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The strangest thing occured lately. After being denied Social Security Disablity by our wonderful and so fare country, I went to Employers Training Resources to sign up for the work program. Before going there, the thought of aquireing another job doing data and word processing nausiated me. I thought about spending 8 hours a day in front of a computer entering the same boreing data all day long, and had panic attacks. I would actually feel nausiated, and feel like I wanted to loose my lunch. I remembered my last job at the attorneys office entering data all day long, and how 8 hours seemed like 80 to me. I knew I couldn't do it again... I knew ETR had training programs for new professions if you qualified for them. Before I hadn't qualified, because of all my past working experience. Since I had some medical problems, I thought maybe now I would qualify, so I went to talk to a councelor. When I first went back to ETR, I had to sit through another 2 hour orientation again, then was scheduled to talk to a councilor. The councilor and I discussed what I thought was all the training programs they had to offer. I thought about the time limit it took to complete each class, and how soon I would be able to acturally get a job after completely it. Because of my current circumstances, I chose a class that would give me movement, as well as the shortest time limit required to complete the class. I chose training for working in a large hotel first. Before being able to acturally sign up for the hotel training program, ETR had to have a form filled out by my doctor stating I was able to do that kind of work. I gave my doctors name and the hospital she worked at, and went home to wait until the councelor called telling me she had received the form back, and I was signed up for the class. I waited, and waited, and waited, and finally called the counsilor back, and was told she still hadn't received the from my doctor. Arrrrghhh that hospital is so slow! To speed things up, since I only had one week before the next class started, (I had already missed the one) I called my doctor at the hospital. She called me back and told me the form had been sent to the legal department, and it was out of her hands. I then called the legal department, and was told it had been mailed back to ETR. I waited some more. By this time, it was a whole month since I had first gone back to ETR.... I finally received a call from my councelor telling me the hospital had put on the form that I could work, but with limitations. They had said I couldn't lift over 50 pounds, and was told the requirements for the hotel training program you had to be able to lift at least 100 pounds. Now keep in mind I am 5' 3" tall, and weight only 112 pounds myself. So even if the hospital hadn't said my limit was 50 pounds, I couldn't have lifted close to my own weight anyway. Ha. My next move was to choose another class. I chose training for a dietician cook in hospitals. I figured hey there are hospitals everywhere, so I could get a job to allow me to live while still persuing my writing goals. I told the councelor I had decided upon that class, and was told she would have to find out if that class had a weight limit as well. I went home and waited for her call again. Several days later she called me, and said that class had the same weight limit, which scratched me from that class too. Damn! My counselor made me an appointment to go to her office to discuss further classes that afternoon. I hung up the phone, walked into the living room, sat down on the couch. I sat there just thinking....and said "Someone or something is blocking me from taking those classes.....maybe I have been going in the wrong direction." At that moment I heard inside my head my son laughing. I said "Mark, you are the one who has been blocking me from these classes aren't you?" And I heard and saw him doubled over laughing. I said "Ok, fine, so which direction am I supposed to be going in?" Then I thought "Computers!" I heard Mark laugh some more, then he was gone.... That afternoon I went back to ETR and told my councelor I wanted more information about the computer classes they offered. I asked about one particular class, and was told they had just dropped that class a few days previously. The other computer class I asked about, my counselor got out a binder with a full description of the job and class, and it was broken down into several computer class titles. One of them was "Certified Professional Internet Website Designer." I hadn't even known until that moment they even offerd that class. I told my councelor I wanted to take that one. She then said to me "We send men for that class who have engineering experience, and many of them drop out of the class because it is such a hard one." I thought to myself "Yeah, so what's your point?" but said to her instead "Well...I have six webpages of my own already, and know quite a bit about creating webpages, and the HTML language required to make a webpage. I learned the hard way by using HTML only, and never the easy way by using MS Front Page and other programs used to create webpages." My counselor then said in order to take that class, everyone has to take a test first, to see if they could even handle the class. (In other wards, to see if they are as bright or brighter as some of those engineers. LOL) I said "Fine." My counselor then said she wanted to talk to the man who was in charge of all the scheduleing for those computer classes, and left me sitting there alone for a few minutes. When she came back she had the test and said I would have to take it before they went any further. We got up and went to an empty desk. I was told to bring the test back to her when I had finished and there wasn't any time limit on it. There were 3 pages of questions. Within eight minutes I was finished and took the test back to her. I told her there was one question about something I wasn't familure with, and a few that pertained to some things I hadn't done in such a long time, I wasn't certain now of the exact procedure, so I was sure I had missed a few. I had....I missed 5 questions. She took the test back to the man in charge, while I sat and waited again..... When my counselor came back, she said "He said you did exillent on the test, and he sent these for you to review, and suggested since you already know so much about webpage creating, and have 6 of your own, this class would be a great one for you to take, but by your score on the test, you qualify for both." She then laid two job and class descriptions down in front of me. One was the Webpage Designer I already told you about, and the other was teaching Microsoft programs to people. I read them both carefully, and told her I would prefer the Webpage Designing class. It was now when my councilor told me the hospital had put one other stipulation on the form they had returned to ETR. They also said I wasn't to work in any job that required any repititious movements with my hands or fingers. What??????? What kind of job is there in the whole bloody world that doesn't require some sort of repititious movements with hands and fingers? LOL I told my councelor I wanted a new form and was personally taking it to the hospital and getting all those restrictions removed. And I did. :) And I didn't screw around with the Legal department or any doctors either, I went straight to the head of the hospital, Mr. Peter Brian's office, and told his secretary what my problem was. Within an hour I left the hosptal after I was assured they would pull my chart and remove the restrictions, fill out the new form and fax it to my councelor at ETR by the next morning. And they did. The following morning I received a call from my councelor stateing she had been faxed the form, (restrictions removed) and I was already signed up for the Webpage Designer class that starts December 27, 1999. :) When I complete the class and pass all my exams, I will be certified by Microsoft as a Professional Internet Webpage Designer. To say I am thrilled and excited is putting it mildly. I need and have to have a job that not only requires using my brain, but a job with challenge too. They are a must in order for me to be happy. The class and later a job in this field will always require me learning more, and new things. It will always be a challenge keeping up with new programs, new graphics, new designs, and always require me using my brain in order to do my job. It is the New Millinieum, and jobs of the future, and I will be a part of this magnificent field. While still persueing my writing too. :) I believe without a doubt it really was my son who was blocking me from taking those other classes, because he alone knows how much computers mean to me, as well as how much learning new things and having a challenge means to me too. Other strange things have been happening a lot lately. Not only have I been having several dreams about my Son and Mom, but so has my daughter Rachel, and my granddaughter Tiffani (my sons daughter). About three weeks ago, Rachel told me all night long she dreamed of Mark and in her dream she finally said to him "Look! I know you are dead, and you keep popping into my dreams all night long, so do you have something to say to me?" Mark laughed and said "Yes, I do. I just want to tell you something good is going to happen to you real soon." Rachel woke up that next morning, and received a phone call....she was offered a new job as assistant manager to a new store opening here in our town, and working under one of her best friends Scott who had been given the job as manager. They had worked in these positions at Sam Goodies before, and both loved it. She accepted the job. :) Last weekend my granddaughter Tiffani came to spend the night with me, and told me she had a dream about her dad and Nana (my mom). She said she was trying to get a job working in a hotel, but someone she knew was staying there, so she was turned down. She said she was standing in one of the hotel rooms and heard her Dad and Nana laughing in another room, and walked and stood in the doorway. She saw Mark and Mom laying on a bed talking about blocking her from getting that job and laughing so hard about it. Now if that doesn't give you goose bumps nothing will. Ha. I explained to Tiffani, that it was me they had blocked from that hotel job class, and somehow in her dream it had been switched to her. And just possibly they were just wanting to share their happiness about their success, and good feelings with her too. Tiffani is only 10 yrs old, so far too young to be getting any job. Ha. Strange though how she dreamed exactly what was going on here with me, around the exact time I was being blocked from those classes isn't it? :) Mjjsan
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