04/10/2009 Fri

I was exhausted yesterday since it has been such a busy week. I was up late Monday with the Carolina game and win. Tuesday, I visited church-related people who were in the hospital. There were 4 people on the list to visit but they were in 3 different places. It took 4 1/2 hours. On Wednesdy, I went to exercise at 9, then "Career Connection" (really great presentations for tips and traps to finding jobs when you are unemployed), then the dentist for a cap, then ordered "business" cards that just gave my name, address, phone #s, and email address, then back to church for dinner, then to Costco. We did go to church Thursday night for the Maundy Thursday service. They had communion and stripped the altar at the end. It was a very moving and solemn service. The best thing came out of the Career Connection meeting this week. I had said I wasn't going since I had a dentist appointment and Don insisted I go even though I had to arrive late from the exercise session. It was about interviewing skills and a guy from Dale Carnegie gave the presentation. A guy I was next to wanted to pair with me for mock interview session and I conducted the interview with him using the recommended technique from the presentation. It turns out the guy just got a job as a RECRUITER for GMAC which is coming to Charlotte soon. I like that now. It turned out the two of us had in common that we love animals (he got a puppy for Christmas whom he just adores) and the trainer at the Y that I go to is also his trainer. And he knows the guy who runs the company that the trainers work for. I could not believe I got that much information out of a total stranger and that we share such common interests. He's going to get a copy of my resume, believe me.

Yesterday, Bertha came and we cleaned for about 2 and a half hours (not counting the 2 I did before she came). I was worn out by the time Don picked me up and then I went to the YW and did the treadmill for 30 minutes. I could hardly walk by evening time. I came home from the Y and took a nap only to be awakened by a call from the ESC. I can't believe someone actually called me. You can't get an appointment there with a human so I had emailed them my concern over the length of time they have had my application with no action taken. Anyway, here is the story:

ESC finally called and the person has finally gotten my app for unemployment moving, at least it appears so. She said to give it 3 more weeks as she is sending it to a true decision maker. At last. Even if denied, she STRONGLY urges me to appeal. But it hasn't been denied or approved yet so I am hoping for approval. This has been a long haul and I guess the number of unemployed contributed to that wait. But I am content now that action is coming very soon - she said maybe even in 2 weeks but for me to consider 3 weeks just in case it is slower than that. At this stage, I could probably hold my breath that long. It has already been 9 weeks since I first requested consideration. I figured my old employer had protested my having approval but the lady at ESC said she wasn't going to ask them. She was going to leave it entirely to the ESC. She seemed human and sympathetic so it was nice to have someone with humanity to talk with about the situation. I told her in brief everything I could recall about the whole ordeal and she said it is not the first time she has heard the same basic story.

I was excited to get this moving yesterday and I am hopefully going to have a pretty free day today. We have another church service tonight and one of my old friends from work may come and go to lunch with me if her workday allows. That is a fun thing to do so I do look forward to it. But I will need to try and get presentable for the occasion and with this hair situation, that is quite a trick. Still have more than a week to go before seeing the dermatologist. I called the brain surgeon's office manager and asked for a few business cards as I need all my doctors communicating with this surgeon. I don't want to put anything on my head or in my mouth that will do more harm than good. Business Cards are the way to go with such needs, I have discovered. That way, they know as much as I do about how to get through to talk with the doctor and doctor- to- doctor talks are easier to achieve than me getting to him.

I got up this morning bright and early and finally found a second job to apply for this week. It had been posted a mere 7 hours earlier than I applied so if "the early bird catches the worm", I should be "in like flynn". I looked and looked off and on all day yesterday with no result. It really does get harder and harder to find a job to ask about. Many of them are temporary positions nowadays and in a year, I'd be in the same boat as now and some of them are phishing expeditions for insurance sales "opportunities" or employment agencies trying to get you to pay them to find you a job. I have even had calls saying they have set up an interview time with me WITHOUT ASKING ME FIRST. So, needless to say, none of these interviews were on my calendar and usually there is a conflict. I don't like these tactics at all and I don't trust those who engage in them.