Arrrrgh

So. Christine and the kids returned Sunday night, to much relief and joy on my part. I'd really hit the wall on being apart from them and was getting seriously funked out and depressed. So that was good.

Unfortunately, thhings have been in something of a spiral ever since. Yesterday was Christine's 40th birthday, and the events of the day went as follows:

• Shopped for and purchased a bicycle for her (from her parents and sister).
• Shopped for and purchased nice new sneakers for her (from me and the kids -- part one of a two-part gift which will be completed once she decides on part two...).
• Contacted Company A about the fact that I've not yet received the offer letter I was promised. No response.
• Received notice from Company B that, although I was a solid candidate with no weaknesses of note, they had decided to offer the job I've been pursuing for 3+ weeks to "the other candidate."
• Found out that the job I originally was interviewing for 2 months ago, before I'd wrapped things up at my last company, with another local company (we'll call them Company C) which ALSO went to a candidate that suddenly came in and wowed them, is going to become available again in the very near future (i.e. someone's gettin' fired). I am strongly in consideration for it again, which is nice -- I'm actually pretty much certain I can get it as long as things move forward quickly and the offer is in the same league as the one from Company A. But what amazes me is that, according to my buddy who works at Company C, they hired some idiot who must have lied her way through the interview process, didn't really know what she was doing, and then didn't show up for work for nearly three weeks. This is the "stronger" candidate they hired instead of me. So while I'm happy that I may almost certainly be able to land the job I was trying to get nearly two months ago, BEFORE I was out of work and stressing out and eating through both my stomach lining and my severance pay, I'm furious that people with little or no qualifications land these jobs because they lie through their teeth, while I am scrupulously honest about my qualifications (which are considerable, and more than adequate for the jobs to which I've been applying) and remain unemployed.
  
• Noticed that, despite the AC being turned on, the temperature of the upstairs of our house was steadily climbing into the mid-to-high 80s. Perhaps due to the AC not blowing any cold freakin' air.
  

So, yeah, as 40th birthdays go, Christine's didn't fall on the best of days. We tried to make the best of it, training together last night and then heading out for a late dinner and drinks with several of our friends, but overall it was a pretty piss-poor day.

Anyhow, the AC guy has just arrived, and I called Company A to find out what's the what. I was assured that despite the radio silence from their end I am not being given the runaround on the job offer, and it looks like the AC problem might be nothing more than very clogged up condenser coils and perhaps low refrigerant levels -- an easy fix, and one that shouldn't set me back more than a few hundred bucks. Fingers crossed. And I should hopefully get a bit more info regarding the status of the position with Company C later this evening. In the meantime I'm just trying to shake off this sense of frustration and disappointment and continue marching forward.

Update: The AC work actually came in at less than $200, including a tip for the nice guy who came out. I've never been so relieved in my life! At least something is going right.

Mood: Bummin'
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