Petunia rambles on and on….

Week One of unemployment and my accomplishments are slim, compared to my initial hopes.  Oh, I had great plans for all the things that I would get done when I FINALLY had the time.  It hasn’t worked out exactly that way!

Day one– Monday – I drove up to the head office of my FORMER employer, returning several large computer monitors.  Our folks liked the big screens (who doesn’t?) and my manager provided them in place of the ones already at our location.  I offered to bring them back, and did not like dealing with 4 lanes of northbound traffic, up near the airport. I had hoped that by about 9:30am, most everybody would have already gotten where they were going and would be off the road. Alas! I was wrong yet again.  Had an interesting conversation with my FORMER manager about a project to bring the company into compliance with ISO 9000 standards. They are not in compliance now, and no significant amount of policies and procedures are in place. This would be a major body of work to be done, per the internet research that I did about ISO standards and the certification/accreditation process. It would require the full cooperation of all employees, from the top down.  It would take months to get the paperwork done. There is no guarantee that the project would pass on its first inspection; multiple inspections may be needed. I have no background in this work, or Quality Assurance, and my knowledge is confined to what I read on the internet last week.

And then I remembered Joint Commission inspections for accredidation when I was still working in a hospital/medical setting. Where so much was at stake, and the whole place (and every other hospital/medical setting seeking accreditation, too) goes ballistic making sure that everything is “just so” knowing that they will check everything in every department, and be particularly thorough in several select departments – which ones this time?? – and no peri-pad will be left unturned.

Realized all that’s at stake.  A hospital that is not accredited through Joint Commission does not/can not receive Medicaid/Medicare reimbursements, a serious, if not fatal, financial blow. Companies that are not in compliance with ISO 9000 standards can not bid on/receive federal contracts.  This is a BIG DEAL.

Factor in that I already am developing a nervous tic. Multiply by the fact that my back is so bad I can no longer stand on my feet for more than 10-12 minutes. Remember that this project is expected to be completed in 6-10 weeks. Accredidation and certification NLT the end of the year.

The tic grows stronger.

Day two -  Tuesday – did get household chores done, much clearing away tossing out of junk that has accumulated. My shredder is going to charge me OT this week. Got reacquainted with the laundry equipment and I’m still in the throes of a love affair with the new dryer, which replaced the one that was exhausted and whimpering by any attempts to dry more than two loads per day. This one is the “spring chicken” of dryers, and quickly produces vast quantities of dry fabric. I practically feel like I should stand before it with my head bowed; I am in awe. It almost makes me want to wash clean stuff. Two days out of work and I’ve lost my mind already. Suitable dinner prepared and waiting for hard-working husband when he arrived home.

Day three– Wednesday – did little but sit and chill with husband. In honor of St Patrick’s Day, I put a corned beef into the crock pot. We went to Best Buy and got a little mousie for my old laptop that Pop is beginning to use.  He has just arrived here from the Stone Age, is still tentatively looking around at the technological progress we’ve made since fire was invented and not sure if he likes it here yet.  I got him a Gmail account. I signed him up for a Flickr account, not because he anticipates posting pictures. It’s so he can look at the pictures of the family, the grandchildren, without me always having to sign him onto my account. I think it’s too early to suggest Facebook!  Need to do some work on that old laptop to see if I can speed it up;  may need to go in and delete things no longer used, see if I can free up some space, may need to bake some lasagne and home-made bread, which is used as bait to lure in my Tech Support Person.  Also found at Best Buy a package containing both Seasons 3 and 4 of House at 1/3 off.  I know I have Season 1 here, not sure about Season 2, but was sure I didn’t have any more than that. Pop found a Denzel Washington war/soldiers movie, something about “Courage” after digging for 3 days in a Sale bucket – while it had a few violent bits that were far too much for my taste, I recognize that my taste is not what a real war is about, and the story line was very good. (I also didn’t do really well with the scenes that were about or taken from heliocopters, due to my paralysing fear of heights!)

Corned beef was delicious, and there’s enough left over for hash on Saturday night!

Day four – Thursday – I had put in an application with a local company, and had an interview with the supervisor of the department last week.  Next step in the process is a “Peer Interview” where I had to meet with several others who work in the same career field. At each step of the way, I learn more about the department, about the company, about the way they do things, and at each step, they learn more about me. I was asked to provide a list of references. In this economic climate of so many applicants searching and so few positions open, I’m trying not to get my hopes up. I’m trying to avoid that “kick in the gut” feeling overwhelming me if this doesn’t work out as I’d like it to.  I’m trying to separate Dreams from Reality. I’m looking at my phone, willing it to ring with good news, and feeling like a 13-year-old who anxiously waits for some dorky 7th grader to call.

After that meeting, I remembered to pick up the paperwork at my doctor’s office, lab slips and the forms to go get the annual mammogram and bone density test. Came home and scheduled the latter two tests; the soonest I can get in is 30 March.  I’ve put those last two off way too long and instead worked every hour that I could while it was available. Now it’s time to catch up on important stuff that’s been “on the back burner.”

Got home, feeling good about the day so far, which was also sunny and WARM!

After a quick lunch, Pop and I went to the golf course, the little Par 3 place just outside of town. He got a new set of clubs over the winter – tremendous sale! – and had yet to try them out. It’s damn hard to find golf balls in 25″ of snow, I’m told. This time, he got a large bucket of golf balls and we went out on the driving range. Had the place practically to ourselves – good thing as I need to be sitting down most of the time, the only place is on the ground, and the sight of an old woman getting up and down is not an exhibition of agility a pretty thing to watch.  (Small note to self: After 25″ of snow have melted and 8 days of straight rain have passed, sitting in the grass is not the best choice) Pop was trying to “get the feel of” the new set of clubs, and work a winter’s worth of kinks out of his back and shoulders. He laughed at his mistakes and felt good about the shots that went where he wanted them to go.

Day five – Friday – Forgot to take the lab slip and go get blood drawn first thing this morning; remembered it as I was pouring the 2nd cup of coffee, which postpones going in for “fasting” tests.  This is the reason that I got the slip so early. I still have 10 days before my doctor’s appointment, when he’ll be going over the results with me and also congratulating me on the fact that I am STILL not smoking – 3 years next week! I still have time to get to the lab, but can’t keep forgetting. Maybe I need to put a sign on the coffee pot – a big red STOP sign?

And no, I didn’t buy a Hybrid car.  And yes, I think they are a great idea. Less need of carbon-based fuels, less dependence on foreign oil, less purchases at the gas pump. Cleaner.  Oh, I agree with all that – what I didn’t agree with, the last time I bought a vehicle was the damn price of the Hybrid package.  It was about $9K more than what I paid, identical vehicle without the Hybrid package.  Hell, I could buy a lot of fuel for $9,000.

But no, that’s not the story today. Nothing to do with the ecology.   The corned beef is in the crock pot, simmering away and will make a tasty dinner.  I don’t cook one every year because I’m Irish (or married to someone who is) and I’m not a great fan of St. Patrick.  Or because I’m even that fond of corned beef and I hate cabbage. I’m doing it because in a few days the leftovers will become home-made corned beef hash and I LOVE corned beef hash.

I have gone to war with 2 successive husbands now over corned beef.  They both love the stuff, and pig out at the first serving.  This leaves me with less to wrap up, store and make into hash.  I’d actually be content if it never made it to the dinner table in the original form and went straight to HASH!  Damn, I finally had a good idea!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now it appears that I’ll have plenty of time to cook dinners and plenty of need to fully utililize any and all leftovers, as the axe did fall, my job site closed down and all the work has been sent to California, in an effort to consolidate and save money. While there will be savings, no doubt, there will be a hideous hit to the customer service that real people can provide and FUCKING MACHINES CAN NOT!!  But that’s just my opinion. Costs could have been greatly reduced by consolidating evening and night shifts, and keeping us open from, say, 7a to 6p, when 80% of the business of the outfit is conducted, and those folks would continue to get the efficient, knowledgeable service they were used to and depended on. By doing that, almost 50% of the annual cost could have been shaved from the bill, and impact and disruption to the customers would have been minimal.

But somebody high up was out to get a promotion and came up with this beauty of an idea. In an economy that is, at best, stagnant, and at worst or at least in some areas, going right down the hopper, several more jobs have been lost at the behest of the government – those very fellows who are touting how much they’re doing for our country.  How much they’re helping me, a former paying-my-way citizen of the United States.

Yesterday, I filed for Unemployment Compensation – I’ve been working for most of the time since I was 18. Did take a spell off when the children were small and I’m grateful for that. Have never collected a penny from Unemployment and never before been unemployed unless it was of my own choosing. In an economic climate where young people with advanced degrees can’t find jobs, blue collar workers are sidelined because of manufacturing/housing slow-downs, where’s a gray-hair old broad gonna go to find work?

Dismal outlook indeed, but husband is looking forward to more home-cooked meals, ones that have had time spent over them rather than something tossed together at the end of a busy day – I guess there is that side of it, too.

If a turtle doesn’t have a shell, is he homeless or naked?