Battle Royal, Day 40.

Before I proceed with the next 2 battles, let me remind you that if you didn't read my last LJ post, please do so--I need a favor from all of you. Hopefully the hard times currently being experienced by my family will subside--only time will tell. With that said, we'll move on to the last 2 battles of Second Chance, Round 2. KOS-MOS triumphed over the spoony bard in a complete blowout, but Phoenix Wright and T-elos proved to be much more interesting. I know that it's a holiday here in the US, which means that some of you couldn't get to a computer today to vote. Regardless, Phoenix takes the win by 2 votes despite him trailing in the LJ poll. A surge of Phoenix love on FW give him the 2-vote win. For those of you who have not read Joshie's LJ, cloudandtidus, there is a possibility that Fantasy World may go down--for the moment, it hasn't, so keep voting there. If it goes down, I do have a contingency plan in place so that the contest can continue. As the site is still up, no need to bother with that just yet. Finally, the Week 5 podcast gets recorded and posted tomorrow night!

Second Chance, Round 2, Battle 7 (7) Ada Wong (10) Gray Fox    Free polls from Pollhost.com

Second Chance, Round 2, Battle 8 (15) Morrigan (2) Tifa    Free polls from Pollhost.com

Tomorrow's battles: START OF THIRD QUEST, ROUND 2--(1) Sora vs. (17) Navi; (9) Prince of Persia vs. (8) Kefka.

There comes a time of desperation...

So, it is almost always that I get depressed after talking to my family on the phone. I never get any good news from the family--always about money issues, how much my parents aren't liking the fact that my sister's becoming an adult, how my stepbrother never pays rent, bitch, bitch, bitch.

So it's no surprise that when my stepdad called me, there was going to be some depressing news--however, rather than just letting it go in one of my ears and out the other, this actually calls me to action. The long and the short of it: there is now a very real chance that my family is going to lose their house. With the housing market, the US economy being shitty, and combined with the fact that my stepdad's now the only one bringing any income into the house (with my mom's hours at work cut to less than 10 per week because Cape Cod is a fucking tourist trap and there's no business at all during winter), the family can no longer keep up making mortgage payments. They're current with them, but it's a pace that can not be kept up for too much longer. It's to the point where my stepdad has to go to work with 104 degree fevers because he doesn't get sick time at work. If a solution to this crisis is not found in a month, I am told that they will stop making the mortgage payments and deliberately default in an attempt to save up the money to go elsewhere. And they're trying--they're gonna put out ads to see if anyone's looking for a room to rent, etc.

So, in an attempt to try to supply my family with SOMETHING (as I can't give them a chunk of my own income because I need that to support myself here), I am going to attempt to garner extra money to send them by selling my pics and stuff on eBay that April and I no longer want or need.

First, my pics. My best pics are found in 2 places: Mad Squirrel Photos and my DeviantArt. If you want prints of any of the pics you see, pricing will be as follows:

4x6: $1
5X7: $2
8X10: $3

Shipping (US): $4.60
Shipping (International): $9

Rather than going through the process of purchasing on Mad Squirrel or my DA (because they take a fucking big commission which leaves me with a net of about 3 cents), tell me which pic you want, and I'll get it developed and send it out via USPS Priority Mail. If you can't afford the shipping, talk to me and we'll work something out. I take PayPal, money orders, and checks. If you want to pay me through PayPal, my PayPal address is LLoire1119@hotmail.com.

Secondly, there is my CafePress store, Mad Squirrel Stuff. Check it out, and if you see anything you like, just go ahead and buy it right on the site. I'll even give you a link:



And thirdly, soon to go up, is the eBay list, which will comprise VHS tapes and some video games. Eventually a scanner and some others will make the list. Those links will be posted shortly.

All the money earned will go in an attempt for my family to keep their house. Last thing I want is the bank to foreclose on it.

I also can't believe I'm considering it seriously, but I may begin to hop over to Vermont (as I can't play New York Lottery) and begin playing Powerball. I know that it's a definite long shot, and most likely futile, but I have to try. It's not for my own gain, but for my family.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance.