Life is about change.  I so get that.  Normally I would be the first person to advocate just that, shake it up to avoid stagnation.  Just as with all things, its easier said than done.


     Though I enjoy mixing things up, I think our current situation is beginning to border amalgamation hysteria! Believe me, I'm not over reacting.  Since August 2011 we have lived in 6 different places and in 4 different towns.  Myself, Candaice, Tyler & Makayla began by staying at a friends with her 4 children.  That was a living hell (that I'll go into later).  Still we made it work for the maximum of two months, realizing our presence was entirely resented.  So we moved in with another "friend" in the neighboring town.


     Now the move seemed like it was a win-win situation.  Of course after the other party had finished receiving their winning end of the deal (meaning after we watched their house & dogs while they went on a cruise), we were treated with disdain & avoided. As a survival tactic we, all 4, shared one room & one bed & did our best (after daily cleaning & cooking) to stay clear of the "friend" and her two out of control children.  Okay, in all fairness it was one out of control teenager.  As with all things teenager, the younger sister just kept getting pulled into the mess & didn't have a whole lot of say when it came to trying to explain to her mother the truth of any matter (or in sticking up for my brood, who was constantly being used as a deflection tactic).


     Its at this point in the story that I gave notice at my job & made arrangements to move in with my dad.  A complete 360.  When we first moved to Washington we stayed with him and his wife (which was a parallel visit to the whole first scenario above, another stint in hell).  To decide to move back in with them, even briefly was a frightening option, but we bit the bullet & gave it a shot.  It did work out well for the two weeks we had to stay.  (Thank the Gods!)


     My husband then flew up to Washington to rescue us & drive us to Nevada.  My brother already had lived in Nevada for years.  As my husband had been laid off for two years and the prospects of a jo,b of any worth in Washington, were nonexistent, Nevada seemed like the place to go.


     Which brings me to where we are now....


     We stayed in the Travelodge for about three weeks.  At which time we were given some BS excuse as to why the manager could not, in all "good" conscience, "extend (our) stay."  Of course the manager never made herself available to explain what it is we had done or how it was that we were being "uninvited" as extended guests in their hotel.  Seriously I would love to meet her in a public forum & tear her ass apart (metaphorically of course).


     Now we're not a prideful family in the negative connotation.  However, we weren't about to try & put up a fight to stay in a place that felt they're high and mighty enough to "uninvite" a paying customer.  So we left.


     All in all, it turned out to be one of those situations where a better situation was waiting around the corner.  We found an amazing family suite with a kitchenette at an inn about one block up the road.  The hotel has a modest gym and an outdoor pool (that of course you can't use this time of year), yet for all the guests staying here they have made accommodations for you to use the pool at the inn up the road.  Either way, a very nice deal!  Our first month here was amazing.  Finally we felt like we were getting back to a feeling of home.


     Until we went to pay for an additional month on the room.  Then we were given the "oops, sorry someone made a mistake and the room was reserved a year ago to someone else at this time."  It was still "good" luck though that they had another room, same amount of beds, without a kitchenette for the same price that they were willing to rent for the month.  


     As an off thought, how is it that you would pay the same amount for rent when the amenities and conveniences are less?  Not to mention the furniture is older, smaller, and in a few cases, NOT functioning properly.  Yet I had to bust my ass to pack everything up in one day and move it around the building and upstairs in a matter of hours.  All so I could panic about how I was going to feed my family without a fridge or stove or decent sized freezer.  Again.... the rent is the same....?


     The funny thing is in this entire month, once I saw someone walk into the room we stayed in last month.  ONCE.  A single guy used the room for one night.  Correct me if I'm wrong here but how does this satisfy your customers and make them wish to continue using your services, recommend them to others, or wish to become a repeat customer?  I don't understand the logic in this.


     When they explained that we needed to move rooms, we were also told that due to the local Cowboy Poetry (?) event, they would be unable to rent rooms by the month during the month of February.  Now according to their local TV stations that are playing in the rooms they rent, this event takes place from January 30th-February 4th.  So, again, just pondering, how is it that you'll be book through February?


     Instead of having that warm feeling of home as a foundation to begin the day, every day has felt like a ticking countdown to the moment we could be homeless.


     So far, I'm not liking Nevada or the people who live here.  It seems the exception to the rule, around here anyway, are the couple of nice people I've met.  It's not the rule itself.