"Chasing the interview" and other stories

Today's post is an amalgamation of issues...

First of all, I spent a good chunk of the day today "chasing the interview." I don't particularly like phones, and the company I wanted to interview hadn't responded to an email I'd sent, so I drove to one location. The staff there said they couldn't help me, and directed me to another location. The person who would be the person to talk to (so I've been told) was in meetings all day, and they wouldn't give me her email address, so they gave me her name and the main phone number. After all that, I didn't even get a direct line!

I realized the other day that I never posted an update on our plumbing problem. The plumber came Tuesday morning, as scheduled - and good grief, he was just a kid! He had to smash the cap to open the cleanout (he replaced it with a plastic cap when he was done). He sent the snake in, and sure enough - at just about fifty feet he ran into a blockage. After he punched through that, he went all the way out to the sewer, and then pulled the snake back. There were a good deal of roots wrapped around the snake; the plumber said that the neighbor's huge cottonwoods were probably the culprits. In any case, the plumber was here and gone again in less than half the time that it took my dad and I to snake the smaller drain; but I was able to do laundry and take a bath again, so I guess it was worth it - even though I couldn't fix the problem myself.

Finally, I have a note of warning for my fellow freelancers. Angela Hoy posted a couple of good heads-ups for writers in this week's ezine. The Girls' Life warning is particularly important, because it reminds us of the importance of knowing who we're submitting. Before sending out any work, read the recipient's site - yes, all of it! - and make sure that you're not inadvertently falling into a trap similar to this one, where your submission automatically becomes their property. Be wary of this with contests, too! Also, it's a good idea to Google the publication or employer before sending them your stuff - if they have a lot of complaints online, of money they owe people or mistreatment of their writers, you probably don't want to have anything to do with them.
And of course, don't forget to read yesterday's post, which has a very important warning about Freelance Work Exchange.