When it just keeps getting worse, who you gonna call? Ghost Busters!

It is Halloween time, everyone has  their pumpkins on their front stoops, festive orange lights around trees, and corn stocks around the lamp posts.  Pretty soon the ghosts and goblins will be arriving at my door asking for their treats. Witches Brews will be simmering, although I think the aliens are at my door already!

I have been having interviews with multiple companies over the past several weeks, some further along in the process than others, yet all of them require moving out of Indiana.  Moving is not a problem for me, I am looking forward to moving to a new location and starting a new chapter in my life, a new adventure!  In the process of going through my stuff to weed out the junk that doesn't need to move with me, I am stirring up memories that are overwhelming me.  You see I am in the middle of my second divorce, yikes say WHAT?????

Yesterday I found my wedding and honeymoon files which brought back very fond memories.  We rented out the Publick House in Sturbridge, MA for the wedding. We had the place packed with family and friends.  So what do I do with the stuff I keep asking myself? Keep it or toss it?  Even though the marriage is failing, the wedding memories are still good right?  Darn it those Phantom ghosts and Evil B*tches from the past.  What about the mementos from the Mediterranean cruise we took for our honeymoon?  All the ticket stubs that I was going to put into a scrap book, do I keep them or toss them? So many questions and so many haunting, fun and adventurous memories. What to do, what to do?

So you can see my Conundrum.  One side of me is in melancholy, the other side is excited for the new adventure.  Speaking of which, I finally received my first unemployment check, er deposit, debit card, whatever they are calling it now.  What an adventure that turned out to be.  I really feel for the folks who are not as fortunate as I am who really depend on that money to keep their families safe and fed.  While the government Vampires may think they are doing people a favor by only using these debit cards, it makes it very difficult and challenging to get the money in the appropriate place without any extra fees that only dwindle the amount that you actually receive.

While I may have  poked fun at being required to attend an orientation session at the WorkOne office is Fishers, I have met some lovely people there.  One woman that I met and I meet weekly to discuss our progress in the job  hunt, discuss the barriers, and Zombies we have come across in our travels.  It is welcoming to be able to vent and share without prejudice. 

You may have noticed the bold, italicized and underlined words in the post today.  They are all Halloween wines.  I recommend going out and trying some different brews; and hang on to the bottles, they make great conversation pieces.  I will never forget when my husband bought me the Evil and B*tch wines and put them side by side.  Hmm......wonder if that is why I am getting divorced.   Happy Halloween!!

We are off to see the Wizard

As I discussed last week, I was required to attend a session at the unemployment office.  Well, last Tuesday was the day and it was, lets just say it was interesting. I felt like I had been picked up by a tornado and dropped in Oz!  This whole process of searching for my last best job has been like traveling down the yellow brick road.   Where will this search take me? How many cowardly lions and witches do I have to run into before I get back to Kansas?

I arrived at the WorkOne office promptly at 9 am as instructed and took a seat. The Wizard was at her desk trying to get the computer to boot up.   I was given a form to fill out that was quite lengthy and  I questioned some of the questions, such as who my next of kin was.  Why would the unemployment office care?  If I died tomorrow my benefits stop immediately.  I also noticed the Munchins all around me.

I kept answering the questions and when it came to "What was your hourly wage at your last job?" I kind of got stuck because I didn't know where this form was going and I had already provided all of this information when I filed for benefits.  I asked the Wizard in charge why they needed it and she said it was to match us to open positions that they had.  I chuckled, as I have conducted job searches on the WorkOne website and I get ZERO matches.  Apparently Supply Chain and Purchasing are not jobs that they are familiar with.  

But maybe the Wizard can help!  I asked her if they would make me take a job at McDonald's or some such other place. She said no, they can't make you work, but you have to show you are looking.  Looking I am doing, but thank god. Can you see me working at McDonald's?  Picture this scenario:

- Woman walks into McDonald's and stands in front of me at the counter contemplating the vast and diverse menu, and stares, and stares, and does not order, continuing to try to figure out what to order.

- Type A Linda the new cashier , McDonald's newest counter person patiently waits for 5 seconds then shouts "it is fast food for crying out loud, that means you have to order it fast. How difficult can this be?"  I yell as the manager escorts me out the door.  

Yes, good thing they won't make me work at McDonald s.  

Onto the session.  I had a cynical view when I came in, I was not sure what to expect; I was not  hopeful that I would gain anything useful out of being here for three hours.  When the session started the Wizard introduced herself and said we would get a chance to introduce ourselves later on. First she wanted to go through a PowerPoint presentation, which included how to use the internet, how the work force has changed since the 1980's (that was useful).  Very condescending almost, is how I felt.  I was thinking "can I get up and leave, I felt this was for  people who had no clue?"  I did sit right next to the door and I swore if they discussed knife skills, that was it, I was out the door.

But, I stayed, what else did I have to do?  As the morning went on we finally got to introduce ourselves.  Linda, our Wizard started out asking for volunteers.  As I listened to the introductions I thought that this is the place for most of these folks, they need the help.  When it came to me I toned down my introduction and focused more on how I could help some of the folks in the room.  One woman was laid off from Molly Maids and wanted to start her own cleaning business. I told her I would hook her up with my sister who started her own cleaning  business. One woman was a program manager and felt her scope of looking was limited as she had worked at Raytheon. I told her not to feel that way, her PMO skills were transferable to any industry and I had some contacts for her.  At that point the Wizard told me it was not networking time and basically stop talking!  I was deflated..................

In the networking session I connected with the two ladies again and discussed my womens'  networking and mentoring group and getting connected and helping them out.  I guess it wasn't such a bad idea to go to this session as I was able to  help some folks out in their job search.  I didn't sign up for the "counseling sessions" as I didn't feel that they would have much to offer me as I am working with multiple recruiters at this time. Besides, this would free up time for other more needy folks.

We got a tour of the facility by the Wizard, quite entertaining to hear about the copiers and free wi-fi for use!  I know, I am being cynical but I guess I need to put myself in someone else's shoes.  I am very fortunate to have what I have.  Actually, I am not fortunate, I worked very hard for what I have and I am proud of my accomplishments.  Everything that I have I have earned with hard work and saving. It has nothing to do with being fortunate.  How can we get that into people's heads?  That is all it takes, hard work and some sweat equity and yes you can have things.

I am not one for handouts and taking unemployment  is hard for me, but why shouldn't I? In my 30 plus years of working I have never had to take unemployment.  Some would say I was lucky, I would say I worked hard and my employers knew it.

 

When we were finally done just after noon all I wanted to do was click my ruby red shoes and head back to Kansas!  But instead I snuck around the corner and climbed into my Mercedes and drove home.