the mellow tigger's musings

My wound from being a dork at the Science March is not healing very quickly.  I stopped at a local clinic today, just to have someone look at it for me.  The doctor said that I was treating it appropriately, but to come back and see her if the swelling at the edges starts to spread outward.  She said for this type of injury that Bacitracin often works better than Neosporin, and she gave me some samples to use.

I was convinced at the Science March by speaking to some people more knowledgeable than I am on matters of property status that I should call to ask why I lost my Homesteader status on my property this year.  I assumed it was because I failed to fill out an annual form because mail delivery here is very bad, and I often get letters for people all over my block.  They told me that there is no annual renewal, though, so I called today.  It turned out that they didn't receive a form last year, even though I filled it out and turned it in at the Hennepin County office listed on the form.  The lady last year told me that it should be delivered elsewhere (even though it had the Minneapolis office address right there on the form where I delivered it), but they would sent it to the correct office.  All done... or so I thought.  The lady on the phone today from the Minneapolis City Assessor's Office said they never received it, but she'll mail another one today.  That's good, since my taxes were going up a very large amount (for me) because of that status loss.

My taxes were done months ago, and I earned just under $30,600 in 2016.  It doesn't sound like much, and it isn't, but it's a lot more than I earned working at the local animal shelter for years.  It doesn't allow much of anything for savings, but I'm still getting by "easily" in my house.  To buy my house last year, I relied entirely on the savings that I quickly acquired while working for Dell for one year.  Life would be easier if I could tolerate long commutes and for-profit corporate life, but it's just not worth the toll on my well being.  I'm better off poor at non-profits, and I don't regret it.  :)

Speaking of taxes, my property taxes were going up a LOT this year as a result of the assessment increase and the loss of homesteading.  Luckily, I've been overpaying just enough each month that I could absorb that increase, but hopefully I can get the tax reduction from homesteading back onto my property.  Meanwhile, my assessment went up from $57K to $65.5K.  That's still a lot less than the value I'm paying on insurance, since that's a full replacement cost of $150K.  But... I mentioned being poor, right?  Lower taxes are good for me.  I plan to continue volunteering to help make a difference in the local crime in Jordan community of Minneapolis, so hopefully I'm contributing a commensurate benefit with my time instead of my cash.

My parents left me a gift last year that will cover the nice fencing that I want for the yard.  I got the quote from the company if I do all the work myself.  I need to give them the okay to order the materials, since the ground is now thawed.  I'll have to install the fence myself for the cheaper price, which will still be over $3.5K for everything.  I think that I'll "feel" a lot better about living here, though, once that's done. I've been woken up a few times already this month by gunshots, so adding a small sense of security would be a good thing for me.  And with a fenced back yard, I could easily get a dog for additional peace of mind.

I'll soon be facing some new stress at work (a coworker taking a very long leave of absence for a worthwhile cause), but that's the only added stress that I anticipate for 2017.  If that's all I have to worry about, then this year will be a good one.

For people in the Minneapolis area, can you suggest a lawyer to handle a car accident case? There were no injuries, the other party was at fault, their insurance company admitted "100% liability". But after all this time, they still have not sent me a check for the cost of the rental car.

I left a phone message last week, but I still have not seen a letter or phone call since then. I tried to be reasonable by delaying the date when I got a rental car (several days after the accident rather than right away), by permitting them to pick their own date for when they'd stop paying on the car rental, and by going back to the car rental company to have them print an "estimated receipt" for how much it would have cost if I'd turned in my rental on that specific end date.

I tried to be nice. I'm done with the frustration. It's time to sic the lawyers on them.

I'd appreciate either A) general suggestions on how to find/purchase a used car or B) specific suggestions from local Minneapolis people on dealerships that treat customers fairly.

I'm 41 years old, and technically I suppose I've never bought a car on my own before.  Sad, isn't it?  The car that's now totaled, I bought it through a special program service at the place where I worked that bypassed the usual haggling process and went straight to a fixed price through authorized sales reps at certain participating dealerships.  The vehicle before that was found and financed by my boyfriend at the time.  The two vehicles before that were found and purchased by my parents.

I intend to hunt for a new vehicle this weekend, as much as the work pager allows me anyway.  I'm not quite sure where to start, though.  I really dread the whole "haggling" thing if it comes up.  Why can't a sticker price be "real" and mean what it shows?