Strangely unsettling

Got an e-mail from Second Life, that they were booting me out. I e-mailed back, asking if there was any way I could save my avatar, for whenever I am able to get a new hard drive for my desktop computer. Got an e-mail back that it was nothing personal, they just dump those who haven't played in over a year. And I was welcome to join again if things changed for me.

But I won't be able to have my name back, I know. And this was one of those things that I kept in the back of my mind, as a "sometime soon, I know I'll have the time/attention span/energy/creativity/enthusiasm to get back to it!" Well, if it does happen, I'll have to start up a new persona. Which makes me sad.

Today I did make it to Meijer's, and they did have the cat litter I prefer to use. Finally. It was on sale this week, so they pretty much had to stock some. I bought three of the four pails on the shelf. I also bought the tiny coffeemaker. And filters for the tiny coffeemaker. Seems they no longer make a mesh, reusable filter for the tiny coffeemaker, which is disappointing. But, I can always make some from muslin, I guess. But, with the three pails of litter, some canned cat food, needing to resupply all the trash bags I use, and the coffeemaker and two bags of coffee, I ended up in the $135-range at checkout. Which was disappointing, to put it lightly.

But, in the morning, COFFEE.

And then I start another hellish week at work. Too bad I've given up beer and wine, to economize.

Today's huge upset

I didn't have that bad a time at work.

But then I went to the post office, to get my mail. And the bills included the electric bill- which was MORE THAN DOUBLE last month's bill. It seems they were granted a lovely rate increase by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, on top of the record of my electrical usage being nearly twice what it was last month. Which... I have no idea. The one-year-ago comparison shows this is a normal thing, apparently. For whatever reason.

I spent the car ride home screaming and sobbing that I can't afford to live, and I will have to find homes for the cats. I'm still weepy, because overreacting is what I do. And the total absence of anyone to talk to doesn't help.

Speaking of the cats, there was another bill from the vet, with a request that I call them. So, I'm guessing they did not receive the check I sent them on 1/28.

The mail also included a bill from the dentist. I was happy to get my free teeth cleaning with the new dental plan we had at work, so it's a bit of a shock to see a bill for the balance that insurance wouldn't cover, of $26.00. Apparently there is some flexibility to the term "free". Anthem, how I hate them.

Anyway, it seems I'm right back to "can't afford to retire" territory. Again.

And, the only thing I can do for the electric bill is to go back to navigating by night lights after dark, instead of turning on lights, and making sure I leave no lights on at all when I'm gone. Yeah, it helps having the outside light on when I get home from work, but I'll just have to deal with only the streetlight on the corner. And turn off the cable modem when I go to work. See if I can reduce my computer time. I already don't listen to music, or watch much TV or movies. I just can't think of what else I could do.