Just Kill Me Now--Part Two

It would be almost comical if it were not happening to me. I would probably laugh if it was anyone else in the world except Ruanita and I. Yes, I am the type that laughs at others' misfortune, so perhaps I am experiencing Karmic revenge. Whatever the reason...I am not laughing. Not in the least little bit. You have all heard me lament in recent weeks about the string of bad luck Ruanita and I have been having lately. Well, it continues today. Bad luck comes in threes, my ass! It appears that it comes in fives and sixes and sevens, too.

In the past month, we have had the siding on our house replaced after the tree fell on our house. During that process, asbestos and lead were discovered, which necessitated a full abatement. During the process of ripping off the siding, the balcony on the back of our house collapsed. That resulted in us spending an additional $500 to have the balcony and door removed and a new window installed. Our insurance covered the replacement of the siding, but refused to pay the $2000 to have the rest of the rotten tree removed from our yard. So we ate that cost. Our expenditures for the tree falling on the house totaled $2500. Then our washer broke and we had to buy a new one. That was $800. Then Ruanita wrecked the new car and we had to pay a $500 deductible.

Today, we had a technician from the place I work out to look at our furnace. When he was there a few weeks ago for our annual pre-season furnace tune-up, he informed us that the furnace was back-drafting a bit. He came back today to climb onto the roof to determine the cause. Of course, as our luck seems to dictate these days, it was not good news. Our chimney liner is rotten. We need to have a new chimney liner installed and our furnace and water heater re-vented. Cost? $2850. Of course, because I am an employee of Standard Heating & Air Conditioning, I will get a discount on the total. However, discount or no discount, it is more money than I care to spend. But given the alternative of all of us dying in our sleep from breathing furnace exhaust, I guess I have no real choice. If I lived alone, I might see inhaling carbon monoxide as a welcome respite from my turn of bad luck. However, I can't really justify taking Ruanita and the kids down with me. So I guess we have to get it fixed. Ugh.

So there you have it. Our string of bad luck continues....and continues...and continues.... Can you hear the balance on our credit card climbing? Cha-ching! Cha-ching! I am quivering with anticipation to see what catastrophe befalls us next! By the time this year is over, we may just have a completely new house.

Did I mention that our garbage disposal is suddenly not working now? And beginning to stink?