Tina-cious.com

Well. I just did it.

I just sent in my application for graduate school.

Woah, typing that totally made my stomach flip.

I collected two really kick a$$ recommendation letters, paid my application fee and now I sit here feeling like the light at the end of that tunnel just switched on.


I'm excited, nervous, worried, ecstatic, you name it. Don't ask me why.

I just feel like this is it, ya know? This is the push to the end of doing what it is I do for a living.

And it's all technology related crap that I have to do and I love it.

The thought of getting even further into student loan debt was daunting for a while but then I found out that people who work in public service (teaching counts!) for 10 years and make 10 years worth of student loan payments can get the rest of it forgiven!

That has reallllllllly eased some of my worries. I mean, not that I had much of a choice, I have a BS degree that's pretty much worthless right now...

Anyhoo -- just thought I'd share. :D

Happy Monday folkz. :)

So... remember that M@rilyn b!tch? OMG, that whole situation has spiraled into some real Twilight Zone sh!t.

No, seriously, you won't even believe it.

Really.

Her husband, P@ul M!ller (don't worry, after this suit is over you will get ALL of his information, trust and believe), is a f#cking lunatic.

So like I said, I filed a lawsuit against those f#ckers for using my son to get to me to collect a debt. Statutorily, you can sue for $1,000 if a debt collector shows his ass when trying to collect a debt. Plus attorney's fees.

Up to THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS in attorney's fees.

Ehem, yeah.

Anyway -- I figured, what the hell, I get an easy grand and they get taught a lesson about following the rules and not doing d!ckwad things like manipulating a parent-child relationship to get a phone call.

So, I filed the first lawsuit I've ever filed in my life (on my own behalf).

DEAR. LORD.

First off -- this P@ul douchebag guy, is representing himself.

Now, his sons and my son are friends from school. Jeremie has slept over their house on two occasions. I actually talked to that M@rilyn wench on a few occasions (twice regarding sleeping over and once at the elections).

You. Would. Not. Believe. the sh!t this motherf#cker has filed in court. Sh!t that is not only 1,000% irrelevant but 1,000,000% untrue and 1,000,000,000% insane.

For instance, he sent things in saying that because my son slept over twice he has a "pseud0-p@rental" relationship with him and that I gave him the title of Gu@rdian by allowing it.

Sh!t, if you're a "pseudo-p@rent" then how about paying some "pseudo-child-support" motherf#cker.

He also sent something to court saying that his son, "single-handedly" saved my son's life when he fell through the ice.

G'head re-read that blog entry. Did I mention someone saving his life?

That's because no one did. They may have wanted to but no one could reach him on the thin ice. Jeremie saved himself. And even IF this f#cker's kid saved his life... tell me again, how that sh!t is relevant?

Now I hear he's trying to use his bogus "c0llection agency" to poke around my credit reports.

How this guy has lived this long without gettin' shanked, I have no f#ckin' idea.

Anyway -- so I went online and put a security/fraud freeze on my accounts.

Then I find out that he has two felony convictions.

I'm not kidding when I say this guy is the lowest form of sh!t. That's right, he's diarrhea. And I wish that upon him. The horrible stomach-wrenching kind.

Truly, what bothers me more than anything else is him constantly putting Jeremie's name in sh!t. I mean, for God's sake, he even printed and sent to court a private communication between Jeremie and his son on F@cebook!

That's right folkz, a F@cebook page was Exhibit E.

As far as I'm concerned this sh!t will NEVER be over.

EVER.

And any and all ideas for public humiliation, h@rassment, t0rture, whatever will be considered.

Email me. Please don't think I'm kidding.

On Monday was my first group for Trans*Partners.

It's a group I created via the Center for the partners of transgendered folk. There were only 3 in attendance -- which isn't bad for a first meeting -- and I thought the discussion was really interesting.

It's kind of interesting the role of the partner in a transition.

It's a bit isolating - at least it can be if you allow it to be.

There's also this sense of everyone else being true to themselves but you and that is something that you really have to wrestle with.

I mean, in my case, if Jess is true to himself he has to transition. But how does that jive with my "true self" the lesbian? Truth is, it doesn't.

Which then causes you to boil your relationship down to bare bones to figure out that it is about that person that you love. One rarely has to examine their love for someone -- absent of conflict -- with such a big magnifying glass as does the partner of a transman/woman.

Questions abound:

"Can I stay?"

"Can I love a man?"

"Can I be attracted to a man?"

"Can I live with/without _____________ (insert: boobs, soft skin, curvy hips, facial hair, change in scent, excess body hair, etc.)?"

"What will be my place lesbian community?"

"Will I have a place in the lesbian community?"

...and those are just some questions.

As for me, I'm currently residing in a non-panicked state.

I've settled down and am pretty much just gonna "wait and see" what's coming next.

So far Jess hasn't made any huge changes. He's been going to the gym a lot -- which apparently this need to exert energy is a new thing. So he's getting more muscular.

His voice is hovering at the low end of his register more often than not.

Mostly that's it for physical changes so far. So far, it's no big deal for me -- so I'm still comfortable.

It's nice to have a group of people to talk to who are at various stages of being a trans*partner - to see both where I've been and where I'm heading.

In the meantime... I wait and see.

Val says I need to blog and -- oddly enough I have a lot of sh!t to talk about -- just hadn't had time -- work's been kickin' my rump...

But... we'll start w/ the mortgage stuff...

Ok, so remember the fiasco with my mortgage company?

Wellllllllllllllll, here I thought that sh!t was handled, and it wasn't. So here's what happened after that call:

Mr. Russell -- what-the-fuck-ever-his-name-was never called me back with a confirmation number.

EVER.

I called him later that day, the next day and the next day and no return call.

So on July 2nd I called to talk to someone else.

Guess what they told me -- g'head, try to guess.

Oh never mind, you'll never guess. Russell f#ck face supervisor NEVER put the payment through nor did he even put a note in my account. Nothing.

Soooooooooo I had to start over explaining and what not. Finally, I called ANOTHER supervisor and he finally put it through WITH a confirmation number.

Ok, then, FINALLY it's done, right?

Nope.

Yesterday I see the payment cleared my account (ouch...) and so I'm like YAY! It's all good!

I check my account online.

So far only May's mortgage payment has applied (since that rate wasn't in dispute and it was June and July that had jumped $800).

But the rest of the money was in the suspense account.

Ok....... not sure why, but since they had to make a payment adjustment for those two months maybe it takes longer.

This morning I come into work to find an email from my mortgage company saying that a payment has been applied.

I log in.

What do I see?

They applied the money to June at the +$800 rate and applied the rest to late fees and my July mortgage payment isn't made.

Seriously, I totally get it now why people become snipers and sit on top of buildings picking people off.

So -- I call them again (which just feels like torture to me now)...

I again run through 4,000 security questions -- then explain how those payments should've been applied -- he was very nice and said it should be taken care of in 7-10 days.

We shall see.

The conversation was relatively short and pleasant.

I find it ironic that he was the only one to suggest I take the customer satisfaction survey at the end of the call though.

I can't believe that first supervisor just yes'd me to death and did nothing. These are peoples HOMES you a f#cking with... what kind of sick, rat bastard plays games w/ sh!t like that?

I know one thing, Russell's gonna be "signing up" for a whole lot of phone solicitations from now on.

Background: Apparently I have two tax bills for my property. For 6 years I didn't know that. I talked about this once before.

Apparently they didn't take the money out of my equity but instead shorted my escrow account and increased my mortgage payments about $800.

I called in January to tell them that I couldn't pay an extra $800 per month (which is nearly double what I was originally paying) and they said that I could pay back the escrow shortage over 24 months and that my mortgage payment would go up $200 starting in March.

March and April I pay this new amount.

May, for whatever mishap, we missed the mortgage payment. I called and made arrangements to pay it this month.

Yesterday I called to square my account.

6:00pm June 29th: Call customer service to make a 3 payments on my mortgage, for May, June and July.

We endlessley run through the numbers with the guy who says I owe $1,800 for each of those months.

I explain to him how I came to an agreement with them in January to pay an additional $200/month for 24 months and that I was prepared to make 3 payments that day at that rate.

Put on hold over and over and over again.

He says, OK, the difference between the $800 extra and $200 extra would be added to the shortage and that I can pay that back over 18 months (not sure why the time period shortened) and that starting in August my mortgage would go up $400 and change per month instead of $200/month like they agreed in January (which sucks monkey nuts but can be scraped together).

Fine. Let me give you the money.

He says he can't take the payment and that the collections department has to take the payment.

Super.

7:00pm June 29th: Connected to collections who I have to explain everything to again. I tell him the arrangement that customer service made with me.

Put on hold over and over and over again.

He says he can't take the payment because I made the arrangement with customer service.

Super.

8:00pm June 29th: Connected to customer service who I have to explain everything to again. I tell them the arrangement again.

Put on hold over and over and over again.

She comes back and tells me she can't take a payment because the collections department has a hold on my account and now they are closed.

I tell her the 1st guy says that it's supposed to go in the "suspense" account anyway.

Put on hold over and over and over again.

She says she can't take my payment because she doesn't know how much to take because apparently the 1st customer service guy didn't put in the amount of the payment they were supposed to take that day.

I tell her the amount and that that amount matches my last two payments and tell her to just put the amount in herself.

Put on hold over and over and over again.

She comes back and says she can't do that without talking to a supervisor and that now they are closed now that it's 8:30pm so I'll just have to call back tomorrow.

My head explodes.

8:30 am June 30th: Call back and talk to collections who I explain EVERYTHING to AGAIN and she says they can take the payment.

Put on hold over and over and over again.

Comes back and says she can't take the payment and that I have to talk to customer service since they "made the deal."

I tell her to please take any holds that are on my account off so that I can pay customer service since that was her excuse last nite for not taking my payment.

"There is no hold on your account."



Ok. Fine.

::::feeling completely defeated now:::::

9:00 am June 30th: Tranferred back to customer service -- go through an hour of "security questions" to which I refuse to answer any more (which now makes her pissy but at this point I'm sure I can liquify my arm and reach through the arm and strangle a bitch).

Again.

I.
Explain.
Everything.
All.
Over.
Again.

She tells me that she can take the payment.

Put on hold over and over and over again.

She comes back and tells me she can't take the payment because collections has a hold on the account.

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I explain it all once again and how I can't understand why they can't honor their own agreements.

She puts me on hold.

Comes back with her supervisor on the line.

9:25 am June 30th: She hands the call off to her supervisor.

Once again I explain EVERYTHING.

9:27 am June 30th: He accepts the payment confirms the arrangement the first guy made and said he'd call me later with a my confirmation number for my payment.



Now tell me -- if any of those f#ckers I talked to knew they didn't have the knowledge and/or power to solve my problem, WHY didn't THEY suggest I talk to the supervisor?

Why put me through 4 hours of SHEER hell??

NOTE TO SELF: Always ask for the supervisor.