Indebtedness

I switched cars with Martha so that she could take mine up to get it registered. It didn't pass the emissions test, predictably, so she took it back to her friend who helped fix it last time. He found the leaks and said it would be $600 to repair it. In the meantime, Annika has been kind enough to let me borrow her car so I can deliver the Sunday papers without suffocating.

Martha loaned me $500 and said I would repay $250 back when I flew to Boulder and LA and Phoenix. She only paid me $150 that Dad owed me, so I thought that if she kept the other $100 Dad owed me, my debt to her would go down to $150. But then I have been running out of gas money, so she loaned me another $100. And now finally she's paying to have my car repaired so I owe her $850 now.

I already owe Mom $300 from when she got my bank account back in the black. I put $20 gas in my car on her card, but then I have given Beau 2 baths and taken him to the vet. She credited me with $40 per trip / bath. So as of right now I owe her $200, I believe.

With my entire first check going towards bags and gas, and my 2nd check arriving just in time for my health insurance, I can't even begin to pay off my debt until June. I hate being in debt, and Mom (and if we're in a bad mood, Martha, too) holds it over my head and makes me feel like I've done nothing to help myself and that I'm just a lazy, irresponsible child.

Of course I need another job, but I'm trying to find something where I can make more money. Despite 3 relatively useless trips to the doctors, I've been somewhat sick for the past 3 months. Because I plan to move by August, no one is interested in hiring such a temporary employee. And although I've gotten used to delivering papers, the hours are starting to wear on me, my hands hurt, and gas is eating through all of my profits. I'm glad that Martha said I could switch cars with her (Brian's doesn't have the kids' seats in the back, and gets better mileage than the Volvo) to save on gas. This Sunday should be interesting though.

While I obviously am very grateful to my family for all the financial help they've given me this year, I hate being indebted to them.