There Goes Our Savings...
After being up almost all night last night with Adriana's cough, I woke up this morning to find that the Denver police had been at our front door last night at midnight and woke my poor parents up. It seems that the Colorado Springs police called them and asked them to see if Ben Kuiper lived at this address and if he had a green Jeep Cherokee parked in Colorado Springs. My Dad said yes to both, and the officer said, "okay, thanks for your time" and started to leave. My Dad called after him and asked if he needed a phone number to get a hold of Ben, and he said, "no, we'll find him." That was it. That's what they woke up my 73 year old father and 67 year old mother (who wasn't able to go back to sleep) for--to see if Ben lived here and if he had a car parked in the Springs. Didn't ask to SPEAK to Ben...just wanted to know those two things. I love law enforcement. I really do. But I have to admit--I've never been particularly impressed with the Denver police. This just kinda sealed the deal for me.
Anyway, it turns out that Ben's Jeep, that was parked at the Park-n-Ride a mile from his work, was broken into last night. And it's not like it's in a bad part of town--it's right around the corner from the condo we lived in. He usually moves it back and forth from the park-n-ride to the parking lot at work so he won't get in any trouble for having it there too long. Guess he should have moved it sooner. They didn't get anything. It's 16 years old, so it's not like it even LOOKS like it's worth anything! But they smashed in the driver's side window, which is $200 to fix. I know that because the same thing happened to me with my Ranger a few months before Adri was born. Anyway, the Jeep is so old and it's not in great running condition. If we junked it, we'd only get $400 or less for it. So just replacing the window would all but total the dumb thing.
So now we have to find a place to junk the Jeep, figure out how to get it there (because now the jeep won't even start), and then figure out how to get another car--preferably a van--without draining our savings. We can't afford another car payment. Thanks to my "friend" who owns a dealership we're in the process of paying $8000 ($4k left) for a nice-on-the-outside-scary-mass-of-duct-taped-electrical-wiring-under-the-hood Jeep. He insisted the "check engine light" glowing on the dash was the transmission light, and he had it checked several times by a professional, and he had no idea why it wasn't going off. But like he said, "I'm like family to them," so he took care of me. Oh yes, and now the airbag light is on too. But it's next to the "transmission light". I can only assume the airbag light is on to keep it company.
As I heard Miss Patty say the other night on Gilmore Girls, [crossing self]"Oy to the vey..."
Not Your Average Apartment Search
Ben and I are planning our move. We've been carefully looking at apartments and locations, trying to figure out where to go now that we're back on track financially. We don't want to move all the way down to Colorado Springs just yet, because we have no guarantee that Ben will be hired on permanently at the end of his contract. We're PRETTY sure, but we can't justify that large of a move on "pretty sure." Parker would be nice, but it's just as far from there to the highway as it is from my parent's house to the highway, and our biggest goal is to get closer to the highway so Ben's commute is easier/shorter.
Well, we THINK we've found the best place--Castle Rock, Colorado. It's a small town located 20 miles south of Denver and 30 miles north of Colorado Springs. It's got all the necessary places that make my life workable--Walmart, Target, a substantial outlet mall.... It's close to my family who needs me right now, and close to Ben's family in the Springs who doesn't necessarily NEED us, but likes to see us once in a while. And not only is it RIGHT on the highway, we're only 5 minutes from the FREX (front range express) station that will take Ben to and from Colorado Springs every day for $150 a month.
Enter "The Pines at Castle Rock", an apartment complex that we've been looking at for several months now. We were pretty impressed when we got there and drove around the complex. And after talking with the leasing agent, he told us about a free shuttle the city has, so on the days where I can't get him to the station, he can walk down to the leasing office, pick up the shuttle and it will take him to the FREX station! So we're sitting at the agent's desk waiting for his co-worker to come back so we could go look at the apartments when a Hispanic gentleman came in and started talking to him. He was speaking Spanish, so I just kinda ignored the whole situation. Next thing I know, Peter (the agent) gets on the phone and in English says, "um, yes. One of our residents just came in and told me that there are two dead bodies in his garage. He said one is his son--he's been missing for a week, and the other one he thinks is his son's friend"
*insert loud record scratch here*
I have no doubt that this is an isolated incident, but talk about a shock! So for the next half hour, Ben and I try to keep Adriana occupied and out of trouble while poor Peter the leasing agent acts as a complex representative at the crime scene. It was all taped off with crime scene tape and everything. I felt really bad for him. He kept apologizing to us. When he finally got back, his co-worker had finished up with who she was with and was getting ready to take us out to see the two apartments. We said our goodbyes and good wishes to Peter and his wife (who is due two days after I am) and went on our tour.
Ben thinks the apartments are too small, but I reminded him that it's pointless to compare ANYTHING we look at to our last place. Our last place was heaven on earth...well, kind of anyway. We had 1400 sqft of condo for $625 a month. Normally that would go for over $1000/month, but interior design-wise, it was a pretty big eye-sore. Emerald green carpet in half the house and tan in the bedrooms with bamboo wallpaper in the dining room and early 80's decor in the other rooms. Oh yes, and a large floor tile missing in the kitchen. But is was 3 bedrooms and OH so spacious!!! I actually cried when I closed the door behind me on the day we moved out.
Soooo....we have one other complex in town that's in our price range. Hopefully that one will be a little less eventful. I posted below the article I found in the Denver Post this morning. It's pretty vague. I think I know more than the paper did! The guys trying to get into the garage were Dad of the one kid and two other family members, I think. Peter said it looked like the boys had possibly OD'd on meth, passed out in the bed of the truck with the garage door closed and the truck running with a full tank of gas. Very sad....
2 bodies found in Castle Rock
By The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 02/16/2008 06:03:50 PM MST
Castle Rock police are investigating the deaths of two men whose bodies were found this afternoon in a pickup truck parked in an apartment complex garage.
Police would not comment on the grisly discovery, which a witness said was at about 2 p.m. at Pines at Castle Rock apartments, which is just north of the Outlets at Castle Rock. The Douglas County coroner's office said the victims were male but refused to release any additional information.
The witness said he watched police pull both bodies from the late-model truck. The witness said earlier he saw three men trying to jimmy their way into the locked garage, which is off Castlegate Drive North and U.S. 85.
