...Job update...

Well, I'm sorry to say that nothing has really changed. Literally.

**I don't have a job.
**My work-at-home job contact is still sequestered overseas.
**Mr. Squirrel doesn't have a job.
**I've still not seen a penny of my unemployment benefits.

As glum as that sounds, there are a few foundational things that have not changed, but I am hoping WILL change...

I have made an appointment to get into another "unemployment workshop" through the local Job Service. [The workshop should be next Wednesday if the schedules haven't changed.] This "workshop" isn't really a workshop. It is a scheduled "phone appointment". Because of the overwhelming number of unemployed people clamoring to talk to these people, the phone lines are always busy and it takes forever to get responses to emails or snail-mail. This is the ONLY guaranteed way to talk to a human being. So, I'll play their game.

Basically, I have to get the ball rolling again because it seems to have come to a complete stop. I need to find out what more needs to be done to release my unemployment checks. I've already sent them the WorkComp documentation that I have (they signed as received on April 7th) and I still don't understand why or where things are hanging up.

The answer to this question will directly affect my second question: School. Because of Unemployment Handbook regulations, some schooling will disqualify me from benefits. Not only that, some schooling will require you to continue to look for full-time work WHILE you are going to school. I have to learn from them what schooling is or isn't qualifying before I can proceed with any confidence.

Side note: Earlier this week, I contacted Mr. & Mrs. Neighbor's daughter to talk about the fields of Medical Transcription /Billing /Coding. It was an excellent contact and I she gave me A LOT to think about - thus the new research on schooling. [She also very graciously offered to be available for any other questions I might have... as well as encouraging me to keep her informed on the choices I eventually make. Such a very compassionate lady!]

So, the second question will automatically swing around to the first question: If my eligibility is still "pending" am I pretty much out-of-luck as far as making any forward progress? Will I have to get a full time job BEFORE I can get the schooling FOR the full time job? In which case, I would be disqualified for the unemployment benefits in the first place because I would have a full time job.

The hoops you have to jump through are CRAZY.

Many thanks for continued prayers in this situation. Hopefully, someday soon, this blog will show some happy news and revert back to the purpose for which I had hoped: To be a fun place to chat about fun stuff.

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God bless & Godspeed.

...completely from left field...

You know? I really hate it when God allows my friends to show me just how lost they are.

It makes me angry to see them not only advocating but demanding the legislation of evil and all things that are against God's teachings.

It's like God saying: Don't touch the hot stove. I love you and I don't want you to get hurt. And my friends are turning it into: Everyone must touch the hot stove in order to be unified in their pain and entitled to get free health care. Then turning around and blaming someone else for their burns and the need for care because they don't believe in responsibility or accountability.

I just cannot wrap my head around how they think.

... however Scripture tells me that this shouldn't surprise me. The Fallen Nature is what it is and it is in constant antagonism with God. [heavy sigh] ...and it makes it VERY difficult to pray for them... when all I want to do is let them have exactly what they are asking for.

God forgive me... and may God protect His children from themselves as well as others.

A divine appointment?

Yesterday was an interesting day that may have potentially opened up future job opportunities for both of us.

A neighbor and his wife who live up the road from us are trying to sell thier home. They kindly asked if they could use the edge of our property to display a professional sign with their phone number on it. Our property adjoins the highway and thiers is closer to the river - far from the highway or regular traffic. We had no problem with it and yesterday helped them put up their banner between two of our trees. [Going to church this morning, we drove by it. It looks great!]

While the two wives and two husbands were coordinating to get the sign up, discussions happened that have that "divine appointment" stamp all over them.

Because of the discovery of a shared 'history' with the Air Force, Mr. Squirrel now has another place to go to look for work (associated with airplanes). Mr. Neighbor (who is now a pilot for a small, private company) said that Mr. Squirrel could use him for a job reference at the company who services his plane. There were no promises as to what work might be available at this time, but it would be a tag on the wall should something there open up. [Because of Mr. Squirrel's trucking experience and certifications, he could easily drive the tanker trucks... among other jobs.]

Mine was even more exiting! Just last week, I started researching the possibility of perhaps getting training for work in the medical billing or transcription type fields as these are also 'work from home' jobs in many cases (depending on who you are working for, of course). A couple of weeks ago, I was given a page out of a magazine with an ad for medical billing jobs.

The daughter of Mr. & Mrs Neighbor had just a year ago opened her own business in... guess what... medical transcription.

Because of my research, I have a number for an accredited correspondence school that has classes in certification for such jobs (as well as many others). Mrs. Neighbor gladly exchanged phone & cell numbers with me (and she also graciously took a copy of my resume) to give to their daughter.

Not only is this a potential for future employment, but there was an offer of equal or greater value - Mrs. Neighbor's daughter is a person who can answer questions about everything from qualifications, training, etc. to job market pluses and pitfalls and companies who hire.

Although this isn't the direction I was originally heading, it could be a very good direction for me to continue researching. Especially since the other work from home job still has my contact in another country with no scope on a return date. [Even HIS boss is getting a little angry that he has not been allowed to return, yet.] Time will tell, I guess.

Happily enough, the two jobs could be compatible. I've never held down two paying jobs at the same time before, but working out of the same office (i.e. home)... Well, it could be an interesting new career.

I'll have to keep you posted.
Many thanks for continued prayers!
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God bless & Godspeed

Prayers for endurance & peace...

Where to begin? These are the times when I'm reminded of scriptures that describe the Holy Spirit praying for us when we are unable to even form the words. Pity I can't remember enough to reference any. [I'll add the scripture(s) in this bracket later if I can find it.]

I confess we are in the same boat we've been in, but with less money as those bills just keep on coming and they must be paid. I know that God is in control and that all of this is somehow part of His plan, but it is really wearing on me. This particular faith-stretching exercise is a grueling one. I find myself dipping into lows of spirit that are getting harder and harder to come out of, and I know "this isn't me". I don't act this way... yet I find myself here. [I've even begun digging into my Cognitive Behavioral Therapy notes and books in hopes of sorting out my brain... but that could be a post all its own... and may be before all is said and done.]

It would be easier to endure if my unemployment checks were not still being held up by the WorkComp thing. I finally got fed up with it so that last week I sent a signed-certified-return-receipt letter to them with a copy of the letter I received from WorkComp stating that the claim was denied. I sent it on the 6th. They received it on the 7th. I received the return receipt by the 9th. They have the documentation now, but as of this week they have apparently not processed it. It's my plan to wait for my next bi-weekly claim before making an appointment to talk to someone in person. Perhaps before then, I'll see a check... or 6... as that is how many they've held.

Work/income continues to be elusive for both Mr. Squirrel and me.

For my part, the job opportunity with the sister-company where I used to work at finally fell completely apart. It seems they worked very hard to get another application in (including increasing the wage offer) so they didn't have to hire me. And it is amazingly difficult to prove discrimination in the hiring process, as they don't have to tell you why they "didn't" hire you. I just know from the friends who encouraged me to apply... they know the atmosphere of their workplace and the changes (or not) that they can see.

[An amusing addition to this story is that another position came open in the neighboring department that was forcing me to move my work area around so much last year. I almost laughed out loud. Yeah, right. Why would I want to work in the same air-space as the person who gave me so many migraines in 2009? Wouldn't that be sadistic... or suicidal? No, thank you!]

My other job opportunity, for working at home, is still in limbo somewhere. At this point I don't know if anything has been done with my resume at all. I doubt that any security check has happened (i.e. tack on 2-weeks of additional delay whenever something DOES happen) and I'm more doubtful that the "other agencies" for whom I was requested permission for submission ever happened either. It's getting very frustrating trying to get any information... and then just waiting... and waiting.

The only good news that I got back this past week was akin to "he's still alive." Yes, good news indeed, and an answer to prayer. However, the bugaboo lies in that I still have to keep looking for work in order to get the unemployment (that I'm not getting). By the rules, I can only use a repeat job contact once every two weeks. That means that every other week I have to introduce a new job opportunity to the mix. I have so much fear and paranoia about the types of places I can work and the perfumes that might abound in them. Would I be confined to exposure? Would I be able to escape?

I'm trying very hard to recognize that since I got laid-off, my migraine symptoms have decreased dramatically (unless I get into situations I can't avoid like family gatherings where the people who "know better"... don't care). As such, my layoff really has been a blessing, and the events above help me to believe that God didn't want me to go back. It is my hope that in reducing my exposure, I perhaps might be able to build back some measure of resistance. It's not there yet, but I'm hoping it will come back.

Did that all sound like mud? It sure did to me. Venting on paper (or blog) I guess this must be, although it's much nicer than the wording I have in my personal journal. I guess the CBT that I've been working through has helped somewhat. Some of that energy I was investing in anger and frustration has been decreased, though it is still something to be dealt with.

Yeah... perhaps a blog post about some CBT techniques might be useful to a reader somewhere... including me.

Thanks very much for listening to me blather on. Any prayers would be gratefully accepted.
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God bless & Godspeed

20-degree mornings and a little depression...

... both just make me want to find someplace warm. Cuddling up with warm towels fresh from the dryer is a guilty pleasure of mine, but it doesn't make for a nice photo. However, there are other heat sources that can bring a cozy feeling in the heart and soul. This is a picture I took with the new camera's zoom-lens of a burn pile that we cleaned up a couple of weeks ago. That morning was a frosty one and the warm of it felt soooooooooo good ;)

It just cries out for marshmallows... doesn't it?

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