thieves/rain/June bugs/etc. until then. No, this is not an invitation to come steal our carseat.

Soon all the visitors will be gone and I can start figuring out what "normal" means now.

being stuck with a flat tire at 2 AM, about 100 ft. away from a (closed) Firestone Tires store.

This weekend has been very nice.

Original: http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2001/3/19/164619/890

Yesterday afternoon I went out and practiced driving with a friend of mine (yes, I'm 21, and haven't bothered to get my license yet). It went pretty well. We even got off of the back country roads and drove around the town and on the freeway for a while.

After dinner, we decided to drive out to Fry's and get me a new network card (I killed the old one). He fell asleep for a short bit on the way there, and when he woke up, realized that I'd managed to get us on the completely wrong freeway. By this time, it was dark, and I was stressed out and tired, so before turning around and going back, we switched places. Drove back, found Fry's, got the card, and went home.

At least that's how I wish it had gone...
( Read more... )