Big Dreams in a Small Town

We have learned beyond a doubt that in our new town, everything  happens by word of mouth.  Someone knows someone who knows of a house, job, etc.  That is both good and bad.  Good in that we're getting A TON of personal help from afar.  The H.S. secretary actually knows potential future neighbors and former residents of a house we're looking to rent.  She even went by to check out of the house for us and remembers being inside and thinking it was nice.  It is bad because I'm so used to doing everything online - with emails - and very little phone contact.  I'm going to be forced into a more serious relationship with my phone than I ever wanted to have.  We will probably even have to get a LAND LINE - archaic, I know, but that's how they roll out there.  We don't even own a regular phone anymore.

So as for the house situation, we're still waiting for one guy to show a place to a potential buyer.  If it doesn't sell, we're in.  A good family friend of Mike's, who is a realtor, made some contacts for us out there, which led to a lead on another place.  The house is up for sale, but the listing realtor is the mother of one of the sellers and she thinks they would be willing to rent or maybe rent with an option to buy.  Hopefully we will hear back soon.  The second house is quite a bit bigger and only 4 blocks from the H.S.  So fingers are crossed.

Mike's name is now outside the door to his classroom!  So it's REALLY official now.

I did intensive work on my resume and cover letter last night (which resulted in dreams all related to resume and cover letter writing - not very restful).  Once I make a more generic version, I will be sending it off to the City of Basin for a position as a City Clerk.  I'm also going to send it off to all the local attorneys to see if anyone is interested.  If those don't pan out, then it's off to the virtual assistant world for me.  I already have a resume posted with one company, but evidently I need to create a personal website, which I'm not super crazy about.  Will have to look into that further.  There are a couple other leads I need to follow up on and see where they take me.  I just need to make about $20K per year to keep us comfortable.  In theory, that shouldn't be too hard.  In reality, it might prove to be a bit more difficult.

First and foremost, we need a place to live!  It's pretty hard to get movers when you don't have an exact destination.  I have a feeling I'm going to have to call to see if they can work with me with just a town in mind.

On a good note, according to the estimate I got via State Farm for my truck, they say it will be done on July 12.  The estimate was for just over $10,000.00.  Unbelievable.

On a bad note, we had some difficulty with Mike's truck on our way up north last weekend.  We stopped for ice and his truck wouldn't start again.  Ended up determining it was the fuel pump, he banged on the gas tank to loosen it up and it started.  But his mechanic friend says it needs to be replaced asap.  Which is a MAJOR job (meaning the gas tank needs to be dropped or the bed of the truck removed.  Thankfully he knows a few mechanics who recommended someone to do the job for probably half the cost of taking it to a repair shop.  But still, what the hell is going on?  We really can't catch a break here.

Here's to hoping the powers that be quit messing with us and let SOMETHING work out for us (specifically, finding a house to rent).