What did you do today?

[Malcador]

You should write for video games.

[LittleArmadillo0]

Writing combat scenes can be pretty hard. One of the things I do is look at a  fight scene in a movie and write down what is happening. You then try to edit it down as much of it as possible. I find it makes me rethink the importance of some the details over others that don't need the attention.

[InsaneCommander]

I'm sorry for your loss Hurlshot.

[SonicMage117]

I know that most members here are atheists and shudder at the very mention of God but I wish for all of you to join me in a special prayer for Hurlshot and his/her family. The death of a loved one is no joke and always has the potential to cause bitterness or depression.

 

So I pray that God send his angels to comfort our dear Hurlshot and his family, blessings upon their life and the stregnth to move forward. May your memories give you hope of what is to come in the afterlife my dear friend. Death is only the beginning and so, as the body returns to dust, it is a mere casing but the soul... The soul is beyond our understanding, I believe that it does not "end" here but there is something more.

 

 

Thank you, who have cared enough for Hurlshot to say a prayer or join me in my online one. With that, I bid you all a very fond goodnight.

[LadyCrimson]

You know your laziness meter has reached a peak when you realize you've put the X key where the C key should be and vice versa, and you can't be bothered to pop them off again to "fix" it. I know what keys they're supposed to be, what's it matter, right?

 

It's a chilly, partly cloudy but still rather lovely day. Put on a sweatshirt, took a walk, did a little yardwork. Hubby's tomato plants are still going, which is surprising, I thought they'd be dead by now. We keep thinking about removing half the lawn and installing more rows of gardening spots and maybe a small greenhouse. Tomatoes, cabbages, peppers, beans, who knows what else. I picture myself sitting in the greenhouse in winter while it's raining, drinking hot chocolate.

[Hurlshort]

With SonicMage coming back, my father-in-law passing away is only the 2nd worst thing to happen this week.

[SonicMage117]

I'm very flattered that my return could outweigh the death of a family member.....

Edited January 4, 2019 by SonicMage117

[Katphood]

Went out with dad, bought new shoes for winter, fed a cat that was in front of the shoe store...I always carry a small bag of Katphood cat food with me when I go out.

 

We also gave one of my aunts a visit after a long time. It was nice. Then we came back to my place and ate some good ol' homemade food.

Edited January 4, 2019 by Katphood

[daven]

God isn't welcome on this forum!

[LittleArmadillo0]

Today I draw a little bit. I am still having trouble committing to draw in darker shades in a piece but I am getting there.

[ShadySands]

Was at the mall when I heard an obnoxiously loud woman ask for a manager. Turned around and she had meme perfect can I speak to the manager hair. I'm still laughing about it

 

Also put in an offer on a house

Edited January 8, 2019 by ShadySands

[Hurlshort]

I've got a major car headache situation. My father-in-law had a 20-year old GMC truck. It needs major work, and it is a year behind on registration. But it is a nice big truck, we have the title, and it runs. It will cost $300 to catch up on the fees, and then probably another $250 to register it for the next year. Getting it running well will probably cost anywhere from $500-$1000. It is probably worth $500 if I sell it to a junkyard.

 

My mother-in-law has a 15-year old Ford Expedition. It needs some work, but is running and has current registration. But she took out a loan against it a couple years ago and is currently paying it off with a high interest rate. She owes at least double what it is worth, and will not be clear of that debt for years. It's also a more complicated vehicle, so the work that needs to be done to it is pricey. Long-term, it will probably cost much more to maintain than the truck. It is probably worth $2000, and she owes $5600.

 

With my father-in-law passing away, we need to bring down expenses. We have three options:

 

1. Get rid of both. I have my commuter car, and my wife and mother-in-law can share our family SUV (Ford Flex). My mother-in-law does take the kids to school and back, so it would be tricky logistically, but we could make it work. That would save the most money, about $300 a month on the loan and insurance, and that isn't counting maintenance. 

 

2. Get rid of the truck. Easiest transition short term, since no one is using it and it needs the most amount of work and money to get running. But a truck is a very useful vehicle to have for us. We may need to move in the next year or two, we have a trailer it can tow, it's easy to throw bikes into, etc. Plus it is owned outright and isn't going to get us much if we sell it.

 

3. Get rid of the Expedition. It's costing $150 a month at minimum to pay down the loan on it. It will be expensive to maintain over time. We already have a large family car. It's a gas guzzler. But it is my mother-in-laws car and she is emotionally attached to it. It will also be complicated to get rid of because of the loan. She can default on it, it isn't like her credit score is a big worry, she is on Social Security and living under our roof. But it is still not going to be fun to deal with the loan company.

 

So yeah, that's my situation. Please vote on option 1-3. 

[Gfted1]

Option 1, although it will be tough since shes upside down on it.

[ShadySands]

I'd also probably try for the first option

 

Spent the day getting quotes on window replacements

[Hurlshort]

Keep in mind that I have to convince my wife and mother-in-law to follow this option. Number 1 is the hardest sell.

[ShadySands]

Is the cost of fixing and maintaining the truck less than the cost of other moving options? If not then I think maybe option 2.

[Gromnir]

 

Also put in an offer on a house

 

good luck.  keep in mind, statistical, first home ownership tends to last less than 5 years. folks tend to trade-up or move or whatnot.  something to consider when deciding on the kitchen or bathroom remodel.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[ShadySands]

Thanks Grom, but it'll be my second home together with my wife and my third overall. We thought we'd only be in our first for about 5 years and now it's been nearly 9 years. Reason being is that we got this place for a song during the recession and it's so convenient to just about everything in Denver so we got comfortable with it. We've needed more space for a while though but until recently circumstances made it so it was just easier to stay put.

[Gromnir]

is difficult to believe it is already 2019. feels like 2008 and the financial crisis is only a couple years removed.  regardless, congrats on the new home... assuming your offer were accepted.

 

am actual in reverse situation as is shady-- am selling.  am selling a whole bunch o' stuff.  our plan were to retire this year, but the recent market nosedive has made us hesitate a bit. the amount o' money we lost in last month and a half has been burtonesque.

 

 

will still likely retire, but we got three more residential properties we wanna unload 'fore we decide for certain. spring is a prime selling period in this area, and am wanting to get in on the boom before another possible bubble burst. however, even with the business losses we has been carrying forward since 2011, the capital gains on those remaining properties is gonna kill us.  got 'em for almost nothing. would still have more than enough to retire, but we got kinda set figures am wanting to leave to st. jude children's hospital and the national breast cancer foundation.

 

and we got an 1890s six-leg brunswick alexandria with the original slate plates sitting in our personal home which am having no idea how to unload.  seemed like a good idea at the time we acquired the table.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited January 9, 2019 by Gromnir

[LittleArmadillo0]

Been experiencing a string of migraines the past few days.My head was a little foggy yesterday but toady it much more clearer. Feeling I can tackle the world

[Lexx]

It's 1 1/2 weeks now since I started working on my short story... and I'm still working on it. Rewrote many parts, reassembled paragraphs for a better structure and tried to improve the details and wordings. It kinda annoys me by now, because no matter what, I'm always finding new stuff that makes no sense or is not talked about anymore later. There are some parts that I would really love to just delete, but I find them to be well written, so a part of me wants to find ways to make it work somehow... and the longer I work on it, the more I get the feeling that everything is just garbage anyway. Eh.

[Amentep]

kill your darlings?

 

Although if you think they are well written but no longer work in the story, maybe move them to a different file rather than delete forever. IF you find a use for them, then you still have them - just not in a story they're no longer working in?

[Lexx]

Yeah, that's what I did with a couple parts already-- moved them to another file, for another short story that I still have no idea how to tackle, because it's a whole different difficulty level.

 

Now I'm thinking if it wouldn't be better to just let it rest for a while and try to write something else entirely. Probably should do that.

[LadyCrimson]

@Hurlshot -

 

I would generally go for option 1 as well. But if that just feels like an absolute no option to the others, then...

 

...to me it would depend on several things: how much does your mother in law drive outside of driving the kids around, will she feel too "trapped" without it (could she drive the truck, for example?), how old is she (is she getting closer and closer to where she may not be able to drive safely - my mom had her license probably 2 years too long, she scared me at times, hah), are you sure the truck won't become a "money pit" where it seems like it just needs a few major repairs but every year it needs some more, vs. trying to pay the loan off as fast as possible to save interest, etc. Tough decision tho, no matter which, especially if money is super tight.

[ShadySands]

With the shutdown dragging on I've starting looking for a new job. I'm not a direct federal employee but I do contract work for the government. We've already had a few people leave and even some of the feds we work with have left or are openly looking.

 

This puts house hunting on hold until things stabilize one way or the other.