Updates From Beyond

I am not dead! I feel like a bit of an asshole for not posting anything in so long, but I've been trying to figure out what to do with this blog. In my new job I am not allowed to do anything political, not even on my own time, and since my long-time credo has been that the financial is the political, that line between what is OK to blog and what is not is at many times very hazy. I hate to abandon this place but I also feel like, given my content restrictions, I don't know how much I'll have to say that's interesting for the next couple of years--no commentary on litigation or legislative matters, no candidate talk. I honestly don't know how to talk about the health care reform situation, for example, without talking about the legislative proposals--there's probably a way to do it, but I don't have the substantive knowledge to do it any justice. And I haven't posted any updates because it always seems like I'm on the cusp of resolving the issue for myself in a satisfactory way, but I think I may have to face the fact that there is no satisfactory solution.

But! I did want to post an update on the status of the Great Spousal Debt Repayment of 2007-2009. To recap, shortly after we decided to get married, I learned that Shiner owed 42 large in credit card bills. There was crying, there was gnashing of teeth, there was a postponement of any marriage decision. He pulled together a plan, he worked it, and yesterday he paid off his last revolving credit card balance. As of, uh, last night, we are now a family that pays all its credit card bills in full every month. Wahoo!

There are a lot of things in this society that are considered too private to celebrate out loud, but that nonetheless deserve a bigass party. Menarche comes to mind, and personal financial successes of all kinds. Very few of our friends or family knew that we were dealing with such large debts, or that we (mostly he) was working so hard to deal with them. That was his choice, but truthfully I was relieved that my family never knew because they would have judged him harshly and it would color their opinions of him for years after the money was all repaid. Unfair, but that's that's how they are, and he doesn't deserve that kind of judgment. The second job was explained by telling people that the day job was boring, the employee discount was killer, and the extra money was nice. The going out less was explained by the second job--sorry, no time. The big smiles after small victories were explained by, I don't know, being in love or some shit. So now that we're here, that we've succeeded--that he has succeeded--our celebration is private, too. It's just between the two of us, a couple of people in our daily circle, and you--my inner sanctum. Clink!