Moving Soon

It's been about 7 months since I last posted, so thought I would post today. We're moving soon (my brothers and I). Right now, I'm not sure the exact day, and for that matter, I'm not sure where. We applied for the Pembridge Downs Mobile home park, and we were denied. Our agent was going to be trying other ways to get us approved, so we'll see what happens. If that doesn't work out, I'm not sure where we'll be going. It would be nice to be approved there, as we'd be able to bring our dogs, and if we don't get approved there, I'm not sure where we would be able to get approved at, as every other place will have the same concerns.

All of this does seem like a bummer, especially with it being the holidays. We may be spending it in a motel. Should be fun (not really). My room is pretty much packed, granted I have some stuff to pick up from under the bed, but that should be really easy. The master bedroom is picked up, again just a few things need to be picked up. We still have stuff to do in the kitchen, our living room is still a mess, and we still have stuff in the garage.

So in general, we're not sure where we are moving to right now, and the escrow date is approaching.

Moving And The Stress That Goes With It

I haven't been in much of writing mood lately, and it shows with the time span between my last entry, and this one, but I felt the need to write, to clear my mind at least. As of right now, we, or shall I say I'm in the process of looking for a place to move to. I say myself, because for the most part, I'm doing it alone. It is a stressful thing. Ideally, I should be getting help from my Aunt, as she's in charge of the trust, but that's not the case. I was supposed to go with her over a week ago looking for realator's offices, but that was pushed back, and since then, things seem to be rushed. We've gone from thinking about buying a mobile home, to scrapping that, to thinking about an apartment, to scratching that, to looking for a rental home, to apparently going back to an apartment again.

Things would be easier, if I wasn't the only one driving, and of course I had a job, and we didn't have dogs, but we do, and I don't want to give them up. We've found two apartments that will let us take the dogs. One is just around the corner our house (well almost just around the corner), and the other is in Chino Hills. As of right now, the house that we're in is going to be put up for sale in two weeks (that was after our Aunt told us she wanted to do it next week, even though a few days ago she gave us a speech how she wasn't going to do that).

In the meantime, not only do we still need to find a place, but we also need to get moving boxes. That process should be fun.

When Do Things Start Getting Better?

It's a question I've been pondering lately. To say this past year, and into this year has been a rough year, it would be an understatement. Up to today, I haven't had any luck in getting a job, and it's frustrating (to say the least). Luckily my older brother is still working, and my younger brother is dealing with mental health issues, and in the mean time we find ourselves hoping and praying that he will be able to keep his job as a result.

Our housing situation is complicated, at best. We are faced with the ever increasing likelihood of selling our house, and where we go from there is anybody's guess. It's a frustrating situation, and one that wouldn't be happening if I could just land a job, and then we'd probably have to rent out a room once that happens. Of course if I'm able to get a job, and my older brother is able to get a higher paying job, then we would be in better shape.

My biggest concern with selling the house, is making sure we can keep our dogs. Besides my brothers & I, they are most important to us, as well as our cats, but it would be really hard to not have our dogs. They are good dogs. They love to stay indoors, and we've had them for 7 years now.

A New Year...2014

So the holidays have come and gone, and to be honest, it didn't really feel like much of a holiday season for my brothers and I. We went over to our Aunt's house on Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and in terms of our Aunt's side of the family doing anything with us during the holiday season, that was the sum of it. We had plans, but they were always cancelled on us for one reason or the other.

My brothers and I spent New Year's Eve eating appetizers and watching a movies (a tradition that we were able to keep alive). I did watch a little of the Rose Parade, and the Rose Bowl game, but it felt weird doing so without my dad. So rather than watching much of the game, we just watched three movies on blu-ray. In total, we watched four movies between New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The movies we wound up watching were Pacific Rim, Kick-Ass 2, Despicable Me 2, and The Internship.

I can't speak for my brothers, but I really didn't celebrate the coming of the new year, primarily because it felt weird doing so without our dad, and because there are still important matters heading into this year. Those would be a job, and staying in our house. It would be nice if I'm able to get a job, and sooner rather than later.

As for resolutions headed into the new year, I didn't really make any aside from those two, and continue my diet that I started in December. I lost at least 10 pounds in December, and probably gained 5 of those back over the course of the last week. I have however managed to increase my nightly walk time to an hour plus, a night. On nights where I don't make it to an hour, I'm reaching 50 minutes. Starting tomorrow, I'm getting back to eating better, and back on a diet.

There's only three events I'm looking forward to so far this year. Actually four. Those would be the Super Bowl, the AMC Best Picture Showcase, WWE Raw (although as of right now I don't have anyone that's willing to drive to Staples Center for it), and WWE SmackDown. I say the Super Bowl, because I think I want to invite people over to our house for a change. It would be a nice and welcome change for once.

It's Beggining To Feel A Lot Like An Ordinary Day

This holiday season has come and is quickly going by. Today is Christmas Eve, and it feels like an ordinary day here with our dad no longer around. Tomorrow is Christmas, and it's going to be odd around the house (to say the least). I managed to do some shopping this year, thanks to a prize I won, and a giftcard I won. I however didn't get to send anything to friends this year, as I couldn't afford it. I was only able to afford gifts for my brothers. I won't be opening up anything this year on Christmas morning, but at least my brothers will be able to.

That's what under are tree looks like this year. My younger brother bought a movie for me & a game for my brother (all he could afford this year), and my other brother, well he didn't save for gifts this year. I was able to get them 6 gifts each this year. Hopefully next year there will be more under the tree, as I'm hoping I'll be working this time next year.

The Holiday Season

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and we're a few weeks away from Christmas. It feels weird without our dad here this holiday season. As of this writing, we haven't put up any decorations yet. Normally we would have had the decorations up the weekend of Thanksgiving, but that hasn't been the case this year. I didn't get to go out this year on Black Friday. My Aunt had told me months ago that we would still keep that tradition going and go out on that day, but as Black Friday approached, she never brought it up to me, and didn't talk to me about it. She made other plans instead.

As of right now, I haven't done any Christmas shopping, and as the day approaches, I'm not sure exactly how much I'll be able to spend this year on gifts for family & friends. Money is tight, not only for myself, but my brothers. In ways it feels like it did back in 2010, or December of 2009, I really forget. That was when my dad, when he was alive, was diagnosed as a Diabetic, and was in the hospital for a large portion of December that year, and was released three days before Christmas. The only difference between then and now is that three days before Christmas this year, he'll still be gone.

Aside from figuring out how much money I'll be able to spend this year, we still have our housing situation to deal with. I haven't had any luck in getting a job, and we may have to rent out a room still. I'm really hoping to get a job soon, so we don't have to rent out a room. Besides, I have no clue whom to rent out a room to.

Back to the holiday season. So far, the only plans we have, is to go over to our Aunt's on Christmas, and that's about it. We don't have any plans as of right now for any other days before then, or after then.

An Odd Thanksgiving

I couldn't think of a better title, as that's what it is. This is the second Thanksgiving I'll be spending without my father (first one was a few years ago, when we had a big argument), but this one unlike the last one is because he's no longer with us. This week also marked the 5 month mark since he's been gone.

When the fourth of July came and went, it felt like he was on vacation. Halloween came and went, and it seemed almost normal, as we never did much of anything with him in regards to that for several years now, and the past few weeks, and more so this week, it's set in, where I find my find myself missing him. This was the first year in about 10 years where I didn't go shopping at the store for food to make for Thanksgiving, or a few days after (as we always cooked a separate meal at home a few days later if we ate at a relatives house, or went out to eat, which would be at Knotts Berry Farm. They have an excellent Thanksgiving buffet). It's also going to mark the first time in 10 years where I won't be going out the day after Thanksgiving shopping for gifts, and just taking in the experience of going out on Black Friday. It's something I've enjoyed doing, and I don't think I'll be going out this year.

I guess I'm not really looking forward to tomorrow. However there still are things I'm thankful this year. I'm thankful for my family (both related, and church family), and friends. I'm also thankful that my younger brother is working, and my older brother is still working. I'm thankful that my contest wins have slowly started to pick up again. Lastly, and this is related to my church family, but I'm grateful for being in a home church. It was such a blessing to receive a box of supplies for preparing a Thanksgiving meal at home, and was quite the surprise. An amazing one might I add.