What a bunch of morons...

My country's stupid government workers. I tell ya...

Over two months ago I filed for my unemployment insurance. Even knowing that it would be like pulling teeth, I filed anyways for it. I had quit my apprenticeship for a multitude of reasons, some of it personal and some of it work-site related.

Living with the ex-wife of the shop foreman who just happens to be one of the world's largest assholes caused problems at work. Being picked up every morning by this guy and getting a ride to work with him 3 hours before my shift started was problematic. Working in a grungy two-bay garage with nothing but swamp and mud outside was problematic. Maintaining a dying fleet of dead units, rusted-out equipment, and broken tools was problematic. Having the foreman moan and bitch daily about his ex-wife drove me insane.

I put up with this apprenticeship, trying to care about mechanics when truthfully in my heart I hate everything to do with mechanics. I hate the millions of parts and styles, the millions of vehicles and styles, the multitude of variations that pose limitless problems in this field. I see a broken engine not as an interesting challenge to fix, but rather a very large mess that nobody really appreciates if you fix it or not. It's just a big, nasty old chore that has to be done, and it's hard to feel pride in your work when you know the next two-bit operator is just going to wreck it in two days or less. Nobody cares about your efforts, it's far too complicated, and it's greasy, yucky, frustratiing, time-consuming, and unsatisfying work.

I started my apprenticeship only because the foreman was looking for someone with strong work values and an open mind. I do possess these qualities, but like I said, when it comes to mechanics I find it to be a frustrating bore of a job. I put up with this bull-plop for nealy a year, and I 'faked' it well. I can do mechanics just fine, but since I lack the love and interest of the trade, I'll never be great at it. Good enough to do it just doesn't cut. I willingly quit my apprenticeship. In fact, nobody saw it coming, my desire to quit. That's how good I 'faked' it.

I registered for unemployment because I was planning on being unemployed for a while. I gave a long list of reasons why I quit to the government, and did all my forms and files and requests that I needed to do.

This morning I got a call. 'Do you still want your unemployment?' they ask. 'We find that these reasons are not really that good enough to warrant giving you the money you already earned and have deducted off your paychecks just for unemployment insurance. You don't deserve the money you already made, unless you can state some facts about your workplace that made you want to quit, such as safety infractions, worker abuse, or health reasons'.

Fucking assholes...

So I wait for over two months for a reply from them, and here's what I get. 'Do you still want your unemployment? If so, you need to come up with factual slander against your last place of employment'.

As much as I hated working for my room-mates' ex-husband, as much as I hated the work, as much as I hated being picked up 3 hours each day before my shift started, as much as I hated working 6 days a week, each day with overtime, I do not hate most of the people I worked with.

Many of the guys in that business were great people, with super personalities. I was never endangered, nor was I abused with reportable abuse. I was aggravated and annoyed non-stop by the endless bitching about an old divorce, yes, but not abused.

Fuck them, fuck our government. A bunch of useless, lazy pigs is all they are. I told that snarky government worker that I didn't want my unemployment after all. In fact, I told her I was starting a job this week. A little white lie, of course, but god damn! Anything to shut them up and leave me alone!

Now I'm off the unemployment insurance claim list, the government feels more powerful now, and I don't ever have to expect a phone call from them ever again. Thank god.

Shee-eesh. I've posted nothing but rants for the last few posts. I'm sick and tired of people messing aroun with my life. Can't they see that I've had enough? I just want a nice simple job, and a nice simple life for once. No more obligations to 'perform' for others, no more obligations to toil for others, no more, no more, no more. I just want to work for me, myself, and I for once. That's it.

I don't want to work in heavy industry, no more chemicals, no more oil and grease, no machines... I don't want to be a stupid labourer, or a garbage picker, or a cleaner. I want to create something that people appreciate. I want to spend time on something I care about. I want to be interested in my work, and want to learn more about it. What job out there possesses such traits? I may never know. So off I go again, to dabble in the unknown and discover my likes and dislikes.

Al I know right now is that I need money right away, and fast. A simple 500 dollar paycheck would make me happy right now. That's it. That's all I need to keep my bills and rent paid up.

I haven't calmed down from 7 straight years of non-stop work. I haven't relaxed enough yet. My mere two months off after a lifetime of hard work isn't enough.

I'll be trying to get a part-time job rather than a full-time one. I'll make a deal with the boss. I'll say for the summer I just want to ork part-time, and when all the kids go back to school let me work full-time. A part-time job would be perfect for me. I work whenever they need me to, I have plenty of time off, I'm still making money, and I'm developing ties that will snap into a permanant bond when the time is right for full-time employment. I'm not a stupid man; already I'm plotting a course that will ease me back, slowly, into a full-time work regime. Part-time work in the summer could also maybe give me an opportunity to take a week off in August so I can return to B.C. to visit my family again. The trick is making myself look useful as a part-time worker. I'm very good with my tricks.

W/E. The government sucks, and I'm not getting my unemployment money. I can't believe they even bothered to call me...

Later peeps.