Well we're moving on.
The wedding is a go for my son in California - though I had the location wrong, it's not near Oakland it's close to LA, south of it, near the beach. Looks like a beautiful facility, the college that he itnends to go to if he is accepted in.  His fiancee' is already in that college and has been there for almost a year now.  The only hold up now is a rule they have against having newly inducted students also getting married at the same time.  But, the caveat here is that she is already in the program.  I don't know how that is going to turn out. Caleb has a lot of friends in high places in that organization, we'll just have to see.  I think he finds out next month.

Meanwhile, I need to book a flight to LAX and subsequent transportation to the facility and also hotel stay. Caleb says they have their own version of a hotel on the property, but I don't have any of that information.  This endeavor is going to cost me. August is coming quickly.  I have to get a suit and tie, not going to go to my son's wedding in casual attire.  I'm no part of the ceremony but I want to respect the tradition and honor of the event in proper attire.  I haven't had a suit since my house burned down in 2008 and everything burned up with it.  In fact, I mostly just have casual attire.

I really don't want to have to drive clear to Dallas to fly out, but the savings in airfare may well be worth it.  Flying out of Tyler adds at least $100 to the price plus it's an airline that charges you for any checked in luggage.  The problem with driving to Dallas is finding a place to park for free. I know of such a place though it is hardly "safe". It's a giant hotel and you can part there however long and they don't care.  My  car is old, I doubt it would be a target.  Otherwise, parking fees are so high, a person has to consider either flying out of a small airport to the large airport (the parking fee at the small one is very cheap even for overnight).  Or, considering taking a Greyhound to dallas (pretty reasonable rate though I hate travelling on those buses, they are rolling nightmares).  

Meanwhile, I am attempting to figure out how to go see my dad without busting the bank.  Two trips I really need to take in a short period of time from each other.  This is money I really don't have right now.  I spent far more on that Jeep - which is still sitting in the shop - than I initially expected. I figured a grand, I've given them 2 grand. Now, it's a "project" and a challenge to them.  Which is a good thing because I was both unwilling to give them more money but also to let them off the hook.  How many other systems could it possibly be?  It's either an internal engine problem, or from my guessing, a fuel delivery problem.

Anyway, that extra grand - for nothing so far - was really money I could use now for all of this.  Plus, work has yet once again cut our hours back to 8, which I cannot afford to live off of.  Well, I can, but it leaves no extra money for anything else.  I already have 2 401k loans - they have been paid down substantially now but still over 2 grand a piece.  So, paying one off to get some much needed finances isn't in the cards. The plan requires that if you pay one off, you have to wait 30 days to get another one.  That's not going to work.

Credit?  Dunno. Is it worth it to go into more debt for this? Something I have been thinking about.  I have ample amount of credit available on one of my cards. But paying it off is another thing entirely.

It's a dilemma.  I'm going to my son's wedding regardless of how I have to pay to get there and stay there.

I have put out a couple of applications at places I would like to work.  They are both interested even though I have no specific experience in that kind of hauling.  I'm a fast learner, I have the necessary endorsements on my license.  I would have to simply make a request upon hire that I can take time off, even if unpaid time, to go to my son's wedding.  I'm not getting my hopes up though until they do their back ground checks  - a lot of them - and come back and tell me if they have a place for me. They are both large companies with pretty decent benefits - though obviously to gain any kind of vacation time you have to have been there for a while.

So that's where I'm at currently. Facing a few things that I just need to figure out how to handle.