Random Stacked Conglomeration of Fecal Matter

So I had this list:
Longevity at previous employer who exported jobs to Mexico thanks to NAFTA (Thanks, Bill!)
Secondary undocumented skill set
Willingness to work when ever needed
Fast learning curve
Age and experience

I was going to go into this whole tirade about how screwed up things are in the job market and that it seems that companies have their priorities back asswards and need to change. The problem wit this concept... I CAN actually see the flip side of the coin. I do see how, in general, it could appear that a person staying in the same job for an extended period of time COULD show a lack of motivation and complacency rather than loyalty and dedication. I also see how a lack of documentation of a skill set could also show a lack of determination rather than motivation and a desire to better oneself with new skills. I can see how a willingness to work what ever shift that is needed, can be perceived as desperation, rather than someone who will put their job in a primary place in their life. I recognize that a fast learning curve can represent a lack of focus instead a strong desire to increase one's skills and abilities. It is also apparent to me that a person of my age can be seen as some one unwilling to change or accept constructive commentary on their performance, especially from someone younger, instead of a resource of knowledge and experience that could be used to benefit and advance a company. I see this, so I feel like my original design to this post might be a little unmerited. Seeing as I can't seem to delve into my once prevalent depths of creativity, I'm not really sure where to take this and am just spouting off a random stacked conglomeration of fecal matter. I will admit that I'm kind of aggravated about the fact that I keep running into the same wall, no matter which avenue I pursue. That wall... the fact that my former employer COULD call me back. They haven't for almost 2 1/2 years! It seems companies, even using temp agencies, don't want to expend the capital to train someone that might leave after getting a letter in the mail. Of course, the fact that the sun could super nova at any point and The Dr. not make it there in time to save the earth, didn't stop them from coming in to work that day. Asking an interviewee whether or not they will return to their former employer if called is akin to asking you what you are going to do if your dog spontaneously combusted while hiking on a fire hydrant. It's a situation that can only truly be dealt with when it happens. Again... I can see the opposing view... if they say "yes", then you have narrowed you candidate pool, but if they inform you that given an acceptable opportunity with your company they would pass... do you still pass over them based on your thought that them returning is " more money than a reasonable person could pass up" (yes... that is a direct quote from a job interview I had!). I can't tell someone interviewing me for a job that I'm not a "reasonable" person, can I?! But there I go straying into that negative mindset that I'm trying to avoid in this. Despite all the times I have had multiple interviews with the same places, only to still be sitting here without a job, I am REALLY trying to maintain a positive outlook. I know at some point, someone will finally realize that I am an asset to their business instead of the worthless, beaten down piece of shit that I see when I look in the mirror. They say it's not what you know, but who you know. Yeah.... that hasn't really worked out they way "they" said it would. Through it all, I keep pressing on... trying... running towards that light at the end of the tunnel, desperately hoping it's not yet another on coming train. I can't even get a blog to garner any kind of respectable following. I keep swimming to the surface only to be able to inhale enough air to make it through my next trip to the bottom. That's positive, right? I can see from their perspective all the reasons why someone would not want to hire me and am still at odds with the fact the positive attributes about my work history that I have worked so hard to advance, is being used against me. So anyway, there's a little steam blown off in a "positive" way. 5-10 hits later... at least I will feel a little better and will have managed to ignore the TV for a little bit.

Randomosity pt 2

If it seemed like my last post ended abruptly and mid thought... it did. A little tidbit about me is that I am a male, that has to "service" (in a non perverted way!) a group of 7 familial females. It takes it's toll, not only on my mental state, but also on my time and ability to accomplish what I want to accomplish. Couple that with the fact that my 11 year old daughter is recently, though not permanently, in a wheelchair having suffered the pain and related surgery for Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (I chose the Wikipedia link for the cool pix!). This ties into the fact that I am the only male in that I'm the only one that can lift her effectively and without further damage! So you see, I sometimes am called away to do this and that (rearrange furniture, TVs, cable connections, doors, shower curtains, etc.) at a moments notice, no matter where I am in the thought process on my blog or even if I'm doing a little biological downloading! My last post actually sat for 2 days from it's initial conception, as I was tied up dealing with my "manly duties" and was unable to complete it. So, when the moment arose that afforded me the opportunity (it's early in the morning and they are all still asleep!), I fashioned a weak closing statement on it and published it. Now I'm not complaining... okay, maybe on some level I am complaining. I have been know to do this, but on the surface, the place where I'm wanting you to look, I'm just stating the facts of my situation.

Now that we have all that cleared up, let's move on to some more random thoughts, shall we?

The thing that really has my innards and mind tied in proverbial knots is this governmental retraining program that I'm in. It's great, don't get me wrong, but it's a poorly adhered patch on the tire that is unemployment in this country. First, it requires that you burn through all of your state level benefits, BEFORE, you actually get in to the Federal funds. While on the surface this seems like a good idea to use up your local support before leaning on the entity that caused the manufacturing jobs that you once relied on to provide for your family to be exported to a country who's mass exodus is already putting a burden on the local job market (NAFTA!!), before you get funding from them. Okay I get that... kind of. The problem with this set up is this, when you do finish your retraining and the Federal monies are quickly and abruptly cut off... you then have no means by which to support yourself and /or your family while you go and try and utilize your new career skills. On top of that, you are doing a mass dump of newly trained people into a narrower job market, than when they were first forced into it, with no financial support! Let's simplify this a little... you have, we'll say, 500 people lose their jobs due to treaties that overall only benefit the cosigners of them and not the initiators. So you, as the governing body, create a program to retrain these folks with newer more marketable job skills. You set aside the funding for each person, but require them to use their local benefits, beyond the actual cost of the training, to support themselves through the training process, BEFORE you break loose with the funds to support them yourself. These 500 folks graciously accept these terms and move forward with hopes and dreams of a better life on the other side of their retraining. First, you have overlooked the fact that if there had been sufficient jobs for these re-trainees, they wouldn't be retraining! Another aspect is that you have only approved the re-trainees to retrain for jobs that already exist and are unavailable, then after they jump through all the hoops and come to the abrupt end of support... you have 500 people trained for jobs that don't exist at the levels for which they are trained and no further local support to get them into positions to move forward. You've trained 500 people for the four jobs that were available at the time they started and now you have 500 people, trained and less available jobs, than when they started their training with all that bullshit... I mean those high hopes, that you fed them in the beginning! Wouldn't it make a whole helluva lot more sense, to fund the retraining, solely from the Federal funds (which have been sitting idly in an account earmarked for each person as their burn through their local benefits!!), then allow them their local benefits as a cushion to provide for their families while they try to find a job that actually does exist and they now have 499 competitors for? It does to me, but I'm just a person in need of retraining, because my government thought it was a good idea to let companies have incentives to move my job to a country that it seems everyone is leaving anyway. Am I off on my thinking, here, folks? I don't know, but stay tuned for more specific and random updates as time allows me.

Just sayin

Hmmm... wonder if someone would actually pay me to sit around and bitch about all the things I see wrong... yeah... probably not.

Why I need a job! (Read it before you dismiss it's content!)

I'm unemployed. Hence, I need a job. Yes, for all the traditional I-have-a-mortgage, I-have-kids-to-feed type reasons, but to me it runs a little deeper, if not sideways (by others' standards!) from that. I'm on the verge of letting my child fall behind technology-wise! Yes, you could break it down to, I want a new computer... but not for me! My eldest daughter has set the standard high for technological competency among her classmates, and my inability to find feasible employment is putting that edge at risk. As a parent it is my job to give my children, I have two, the best educational and social advantages that I possibly can. After two years of not being able to find decent work as compared to the government benefits that I am receiving as a victim of NAFTA, her already older equipment is being pushed to the point of antiquity. I'm doing the child a dis-service, if I can't even keep my technology on par with an already lagging educational system! It, at times, makes me feel I am not doing my job as her Father. I know that it seems odd, that putting food on the table and providing health care would take a backseat to technology. Look at it like this, the better a fighting chance she has beyond her time in the required schooling, the better off she will be as an adult and hopefully a parent. I see technological competency as a cornerstone for her success in the future! Can you deny this? Any advantage I can give her today, towards being competitive in the workforce, I want to do. Let's face it... computers aren't going away and just having the skills to navigate facebook aren't going to cut it in the work force of this century! I know I'm going to have the basics covered for her, but I want her to never have to deal with the situation that I find myself in. As a parent, it's my job to future proof my children as much as I feasibly can. Unemployment benefits... just aren't going to cut it!

Just sayin