Hubby has gotten his first unemployment check, and that was a real disappointmant. For one thing, their maximum amount is only $450 no matter how much you made before, and we can't live on that! Plus, since he was a doormat as usual and went back to work for that temp job for one more day, the amount he earned was subtracted from his check.

(They had terminated him early when the guy he was replacing came back early from vacation, but then begged for help the next week when they found out the guy couldn't handle to new supply system by himself. And yet they wouldn't offer hubby more $$, and in looking at my bills yesterday I found out he spent almost everything he made paying for gas to get to that job! Suckage!)

When I called EDD (for those who haven't gone through this humiliation, that is the Employment Development Department, i.e., the U.S. unemployment office), after being on hold for what seemed like forever (probably closer to 40 minutes), I talked to a snotty little bee-atch. When I was trying to determine what effect temp work would have on hubby's check, she made sure to tell me that if he "refused work" he wouldn't be eligible at all. She really sounded like she relished saying that, whereas everything else was related in a bored voice and unintelligible diction.

So here is a warning to anyone who may be in the same boat. Do not look for temp work, so that you do not have to "refuse" it. Otherwise you could be stuck slaving away at unlivable wages and have no time to conduct a search for a real job.

Here is what I found out later, no thanks to her:
The formula is that you get to "keep" 25% of what you earn, and the rest is deducted from your check. If you make over $600 for the week, you would not get a check but you could get it in a week you didn't earn anything. If it is less, however, you get the reduced check and lose one of your weeks. It is so disgusting I don't even feel like describing how much that sucks.

Another item for the Tip Jar:
I had to fill up just over half a tank the other day, and it cost $30. Obviouslyu we don't have that kind of money. But I have to tell you, I have always been so responsible with our budget that even when hubby had a job, I would never spend $30 at one time unless it was a really special occasion. We would only eat out when I had two-for-one coupons, never went to movies, etc. How sad we had to take the birthday check hubby's dad sent him and put it in the gas tank.

So it is infuriating to be put in this no-win position of contributing to the billions of dollars of weekly profits for evil oil execs when we are gradually dwindling away to potential homelessness. Again, I am too disgusted to continue.