WOOT! WOOT! WOOOOT!!

[Pixelated]

So I've had an interview with Ye Olde Chocolate Shoppe (not its real name, obviously) and will hear from them on Monday ... I have an interview with The Mothership on Monday ...

... AND I GOT AN EMAIL FROM THE LAWYER ASKING IF I'M STILL INTERESTED IN THAT JOB.

This is the guy who interviewed me back in June but said he wouldn't be actually hiring until the fall; it's a one-man office and he goes on part-time hours in summer. It is not at all the usual law office -- he's created a specialized niche -- and I was fascinated by it. The fact that virtually none of my schooling would be relevant was ... irrelevant.

I was debating when to contact him and had decided to email him shortly after Labour Day ... so you can imagine my reaction when I saw the email. The cat that was sitting on my desk vanished into the hallway at the speed of light.

I spent some minutes trying to strike the right note of enthusiasm in my response without sounding like a complete nutter.

[EricKei]

Crossing my fingers for ya!

[Pixelated]

Thanks, EricKei. I could actually use all three jobs to have a decent chance of making ends meet. I hope it all works out.

[Slave to the Phone]

Good luck!

[morgana]

I've got a candle lit . . .

[Pixelated]

Well, all those good wishes and candles apparently worked ... really worked, LOL.

I have not one but two jobs!

I have been transferred to one of The Mothership sites, where I start next week (but am going in today - Tuesday - to have a chat with my new boss), and I start at the lawyer's this week. He'd said parttime to start with, so I was thinking okay, one or two days a week. No, he wants me in Wednesday, Thursday, AND Friday this week.

I was under serious consideration for a third job, but am now kinda relieved that I didn't get it. The Mothership requires a minimum of 15 (or maybe it's 12; I can't remember) hours per week. Any lower than that and you are, I imagine, politely asked to leave. So juggling these two might be somewhat challenging.

And on top of that, I have to start emptying out Mom's house ... by myself. The alternative is to wait for brother to show up in mid-October and order a huge bin and just toss everything in there. I hate throwing stuff out if it's at all possible to "re-home" it so ...

And sadly, we will get only a fraction of the house's potential worth when we sell it. There was some rain damage several months ago, and despite several attempts, I never could seem to get a local electrician out to look at things. Now I've got somebody, but brother is not going to authorize major repairs at this point. If there's an electrical hazard, we will fix that, of course, but not the drywall nor will we do any repainting.

Send me good wishes for a lottery win, okay? Then I can do tons of stuff with the house, and pass it along proudly. It's got two possibly good selling points: fairly new furnace/central air, and the basement doesn't flood. The latter is something I'm sure many of my neighbours must envy.

[greek_jester]

And sadly, we will get only a fraction of the house's potential worth when we sell it. There was some rain damage several months ago, and despite several attempts, I never could seem to get a local electrician out to look at things. Now I've got somebody, but brother is not going to authorize major repairs at this point. If there's an electrical hazard, we will fix that, of course, but not the drywall nor will we do any repainting.

That may be a mistake. Spending a few hundred quid to neaten things up can make a difference of thousands to the selling price, simply for the perception that the new owner doesn't have to do anything immediately to move in. That's why I'm saving up now to get various minor decorating bits and bobs done; when my stepdad dies we'll have to sell up to move in with my Mum as she's not able to manage on her own (physically, she's all there mentally).

[Pixelated]

You may be right, greek_jester, but it's not up to me ... brother was her Power of Attorney and is in the process of being named sole executor of her will (long story there that isn't relevant to the fixing/decorating issue).

I think he wants to get the house off our hands as quickly as possible. And I also think he feels that any money put into the house now will not be gotten back in the final sale. I'm a lifelong apartment dweller, so I don't really have any experience in real estate, so have no real arguments to use.

[Slave to the Phone]

While I also agree that perhaps your brother isn't being as wise as he could about spending a little bit upfront to make the place more presentable, I also understand why he might want to just get everything done and move on.

As to you? HUZZAH!!! and the treat of your choice! HUZZAH!!!

[Pixelated]

While I also agree that perhaps your brother isn't being as wise as he could about spending a little bit upfront to make the place more presentable, I also understand why he might want to just get everything done and move on.

As to you? HUZZAH!!! and the treat of your choice! HUZZAH!!!

Thank you for the congrats. Treat of my choice?? CHOCOLATE!!!

Yeah, that's my opinion of brother's stance too. IF I can afford to get any work done on the house, I will do it. Otherwise, I'm just gonna go with the flow.