On Monday 01/09 I got a call from the governor's office.... from a shaky voiced intern, who told me it would take a legislative action to change how unemployment treats private hire work. He got kinda quiet when I asked if we could get started on that this week so we can start rewarding people who are doing everything they can to find work instead of punishing them and so Oregon is not such an ass-backwards place to be unemployed... judging by the silence I guess the governor is too busy saving murderers who don't want saving to have the time to try to make things better for Oregon's unemployed. At least someone actually read my letter and called me.

Yesterday Wed 01/11 I got a call from unemployment, a very nice man admitted the system is biased towards encouraging you seek employment with employers who pay into the unemployment pool. He agreed my honestly claimed $40 of cash paid income should not have held up my benefits, it was perhaps an over reaction by someone. He said he is going to release my detained benefits and I should have them by Monday.

Today 01/12 I heard from my Congressman's Intern... saying they were told it was already settled. I am to call them if I do not see my money by Monday.

I am not happy to be relying on unemployment for anything, how people hang on it for months is beyond me. I feel like another 30 days of this will make my brain explode. I hear Home Depot is hiring.... I wonder if I can sell them on the idea it would be to their advantage to have someone on site with CPR and 1st aid training...