Monday, April 17, 2017

In the Dark -- and a Little Light.

I believe in Karma. I really do. The things you do reflect.

That said, I don't understand how it works at all. At least not in my life.
In my life, I think Karma may be allergic to electricity.

Back in December/January, someone from work found herself homeless. I thought about it for a while. She wasn't a close friend, and I didn't know her that well, but I have an extra (well, rarely used) room, and I've been homeless. So I offered the room to her if she needed it.
It was the right thing to do.
(She accepted.)

And, in January, during one of the few really cold spells this winter, I ended up with my electric shut off.
My payments hadn't been processed by the company. They had been made. I suspect, now, that the December payment somehow got lost in the mail. It didn't show up at Duke Energy until I began making inquiries about it.  The January payment simply crossed in the mail with the notices.

Okay, that gets straightened out I get electricity back for my birthday, HOORAY!

All is well.

Until April.
I get a whopping 1117.05 electric bill. I must pay -- MUST pay --760.61 of this bill.
Now my monthly income, after taxes, is, if I'm lucky, is 1000 a month. and 450 of that is rent.
I have been getting by with no government assistance, because according to most agencies, I make too much money (before taxes) to qualify.

I try HEAP.

There are a couple problems there. One, the emergency help program ended March 31, so there's no help there. Second, to get on PIPP, I have to have a history of no defaults on any PIPP program, ever, with any provider.

I was on PIPP when I abruptly lost my income and had exactly no income (other than a job for two weeks, trading, and selling stuff) for eight months. Yeah, I'm sure I paid all my bills in full and on time then. Yeah, yeah, and yeppers.

Back to this month.
I contacted a couple of churches. One will pay 100 if I come up with the rest. Me, not other agencies or charities. They were very specific about that.

The frustrating thing about this incidence is that I checked my bank balance one day and there was a balance showing that I read as 4000. (It was actually 40,000.)
I immediately went in the bank and told them, this is NOT my balance.
It was the right thing to do.
(I sure could have used that 4000. I could have paid my electric bill in full.)

And so I face another electric shut off. Yeah, Karma. Yay Karma.

I'll just have to deal with it.

All the other aspects of my life are coming together fairly well. Rent, health care, that kind of thing being taken care of in a timely manner.
DirecTV is being troublesome. Taking money from my account, I get it returned, they tell a fairy tale to the bank and the bank takes the money back out. Just wondering how many times I can go through this process, because they have lawyers on staff no doubt to create their lies. I couldn't get a lawyer to write a letter for a >200 fee. It stinks.

But.like the electric, I am just going to have to deal with it as it comes along.

And I will.

It's the right thing to do.