I wanted to write my first official blog entry after I actually started my trip, but today, I saw two of my friends who suggested I start now because they were already curious about what I was up to even though they knew I was still in town.
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Picking up and leaving everything behind has proven a much more tedious task than expected. Thus far, there are 3 issues preventing me from beginning my trip. The first of them involves my car. Originally, I had a partner set to go with me on my trip. It was agreed we would take his car since it was much newer than mine, but due to unforeseen circumstances he dropped out. Unfortunately, this happened at the very last minute. My car, which I years ago dubbed "Mastodon", has been very reliable, but it's now got 205,000 miles on it. Adding another 26,000 in 6 months is a big risk mechanically. So I've been shopping for a newer vehicle of similar reliability for a good price, but none have shown up yet. So instead I'll be checking Mastodon into a mechanic as soon as possible (hopefully today) to get a full check up and professional estimate on whether she can make it.
The second issue I'm dealing with is my bank card. I only heard through rumors about the credit card hack on Target. Unfortunately, my bank card was one of the cards hacked. My bank cancelled my old card soon after they sent the new one. This event, however, just happened to align with my moving out of my apartment. Having submitted an official Change of Address to the post office during this time, I wasn't even lucky enough to have the card returned to my bank where I've already explained the situation. If that were the case, this problem probably would have been resolved in a couple of days. Instead, because my Change of Address was already submitted, the post office decided it needed 10-14 days to deliver all mail from my old address to my new address. I'm very curious as to why it takes 10-14 days to forward mail when they've already sent a Change of Address confirmation to the new address, but the supervisor at the post office looked much too large and grumpy for me to see it fit to ask him. So for now, I'm down to 38$ cash and a Discover card, which today I learned is still not accepted at all restaurants. Pretty soon I'm going to be the only person under 70 who attempts to buy dinner with a personal check.
The third issue is my apartment. My latest lease was signed to end on 6/31/2014. My move out was intended for 12/31/2013. Due to my misunderstanding of their terms, I thought I could move out anytime I wanted as long as I gave 60 days notice. Unfortunately...I was wrong. I'm allowed to move out, but unless they've already lined someone up to move in, I have to continue to pay the lease. The reason I felt my assumption was correct is because a contract titled "Intent to Vacate" stated my lease would end on 12/31. Only after receiving a bill for 6 months rent did I realize that they had made a mistake by writing 12/31 on that form. However, after a bit of arguing and a very "stern" (see: assholish) letter on my part, what it came down to is that the lease is magic. It was explained to me in a way that made sense at the time, but thinking back, all I can recall is the landlord telling me the lease is magic, and it doesn't matter that the Intent to Vacate document was a signed document by both parties, it has no affect whatsoever on the lease. The way I now interpret it, it's as if the lease was handed down by God himself, along with the 10 commandments, and Moses spaketh, "Rule 11, no contracts, no matter how legally binding, have any affect on the lease whatsoever!" If Obama went to my landlady and told her to break the lease, I'm pretty sure she'd tell him to f*** off. I've lived at the apartment for over 2 years, they've made plenty of money off me, and they had 60 days to find a new tenant which they failed to do; I guess I just feel like they could cut me a break. At the very least they could've let me keep using the mailbox and maybe I'd have my damn bank card now...
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