It's been a while since I posted. I'm trying to figure out how to go back to school (in classes now) and to then pay for school. Reality certainly bites.

Then today came and I got an email from Working America with the latest main street blog post, and my issues seem so far removed now.

I "lost" my job way back in 1995 and 1996. My daughter was 2 and then 3 at the time. I can't say that I lost the first one as a matter of anything more than being replaced by a free worker. The State of Ohio at the time had what were called State Operated Service workers. They had worked at the local mental health facilities in the state, but as the state screwed up the entire mental health system and all of its workers, the state then offered to pay the salaries of the SOS workers for a given time. I was replaced by one of these workers.

He was a nice guy. I worked along side him for a while. And as painful a situation as it was, it wouldn't hold a candle to the hell I would then suffer in county government.

It's funny how life works.

Looking back now, I feel grateful to both agencies for firing me. I hated both jobs and felt like I couldn't do anything right, ever. But, at the time, with a small child and a husband that had just realized his undying love for another woman, well, let's just say, I didn't find joy or gratitude in my situation. I'm not sure how I was even able to hold either job at the time. I was terribly unhappy, had a cheating husband, a small little one to worry about and when he left me after the 2nd job loss, I really didn't think I'd ever find peace again.

That's when I went to work on a congressional campaign.

I found not only my footing again, but my candidate won. And then, he gave me a glowing recommendation. Based on his letter and the degree I'd gotten a few years earlier, I landed a job in the federal government.

I haven't had a lot of good bosses in federal service. But the ones who have been good, have so stood out for their ability to treat workers like we're human beings, that they almost make up for what I've been through up to this point.

After nearly 13 years in federal service, I feel as if I may have finally found the right spot for me and my skills. Both me and my skills are even appreciated, often cited as a resource and then last week, I was named one of 100+ women in Government and Technology.

So, I feel for the writer and everyone else out there who's been devastated with job loss:

On these matters, I can only speak for myself. What struck me most immediately was that, without my job, I had no place to go to. Not just the routine of going to work, but having a sense of ‘place’ and belonging in and to a place, was suddenly taken from me. The psychologist James Hillman has written extensively on the subject of the soul being nourished by its sense of place, and that our workplaces are, or should be, vital places that help instill a sense of shared purpose, of mutual encouragement, so that they themselves have a sense of soul.

I completely agree, work gave me a sense of being, of having meaning greater than being a mom or a wife. Being unemployed, made me realize, that I really was nothing without a job. I was not able to provide. I was not able to function. I had no where to go. But from this abyss, I found meaning by volunteering on a campaign. Running a campaign office, scheduling events, training canvassers, designing walk lists, calling voters and walking door to door with my 3 year old, it all gave me new life and new meaning. And when he stood on that stage and thanked all of us, I was so proud of what I'd accomplished and how I felt about everything that I had done. It took a while before I was working again, 2 and a half months to be precise, but since then, I have found that we can do some amazing things when we get screwed over. Even stuff, you never thought you had in you.

So, to all of my sisters and brothers out there, I'm in your corner, hoping that through this rough, terrible, sickening time, you are able to find hope, peace and ultimately a new place to hang your hat.

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A searchable database that uses zip codes. Kind of cool and I thought, let's share the news:

Working America and the AFL-CIO have put together a new site: http://www.unemploymentlifeline.com/

It's a massive database (closing in on 60,000 items and still growing) of resources for unemployed workers. Since unemployed/underemployed is now the biggest "job" category in the country, and unemployment rates just keep going up, this is a crisis for all working people and the Unemployment Lifeline is about dealing with that. In addition to the zip code searchable database of unemployment offices, nutritional and utility assistance information, affordable health clinics, child care, and so on, it includes forums for people to make connections with others who are unemployed, a wiki for strategies to get by, and, equally importantly, action alerts to give jobless workers the chance to fight back.

There's a diary up on Dailykos about it as well.

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I love coffee. I could bathe in it I love it so much. You could hook me up to an IV and just pump it into my veins (I still need to taste it though). I love the smell of it, the taste, the way it dances across my tongue and trickles down my throat. The way the smell can transport me to far off places and a really really good cup (think Illy or Swings in DC and Harbor Perk in Ashtabula) is almost orgasmic. I just absolutely love really good coffee. And all of this is a way for me to say, I hate Starbucks.

Starbucks tastes burnt to me.

I have described it that way for EVER. I can drink their iced coffee with heavy cream and lots of splenda (I don't do refined sugars right now, it's a cleansing ritual), but I can't force myself to try and even think of doing it during the day time, when it's hot and fresh. Hot and Fresh Starbucks is like asking to taste dreck.

Of course, there have also been those employment issues too for Starbucks. Like when they lost that case in California where they were not paying their shift supervisors enough and those shifters were then sharing tips with the other employees, as is Starbucks policy:

Starbucks has been ordered to pay $105 million in tips to California baristas, after losing a class-action lawsuit. The court ruled that shift-supervisors illegally took a portion of employees tips, since there is a state law prohibiting managers and supervisors from sharing such tips. Starbucks company policy states all tips are to be divided among all workers, regardless of position. The ruling further states Starbucks must immediately change their tip policy to conform with California law.

Starbucks is appealing both rulings, claiming shift supervisors have the same duties as baristas and should be rewarded for superior customer service. While the appeal is pending Starbucks has stated that they will not be refunding any tips to baristas and will not be changing their tip policy. Similar lawsuits have been filed in Massachusetts and Minnesota.

Starbucks had been expanding at exponential rates, kind of like how Wal-Mart has, like a virus. And I really never could figure out why...it tastes like it's burnt and I feel pretty much just like The Writing-on-the-Wal about them:

The way this has operated in the past was for them to open many stores in a region and drive out local coffee shops. Starbucks would open stores until the new ones were actually draining business from existing ones, not just competitors.

Like Walmart they could afford to do this since more profitable stores elsewhere could subsidize the costs in the new region. The fact that they have made their name selling overpriced burnt-tasting coffee just adds to the interest in seeing them stumble.

And I do agree, and then there was the announcement about 300 more store closings (didn't they shut down 800 this past December/November? or was that just a Stephen Colbert Show goof?). That's 6700 freshly unemployed and many folks. And as much as I hate their coffee, their expansion and their tipping policies, I still wouldn't want to be the person who came to work today to find out, that's it. It really just sucks. It sucks more from a worker point of view (and let's face it we're talking about a lot of moms and single women here) than even their sucky coffee tastes. All in all, Starbucks just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

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