Hot, Busy, Alaska Summer!
You might not expect this in Alaska but we do get hot summer weather here. Of course hot for me is anything in the 80s Fahrenheit. It has been so warm lately it was actually getting oppressive and we are glad it has cooled down...though I wish it would settle at something moderate and not plunge all the way down to the upper 50s! Good grief. Something in the 60s or 70s would be fine! I guess I can't complain, we had lots of those temps earlier this summer already. When it gets hotter it is miserable for us since most places don't have air conditioning here.
It has also been stressful and busy. My husband has been waiting on pins and needles for a month to hear if he gets a new job. It is not looking good. The hiring manager wants him and he did well in the application and interview but the HR dept doesn't think he is qualified. It is so aggravating! He met all the minimum qualification and the desired qualifications! The basis they are using for the qualifications was not in thejob posting anywhere! It is so wrong they can override the hiring manager and just say no! The hiring manager had already called his references so we thought he would get it. She is frustrated since HR has the power to just override her selection. They are not considering his military experience even though it is relevant! They don't seem to be considering any of his other previous employment experience either! I am thinking of doing a post on this problem. Sadly, my husband's honorable and proud military experience has been more of a hindrance than a help in the job market. Never mind he graduated from college with honors and a double major, has dozens of great references and years of other work experience on the Alaska Railroad and the State of Alaska Dept. of Public Safety working for the State Troopers. Nobody cares if you are smart, have degrees, can type 60 words per minute, have impeccable references and a Presidential Service Badge for direct service to the President of the UnitedStates.
Anyway, that is a different rant!
We are also still waiting to hear if Mom can get a rental building which we will manage for her. The first two attempts fell through since the buildings' finances were not honestly disclosed. The bank would not finance the loan when it came out they had not disclosed the true rents, vacancies etc.How do realtors or sellers not think they will get caught lying on these numbers? We have wasted months pursuing these buildings just to find out they lied. Hopefully the third time is the charm...holding my breath! It will be alot of work but hopefully we will have a 6-plex to manage soon. That will come in handy to have a little extra income (though not nearly as much as the last building would have brought in)...just in time since our mortgage payment just went up $400 per month due to increased property taxes!!!
My ankle is getting better slowly but surely. It is almost back to normal in what would have been bad before but is great compared to how bad it was last month! I can walk normally and do whatever I need to do now.
I have not been on here much and have been horribly negligent about my websites. I hope to have more time soon but who knows lately! Summer in Alaska really doesn't slow down until it gets cold and dark again. It is 11:30 PM, cloudy and still light out right now. Time for bed toget to work in the morning.
Jessica
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We know a little something about hot summers down here in the 48th state (no need to look it up — we're in Arizona)...
Besgt of luck both to your husband, but also for your ankle. Sometimes it's an overload of the "little" things that keep us so preoccupied that the big picture gets fuzzy. Keep at it, it'll come clear when you do!
Tim
I have only been to Arizona in the winter so I can't imagine summers...I couldn't handle it.
We are plugging along. He didn't get the job and they said his military experience didn't count and neither did his other job experience. It is a messed up system when you can make it all the way through applying, interview etc., the manager wants to hire you but they can't.
He will be starting a short term job soon that we hope will turn into something better.
Thanks!
.... and he could also start his own online business! He probably knows someone who could help him with that!
Tim
Yes, I keep trying to convince him. He thinks WA is great and is so impressed with all I have done here. He thinks no one will want to read what he has to say...I keep trying to tell him that isn't true!
We made a deal though. When I am making $300 a month here, he will join. It was like a challenge I knew he would accept.
Sounds like psychology is one of your strong points, as well! At least as far as he's concerned!
Good work!
Tim
I know what you mean, Jessica. I haven't been very active while I'm busy with preparations to sell my house, either. My training and website have been sorely neglected, but I just can't do everything at once like I used to think I could when I was younger!
Don't worry, WA will still be here when you have time and energy to get back to it. Hope your husband's job comes through. That is such a shame that people are ignoring all of his special qualifications. Don't blame you for wanting to write a rant about it!
Take care of yourself, dear friend, and I'll see you later when things calm down in your life.
Carol
They took the pics yesterday, and my realtor is giving me ALL the pics, so I'll be writing a post about Carol's Cascades when I get them. I'm so excited about that...the photographer was very thorough and professional. I have started packing and putting stuff in storage because I'm selling the house furnished. Still don't know my move in date yet...hope the house doesn't sell out from under me before they have my apartment ready for me!
Me, too. It looks more like it's going to now. Spoke to them today, and they said that 3 in front of me on the list have had a vacancy offered to them, and he'll know if one of them accepts the unit by Wed. afternoon. If none of them do, it's mine, and I can start packing! Haven't had time to write it yet, but have a post forming in my head, so stay tuned. Carol
You have so much going on.focus a little more on we ant it might be a nice distraction.How long is your summer and what time does the sun disappear?
On the summer solstice (longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere) the sun rises 4:20 AM and sets 11:42 PM. However, the sun just barely dips below the horizon and travels there so it stays light all night. It looks like twilight for an hour or two in the middle of the night but the rest of the time it is daylight.
Now, it still does not get dark at night. Now the sun rises at 4:44 AM and sets at 11:20 PM.
Summer is generally May through August here. It may freeze at night until the end of May however and can start freezing at night again in Sept or Oct. So, the growing season is generally late May or early June to early Sept. Some years it does not freeze until late October and some years it does not snow now until December! The climate has changed drastically and the growing season is a month or two longer now than it was a generation ago. In Fairbanks which is further to the north in the interior (away from the coasts with more hotter summers and colder winters) the growing season (not freezing at night) has increased 3 months in the last generation! Farmers can now grow two cycles of crops in a season instead of one.
Thanks for asking Courtney!
Jessica
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I hope you get to manage that rental property. As for your husband, I believe the right opportunity will present itself. If there are too many obstacles to landing a job - it probably isn't the job that's meant for him.
Glad your ankle is better. Everything always has a way of working out. I've seen that over and over in my life. :-)
Thanks Wendy.
We do the final walk through of the building tonight. Mom is out of town and our realtor is out of town too so it's just up to myself and my husband.
He will hopefully be starting a temporary job here in my building soon. It is a huge gamble leaving his permanent state job for a temporary but it should give him a change to get started and move up here vs. his current job where there is no upward mobility. He will be giving up his leave, benefits, and taking a pay cut to take it...big gamble but he is ready to go for it after years stuck where he is at. I left a permanent job here and took a non-permanent also. That is how I was able to get the job I am in now. Mine was a long-term position though, his is only a 2 month job!
Sometimes you have to give up the safe bet for the unknown. I give him a lot of credit. But no job is worth being miserable and stuck. He's doing the right thing. :-)
Yes. He has been very miserable and stuck it out for years. They just take advantage of him and he does more and more and more but there is no way to get a raise or move up.
We hope this works!
The building was a little worse than we expected. They had shown us the 2 best units previously and the other 4 were a let down...water damage etc. We are still going to try to make it work however. Hopefully the sellers will have to fix those problems since they want to get rid of it (they inherited it and don't want the responsibility) and when these things show up on the inspection that will taint any future sale they try to get as well.
We will have our work cut out for us. I can't believe I have spent months trying to line up a 4th job for us!
The upside is that it makes a good profit even with all the problems so it can only be improved and get better from here.
It sounds just like your efforts on WA. A lot of work on the front end to eventually build up residual income. It sounds like the effort will definitely be worth it. Next to what we do here at WA, rental income is the best residual income there is. :-)
If those sellers won't fix the problems, and they should - you should be able to negotiate a lower price after subtracting what it will cost to make the repairs. If they want to get rid of it badly they will work it out to your benefit. :-)
Yes, we hope to work it out one way or the other. Thanks!