I have been a hard worker my entire life. I got that from two strong military parents. I used to always be the person that my friends would turn to when they needed help or depended on. And then what happened when for once I needed help? Well…I got left stranded in a coffee shop with nothing but the clothes on my back, my purse with my last $100, and my little puppy Pie. I didn’t even see it coming—at all. She played me for a fool right down to the last second. At first I panicked. And cried—hysterically. I tried frantically calling her over and over and she never answered…ever. She took everything I owned with her. My laptop, my cell phone, all of my clothes, and even my dog’s toys and food! I stayed in a cheap motel the first night. I think it really took until the second day for it to finally sink in and at that point I began buying computer time at the café to find any and everything I could do to make money. I stared leaving my puppy in the motel room while I went to little odds and ends jobs to make whatever money I could. Then the 4th day I met a really nice lady who offered to give me a paying, live-in nanny job until I could get back on my feet. I took a deep breath. I thought everything was going to be ok. So Pie and I moved into her place and began working and living with her and her two sons. I stayed with her for about 6 months until I had saved up enough money to move into my boyfriend’s apartment with him and his best friend. After I moved in I noticed that his friend wasn’t really holding up his end of the roommate agreement. We were constantly cleaning up after him, he never bought toilet paper, paper towels, milk, anything for his own consumption—he merely used ours! And then to top it all off he fell behind on his rent. That was the worst. Suddenly my boyfriend and I were responsible for the entire $1500 rent and utilities plus our own basic living expenses! We started falling behind on bills and no matter how much I begged and pleaded with my boyfriend he wouldn’t kick him out. You see, my boyfriend and I are both the types of people that always try to see the greater good and we’re big time believers of karma. So his friend stayed for another 3 months while slowly paying back his debts and then finally my boyfriend reached his limit. See he had this hidden stash of tips that he would get from him job tucked away in him room and one day when we went to deposit it in the bank, we noticed about ½ the money was gone. He first asked him about it…afterall it’s his best friend from childhood. Of course his friend denied it but he knew he was lying. So we finally kicked him out. Things started to pick up from that point. I thought everything was going to be ok. We caught up on our bills, renewed our lease, I was about to start school…and then **** really hit the fan.
December 22, 2008
I had my first car accident. I was driving home from work and it was pouring rain. I’m talking the kind of rain where it’s a blanket of white. So of course I was driving extra careful following the driving handbook to a T. I remember the closer I got to home the clearer the rain got. I was about 15 minutes from home when…I’ve never been able to put the part into words…all I know is I blinked my eyes and could feel the force of the wind spinning the car. I didn’t scream (which surprises myself to this day) and I remained completely calm. I remember going over in my head what to do when your car is spinning—brakes…don’t hold the brakes…tap…release…tap…release. My car came to a stop sideways in my lane of traffic. I remember catching my breath (apparently I had been holding it) and I looked out of my driver window at a silver vehicle coming straight toward my driver door. I closed my eyes and felt the impact and the car started to spin again. I honest to God thought that I was going to die at that moment. But I didn’t. Again the car came to a stop…this time facing the right direction in my lane of traffic. I looked our of my windshield and noticed a white truck up ahead of me. I managed to get out of my car and run towards it screaming for help. He drove away from me. I couldn’t believe it. Here I stood in the middle of the pouring rain, injured and crying for help, and he simply drove away from me. I finally turned to survey the damage for my far. The front had no real damage but the I looked at the rear…it was completely crushed in with the exhaust laying on the ground. I lost it completely at the point. I kept going over and over in my head what I could’ve done. How did I do this? No matter what I did I couldn’t think of anything I had done to cause the accident. But I still had that doubt in my head. And then I saw the person behind me and noticed it was the other car that hit me. I ran toward them and they welcomed me in their car as I called my boyfriend from her phone and waited until he arrived. She was the nicest woman and completely calmed me down and stayed with me even with the local police department came and began ordering us off the roads. (completely jerks but it’s understandable because there were over 300 accidents reported that morning due to the rain) After we got home and called her from our phones, she informed us that she saw the entire accident. The person driving the white truck that I originally ran to was the one that hit me and caused my initial spin. I went from angry to sad to ****** off and back to a nervous wreck. I could not believe this was happening to me. I had just landed an awesome serving job less than 3 weeks prior to this point. I called my boss and broke down everything to her. She was actually really understanding and told me to take all the time that I need. Everyone was really nice to me. Upon my return from work (8 days later) I noticed my hours were dropped from 38 to 7 and to top it off there was a new server on the staff. It took a total of 5 days for me to figure out that I had been replaced. I had no real proof of it but I just couldn’t shake the feeling in my gut that something just wasn’t right. Day 8 I arrived for work and noticed I was no longer on the schedule. I immediate went in to see my manager. He informed me that he was really sorry but he felt that it “just wasn’t working out.” My abilities just “didn’t hold up to company standards.” and they “no longer had company time or money to complete my training.” He handed me a check for $262.63 and asked me to please hand over my apron and tie. I couldn’t believe this was really happening to me again. I job searched every single day while my boyfriend worked. I have a nice resume. I even have management experience! I could NOT find a job! It was the absolute worst timing! We still hadn’t found a steady roommate, my boyfriend’s paychecks alone couldn’t support all the bills, and to top it all off his mother suddenly moved in. See his mother is technically “homeless”. She lives in her car and showers at our place on occasion. Well her car broke down and she had no where else to go. So she came to our place. The original agreement was for a few days until her car was fixed. Well a few days turned into weeks and before I knew it she was constantly in our lives. And not only was it her but her boyfriend too! It was HORRIBLE!!! We were constantly fighting all the time, she was constantly in our space, roommates were getting weirded out by her, bills continued to pile up…it was a pure nightmare. I eventually got a part time job working weekends at a local tea shop and that’s where I am currently. His mother is out of our house (and back in her car) and we’ve been trying really hard to catch up on everything. At this point we haven’t paid any bills in two months. We owe all of them money. Every paycheck that we get goes to one bill or another simply to keep the water on, or the apartment office happy, or the gas on. But it just hasn’t been enough. See I was supposed to receive compensation from the other car’s insurance company and it was going to cover the work I lost, my medical bills, and the bills we fell behind on. Well that was until I got the letter in the mail that I was found 100% at fault for the accident. Apparently the other witness in the car completely changed her story and said that I lost control and started the entire accident. Currently the case is under review…and none of our calls have been returned. I don’t know what we’re going to do at this point. Bills are just piling up everywhere! Our apartment complex is officially suing us for last months’ rent (Just got served Wednesday), our phones are shut off, and the gas company is threatening to shut off too! I don’t know what I’m going to do at this point. All I’ve ever wanted is to pay off all my debt and go to school, but now I can’t even go to school! My parents aren’t helping, his parents aren’t helping, and all we have is each other. We work each and every day making any and every dollar that we can doing whatever we can. We’ve actually built more debt trying to get out of debt by paying bills on credit cards! Please somebody help! I know there are tons of ads out there asking for the same thing but I’m hoping that this reaches the heart of at least one person. Please. I’m not trying to get rich quick or anything like that. I’ve never begged for anything in my entire life, but I’m begging now. Please someone help me. Any and all donations are greatly appreciated.