Just as this post explains, the last year has not gone the way I wanted. I’ve posted periodically about the current status of things, but the end verdict is stagnation, decay, and failure. Overall, I’ve just been ignored. I fought for answers, anyway. And I worked way too hard for way too little money. My landlord’s obsession with retaliation cost me my job – again! The first time was with DoorDash, same scenario… I try to challenge illegal water bills and he attacks my income, eye for an eye. But what he’s doing IS illegal, verified by lawyers and judges, and the family is just bullying their way into an illegal income – it’s fraud. Their vindictiveness has made me defend every little nuance of legality in my jeep (and the rest of my life), my house has been broken into, threats and harassment on and off the property, and attacks my character socially – to the extent that I have no friends, and lost most of my customers with GrubHub. Then, same as the last time I challenged them in court, I got accused of something I didn’t do and was let go. Technically, I still have a job but I’m no longer allowed to schedule hours, like being laid off. It’s not just ironic that the landlords don’t believe they’re doing anything wrong to begin with, it’s the basis of their justification for punishing me. But the fact remains, what they’re doing IS illegal and they just don’t believe the law should apply to them… but it does, verified by several people more official than I. They go on what’s enforceable while running interference behind the scenes against whoever threatens them. They do not believe in accountability, even though the law requires it. And apparently, they they do believe in lying whenever it benefits them. This year has seen a significant amount of loss, as a result. But the war is not over.

Nobody came for Christmas and I didn’t go anywhere. The day before I had walked downtown to restock my stash and I saw a woman I would love to go out with, but I didn’t say anything. People don’t understand how much I need someone else to make the first move. Or I’m on autopilot. When I’m working, I stay mission minded. On that particular day, I think I just couldn’t handle the possibility of more rejection. But my landlord is NOT God, even though he believes he is. He’s criminally insane, and the place I live is sometimes like an asylum, but that’s no excuse for failure. I take care of myself, not dependent on him for permissions in my personal life. And the bills have been paid here without fail since 1995 – even as I’ve challenge his imposed authority. So I spent Christmas alone, nothing stopping anyone from visiting. I watched football all day, made some progress with the streamer project, and started planning my New Year’s Resolutions. And the next day, I went out and bought myself a new car. 🙂

Every year I buy myself something fun, usually costs like $50. One year, I got myself a gun for a significant amount of money, another year it was a guitar. But a 2023 Toyota Camry? What I really got myself is a new amount of debt, but it opens up a lot of work opportunities. I like being a gig driver and there’s no reason to quit just because of an evil landlord. So, now I’m signed up with 3 companies and I can work anywhere in the country, not just my local zone. Plus, my hourly income just doubled. As luck would have it, the amount of money I’ve been spending in gas and oil running the jeep is equal to a car payment and full coverage insurance. And now I get over 30mpg. Insurance on the jeep just went down, too – $111 every 6 months! So, having 2 vehicles now is not much of an increase from my normal monthly expenses. I’ll take pictures, of course, and this means more trips to the coast and the desert this year. But it is a lifestyle change. The jeep no longer needs to be a monthly money pit. I can wait until the weather is nice and rebuild it, take it out for fun and photo trips again. And my work will get me out of the area, which is nice in many ways. The color? – I still have mixed feeling about. It’s called Ice Edge, a slightly greyed white. It was called light grey in Washington (where it was from), not sure what the registration will say when it comes from Oregon. It reminds me of when Mt. St. Helens erupted and left ash covering everything, just slightly bluish grey with a touch of green or pearl? Almost white. I’ve read it’s very hard to photograph. Tinted windows next.

This week is a big transition, bigger than most years. I’m overwhelmed with all I want to do, but I keep reminding myself there’s no rush. The year ahead is going to be different in many ways. And it’s going to be good. This week, I’ll publish the letters from this last year regarding my landlord and probably another blog post about New Years. But now, the sun is out and there’s plenty to do. Guaranteed, this year is going to be fun.