How I know my mascara is waterproof & I have a really great husband!

As you may or may not recall, my life has been a wee bit stressful as of late. Yesterday it seems that it all came crashing down on my head in the form of hysterical crying and temper tanturms all arouond. I went to work with a roaring headache. We were learning one of the 300 zillion computer programs that we need to master in order to tell Mrs. Jones that yes, indeed, she has a $5 copay. *sigh* I guess that's why we're in training for 11 weeks. Anyhoo, after work I dragged my headachey, tired butt to the grocery store. I bought groceries. It felt like it was 150 degrees in Winco and everybody, his brother, and their cousin twice removed also decided to go grocery shopping. I drag my tired, fat, achy, headachy, butt out to the car and load all $150 worth of groceries into the car. I congratulated myself on going to the store when I feel crappy and just didn't wanna go. I start to drive home, my cell phone rings. It's my sister, S., saying that somebody called her and that I needed to call back ASAP about a lawsuit.I am to call Mean Bill Collector with has no soul back immediately! What the HELL, sued by who, Target for not being in enough lately? I drive about 2 miles and pull into a gas station and call back the mysterious 1-800#....Cue dramatic scary music now and a wierd kinda screen that tells you we are going back in time for some background info....

Remember my rebel niece, K., that lived with us for a year?! Of course you do. Well, when she lived with me I, stupidly, got her braces, that she desperately needed. I paid the payments for about 5 months until K. decided to go live with her Mom. When they all decided the best place for K. was with T. I very lovingly said, "here's the braces payment book, the payments are due on the 5th". I then called the orthodontist, a national chain, explained the situation and gave them all of T.'s info. The nice friendly people from the corporate office said no problem, this happens all the time. That was in about December or January I think. i have heard not ONE word from the national orthodontist and am assuming everything is cool, or as cool as it gets when you are dealing with T.--until yesterday.

I call the 1-800# and it's a collection agency. A VERY mean, horrible man told me I had until yesterday at 5PM to give his collection agency $1500 or he was suing me and garnishing my paycheck because my sister T. has not made ONE payment on those damn braces, yes she's an idiot. I very patiently explained the whole situation to the sadistic bill collector. He said it didn't matter, I signed the contract, it was my responsibility, period. We argued, I told him this was the first I heard that the account was even in default, I have literally not received ONE piece of paperwork from this company. He gave me T.'s address and asked if that was my address why wasn't I reading my mail? I try to explain that everything was in T.'s name and that was HER address, so no, I don't get mail there, and it's 10 hours away. He said it didn't matter, he insulted me, made all kinds of threats and generally scared the sh*t out of me. After about 15 minutes we hung up and I was to call him back today with a credit card number to pay the company $1500, even after I told him I didn't have $15 let alone $1500, or I was going to be sued and after the lawyers got done with me I would owe double.

I hung up the phone from him, start shaking and then started BAWLING. I'm talking major hysteria, somebody died, bawling. And, I am not a crier, I NEVER cry. I was hysterical. I called my Mom and asked her to PLEASE try and call T. I was literally sobbing. It was quite pathetic. Then I realized I was gonna have to tell Chad that after all OUR own money problems that now I would be working for free because my wages were being garnished. Then I started hyperventilating and must have looked like I was having a seizure. I am surprised nobody called 9-1-1 on the sweaty, hysterical woman in the Beacon gas station sitting in her idling car with a car full of melting ice cream and popsicles.

I drove up the hill to Chad's workplace. I had called him as well, hysterical beside my self with panic, and asked him to wait for me. I told him the whole story and how sorry I was and what an idiot I was to sign a contract for K.'s braces and i was just dumb. He started rubbing my hand, wiping my tears, and telling me it was okay. He knew why I wanted her to have braces and he had helped me to decide that getting them for her was a good idea. He said not to worry, he'd call the company tomorrow and see if he could make payment arrangements for a $100 a paycheck, (which for us right now feels like a million $$$$$) until it was paid off. Everything would be okay. I was SOOO grateful, I have the best husband EVER. {I was filled with even more gratitue when I looked in my rearview mirror and seen that there wasn't a flake of mascara anywhere and my lashes still "popped", because really in these types of situations isn't that what's important?} Oh yeah, hubby, so yeah, I was so thankful he didn't blow a gasket, as he had a right too, and he never. In true Chad fashion he stayed calm, cool, and collected and kept reassuring me it was okay and he wasn't mad.

Fast forward to this morning. My Mom got a hold of T. T. called me, I gave her the story, she called mean collection guy and they yelled and screamed at each other all morning I guess. She made a ton more calls. I think I am in the clear, for now. She told anybody that would listen that SHE was financially responsible for K.'s bills, not me, and that they all better leave me alone, because and I quote, "Jodi is not street wise. She doesn't know how this stuff works. I do. You're being an asshole, you know it and I know it, so you better back off and leave my sister ALONE!". Alrighty then. I am sure mean collection souless guy is wishing he would have NEVER tried to collect on this debt because whatever his commission is it won't be enough for the aggravation he'll get from T. Lordy. If it wasn't me and my paycheck, I would actually laugh, because, well, T. is all about being passionate and fighting for the underdog, which in this case is yours truly, and she doesn't care who's toes she steps on in the process. She swears up and down at some point that she signed a paper saying she was responsible for those braces, and if that's the case, then mean guy had NO business calling me. T. has a bit of a problem with remembering events with any accuracy, so i praying that this time she got it RIGHT. *sigh* I am grateful she's in the mood to be my friend and not my foe this week too, because with her I have about a 50/50 shot either way. Frankly it's a crap shoot.

If anybody has any advice or knowledge of such messy situations such as this, I am all ears. And with that I am off to bed. It's another day tomorrow, which means more computer systems and more things I need to know. I need my beauty sleep, now more than ever! Remind me to tell you about hung over girl in training today....