One Straw · 4:13am Oct 30th, 2019
What does it take to save a man?
What does it take to kill a man?
A lot.
What does it take to make a man take his own life?
I’m two weeks away from getting my car repossessed for nonpayment.
I don’t have any money to pay the bill.
All my credit cards are maxed out and overdue.
My insurance payment has been... postponed. I’m two and a half weeks away from that getting cancelled for nonpayment.
I have a loan that’s overdue as well.
I still have to pay back my old landlord after very nearly getting forcibly evicted for nonpayment. I’m one week from having that go into collections.
When I’m behind the wheel, I have no home to return to.
When I’m in the house, I can go home in the garage.
One more straw.
My dad recommends I go bankrupt.
My car is my home.
Bankruptcy is the most financially optimal path.
If I go bankrupt, I will lose my car.
But my car is keeping that straw off my back.
Without it, there is very little that could keep me from attempting suicide.
Bankruptcy is not an option.
My car is my lifeline.
Whoa!
I...
...
Is everything okay?
What I mean is that this felt very poetic, like it was something being copy/pasted around.
If not, then could you move in with someone? Your parents, if they aren't an option, some nearby friend?
5147903
No.
And no, it’s all original. I don’t believe in copy-paste.
... and I’ve already done that, actually.
5147913
I hope everything gets better.
i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/384/545/7b9.jpg
Please don't... Do what you are implying!
Good heavens, is there anything we can do to help? How did you get to such a state?
5147929
Worry not, I don't plan on it. The rent thing will probably go to collections, but they can't take my car for that... and the car payment I shouldn't have any trouble earning up for, after which the insurance will be easy. It's even possible I'll be able to make the rent payment anyways.
5148105
I don't know. In the end, I've got 14 days to make about $1100, plus gas... Not impossible. In theory. The bare minimum to avoid losing the car is only around $550 over the same period- and that should be easy.
As per how this happened... close to half a year ago, 3 unique people claimed I was drunk, resulting in roughly $700 in loss of income each time. When I had really no buffer... Then depression set in, and I found myself not driving as much... and lost more money that way (I'm self-employed with rideshare- that car is my lifeline, but it's also my income). Now, I've moved back in with my parents, so recurring monthly expenses have gone down by around $1400... and if I work at it, I've been able to confirm I can hit at least comparable income levels in this area, so as long as I don't slack crazy, I'm on a positive budget. With a massive debt deficit... Oh, those numbers? They don't include the final utility bills, totaling almost $500 due early next month. I'll let them go overdue for now; what are they going to do? Turn off a service that's already been turned off?
Well crap. That's not good. I can't really help, but I can hope that it somehow gets better.
5157019
Oh, it's gotten better. A lot better, at this point.
Good to see you back, by the way. Any guess how much you'll have time to read before disappearing for another couple months?
5157039
...I have no idea! :D
I'm happy to have had a somewhat less tumultuous life, but the side effect of going back for even MORE college while working there has left me with little energy to spare reading things. I still enjoy your work (for the most part; I miss the original two or three stories, but I do like the majority of your new ones), and still like this fandom, but I get distracted and/or busy easily these days.
I've thought about my own story a bit as well, but figuring out how to put together four different settings that seem to fit well and do so in practice is tricky.