This morning I had the unique experience of getting to visit the GA Department of Labor office. In and of itself not a bad experience, employees were as kind as they could be when dealing with lots of folks and the place was not in disrepair but beyond that, wow. It is interesting that the office is in an older building, hidden down a hill and tucked in the backside of a cul-de-sac, just pulling in makes you feel as though you should be a bit ashamed and they are tucking you away from prying eyes. I realize it's just an inexpensive location and my tax dollars thank them, but in the moment it is humbling. Not saying DOL should have fancy, expensive offices but I do wonder what effect that might have on the morale of people entering the facility in search of employment.
As I enter the building I am greeted by two "guards" one of whom is kind enough to open the door for me, which prohibits me from seeing the sign stating "NO FOOD OR DRINKS", so the other guard kindly tells me I can't enter. "Excuse me?," I respond. "You can't bring cups in here," he states. So I proceed back out to the car to leave my insulated, spill proof coffee mug. Now, back in one more time to no clear direction on where to proceed. Thankfully a kind man waiting for the same meeting points me in the right direction. I walk to the counter to check-in and the woman proceeds to speak so fast she almost made my head spin. As a fellow fast talker I appreciate the art, but lady, wow! My favorite was when I ask her a question about something she had just said and she looked at me confused not understanding how I didn't get it all the first time.
The rest of the time there was not overly interesting, just funny to me that speak down to you the whole time. The woman leading the meeting was nice, and professional, but certainly there is a feeling that people are looking down on you somehow. A little encouraging pep talk would be nice now and then. I realize it is a system that people abuse and they want to make sure that doesn't happen, but still, a little positive energy would go a long way.
The highlight to the day? Learning that because I was one of the lucky few who had filed on-line I would get to leave early in the session, yahoo! Thankfully the experience lasted just under an hour, and now I will be rolling in the riches of the world of the unemployed, ha! Better yet, good motivation to find a job to not have to rely on the system, and it's many check points to sustain my family. Hm, maybe that was their intention the entire time...
Stay tuned. You never know how many years until the next post!
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