Category Archives: Life at Work

A Hitch In My Gittalong

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I am tempted to make a new category, Life with Unemployment, but that would imply that dealing with it isn’ t WORK.  Boy howdy is it ever.

I’ve been filing my weekly claims, waiting to hear back.  I haven’t been worrying much because it’s taking a long time.  They are very busy and they say it will take longer than usual.  Took 13 weeks for a friend.

I’ve called them a few times because I have an interesting situation.  I’ve tried to find out about getting credit for that 7th quarter.  I’ve been rudely treated let me tell you.

You quit so you don’t qualify.

I didn’t quit, I was terminated.

You told the online form you quit so you don’t qualify.

I didn’t quit, I was terminated.

Then you did it wrong and it’s not our problem. The computer never lies.  YOU SUCK.

*scream*

Friday I tried one more time.  I did work at the full moon for things to get better in this area.

I knew the moment I heard her voice that I’d finally got an angel on the phone.

Help!  I have two questions.  1) I didn’t quit I was fired and your system says I quit.  How can I fix this?

Isn’t that interesting, this looks odd.  Oh dear our computer entered your last job as a quit but there are two other jobs at the same company and two overlap.  Let’s figure this out.  (YAY!)

From Oct 2008 until Dec 2009 I was technically employed at the University as an hourly web specialist.  I worked perhaps 3 hours a quarter.  Not much money but it kept me on the books which allowed me to apply for positions that outsiders couldn’t.  When I got that last job, which taught me many lessons thank you master, I had to stop doing the hourly contract job because their payroll systems weren’t compatible.  Since I was employed, albeit miserably, I said okay, let’s not renew the contact Jan 1.  Reporting that messed quite a few things up.

So we repaired question #1 and their computer, which screwed up ROYALLY, now reports me as fired, probationary rejection.  *whew*

Why did no one acknowledge my written and phone requests for an appeal?  Because technically I didn’t qualify so I go to a stack that says do not respond further. OMG  I was in Unemployment Siberia.  And no one would help until my angel appeared.

Question #2

How do I get you folks to look at a different quarter?

Well, we don’t technically do that.  But you can file to backdate your request.  You were only working part time that entire year and if you use this date, 9/27/09, it allows you to use that 7th quarter and I see that you have plenty of hours there to qualify.  Now, remember, there is no guarantee that they will give you the backdate.  But it’s worth a try.  In the mean time I will walk your written appeal, I see you did file one, over to the appeals department.  I’ve walked your packet of forms to the mailroom.  Is there anything else I can do to help you?

Bless you bless you bless you.

This was an hour and half phone call but I felt hope.  I now have the forms and I have to reconstruct the jobs I was applying for when I was working part time.  Not an easy feat.

Last night I was in terrible fear and I prayed hard to the Lady and Lord that they remove my fear.  The fear subsided almost immediately and it came to me that if I can’t fill out the forms completely that the week will be null and I won’t get paid for it but it won’t close my claim.  I’m going to do my best, I have to provide 20 weeks by Wednesday.  Luckily the university keeps an online log of jobs I’ve applied for all the way back to 2005.

If approved, I might get small amounts (offset by the part time work so probably not much but it keeps me qualified) going back to 9/27/09.  This happened for a friend and they are trying to be flexible within the law, they know how hard things are.  And I’ll get my appeal too.  So I’ll have a chance to tell someone over the phone how this all happened.  And why they should grant it to me.

Cross your fingers for me!!!

Cancer this week

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Sci-fi author Neil Gaiman sometimes invites his readers to get involved in his creative process. While working on the story “Metamorpho,” for example, he Twittered, “Trying to decide if broccoli is funnier than kohlrabi in a list of vegetables.” When a number of fans suggested “rutabaga” instead, he took their suggestion. (Thanks to The New Yorker for that report.) I’d like to borrow Gaiman’s approach, as you’re entering a phase of your astrological cycle when you’ll have maximum power to shape your own destiny. So here’s my question: What accomplishment would you like your horoscope to say you will complete by May 15?

I wish I knew.  I thought it was all about getting a new job, then it was about cleaning up after the fire, but before that it was about getting my unemployment benefits.  Right now, I’m back to focusing on getting my unemployment benefits.  It’s been 6 weeks since I lost that horrible job and they say to be prepared to wait 6-8 weeks.  A friend of mine waited 13.  I have enough money to get through 13 weeks but then it’s going to start getting a bit scary.  The money would have lasted longer if I hadn’t had to spend money on the new apartment.  Worth every penny and some new tools that will last me years.  I can live with that.  I love tooooools.  Unless of course they are human.

Hmmm what would I like by May 15th?  Whatever the universe thinks I need.  Instead of putting energy into what I want exactly and instead getting what the universe says I need and on its timeline not mine, I think I’ll just leave it alone.  It seems to me that I can just put out what I want (which I’ve done) and not put strings or dates or details to it and I’ll be happier.  So yes, I’d love to have love, money, and joy. But not sure that May 15th matters.  Let’s see how you work it all out universe.  In the mean time I think I’ll follow the advice from Under the Tuscan Sun. Go work on your house and forget about it.

Groundhogs day

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I can’t remember the last time I worked this hard.  I am getting some muscles going on here.  And its looks good on me.  I weigh the same but I’m looking good.  Want to keep this going after the work stops.

We’ve really had so much stuff to deal with.  Yesterday we got all the furniture into the mostly empty garage. We need the rooms as empty as we can get them for painting and the new rug.  That work starts tomorrow.  Thursday I will go and get the rug part started.  Today, we finish with the smaller furniture, the last of the books, the camera equipment.

It’s all been very hard to do because we are Dad Wrangling.  That poor guy, he’s making our lives hell when we need it the least.  He wants to help, of course he does.  But everything he touches turns to crap, literally. What would have been a free desk now has to go to the dump.  At some point early this morning he went downstairs and started rearranging, which is bad enough, taking stuff out of the trash to keep etc…  But when I saw that he’d removed the panel that was the right support for a desk in order to fix it, well, jagged nails everywhere, hammers, broken wood. *sigh*

He refuses to have his stress test and we refuse to have him go up and down stairs, lift 100 pound boxes of books but then he physically threatens us and does it any way and then his blood pressure falls to 60/47 or rises to 202/140 and we spend hours trying to stabilize him and then a couple more telling him what happened and he forgets that and asks again.  If I could ship him somewhere right now I would.  The angry agressive jerk that was my dad growing up is back and I’m having a hard time loving him right now.  We tell him all that we’re doing and ten minutes later he shows up and says what are you doing.  Mixing Alzheimers with Diabetes, Hypertension, and a history of aggression together and you have someone that is challenging.  Argh.

So.  The last cleaning and boxing up, patching holes and sanding for prep work.  Mom and I have decided that we are hiring them to do ALL the painting and the new carpet and whatevers left is what’s left for the other things.  We just no longer have the energy to do that part.

I’ve been congested in the head and lungs ever since the fire.  I can’t tell if I’ve got a cold or if it’s from the fire, all the extinguisher/smoke/dust dust.  I sound like Mickey Mouse. Seriously I do.  Very squeakey and sometimes none of it comes out. And I have a major interview Wednesday.  I’ve got to knock it out of the park.  So tomorrow I take it easy, putter in my own room, make sure I get enough rest, prepare my clothes.

The best thing out of this besides that I get my own apartment sans kitchen?  Is that my mom and I are working together as though we’ve done this all our lives, amiably, we agree on everything, almost no crankiness, smooth as butter.  What a blessing that is.

M. said the other night that he was certain that the reason I moved home a year ago was to be here for these weeks and the coming months.  I know he’s right.  I never would have guessed this was the purpose.  My poor mother if I was working and not here.  OMG.

The one thing I hear is that caregivers can die before the sick person they’re caring for from all the stress.  My job is make my mother’s life as easy as I can so that she can take care of Dad.  We would never be able to put him in assisted living right now, he thinks he’s fine and would just escape. That time is coming soon and not that far away though.  He looks and sounds normal to folks who don’t know him but he told some folks yesterday he got diabetes at 40 and that he’s now 88.  He got diabetes at 52 and is now 82.  His dates and numbers and facts are all scrambled up in there. He makes the worst decisions ever, he believes we are insane and making his life a living hell when it is really the other way around. If he were amiable and simply complaing that would be one thing but he’s very strong and very aggressive. He wants to manage his diabetes but if we let him he will fark it all up.

2010 is The Ball of Confusion but this is temporary, we will pervail, we will survive.

Interview

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I have an interview next Tuesday at 2:30.

In a school where I worked for 3.5 years.

The one where I coordinated two grad programs, two training grants.

The one where I got the department award for my fabulousness three months into the job.

The award that my students nominated me for.

Many GOOD references.

In the same building as Breath of Fresh Air Leslie.

Right next the Burke Gilman trail, which is miles and miles of gorgeous walking/bike path.

On the bus line.

SMIB

Abundance

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Don’t tell ME I’m not a problem solver.

I spent yesterday researching unemployment benefits and also talking to a wonderful woman on the phone. Yes, a person on the phone!  I didn’t know they existed any more.  But she did and she told me that I have the right to request that they use different quarters than 1-5.  That I can request 6-8.  I posted that on Facebook and someone I actually KNOW said “hey, they did that for me.  They based my benefits on quarter 7.  That’s how I was finally able to move.” I can’t find much online about it but a person at unemployment told me and a good friend who had that experience told me so it must be true.

They have to pay you a minimum of $133 no matter how little you made which means I qualify for that because all last year I was an hourly employee at the university even though I only worked about 5 hours per quarter. So I get the minimum.

Once that is enstated, I can appeal for the other quarter calculation and see what can be done.

I am going to the food bank today to check it out, see what’s shakin.

Keeping the good thing going, bringing the golden coins, let’s the keep the abundance increasing and increasing so I get the 7/8 quarters!

SMIB