dkarlsenyh

I have recently been told in advance that my employer will be giving each employee a $100 gift certificate for a restaurant. It's an average casual restaurant (not a chain) that has a great view. The catch is that it is 99 miles away. I'm a little stunned, because wages here range from $10 to $17 per hour. In my car it would cost $32 just to drive there and back. Last year we got nothing extra in the way of Christmas or year-end gifts, so I suppose we should be grateful. Personally I will not paying $32 in gas to use a certificate for a free meal. I've never driven to the town the restaurant is located in and have no plans of doing so in the future.

What do people think? At best it seems like a useless gesture since most employees probably will not want to pay $30+ to use a gift certificate. At worst it could be viewed as insensitive. Quite frankly I'm baffled.

Okay I bought a used 2003 Acura CL 3.2L car with 105,000 miles two months ago from a private seller. I point-blank asked the seller if it had ever been in a wreck, and he very firmly and emphatically said NO it had never been wrecked. Well it took my neighbor only 30 seconds to determine that it actually had been wrecked fairly severely: Both front fenders had been replaced. He detected damage to the bracing in front of the radiator. I figured out that the front bumper assembly including the fog-light pockets were not even from a 2003 but from either a 2001 or 2002. I paid $7,500 for the car. Within two weeks the side windows severely malfunctioned. The driver's side came off the track and went up crooked, and the right side fell freely down while I was driving, seriously scaring me. It cost $1,100 in parts and labor for a mechanic to rebuild both side window mechanisms. The next thing to go was a rear tire. Both rears had been run flat according to evidence by a tire company, and the fronts were marginal, so another $558 for four new tires. Now I have $9,000 in this car.

So..this past Sunday I was driving down the freeway and the A/C started blowing warm air. I kept driving. No lights came on. The temperature gauge I failed to look at. In my mind I had an A/C problem, not an engine problem. About 20 miles later it started pinging and loosing power badly. I suddenly noticed the engine temperature gauge completely pegged. I barely made it off the freeway. Result: The shop put two gallons of coolant in the radiator and it all ran into the crank-case. They said I had two options: Repair (min. $2,000) or replace ($2,800) with an Acura 3.2 engine they found with only 1,000 miles on it. I immediately saw the wisdom in replacing the engine.

Now they tell me that they found out that the reason it overheated was due to a crack in the radiator causing coolant loss.

I have two questions: 1) Is there not a low coolant indicator light on an Acura? I know my Pontiac had one, and many, many times it came on during the 208,000 miles and 13 years that I drove it. I saw no low coolant light on even after I noticed the temperature gauge pegged.

2) Should I replace the radiator? What would be the benefits of that? The shop is already saying that the dented radiator may be a problem for them.

Any other insights would be appreciated. I am in too far to not repair this car.

I own a townhome within a community association of 228 townhome units and a few dozen single-family detached houses. Recently I learned that the state dissolved the HOA corporation on 11/27/2007 because the management company failed to file the annual report due in early 2007. The management company has just now filed for the HOA corporate reinstatement (some four and a half months later), but it is still in a dissoved status.

My question is regarding the legal jeopardy this puts the HOA in.

1) Did the property management company have a legal right to bill and collect late fees from property owners within the HOA since the corporation was dissolved on 11/27/2007?

2) The HOA has a ~$350,000 ongoing contract with a construction company for major repairs. Does this put the HOA in violation of the contract?

Thanks for any legal opinions.

P.S. I became the treasurer of the HOA in Jan. 2008 when the former treasurer resigned unexpectedly.

We are the only two employees in the main office besides the owner. There are three employees at a construction jobsite office. My coworker is a project manager and I am the office manager/accountant/IT guy.

Here's the situation: We have both been looking for jobs (on the sly) for like three months. We've both been on four or five interviews. She (my co-worker) got a job offer yesterday (Thursday), and I got a job offer today (Friday).

We want to give notice at the same time just for the effect, because we both agree that he's a terrible boss: He's never expressed appreciation for any of our workplace accomplishments (except sarcastically). He has always been very negative about everything with his comments, which are often either derogatory or sarcastic.

So does anyone have any good ideas? So far our plan is to go together into his office on Tuesday morning, sit down, and announce that we both have new jobs. Or should first one go tell him, then the other follow in five mins?

I am the accountant/office manager for a very small office (three other employees in the main office, four employees in the field). I also answer the company phone if someone chooses "operator" from the voice mail menu. Every day my boss makes coffee, and he always leaves his cup partway full of cold coffee next to the coffee pot with the leftover coffee in it. He has asked me to always close his window shades at the end of the day (after he's gone) andhe's strongly suggested that it's my duty to clean the coffee pot (which is mine by the way, but that's another story). I do all that he expects, but I feel sort of humiliated?

I am a 43 year old male. Can anyone relate?

It's my female co-worker's daughter's car. They don't have the first clue where to look. The car is at her daughter's work location.

I'm thinking of trying to become a mortgage banker, but I'd like to find out more. Is it satisfying work? Is it financially rewarding? Is there a decent base pay with commissions added on? Any input from anyone who has been a mortgage banker would be appreciated. Best answer goes to whomever gives the most pros and cons. Be honest, tell me what you don't like about it, and what you do like about it.

We are in a small office of only a few rooms, with only four people. The interior doors stay open, and there is only one thermostat. Some like it very warm, and some like it a more moderate temperature. I came in this morning and the thermostat was set to 84 (F) degrees, with the heat going full blast. I'm trying to find out what a normal accepted temperature is. Any opinions?

This has been an annual issue of contention at almost every company I've worked at. As payroll has always been a part of my job, I know when it's paid and when it's not, which employee works that Friday and who doesn't. I've noticed that often salaried people try to pull a disappearing act that Friday, whereas hourly people are required by their bosses to show up. I think companies should just make Thanksgiving a two-day paid holiday, and include Friday. Holiday pay should be applied fairly to every employee at the company. Agree or disagree?