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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.
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Ahhh The first creative day I’ve had in weeks

Finally getting back to writing. Guess I’m feeling a little nasty minded.

After a many many week hiatus I’m working on the book again.
At the same time, I’ve got a bunch of other ideas that I’m just writing the snippets of and storing away.  
The story that I’m working on actually has a couple of possible threads that could be followed up. I’m hoping to finish the first book, see how that goes then decide if the follow ups are worth it.
So I’m feeling pretty good and for the first time in at least a month or so I’ve been so focused on writing that time stopped for me. 
The last time I looked at the clock it was noon, now it’s 3 and I’m pleased.
I suppose a lot of it has to do with my letting go of the crap surrounding the company and all that chaos. I do still need to finish writing my thoughts for the attorney to evaluate just in case I’ve been told something incorrect that impacts me later on.
For the mean time, I’m relaxed and writing again and I fee very good about that.
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Notably absent from the media…

I have noted that the gay men and women that lost their lives, or were first responders on 9/11 have been glaringly under-represented in the national media. In many cases their names haven’t even been mentioned.

This article is a good reminder that Gay folks are / have / will be at every event in human history. Regardless of what the religious zealots would have you believe.

Here is a page that lists those men & women. Some were heros, some were victims, ALL were loved.

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I imagine a lot of people are blogging about 9/11

I’ve been thinking about this a lot.

10 years ago today I flipped on the TV for some background noise as I prepared to begin a job search, as CNNs image resolved I, like many Americans couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My mind simply refused to accept what my eyes were telling me.

Suddenly I was on my knees, peering into the glowing phosphors hoping it was a terrible accident but knowing in my heart it was an attack… and that our lives were irrevocably changed.

Over the years my thoughts and opinions have changed. However there are a few things that remain constant.

I’m very conflicted, and I’m still just as angry today as I was then.

My Duty as an American is that I must protect the rights of everyone even those that I absolutely disagree with, although today I’ve narrowed that view to Americans. Naturalized or born here, it doesn’t matter. Anyone that has chosen to be an American is automatically part of that duty. Anyone else… well frankly their rights are only those protected under international law.

I’m conflicted because there are many people who are Americans and who obviously hate this country, their  loyalties in fact lie solely with their countries of origin. How does my duty apply in those situations?

Duty… once so clear, is now confused and muddled.

Rules once so easy to follow and understand are now intermittently visible at best.

Our lives changed, there is no doubt about that.

It’s not just the TSA, or the Patriot act… everything is subtly influenced.

Americans as a group are much more suspicious of everyone. I’m never in public anymore where I’m not paying attention to crowds & the people around me. There are friends that would say I’m being paranoid. I disagree.

There are places in the world where bombings in public markets are commonplace. It hasn’t happened in this country but it could and I personally believe it will.

What was once unthinkable here in the United States is now within the realm of possibility.

We as a people had our innocence taken from us, It can never be regained.

I can’t forgive the countries or the people that harbor these terrorist animals, any more than I can forgive the terrorists themselves.

As I’ve watched the ceremony in New York I’ve been feeling the same things I felt 10 years ago. Rage, sadness, and … fear.

My brother lived in NY and was involved in law enforcement. For many hours I couldn’t reach him , or his wife. I have never been more grateful for any message than I was for the simple text message “We are OK”.

There are so many who received a very different message. My heart goes out to them… there is nothing that can be said to assuage their pain and loss.

Even though a decade has passed somehow the wound is as fresh today as it was then. This begs the question…

How do we move forward?

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OOoops I shouldn’t have plugged in that curling Iron

San Diego is without power. As is a large portion of Southern Orange County and Arizona.

I had no idea there was anything going on until I got home.

It’s been very strange seeing aerial images of southern orange county tonight, where the 5 South looks like a white snake undulating in a field of black.

Normally there is so much light you have a tough time picking out the freeway.

I was thinking that tonight there would be kids that can see the milky way for the very first time. I hope parents think about it.

Laying on the lawn looking up at the stars… I have very fond memories of TN and KY summer nights. I think I was in TN the first time I saw with my own eyes our galaxy. My Dad lived far enough out that light pollution wasn’t an issue. It was magical and mind boggling beauty.

I have to say I’m astonished at how freaked out people in Southern California are at the power outage. Wow! take away their electricity and these folks loose their damn minds. There are reports of generators being sold out at home depot. Excuse me??? You’re kidding right? Power goes out for several hours and you run out to spend 600-900 dollars for a machine that you’re likely to need ONCE in 6 – 10 years, Really?

Of course I’m thinking that in a few weeks I can pick up a sweet unit cheap! We’re without power at least once or twice a winter… It would be nice to be able to power up the heating system instead of relying on the fireplace.

These people are really over-reacting and it’s probably a view into what’s going to happen in the event of a major disaster or if the infrastructure gets compromised. Another few hours and folks will resort to cannibalism!

Folks, relax, take a deep breath, the magic power will be back soon, and all will be well.