So I've Fallen In Love

With a zippy little thing.

She's brand spanking new.

All shiney and black.

Took her for a test drive and absolutely fell in love.

I spend on average 15 hours a week in my van.

I really don't mind commuting at all but this little beauty would make it a lot sweeter.....especially when it comes to fuel consumption.

Al asked if I wanted to go in and talk to Carla to see what it would take to make her mine.

I said NO (and pouted a little) and we gave back the keys and left (and I pouted a little more).

I'm currently working without a contract and until I've got a new contract (a healthy raise would be sweet too), I am not going to make a major purchase like a new car.......but oh how I'd have loved to take her home with me.

Hopefully soon.  Maybe by the end of the summer.


edit to add:  She was sold the next day.  But that's okay because when the time is right they will find me another one and bring it in for me.  Maybe a colour other than black?   Any suggestions.  What's a cool colour?

Do you feel neglected?

Well don't take it personally dear blog readers - - - you aren't the only ones.

I'm working on correcting that.

I've actually started a few blog posts in the last couple weeks with such titles as

'They only ate cereal for supper once this week' (see I'm working on correcting the neglect of my children too)

and

' The ants came marching two by two' and maybe if the ants would stop walking across my keyboard and giving me the heebie jeebies I might be more inclined to sit at the computer more often. (I'm working on the neglect of the house too....spent all day today doing just that - for all the progress that excercise in futility got me) not that the ant issue is entirely due to the trail of food crumbs and granola bar wrappers and half eatten hotdogs my children leave behind them but also the house itself. It screams 'hey ants....i'm an old wooden house with nooks and cracks and issues just perfect for your inhabitation' Darn House! Darn Kids! Darn Ants!

and

'Someone Erased My Whiteboard!' which resulted in my almost neglecting to deligate what little inflow of cash into this house there is towards the right bill at the right time.

So see, I'm not singling you out in the neglect department. I'm an equal opportunity neglector.

I'm slowly adjusting to life as a working mom. Now that school's out for the summer it's gotten a bit easier....or harder? I haven't decided which. I think easier because there isn't that frenzied rush to get everyone up and out the door for the bus just minutes before I have to leave for work. I'm also getting the hang of my job so I don't feel so out of my element and that is helping with my mental exhaustion. Physically, with having to pick Al up at midnight during the week, I'm still not getting enough sleep but my body is totally adjusting and I find that even on my days off or on days I get more than 6 hours of sleep I'm waking up automatically anyway. Darn internal clock has been reset and now I'm a morning person. Oh the horror!

I have had a few extra days to catch up on much needed sleep lately too. With the Canada Day holiday this week I somehow managed to have two days off mid-week plus two days off this weekend so I'm feeling a little less tired than I have been. There was also an unscheduled day off a week ago when I was sent home from work 'sick' and the medication I eneded up on knocked me right out so I got plenty of sleep - not that I felt better for it. The whole episode was quite nerve wracking and involved a 'severe allergic reaction' to something. Over the course of two days I developed a wicked case of hives that eventually spread to my ears/face/eyes/lips and were making their way to my throat (scarey!!!!) I ended up spending 3hours in the ER where they injected me with hydrocortisone and sent me home with a prescription and instructions to take benadryl (knocked me on my ass that stuff did!). By the next day I was hive-free, steroid full and back at work and still have no clue what the cause was. I can't say I'm a fan of the unknown in this case and would feel alot better about the whole thing if I knew why it happened in the first place. I have my suspicions (3-4 possible suspects) but without it happening again (not a huge fan of that idea either) the doc says we won't know. Geesh. And ya wanna know what my first thoughts were after the initial scare was over.......that it cost me a day of work and the price of the prescription. Darn Hives!

Money's still tight but we are managing and once we get a few more paycheques (hopefully without anymore unscheduled, hive-induced lost days) into the bank and caught up on some bills things will be even better. We managed to sell off one small piece of equipment at exactly the right time as it bought us a little time with the leasing company (and I was able to make the first monthly payment towards Tyler's trip with 24hours to spare --- whew!)

Tyler's picked up a second job with quite a few more hours so I'm confident he will be able to come up with almost if not all of this months payment. We even got some big news tonight that Aarica is starting a summer job tomorrow morning working at a daycamp with a woman that used to be an EA at her school so I'm confident she will be in good hands and have a wonderful summer. Of course, while it's great both kids have summer jobs, it makes scheduling a bit more tricky for everyone but with the help of family to cover the overlap between when Al and Tyler start work at 4 and I finish work at 5, things seem to be falling into place.

Well. I'm sure there's been more stuff happening around here lately. Visits from family. Family fun. Pictures of everyone. Weird/funny/bizzare stories etc but my phone alarm just went off reminding me it's time to go pick up Al (you fall asleep and forget to pick him up once...okay twice and he gets all snarky) so I guess my blog time is up.

Miss ya'll

Update your blogs too so I know what you are up to.

~K

Nice Relaxing Day Off....to blog and flower shop and oh wait...

The day started out beautifully. Even the accidently sleeping in part and the kids missing the bus....because I didn't have to be at work early this morning so it was all good...and that extra hour of sleep rocked!

I had plans to do a little errand running late this morning with my mom, visit with her, be home when the kids got home from school for a change. Al could take the van to work and I could just spend a nice quiet evening at home. No rushing. No fussing. Nothing fancy. Just a pretty basic day.

BLAM!!!!

Did you catch that.

That's the sound of my brain getting sideswiped.

Darn information, thoughts, knowledge. It's all in there. Inside my noggin just begging to be used.....but sadly it gets lost more times than it's useful. Heck even the stuff on the calendar (which still needs to be replaced by something MUCH larger) isn't free from neglect.

It's no wonder I can't remember all those darn product code numbers at work. I can't remember the stuff I already have inside my head nevermind new stuff. *seriously.....that darn special has been on all week and I've probably package at least 75 of them but do you think I can remember it's code for the scale is 40741 (well okay I remember it NOW but not while I'm AT work...I'm serously stupid there. I completely draw a blank)

anyway.....

this morning.....before I'd even finished my 2nd cup of wonderfully hot & delicious coffee or had even taken a bite of the Apple Fritter that Al brought me home from town when he took the kids to school - it hit me.

I was merrily going about my business putting together my budget for the month - you know....cuz now that we have 2 paycheques coming in I can actually do silly things like pay some bills and oh I don't know.....by groceries.

So, I was dividing up the incoming money that appears as if by magic in our bank account each Friday morning for things like Hydro (who so graciously informed me earlier this week that if we continue on with our payment schedule as is....our outstanding balance should be paid off in OCTOBER and could we possibly swing out a little more cash for them each month) and the van payment and the Visa bill and the phone and internet and Autopac (that's the insurance on my van for those not in the know) and that's when it hit me.

AUTOPAC! Dammit! Sideswiped.......by my own van!

I quickly check my online banking and sure enough, there's no money in there which isn't a good thing when there was an automatic payment for my insurance due 2 days ago. So there I am scrambling with this tidbit of info when that darn information truck comes back around to hit me again.

BLAM!

That payment never was scheduled to come out of my account anyway because I needed to go in and renew my insurance 2 days ago. D'oh!

BLAM!

Did you hear that one. That was the truck backing up and running me over again.

It's JUNE! 4 months after my birthday. Which around here means my drivers license expired right along side my insurance...... 2 days ago.

That's right. Not only has my van been uninsured since Midnight on Tuesday but I'm not legal to drive. Dang I hate it when that happens (and yes...it's happened before - at least this time it didn't cost me the price of that speeding ticket AND the ticket for not having a license AND for driving an uninsured vehicle). You'd think I would have learned this lesson. Sadly NO.

So instead of errands and flower shopping with mom this morning I scrambled to borrow $160 since payday isn't until tomorrow so I could register the van and pay for my license (which btw I think it's just disgusting that they make you pay $40 to take such a horrible photo of you) and it kinda threw the rest of my day off.

But once that was all done I was able to salvage some time to take mom to go pick up a couple hanging baskets for her yard - which I have to remember to go take into the garage tonight since there's supposed to be frost tonight. Geesh! And since I will be back in town tonight anyway this isn't a problem.

That's right. No nice relaxing evening at home. No Al taking the van to work.

I had mentioned to Al that I was going to enjoy spending the evening at home tonight and not have to pick him up at midnight because he could take the van since I don't need to be anywhere tonight .

I think he was a little scared to say anything. Actually, I think he was more than a little scared that I'd cry - again with yet another surprise because he very cautiously mentioned that I did in fact need the van tonight.

???? Really ????

BLAM

High School Band Concert tonight. It's even written on the calendar and yet....still a surprise.

Today has just been FULL of surprises.

There were more of them....but they will have to wait till later. I'm going to go make my son prove to me that he can actually play that clarinette I spent the last 3 years paying for. OH and somebody remind me the annual payment for that darn thing will be charged to my credit card in early July. I believe I owe something like $3.00 on it plus the years insurance..... but then again I've been surprised by bigger things lately so I could be wrong.


~K

*** more stuff to blog about.....back later.

Stop-Payment

Those are hard words to deal with.

We've had to put a stop-payment on the automatic payment for the lease of the truck this morning. There's no money in the bank account to cover it. It's come to that and I hate it. Al's cousin, who is in the truck sales business, figures we have about three months before things get to the point where the lease company will repossess the truck for non-payment. I hope he's right because there's a whole lot of fine print in that lease agreement and the word immediately pops up quite often regarding this matter. What I really hope is that one of the people who've said they may be interested in buying the damn thing will show up with money in hand already because I hate this feeling of being so totally helpless.

I've been working on a scrapbook page (ya....last minute stuff for crop this weekend.....darn procrastination gene) and it's pictures of my kids taken last summer and I was trying to come up with a title or something to go on it. I had to pop into the city yesterday to get adhesive refills......and birthday presents and I heard a song on the radio that not only made me cry (lots!) but also screamed to be used on this layout. I can't wait to get a chance to finish the page tonight.



"My Wish" by Rascal Flatts

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big


*****


Beautiful Song! It's my wish for my kids....and for everyone!
Have a beautiful weekend. For my scrapping friends -- Happy National Scrapbooking Day tomorrow and know that I miss you all and wish you were here....or I was there with you. I'll be thinking of you!

~K

whew...what a day

I got slightly sidetracked earlier ( surprised? didn't think so)

then got to work. Ugh! Too much math. I couldn't think straight and my books weren't adding up. Took all afternoon but found the errors.

and I had one way huge panic attack (slightly due to lack of having a smoke to smoke but not completely)

and a couple minor meltdowns (complete with tears)

but I made it through my day and finished the government paperwork I had to finish and I made it all the way through all that math without a smoke. My frazzled nerves couldn't take it anymore though and I begged Al to bring me a pack of which he is now in charge of so I won't be able to smoke em cuz I got em.

I'm happy I found where the 'missing' money was.....unfortunately it wasn't in the place I'd hoped it would be (like the other column!) and I underpaid the government a few times over the year and geesh, where am I gonna find that $168.36.

There were a few moments when I thought of putting all the financial stuff through the paper shredder and mailing it all to the Governor General in lieu of a cheque and telling the government where they could stick it all.

It's very hard emotionally and mentally, doing all this stuff for a business that doesn't exist anymore.

Next week........ we do the GST !

I can't freakin wait!

Would u believe me if I said...I was confused?

Really.

I am.

I could have swore I wrote a new post (or at least started one) for today only I can't find it. Maybe I just imagined I wrote it....but I'm sure I really did. I wonder what it said.....because I can't for the life of me remember now. That's actually why I blog - because I can't remember what I did or thought on any given day and I love writing things down but paper just doesn't work for me.

I have a love hate relationship with paper.

My whole house is cluttered with the stuff. Everything from pretty (neglected) scrapbook papers and notebooks and post-it-notes, kids art projects and stories and song lyrics (oh boy are there pages and pages of half written song lyrics EVERYWHERE!) and bills and accounting files and more bills and junk mail and more bills. The purpose of blogging was to have a place to write, sans paper clutter, where I wouldn't loose things.....and now I've gone and lost a half written blog post.

How ironic.

I'm pretty sure the missing blog post had something to do with money. I have a love hate relationship with that stuff too. I'd love to have some and hate that I don't. Simple as that.

Where was I?

Oh yeah. Missing blog post.

It might have had something to do with Al's first paycheque from his new job which was direct deposited overnight and is now sitting in my bank account - briefly....this months van payment will take care of a good chunk of it. Maybe it was about that. I don't really remember....I should write these things down.

Maybe it was about my not smoking.....but probably not because that's not going so well. But I'm working on it.

Doubt it's about my getting a job because as I said before....nobody's beating down my door to hire me ---- although 2 hours after I said that the first time, I did get a call about a possible job that might be available in the next few weeks. I'm not sure I really want the job but if the store I put an application into doesn't pan out in the next 3 weeks (I called yesterday to check on the situation and was told it would be at least 3 weeks before they are hiring) or so and I do get offered this other job I might just have to suck it up and take it.

Whatever it was about. It's gone now - so this one will have to take it's place. I might even come back later and write an afternoon post. But for now, my time is up and I must go. I've got the whole house to myself today and I'm going to make the best of it and tackle my To Do list I-Think-I-Might list.

~K

He's doing his part but REALLY?

Let's just take a quick look at how Al's helping out with our financial woes shall we.

He's working his second shift pumping gas (I noticed today the price of gas went up AGAIN btw) tonight and it's a full 8hour shift. He's working 4-12 which means I get to go back to town AGAIN (fuel prices people) after just having picked up the teen-boy who worked 4-9 at the competors gas station. Heehee. That just seems so funny to me for some reason, that father and son are working at competing stations. What's not so funny is they both get paid the same wage.

Sidetracked. Where was I?

Oh ya. Al's food-budget boosting techniques.

Well tonight, after picking Em up at a birthday party (for which Al will have to work an extra 3 hours this week to pay for the present and the fuel to take her to and from), the remaining children in my possession and I went to the grocery store to pick up a few necessities. Inbetween my whining that I shouldn't always be the one to think of something for supper and my vetoing their odd (icecream for supper?) and/or unaffordable (ordering pizza...while a nice idea - not budget friendly)ideas , the children and I were discussing what food was currently in the house.

We'd decided on Tacos. Not our usual fare but they'd been asking for them and I thought why not. It's been one heck of a busy weekend and that sounds quick and easy and something the late-working men-folk could heat up and eat when they got home from work. So we began picking up the few things we needed for the weeks lunches and some of the missing items for supper like taco shells and the fillings.

Is there cheese left?
No.
NO? Why not! I bought two large packages at the beginning of the month. If I buy more and get home and find a full block in the fridge you guys are gonna get it....and be eatting it for lunch for a week.

Is there any salsa sauce left?
No.
I'm sure there is...since I also just bought some and it's not something everyone likes so I'm sure there is. We'll take our chances on that one. Not buying it.

Is there hamburger?
I dunno?
Well, um....I know there was at least one package in the freezer left. What did dad make for supper last night while I was at "work" aka scrapbook day (making NO money I might add - I didn't even break even. Grrrr!) but I digress. Back to the issue at hand.

What did dad make for supper?
Nothing.
What do you mean nothing. I know damn well he fed you. There's no way my kitchen looks like that and he didn't feed you.
We went to bed when we got home and we ate at the bowling fundraiser.
Ya - I know that but you went home BEFORE the fundraiser and he fed you.....RIGHT?
Oh ya. We had spaghetti.

Okay cool. Now we are getting somewhere.
Did he put meat in the sauce or was it just plain sauce?
One kid says Yes.
One kid says No.
One kid has no opinion and is quietly sitting in the cart playing his DS - smart kid!

Ugh! So which is it? I turn to the 'reliable source' and ask...Was there meat in the sauce or not?
No there wasn't.
Okay so then by my mental picture there should still be hamburger in the freezer.
No, I mean there was no sauce.



Silence
.
.
.
.
.
.
Dead Silence
.
.
.
.
.

What do you mean there was no sauce?
There was no sauce. Just spaghetti.

What do you mean just spaghetti??????
Just plain spaghetti with nothing on it. No sauce.....unless you wanted ketchup on it.

YUCK!!!!

I'm speechless.....


But at least there was still a package of hamburger in the freezer for tacos.




~K

Dude Got A Job!!!

It's minimum wage but minimum wage is better than no wage (and really.....contrary to what everyone thinks about us as self-employed people....we've been living on minimum wage for a long time.)



He starts training on Friday and has 4 shifts in the next week - whew! Those 29hours he's already scheduled for are money in the bank and will cover April's van payment and then some.



Feeling slightly less stressed this afternoon.



Next....... it's my turn. Please oh please oh please!!! Let it be my turn soon!

Just Keep Swimming

Less than 24 hours from now the deadline closes for bids on our contract tender.

It's been an emotional few days.

People are conspiring against me and trying to convince my husband to bid. They are all going the right way for a smack bottom ( Shrek reference - disney/pixar makes them for all occasions) if they keep that up. Different people keep coming up with different reasons why we should bid and they are all valid but it would be financial & emotional suicide if we did....not that it isn't even if we don't. I so want off this roller coaster!

I told Al that if he does bid on it he'd better make the amount high - really, really high - because he's going to need a damn good divorce lawyer - and those ain't cheap!

I think we've both come to terms with the loss of a business we've worked damn hard to build and keep alive and that has supported our family for 14 years. It's a part of us. It's who we are and we take a lot of pride in it. I think we've both been feeling just slightly like we've failed. That we are giving up too easily - but we know deep down, it's time for a change. We've accepted that but it's still hard and emotional at times - like the past few days, as the tender deadline gets closer and closer. Tomorrow it's over .....and then we only have 2 more Mondays to finish up our obligation on our contract and then it's really over....at least the 'work' part is over. The financial mess will last for years to come I'm sure.

What we've yet to figure out is how we will dig ourselves out of this massive pile of debt the business has acquired over the years and we just aren't in a place to think about what to do about that at this point. We are focusing on the here and now - the day to day operating expenses and providing for our family but the looming loss of income is starting to take it's toll. Once one - or preferably both of us, finds jobs then I hope some of the pressure and stress will subside.

Our last pay cheque on the contract will be coming in at the end of the month. If we don't have personal income coming in before then, we will be facing some serious decisions. Our family's survival vs business expenses. I'd prefer to not have to take a personal pay cheque from the last contract cheque if at all possible so that we will have a bit of money in the bank to cover monthly truck payments & its' insurance until it's sold.....actually I'm terrified just thinking about how to cover those payments should the truck not sell quickly.

Find-a-happy-place! Find-a-happy-place! Find-a-happy-place!



On a positive spin - today rocked. The weather was PERFECT for working in. Not so cold I had to bundle up( t-shirt and a light sweater all day!) but for almost all of the day it was cool enough that the snow wasn't melty and slushy so I didn't get soaked PLUS I remembered to take Al's ipod so I got to listen to music all day which is a lot more fun than being alone on the back of the truck with nothing but the music in my head and my own thoughts to keep me company. I actually had fun....but not so much fun that I'd want to do keep doing it. 2 more Mondays!

The Circle of Consumer Life

Okay so we are going to take a left turn here and I'm going to pretend I know a damn thing about politics, economics and consumerism. My experience with these 3 things is strictly from a personal perspective.

I admit, the announcement by the Federal Government on the tax credit for home renovations sparked my interest. I was briefly excited about the program for 'damn this house needs a whole lot of work' reasons and this program is totally user-friendly unlike the the Natural Resources ecoENERGY program and Manitoba Hydro's PowerSmart program. No pre-retrofit assessments (that cost money). No post-retrofit assessments (that cost more money). No taking your chances on just how much of a refund you would get based on how well those assessment show you improved your energy efficiency. With this tax credit program you just keep your receipts. Easy-Peasy! Ya except just like the other two programs I've been foiled again. Squatters don't count. Homeownership is key. There isn't even the option of having the homeowner (my father-in-law) apply on our behalf like with the other two programs - Not that THAT plan panned out anyway. Heck, we still can't even convince him to get us a freakin $50 building permit do you really think if I gave him the paperwork for an incentive program he'd help us out. *sigh* Of course, with our limited income (limited.....bordering on none) we don't have the money to do much in the way of renos right now anyway but that's besides the point.

That being said, I want to talk about some comments I've read recently about this tax credit. Boy people are critical just for the sake of being critical. Maybe I'm just not politically savy but I don't see how this tax credit program is anything but good. Sure it's definately going to benifit the middle/high income earners that can afford to renovate more than it will the low income earners who are just trying to make ends meet nevermind renovate. You can't please (or give tax credits) to everyone. It's a diverse world. Not everyone fits into the same catagory. Sucks but it's true. And face it, many many tax breaks do target lower income people over those with a higher income. So this one doesn't. Oh well.

Some critics are complaining that this is just a make-work, band-aid solution. I'm not seeing a problem with this. Is giving people an incentive to start projects that they were on the fence about doing because of the state of the economy and thereby making work (manufacturing of products, retail sales of said products, labour to install said products) a bad thing? Seems to me a band-aid placed over a cut, temporarily protects the cut while the body has a chance to heal itself. Again, not seeing a problem with providing temporary help while the economy heals.

Consumerism is a circle of life and if it takes some incentive to help those with the financial means to spend some money at a time when the economy is weak then how can that be a bad thing. When people spend money, that inturn helps businesses thrive which keeps more people employed. Employed people are more likely to turn around and spend money than unemployed people (funny how that works) which inturn helps other businesses thrive . This increases the demand for more product keeping even more people employed and able to contribute to the circle of consumerism. Profound thoughts huh.

Lets explore this in a story shall we.

Mary Middle Income earner is on the fence about renovating her
bathroom. She's been wanting to but geesh....the economy sucks so maybe
she shouldn't. But wait. The government is willing to give her
a tax break if she does it now. So she hires Craig the
Contractor to come and pretty-up her bathroom.

Craig the Contractor is stoked. He doesn't have to lay off Andy his
Assistant and together the two of them get to work on Mary's "make-work"
reno project.

Craig goes to Harry's Hardware store and orders his supplies.
Harry's thrilled to see him (and all the other contractors and do-it-yourselfers
who've been in shopping lately too). Harry's employees are still employees
(guess what they do with their paycheques....they BUY STUFF is what they
do) and his suppliers will be happy to hear from him when he
needs to restock his shelves (because guess what...they have employees
too).

Craig the Contractor finishes up Mary's bathroom
reno. Mary gladly pays him for his time and supplies and
receives her receipts.

Craig cashes Mary's cheque and pays Andy the Assistant for all his
hard work. Craig the Contractor is still in
business. Andy's wife is thrilled Andy still has a job.
They both have money to put back into the circle of consumerism
thereby keeping other people employed in the process.

When Mary does her taxes next year she'll get a sweet little tax credit and
maybe just maybe she'll get a bit of a tax refund and go shopping (maybe she'll
buy some scrapbooking supplies from me as a treat....it could happen....it's my
story dammit and I can make Mary buy whatever I want!)

What a great story!

The only sad part of this story is that Craig the Contrator made
one heck of a mess while doing the reno and he had to haul the debris to the
dump himself because he couldn't find anywhere to rent a garbage bin.

Why?

Because - Al the Garbage Man was put out of business by his own local
politicians. Their inability to see the big picture of the circle of
consumerism ended up screwing him....(and hopefully themselves in the process -
they are going to have to try and be re-elected eventually...good luck with
that!) Al the Garbage Man is struggling. Guess who can't
afford to renovate his house? Guess who isn't contributing much
to the circle of consumerism? Sometimes the circle of life...and
consumerism.....sucks!

The purpose of this post was originally as a whine about how I was not going to be able to benifit from this program because of not owning the house. Then it became a commentary about all the critisim I'd read about the program while I was looking for clarification on whether we had to be the homeowner or not. Some where along the way I realized that I'm a little bummed that I won't be benifiting from this program in a totally different way. After receiving a phonecall from a customer yesterday, looking to rent a bin for their contruction debris, it dawned on me. We potentially could have seen some spin off from this program by providing debris removal services for those people who so decide to renovate this year. This program could have been a big 'make-work band-aid' for us. Too bad somebody grabbed the edge of that band-aid and gave it a good pull. It stings a little.....but we'll survive.