After all this time, you’d think I’d be able to fill out my online unemployment form with my eyes closed and with my hands tied behind my back by several strands of pearls! I messed it up today because I was giddy. I just know that was it!
I was giddy, because my laptop was not overheating anymore. I spent an hour on the phone yesterday with Dell Technical Support, even after I said within the first five minutes “I’ve been reading online, and I think I need a new fan.” I was told I should expect a call from the local support tech.
He came to my house at noon today when he was supposed to arrive between 1pm and 3pm. He promptly changed my fan and my memory. Ah, if only he could have changed my memory!
After some diagnostic test wouldn’t complete, the Dell Technical Support rep insisted I needed new memory. According to the local support tech, the memory exchange wasn’t necessary. The local support tech said, “While I’m here, I’ll put it in.”
After he installed it, he said, “If this doesn’t solve your problem, then call them back and tell them you need a new motherboard.” Oh, how I loved having an English-speaking technical person right there in my dining room. I thought about throwing him in the basement right then, locking the door, and then giving him three squares a day until the 12th of Never.
But, then I thought it would be really tough to get a job with a kidnapping charge on my record. So, I thanked him profusely as he walked out the door. He got into his Honda CRV and rode safely off into the computer-repair sunset.
When I bought my laptop, I wanted a good system (read “aspiring screenwriter and movie maker”). But, I pondered if I should scrimp and not check the “Extended two-year warranty” box. Just then I heard Suze saying, “Always go with your gut,” and my gut spoke and said, “Always go with the extended warranty on any electronic item over $200!”
As the local tech support guy unscrewed the back of my laptop, I said, “I’m glad I got the extended warranty.” He smiled, and then I asked, “That was a good move, especially given today’s visit would have cost me three times more than the price of my warranty, right?” He said, “Yes!!!!!” Yay! I got that one right.
Oh, so how did I mess up my unemployment you want to know? Well, after I ticked “Yes,” “Yes,” and “No,” on the website, I came to the “Has your address changed?” question. My address hadn’t changed, but in my state of giddy, I ticked “Yes.”
After I clicked the “Submit” button, red letters appeared on the web page asking me to verify my address. “My address? What’s the frickin panic about my address?” I wondered. Stupefied, I hit my browser’s “Back” button.
I then realized, elated over not typing on a red hot keyboard anymore, that I had answered “Yes” to the address change question. Damn! I continued to read the red letters, which basically told me that they wouldn’t deposit my check until I had given them my new address.
They said I needed to call the unemployment office. Damn again, because this meant I would be spending the next hour of my life on speaker phone listening to a mix of lame music intertwined with boring and redundant unemployment messages. So, I called the unemployment number.
After I chose option 1, option 2 for English, option 4 for whateveritwasIneeded, and entered my social security number, I was in the loop. I heard “All representatives are currently busy. A representative will be able to help you in –pause– 27 minutes.” Damn yet again!
I sat down on the couch, cursing myself for being so giddy as to tick “Yes” when I really meant “No.” Unemployment gaffes called for comfort TV; okay, not really, but bear with me. I turned on Law & Order, put the phone on speaker, and I hoped that the 27 minutes would only be 7 minutes.
As my luck would have it, my 7 minutes was 27 minutes almost to the minute. A nice woman named Adele asked for my name, my Social Security number, and my address. I quickly babbled, “I ticked yes when I should have ticked no on the address question; I’m still living here!”
Adele said, “Don’t worry. I can fix that for you,” in a very reassuring voice. I could tell that Adele was a mother and probably a grandmother given her tone. In about two minutes, she said, “I changed that for you. You have a 13-week extension. Two checks will be deposited on Thursday (which makes sense given that my bank called to question why I didn’t have enough to cover my mortgage!), and you have 11 weeks remaining.”
I thanked her profusely. When I got off the phone, I thought, “Eleven weeks.” That was it.
While I had looked for a job the best I could, I knew I had slacked off at times, because I enjoyed being home with my kids, the cats, and even with the barking Monty. I had interviewed every chance I got and applied for every job I was qualified for. But, it was hard not to be defeated by the rejection and not to take it personally every so often.
When I got Iz’s daily email from her teacher, I read “For next week we need to talk about what our family members do for a job. So it is the kids jobs to ask you about your job!” I knew if anyone could spin “unemployed person” that I could! How am I going to do it? I have no frickin’ idea; wait for the blog!
After I picked Iz up from her after-school program, I told her we had to go grocery shopping. Lucky for me, she liked to shop and check things off the list. That’s my girl!
When we went to make a left turn on to Route 119 during rush hour, there was a line of cars piled up on 119. I sat and waited. A driver in a white car let me in; I said, “Wave, Iz!”
Iz asked, “Mom, was that person a Dude or Dudette?” I started to laugh; then I thought about eleven weeks. I said, “I’m not sure, Iz. But, whether it was a boy or girl, that person was very nice.”
I had eleven more weeks to bike and to spend with my kids. Whatever came after that, well, it was whatever came after that. Tonight, I couldn’t think past her “Dudes” and “Dudettes” comment, nor did I want to.
It was a beautiful day here. The weather turned at about 4:30pm; it thundered, hailed, and poured. When Iz and I left the supermarket, we saw a beautiful rainbow.
I took it as a sign, even though I knew that there would most likely be a rainbow. Aren’t you proud of me for knowing that, WeatherGirlBrenda?! It was truly beautiful.
And instead of saying, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home,” when I saw it, I clicked my heels together and said, “There’s definitely a reason why I’m here. There’s definitely a reason I’m here. And whatever that reason is, imagined or real, that's exactly why I'm here for another eleven weeks.” ♥
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