Well I didn't have a clue.
May 28th 2008, 12:14 am
#61
Greatly Missed. RIP
Joined: Jun 2005
Location: Middle of the Mountains
Posts: 3,521
May 28th 2008, 12:50 am
#62
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2007
Location: O.C. CA
Posts: 3,694
Re: Well I didn't have a clue.
Yeah but now we're all pressuring her... all good things to those who wait 
Take ur time SG...don't miss anything out.. theres no rush........
WOULD YOU EVER HURRY UP........!!!!!
Take ur time SG...don't miss anything out.. theres no rush........WOULD YOU EVER HURRY UP........!!!!!
May 28th 2008, 1:52 am
#63
Account Closed
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 0
Re: Well I didn't have a clue.
It was June 1991, we were officially homeless and now also jobless. I could no longer babysit as we had no home for me to babysit in, so with an income of zero and no current abode we were desperate and scared.
On the last night of our house-sitting we pooled all our resources, which didn't amount to too much but did include our tax rebate from Uncle Sam and most of the money we had earned in the previous three months. The one good thing about house-sitting is minimal expenditure. So where would we go? Much to M's annoyance I had called his mother to see if we could stay for a couple of nights but her excuse was they were off on a trip themselves and didn't want anyone at the house. "ANYONE" for heavens sake, this was her son and grandchildren. But it did get us thinking.....why do we have to stay in Texas? There were plenty of other states out there to try. All we had seen in the two years we had lived here was the Texas gulf coast so maybe it was time to widen our search for a home and employment. So we packed our bags again, loaded up the van and said goodbye to our good friends in small town Texas and hit the road. Where to.....we were heading for the hills!
Well actually it was a bit more than the hills but that was a start. It was really strange because even though we were at rock bottom right now as soon as we started our road trip we both relaxed. It became amazing, we found that not all of Texas was like Houston and the gulf coast area! We had to keep stopping, we were in awe at some of the views through the Texas hill country and as we went further and further through Texas we were astonished at the long long empty roads and the total nothingness...no houses, no buildings, no people. We had no idea how big and how different all parts of Texas were. It was a long day but a great experience and with us all singing along with the Beatles,the Stones and Stevie Ray Vaughn as we crossed the state line in to New Mexico and found a very cheap hotel for the night.
We had decided our new destination was to be Colorado. When M had been working for B&R some of the guys were making their way there to a work on the construction of the new Denver Airport and they had told him there was plenty of work. There was also another big construction job in Pueblo as well so that was the plan. To be honest I really knew nothing about Colorado except it snowed, there were mountains and people went there to ski! I certainly didn't realize that the further we moved away from Texas the more expensive everything was getting, but I was soon learning. The drive through New Mexico was also breathtaking. We loved it, the scenery, the roads, the only trouble was our van wasn't very happy with the inclines and that was something we certainly didn't need right now:car trouble
We finally made it into Colorado late in the evening on our second day. We stopped for gas and as we did I noticed a guy with a sign "Will work for Food".
Oh no...that seemed like a really bad omen, M laughed at my panic but I had visions of that being us soon if things didn't change.
The next morning M left us at the hotel while he went to see the site foreman at the job in Pueblo. He filled out an application and all was going well until the guy said they wouldn't need him for two or three weeks so to check back then. This was not good, one of us needed a job straight away so we could find somewhere to rent...I was panicking. No need to panic says M. So off we go to Denver to find the new airport. Panic over for now. M left us at a McDonalds (I know, but it was cheap if we ate the kiddie meals!)and off he went to try and get hired. Well that was the next no......it had all come to a screeching halt as the design was being changed and there were all sorts of architectual problems going on. No hiring right now. So now what, we knew nothing about the area so we didn't know where else to look. It seemed our new dream was dying. We were alone, we were in a country we still didn't really understand and we had two kids who relied on us and right now we had an old van, a depleting pool of money and no plan on how to get back on our feet. How the hell had our renewed determination and hopes of three months ago managed to get this low? It was the most helpless and hopeless I had ever felt in my life, M was taking it even harder. He thought he had let us all down, it had just been another money wasting wild goose chase.
It was a very sleepless night. The kids wanted to go back to Texas, but back to what? M was ready to go back to Texas, but only to sell the van and buy one way tickets for us all to go back to England again. One way.. so this time we had no reason to return. As for me, I was tired, I was stressed and I just wanted a quiet easy life..........impossible!
Our return journey to Texas was in almost complete silence. With an uncertain future none of us felt like talking and certainly no singing either. The heat and humidity of the gulf coast felt familiar as we made our way back to our small town. Our friends welcomed us back, asked us to stay a few days with them before we made any definite decisions and it was such a relief to be with someone who knew us and who cared about us.
It's odd really because for a time when you are an immigrant it feels like you really don't belong anywhere. I think at this point we were at that period of time. The US was still quite alien for us and we didn't feel like we really fit in the UK either, but I learned that time changes that but that was how we felt right then.
So we were back but not in a very good position. A friend of our friends stopped by and said she had heard the local pediatrician was looking for a nurse. Sounded good but I didn't hold out any hope as usually the job is taken before its even advertised. I stopped by to pick up an application and before I had even filled it out they were asking how soon could I start? Right now was the answer.....and I was hired (well they did call my previous employer to check my references first) I had a job...a full time job with a fairly good wage, finally life was improving.
I spent my first few days learning my new duties. It was hectic but I knew right from the start I was going to enjoy it. M was getting depressed. He still hadn't found any work and we were still with our friends. He was ready to buy our tickets but I didn't want to give up. We needed somewhere to live, we couldn't impose on our friends for too long..
You know there is good and bad about living in a small community. The bad is everyone knows your business but the good is that it helps sometimes. It helped us. When I got my first pay check from my new job I went to our local bank to deposit it and the bank manager said she had heard we were looking for a house. The bank had just repo'd one in town and they were going to rent it out, were we interested? Sight unseen I said yes. They wanted two months rent upfront and it would be ready in two weeks when they had cleaned it up. Two months rent would break us but I said yes. I walked away and then turned and asked, how about if M cleans the house up for you and first months rent is free? I didn't think she would go for it but the answer was yes. The light was almost at the end of the tunnel. I had a job, we had a home and surely now M would agree to try again........
(later)
On the last night of our house-sitting we pooled all our resources, which didn't amount to too much but did include our tax rebate from Uncle Sam and most of the money we had earned in the previous three months. The one good thing about house-sitting is minimal expenditure. So where would we go? Much to M's annoyance I had called his mother to see if we could stay for a couple of nights but her excuse was they were off on a trip themselves and didn't want anyone at the house. "ANYONE" for heavens sake, this was her son and grandchildren. But it did get us thinking.....why do we have to stay in Texas? There were plenty of other states out there to try. All we had seen in the two years we had lived here was the Texas gulf coast so maybe it was time to widen our search for a home and employment. So we packed our bags again, loaded up the van and said goodbye to our good friends in small town Texas and hit the road. Where to.....we were heading for the hills!
Well actually it was a bit more than the hills but that was a start. It was really strange because even though we were at rock bottom right now as soon as we started our road trip we both relaxed. It became amazing, we found that not all of Texas was like Houston and the gulf coast area! We had to keep stopping, we were in awe at some of the views through the Texas hill country and as we went further and further through Texas we were astonished at the long long empty roads and the total nothingness...no houses, no buildings, no people. We had no idea how big and how different all parts of Texas were. It was a long day but a great experience and with us all singing along with the Beatles,the Stones and Stevie Ray Vaughn as we crossed the state line in to New Mexico and found a very cheap hotel for the night.
We had decided our new destination was to be Colorado. When M had been working for B&R some of the guys were making their way there to a work on the construction of the new Denver Airport and they had told him there was plenty of work. There was also another big construction job in Pueblo as well so that was the plan. To be honest I really knew nothing about Colorado except it snowed, there were mountains and people went there to ski! I certainly didn't realize that the further we moved away from Texas the more expensive everything was getting, but I was soon learning. The drive through New Mexico was also breathtaking. We loved it, the scenery, the roads, the only trouble was our van wasn't very happy with the inclines and that was something we certainly didn't need right now:car trouble
We finally made it into Colorado late in the evening on our second day. We stopped for gas and as we did I noticed a guy with a sign "Will work for Food".
Oh no...that seemed like a really bad omen, M laughed at my panic but I had visions of that being us soon if things didn't change.
The next morning M left us at the hotel while he went to see the site foreman at the job in Pueblo. He filled out an application and all was going well until the guy said they wouldn't need him for two or three weeks so to check back then. This was not good, one of us needed a job straight away so we could find somewhere to rent...I was panicking. No need to panic says M. So off we go to Denver to find the new airport. Panic over for now. M left us at a McDonalds (I know, but it was cheap if we ate the kiddie meals!)and off he went to try and get hired. Well that was the next no......it had all come to a screeching halt as the design was being changed and there were all sorts of architectual problems going on. No hiring right now. So now what, we knew nothing about the area so we didn't know where else to look. It seemed our new dream was dying. We were alone, we were in a country we still didn't really understand and we had two kids who relied on us and right now we had an old van, a depleting pool of money and no plan on how to get back on our feet. How the hell had our renewed determination and hopes of three months ago managed to get this low? It was the most helpless and hopeless I had ever felt in my life, M was taking it even harder. He thought he had let us all down, it had just been another money wasting wild goose chase.
It was a very sleepless night. The kids wanted to go back to Texas, but back to what? M was ready to go back to Texas, but only to sell the van and buy one way tickets for us all to go back to England again. One way.. so this time we had no reason to return. As for me, I was tired, I was stressed and I just wanted a quiet easy life..........impossible!
Our return journey to Texas was in almost complete silence. With an uncertain future none of us felt like talking and certainly no singing either. The heat and humidity of the gulf coast felt familiar as we made our way back to our small town. Our friends welcomed us back, asked us to stay a few days with them before we made any definite decisions and it was such a relief to be with someone who knew us and who cared about us.
It's odd really because for a time when you are an immigrant it feels like you really don't belong anywhere. I think at this point we were at that period of time. The US was still quite alien for us and we didn't feel like we really fit in the UK either, but I learned that time changes that but that was how we felt right then.
So we were back but not in a very good position. A friend of our friends stopped by and said she had heard the local pediatrician was looking for a nurse. Sounded good but I didn't hold out any hope as usually the job is taken before its even advertised. I stopped by to pick up an application and before I had even filled it out they were asking how soon could I start? Right now was the answer.....and I was hired (well they did call my previous employer to check my references first) I had a job...a full time job with a fairly good wage, finally life was improving.
I spent my first few days learning my new duties. It was hectic but I knew right from the start I was going to enjoy it. M was getting depressed. He still hadn't found any work and we were still with our friends. He was ready to buy our tickets but I didn't want to give up. We needed somewhere to live, we couldn't impose on our friends for too long..
You know there is good and bad about living in a small community. The bad is everyone knows your business but the good is that it helps sometimes. It helped us. When I got my first pay check from my new job I went to our local bank to deposit it and the bank manager said she had heard we were looking for a house. The bank had just repo'd one in town and they were going to rent it out, were we interested? Sight unseen I said yes. They wanted two months rent upfront and it would be ready in two weeks when they had cleaned it up. Two months rent would break us but I said yes. I walked away and then turned and asked, how about if M cleans the house up for you and first months rent is free? I didn't think she would go for it but the answer was yes. The light was almost at the end of the tunnel. I had a job, we had a home and surely now M would agree to try again........
(later
)
May 28th 2008, 2:00 am
#64
SUPER MODERATOR
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 88,016
Re: Well I didn't have a clue.
You know there is good and bad about living in a small community. The bad is everyone knows your business but the good is that it helps sometimes. It helped us. When I got my first pay check from my new job I went to our local bank to deposit it and the bank manager said she had heard we were looking for a house. The bank had just repo'd one in town and they were going to rent it out, were we interested? Sight unseen I said yes. They wanted two months rent upfront and it would be ready in two weeks when they had cleaned it up. Two months rent would break us but I said yes. I walked away and then turned and asked, how about if M cleans the house up for you and first months rent is free? I didn't think she would go for it but the answer was yes. The light was almost at the end of the tunnel. I had a job, we had a home and surely now M would agree to try again........
(later)
(later
) on my face after reading the last paragraph.
May 28th 2008, 2:09 am
#66
trout pout
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 248
Re: Well I didn't have a clue.
Fantastic installment.... I sat here with my cuppa reading todays post. I look forward to reading more!
May 28th 2008, 2:11 am
#67
Greatly Missed. RIP
Joined: Jun 2005
Location: Middle of the Mountains
Posts: 3,521
May 28th 2008, 2:27 am
#68
Joined: Jun 2006
Location: Aspen, CO
Posts: 9,845
Re: Well I didn't have a clue.
I was really looking forward to reading more too.. your story is SO heart breaking and heart warming at the same time! and it's so brave of you to spill it out, I have nothing but admiration for you and your OH..
May 28th 2008, 2:33 am
#69
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 41,518
Re: Well I didn't have a clue.
You're like me seeing bad omens everywhere 
Thank goodness it started to pick up.
Thank goodness it started to pick up.
May 28th 2008, 2:34 am
#70
Account Closed
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 0
Re: Well I didn't have a clue.
Thanks hon
One of these days I want to return to Colorado and actually enjoy the visit..
May 28th 2008, 2:38 am
#72
In Orange County, CA.
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,210
Re: Well I didn't have a clue.
, I'd be honour to meet you guys..
..
