More about the job thing...
I haven't talked much about the job (or rather the lack of one) situation here because it's one those things that I didn't really want to share. To me, there were so many people who were worse off than I was, and I didn't want to come off as being whiny about something so simple.
Granted, it wasn't as easy as I just said it was. But when I struggle, I don't feel comfortable laying my struggles out there for the the whole world to see.
And for the last month and a half I've been working, without pay, at the welfare office. It's one of those "work for your benefits, to keep you honest" sort of things. It was clerical work, nothing too difficult, really. Push these papers around, file these papers over there, answer the phones, and so on. It gave me a lot of perspective on my situation, to see people who were in far worse shape coming in to the office for them redetermination meetings and the like. Or to field calls from seniors who were practically in tears because they couldn't get their various pills (painkillers, cancer meds, heart pills, and so on) because the government's answer to informing of them of the new Medicare prescription coverage was to mail them a 70 page book explaining the program, and directing their questions to the www.medicare.gov website. Yes, they were expecting people who are over 65 and on fixed incomes to not only get on the internet to get their questions answered, but to have a computer and the money for internet access. Instead, most of these seniors didn't look at the book, didn't know to go on to the internet, and if they called the 1-800-MEDICARE number, they were being told they'd be enrolled automatically, but were not. So they end up with no coverage at the beginning of January. Some pharmacies agreed to eat the costs of the pills for those accidently left uncovered, and now they're struggling because of it. Some states agreed to pick up the costs for Medicaid-eligible seniors, even though the states have been struggling to meet their budgets. And now, because some of the insurers paid out more than they were expecting to in January, they're cutting back on what pills they're going to cover under this plan.
So, yes, I've been out of work, but I didn't want sympathy, and I wanted to be able to get this worked out on my own, so I didn't say much about it here. But I'm more than happy to share the good of getting the new job. I like to share good news. And I got experiences out of this that I won't soon forget. The kind words and praise that the case workers from the unit I worked with at the welfare office when they were informed this morning was gratifying. They were very complementary of my work ethic, which I worry is never as good as it could be, but is apparently stellar compared with most people. It's never really struck me that this is the reality, even though I've been told this many times in the past.
So, anyhow, to wrap this up, this morning was yet another surreal experience for me. I was being praised for a work ethic that I don't think is all that great, but is one of the best out there. And I'm not sure whether this is a good or bad thing. Is my work ethic that good, or are the work ethics of others that bad?
Granted, it wasn't as easy as I just said it was. But when I struggle, I don't feel comfortable laying my struggles out there for the the whole world to see.
And for the last month and a half I've been working, without pay, at the welfare office. It's one of those "work for your benefits, to keep you honest" sort of things. It was clerical work, nothing too difficult, really. Push these papers around, file these papers over there, answer the phones, and so on. It gave me a lot of perspective on my situation, to see people who were in far worse shape coming in to the office for them redetermination meetings and the like. Or to field calls from seniors who were practically in tears because they couldn't get their various pills (painkillers, cancer meds, heart pills, and so on) because the government's answer to informing of them of the new Medicare prescription coverage was to mail them a 70 page book explaining the program, and directing their questions to the www.medicare.gov website. Yes, they were expecting people who are over 65 and on fixed incomes to not only get on the internet to get their questions answered, but to have a computer and the money for internet access. Instead, most of these seniors didn't look at the book, didn't know to go on to the internet, and if they called the 1-800-MEDICARE number, they were being told they'd be enrolled automatically, but were not. So they end up with no coverage at the beginning of January. Some pharmacies agreed to eat the costs of the pills for those accidently left uncovered, and now they're struggling because of it. Some states agreed to pick up the costs for Medicaid-eligible seniors, even though the states have been struggling to meet their budgets. And now, because some of the insurers paid out more than they were expecting to in January, they're cutting back on what pills they're going to cover under this plan.
So, yes, I've been out of work, but I didn't want sympathy, and I wanted to be able to get this worked out on my own, so I didn't say much about it here. But I'm more than happy to share the good of getting the new job. I like to share good news. And I got experiences out of this that I won't soon forget. The kind words and praise that the case workers from the unit I worked with at the welfare office when they were informed this morning was gratifying. They were very complementary of my work ethic, which I worry is never as good as it could be, but is apparently stellar compared with most people. It's never really struck me that this is the reality, even though I've been told this many times in the past.
So, anyhow, to wrap this up, this morning was yet another surreal experience for me. I was being praised for a work ethic that I don't think is all that great, but is one of the best out there. And I'm not sure whether this is a good or bad thing. Is my work ethic that good, or are the work ethics of others that bad?