Category: Why California Sucks

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The Rusty State…

Through all of this, The loss of my job, beginning a new job search, etc. I have come to realize that I am profoundly unhappy in California.

I can’t get past how expensive it to live here and how much further the available cash would go if I was somewhere else.

Had I put the house on the market just 4 years ago I could in theory be living in another state with better  job prospects, and a pretty decent cash reserve. Now if I were to sell the house I’d probably just break even.
Yes this is “coulda woulda shoulda” but I’ve been unhappy with California for at least 10 years. I’ve stayed because of my better half. I don’t regret that decision per se, I do see the toll it’s taken on me and the relationship.

I was trying to do the ‘ol plus / minus list

Reasons to Stay                                        Reasons to Leave
House                                                         Commute
Yard                                                           Job prospects dwindling
                                                                   Crowding
                                                                   Cost of living
                                                                   State on the edge of bankruptcy
                                                                   High Taxes
                                                                   Infrastructure degrading

I’ve been in California over 30 years. I’ve lived here in this town for 19 years.

You’d think I’d be more attached and that I’d have a lot of friends. I’m attached to my house and I have 4 friends. Not a lot to show for being somewhere for such a long time.

Why not a lot of friends? I spent most of the past 30 years one way or another on California Freeways cooped up in a little metal box making money for one set of bastards or another.

Even though I’m unemployed, pretty much no matter what position I take I will inevitably have to commute. At minimum that commute will be 70 miles one way. I don’t have it in me anymore. I can’t take the frustration and shitty driving anymore.

What do I want?

A place where if I want to I could ride a bicycle to work.
A place with a sense of community
I’d like some nice neighbors, and while I’d like to have a change of season, I’m not much for long cold Winters.

This is starting to sound a lot like a description of some of the smaller East coast towns.

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The EDD Saga…

I started writing this yesterday, but I was way too worked up to be able to complete it.

The State of California denied my claim for a 2 week period. They were apparently really pissed off that I didn’t mail my claim on time.

This is typical of how California works.

Since I’m part of the group that has been working, contributing, paying my outrageously high taxes, and the outrageous car licensing fees I’m penalized because…

I told the truth!

I misplaced the freaking form. 

The EDD never answers their 800 number so I couldn’t even report that I’d misplaced the form or ask for a new one.

In retrospect I should have LIED my ass off. But I’m not wired that way. I don’t think to lie first. Well I guess when dealing with the State I need to get into the habit!

OK fine… California is upset… I was a horrible, rotten, fuckwad and deserve to be punished. And they want their pound of flesh. Whatever…

The real problem is this.

Their letter is ambiguous. It tells me I have the right to appeal their denial. OK! Whatever you mother fucking EDD assholes say!

But due to it’s ambiguity the letter could be interpreted to mean that now all future claims will be denied too.

UHHHH WHAT????!

Now I’m freaking out and PISSED off as all HELL!

See, I have a real problem with “official” documents that are ambiguous. I feel that any documentation should be simple and to the point. The reader should never have to wonder what was meant, what was intended, or if the information applies to them.

The fact that the EDD letter was subject to interpretation left me frustrated.

Am I screwed completely or just a little? What should I do now? How do I resolve this?

Add the fact you can’t get these assholes to answer their phones and… well the walls close in!

Suddenly I felt completely overwhelmed and that I had no recourse or clear instructions to follow. That leads to a deep anger that my brother and I call berserker rage.

This “berserker” probably worked very well in battles of old. It must have worked great when disputes were settled by the swing of a broadsword or a battle ax. Even as the weapons changed it still helped, it gives us unbelievable focus in a fight.

The kind of focus I’m talking about is physical in nature. It’s hunter / predatory  mostly visual and eye hand coordination.

The few physical altercations I’ve been in during my life I didn’t start… I can say with certainty that the    berserker element of my personality finished them. I was the one standing when it was over and people were usually more than a bit shocked at the outcome.

In this bureaucratic world there is no clear enemy. Without a target, the berserker is not particularly useful. In a world of bureaucrats, paper, rules, “not my job” attitudes, where with a keystroke your life can suddenly be made miserable, there is little use for the berserker.

Now, a survival adaptation thats served well for centuries has become a liability. Without a target, the rage that fuels a berserker has no place to go. With no outlet, the rage turns inward and prevents you from thinking calmly and rationally.

It’s a problem that I’m working on. I don’t want to lose the berserker, I just need to keep it reined in when dealing with bureaucrats.

Yesterday, I dropped the reins. As I’m pacing and yelling,

In steps my better half… Quoting Arthur Dent, “I’m English… I know how to queue.” (I was so proud…)

I responded… “I’m German… we invade and impose order.”

6 or 7 phone calls later…. all of them to local field offices instead of the useless 800 number California prints on all their documentation, and we have an answer.

My better half had to tease little bits of information out of these offices. Nothing useful was volunteered and it really was a matter of asking the right questions.

It turns out, I’m only losing the payment for the period in question. I’m supposed to be receiving some additional claim forms which should catch me up.

Why couldn’t that have been clearly written in their letter? Better yet how about including the forms WITH the letter? Then even though the letter itself was ambiguous I’d have been able to figure out what they meant.

During the phone calls we discovered that there are other options to report continued claims. Really?

Apparently, one can phone a claim in, or even use the internet. Both bits of information might have been nice to have. It would have prevented my ever ending up in this position in the first place.

It turns out the EDD website operates differently if you access it using a Mac vs. Windows. The difference is subtle and deadly.

If you use Windows, menu items are visible that are not visible when using a Mac. These menus link you to things like how to set up phone continued claims, how to set up internet continued claims, make information requests, you know… Minor details!

So the major crisis is, for the moment put to bed. The adrenaline rush from being so pissed off and a small sinus problem left me exhausted.

As I was intermittently napping on the couch I was thinking about how California Unemployment Insurance treats the folks that are collecting like we’re on the clock or something.

Folks… IT’S INSURANCE!

That means I’m making a claim, if the claim is valid (i.e. I’m unemployed) then pay me the money I’m due just like any other insurance policy. I don’t see why California sees fit to punish what are effectively it’s customers.

What I can say is this…

I’m angry. I plan to take my FULL measure of payments and benefits out of California and when I’m done I’ll decide my next move.

I’m thinking it’s time to find a new place to live, a new career, and take my earning potential somewhere else.

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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.

“During the interview you may be asked some or all of the following questions: 

Not mailing you claim form within the required time limits.    

     When did you mail your claim form?    

     Why did you send it in after the return date shown on the form?“

 
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.