I just got a revelation this morning - literally, Revelations 2:12 popped into my mind. I don't read the Bible, but I thought it was important to look it up. Truth is a two edged sword.
I just went through a humbling experience with the unemployment insurance claim I just made. I was forced to inquire about work, which was ethically wrong because I'm not ready to return because of COVID concern for an elderly family member who my wife adores. My father in law has to visit our house often as he attends to his medical concerns. He lives in another town - an isolated small town.
So I inquired about work in order to boost my options for a later reward from the UI trust fund. I was so cynical about how it all got started. Christmas week I got a call from UI out of the blue, asking if I'd like to sign up for extended benefits in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program - a Federal program that has strict certification requirements that you look for work with two employers each time you claim.
I said okay, since I thought it couldn't hurt. When I asked about work search requirements after the end of the qualification questions, I was told it was strict, and couldn't be waived like it was with regular benefits. So I finished the call with a Merry Christmas greeting, not wanting to admit that I was thinking, thanks, but no thanks.
I completely wrote it off after finding out that the first claimed week is also a waiting week, and that I had got signed up on the last week. So more cynicism about that ensued, piled on top of what I had leftover from politics and my work layoff. Then I got a letter showing my UI potential remaining at a huge number, a week after the benefit year ended. More cynicism and some indignation.
What I have found out at this time is that I have had some guardian angels looking out for me. With one painful, stressful ethical self-examination and a lot of wondering what in the heck is going on with this program, I now know so much more about so many things, including myself.
Maybe Honeybee and this board is another angel in this crazy world of mixed up messaging. |
