Went online for an hour after that. I hadn't heard from Mary Johnson, so I called her. I'm at the end of my rope. Every idea I get has six different reasons why it's sketchy or wouldn't work. No one can help me, and half my family isn't speaking to me or each other. I have nowhere I can go. Only one person has offered me a room, and they're an old high school friend in Cape May County I haven't seen since graduation. Even most rooms for rent here are beyond my budget. I couldn't find any information on what South Jersey apartments used third-party guarantors.
Oh, and I did hear from the bank. They can at least give me a letter that'll vouch for the money I have in the bank. I'll pick it up tomorrow.
It wasn't raining hard when I broke to change and pack for grocery shopping later, but it was coming down a bit harder than it did yesterday. I called for Uber. Despite the weather, they arrived in six minutes. Had a harder time getting a ride home, but when they did come, it was in under ten minutes. Everything went fine both ways once I got a vehicle. The young woman who drove me home was especially pleasant, chatting about the weather and taking her daughter to school.
(If nothing else, the snow is now completely gone from all but the densest piles. I heard customers mention the possibility of ice for tomorrow. After that, it looks like normal-for-February sunny and lower-mid 40's.)
We were off-and-on busy at work as beginning-of-the-month shoppers who just got their money avoided the showers. Thankfully, most people I talked to were in decent moods (though some managers complained about customers snapping at them or being rude). Other than my break was late, thanks to our lack of help, there were no major problems. A manager was nice enough to come in for me when my relief was late and I had a line.
And I heard from Mary Johnson at work. Apparently, there's not much more she can do. She doesn't know anything about third-party guarantors and thought they sounded "sketchy." The lists of government sites were mainly for the closed waiting lists. I'll look over the lists of low-income rental apartments again tomorrow and see if I can find someone, anyone who would be willing to work with someone under 65.
Went straight into grocery shopping after work. Mostly needed to restock produce. Blood oranges weren't a bad price. I love them, but they can be expensive and are only found around January-February. Found steel-cut oats in a cart filled with clearance healthy foods and thought I'd try them. Found a small piece of salmon for a decent price, too, and a bag of store cookies with what I thought was an online coupon. Restocked whole wheat flour, brown sugar, butter, lettuce, mushrooms, bananas, eggs, peanut butter, milk, and canned pineapple...and of course, I messed up typing in the phone number for my online coupons and didn't get them.
My schedule is a mess next week. Only one day off, Monday. On one hand, I work 11 to 5 pretty much the whole week but Sunday (when I'm early), and Saturday (when I'm late), and having Monday off does mean I'll be able to get to the laundromat. That also means it'll be tough for me to find an apartment or get anything done, and I'm desperately running out of time.
Put everything away while watching Match Game '78 when I got home. Arte Johnson is still annoyed by the short jokes directed at him. Meanwhile, the others deal with the Audience Match question "__ It or Not," Gene's still complaining about being stuck with a short microphone, and the others contemplate what a drinker now mixes his gin with to mask the smell of booze.
Made almond-crusted tilapia and the last of the Brussels sprouts with bread and jelly for dinner as I watched the next episode. Gene's so thrilled to have his microphone back, he uses as a baton briefly and tries to lead a chorus of inebriated panelists. They do better discussing celebrities from Nebraska with a contestant who hails from Omaha.
Did the dishes as Match Game PM ran. This was the episode for New Year's Week 1978 featuring Connie Stevens, Jack Jones, and David Doyle that turned up on one of the Betty White marathons a few weeks ago. Jack Jones normally comes off as bland, but he actually managed to get a few good answers in here, including his Stan Laurel imitation for the question on what weapons guards carry in a minimum-security prison.
Finished the night on Tubi with Buccaneer's Girl. Pirate Fredric Baptiste (Phillip Friend) captures singer Deborah McCoy (Yvonne DiCarlo) when she's on her way to New Orleans. Baptiste likes her spunk and wants to keep her around, but she manages to escape. She's hired as a singer by Madame Brizar (Elsa Lanchester), the head of a school for young ladies who wants to turn Deborah into one, too. It doesn't work well, especially when Deb finds out that Baptiste lives another, more respectable life, complete with obnoxious rich fiancée (Andrea King). She's still determined to help him when she overhears a plot against his ship, and then after he's captured by the more ruthless businessman Narbonne (Robert Douglas).
I do love me a good, ripe swashbuckler. This 1950 Universal-International effort isn't a masterpiece, but it is campy good fun. DiCarlo makes a strong heroine and is obviously having the time of her life, Lanchester's a hoot as the snooty teacher, and King makes a great rich adversary. The men aren't nearly as fun. Friend does better as a quiet businessman than as a roguish pirate, and Douglas lacks menace. Great Technicolor production, though, including some opulent early 1800's gowns for the women.
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