[prepress]

There is a new wrinkle to this saga and, like the $2.3K bank bill I'd forgotten about, comes something else I'd forgotten about, and to a much greater degree.

Part of a contract negotiation between my union and employer is a check for back pay, going back several years in fact. That check is supposed to come next week, and if my calculations are anywhere close (I based them on my regular paycheck), I could be looking at as much as $8K after taxes and other deductions. More than enough to cover the glasses, mattress, and the two trips, with some left over. The phonostage might be back in the mix sooner than I thought.

On the other hand, the local rent guidelines board is poised to authorize a rent hike on rent-stabilized apartments at the next meeting in October, and it could be the largest in years, even double digits (this is NYC after all; shouldn't be a surprise). That would take effect with my next lease, a year away. Maybe I'll wait to see what happens with THAT. Still, it won't stop the research on a potential new phonostage just yet.