A Busy and Encouraging Day

Went to mandatory WorkSource orientation to unemployment claims, job search strategies, and WorkSource services this morning. Hosted by "Johnny" it was very upbeat and surprisingly encouraging. He put a positive spin on everything. I was in love with him immediately. ; >

Spent an hour in a quiet WS lobby with my papers spread out in front of me, preparing for my plan of dropping in for a 1:1 session with a counselor. I had listed many of the tasks I do in skilled nursing facilities and in nursing, and I dissected them to extract out the skills involved; then I organized the skills by type of skill [communication, dealing with objects, i.e. concrete operations, or analytical skills] and listed them out, so I could have a list of transferable skills to some other occupation. I intended to ask about what other occupations might be a good fit with the skills I have already.

Then I went to my car and ate a salad, phoned my husband who hasn't been feeling well and left a message. While I was in the car I received a call from an unfamiliar number and was invited to have an interview with a home health company on Tuesday. So that was very encouraging.

Then I went back to WS and spoke with "Kathleen" who listened to my various tales of woe and suggested a Job Fit assessment I can take online; encouraged me to stay in nursing but find a way to heal what makes this so difficult for me, and then get back to her, and recommended a new Stress Management class being held in June.

I ended up going to the Pierce County Library and found a DVD based on one of the Michael Connelly novels, The Lincoln Lawyer, which I will be excited to watch. I hope it will be as good as the book. I also requested several books by Burl Barer.

In my car at the Library I phoned my husband, who has been coughing, is short of breath, and has lower extremity pitting edema. This is a person who had been shoveling tons of gravel onto the roads at his old property for years, and was definitely much more physically fit and strong than I am. He was coming to a particular urgent care clinic south of Tacoma, so I offered to meet him there on the spur of the moment. Then I decided to just head on over to the clinic, as it was West and my home was East, so it would save gas. My math may be way off, but I have guesstimated in my head that it probably costs me about sixty cents per mile to drive, now that gas is so high. Every time I fill the tank it's about $45 a pop.

I spoke to my husband at 3:30 PM. At four I called his daughter in Massechusetts [however you spell it] to mention he was on his way to the clinic. At five I called him to ask where he was. He was still gassing up his car in Eatonville. At six he finally arrived at the clinic. At seven thirty he emerged with two prescriptions in hand and instructions to return tomorrow for his lab test results. Sounds like he has pneumonia, among other things.

This is a person who really, truly has never been to a medical doctor, has practiced a vegetarian diet [including cheese and butter and etc] so assumed he would never get sick. His daughter and I both leaned on him to fill the prescriptions and take the antibiotics. I drove to the Indian restaurant where the proprietor is a friend of his and he took me to dinner. The proprietor wanted to know if I had any sisters. I said, unfortunately they are all married.

When I returned home and checked my bank balance online, I realized my unemployment insurance that I have been so frightened would never be granted without a fight, had been deposited in my account.

Wow.