Posts Tagged Florida
11 U.S.C. § 341, or, When Nobody Shows Up
Posted by Steven Buehler in Life on January 16, 2010
Friday morning was the Section 341 meeting in Tampa for my bankruptcy. In layman’s terms, it’s also called the “meeting of creditors.” It’s a hearing with the trustee appointed by the court to decide what I get to keep and what I have to part with. It’s also supposed to give creditors the opportunity to object or ask questions.
Fortunately for me (?), none of my creditors showed up. The meeting took all of five minutes or so. Now I wait for the next three months to see what happens and what I’ll have to give up before the discharge.
The meetings occur in large batches. The trustee works her way through a tall stack of documents on the desk, calling up each debtor for the routine series of questions. One of them provides interest: “What caused your bankruptcy?” Also covered is the conduct of one’s creditors—various questions that they ask responses to in order to make sure the creditors are abiding by the law in their collection processes (I learned quickly that Chase isn’t very good at abiding by the law in terms of their collection practices).
Since I was in town, I sent an email to a former colleague at HPS to see where they were headed for their Friday lunch (a weekly tradition), and joined up with them for a great time at the local Chili’s to catch up on what was happening in the working world before I headed back to Plant City.
I miss the job and I don’t. I miss the lunches.
This isn’t supposed to happen in Florida…
Posted by Steven Buehler in Uncategorized on January 16, 2010
Last week was spent thawing out from “The Great Florida Freeze of 2010.” We had eleven straight days of subfreezing temperatures overnight.
Rainy season.
Posted by Steven Buehler in Uncategorized on May 18, 2009
It’s just a rainy season
Sweepin’ across my sky
It’s just a rainy season
And I don’t have a reason to cry
—Crumbächer, “Rainy Season”
Here in central Florida we live in a tropical climate. Thus, between the months of June and October we can pretty much set our watches by when it starts and stops raining every afternoon. The geographic shape of Florida as a peninsula also contributes to this, in that the prevailing winds coming off the Gulf of Mexico to the west collide with the ocean breeze coming off the Atlantic to the east, with no real topography to break it up, causing the thunderheads to pile up and dump their loads pretty much right over our heads. Weather radios are a common household item to pick up those severe thunderstorm or even tornado warnings. Mind you, our tornadoes are nowhere near the kind you’d see along Tornado Alley in the midwest, but we do get them.
Ultimately, the summer weather makes it a pain in the derrière to commute back and forth to Tampa on the Burgman (my sole transportation at this point). I did it all last summer (when I had a job) and managed to “keep the rubber side down” on I-4 through some nasty stuff. I’m a lot more comfortable riding in bad weather than I was when I started riding a few years back.
We desperately need the rain this year, though. In spite of our being in tropical climes, Florida has been in a drought for the past few years. It reached the point that a couple of months ago the local reservoir had just a one-day supply of water that they couldn’t get out. So, as much as we hate the rain and hate having to travel in and through it, at the same time it’s welcomed like an old friend to replenish water supplies and make the area lush and green again.
Ever notice that life has its seasons, too? It’s a rainy season for me personally. I hate the storms, but at the same time it’s an opportunity to refresh, clean out some past mistakes, and start growing again. There will be some hurricanes still to go through (both personally and literally, as hurricane season starts on June 1st). But this is life.
Remember this: we don’t often choose what life flings at us, but we can choose what we do with what life flings at us.
What are you chasing after?
Posted by Steven Buehler in Uncategorized on May 10, 2009
Greyhound racing is a popular sport here in Tampa Bay (we have 14 tracks here in the state of Florida, including Derby Lane in St. Petersburg and Tampa Greyhound Track in Tampa), so this story caught my attention when I came across it in a local sermon and then as an illustration online. I don’t know if the story is true or not (I’m still searching for an original news article that would confirm this), but it’s plausible, so I’m going to retell it.
For those not familiar with the sport of greyhound racing—it’s much like horse racing, where spectators bet on the result, but instead of horses at the gate, there are greyhounds. Greyhounds are large, sleek, agile dogs that are built to run, but off the track they are considered the “couch potatos” of the animal kingdom. They are quiet and rarely bark. On the racetrack, they can go from zero to 45 miles per hour within a few strides. In order to race, greyhounds are trained to chase a mechanical rabbit (complete with ears, fur, etc.) that zips around the track on a pole moving along the inside of the track and sticking out so the dogs can see it. The rabbit is controlled by an operator who ensures that it stays just in front of the lead dog throughout the race to keep them going around. The first dog to run around the track and chase the rabbit across the finish line is the winner.
However, one race didn’t quite work that way.
According to the story, the greyhound track was packed out for the race of the night, spectators had placed their bets, and the race was ready to begin. The starter sounded, the gates were opened, and the dogs took off after the mechanical rabbit in front of them. So far, so good.
Except that somewhere in that first straightaway, something went wrong with the mechanical rabbit. Apparently due to a short in the electrical system controlling the lure, the rabbit burst into flames from the electrical short, and then exploded, scattering itself all over the track.
The racing dogs, highly trained to chase what had just exploded in their faces, became confused; they had no idea what to do. According to the story:
- Two of the dogs either lost balance and fell, or continued to run, missing the turn and slamming into the wall at the end of the straightaway (the story here differs from one account to the other that I found). Both dogs were severely injured and had to be euthanized.
- One dog went back to the starting gate and lay down shaking.
- Two dogs uncharacteristically started fighting each other on the track.
- Another stopped on the track and began chasing his own tail in circles.
- Many of the dogs stopped, sat on the track, and began howling at the spectators.
- One dog turned around and starting running in the opposite direction, where s/he eventually collided with the pole that was carrying the rabbit head-on (the operator in his shock had forgotten to stop it), causing the dog’s death.
In the end, not a single greyhound actually finished the race.
I’ve been forced to learn a lot from my circumstances over the past couple of years losing so much (family, jobs, finances, good credit). Perhaps the biggest lesson is that I’ve had to reevaluate what I’m deciding to chase after in my life. My net worth no longer determines my self-worth. What other people think of me no longer determines what I think of myself (if I took every single opinion expressed about me to be true, I’d be more confused than those greyhounds).
So here’s the question: What are you chasing after right now? Is it worth chasing after? What happens if what you’re chasing after ends up blowing up in your face?
Are you chasing money? a relationship? a reputation? a good credit score?
Or are you looking to something far greater than yourself?
Birthday
Posted by Steven Buehler in Uncategorized on April 24, 2009
I had a good past two days at the Walt Disney World Resort outside Orlando. Wednesday evening I was at the Forrester-hosted Tweetup at the Big River Grille & Brewery; yesterday I was in the parks for the second day in a row for my birthday. It’s not that going to WDW on my birthday is any different from the other times that I go on the weekends, it’s only that this time I actually had some spending money.
In case you’re not familiar with the promotion, part of Disney’s “What Will You Celebrate?” theme is offering free one-day, one-park admission tickets to everyone to use on their birthday in 2009 (you have to register on their web site and visit Will Call on your birthday to receive the ticket, and it can only be used on your birthday in 2009). If, however, like me, you already have a ticket to the parks on your birthday because you’re an annual or seasonal passholder, you have the choice of one of three “birthday gifts”: an all-day FastPass to theme park attractions to shorten your wait in line; a free one-day, one-park ticket to use during the coming year (perhaps on a blackout date when you wouldn’t be able to visit with your seasonal pass); or a birthday “Fun Card” worth the price of a one-day, one-park ticket ($75 plus tax here in Florida) to use to purchase Disney merchandise in the parks with a laundry list of terms and conditions, including the inability to spend it on food or to spend it in a non-Disney-owned shop such as Arribas Bros. or three of the countries in Epcot’s World Showcase, which are run by that nation itself rather than by Disney directly. I picked the Fun Card.
Of course, you also get the cheesy “Happy Birthday” button for free, which, if you choose to wear it openly, instantly causes every Disney Cast Member you meet or simply walk past to wish you a happy birthday. I never learned how to handle that kind of attention; it ended up on my geek bag. BTW, there are also free buttons you can request at the ticket windows any time for such things as your first visit, and a fill-in-the-blank “I’m Celebrating” button (I saw one 20-something lady wear one a while back celebrating her bad hair day).
By the time I got through Epcot and Magic Kingdom Park and was strolling after dark through Disney’s Hollywood Studios with two hours left of operation, that $75 gift card was still unspent. Apparently it’s much easier to spend $75 in a Disney park when I was seven years old than it is when I’m 37. I guess I’m just too practical than to blow dollars on a fake Mars rock (“Someone I know went to Mars and all I got was this lousy rock!”) or an action figure of Goofy dressed as Darth Vader, or my personal favorite, a t-shirt with Mr. Potato Head outfitted as “Darth Tater” challenging a french fry with the caption, “I am your father!” (I don’t wear short-sleeved t-shirts often enough to buy any; nearly ever printed tee I have in my closet I got for free from a (un)conference, motorcycle shop, or promotion somewhere). The shop outside Star Tours at Hollywood Studios where one could build his own custom lightsaber was tempting, but what would I use one for?
In the end, I bought a $45, 24-piece stainless steel flatware set to replace the cheaply made (and falling apart) silver/plasticware I had bought at the local Walmart when I first moved into my apartment in Plant City fifteen months ago, and a doohickey for one of my pin-trading lanyards to hold a bottle of water, a ticket (or nametag for meetups) and a couple of whatever else I figure should be worn on a pin lanyard (I got two lanyards, each with two starter pins, for free as an annual passholder from the Disney Vacation Club a couple of months back).
Now I just need to remind future dinner guests not to laugh at my flatware.
Crossed wires.
Posted by Steven Buehler in Uncategorized on April 8, 2009
I’ve been dealing with this for about ten years now.
Something strange happened when a company attempted a skip trace on a “Stephen W. Buehler” (note the different spelling of the first name) back in the late 1990s. Somewhere along the way Stephen’s information and my information got mixed up in a file, leading to my address and phone information getting included in Stephen’s skip trace file. Both of us live in Florida (coincidence), both of us have an AT&T Universal Card account, but the Social Security Number in the file is never mine, and none of his accounts show up on my credit reports, and he has delinquent accounts with the likes of Ford Motor Credit and others (I don’t own a car).
However, from time to time I get a wave of collector calls for Stephen that I have to return and explain the skip trace mix-up. Most of the time the issue is resolved on the first call and I don’t hear from that particular collector again. I just finished one with a notorious collection agency/law office in Salt Lake City that keeps calling threatening legal action (they’ve been doing it for two years now, have yet to file a single piece of paper). Looks like it’s finally resolved and they can go bark up another tree.
BTW, if you know a Stephen W. Buehler living in Florida (besides me), tell him Paul Law Office wants his @$$. On a silver platter.
Crossed wires.
Posted by Steven Buehler in Uncategorized on April 8, 2009
I’ve been dealing with this for about ten years now.
Something strange happened when a company attempted a skip trace on a “Stephen W. Buehler” (note the different spelling of the first name) back in the late 1990s. Somewhere along the way Stephen’s information and my information got mixed up in a file, leading to my address and phone information getting included in Stephen’s skip trace file. Both of us live in Florida (coincidence), both of us have an AT&T Universal Card account, but the Social Security Number in the file is never mine, and none of his accounts show up on my credit reports, and he has delinquent accounts with the likes of Ford Motor Credit and others (I don’t own a car).
However, from time to time I get a wave of collector calls for Stephen that I have to return and explain the skip trace mix-up. Most of the time the issue is resolved on the first call and I don’t hear from that particular collector again. I just finished one with a notorious collection agency/law office in Salt Lake City that keeps calling threatening legal action (they’ve been doing it for two years now, have yet to file a single piece of paper). Looks like it’s finally resolved and they can go bark up another tree.
BTW, if you know a Stephen W. Buehler living in Florida (besides me), tell him Paul Law Office wants his @$$. On a silver platter.
Job search frustrations.
Posted by Steven Buehler in Uncategorized on March 31, 2009
Part of President Obama’s recent stimulus package was an increase in weekly unemployment benefits of up to $25 a week. The above was a retroactive payment from Florida for the three weeks between when the increase went into effect and when they got their system updated to issue the higher amount.
I really could use it this week—I was down to thirteen cents total in my bank accounts (not including an old account that’s currently overdrawn) and anticipating living on 16¢ packs of ramen noodles and the bulk pack of microwave popcorn I had in the pantry.
I’m getting further and further behind on paying the child support I’m obligated to, because of the lack of a job. I got a letter from the local DCF (Department of Children & Families) office stating they intended to take my tax refund when it came to pay the back support. Unfortunately, they’re about three weeks too late—it already came and got used to get the Burgman back in proper service so I can have reliable transportation for interviews (whenever someone decides to give me one) and commuting. I think not being able to honor my obligations to my boy (and thus being labeled a “deadbeat”) is the most frustrating part of the current situation.
The public benefit system is frustrating, more so to a single male with no children in the apartment. Because I’m a single male with no children in the apartment, I’m ineligible for state medicaid after my COBRA insurance expires today. Because I’m a single male whose unemployment benefits exceed 130% of the federal poverty level, I don’t qualify for food stamps. That said, though, I have to do a phone interview with the state to hopefully get some. It’ll be a temporary help until I’m back working again should they decide to approve me. Otherwise, essentially the only help a single male can expect is from the nearby homeless soup kitchen.
I count 71 jobs that I’ve applied for just in the past thirteen days since I started tracking them in Evernote instead of trying to organize them in Gmail. Received a rejection on one; no responses on any others. On the average I’ve been applying to twenty to thirty job postings a week on every internet job board I can find.
The way job hunting works in today’s internet age, one could be competing with literally hundreds—if not thousands—of applicants for the same job. Very few employers ask to receive a résumé by post or fax anymore. That makes getting one’s foot in the door a longshot at best unless there’s some way that we can really stand out or unless one already has “friends in high places.” It also makes it very difficult for people like me, who may not have the years of paid experience but who does have the ability to do the job or the ability to learn it quickly (something I’ve been noted for in nearly every position I’ve had in my career, ranging from secretarial/admin to programming and data analysis). I’m in that middle strata of applicants who are overqualified for entry-level work but don’t have enough paid experience for the “good” jobs.
I read somewhere a year or so ago that the typical worker in today’s market will change careers—not just jobs—at least five times during their working years. It makes me wonder how a worker in today’s market can be expected to become the best at a single field.
I’m sure I’m not speaking for myself in this frustration.
About Me
I'm a 30-something blogger, sometimes writer/musician, and geek-of-all-trades starting life over in Plant City, Florida, with the faith of my youth, the love of my life, and prayers for a job before my unemployment compensation runs out in April 2010.
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Things I learned this week
Posted by Steven Buehler in Uncategorized on May 6, 2009
Thought I would start doing this weekly, to share with all three (well, maybe four) of you, my regular readers, some of the amazing knowledge I have acquired during the previous week.
Got some of your own? Feel free to add ‘em to the comments!
Comments, Debt, Economy, employment, Florida, Life, love, money, Things I Learned This Week, Thoughts, Unemployment
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