That Wasn't Three Hours

Today was my mandatory workshop about unemployment. I got a notice a couple weeks ago that I had to attend and allow three hours for the workshop.

I got up, got ready, walked downtown to catch a bus.

An aside: I hate riding the bus. I really do. I think it comes from 11 years of school bus-riding. But, ugh. Hate it.

I got to the office where the workshop was to be held and, holy kittens, it was one of the more depressing places I have ever visited.

Everything was gray. The walls, the carpet, the down-trodden unemployed. Yeesh. Luckily I got to text message a friend who was at work (across the street!). She offered me happy support via text and told me to visit after my workshop.

The jobless mass (about 50 of us) were invited into a room. There had been a couple forms included with the notice to attend and the no-nonsense woman in charge of things told us to turn one of the forms in. Then she disappeared. She reappeared and passed out some packets and a sign in sheet for each of us. She disappeared again. She reappeared and collected the sign in sheets. She then went through the six or so pages of the information packet.

She then excused us.

Whaaaat?

Okay, cool, so instead of sitting in a gray room for three hours, I sat there for about a half hour. I was a little annoyed but then relieved. Time to visit my friend!

She was in a meeting.

Time to stand in the shade outside her office and read a fantasy novel loaned to me by a friend!

Meeting ended and I got to visit an office. We had quick QT and I went to a bus stop and rode downtown (I actually don't mind the bus when I'm heading back to downtown) and stopped for some food.

Finally catching up on internets for the day and I've got one of my employment requirement thingees taken care of. This, in addition to the job I applied for a couple evenings ago (or was it last night?) and that weird interview mean I'm all set for qualifying for the check this week. I'm still planning to apply to a firm where my mom's coworker's husband works (woo, networking!).

Hooray, adventures.