Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
I didn’t want to keep building my affiliate stores over on The Mummy’s Wrap until I knew that both Amazon.com and AvantLink.com wouldn’t pull their affiliate links on me because of Colorado HB-1193, the Amazon Tax. I worked for most of the first part of the week emailing Senators and Representatives, trying to let them know that affiliate marketing is one of my only sources of income and to lose that income would be devastating.
My story and similar stories of other Colorado affiliate marketers must have struck a chord with the Colorado Congress because the bill has been amended! It now has nothing to do with affiliates, so my affiliate business is safe! The bill will have to go back to the House of Representatives because it has been changed from when it originally passed the House. Then it will go back to the Senate for another vote and on to the Governor.
The good news about HB-1193 didn’t reach me until Monday. That left the end of last week when I didn’t know what was going to happen.
Thursday, I celebrated nothing in particular. I made cookies! Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies. Oh, and they’re good! And easy, too! They really do melt in your mouth!
On Friday I got some amazingly good news! I am going back to Jacob Lake, Arizona to work this coming archaeological season. I’ll be back with the Forest Service in the Kaibab National Forest. I’m so excited! I start on April 11. I’m thrilled to be going back so I can see my friends Colleen and Wade again!
Now for a little story that may have a happy ending in the near future. When I ended my archaeology season in October 2009, I started trying to get unemployment benefits. I had a piece of paper from the Forest Service saying I was owed unemployment benefits. I was not told that I wouldn’t get my due funds until the quarter after I had finished with the Forest Service. That was one thing, but I worked in New Mexico in 2009, as well. I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal to combine the two wage statements together so I could start getting funds sooner. I was told this was possible, and had only intermittent communication with my contact at the Arizona unemployment office. By mid December I had stopped hearing from my contact, even though I called at least every day and left a polite message. By mid January, I was getting desperate. All I could see was no employment and no unemployment benefits to help me out with bills and life’s expenses. I was contacted by a different person with the Arizona unemployment office. He said the same things I’d been hearing, that yes, I could combine the two jobs. He said my previous contact had not done anything to combine the two jobs, even though he had told me he had sent out for the wage statements from New Mexico. My new contact said he would do what my previous contact had not done. My new contact then refused to return my phone calls.
On Tuesday, I had had enough. I started emailing Colorado state Representatives and Senators, asking for their help. I got responses almost immediately and through these responses, I learned I should call the Arizona Legislature. I now have a new contact who explained what had all gone wrong. She alerted me that while it was possible to get the two jobs combined so I could get unemployment for both jobs, it would take anywhere from two weeks to 30 days to get the information from New Mexico. While I wait for the information from New Mexico, she has assured me she will call me once every week until the entire ordeal is worked out.
So, in short, I may be getting unemployment benefits soon, after four months of fighting for it; I’ve got a job lined up that starts in April; I can go forward with my affiliate stores at The Mummy’s Wrap; and I found an amazing recipe for gorgeous chocolate cookies.
It’s been such a great week!
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Tags: Affiliate, Arizona, Chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, colorado affiliate tax, Colorado HB-1193, cookies, HB-1193, Jacob Lake, Jacob Lake Arizona, Kaibab, Kaibab National Forest, Kaibab Plateau, sour cream chocolate chip cookies, unemployment benefits