Checking In

Hey guys, just checking-in with you to say hello. I basically took yesterday off to tweak the computer and so forth. I was supposed to work around the house, but I didn't, so I will have to do the chores at some point today.

I expect more PRs on the upcoming Comic-Con, which gets started this Wednesday over there in San Diego, but I got most everything out to you this weekend. I will cover The Dark Knight in all its record-setting glory, but since I did not see it and it is being amply covered by every site, TV show, network, newspaper, trade publication, slick, rag, and sandwich-board walkman out there, I feel confident you have a general idea that it did fairly well this past weekend. There is also quite a bit of TV news in the press these past few days, but I think I've covered most of it I planned to get to... I'm keeping an eye on it.

These next few weeks are going to be touch-and-go, as I prepare to move the site, have some personal issues to deal with, and next week is bill-paying time. I am paying very close attention to my budget this month, as I have actually only been able to stick to it one time in like the past 6-8 months. A whole lot of that had to do with Charter Communications ripping me off, but there is also the issue of procrastinating sponsor payments. All of this - along with rising prices across the board on everything from utilities to gas to food, as well as my absence due to surgery last month - has forced me to really struggle these past few months... no, I mean really struggle.

I knew Charter Communications was ripping me off and posted as much here (and elsewhere) several times throughout the past year or so, but since they kept cutting-off my services, I was forced to pay them, which amounts to extortion through DOS (Denial of Service), for which I am holding their equipment and fighting them 100% for the return of my money, as well as lost resources spent dealing with their fraudulence - which amounts to approximately an entire work week, all-told, not counting lost work due to DOS, travel expenses, and more. This is only one of those "personal issues" I already know is going to rob me of my focus here.

The other is moving. I am planning/looking into Florida. It won-out over Ohio (at the onset), as Ohio is just too cold; my neck hurts me enough here - I'm not sure I can stand harsh winters. However, FL costs more than I currently make, so I'm not sure I'm going to be able to afford it. This is all going to suck resources.

Tied into all of this is repairing my credit. Honestly, my credit wouldn't be that bad, had I been watching it! That really is true and I'll likely have more to say on it once I really get into it. Had I known half of this stuff was even on there, I could have challenged it years ago and gotten rid of it! Of course, the laws were only recently (since late 2005) changed to allow us to actually keep track of this nonsense without going broke, so I'm not sure how much I could have done before then, anyway. Still, my credit report is literally riddled with incorrect, or blatantly false, reports - many of which are for the same debt! In fact, one credit card company - which is widely-known to be shady and dishonest, yet still allowed to operate because it pays politicians to do so - has reported me for the same debt no less than three times and has been since 2003! And I am actively paying the debt - and have been for over a year now!!! In fact, the reason I quit paying on it in the first place is because they kept changing the amount I owed them and I kept challenging them on it.

They reported me, then sold the debt to a collection agency which reported me, who then sold it to another debt agency which is reporting me; at this moment, all three appear on my credit report(s) as separate "dings" - even though they are all for the same debt! And the company which I am actively paying to settle the debt is actively reporting me favorably, but the credit agencies still have them as a debtor against me and they can do nothing about it! You have to dispute each, individual "mistake" manually. It is in literally everyone's favor but yours to continually make these "mistakes." If you or I do it, it is highly illegal and comprised by a wealth of felonious charges, including extortion, illegal lending/usury, money laundering, credit fraud, racketeering, and more.

So, yeah... there's a lot on my plate at the moment and even though I technically have the "time" to do it, it takes a lot out of me, so I rarely feel like doing more. These are all highly-involved, time-consuming pursuits and one person only has so much to put toward them. Add to this what I do here, as well as the fact that I live alone and have a household to run, and there just aren't enough hours in the day.

So we'll take it as it comes, but I have been dropping hints about what all I have to do so much lately, I figured I would just lay it all out for you so you understand what's really going on. And my sleeping schedule is still all wonky... I get it straightened-out one day, then go completely off it the next, and there doesn't seem to be much of anything I can do about it.

But I'm still chugging along and will be.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008