From the “You have to be Fucking Kidding me” pile

I was a BAAADDDD BOY!

 

Or so the California Employment Development Department thinks.

 

A couple of weeks ago I misplaced the form you’re supposed to fill out and mail to them so that you can claim your unemployment payment.

 

I lost my mind trying to find that damn piece of paper, praying that I hadn’t shredded it by accident and knowing that I couldn’t reach EDD by telephone to ask for a replacement. I was debating if I should go on the EDD web site and try to reopen my claim.

 

When I did find the form, I immediately filled it out and mailed it with great relief.

 

Today I get a form letter from EDD that says the want to have a phone interview between 1pm  and 3pm.

 

OH SO NOW WE CAN TALK ON THE PHONE?

 

This letter is dated 9/8/2011 and probably didn’t go out until 9/9/2011 & I received it Today… the date of their desired conversation. 

 

They’re very official and apparently concerned about my tardiness.

 

They printed interview instructions on the back of the letter…

And here is where I’m such a BAAAADDDD Boy! I’m as much annoyed by the poor use of English as I am by the silliness of this whole thing.

 

WTF?

 

The form always says it is to be mailed on SUNDAY. Really? Since the US mail doesn’t run on Sunday, the form is ALWAYS mailed after the date specified.

 

As to when I mailed it… well that may be legitimate as a quality control measure to make sure that they’re not losing mail in their mail room.

 

My points are these… 

 

I know I can’t get EDD to answer their fucking phones. 

 

There is little one can do to communicate with them except by going to one of their offices and spending all day waiting to speak to a representative, who probably can’t or won’t answer your questions.

 

I have yet to find any information about what one should do if you’re out of the state for more than two weeks, for example if you were driving to Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Minnesota, and Texas to attend a number of interviews in those states.

This scenario is quite possible since High Technology companies and workers are LEAVING California as fast as they can. As one of those workers, I have to follow the employers.

 

This doesn’t even begin to address what one should do regarding any specialized training. For example, I’d like to attend a SCUBA school in Ft Lauderdale, FL. The School is 2 months or more long, how the hell do I file unemployment forms from there?

 

EDD claims that their electronic payment system is more efficient and cheaper to implement, BUT they are still dependent on the unemployed person physically being at home to file a claim and they’re still sending little pieces of paper.

 

As usual, California is attempting to SCREW the citizens that have paid for the services. Meanwhile giving free and easy access to those same services to people who have contributed little or nothing to the system.

 

And the games that they play increase defaults and foreclosures instead of helping Californias stumbling economy.

 

This is why FOR years I have wanted to get the fuck out of this state. I’ve stayed out of respect and love for my better half. But it’s coming down to a decision between my personal survival and the relationship.

 

You know what?

 

I’ll choose my personal survival, EVERY FUCKING TIME.

 

In most relationships the individuals survival is not at odds with the continuance of the relationship. Since apparently I do have that conflict… perhaps there’s a message there.