Something happened to Edgar and me yesterday that has tested me about what my limits are when it comes to publishing certain details of my life--and by extension his life--on this blog. I won't go into details about what exactly happened, except to say that we were betrayed by someone very close to us, and that betrayal is now causing a not insignificant monthly financial burden on us and will continue to do so for the next two years. It also is going to negatively impact us if we want to buy a house in the next seven years. Of course, that may never happen anyways since in California a shoebox with a small yard, and by 'yard' I mean 'concrete,' costs MORE THAN MY RIGHT KIDNEY IS WORTH.
What I will write about this situation is that it makes me thankful that I am married to a man like Edgar, a man who is willing to be honest with me, even when the results are unpleasant. He could have very easily hidden this betrayal from me, just as the person who betrayed us in the first place hid it from him. But he didn't. I could tell when I walked in the door that something was wrong, and when I asked what it was, he said "I'm telling you right now that you're not going to like this and that it is going to upset you." And then he told me. I value that honesty, and I think it's the mark of a strong relationship that we were able to rationally talk about it like adults without getting mad or frustrated at one another. I tend to react to bad news by freaking the hell out about it and not letting it go; he tends to react by getting super pissed off and volatile. However, his openness and honesty in telling me what was going on helped me keep from freaking out. And yes, while I was extremely upset about it, we worked through it together.
But since one dose of bad news is never enough, we had another unpleasant surprise this morning. This one I can talk about. A long time ago (at least that's how long ago it feels, even though it was only a month and a half ago), Edgar and I were initially going to move into a different apartment. Same building, different apartment. The apartment that we were going to get was on the second floor of the building, and because of the proximity to the next building on the block, we wouldn't have been able to get DirecTV satellite access from the balcony. So we called the friendly cable company, Charter, to get our TV service through them. We decided a few days later to upgrade to a different apartment in the building, this one being perfectly fine for DirecTV. Edgar called Charter to cancel our order. It was an unpleasant experience. They called him seven times over the next three days to try to "save" him as a customer. Personally, I think that if you really want someone to come back to you as a customer, don't call them like that and PISS THEM THE HELL OFF. It's just not good business. Anyways, they finally stopped calling, we went on living, we got our DirecTV, and life was good. But, what is this? Lo and behold, when Edgar checked his bank account this morning to make sure he was paid, along with his paycheck there was a $54.97 charge from Charter for service. Charter? What is your problem? He called them to be like "Excuse me, what are you charging me for?" And they were all "We couldn't have charged you, you don't have an account with us, you aren't in our computers" and he was all "THIS IS WHY I AM CALLING YOU."
Oh, Charter. I swear, this move has been the most mind-numbing, teeth-grating experience I have ever had when moving when it comes to phone, internet, and TV and companies. People need access to basic human services without all of the hassle! Forget food, water, and electricity. I want my TV and my Internet service so that I can watch The Amazing Race and then sit on my couch blogging about it! Seriously, Lance, what's with arm thing? Your voice makes me want to gouge out my eardrums with an 80 year old woman's knitting needles that are covered in cat hair and the odor of Elizabeth Taylor perfume.
Is that really so much to ask?
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