Job interviews in high unemloyment times

Week after week 10 or 20 lonely bodies show up looking for work. With the economy being in the state that it is I seem to be seeing the good, the bad and the ugly. This weeks group interviews proved to be one of the most unusual and yet entertaining. I had about 25 applicants show up and we all squeezed into the T.V. parlor. After spending about an hour with them clearly detailing what life as a care giver would entail I pull them aside one by one to review their applications.

The first woman that sits down at my side has the arrest box checked with will explain during the interview. These are always good. She talks about how she has a felony from in the mid 90's for drug trafficking. I kindly explain that since she has a felony we cannot hire her. Here is where things get interesting as she gets pissed off at me! I was lectured on how I just wasted her time and it should be stated on the application that we do not accept felonies. The woman went off for a good 4 minutes. You're right! It is my fault you jacked up your job prospects by selling drugs.

The second woman comes she has a felony for grand theft auto for stealing her boyfriends car. She expressed it as borrowing his car but never giving it back. Now isn't that sweet.

The third couldn't explain what exactly she was charged with just wrote "severed community hours for refusing to put sick cat to sleep". Hmm there is something wrong with this picture. Well what happened? Her cat was sick and the furnace man called the police on her. I didn't know this could get weirder but it is. So what exactly was she charged with? A misdemeanor. A misdemeanor for what? I never could get a straight answer but my suspicion was animal cruelty. She then cried as the interview went on..... NEXT!

One hour later I have weeded through my applicants and have 2 I can actually use. As I hand the large stack of applicants to the front desk for rejection letters to be sent out I have a phone call. An interviewee has called back to bitch me out. (All this for an $8.00 position?)

Now let's get this straight. It is my fault she showed up 40 minutes EARLY for the interview. Then when it is time for one on one reviews it is my fault again that she did not go first when I asked who wants to go first. I was magically supposed to know and remember that she came 40 minutes early and should be first. Apparently according to her I need to pass out numbers (what is this a deli?). She did not take it lightly when I explained that if she can't handle waiting 2 hours through an interview process there was no shot in hell I would hire her. Well apparently she doesn't want to work at an $8.00 an hour job. Then why are you calling me and wasting my time, I asked? She must not have liked that either because she hung up on me.

Must be a full mood.

Time to build the arc.

Shhhhh. What is that sound? I think it is the toilet running downstairs. I am just going to go back to bed and check it out in the morning. Lucky for both of us that Jonathan heard the noise too and decided to go downstairs and investigate. At 5 am we found that our heating pipe had burst in the dining room and had been pouring water out!

Jonathan ran downstairs and shut off the water while I strategically assessed the damage. Let's see the carpet is trashed since the water has a black soot in it. I removed the dining room table and chairs before they could get any water damage. Perhaps I can just use the carpet extractor and that would at least get a bunch of the water up.

Here is the dining room pipe and where the obvious break was. This is after we removed the wet carpet and threw it outside on the back porch. It was so heavy and just drenched. The floor boards underneath were soaked and it even spread a little into the living room.

When Jonathan came back upstairs I gave him my professional opinion about how I didn't think the damage was going to be that bad. His only reply was "You need to go look at the basement".

The entire workout corner of our basement was completely soaked! Water was pouring out of the ceiling like a waterfall. The tiles were drenched and falling down from the weight and the carpet was saturated.

Hence instead of showing off my beautiful cake (as seen in the last blog) or going to work I spent all day extracting water from the carpet. We couldn't get a hold of our insurance guy nor was the 1-800 number helpful. So in turn I called everyone (Jonathan's parents, my mom and my brother and sister in law) at the crack of dawn trying to figure out what needed to be done. Good morning to everyone!

Brian and Gramps came over to help try and fix the pipe since we had no water or heat. We later found out that we could turn on the main water valve and it would not effect the heating pipes. So at least we had water in the house. Poor Brian and Gramps have been working on replacing the pipe since one in the afternoon, and as of 8:00pm they are still not done.

The original copper piping is 7/8" and to every one's conveinence they don't make that size anymore apparently because it can be found nowhere. So we have been trying to soder in a pipe that doesn't match the way it should.

Did I mention Brian caught his arm and the floor on fire with the blow torch. It was only for a second but it was pretty funny. Luckily no harm to anyone... so far.

I guess I will try and help them finish up. I am starving and was hoping to take Brian and Amy out to dinner. But Amy finally had to leave since she had chores to do and also has to work tomorrow morning.

Wish us luck and Amy, I'll try not to keep Brian here all night (but I can't guarantee he won't catch himself on fire again.)

Thanks for the help everybody!

Cake Finale

Tomorrow is the last cake class. Our challenge was to build a cake using some of the techniques we learned. Of course I have been watching too much television and decided that I did not want a plain old tiered cake. I decided to shoot for a cake that had a hat on top. My inspiration came from the boulder hats you see around St. Patrick's Day. We learned to make carnations (and yes everything is edible!) But I needed more then just that, so I found a way to make shamrocks too by taking the small heart cut outs and putting them together.

The class was very interesting and this is actually the first cake I have ever done (I know I look like a professional cake maker!! Don't I???) :) I was surprised because fondant is a lot like clay so it can be pretty easy to work with (but it picks up dust and fibers very easily which can be a pain). There is also gum paste, which hardens like a rock but is very fragile. This too is edible. The gum paste is like a stiffer clay that can be manipulated into a lot of shapes.

So here is my finale!!

Here is a close up of the carnations and shamrocks.

So that is the big finish to the class! It turned out even better then I hoped it could. The base of the cake and the hat are all made of actual cake just covered with fondant.

Hunger Pang

I really want a cookie!

Hobby # 8,953

I start a new hobby tomorrow. Yes I have grown quite the collection of hobbies through the years. There was ballet, piano, tap, Irish dancing, quilting, sewing, baking, cake decorating, scrap booking and the list goes on. Well now I have gone full circle and am back to cake decorating. Fondant and gum paste to be exact. I am taking a four week class at Jo-Ann fabrics that teaches you how to use fondant on cakes and how to make intricate designs and flowers with gum paste for cakes.

I am excited and Jonathan just laughs. The class was $35 not counting the $30 I spent for the starter kit and class book. There is also about 15 other things on the list for the class but I have not bought those yet. I won't need them until the second class. When all is said and done I hope I can make beautiful cakes!

My weight loss challenge has been going well. I have worked out every day so far and am continuing to do 2 to 3 classes a day. In fact I only did one yoga class today because the instructor for the cardio class didn't show up probably due to the snow storm, and I feel lazy for it!!

I have been eating about 1300 - 1400 calories a day and burning anywhere from 2400 - 3000+ depending on how many classes I do. I weighed myself on Thursday and lost 3.3 pounds last week. Yipee!! We have been eating at home a lot which really helps. I don't dare go outside the realm of subway if we do eat out.

The Biggest Loser started! That is one of my favorite shows. I am already beginning to size up who I like and dislike.

I am also reading the Twilight series which is addictive. I can't put the books down. I had to really debate if I wanted to spend some free time blogging or reading. I decided to spend a few moments to blog even though I am dying to see what happens next. I highly recommend the series to anyone. It is like a replacement for Harry Potter but not made for kids. I am almost finished with the 2nd book New Moon. I even cried at the beginning of the book.

Well now that I thought about my book I have to go read. At least Jonathan gets to watch all the Cavs and football he wants! I even hope that there is a game on... but don't tell him that!!

Happy New Year

Welcome 2009

2009 came with a smooth transition. I was asleep by 10:30 and then bam, it was a new year. Jonathan had a great year end, in fact December was one of his best months ever. I hope that is a sign that the economy may be turning around.

The diet has been going very well. I find managing my caloric intake very easy with my bodybugg. I typically have a calorie deficiency of 1000 or more a day. So I am hoping to loose around 2 - 3 pounds this week. Here comes my ring!! I was starving the first couple of days but I am getting used to things now. Maybe my body has started eating itself! We will see as of Thursday.

I have been reading Brian and Amy's blog. It seems like they are having lots of fun in Australia. I still can't believe they went skydiving! Skype has been very helpful as well. We have been able to talk a lot for free and even see each other through our webcam.

Jonathan has been Mr. Chef since I started my diet. We have been eating at home mostly because I learned very quickly just how bad eating out is! Even when you think you are eating healthy it is still FULL of calories. Subway is about the only thing I am willing to eat since they post the calorie count for their food on their website. That helps a lot. But I am taking full advantage of his cooking skills and he even packs me a lunch!

My classes at the natatorium has been going very well. I did two hour and half spinning classes this weekend. One was Saturday and then I did one this evening. I thought I was going to die tonight! My butt and legs hurt soooo bad. I was going to spin again tomorrow but I think yoga is the route to take. I really need to stretch out my body. My goal is to take around 2 classes a day. I burn lots of calories and they are really fun.

I got beat up by another old woman the other day at work. In fact she ripped my new necklace right off my neck. My BFF Laura had bought me the new Jane Semour (sp?) necklace. I am so bummed I can't wear it now until I get a new chain.

Well I better start to relax if I plan to make it sleep early so I can get up for Cardio Blast.

Happy New Year Everyone!!