A Pleasant Surprise

As some of you know, I have been in Houston, TX for the past several weeks staying at an extended stay hotel.  This is a temporary arrangement until I get on my feet and can move into a more permanent home.

Today I went down to the office to spend the lion's share of my weekly income on the rent, just as I do every Monday.  This usually leaves me with about $50 to carry me through the week.  Not much, I know, but with the help of Janet, and her daughter, Jenny, along with other friends of mine, I have been able to eat and get around.

This week, there was an increase of $10 per week added to my rent, ostensibly to keep their rate in line with other hotels.  So being prepared to have 20% less money than usual for the week, you can imagine my surprise when the woman behind the counter said that since I have been here 30 days, the state of Texas now considers it a "permanent residence" that is no longer subject to the staggering 8.5% state sales tax.  A savings of just under $20 per week.  So as a result I am actually paying $10 LESS per week than before.

I would have been happy there, but then I discovered that they were going to credit me back all the tax I had spent to date!

So instead of having just a little more to spend this week, I have a LOT more.  As in about $200 more than I was prepared to have to stretch for a week.

This may sound trivial to you, but having spent the last month living hand to mouth, without enough money to both eat and attend job interviews (gas isn't cheap, and Houston isn't small), I now have a much needed infusion of cash that will greatly expand my job search options, among other things.

To celebrate, and as a way of showing my appreciation to Janet and Jenny, I am going over there today and make them some homemade bread.

Still no word from the folks at the department of labor concerning my unemployment benefits, but today I am not even thinking about that.

Today, life is good.