When I was a kid, my siblings and I had three distinct wardrobes: church clothes, school clothes and play clothes. When we came home from school or church, we were instructed immediately to change into our play clothes. Those were the stained and/or torn clothes that might also be a little too small. Playing in our good clothes soon turned them into play clothes.
I still have play clothes. They are still the stained and/or torn clothes that are sometimes a little too small. However, they are perfect for gardening, house cleaning, and generally hanging around the house. I have lots of play clothes because after a while things just wear out or I spill something. Wearning my play clothes means my other casual clothes stay stain-free and tear-free longer. When they get really bad, I cut them up into rags and use them for dusting, cleaning and polishing. I have a very large basket of rags.
When I was working, I'd come home at the end of the day and change into my play clothes before cooking dinner or even just relaxing. Many evenings I had a meeting, so when I came home I skipped the play clothes and just went to bed. Since I didn't wear them a lot (a few evenings a week; one day, maybe two on weekends) they didn't wear out very fast.
Now I spend most of my time in my play clothes and I'm getting sick of them. And they're still not wearing out very fast. What's going on here? How come a nice new pair of sweatpants gets a tear or gets stained after a short period of time, but once it become play clothes, it seems to last forever? I was hoping that all these ratty sweat shirts and sweat pants and turtle neck jerseys would all disintegrate and I could buy lots of new ones.
Right now I'm actually wearing a turtle neck that is about 25 years old. It has a few holes in it, but it's still quite warm and the holes are easily covered with a sweatshirt. How can I cut it up into rags when it's still useful? The curse of the native New Englander.
If my current life style continues, I'll have ample opportunity to wear out my play clothes. But probably by that time, my newer casual clothes will be old enough and stained enough to be play clothes, too.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Whew!
All is back on track on the unemployment benefits front.
I arrived at the Career Center office at 8 a.m. (They open at 8:30) and I was 13th in line. The staff were being very efficient and trying to get as much paperwork ready even before the office opened. Overall, things went very well. We were allowed into the building (but not the office) so we did not have to wait out in the cold. I was hoping my number 13 would be lucky. At about 10:15 I was called into the representative's office.
She spotted the problem immediately and corrected it. She said she didn't understand why this hadn't been taken care of via telephone when I called yesterday or why I had been referred to the city of Springfield to resolve the issue.
My claim has been "re-opened", a check will soon be deposited into my account, and I'm ready to log on again on Sunday.
I wonder if I could make a living guiding others through this process :-).
I arrived at the Career Center office at 8 a.m. (They open at 8:30) and I was 13th in line. The staff were being very efficient and trying to get as much paperwork ready even before the office opened. Overall, things went very well. We were allowed into the building (but not the office) so we did not have to wait out in the cold. I was hoping my number 13 would be lucky. At about 10:15 I was called into the representative's office.
She spotted the problem immediately and corrected it. She said she didn't understand why this hadn't been taken care of via telephone when I called yesterday or why I had been referred to the city of Springfield to resolve the issue.
My claim has been "re-opened", a check will soon be deposited into my account, and I'm ready to log on again on Sunday.
I wonder if I could make a living guiding others through this process :-).
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Bureaucracy = Frustration
I'm having another go-'round with the unemployment bureaucracy. When I filed my weekly claim via computer on Sunday, December 12 (which went very quickly), I received a message in red saying "There has been a break in the reporting of your Partial Earnings. Please contact ..."
The computer system doesn't like the fact that I work a day or two for a few weeks, but then not at all for a few weeks. When I arrived at the career center at 9:00 a.m. (they open at 8:30) to see a representative, they were already booked for the day. I tried again two days later and was put into the queue. After about an hour's wait, I talked with a representative who re-opened my claim and said she needed to send paperwork to the city of Springfield (again) to verify there was no work for me.
When I logged on to my unemployment account on Sunday, the 12th, the red message was "Call the Telephone Claims Center. Additional information is required to determine your eligibility for benefits." No phone number; no hours of operation.
I stopped by the career center on Monday a little after 9. All filled for the day. The same on Tuesday. (I tried to arrive earlier, but other obligations prevented that.) Wednesday (one of the few days I'm allowed to call; it's determined by by SSN), I finally got through only to be told the city of Springfield says I started working again the Monday after Thanksgiving. That's news to me. After calling a couple of people at the library, I was directed to the personnel office for the city.
The personnel officer said he filled out the paperwork saying that I'm technically an employee of the city, but only as part of a substitute pool. He doesn't know why unemployment is giving me a hard time. Each person keeps referring me back to the other one to straighten it out.
Of course, this is a short week with the Christmas holiday (is this the place I say "Bah, humbug!"?). My plan is to arrive at the career center tomorrow before they open. I'll be bundled up since the temperature will be about 30 degrees at 8:00 a.m.
If this had to happen, I wish it had happened in warmer weather.
The computer system doesn't like the fact that I work a day or two for a few weeks, but then not at all for a few weeks. When I arrived at the career center at 9:00 a.m. (they open at 8:30) to see a representative, they were already booked for the day. I tried again two days later and was put into the queue. After about an hour's wait, I talked with a representative who re-opened my claim and said she needed to send paperwork to the city of Springfield (again) to verify there was no work for me.
When I logged on to my unemployment account on Sunday, the 12th, the red message was "Call the Telephone Claims Center. Additional information is required to determine your eligibility for benefits." No phone number; no hours of operation.
I stopped by the career center on Monday a little after 9. All filled for the day. The same on Tuesday. (I tried to arrive earlier, but other obligations prevented that.) Wednesday (one of the few days I'm allowed to call; it's determined by by SSN), I finally got through only to be told the city of Springfield says I started working again the Monday after Thanksgiving. That's news to me. After calling a couple of people at the library, I was directed to the personnel office for the city.
The personnel officer said he filled out the paperwork saying that I'm technically an employee of the city, but only as part of a substitute pool. He doesn't know why unemployment is giving me a hard time. Each person keeps referring me back to the other one to straighten it out.
Of course, this is a short week with the Christmas holiday (is this the place I say "Bah, humbug!"?). My plan is to arrive at the career center tomorrow before they open. I'll be bundled up since the temperature will be about 30 degrees at 8:00 a.m.
If this had to happen, I wish it had happened in warmer weather.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Passion, Inspiration, Motivation
There is a book by Marsha Sinetar called Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow. I've heard similar platitudes most of my life. The trouble is figuring out what I love.
I know people who have passions. They can't not do whatever it is they're doing, whether it brings money or not. Artists are like that. I remember going to a talk by Jane Yolen a few years ago. She described how her husband had been diagnosed with cancer and was beginning radiation treatments. She came home after the first day, sat at her computer and a sonnet "oozed" from her fingers. She wrote a sonnet every day of her husband's treatments and the result was a small book The Radiation Sonnets.
Perhaps I'm a late bloomer; I haven't yet discovered my passion. There are lots of things I enjoy doing, but no one thing that I must do.
When I was in high school and thinking about careers, I knew I wanted to go to college and have a profession. Beyond that, there were no specifics. I thought I would be a teacher, more because I couldn't think of anything else. Before I finished my BA, I landed a job in what was then the Goodell Library at UMass/Amherst. I liked the work and was good at it, so I continued on to Library School.
All these years that I've worked as a librarian I've considered a career change several times. I used to knit constantly but couldn't figure out how to make a living at that, though it might be fun to own a yarn store. For about 8 years I taught an aerobics class at the Greenfield YMCA and I considered a career in physical fitness. I even took classes and became an ACE certified fitness instructor. But no one, not even a spry 20-something (and I was a spry 40-something then) can teach aerobics all day. Most people in this field are personal trainers and I never made that leap.
I enjoy cooking and I'm a good cook. My live-in partner tells me that I can always open up a restaurant. But I know that having a dinner party for 8 is very different from owing a restaurant. My sister has a degree in Culinary Arts. She worked in the restaurant business for a few years and is now studying to be an elementary school teacher. She says cooking was too much work for too little money. (Wait till she starts teaching little kids!)
I enjoy a clean house. I even enjoy the process of getting it there, but I have NO interest in turning that into a career.
Since I've become comfortable with Public Speaking, I've considered becomming a motivational speaker. What a great blend: helping people and also being the center of attention. It appears that motivational speakers can make lots of money, too. But does the world really need another one? Do I have a unique enough point of view that people would hire me instead of someone else?
Back in my teen years, I wanted to be a writer. I've had various and sundry experiences that involved writing and I very much like writing this blog. I suppose I could explore ways to earn a living from my writing.
A couple of days ago, I taught 2 continuing education workshops for the Connecticut State Library. The classes went very well; I felt as if I really connected with the students. They were very responsive and we all had a good time. It was an extremely satisfying experience: helping people and "showing off" what I've learned over the years. Now that I'm an adjunct faculty member at Simmons GSLIS-west, it looks as if I've ended up back at the beginning. I'm a teacher. Perhaps it's not a passion, but I'm definitely inspired.
I know people who have passions. They can't not do whatever it is they're doing, whether it brings money or not. Artists are like that. I remember going to a talk by Jane Yolen a few years ago. She described how her husband had been diagnosed with cancer and was beginning radiation treatments. She came home after the first day, sat at her computer and a sonnet "oozed" from her fingers. She wrote a sonnet every day of her husband's treatments and the result was a small book The Radiation Sonnets.
Perhaps I'm a late bloomer; I haven't yet discovered my passion. There are lots of things I enjoy doing, but no one thing that I must do.
When I was in high school and thinking about careers, I knew I wanted to go to college and have a profession. Beyond that, there were no specifics. I thought I would be a teacher, more because I couldn't think of anything else. Before I finished my BA, I landed a job in what was then the Goodell Library at UMass/Amherst. I liked the work and was good at it, so I continued on to Library School.
All these years that I've worked as a librarian I've considered a career change several times. I used to knit constantly but couldn't figure out how to make a living at that, though it might be fun to own a yarn store. For about 8 years I taught an aerobics class at the Greenfield YMCA and I considered a career in physical fitness. I even took classes and became an ACE certified fitness instructor. But no one, not even a spry 20-something (and I was a spry 40-something then) can teach aerobics all day. Most people in this field are personal trainers and I never made that leap.
I enjoy cooking and I'm a good cook. My live-in partner tells me that I can always open up a restaurant. But I know that having a dinner party for 8 is very different from owing a restaurant. My sister has a degree in Culinary Arts. She worked in the restaurant business for a few years and is now studying to be an elementary school teacher. She says cooking was too much work for too little money. (Wait till she starts teaching little kids!)
I enjoy a clean house. I even enjoy the process of getting it there, but I have NO interest in turning that into a career.
Since I've become comfortable with Public Speaking, I've considered becomming a motivational speaker. What a great blend: helping people and also being the center of attention. It appears that motivational speakers can make lots of money, too. But does the world really need another one? Do I have a unique enough point of view that people would hire me instead of someone else?
Back in my teen years, I wanted to be a writer. I've had various and sundry experiences that involved writing and I very much like writing this blog. I suppose I could explore ways to earn a living from my writing.
A couple of days ago, I taught 2 continuing education workshops for the Connecticut State Library. The classes went very well; I felt as if I really connected with the students. They were very responsive and we all had a good time. It was an extremely satisfying experience: helping people and "showing off" what I've learned over the years. Now that I'm an adjunct faculty member at Simmons GSLIS-west, it looks as if I've ended up back at the beginning. I'm a teacher. Perhaps it's not a passion, but I'm definitely inspired.
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