Chokmah Will Rock

Since my former employer (FE from now on) has a collection of incompetents who masquerade as workers, I haven't received any money for four weeks. No severance - even though I signed the paperwork last month. No unemployment benefits. I thought a two to three week wait would make sense so I was patient. I checked my bank account every day. No uptick on my balance. I kept getting these odd small checks for $25 or $39. Apparently, my vacation payout check was miscalculated so these checks were trying to true up what was owed to me. Of course every time I saw them in the mail, I thought they were my severance. That played with my emotions and blood pressure.

Funds were getting low as I entered week four of unemployment so I contacted the Department of Unemployment Assistance. Massachusetts' unemployment rate is 3.5% so I knew they weren't really inundated like back in 2008/2009. The DUA rep told me that my claim was held up because FE had not submitted the requested documentation. Man, I invented new curse words when I heard that bullshit! If I had been exposed to gamma radiation beforehand, Boston would have been leveled. Not only FE dicked me over by laying me off, they weren't doing their due diligence! Which I know shouldn't be a surprise to me since I worked there and had front row seats to the depths of their incompetence. Pissed and panicked, I reached out to the director of my department and my former boss. I asked about my severance as well.  Several hours later, I was informed that nothing is pending them and they submitted paperwork. So, what the actual fuck?

First thing, the next morning I called DUA. I assumed they lied to me to cover a fuck up on their end. I spoke to an amazing representative who explained to me what happened and fixed my unemployment claim. FE submitted BLANK PAPERWORK! BLANK! The representative was so pissed on my behalf, she gave me the name of the person who signed it. I let the department director and former boss know what happened. My boss told me that a lot of blame and stories are going back and forth in the department. Yup, sounds right. The director apologized and told me that my severance should arrive next week.  This breaks the romanticized nostalgia lens I remembered my time at my former employer. FE can stand for former employer or something else from now on.

28 Days Later

28 days of unemployment is a little bit of picture 1 and picture 2.  So what have I been doing this past month other than applying to jobs?

1. Mending fences, reaching out, and connecting - my dad and I have been spending time together. I can help him since he has given up his driving license which helps me be productive and feel needed. I know he's the same person with the same limitations but it works for now. I'm back in touch with friends who I haven't seen for over a decade due to rifts/life changes. I don't have energy anymore to hold a grudge and if I sunk a lot of time and memorable experiences into a person, they are going to be my friend no matter what. I have organized a Jamaica Plain job seekers group. We had our first meeting last week and it was great! I got a lot of tips, laughs, and leads.
2. Catching up on TV - Grey's Anatomy and Downton Abbey fell off my must watch list for a couple years. Now that Grey's is in syndication, I can catch up while I peruse job boards/LinkedIn. I rage quit Downton after what happened to Matthew. Now, I'm kinda disgusted with the Anna story-line but I"ll persist. The episodes are my go to sleep viewing. I also watched Star Wars Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels so I could make sense of the Solo movie.
3. Learning SQL - since every other analyst job description asks for it, I signed up for a class at General Assembly. Luckily, it made sense to me and I was able to internalize a lot of basics quickly.
4. Freaking out about money - I have not had any kind of income for four weeks. My severance check has not arrived. My retirement fund cash-out has not come. Even though unemployment is under 5%, my unemployment benefits are taking forever.
5. Getting angry - it turns out having a good work/life balance is not just for your health while you're working, it's key when you are unemployed. If you derive a lot of pride, sense of self and accomplishment from a job and it goes away - it can seriously mess you up. If I let myself to get into the angry loop, it goes "How dare they? I killed myself for this job. The work I performed went above and beyond. Meanwhile they have payroll clerks who refuse to learn Excel but remain employed because they're union. Fuck them! Fucking user life ruiners."