Challenges

H. is working on choosing a different path.  Warehouse work is not going all that well these days.  Temp agencies hire people; the company they are assigned to works them to death - complete with their 'regular' employees berating and verbally abusing the temps all day long.  The work is physically hard and H.'s most recent company made issues of even needing bathroom breaks!  Needed because he is sweating profusely for hours on end and needs to hydrate himself.  Water breaks they will provide.  But bathroom breaks?  No.  That's an issue.

Yesterday, he stepped on a nail in the warehouse - went through his work boots and into his foot!  They told him to 'shake it off'.  He pulled the nail out of his foot (leaving a hole that is very sore) and kept working.  But he's not shaking it off - he's going to the doctor this morning to get a tetanus shot.  That's on his mother's orders - not his boss.  They couldn't care less that he hasn't had a tetanus shot since God knows when....nor that the nail left some 'particles' of something in his foot.

Needless to say, it's doubtful he will be returning to that warehouse company.  A Google search revealed things like 'it's a sweatshop'; 'management is horrible to employees', etc. .

I think the only good thing about him being unemployed again is that it is clarifying for him that education and a marketable skill is critical.  Anyone can unload trucks by hand.  Anyone.  And if you are working via a temp agency doing manual labor, you are going to be treated badly.  Even illegally.

So we are helping him look into vocational programs - and/or certificate programs for skills like welding.  He brought up welding...something I had wondered if he might be interested in.  The kid is no slacker - he works very hard.  He really does.  He has no issue with long hours and manual work - he just wants to be paid a fair, good wage and not be treated badly.

We are hoping that when he moves back home in a couple weeks, he will decide to go back to school and spend the next year or two working on an actual skill he can use to find work.  He even mentioned 'I will get a job at SaveMart or Raley's to have some money coming in while I go to school'.  Hmmm - that's quite a switch from the kid who insists he'd rather die than work in a job where he has to deal with 'the public'.

Temp jobs aren't a long term solution to becoming self supporting.  They never will be - and I think he sees that now.  I hope so.

As for son #1, he told J. yesterday that his request for vacation in July was met with a 'don't plan for any time off in July 'cuz by the way, you are heading into a three week class that will prepare you to be deployed.  We need replacements'.

Alrighty then.

Either Afghanistan or Jordan.  We are praying for Jordan.

My computer at work was acting up most of the weekend and yesterday, the county sent out staff to assist.  They also spent most of the afternoon running various scans which weren't complete as I left at 4PM - didn't want to leave but couldn't do anything without my laptop so headed home.  I'm hoping all will be resolved today 'cuz the budget is presented to the board in two weeks (from today!) and I still have quite a bit to get done on that 'project'.  Oh, and today is meetings for most of the morning into the afternoon.

And I will undoubtedly be taken to lunch as the day of my birth is celebrated.  Yep - it's my birthday and I have to say that awakening to Facebook greetings from friends and family far and wide is so fun!  It's like a once a year party of 'hey, you were born!  Way to go!'.

I commence my 54th year on the planet tomorrow - turning 53 is just a number.