Job news

Got a call late afternoon Friday from the temp agency.  I've an interview with ARC Automotive tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11:30 am.  Printed maps on how to get there because it's in a part of Knoxville I'm not familiar with.  Had been asking about the possibility of getting insurance through the temp agency if I got the job because some temp agencies provide insurance for long term jobs.  Turns out, they do not provide insurance, but the boss at the temp agency, or at least the HR person, who called me told me that they if they know the person needs a little more money to cover their own insurance, such as COBRA insurance, they will actually pay them a couple of dollars extra per hour to help them cover that cost.  He asked a few questions that prompted me to call Ann, who had handled all of our pay info and insurance benefits.  What no one told me was that our boss had her go ahead and pay for our insurance for the month of Feb, so I don't have to worry about getting my own insurance until the end of Feb. if I don't have a job by then.

Still no official word from Roane State on the interview I'm supposed to get and Gail, the director of CTAT, has not returned my call.  Will try calling her again tomorrow.

Went this afternoon and filed for unemployment.  Asked about our severance pay since we are getting one weeks pay, but won't get it until the end of Feb.  The lady there said it would depend on how the pay was filed.  If it was filed as severance I wouldn't have to claim it, but if it was filed as simply a weeks pay, then it would have to be reported.  I called my old boss and he said he'd make sure it got posted as severance.  Once my paperwork was turned in, looks like I'll be getting, after taxes, a little less than $250 each week, which adds up to less than $1000.  That will cover my major bills and groceries, will put a little gas in my car, but I won't be able to do anything beyond that.  So, definitely up for taking costuming commissions and will be posting some odds and ends up on eBay.

In the meantime, still looking for full-time permanent work.

(Home Improvements) Well, that sucks...

Dad met me over at Home Depot Saturday for their tile laying class.  He's laid tile before, but not like we're going to be doing on my house.  We discovered the other day that what I thought was just a raised area of the floor is actually where the floor has cracked and created at least a half inch height difference.  In another place, the original concrete has been removed and poorly patched and there are some major height differences all across the floor due to the cracking around the walls.  Turns out, if we want to put the tile over this, we're going to have to fill the cracks with high strength concrete, then level it using "level quick".  Once it's level, to keep the tile from breaking if the floor shifts again, we'll have to put down a layer of either Ditra (almost as expensive as the tile itself) or Red Gard and set it with "flexbond".  Then we can put down the mud and set the tiles.  Oh, and the heat will have to be shut off for 3-5 days before we do lay the tiles, and there needs to be an ambient temperature day and night of at the least 50 degrees outside before we set the tiles as well.  This is getting very complicated...

Dad thinks it would be better to just take the entire floor out, replace the heating system completely and then re-pour the floor, and would be best if we could tear the house down completely and start from scratch.  Can we say, not in my budget...  As it is, with the other process' we're having to add in, the cost of putting this tile in has doubled what we originally thought it would cost.  But, I'd rather do it right the first time than have to pull it all up in a couple of years and have to do it all over again.  Robert, the tile guy at Home Depot, actually told me to bring in photos of the issues with the floor and the square footage we'll be doing and he'll help us figure out what we need to do and in what order as well as figuring costs.

Dad was going to come over today and start pulling up the tiles, but had to reschedule.  A friend of theirs died this past weekend and while the body is being taken to Virginia for burial, my parents are keeping the families 13 yr old foster son.  Dad said he'll be over either Wed. or Thurs. to start pulling up tile.  When he does this, I'll have to pack up the girls and leave the house for several hours.  Now to figure out what the hell I'm going to do during that time.  I'm not one to go shopping unless I've got money to spend and I'm looking for something specific.  Besides that, I don't like running around by myself.  I can spend part of it doing my workout, but that'll take up about an hour.  I'll figure something out, I guess.