I just got my last EDD check on this latest extension. I believe there is one more extension left, as I have not yet joined the ranks of the "99ers," who are the folks who have gone through their entire 99 weeks of unemployment and federal extensions. I'm on week 82. I never imagined it would have taken this long to find another job.
But we're still in the black. All the bills get paid on time and we haven't had to touch savings or retirement yet. But we haven't added anything to savings or retirement, either. And any remodeling has been put on hold just in case that money is needed to cover essentials if I get the honor of joining the 99ers.
As usual, I have a half dozen or so resumes out and haven't heard anything back yet. There is one in particular that I'm very interested in, but I haven't heard anything from them (well, the job was only posted six days ago, and I sent in my cover letter and resume on Monday). No discussions on this one, as you know my penchant for fearing a jinx if I talk about it prematurely.
Also, I got an unsolicited call this morning from a recruiter in New Jersey who wanted to place me in a graphic design job in San Diego. I was on the toilet at the time (they always seem to call in mid-ablution) but he had also sent me an e-mail. I wrote back, explaining that I lived in Pasadena, which was about 140 miles from San Diego, and even Californians don't commute that far to work. It was nice to get the attention, though.
The sealing of the slate on the patio ended up being bifurcated, since we decided it was easier to do one half at a time instead of trying to empty out all the plants, tables and chairs and tackle the chore whole.
The process has be extended since a lot of drying time is necessary to do the work properly. First one-half was cleared and swept, then cleaned thoroughly with a jet spray (after this process, the grout takes about a day to dry). Then a first coat of sealant was applied and given three hours to dry. Then a second coat went down to finish the work. The surface needed at least eight hours to fully cure (which was functionally overnight).
This all being so, the first half took the entire weekend to finish.
Nothing was addressed Monday, since that is one of my job-search days and I had that special cover letter and resume going out.
Today, I moved everything to the finished half of the patio and swept and cleaned the other half (which was amazingly dirty after the recent rains). The jet wash was accomplished in the early afternoon and this evening the grout was still drying. Tomorrow morning the sealing process will begin, and by Thursday we should have the entire patio back for our outdoor enjoyment.
The whole process is rather like this post: tedious, uninteresting, and literally like watching paint dry. If you've read all the way through this and are still awake, I congratulate you: I fell asleep twice writing it.
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