I got the best birthday present this year!
Gabe is finally out of the non-profit world! He got a job as a Senior Editor in Emory’s Development and Communications department.
Of course the first thing I did was look at his benefits (not as good as Tech’s), and retirement is decent (6% basic + 3% match).
I am so, so relieved and so happy for him. He’s been carrying the burden of feeling like he’s not providing for his family so I’m so happy that he finally found a job with stability. Also, I’m relieved because in addition to the loss of income, we had to evict my tenant in Maryland and pay almost $20k in repairs/upgrades.
Call me heartless but I now no longer have any sympathy for those who are evicted. It’s a long and draining process, and I gave the tenant many opportunies to just leave and find something more affordable for her and her family (she was a grandmother with 2 young granddaughters and their mother, who was on assistance). They were unpredictable during the first year and of course my compassion prevented me from evicting them then because of the children. They paid in full and on time in Year 2. This year they were back to being unpredictable and trying to get assistance. With Gabe’s loss of income, I just couldn’t continue to be a charity. I really wish I had done it sooner.
How did this happen? My agent selected them because they provided proof of employment (combined income of $110k) and VA benefits, and they loved the house. It was a facade. When I called BGE in November, they told me that they turned off the electricity 2 years ago because of non payment. Department of Human Services called me to tell me that they can’t provide assistance because their budget was untealistic.
When Gabe went to see the house, all the closet doors and some kitchen cabinets were inexplicably off the hinges. And the toilets weren’t working, despite me replacing one in April because an inhaler got stuck in it. The tenants should have been in Section 8.
At any rate, we did have to make these repairs/upgrades anyway so I’m choosing to focus on that instead of my anger and bitterness. Plus Gabe said he felt sorry for them after seeing how they lived and how the cycle of poverty perpetuates itself.
So lesson learned. And gratitude for our blessings. The house looks great now and we are ready for a new tenant. Our lawyer is also a realtor and his office is close by so we decided to have him find our new tenants.
And while Gabe is in Maryland taking care of these matters, the kids and I went to Thaicoon to celebrate my birthday.