We all sat at 8 person tables and I sat next to Connie Beck. She would later become the head of the entire agency. We chatted pleasantly during dinner. It was something to see that while at work she was evil, but at the party she was normal. There was a disc jockey that played classic rock songs and we danced. Victoria and I slow danced to some ballad... We almost never danced because Victoria was in constant pain and dancing made her hurt more. We had fun. On the way to the dance She dried her hair using the cars heater vent. I got lost and we arrived late... when we got there they were serving dinner so we just got in line. Later I realized that we were all supposed to get in line one table at a time but since we did not know the rules, we got to get served early. A co-worker of mine was wearing a very short party dress. She had pretty legs. VERY pretty.
Most of the people at work were women. It was very pleasant to be surrounded by women during 8 hours a day. I especially liked our mental health clinician, Jeannie Patterson. She was a good person to talk to when my Father was dying. Some times I had difficulty doing my job because I enjoyed chatting with my co-workers. We DID have to discuss work in order to complete our tasks but I often just wanted to stay with them and enjoy their presence. I miss the social aspect of my job but the contact with clients was unpleasant. They were often scary people who were in desperate situations and what help we offered was usually not enough. They were looking for help RIGHT NOW and we took a month to complete their cases and grant benefits. Very often clients got lost and did not show up to collect their benefits. The underlying flaw with the whole system is that homeless people often cannot plan for an event that happens in the future. That's a symptom of what their problems are. Being able to pay attention to time and space is beyond them. That's one of the reasons they need help.
After I retired, the place imploded. I was able to complete my own client's cases and help others as well. The remaining eligibility workers found it impossible to complete their cases on time. That meant that they had angry clients demanding payment that they could not provide. So, the county built a glass wall between the waiting room and the employees. That way the clients could scream without frightening the workers. Then two of the workers quit. They simply could not tolerate the increased anger from the clients. We had four intake workers. That left one experienced person and the new people hired to replace us. I told the people in management that our process was inefficient and took too long to grant benefits but they ignored my advice... and then they experienced the inefficiency themself. Right in their face. Instead of correcting the problems, they built a glass wall.
Government work had a lot of bizarre events. For Example: We were required to keep the thermostat at 72 degrees no matter what the employees wanted. So, we opened the windows to let in cool air half the year and ran little space heaters the other half. Very expensive way to run an office... OSHA required strict obediance to the 72 degree rule. They installed a clear plastic housing to prevent employees from changing the temperature. Some employees figured out that they could use a fingernail file to push the temperature control. That way we could have pleasant temperature without anyone to blame when the inspectors came around. Everyone was good with that. The inspectors could point to the plastic housing that "prevented" employees fiddling with the controls and that fact "got them off the hook" with their bosses.
We had a lot of meetings. I spent my time doodling on paper with a pen. My drawings showed extreme caffiene use. Then after I retired I developed an entire artform based on doodling on pages from the newspaper, maps and stock market reports. I photographed these illustrations and posted them on my blog. I used the subject of the newspaper articles as subject for my drawings. I especially enjoyed drawing on pages "left blank intentionally". That would be a good name for a techno-pop band... Another good name is "Lads Gone Native". That refers to the legend of Tarzan, an Englishman who went to Africa and married a Native woman. Strangely, in the movies, Jane is white... not very likely... I believe that Lord Greystoke met a Black Woman and decided to never visit England again.
My boss played keyboards for a band called "Monster Women" that had three dyke looking ladies and him. They played "Glam Rock"... I saw them play at a "SpamFest" at our local baseball field. It was a fund raiser for the local schools and a lady from the office invited me on Facebook... They served many different types of Spam dishes... all horrible... I took a hike in the woods behind the baseball fields as there are redwood forests for miles there in the Cutten section of Eureka. Thankfully, kids on motorcycles have created trails that go all over the woods. These are the same woods that came up to our apartment. I loved sitting out in the forest smoking cigarettes while it was raining. A redwood tree absorbs the first day of a rainstorm before the leaves start dripping. In the winter, there are many days that are not really raining but not really dry. Sort of a fog... Those days it is dry on the forest floor. I buried two cats out there in the woods behind our home.
Read more of my autobiography at:
http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/03/growing-up-in-los-gatos-california-in.html
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