Over the years, I've written many lengthy posts for social media and my blogs discussing my mental health issues, but I've never managed to hit the submit button on any of them. This post won't be any different. Just trust me, it's real. Real enough that the State of Alaska officially qualifies me as handicapped.
I've been working with caseworkers from the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation for a few years now. They make sure I keep sending out resumes and doing job hunting things. My current caseworker is big on mental health things. I need to get out of my room and socialize and I admit that make sense. For a long time she suggested I volunteer at the senior center. At my age, why would I go to the senior center other than to meet chicks?
"Hey. Do you want to go out for a drink? And by 'a drink' I literally mean one, because that's all I can afford."
That certainly builds my self esteem.
Still, I decided I need to do whatever she suggests to see if it will get me out of the hole I'm in. Fortunately, she suggested a government job this time. Like almost every state, Alaska is facing a budget crisis, hiring freeze, and cuts. I did a full formal interview with the group she sent me to and they snapped me up that day. Of course, that's not how state things really work, but it did feel good.
The deparment is made up of two people, a senior and junior officer. The junior position is an entry level position. For over a year, the only way they have been able to keep up with things has been to have unpaid volunteers like me. Well, three weeks ago the senior person moved up to a new job. Good for her. In the short time I knew her, I became quite fond of her and I'm happy for her for her success. But what does that mean for our little group?
Actually, it's a fucking mess. I won't go into details, but our group helps real people. It is part of the social safety net. They needed me because they were already several months backlogged in processing payments. And now they're sliding further back. Why?
As I said, the boss moved up to a better job. But, despite knowing she was moving over up a month ago, the state still hasn't posted her job. Obviously, junior guy should move up to top guy. He's been doing the same job for four years.
Blah, blah, blah. This is where I return to the story. Junior guy has already said he will hire me as the next junior guy, if the state gets around to hiring anybody. But, as we have seen the state will take forever. If the state finally fills the top job with the junior guy, then there will be another pause while they post the junior job and do interviews. I'm honestly looking at one to two months before this turns into a job.
I have some ideas to bring in a small income in the interim. I'll tell you about them later in the week. Meanwhile, of course, the bills are late and the end of the month is near. By the end of the week I need to pay the big storage unit bill and my very overdue phone bill. Any help is appreciated.
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