Rough week
My car is at the shop, and I need to figure out a way to pay for repairs. I have two relatives that are a bit heeled, and I am working on my speech to ask them for the money. I know that I am going to get the Why? questions, and it will be an humbling experience. And if they tell me no or that they do not have it, I am going to have to park my car until I earn it or figure out another way to get the money. Since I still had to take care of my business, I caught the Grand River Bus downtown yesterday. It was the first time I had done so since my daughter was an infant which was sixteen years ago. My leg is really sore right now, but I did need the exercise.I had to go to the Detroit Water Board to negotiate a payment plan on my bill. The Customer Service Rep indicated that there are still notes on the record indicating that there may be a misread or error. They are still estimating the monthly bill, which explains to me why the monthly charge so high. I had contested the read earlier this year and requested another read. The meter reader came back in March to read the bill and told me that there was not error, but I do not understand why they did not update their records. I still think it is an error, but at least I was able to stop the scheduled shut off and make a payment. I just want so badly to pay that bill off to stop the late fees, and if the reading is proven to be a misread or data entry error, hopefully I can get a credit. However, a credit is hard to come by when dealing with the City of Detroit government. Right now, I have a good friend who refinanced her mortgage with a new company and is having problems with the City of Detroit Property Tax Department.
Her old mortgage company sent the reminder of her escrow account to the City of Detroit at the end of December to put toward her upcoming tax bill for 2006. When we looked over the tax records back in August, you see the funds applied to her tax account, leaving a credit. But when the summer tax bill came up, the credit amount is not applied to it whatsoever. It is like the extra amount, which is substantial, just disappeared. I do know when I over pay DTE, there is a credit on the next month's utility bill, but I guess that does not happen with the City of Detroit. My friend went in and brought the issue to the Property Tax Department's attention, but she has to prove that her mortgage company actually sent the money. The company did sent a certified letter on her behalf attesting to the fact that the applied funds was sent by them and it rightfully belonged to her. The Tax Department informed my friend that they needed to know the wire batch number of the applied funds. Her former mortgage company was very surprised that the city had made that request and indicated that they would have to do some research so she will have to wait a while. Had my friend not noticed the difference and accepted the mailed bill at face value, we wonder if the city would have ever found the difference and later given it to her at all? I hope that the issue is resolved soon or she may need to get a lawyer or call one of the local TV Investigative News in the area to embarass the city into giving that money back to her. Our local TV news outlets just love stories like that. It just reminded us that as a citizen and consumer, you must stay on top of your business or you will get screwed.
I noticed that most of the street folks (white, black, homeless, crazy, drug addicts, criminals and etc.) still hang out at the park on Griswold and Grand River. It is worse now, which makes me think that the officials keep them off Woodward. Many of the bus stops have been changed. When I used to catch the bus back in the late 80's, most of the eastside buses picked up at the Griswold Park stop, but now everything has changed. I understand that most of the bus stops have been taken off of Woodward Avenue, which is the area of most of the new renovation in Downtown Detroit. The Griswold Street area between Grand River and Michigan Avenue is so run down now, and I think that they moved those bus stops there to keep visitors from seeing the street folks. After riding the much more advanced Chicago mass transit system this spring, I am reminded that Detroit is still sorely lacking in that department.
After dealing with the Water Board, I walked up to the Ren Cen to view the renovations up close. The place really looks polished. I also wanted to be on East Jefferson to catch the East Jefferson bus, but did not find a stop at all. Many times before I have caught the bus there in the past after shopping or going to see a movie. So I walked back down to East Jefferson and Griswold to find a stop. I asked several folks where the East Jefferson bus stop was, but none of them knew. So I had to walk back to the Griswold Park location. No one was manning the DOT booth there, but I happened to see a DOT van nearby and asked the employee there. She informed me that I could find it in front of the old NBD, now the Chase Bank building. I had to go back two blocks to get there and my leg was hurting a bit more. My wait was not long, but the bus now goes down Woodward, turns left at Larned and takes it to Beaubien, going south to East Jefferson. It does NOT pick up in front or near the Rec Cen at all! The next stop is near the old church across from the beginning of the Chrysler Freeway Service drive. I was so shocked and felt that was so wrong, but hey I guess that is what they call progress.
After I took care of some more business, I stopped at a local restaurant for a moment. I felt a bit sad for a minute because it was there Old High School Crush and I had lunch several weeks ago. It has been more than a week since I heard back from him. We experienced what I call “old school grapevine shit.” Apparently your past does come back to haunt you, and I was reminded how small this world is, or how the principle of seventh degrees of separation does exist. He is still supposedly platonically friendly with a girl that did attend high school with us. I did not interact with her back then, she was in an higher class, and ran with another crowd. When he mentioned her some weeks ago, I had a sense of dread but I did not say anything about her because I did not see any need to do so.
Unfortunately when Old High School Crush mentioned to her that we were talking, The Girl denounced me to him as a “wolf in sheep's clothing". I think that she told Old High School Crush more than he was willing to tell me and I did not push for details further, because I knew that I would become more angry than I was. I was trying to stay above that level, and I did not want to turn into a psycho chick because of some old BS. But I had to divulge some of my past sooner to set things straight. I had to tell Old High School Crush that I used to go with a guy whom I will refer to as The Cool Guy that The Girl had the hots for back twenty something years ago. Things did not go well between The Cool Guy and me, and I did act badly but not crazy in what was a tempestuous relationship.
With The Cool Guy, I wanted an open relationship since I was not ready to become serious when he claimed that he wanted exclusivity, although I doubted he was practicing it. When I first started seeing the Cool Guy, The Girl did pop up once while I was visiting, and The Cool Guy introduced us, although we already knew who each other was. That was not the first time a woman had popped over his place, and I was used to it. At that time, I decide to excuse myself so The Cool Guy and The Girl could chat. Later I teased him about her having the hots for him, but he indicated that he was not into her because she was too domineering and pushy. That was the last time I remember seeing or interacting with her. When Old High School Crush told me what The Girl said, I was tempted to look The Cool Guy up. I have seen him every now and then, so there is no problem in catching up with him. But she had stirred up some old stuff, and I knew that I did not want to ask The Cool Guy if he had ever confided in her about our relationship. I knew that if it was true, I would get upset, and ours was an old relationship that was done and over. I was never intimated by her, The Girl, because I never feel like I was competing with her, and The Cool Guy never gave me a reason to worry if there was anything serious or sexual between them.
My best friend's spin on the situation was hilarious. She started calling me Wolfie, and told me that The Girl probably thought, “Damn, damn, damn........Here come that B*&ch again moving in on one of my mans! After telling Old High School Crush the story of my relationship with The Cool Guy, I asked him if he ever got intimate with The Girl. He admitted to doing so, and indicated that he discovered that she had another guy (Not the Cool Guy) who got a bit crazy and Old High School Crush backed off The Girl, although they kept in touch through the years.
Since that conversation, things seemed to get tense, although our last conversation ended on a friendly note, as I believed when I last spoke to him. I have called Old High School Crush twice, but he has not returned my calls. I can only imagine that either The Girl and Old High School Crush talked more in depth, and maybe he felt that it was best to pull back from me. She could have even had The Cool Guy talk to Old High School Crush also, which I do not put past her now. Making two unreturned calls is it for me, and I will let him make the next move. Maybe it is a blessing in disguise. After my brother saw the recent picture I took of Old High School Crush, and heard the drama, he immediately told me to leave Old High School Crush alone. Although my brother who gets around our old stomping grounds more than I do, is no saint, I do believe that he knows more than he is willing to tell me. Well, at least he is looking out for his sister. My mother, a far more patient and forgiving person than I am, just told me to sit back and see what Old High School Crush does and do not jump to judgment so quickly.
If I don't hear back from Old High School Crush, I can view it is another experience that I will have to write off as a lesson learned. Right now I am thinking that it may be the best that he and my other Former Guy are out of my life, because I can not help but wonder if either man could have had a positive and productive future with me anyway. Maybe God is showing me that I need to be patient and he will bring the right man into my life. I will not have to worry, to fear, or chase the right man down in order for him to be there in my life. That man will come on his own, and be strong enough to deal with my insecurities, my past, my children and my family. He will also be a man that is confident, but humble enough also to want to worship God with me too.
