I never thought that receiving eight thousand dollars could end up being such a bummer of a day for me. That, combined with our savings, now leaves us with an unbelievable amount of money that neither of us could ever have foreseen.

Our would-be death date was October 1, 2011. By the 3rd our bodies would have been discovered. Had someone told us that a miracle would happen on September 27, 2011, and that in less than two years we’d have the amount of money we now have, I’d have an easier time believing I’d lose both parents, a sibling and a foster parent in the same year. Really, I’d have laughed my ass off.

But what happened yesterday was anything but funny.

After depositing the check in the bank and signing forms that I dropped in the mailbox for Walter, who worked so long and hard to bleed as much money as he could from the assholes that were my parents at least biology-wise, we headed for the park.

The park is made up of 3 tiers of homes on steep hillsides. There are a few lakes scattered about in the center of the park by the pool and clubhouse. Upon first entering the park, I wasn’t that impressed. It’s like Tom said, some of it was dumpy, some of it was nice. Most of the homes were dumpy or just there. It was warm at the time, so some of the old folks were out sitting in front of their places, and not one of them failed to wave as we passed by, LOL. That’s just a small rural town for you, I guess. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were all lined up with cakes and other treats to welcome their newcomers, even those in wheelchairs.

Although nothing overly nice or fancy, I knew I wouldn’t mind a lakeside house even if that meant having neighbors beyond close to me, but nothing there was for sale. It would probably be a bit outrageous if they were there, but maybe not. One of the lakeside houses that had its carport on the other side of the lake and alongside the road like most of them seemed to, was chock full of piles of junk. Mostly old furniture. I was a bit surprised that the park would allow for that kind of an eyesore. It definitely wasn’t as nice, overall, as Lakeview Village.

Because I’m a writer and because I sometimes sleep during the daytime, it’s important to me to get the quietest place we can. A place that isn’t sandwiched in by other places would be especially nice. Well, as soon as we saw the house for sale up at the top tier I was like OMG! The location was the most ideal and by far the best we’d seen as of yet. It was almost as secluded as this place, only people can drive by it. I’m not going to get into it much since it’s not going to be ours, but somehow I knew the bastard above wouldn’t be that nice to let us have something that ideal. Hey, if God could sit back and allow my parents to abuse me, why would He let us have the perfect home? It wasn’t 100% perfect, but it was pretty close, even though it went against everything the few dreams I’ve had hinted at. The house wasn’t in the 1400s square footage-wise, it wasn’t blue or tan, it wasn’t built in 1988, and it wasn’t in Citrus Heights, which I always guessed the dream with all the citrus trees might’ve been representing. The house number also had a 4 in it, a very unlucky number, which I was quick to point out and remind Tom of as we walked around the outside of the place waiting for the realtor. We got there before she did because the bank didn’t take as long as we thought it would.

One of its biggest negatives was all the spiders. I’ve never seen so many damn spiders and webs and even some beehives were present, too. Something about the area attracted them (the lakes?) I don’t know why I’m creeped out by spiders and their sticky webs for one who has no problem with rats, mice and snakes, but I hate ‘em all.

Standing in the carport and looking up, the roof of the carport seemed miles above my head since the home is raised. I loved how carports ran alongside both sides because that would help with keeping it cooler. Plus, you can leave windows open without worrying about rain getting in, not that it rains much here.

So finally she (Christine) pulls up. “How long have you been here?” she asked.

Why are all you realtors blond? I wanted to ask, but instead we politely smiled and said, “Not long.”

“I will tell you up front,” she began as she fumbled for the key to the door, leaving me standing just a few steps below her surrounded by enough spiders and webs for a horror movie, “that an offer was made on the house I showed some man last night and it was accepted.

While I looked at Tom and thought, I told you so, I mumbled, “Aw, that’s too bad.”

Finally, we were inside the house. Most people would consider it small, but to me, it was rather monstrous after being cramped into this tiny 500-square-foot dump with 7’ ceilings that even seem low to little gymnast-sized me. It felt good to be in a real house. A real, honest-to-God house with standard 2x4 construction and 8’ ceilings, etc. Trailers with flimsy walls and tin roofs get so cold and so warm so easily, but the fact that it was pleasant in there at 5pm was proof enough of it being built like a real house. Just a house on a steel frame. I was surprised it was a ’77 model, though. It really seemed more like the early '80s. I loved it. There wasn’t much about it I didn’t like. Even the paneling wasn’t bad cuz it was so light. I didn’t like the kitchen wallpaper one bit, but that could’ve been changed.

Then she made some bogus excuse about not being able to get a hold of us in time to cancel the showing which was bullshit, of course, since they want you to hire them to help you find what you want.

You could’ve done your sales pitch by phone, bitch, I thought, but in reality, we just might hire her at some point. Meanwhile, we’re on as a backup if the guy that bought it doesn’t come through. In other words, if he’s hit by a meteorite or abducted by aliens, then we can maybe have it. For now, Christine and whatever’s up there that’s hell-bent on trying to stop us from moving and that thinks this is all we deserve, can go take a 450-degree dildo, shove it up their asses and sit on it. Here’s this near-perfect little house that has been for sale for months and it HAPPENS to sell just HOURS before I get my money? That is NOT a fucking coincidence!

So, back out in Spider Kingdom we went, me on the verge of tears as we made our way to our car. I wanted to give up, but a bigger part of me wanted to take anything. Yes, anything. The first thing we could get as even a carbon copy of this place would be better than staying here because it would at least be ours.

What if the fact that I haven’t gotten more clues in my dreams really means there’s no house to go to? I wondered. Even Andy’s beginning to believe my God curse. Yes, I do know a thing or two about that just like with the reverse discrimination thing and the favoring of non-whites. His friend may be weird, crazy and a lot of things, but she isn’t dumb. I made sure of that years ago when I actually WAS dumb and realized that what we don’t know really can hurt us.

This entry is getting long, so I’ll cover our new game plan in my next entry.