Friday, August 24, 2012
Sometimes You Just Can't Win - The Friday That Bit Back!
So my wife's alarm on her phone rings...followed by mine, five minutes later. Then the "fun" begins...
She gives me a Twenty, and I go up to McDonald's to get our dinner, before she goes to work. Mind you, it's 4:35, and this trip, along with a visit to the credit union to get some laundry change, should only take fifteen minutes at the outset, twenty minutes, tops!
Alas, the firm of Bullshit, Fizzle, and Muckracker intervened so turn my 20 minute junket into 35 minutes. Here's how it went down:
I drive up to the highway on-ramp, get on the highway without any problems. I notice that, in the other lane, an old pickup truck is off the road a bit, on a berm of lawn that pretends to be a shoulder, with someone walking around. I'm guessing "accident", but don't pay it any mind until later.
So I get off on the next exit, and make it to Mickey Dee's. Lo and Behold! There is no traffic in the outer drive-thru lane, and only one at the inner station. So I place my order, pay my money, drive up to the take-out window and. . . FIND OUT THEY'VE GOTTEN MY ORDER WRONG FOR THE THIRD TIME THIS MONTH, AND WITHIN A WEEK AND A HALF PERIOD! (Link To HumFisheKu Special: F U C K I N G | F R E A K Y | F R I D A Y S!).
So I have to park the car, go inside, and explain "what's wrong" to the management. The second time this happened, the manager gave me a free meal for my trouble. I received a complimentary Free Extra Value Meal Card, which I gave promptly to my wife when I got back...and that's another story.
Before I went home, I needed change for the laundry, so I went to our credit union across the street. This particular financial institution, instead of just taking the $10 I gave them, and giving me back the $5 in Quarters and a $5 Dollar Bill--like any other place--has to go through the entire account lookup and verification procedure, "just because I have an account" with them. Stupid!
So I finally get my cash, and have to go back to Mickey Dee's because I notice one of my drinks is missing. So I go back, get that, and head out. Remember the "accident" that I postulated about before? Well, Lo and Behold! THE POLICE HAVE THE ON-RAMP BLOCKED! So I have to take the long way around, go down a huge hill, hit another traffic light, turn left, go up another large hill, and then on the way down...my car engine conks out as I'm braking!
So I pop it into Neutral, and re-start the beast without a problem, veer right on my home street, go up a small hill, then down a slight decline and run into...A MOTORCYCLE COP THAT HAS TWO PEOPLE PULLED OVER FOR SOMETHING OR OTHER--PROBABLY ANOTHER...Oh, let's just call it an "incident" this time, as it didn't appear that anyone was injured or there was anything more than superficial vehicular body damage, from what I could see.
Anyway, I have to wait for two vehicles to weave their way around the police bike--flashing lights and all (Nice Harley! :-]), and watching the Officer, and the other two drivers, etc. So I get through that, drive up the last remaining hill, make a Good Left Turn (on a dime!) and finally am able to park in my assigned and numbered spot, which is in front of the apartment I call home.
During all the time I was rushing, my wife had been trying to phone me, and I ended up finding my E71 Nokia to be in Meeting Mode, which beeps and vibrates only once. So I get chewed out for that, but I took it in good stead, as she didn't know what was going on in the car. (My forgetfulness notwithstanding; I SHOULD HAVE REMEMBERED TO SWITCH IT BACK TO *L-O-U-D*!)
It is my fondest hope that this post provides a satisfactory explanation to my wonderfully patient wife.
To My Honey: I'M SORRY SWEETHEART! *SMOOCHLES*
TO THE ASSHOLE OUTSIDE INFLUENCES: "EAT MY SHORTS, FUCK OFF, AND DIE!"
'K' 'Nuff Said!
--The Humble Fishe
She gives me a Twenty, and I go up to McDonald's to get our dinner, before she goes to work. Mind you, it's 4:35, and this trip, along with a visit to the credit union to get some laundry change, should only take fifteen minutes at the outset, twenty minutes, tops!
Alas, the firm of Bullshit, Fizzle, and Muckracker intervened so turn my 20 minute junket into 35 minutes. Here's how it went down:
I drive up to the highway on-ramp, get on the highway without any problems. I notice that, in the other lane, an old pickup truck is off the road a bit, on a berm of lawn that pretends to be a shoulder, with someone walking around. I'm guessing "accident", but don't pay it any mind until later.
So I get off on the next exit, and make it to Mickey Dee's. Lo and Behold! There is no traffic in the outer drive-thru lane, and only one at the inner station. So I place my order, pay my money, drive up to the take-out window and. . . FIND OUT THEY'VE GOTTEN MY ORDER WRONG FOR THE THIRD TIME THIS MONTH, AND WITHIN A WEEK AND A HALF PERIOD! (Link To HumFisheKu Special: F U C K I N G | F R E A K Y | F R I D A Y S!).
So I have to park the car, go inside, and explain "what's wrong" to the management. The second time this happened, the manager gave me a free meal for my trouble. I received a complimentary Free Extra Value Meal Card, which I gave promptly to my wife when I got back...and that's another story.
Before I went home, I needed change for the laundry, so I went to our credit union across the street. This particular financial institution, instead of just taking the $10 I gave them, and giving me back the $5 in Quarters and a $5 Dollar Bill--like any other place--has to go through the entire account lookup and verification procedure, "just because I have an account" with them. Stupid!
So I finally get my cash, and have to go back to Mickey Dee's because I notice one of my drinks is missing. So I go back, get that, and head out. Remember the "accident" that I postulated about before? Well, Lo and Behold! THE POLICE HAVE THE ON-RAMP BLOCKED! So I have to take the long way around, go down a huge hill, hit another traffic light, turn left, go up another large hill, and then on the way down...my car engine conks out as I'm braking!
So I pop it into Neutral, and re-start the beast without a problem, veer right on my home street, go up a small hill, then down a slight decline and run into...A MOTORCYCLE COP THAT HAS TWO PEOPLE PULLED OVER FOR SOMETHING OR OTHER--PROBABLY ANOTHER...Oh, let's just call it an "incident" this time, as it didn't appear that anyone was injured or there was anything more than superficial vehicular body damage, from what I could see.
Anyway, I have to wait for two vehicles to weave their way around the police bike--flashing lights and all (Nice Harley! :-]), and watching the Officer, and the other two drivers, etc. So I get through that, drive up the last remaining hill, make a Good Left Turn (on a dime!) and finally am able to park in my assigned and numbered spot, which is in front of the apartment I call home.
During all the time I was rushing, my wife had been trying to phone me, and I ended up finding my E71 Nokia to be in Meeting Mode, which beeps and vibrates only once. So I get chewed out for that, but I took it in good stead, as she didn't know what was going on in the car. (My forgetfulness notwithstanding; I SHOULD HAVE REMEMBERED TO SWITCH IT BACK TO *L-O-U-D*!)
It is my fondest hope that this post provides a satisfactory explanation to my wonderfully patient wife.
To My Honey: I'M SORRY SWEETHEART! *SMOOCHLES*
TO THE ASSHOLE OUTSIDE INFLUENCES: "EAT MY SHORTS, FUCK OFF, AND DIE!"
'K' 'Nuff Said!
--The Humble Fishe
Thursday, August 23, 2012
A Post on Jobs and Credit History
I have been out of work for a very long time now. I am learning disabled and have issues with certain types of positions, especially high-volume, production jobs; since I've tried this and failed, I no longer look for this kind of work.
So what does The Humble Fishe want? Well, financial independence, for one, but that comes from building up a compound of money and ideas over time, then implementing the ideas when the money and ideas come together, synergistically, at the proper time.
So, what kind of job to get to work up to that synergistic, jumping-off point? Hmmm. How about driving a bread truck for a local bakery company? Sounds reasonable, eh? The Humble Fishe holds a Class "A" Commercial Driver's License, has no moving violations, and no criminal history to speak of. Still sound okay?
So I call up the number, and get routed to...A Temporary Agency! Temporary Agencies--most well known as "Temp Services"--frustrate me to no end. One issue is how they list their job postings. Some are so encapsulated by generic language, it's almost impossible to find out just who the company is who posted the availability of the job through the agency in the first place. Additionally frustrating is the lack of direct contact with the company.
Generally, I do not actively seek employment through temp services. I've had to deal with social pariahs and I'm tired of trying to be, *GULP!*, "sociable". "Sociable" here means being able to actively converse on mundane topics of general and local interest that have absolutely nothing to do with the jobs-at-hand, or at-large. I'm not a gossip columnist, and could care less what everyone else's children are doing on their soccer leagues, football games, who's talking about whom or what, ad infinitum, ad nauseum.
I go in to a temp service office, dressed appropriately, and ready to work. Or, at least, that's the idea. As I stated earlier, my luck with these agencies has been dismal, at best. So, what does that have to do with driving a bread truck?
Here's the pitch: I decided to do some job searching today. I looked on my local state employment agency's job website (all states have these), and found a possibility. Bread delivery for a commercial bakery service. So I called the number listed to check into it. Everything was going fine, until I was told I "had to have a credit rating of 525" (or similar) to be considered for the job.
I WAS LIVID! I DON'T GIVE PERMISSION FOR ANYONE TO USE ANY TYPE OF "CREDIT SCORE" FOR THE PURPOSE OF EMPLOYMENT, AND NEITHER SHOULD ANYONE ELSE!
Let me explain my point: "Credit Scores" are mathematical numericals that are used by private companies (Trans Union, Equifax, etc.) that some people sometimes use to consider when people apply for bank loans and other such financial products. So how does that apply here:
EMPLOYMENT ABILITY HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH CREDIT SCORES! BEING ABLE TO DO A JOB HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH CREDIT SCORES!
The only reason this temp agency wanted the score was because the bakery company expects a driver to "buy their route" after a time, and wanted that minimum score; this has absolutely no bearing on whether or not I'd be able to: Take Orders, Give Product Knowledge, Learn A Delivery Route, Drive A Delivery Truck or Van, Load and Unload A Delivery Truck or Van, Use Suggestive Sales Techniques to Add To Present Sales, etc.
Sounds like a franchise offering masquerading as generic employment to me! I don't agree with this type of thing. "It's Sales!" Pure and Simple!!! Ergo: IT SHOULD BE LISTED AS A FRANCHISE OFFER. IF I "HAVE TO BUY THE ROUTE", IT'S SALES! NOT GENERAL EMPLOYMENT!
I also looked at some reviews on indeed.com and apparently this company has a lot of unsold routes and is not a very good place to work, either. Long hours on the road, no home time, etc. I would've had this if I had become an over-the-road trucker, driving big rigs--another career I wasted five years of my life proving it was what I didn't want! That lesson cost me too much, and I'm still in debt over the last endeavor. Ergo: NO MORE OVER-THE-ROAD TRUCKING FOR THE HUMBLE FISHE!
I just want decent, local employment; later on, a legitimate business opportunity that won't set me back much to start. Either way, I'll need money first to start any type of business enterprise, regardless of the type.
Now, I probably shouldn't have gotten so upset, now that I've looked at some reviews of that bakery. It's just that I get so frustrated, at times. And considering I'm "pushing fifty", it'd be nice to have a profession, at least by that time.
I've been out of the "job searching game" for a long time now. I don't like looking randomly for work. I prefer referrals. As it stands, I may have a short-term position available to me, thanks to a local acquaintance. However, that's still up in the air.
I've been out of the "job searching game" for a long time now. I don't like looking randomly for work. I prefer referrals. As it stands, I may have a short-term position available to me, thanks to a local acquaintance. However, that's still up in the air.
I'll post more as more information becomes available. I don't hold my breath for jobs, anymore. I've been disappointed too often, and burned too much to pay much heed to hype. I take my time, look closely, consider carefully, and apply when I feel I have a decent chance of succeeding.
Best To All,
The Humble Fishe
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