Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Blahdy blahdy blah

I found out yesterday that I'm eligible for unemployment benefits since I've worked enough insurable hours to qualify in the past 12 months. Of course they make it quite complicated for you to collect. In my case, I've got three employers I've got to get paperwork from and I've got to review every week in the past 52 and detail how much I made and if I didn't make anything, why not. I don't even remember what I did last week, let alone 25 weeks ago. I went in and asked, "Can't I just bring in all the pay stubs? Of course I can't, that would be too simple (and forgeable I suppose.) Anyway, my philosophy is if there's money on the ground you bend over and pick it up, so I'll spend tomorrow trying to get that application done.

Today I've got my second to last gig (Friday's the last but it's a class+lunch at a restaurant) and it's with the government peeps who come up with all the statistics you see bandied about in the news. Unemployment rate, inflation, housing prices, demographics, you name it and they study it. I can't imagine a more boring profession, but the people are fun. I especially like it when they complain about the zillion committees and meetings they have to go through before anything gets done/changed. Ahh, government.

The fridge is pretty much dead. I opened it up as much as I could, cleaned all the coils, left it off for a day and then rebooted it. Same sitch - 48 degrees F. Serge is gonna call someone today to have a look (so he says) since I discovered a little sticker inside that has contact information for the manufacturer. It's only 6 years old this fridge. Yesterday Serge went out shopping for a new one even though I had shown him numerous used ones from the internet he could buy. Let's see, a 9 month old used one for half price? Nah, he prefers the new one with the equal no-interest payments. And this is why I want him to handle it, we do not see eye to eye at all about it. (But I'll surely love whatever the final result is.) Happy hump day peeps!

11 comments:

Rox said...

When our appliances conk, for whatever reason, my husband thinks it's a free pass to go buy new. In the last three years, we've purchased a dishwasher and a fridge and we've called a repairman three times. It's compromise at it's best! LOL!

When I think of the landfills being full of old appliances, some just in need of repair, it makes me crazy. Our society is so consumer-driven!

Wow, I'm really stuck on this eh? :)

When I left working and went on unemployment when I had Em (20 years ago) I had to "proove" I had a baby. I'm like, "Can you not hear her bawling?!" It was ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

Fortunately, I've never had the pleasure of having to live through a faulty refrigerator. I panic if the power goes out for fear that all the food will go bad. But then again, it's not all bad to sit on the floor of the kitchen with ice cream and perishable snacks around you and gorge yourself.

Tatiana said...

What I find weird is the relative lack of appliance repairmen in town - it's like you need a secret handshake to find one. Once you call 'em, it takes a week and a hundred bucks for them to take a look, and even though you gave them the model number, they will inevitably need to order a weird part that takes two weeks to arrive. What a crap industry.

Jim said...

Go Serge go! So a stainless it is. Love the interest free option too. I'd go new too, I'm afraid unless you bought extended warranty on it originally.

GayProf said...

My fridge in my rental house went out last year. It was from the 1970s and wasn't pretty (to be sure). Nonetheless, I would have been happy for them to simply repair it. But, in this day and age, the repair person said it was much cheaper to buy a whole new unit than repair the existing one. That makes no sense to me.

CoffeeDog said...

You need to get one of those fancy Samsung refrigerators, swear to god when you open it's like walking into a disco, the lighting is so cool.

Anonymous said...

Government committees and processes are why I now own a wine shop... repossession of my sanity from employers!

Good luck with the fridge debate!

anne marie in philly said...

6 years - you guys are so NOT getting your money out of that! they should last at least 20-25 years.

I just purchased a new one in 2008 to replace one from 1979.

if serge buys it, serge pays for it - excellent logic!

Anonymous, too said...

Wow. I'm renting and the fridge in my unit is just about as old as I am. Which is? Let's just say the fridge and I both predate the original pilot for "Star Trek".

Still, if Serge would be happier with a new one and will pay for it (and do his homework to make sure he's getting good value for his money), all members of the household should be happier.

Speaking of which, you know we're getting addicted to pinups of Serge, Torn &/or Georgie with every post. . .hint, hint.

Mark My Words said...

Just yesterday, I bent over to pick up a $20 bill off the street. Yipee!

Cubby said...

Check the mfr website in case there is a recall on the fridge. Maybe there's a known defect with that model that caused the premature death, and maybe you can get a free replacement of the part.