For the things that never make any sense! XD

[Greyhaunt]

Sorry I"m late on replying to this, but you have my deepest sympathy and prayers - and shared pain. I lost a dear friend this year to what amounted to a type of suicide, and my most beloved cat will probably not see Xmas. Why 2011 decided to be such a bad year for so many I have no idea, but I hope that you and your family see a much brighter time in the coming months and new year.

Well, it's finally over. My ex-husband's house went on the block today, and more upsetting, I had to take my daughter's cat to the pound this morning.

I still find myself in a state of disbelief over this whole thing. My ex's death at his own hands. My daughter being the one to find him. The state of my ex's finances. The fact that there will probably be little left of her inheritance after the house and the rest of his expenses are paid out of the estate.

This has been a very upsetting few months since my dad died in March, followed shortly thereafter by my ex. I have so many thoughts and feelings running through my head - and heart. I'm so grateful I have a truly wonderful husband who is so supportive, not just for me, but for my daughter. She has leaned on him a lot these past months.

If you have children, hug them. If wonderful memories are all you have to leave them, leave them with an overflowing cupful. That will be more than any amount of money.

[AlmySidaKay]

Apparently all my extra money came from the Illinois MAP grant, thank you state of IL you provide me with dolliehs! (My college refund check for this semester was 3 times larger then I was used to, so that would be why there is suddenly dolliehs!)

[Geektopian]

Apparently all my extra money came from the Illinois MAP grant, thank you state of IL you provide me with dolliehs! (My college refund check for this semester was 3 times larger then I was used to, so that would be why there is suddenly dolliehs!)

Funny enough, my household budget has taken an $80-$100 a month hit thanks to Federal withholding. Apparently, something in the literally ginourmous and unfathomable US tax code changed earlier this year, the accounting folks at my wife's employer didn't catch it until very late in the third quarter 2011, and now they have to take more out to make up the deficit. I don't discuss this sort of stuff in public much but in our current situation, that's a BIG hit.

Oh well, "from each according to his ability to each according to his needs"! Knowutumsayin'?

[Trethowan]

/sigh. Tax code. Always such a joy.

[OkamiKodomo]

There was a raid on a local crackhouse down the street a few weeks ago... There were 3 Stranger Danger white vans parked in my neighborhood, eight marked patrol cars, and who knows how many undercovers. The neighborhood is half deserted, and yet every street in this four-block cul de sac was lined bumper to bumper with an assortment of vehicles, most of them with tinted windows. They threw a flash bang into the window of the house, after the residents had barricaded themselves in for 4 hours.... The funny thing was.... no DEA in sight. In the last area we lived, the house next door was busted up in a drug raid, and there were DEA everywhere.


Come to find out.... the reason there was no DEA was because they weren't raiding the place for drugs. SWAT even LEFT the drugs in the house. WTF? Apparently, there was one of the junkies around here that broke into a cop car -- another WTF and stole a bunch of weaponry, including a shot gun, a taser, a 45, a kevlar vest, and a 380-something or other?? There was a GPS tracker in one of the items that they traced to the crack house. They said "We're not here for the drugs. We just want our guns back."

Am I the only one who finds this many levels of wrong? This neighborhood is a veritable nexus for drug dealing in the UCF area... and I'm not talking marijuana. And the cops just leave the crap sitting there? I really get that the whole search and seizure without a warrant being there for the protection of citizens, but I feel some kinda way about this. Indignant, perhaps? Frustrated? I'm not quite sure.

[Geektopian]

Okami, the limits of the warrant seem to be the only thing that makes sense but honestly, it makes no sense at all. Perhaps there's something bigger going on and the local PD was warned to keep "hands off" by the Feds? Perhaps there some local political "hot potato" issue in play? You could think of dozens of scenarios, many disturbing or unpleasant to consider.

Several years ago, my current mayor, who appears to be poised to become governor next month, hired a number of flamingly inept city officials. The most public and obvious was the (thankfully now former) police chief who would do stuff that would just make your head spin. In that era, stuff like what you mentioned would happen and the PD as a whole would take a "we can't be bothered with that" stance towards a lot of "petty crime" (vandalism, property theft, shoplifting, embezzlement, small-quantity drug possession). There was a point that I wondered if the local PD even functioned anymore and was thankful that the tough-ass county sheriff was there to pick up the slack.

And I used to live in New Orleans, so not much surprises me when comes to dysfunctional law enforcement. But even the NOPD would answer calls and arrest people!

[OkamiKodomo]

There were, according to the dealer, with whom my former roommates were "friends", 42 individual "blues" under a mattress. Possessing one of these little pills is a felony charge. They count each one separately. I don't even know what these things are, but I knew someone who was addicted to them, and it wasn't pretty. The cops threatened to arrest anyone who came near the building where the raid was taking place, even people who lived there. Nobody in or out of the neighborhood, either. I don't know about local political issues, or anything of the like, but I do know of at least two other dealers that live within sight of my front door, though only one is actually confirmed; the other is only suspected. The cops on scene were county sheriffs, not a state trooper in sight, though the undercovers might have been. We live right on the outer edge of Orlando, about ten minutes from Oveido.

Meanwhile, my fiance was arrested and spent a night in jail for having 4g of weed in his pocket a few months ago. Not that I'm saying he should've had it, since weed hasn't been decriminalized in our state, but comparatively speaking, it's harmless.

It's frustrating and nerve-wracking, and I can't wait until we move. I can't deal with weekly shoot-outs anymore, and the gang activity a mile up the road.

[catshem]

It's frustrating and nerve-wracking, and I can't wait until we move. I can't deal with weekly shoot-outs anymore, and the gang activity a mile up the road.

Oh please get out as soon as you can!

[Trethowan]

That's hard to even imagine. It sounds like something in a movie, it's the only way I can fathom it. Which is to say, I can't relate at all. I live in a quasi-rural, Southern town with a 2% crime rate. Suffice to say, I hope that you can get out of that environment and into a place that makes you feel safer. I'll never understand gangs.

[delbelcoure]

This has been a very upsetting few months since my dad died in March, followed shortly thereafter by my ex.

Hugs and condolences for you from me.
Susan