SitRep

Here's the current sitrep-
I'm unemployed. Again. I still haven't been paid by the past employer who owes me 5 weeks of pay, plus bonuses and fees. My claim with the State against her should be moved to the Utah Attorney General's office soon. They send a few more threatening letters to her, and assuming she fails to reply to those as well, they eventually put a lien on her house. I have no idea how long the process takes from there before the seize the house or she declares bankruptcy. But needless to say, I won't be getting my money out of her any time soon.
I was working for the film company that unexpectedly lost its funding. And that is what leaves me jobless again. To complicate things I was working for a little less than half of what I used to be making while I was there. I thought I could supplement it with side contract work. I knew August would be tight on funds, but figured some creative financing could get me through. That was before I had to get new tires and the car  broke down. And before I got laid off from that job.
On the bright side, I do have 2 contract side jobs. Neither one is big money, and I won't be getting paid from either job until late September. So while that will help eventually, it doesn't help now.
And then there's the banking situation. My last check from the employer bounced. She never replaced that check (nor do we ever expect her to). Did you know your bank will hold YOU responsible for repaying a bounced check? Yeah. In most cases you get 30 days to fix a bounced check you deposited. Well, my 30 days are just about up. My credit union is being very helpful and understanding about the situation. But still, they want the money. They *kindly* offered to have me pay it back in 4 installments over 60 days. Normally that wouldn't be a total hardship, except that I'm unemployed and had to apply for unemployment. And the amount the bank wants is more than what I'll be getting from unemployment.
And then there is unemployment funds. Thank goodness for unemployment, but it isn't that much money, and it takes nearly 4 weeks for the first funds to show up. So again, by the end of September, I should have money again. Which isn't helping the current situation.
And that brings me to the car. First there was the tire blow out, and I had to get 2 new tires. I've known for a while that my clutch is slipping, but it suddenly got much worse last week. And then the check engine light came on, so I took it to the mechanic who told me my catalytic converter is clogged. They also checked out the clutch and advised me to not even leave their parking lot. Estimate on the clutch? $1100. Estimate on the catalytic converter? $650. Not exactly chump change, even if I did have a job!
So right now I'm basically stuck at home saving what few funds I have. I am only willing to risk driving 1-2 miles from home, or locations I can walk home from, in case the car does finally give up the ghost. Conveniently being homebound means plenty of time to work on these contract jobs. But really, that only occupies so many hours of the day.
There's something of a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. I am still owed one week of wages from the film company. There's no word however on if we'll be getting paid this Friday like we're supposed to. I'm guessing we probably won't. But the owner did promise he'd make sure we all got paid. He's a good man, so I trust him to come through. But I won't hold it against him if it is a little bit late. It wasn't his fault this all happened.
Hopefully with the week's wages and what cash I have left I can get the clutch replaced if I can find a really cheap mechanic who will put on a used clutch. (Know anyone?)
And then there's just the temptation to not fix the car yet, and instead get a scooter or Vespa. I can get a decent scooter for considerably less than what the repairs will cost me. And then at least I won't be so homebound.
So yeah. Things pretty much suck right now. My temper and anger is just right at the surface these days. So if I'm ignoring you, it's because I don't want to lose it and take my frustrations out on you! (It's a good thing, really!)
Oh and there is a bright side- I do have 2 more job interviews coming up, and I'm talking to head hunters. Hopefully a job will come through soon. But I doubt that will happen before rent is due on Monday!