02:14 - 14.04.07
convergence
After seeing my youngest off this morning I checked my e-mail. There were two communications from the agency where I interviewed a couple of weeks ago. It seemed as though my contact had forwarded my comments about the types of specialized skills I think would be useful to an employer on to her supervisor. The supervisor appeared to have misunderstood and thought it was a request from an employer for such a person. Sigh and too bad. It was Friday 13th so maybe that bit of bad luck - if it was bad luck - blocked anything worse from happening. It did spur me to submit several more resumes to job postings I had been holding off on hoping for a placement through the agency instead. I'm having a bit of difficulty with the idea of having one permanent full-time job. That is most people's dream situation - the security and the benefits, I think. It's that commitment thing, I guess. I would rather consult for a while first to be certain the match is a good fit. That is based on my experiences over the past decade. I think too that I am afraid that no employer will want me full-time although that is totally irrational, isn't it? I need to get over that now though. Money is just about all gone and I don't want to take a job that doesn't pay enough to cover my monthly bills and expenses or that doesn't really suit me out of desperation. I don't have a lot of time to wait for the "right" or dream job the interviewer was talking about to come along. Hard to know how that will play out.
I also called the one sister who is looking for work. I had offered to prepare a draft resume for her since she isn't that fond of working in cyberspace. I was trying to get enough details so that I could put a paper tiger out there for her to critique. She had forgotten so we were trying to find some mutual time to at least get that far.
My youngest has finally been able to go back to work full-time. He wasn't that sick the last of the time away from work but if talking is your task and one can't talk then there is a problem - right? I was worried that he would be told he was going to be let go because that has been my experience in the workplace. However, with the labour shortage I guess employers are hanging on to their good employees when they identify who they are. The entire department had to take an exam checking their knowledge of process about a week ago. My youngest scored 93% - top of the class. Not bad for a young guy I guess. He did finally have to bring in a doctor's note but that is simply a function of company policy. My youngest said there are a lot of the staff who don't show up for work on a regular basis and that his attendence is one of the best in his group. Since the employer doesn't pay staff for sick days I think the belief is that the person taking the penalty is the worker so it is their choice how big a cut in wages they are willing to deal with.
I focussed on paperwork today because my lungs were quite compromised still from the housework I've been doing the past few days. I did try to work on another room but I kept having to run for my inhaler. It is allergy season here so that is a factor I have to contend with as well. I don't want to get sick again. In addition, while I was working through one of my more challenging yoga tapes yesterday, a couple of the female cats tried to engage me while I was in the most convoluted poses. They would bring the stuffed toys from the cabinet and place them around my feet. Maybe they thought it would break my fall - after they ensured I did fall of course. I had to over correct for the "help" and I thinkI pulled a couple of muscles in the groin. Ouch. They feel fine now but I decided not to push my luck too far. I did get several more loads of laundry done so it wasn't a wasted day workwise - just not as productive as I had hoped.
The Elections Canada saga still runs on too. I called the private courier that we were instructed to use to ship back their computers. When I called to book a time I was told to expect to sit and wait for up to 12 hours for the driver to appear on the day chosen. Yes well, more of my time wasted and no pay for it either. It is as if the people doing the planning sat together and tried to find the most labour intensive and time wasting ways to carry out the transfer of materials back to them. It is like the bullies who, when their victim is on the ground unable to respond or protect themselves anymore, gets in that extra kick or two for good measure and then encourages their buddies to do the same. In addition, they still haven't forwarded a Record of Employment to me. By law that must happen within two weeks of termination. A lot of services and benefits that I should be eligible for cannot be accessed without that piece of paper. My formal letter stated my last day in the appointed postion was February 10 2007. They are far beyond the legal limits. I emailed the finance person who is responsible for that the day before Good Friday reminding her of the lapse but she did not respond. I did however, get a call from one of the tier one staff on Good Friday asking if all material had been transferred yet. No it hasn't but that is because some of the material we were required to use had just arrived at my home. And back we go to the people who seem to be enjoying dragging out their "power over" someone who can't really fight back. I guess I can complain to the Labour Board or the Auditor General, but it shouldn't have to come to that. In essence what withholding the paperwork while also witholding the material to complete the transfer of goods means it blocks my ability to collect employment insurance and also blocks my ability to get another job. Two potential employers have both asked why I haven't indicated when I will be returning to work for Elections Canada as if as though they have a way of confirming that the Record of Employment hasn't been issued. Therefore my application to work for them fulltime makes it look as though I am wasting their time since I wouldn't be staying that long in the position they want to fill. Don't know quite what to do there but I guess I am going to have to act very soon to protect myself. The well is running at completely dry, if you know what I mean.
My youngest came home with a new computer monitor for me to replace the one I am supposed to ship back. He felt it was a contribution he could make for household expenses and I do truly appreciate it. I don't have a printer or fax anymore but I can manage without that. Not having a screen to look at is a different matter entirely. The new one is much larger and better constructed. My son started watching movies on it and found it almost as good as a regular television. "Tron" is his favorite retro movie right now. I thin he is duly impressed with it's prescience being that it was filmed over 25 years ago.
I have been having some very intense dreams that seem to be aimed at working things out that are occurring in my day to day life right now. I still can't recall enough of them to recount them for your listening pleasure but I seem to feel I've made progress when I wake up. Hope that's right. There seem to be synchronistic events that confirm that I am on the right path during waking times. For example, the movie "Convergence" (the US title was Premonition) was on the television tonight as I was making dinner. The theme has a lot to do with ley lines, time and parallel dimensions and how they interact. When I first watched it a few years back it triggered a cascade of ideas and thought about those issues even as I was reading Stephen Hawking's book "A Brief History of Time". There was a convergence in some of the material about time. It was a bit spooky. The problem with the movie is that it is presented through the eyes of a journalist doing an investigative report on a mentally ill patient who seems to have the ability to make accurate predictions. There is a lot of gratuitous violence and sex that is used to indicate and describe the mental illness. I found it very disturbing and unneccesary. Dramatic effect didn't have to rely on the stereotypes it indulged in to move the plot along. The message that needs to be conveyed gets lost in the melodramatics. It is still a movie worth scanning though as the convergence of the factors that interweave ley lines, time and space into a vehicle for alterations in the "time space continuum" at the end of the movie are worth contemplating. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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