CARRIER LOST[*%^{{?;*\........

I've been offline for over a week now. Not by choice, I can assure you. Recently my employer banned all internet use because some were "spending too much time online."

I'm probably one of the guilty parties, admittedly. I'd fire up Firefox to check email; catch up on a webcomic; chat with The Wife™ or friends in Grand Rapids over IM - but I was productive, damnit. In the midst of all this apparent time-wasting on the internet, I was also creating sales mailers, postcards, ads, business cards, flyers, and an excremental amount of internet work including eight vehicle-specific landing pages and several incentive-based contact forms. ALL ahead of deadline, I might add.

In my defense, using the internet at work was necessary. Those of you who read this blog on a semi-regular basis have probably read a post or two about our current neighbors (or, as I like to call them, "the bastards getting on my last nerve") and our slum...er, landlord. The Wife™ and I have been searching for a home for many months now, and our primary means of communication with each other, our realtor and our mortgage officer has been through IM conversations and email. Not being online has severely hampered communications, and put my frustration level through the roof. Additionally, I work during normal business hours of banks, etc. so I did a lot of bill-paying and account transfers online. Rarely do I have time to take a lunch, so getting to the bank during normal operating hours is nigh impossible. Thus, the internet.

To say I'm slightly upset is putting it mildly. Livid is more accurate. A couple of salespeople decide to screw around instead of doing their damned job have ruined this privilege for everyone. Honestly, it's like the owner said, "screw you guys; I'm goin' home," took his ball, and left. Screw personable accountability; make everyone out to be the bad guy instead of addressing the issue with those responsible.

This will be a rather lengthy posting, as I'm not entirely sure when I'll be able to post again. Comments are welcome, and I still check email - although on a somewhat limited basis now. So onward, gentle reader, and see what I've been up to during this forced hermitage.

House Hunting
We've put an offer in on a house - finally. Now, it's all in the hands of the bank. This particular house is listed as a "short-sale", meaning that it's one step away from foreclosure. The seller accepted our offer damn near immediately. The bank? Not so much. Two weeks later we received word that the first bank had approved the offer, but they were waiting on the second bank to approve the offer before it was made official. Turns out there were TWO mortgages on this house.

Our offer stated that we needed to close by April 30th to get the taxes homesteaded. For those unfamiliar with this, it's the difference between a house being a non-primary vs. a primary residence. It also means that, provided we closed before May 1st, we'd save over a grand in taxes. Because the second bank couldn't approve our offer on time, we're past the deadline to get homestead status. Now we've entered the realm of revising the offer and asking the bank to bring money to closing to cover the additional cost in taxes because they couldn't pull their head out of their ass in time.

Neighbors
To quote David Byrne, "same as it ever was...same as it ever was..."
We're still dealing with cigarette smoke, pot smoke, screaming, and crying baby. Nothing much has changed save for the increase in tension.
Our landlords have been sluggish to respond to issues, and, rather than actually addressing the issue with our neighbors, have plugged up cold air return vents and installed charcoal filters as some sort of placebo to placate us. Meanwhile, the pot and cigarette smoke continues to filter into our apartment and we're treated to nightly screaming matches between people who don't have the mental skills to remember "indoor voice", which results in a follow-up crying jag from the baby. Remember personal accountability? Yeah. Not so much with our neighbors or our landlord. Better to sweep things under the rug whilst whistling nonchalantly than actually address and fix the issue at hand.

Job
When I first started in my current position, things were good. I was working in my field; getting valuable experience while learning and applying new techniques and skills.
Things have soured a bit.
Now, I'm not only the graphic designer and webmaster but also the shipping department, customer service rep, part-time administrative assistant, tech support, event coordinator, and finisher of any other assorted task that comes down the pipe. This wouldn't be so bad if my salary was being adjusted to compensate for these additional responsibilities, but it's not. Currently I'm barely making ends meet (starting to flounder a bit), and the increase in gas prices aren't helping.
I'm beginning to feel like I'm back at my old job, just with a different job title. Ironically enough, I was making more there than I am here...

Ann Arbor
Christ, where do I begin?
If you're just visiting, it's a nice place - downtown has plenty of shopping, and Arbor and Grizzly Peak Brewing are but a hop, skip and jump away.
Living here, however, is a completely different story. Ann Arbor is touted as a city for liberal artists, and indeed it's built as such. The problem is that it was most likely put together by these same liberal artists with no thought to traffic, the grid system, parking, organization, or common sense. To get anywhere you have to go down one street, turn onto another, then turn onto another and double-back several miles before you realize that you are miles from where you want to be. The old saying "you can't get there from here" is entirely too apropos - the streets jumble and twist; one-way streets run into each other, and pedestrians block your way at every turn; walking out in front of vehicles with no regard to crosswalks or right-of-way. When you arrive at your destination (often much later than you thought), you find that there's either a)no parking or b)parking is too damned expensive.
The people in Ann Arbor are the most priggish blue-noses I've ever had the misfortune to meet. Everyone in this city looks down upon you if you're not a materialistic yuppie with a six-figure income. The "me first" attitude reigns supreme, which causes a great deal of problems when everyone has the same obnoxiously rude attitude. I've run into plenty of rude and obnoxious people, but now it appears that I'm smack dab in the middle of their spawning ground.
Finally, there's the smell. On any given day, you'll be hit by the overwhelming stench of B.O.; how strong it is depends on which way the wind is blowing. If B.O. isn't your thing, just walk around after a recent rainstorm and you'll be treated to the wonderful aroma of rotting fish.

To Sum Up
1. I bloody well hate it here.
2. I need a stiff drink.
3. See #2. It bears repeating.
4. See #3. It'll point you in the right direction.