Friday, June 12, 2009

...things get very depressing, AND THEN...

I woke up early this morning...
[6 AM is early for me these days,
though it wasn't always that way...

after a depressing conversation with a mortgage banker...
and phone menu hell on Weds. evening..
my loan would qualify for the Fed. Refi program...
saving me a couple hundred a month...
but I didn't have the income to qualify...

AND my house value is floating around $225K...
[I was afraid it was worse...]
I'm still "upside down"...
but only about $50K...
if the economy turns up just a bit...
my value will go back up quickly due to my good area...

when things were crazy, it was valued at $425K...
I got the HELOC at $325K...
which is why I'm "upside down" now...
it could easily return to a value of $275K...
which is more than I owe...

unfortunately...

without a source of income beyond my pension...
I can't do anything to lower my mortgage payment...
[loan modification is only a short-term, stop-gap measure...]

so today, I decided to get dressed & try to get some things moving...

I decided to go to,[gulp]the school district...

[you must understand that this is a bit like a small mouse...
trying to snuggle-up to a hungry python...]

I have gotten letters each year since I retired...
after school starts...
asking me to be a long-term sub, etc...
and have ignored them...
[generally shredding them with glee...]

so it was with a sense of duty that I went to the "Castle"...



after a wait, I was given a daunting 1 inch thick pile of forms...
told that since it was S-O-O-O long since I taught...
[uhhh 2005... only 4 years ago]
I was told that I needed to be fingerprinted,TB tested...
and "start from scratch"...& that I'd just have to be in the "pool"...
ie phone calls at 0-dark:30 AM each day you "worked"...
NOT a steady source of income...

since I never remembered being fingerprinted at all before...
I stopped by the school police office...
and though I was the only person there not wearing a uniform...
was told to call & schedule an appointment...
which I did from my cell when I got back to my car...

by this time, I was really upset at all the crap I'd have to do...
find the original copies of my credentials that they already have...
[I know they keep all early retirees stuff...
until they can drop us from the health care at age 65...]
my CBEST test pass card, letters of recommendation...
etc, etc, ETC...

so I forced myself to drive out to...



after having 3, literally 3 parking places, pirated away from me...
I found a distant spot, walked into the store...
and went looking for some sort of office...
finally, I asked a "greeter" where to go...
and she directed me to the "Customer Service" area...
where there were 2 computers for "career applications"...

one was busy, there was a guy lounging next to the woman typing...
so I thought that he was with her...
I went to the unused computer...
& finally had to ask why the cursor wasn't responding...


a clerk, with obvious management skills...
came out from behind the counter...
& gave the screen a whack...
then...the cursor became visible...

the guy who had been "lounging" then came to life...
apparently he was waiting to apply too...
so after having been assured that I could apply from my own computer...
I gave him the use of the computer & left...

so back to the church I went...
[my only current ISP...]

I decided to apply for all possible jobs...
including hourly management ones...
& for the management level, there's a test...
which they were happy to inform me that I had failed...
how or why...I have no idea...
nor will they tell me...
but I couldn't take it again for 6 months...

I knew that the shoe store wouldn't be for a while...



when I applied, they had just hired a couple of people...
and I'm not too sure that crawling around on a floor...
would work well for me anyway...

so I decided to drop by B&N again...



the "manager" I had given my application to had said they would call...
they hadn't...and all things considered,[he gave me a strange look...]
I had no desire to be further stomped on...
not after the day I'd had so far...
I was too close to tears...

sucking up my courage "to the sticking point"...
I went in & saw the nice woman I'd talked to before...
when I approached her, she remembered me...
but she couldn't figure out WHO the guy was ...
that had taken my application & said that they'd call me...

"He doesn't sound like any manager we have here..."

she introduced me to her "real" manager...
and mentioned my "super qualified" experience...
we chatted, I also mentioned my classical music library experience...
and he gave me another application to fill-out...

as well as inviting me to a group interview on June 23 at 5 PM...
[attire, business casual,ie what I was wearing, khakis & a polo shirt...]

he told me that ALL their interviews were "group ones"...
and told me to bring my filled-out application to the interview...
and he didn't give me any strange look...

I left feeling really hopeful for the first time in days...

as several of you readers have put it...
"this would be perfect for me..."

I DON'T want to crawl back to the district...
accomplishing the paperwork alone is almost too much...
if you've applied to a college, you know...
I don't know where all those things are anymore...
and then getting up each day, EARLY, to go, where ever...
going when I'm sick...for about $100 per day after taxes...

I'd be dead in 6 months...

so today I'm really hopeful...

a decent job, that I could do well at & enjoy...
then, I could refi my mortgage...
pay down my debt...

it might all line-up, finally...

and not a moment too soon...

God is good, all the time...

3 comments:

The Calico Quilter said...

The idea of your going back to a school system job truly sounds appalling, and your experience reinforces my opinions about all school administrators nowadays. They have latched onto the gravy train and get their little petty dictator kicks moving the chess pieces in their tiny world. (Ah, but that's another rant.) The BN thing is confusing. Was the original "manager" guy just some sicko putting you on? Maybe now that you have finally contacted the real guy something will happen soon. And Walmart - ah, reprehensive WalMart - the only way someone could fail a management test for them is if they are not servile enough and indicate the ability to think for themselves. Walmart doesn't want you if they can't beat you down.

Hang on - keep praying - something will happen.

Mousie and Christy's Mommy said...

My prayers are with you as you wait upon the Lord. He has a plan and He just insn't letting you in on it yet. Hate it when He does that...but it is always for our own good!

Keep us all posted. We are in your corner. My own personal guess is that the school system is not a viable solution. And Wally World? Hardly!

Something special is in store for you. Just keep holding on and those you care will hold you up while you are holding on!

Hugs,

catsinger said...

...thanks to you both...
I get agitated just thinking of SUSD...I was just "fingerprinted"...
the machine reminded me of the self check-out computers in the big box stores...machines that dialogue with you are annoying to me...
and since I "failed" Wallyworld's "leadership test"...I doubt if they're too interested in me either...
a week from today at 5 PM is my interview...think goog thoughts for me...