So many wonderful people have asked/insisted that I let them know where/how to donate to help get me out of this jam.  I hate feeling like an e-panhandler and said “no thank you” to more people than I can count, but it’s a tribute to just how kind-hearted my readers are that they just won’t take no for an answer.

So, if you really would like to help, please PayPal donations to mdbarnes@hotmail.co.uk, or you can snail mail them to:  P.O. Box 1242, Brea, CA  92822-1242.  If you absolutely require my full name because you need to make out a check or money order, please contact me privately at info@girlsguidetohomelessness.com.  I get really nervous about giving out all of my info online.

Also, many have asked where to send expressions of outrage to Walmart.

You can call the Walmart Ethics line at:  1-800-WM-ETHIC

You can e-mail Walmart using their online form here:  http://walmartstores.com/contactus/feedback.aspx

You can snail-mail Walmart’s corporate headquarters at:  Walmart Stores, Inc., 702 SW 8th Street, Bentonville, Arkansas 72716-8611

Again, thank you so much to all of the kind readers who are so concerned for Matt and I!  All who offer assistance to us, please let me know who you are so I can send you a hand-written thank you card from the two of us.  We wish that we could do more, and we just want to make sure that you know how grateful we are.

* * * * *

And now for updates… hi all!  I’m so sorry I haven’t been around a few days to let everyone know what’s going on.  Things have just been crazy and I haven’t had the time.  The turbocharger in my car decided to give out on the freeway on the way to an interview Thursday.  Luckily, the car continued to run until I got to the interview.  Afterwards, I went to a couple of autobody shops on the same street and was advised that the car should make it “home”, but not much further than that.  The last 7 miles of the way back, the car suddenly started making a grinding noises in addition to the high-pitched screaming whine of the shot turbocharger.  By the time I arrived at my destination, blue smoke was billowing out of the exhaust pipe.  Just barely made it.

The thing that bugs me most about this is that the car is only 4 years old and has only 56K miles on it (I should also point out that I’ve only had it for 2 years and only put 20K of those miles on it – I don’t drive my car hard or far at all).  NOTHING should go wrong with a car that new and with that few miles on it, much less something major like the turbocharger.

So now, a mechanic friend has been kind enough to locate a part for me.  The part is very expensive (but still about half the cost the autobody shop wanted to charge); with labor, it will cost at least the same amount to fix my car as it will to get the trailer out (the cost of which is increasing daily).  If we can manage to get the truck/trailer out of impound, we have been offered a place on private property to park it for very little money, so that is our goal.  However, the cost is increasing by $80 daily so we need to come up with a plan quickly.  We have heard nothing from Walmart yet.

However, job prospects are looking less-than-godawful.  Despite reading in today’s L.A. Times that unemployment in California has skyrocketed to 11.9% as the national rate declines to 9.4% (a post-WWII high for the state), I seem to be getting relatively decent results interview-wise.  Before the recession/depression we’re in now, I never had trouble getting jobs.  EVER.  I landed every interview I applied for, and was offered every job that I ever interviewed for.  It took me a matter of weeks or even days to find a new job.  Life was good.  But then, after layoffs, over the progress of 8 months of searching I landed only two interview requests (one of which offered me the job).  However, the past five days I have stayed up all day and most of the evenings (usually finally conking out around 4 a.m.) applying to hundreds of positions and have actually received 5 or 6 responses so far.  Besides the interview on Thursday (in West Covina), I now have one on Monday (in San Diego) and one on Tuesday (in Irvine).  Yes, I’m applying all over SoCal.  Please cross your fingers for me!  We were doing so well; we had a “cushion” of savings and were hoping to soon find an apartment, but then came the issues with the truck/trailer/car, the cushion vanished practically overnight and we’re back to square one.

So… all positive vibes are much appreciated.  Most of all, we are grateful for the outpouring of moral support we have received.  Thanks again to all.

Cheers!

~Bri (and Matt)