Knit 2.0

Ok, well, you DON’T dress up to go to the unemployment office.  And they are nicer than the DMV people.  You also find out that you apparently need to call to file a claim instead of going there.  Who knew?  You also find out that the more you fight and the louder you are the more likely it is you will get through the system.

When I called the girl just said “Your former employer didn’t pay into unemployment insurance so you aren’t eligible” (my old employer is a non-profit so they aren’t required to pay into unemployment) to which I retorted “well, my HR lady said I could still apply and you guys would just bill the company” and all of a sudden she was all about taking my claim.  So let that be a lesson to all of you, keep pushing.

Now I start my journy through the red tape.  I have to call them between 6pm and 7pm on August 10.  I’m not sure why, or what I need to talk to them about, but they said they’d send me stuff in the mail.  I apparently need to take my resume to a Michigan Works center to get it stamped.  Um, I’m not sure why, but I’ll do it if it means they’ll pay me.

In other news, there was a cute little 5 year old Asian boy who stood behind me while I was waiting for my  number to be called.  He got VERY close.  I think he was alternating between watching me play Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations and looking at the d20 Apocalypse book my friend was reading.  The child is well on his way to nerdom.

Well, I know I’ve been absent from this site for a while and I apologize for that.  But now I find myself with some free time.  I recently lost my job.

This is the first time in my adult life that I’ve not had a job.  I’m a little out of sorts, I don’t really know what to do with myself.  I mean, I’m applying for jobs and cutting coupons and whatnot, but it just all seems so surreal.   Every morning I feel like I should get ready for work.  I even had a nightmare that I had to go back and they just kept moving my stuff around the office without telling me where they were moving me and treating me like I wasn’t wanted there.   I’m sure that’s just a lot of pent up hurt trying to find a way out, still it threw me off all the next day.

Today I’m going to the unemployment office with a friend.  I have no idea what to expect (except that I should bring a book ).  Do you dress nicely to go to the unemployment office?  What paperwork should I bring?  If you cry does that help or hurt or does it do nothing for you?  Are they as lovely as the people at my DMV or are they a little more understanding since every one coming in has lost their job?

I guess I’ll find out today, I’ll try to report back to you on how the unemployment office works out.  My company didn’t pay into unemployment so it should be interesting.  I was told that it doesn’t mean I wont get it (they will just charge my old job for my unemployment) but it still makes me a little uneasy.