OK, I'm getting off the journalism track here for this one, although my experience at the unemployment office the last two days might come in handy when writing about government and bureaucrats some day.
I'm on day 4 of my week-long furlough and, unlike my last furlough in November, I'm determined to collect the benefits I've been approved for. It's not much - less than half the week's pay I lost this week - but hey, it will pay some bills.
The fact that I had to go back there a second time could be a rant in itself; on my first visit - and apparently, if there wasn't some glitch between my employer and the unemployment folks didn't occur I wouldn't have had to visit there at all - it seems their system crashed, so my choice was to wait indefinitely or go home and try to their system from there.
What's that you say? That if I could do what they need me to do from any computer, why did I need to be there in the first place? I'm still waiting for an explanation on that.
A real telling moment was when I finally (as if I had been speaking an alien language and suddenly started speaking English) convinced a worker there that I am on a furlough and going back to work on Monday. Documents from DEW that were sent after my first furlough, the papers that pretty much spell out my status and what the procedures were apparently tainted by some toxic substance, judging by anyone's reluctance to handle them or even look at them.
The one that made me rally sigh was when two workers couldn't decide on what one is supposed to do first when applying for benefits. This chicken/egg debate made me conclude that I must have been lucky enough to draw two workers who were on their first day on the job.
Now, keep in mind these are STATE not Federal workers. But just the same. I walked out of their wondering how many Democrats walked in their and left as Republicans...or libertarians.
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