per my last post, it turns out there is not much to be done about the car.  Because I bought an older car, it is not covered under any lemon law, etc.  My service contract does not cover the repair, of course. The dealer will not fix it, I went in there the other day. I will have to pay to get it fixed, and I am getting a second opinion from another mechanic.  It's going to be pricey but anything to do with exhaust/emissions is.  My thought process is after fixing it, to try to sell it to a private party, and then just deal with the rest of the negative equity/upside down balance.  The dealer simply wants to sell me a better car, I don't know if they would pay off the old loan or not, and I came to find out their repuation is terrible per reviews...I'm not sure I want to get another car from them.  I'm in a difficult position because my work and income has been sporadic.

As far as my new job...this seems to be an issue, they are not communicating very much and are all over the map.  I made significant efforts to be excused from jury duty because they wanted me to start on the 14th.  I got this taken care of and was told that I could start Monday the 14fth, but the recruiter would not give me any details.  I really did not want to just show up there, it's a plant which probably has high security and I would need clearance to even get on site so I didn't want to be turned away.  I could not get any answer out of the recruiter. The recruiter kept putting me off, not giving me much of an answer during the week or anything all day on Friday-I texted at 11 and then called at 1PM.  She said someone else would let me know by the end of day...five PM came...still no answer.  At 5 PM I texted again and said "should I go in Monday and am I expected?"  Another recruiter called me, she said that the first recruiter was on PTO.

Last minute at about 5:15 PM on Friday they called and said the start date was now going to be moved to the 28th, beyond the first start date of the 21st, and the second of the 14th. I was feeling a huge letdown.  I guess they are working with a particular client.  This is a real problem for me because for the first time I am completely and totally out of cash-only doing credit at this point and could soon run out of that.  I turned down the opportunity to drive a cab this summer to start this job. I could have done that for a few weeks for extra money. But it did seem a littel dangerous. Very stressful.  I'm not even making car trips such as driving across town to go to church because that takes up like a quarter tank of gas. I'm not going to outings or inviting people out because...well this costs money. My life is at a standstill.

The late start is going to cost me in paychecks between two to three thousand. It's a big deal. Currently, I am getting notifications from my other employment agency that they are placing people in well-paid substitute teaching positions starting the 28th.  The assigments last indefinitely but without benefits such as sick time, insurance and retirement.  The cash pay, however, is as high as my old salary.  I am going to wait it out with the current job, because this is the only opportunity that I have ever had outside of teaching, and I got the master's degree to do something else.  In the meanwhile, this is extremely stressful.  I have a few house repairs, and this car thing.  I took a big risk by going back to college and leaving my former life as a schoolteacher.  I just really hope it pays off.  I am taking a real financial hit and my life is on hold.  I was getting up ealier and cleaning, etc to get ready for work Monday.  Now I am back to sleeping all day.