The neighborhood has gone downhill since that clinic arrived. They prescribe “painkillers” to street junkies in the theory it weans them off the nasty stuff. What a joke. Note than when the cars began arriving, Mike, Fred and I were the only ones who didn’t run for cover.It is Pudding-Tat and I against the world. There are two ways to bitch and moan:
1. Before you pay your bills.
2. Afterward.
You get two guesses what I’m stuck with, but not for much longer. It appears everyone around here thinks unless everything is totally to their liking, they do not have to pay their share. No problem, the office staff knows who has really been taking care of this place all these years. The office doesn’t care who owns what.
I will never forgive those who directly caused me to take an early (and somewhat reduced) settlement. These people promised me they would work together for a better situation and then instantly let me down at their first opportuity. Nobody asked them to do anything special, just pay their share of the tiny bills around here for a few years at most, like they said they would. If they had done so, they would be welcomed along for a free ride in paradise. Now they will get exactly what they bargained for.
As a recap, Plan A was to put off my retirement until late 2012 so that I would get the full amount. I already had my own place, but was struggling at times. The only, repeat only, reason I partnered up with anyone was to share expenses for the next 48 months. Nothing was clearer to Wallace and Theresa, or could have been clearer. I never agreed to be a tenant, or invited anyone to live here for free. Where I was hoping to reduce expenses, I am $2,800 worse off than if I had stayed on my own.
Now for some good news. For although my pension has not yet kicked in, I have been very conservative in my planning over the years. That means if there are any surprises, they will tend to be in my favor. And we have a few surprises. I am not the sort to pity people who don’t do things the way I do. If I lived like they live, I would have what they have but more importantly, vice versa.
It looks like I qualify for several pension “boosts”. I did not bother to check into these before, since they were meaningless without the “big one”. Well, it turns out my old union is now the 16th largest holder of hard currency in the entire country, with some $320 million in the war chest. Plus five credit unions backed by more cash. And in a sense, 1/20,000th of that is mine all mine. Talk about successful planning ahead! Read and weep.
One completely unexpected surprise is that because of my old union paycheck, I qualify for 29/40ths of something called Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). Keep in mind none of this happens instantaneously , and in fact, once my pension kicks in, I will still require six to eight months to stabilize things and build up reserves. But make no mistake, I will be sitting pretty. As for the others, I will care about them to the same extent they cared about me. When you run out of money, you go earn more, you don't start trying to screw the other guy.
