12:52am: Well, it’s a start. Today we received an advance on our large claim by opening up the mail and finding a check for $2,500. I put my would-be poker session on hold today to do some very much necessary shopping. I bought a pair of shoes, two pairs of shorts, a shirt and a wallet. I’m not even close to done, I just had to have something to wear tomorrow in order to do more shopping. I also needed a place to put my new drivers license and debit card (went to the DMV and bank also).

$2,500 is only about 7-8% of the total payment we should be receiving, but it was a nice gesture by the insurance company to send this money in good faith without requiring a shred of proof that we had lost anything.

Anyways, I’ll have to do a little more shopping tomorrow, but hopefully I will be able to put in my first night session since the fire. Until then, good luck everyone.