Update 11-22-14

• I still think about working at Goodwill. I kind of miss it, but as time goes by I miss it less and less. The things I remember are the latest things and don't remember the past part. Good times, bad times, it's a fading memory. I don't really keep in touch anymore because people there because we don't have much in common except my curiosity as to who's there, who's not, who's favored, who isn't. I DO miss my IT buds, some of my Data Processing buds, and I never really got to say goodbye to a few people. At least I did say goodbye to most of my IT people. Cindy occasionally calls, but I haven't called her back. A nice thing-people sent good luck-farewell little cards and did a collection for gift cards. That was nice. I still wonder about Ramon, though-we went through a lot together, he and I were each other's sounding boards, and I do miss him.
• School is an eye-opener. I only took two classes and realize that the most I can take will be 3 classes/9 units, the minimum for a Pell Grant. Have to get my financial stuff in order first. I thought I could handle any teacher. Well, the exception came up-this guy for one of my classes (and BTW the class has been INVALUABLE to me re: my writing and email writing. It's been a wonderful class) is a great teacher BUT administratively he's all messed up. Doesn't give us the tools beforehand like glossaries, study guides, etc. then the tests assume you know the vocab. I snaked some stuff off the other instructor's web page, used that stuff, and STILL only got 60 out of 75!! SOMETHING's wrong. But I had always considered myself a really good writer, and this class has made me a BETTER writer, business-wise.
• My unemployment runs out the first week of December, so I'll have to tap into my retirement account. Hey, that's what it's there for, right? I've gotten some nibbles on my resume and 4 actual phone interviews, but they didn't even have the courtesy of letting me know that I wasn't chosen. Unfortunately, I still am really BIG, so I don't have any proper interview clothing. 
• My mental state is much more relaxed and I'm getting lots of stuff done around the house. Mostly landscaping and decluttering. We're going to have a HELL of a garage sale in December!! (and that'll cover some of the losses of unemployment)
• 
  

7-5-2014 Some thoughts about what I did REALLY WELL at GOC and how I'm affected NOW:

THE SHORT VERSION:

I posted this on the AVVO website a little while go.
I was made aware of this situation appx 3 hours ago.

"Unprovoked physical injurious attack on tenant & another outside person by tenant's landlord on landlord's property.

This is regarding a friend "Lyn". 

Tenant Lyn had been living there 4 months. Incident occurred when she did not close her room door after leaving room. Landlord "Tim" verbally & physically attacked Lyn due to this, also attacked man "Bub" whom Lyn called to be picked up. Injuries include severe contusions on Lyn and Bub; severe contusions around Lyn's eye area indicates possible head injury. Severe lacerations (not requiring suture) present on Bub's neck and leg. Landlord smashed tenant's cell phone & said, "NOW you CAN'T call the police!" Police & 911 called to home of Bub, BUT Lyn did NOT want to go to hospital. Neither injured parties went despite urging. Police subsequently arrested Tim. Current charges not known.
Poss. exists incident was in LA Co. by Orange Co."

I also emailed a lawyer acquaintance with these basics, below:

Do you know of a lawyer, contingency-based (and THIS case could easily run into some bucks, contingency-wise!) who does criminal law for:

Landlord liability re: tenant abuse:

Landlord physically and verbally abusing tenant, mental and harassment included:

Landlord physically and verbally abusing person who went to pick up tenant:

Landlord destruction of tenant property:

Tenant fearful of everything now!:

Tenant has NOWHERE to go.

and THAT'S just for starters!!!

We're (ok, I'M) doing a blow-by-blow (oh shit, sorry, bad joke) of who-what-where-when-why with notes, pictures and audio, but I REALLY FEEL there shouild be a lawyer in the mix. 

The lady in question is handicapped, in shock right now, didn't want to go to the hospital because she couldn't afford it (I pointed out to the person who's doing the recording with my recorder that she SHOULD go to the hospital because since the attack happened when she was a tenant, the landlord's property insurance must pay!!) 

It just happened this morning.

I don't have her phone number which is not helpful anyway because the property he destroyed was her cell phone.

There's another handicapped lady living there too & she's afraid to open her mouth. He verbally abuses her too.

The point I'm making here regarding my position at Goodwill is that I was always called upon to do some basic/preliminary legal research for something.

I usually really researched it and then gave a synopsis with references as to what I had found out, thereby letting the requesting party know the basics and they could decide to go from there without sounding like they didn't know anything.

I JUST NOW realized that my basic talent is to research and find out what people DON'T KNOW, so they can know a little bit about what they request and KNOW THE RIGHT QUESTIONS TO ASK.

Example:

Someone is taking a medication, has heard that a different but similar medication might work better, they ask me to find out about it.

I go into research mode by:

1. Finding out what they're on now, for what, dosage, etc.:
2. Why they're on it:
3. How long they've been on it, and
4. Does the medication researched do that also? What differences or similarities does this medication have with the other one? What are the contraindications (like, what side effects) are there for each medication?

So in effect, I gave the requestor the information they need to determine WHAT QUESTIONS THEY WANT OR NEED TO ASK their doctor?

Information is key: information allows you to be on top of what you NEED to be, without taking others' word for it.

I'm basically not a distrustful person per se, BUT I like to know whatinthehell someone's talking about so I can figure out why they're talking about it and the affects. But I've always like to learn things, because even if something I learn doesn't affect me or mine now, it could point me into a direction that I need to go for something else. And THAT'S why I feel my research skills are SO important for others!

YES, OF COURSE I always protect myself with caveats, like 'Information I'm providing is not necessarily provided by a professional, this information is just for general use and doesn't mean it applies specifically to you, blah blah blah".

Does this make sense???

Yesterday was 'Ask the computer whiz Lynne about Outlook and about SSDI lawyers'! 

I received TWO phone calls for these topics, and you know what? ONE OF THEM I COULDN'T ANSWER!!! 

I do NOT have a fear of saying 'I don't know', sometimes people are SO SURPRISED that I don't know an answer, but I think personally it's great because I can really find out and learn about something vs. doing pure research.

ANOTHER thing that helps my research is knowing the nomenclature (i.e. words) to use to maximize the correct results.

Example:

To research the tenant/landlord thing above, I decided that first I wanted some sort of a LIST to go by i.e. questions to ask, what is needed from the injured party re: their thoughts, feelings, why they don't want to go to the hospital (because you KNOW if it goes to court, THAT'LL be brought up! "Miss Simpson, if you and others felt you were injured and you were informally told that you possibly had a head injury, WHY THEN DIDN'T YOU GO TO THE HOSPITAL?". 

I NEVER create anything or reinvent the wheel if I can find the 'wheel' online, so I Google'd 'physical attack': 'landlord attacks tenant': all sorts of stuff.

Didn't get a list at ALL, not even anything CLOSE to a list!!

But I DID get

Stuff he could be charged with:

Stuff she could do NOW:

Stuff that should be paid for:

7-1-2014 Thoughts on not only being let go from Goodwill but a few updates.

I feel overwhelmed.

Checking with the school's financial aid to get a grant, doing paperwork that MUST be done ASAP before the Fall semester, going to the DOR for assistance with my disabilities in finding a job and doing school, dealing with the EDD to find a job or at least keep looking and putting in my resumes anywhere that even SEEMS to be what I can do, to hopefully get a job...

Plus Barry's away until Sunday. I feel lost, like I don't want to leave the house unless I HAVE to.

Usually when I have to save money I'll have my color & cut done professionally, then 6 weeks later I'll do the roots and color, cut my bangs and the sides of my hair myself.

I TOTALLY screwed it up. TOTALLY. I didn't count the number of minutes I was supposed to leave the color on in just one place, I put the color on all over my whole head, then left it on for LESS than half of the time it was supposed to be on! 

You've heard the term 'dirty blond'? How about 'Blah Blonde' or 'Muddy Blonde'?

Now, about GOC:

A LOT of people have left/been let go/fired/whatever since December 2013. 

Remember, a couple of posts ago I had counted appx 30 people gone?

It's gone up again. 

It's sad really-I feel for those who are still left, who are now left looking over their shoulders for the next zinger. When people leave, it not only affects the person leaving but the coworkers they leave behind, with a lot of shaking of heads and wondering whatinthehell is going on. Of COURSE there's no notice, all of a sudden people disappear into some HR black hole. 

I know there's a lot of reshuffling going on, but reshuffling to the tune of giving those few who are still there, giving them more work to cover from the people who were let go.

You've heard the phrase, 'Root, hog, or die' meaning hog, you gots ta dig up your dinner or else you not gettin' any dinner?! If I may paraphrase that, at Goodwill, with all the tasks and responsibilities being shuffled around, it'd be "Time Management, hog, or be gone".

The count of people gone, no matter how, is now

9 people from ETES: Job Placement/Vets 4: HR 4: Finance 3: A/P 3: 6 people from MarCom/Development: and Trans 2.

There are a couple of odd ones here and there, but those are the ones that come to mind NOW. 

In ETES, one person who I counted that had to leave is actually working in Human Services, so I took them off my count.

There weren't that many people in MarCom/Development to BEGIN with! Of course, two of those who left were high-falutin' creative people who left because they got other jobs, but still...

Data Processing lost 5 right off the bat.

A couple of people gone from satellite facilities, several gone from other internal departments, HR people left/were let go, it's unbelievable.

Why do I bother doing this, this counting, shaking my head, wondering why? Because I do, I can't explain it.

There were some really GOOD people, EXCELLENT people who left. 

It reminds me of some stories I'd heard of Nazi Germany, when the Nazis were on the warpath against all sorts of people & not just the Jews. A LOT of people who left Germany just before war broke out were doctors and scientists, so basically Nazi Germany drove out or imprisoned some of their best talent. (I'm still looking for proof of that theory, but it sounds logical so I'll use it)

Comparing GOC with the Red 'Witch' hunts/McCarthyism and with Nazi Germany, I'm really rolling along here! It's a bummer because up until about a year ago, I'd tell people I worked at the second happiest place on earth.

POST NUMBER WHATEVER on June 28 2014. A LOT has happened since my position was eliminated from Goodwill of Orange County about 5 weeks aqo. The topics today are feelings and fear.

This will kinda be a random mish-mash of thoughts and feelings and realizations for the past 10 days or so.

FEELINGS AND OBSERVATIONS:  

• I feel like I can't ever go into a Goodwill store, or won't, for a long time.
• I feel grateful that I have a lot of my ex-coworkers' personal emails and personal phone numbers, just to keep in touch. BUT I NOTICED when I called a coworker the other day, we chatted, then he had to get off the phone  after 10 minutes because he was concerned that someone would hear him talking to me.
• I feel like I can't look at any Goodwill Facebook stuff without thinking of being there or thinking of my friendly coworker Joe. I also can't get my mind into the 'Find The Good' in the Goodwill marketing, not just because he created it, but because it was true. WAS true. I've tried to find the good. It's not there anymore. It's not Goodwill anymore, it's GoodGrief. (ala Charlie Brown)
• I do NOT feel that the current organization is the 'we' or 'my' Goodwill that I felt before; I feel it's taken on a totally different personality, like when a person has a brain disease and changes from a loving, benevolent, empathic, sensitive and kind person to a malicious, vindictive, bullying and unfair entity. 
• I feel there was (and still is) no 'open door policy' anymore (except MAYBE in one or two departments): either the manager doesn't want to listen and shoos you out, or they're too busy. Time was we could walk into any manager's or Senior Leadership office and be listened to, even intra-departmental. Now, absolutely NOT. The thought is that if you're seeing this manager/senior leadership person, you're not going thru channels and are now considered a 'loose cannon'. The thought is that if you just go down to chat, you're not doing your job and so are expendable.
• I feel as my hubs does, that we'll find somewhere else to donate our items, since the Human Services Division's Reduction in Force (which laid off my coworkers including myself in that particular Division) means possibly that the thrift store monies won't be going to programs, if they're eliminating the people who RUN the programs behind the scenes. 
• I feel that for mgmt to go over budget for 2 years in a row and to make the Human Services/Education, Training and Employment Division cut back so terribly much, well, it speaks of bad internal management. Our Division had a budget: a budget of income, expenses, etc that everyone agreed on. All of a sudden in May, 5 people BOOM were let go from my department. So if the budget was so good and approved in December 2013, and we had to keep to it, what specifically did the Division spend to necessitate the laying off of my department's employees? The savings ended up to be I figure approximately $11,000 per month, or $75,000 total for the 7 months left to the year. Who was tracking fiscally and decided that these people had to go IMMEDIATELY? Others in the Division had been let go/quit since December 2013 and that added up to a nice chunk of change TOO, I figure to the tune of $24,000 per month or $165,000 for the 7 months until the end of the year. These employees were in different departments within the Human Services Division and had left at different times from December 2013 until May, so there were additional expense savings during the first 5 months of 2014 because those positions were never replaced. Hmmm, I figure that total of savings for the next 7 months is appx $240,000, JUST for those 7 months and not the whole year. WHAT did the Human Services Division DO to warrant this housecleaning? Did the Board of Directors and whoever, if anyone, is supposed to keep track of expenditures and overages, do so? I fear not. I feel that Goodwill of Orange County is VERY selective whose departments' expenditures they track. If the Board implemented some sort of internal thing, it's too little, too late. 
• FEAR is running the organization. Fear of talking even confidentially. During a text, an ex-coworker told me that 'Everyone has been quite shush about what is happening nowadays". When I texted another ex-coworker that my old department area probably seemed like a morgue, they wrote, "I don't even know cause i haven't really been there and i am not allowed there anymore! " When I asked them who decided, they texted, "it was my manager's decision. it's not a secret but only a few people know and i wana keep it that way. I don't want to make a big deal or anyhing... it's supposedly because of <one reason>. But the few people that know don't like it at all. Its actually been going on for a long time. Almost since they started being my boss, but my boss keeps going back and forth on their decision and its annoying! They say that they don't want me to be isolated from the department but doesn't want me to go to my old department area. My manager is a very nice person but I am a person that needs consistency from my boss." My ex-coworker's last text comment on this subject was, "I swear there gona end up fireing everyone and left with no one to do the job." 
• ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF FEAR: when a VP person was let go, he attempted to send an email to certain people to say goodbye and keep in touch. His email address had his name. WITHIN 10 MINUTES, all those emails disappeared within the Global Network of the employees he emailed, even the 'sent' emails that people sent in reply to his farewell email disappeared. Does this strike you as paranoia? 
• I feel senior management is selective in treating their employees to the point of, as they say in prison, 'mad-dogging'. Mad dogging is a term usually used for a type of harassment, but 'harass' is too strong a word. But you'll get the idea regarding how when senior management roams the halls away from their plush comfy caves, the FEELING seems the same. 'Mad-dogging' is a term used in the prison and corrections community, when corrections staff harass inmates to the point of creating non-existent write ups and punishments, plus now having the hopeless feeling of never being listened to, EVER. No more open door policy, you'll just get targeted. As an example, I quote from a website with the definition of 'mad-dogging', "another interesting observation about prison corrections officers is that every institution appears to have one person who was thought of as the "mad dog lieutenant". With a rank of lieutenant, this individual was a member of management, and someone who could act for the warden in the warden’s absence. The mad dog cop would act in seemingly irrational ways and appeared to enjoy harassing inmates with aggressive interrogations followed by a trip to the hole." There is Mad Dog Lieutenant 'MDL'-type person at Goodwill. Harass, however, is too strong of a word, although it could fit for the fear people there have about being seen on camera talking to others. I think that this person is 'rattling the cage', calling employees into the office on the pretext of gathering information, but without the employee's manager knowing about it, and deliberately lying when the employee asks if they're in trouble and answering 'no'. Frankly, if the employee wasn't in trouble, there'd be no reason for this person to be involved, it'd be handled by the manager. This I experienced twice within one week. Up until then I thought I had had a good relationship with them, even assisting with some of the administrative projects that were time-sensitive. After that, however, my dealings with them were in the form of 'gentle grilling' with the undertone of  'If you don't do this, you'll be in bad shape'. Hey, I ended up in bad shape ANYWAY, but by doing as they said, I kept my job for another few months.
• I know that in June 2013 for a Goodwill golf tournament, the press release from Marketing said that proceeds would go to programs for Goodwill, then all of a sudden one week prior to that, it was announced by SENIOR management that the proceeds would go to Enduring Independence aka our Veteran's program. The event I heard netted appx $10,000-$15,000. Where'd that money go?

Here are a few telltale signs of organizational fear:

1. DISTRUST REIGNS: Would this be your knife in my back? When employees have to stop and ask themselves, "Is it safe to tell Marybeth my idea?" you have a fear problem in your organization. 
2. Numbers rule. Sensible performance goals help people understand what's important. An obsession with metrics, daily, weekly, and hourly, and a world view that says an employee is the sum of his numeric goals, are signs of a fear-based culture. 
3. And rules are in the thousands. Maybe the most stereotypical yet valid sign of a fear-based workplace is an overdependence on policies in place of smart hiring and common sense. These organizations fear their own employees' instinctive reactions to everyday circumstances (the need to book a business trip, order a stapler, or schedule a vacation day), so they install lengthy, tedious policies to keep employees from thinking independently. A need to tout the trust and openness in the organization constantly can be another red flag. As someone said, "The more an employer drones on and on in the handbook and other employee materials about trust, the less trusting they are." The policies and procedures are changed constantly, and employees are responsible for them even though there's no notification that there's a new policy. Management's mantra is, "You're responsible for it whether or not you know about it". There is NO excuse for 'not knowing'. 
4. Management considers lateral communication suspect. Evidently sharing ideas and communications in organizations that don't allow employees to communicate openly with one another are places where fear has made inroads.
5. Information is hoarded. Closely related to the question "Can employees in my company chat freely?" is the question "How do people find out how things work around here?" If the sole answer is, "Ask your manager," or people are afraid to be seen talking to you for fear they're giving you some answers that they don't know if they're allowed or not, you've got some creepy-crawly fear bugs on your hands. Cultures that allow people to hoard what they know are cultures where fear has smashed trust under its heel. Likewise, if employees learn about a company layoff through the grapevine or in the newspaper vs. a frank sitdown with their managers and their teams, something is rotten in Denmark, and fear is a silent partner in your management roster.
6. Management leads by fear. When senior leaders make virtually all decisions in secret, dole out information in unhelpful drips, and the PA system all but blares "Be glad to have a job, stop whining, and get back to work," your company's fear problem is off the charts. When leadership is based on keeping people in the dark and keeping them off-balance, no one benefits except the tier of managers near the top who justify their existence by devising ways to solidify their stature.  

POST NINETEEN on Monday, June 16 2014-Thoughts on losing my position at Goodwill. TOPIC-The Job Hunt prep.

I created my own logo. I don't know if anyone will notice that the words can spell an acronym, SRAM aka Static Random Access Memory.

Small definition of RAM/SRAM:
RAM (pronounced ramm) is an acronym for random access memory, a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly; that is, any byte of memory can be accessed without touching the preceding bytes. RAM is the most common type of memory found in computers and other devices, such as printers.
There are two different types of RAM:

• DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory)
• SRAM (Static Random Access Memory).

The two types of RAM differ in the technology they use to hold data, with DRAM being the more common type. In terms of speed, SRAM is faster. DRAM needs to be refreshed thousands of times per second while SRAM does not need to be refreshed, which is what makes it faster than DRAM.

Here's my logo for business cards et al:

SRAM-Service, Resourceful, Ability, Microsoft Office

POST 18 on June 15 2014 - Thoughts upon leaving Goodwill. TOPIC: I took a 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go' test PLUS motivational thoughts.

I took this test, and even though I had been laid off, it made me think. Here's my email to the creator of the test, Scott Dinsmore at Liveyourlegend.net. The link for the test is at the bottom of this post.

"OK, my thoughts about your test. Sorry, long-winded as usual for me.

Even though my work laid me off about 3 weeks ago, I took the test. I had interesting thoughts, VERY interesting thoughts!!!

1. Overall, it determined if I was ready to go or not.

2. The test brought up some questions of my OWN! It...Made...Me...THINK!!!

     a. I compared the way I HAD felt about my company the last 2 years (2012 to the present) with how I felt prior to those last two years (2004 to 2011).

     b. The test questions made me think about what I WANTED in employment, vs. a paycheck.

     c. I listed the questions then put in comments of my own. Example: for questions #5, 10, 14, 17, 21 and 24,  I put in a comment that 'I'd like to get this question/answer into my resume or an interview, or at least get the concept clear somehow vs that old cliché, ‘use my talents and skills to the benefit of self and company’.'  Word document is attached.

     d. IMO, Questions 22 and 25 are the most important, because one has to define those within oneself before they can be applied to any potential employment!

 # 9 comes close because I need to DEFINE my personal values before I can apply them to a job!!!

A little background: Prior to 3 1/2 weeks ago,  for 10 years I worked at a local non-profit organization. We provided education, training and employment services to the disabled and disadvantaged. MY Division, was the embodiment of this. We used to be the reason our organization existed and it was OUR Division that embraced and gave REASON for the MISSION.

The company has changed. Management's version of the Mission and the organization's vision has changed in the last 2 years, and changed to the tune of doing 34 layoffs, terminations, RIF's, whatever, since December of 2013, half of them within my Division, including me.

So, with the comparison to the two time frames in mind, the percentage was 51% that I'd say yes it was time to go, but at least to go on very good terms. And I did.

As Clarence Oddbody said in the 1946 movie, "It's A Wonderful Life", "Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"

After 10 years, I left a hole.

I'm planning to be THAT GOOD at my next position, to do the exact thing for any company I'd leave: to leave a legacy of a 'hole'.

You have provided a HUGE step for me, in that direction.

Well done, Scott: WELL done!!"

The test referred to is at http://shouldiquittest.com/

Even if you love (for the most part) what you do, take the test anyway; it will line you up to analyze your own purpose at whatever organization you're at and in your life.

It's Never Too Late To...

POST SEVENTEEN on Thursday, June 12 2014. Deduction percentages regarding 'dismissal compensation'. Continuing with position eliminated at Goodwill of OC

Inner circadian getting better. A little.

Found out my dismissal compensation at my prior workplace was ready, decided to be-bop down there with Barry then take him for some dinner.

The net was appx 1/3 less than the gross amount. The percentages break down -

GROSS +100.00%

FIT	-12.63%
SSI	-6.20%
MEDI	-1.45%
SIT	-4.47%
SDI	-1.00%
403 (B)	-3.00%
OTHER	-2.82%

MY NET   -64.43%

Notice that this total of all the deductions and my net now appx total the gross distribution of 100%.

Amazing that almost 1/3 of the gross goes for all this stuff! And I TOTALLY forgot that the retirement stuff still came out. I gotta do something about that.

NORMALLY, a company has two ways to go to figure out the Fed and State tax withholding. Some background:

If you read the tax code, you will notice that the Internal Revenue Service goes to great lengths to categorize different types of income and treat them differently. Bonuses are another example of this. In the eyes of the IRS, bonuses are typically categorized as “supplemental wages.” As a University of Minnesota summary explains:

“The IRS defines supplemental wages as compensation paid in addition to the employee’s regular wages that includes, but is not limited to, severance or dismissal pay, vacation pay, back pay, bonuses, moving expenses, overtime, taxable fringe benefits, and commissions.”

As such, bonuses (like other supplemental wages) are treated differently than ordinary wage or salary income. There are two ways of taxing bonuses: the percentage method and the aggregate method. 

1. THE PERCENTAGE METHOD:

The IRS specifies a flat “supplemental rate” of 25%, meaning that any supplemental wages (including bonuses) should be taxed in that amount. If you receive a $5,000 bonus, under this rule, $1,250 (25% of $5,000) goes straight to the IRS. Using this approach, the amount of your bonus – whatever it is – is “singled out” from the rest of your income and taxed directly. Employers frequently choose the percentage method because it’s easy and mindless to tax the entire bonus at a uniform rate.

2. THE AGGREGATE METHOD

Unlike the much simpler percentage method, the aggregate method is when your employer adds the amount of your bonus (say, $5,000) to your most recent regular paycheck. Then, they determine the normal withholding amount based on IRS withholding tables for the sum of both amounts, subtract what was already withheld from your last paycheck, and withhold the rest from the bonus amount.

Calculating the tax on the severance pay

For my severance, Goodwill used the aggregate method, which was using my tax withholding rate that was in their system vs the flat out 25%. Which was a GOOD thing. 

BUT DON'T FORGET...THAT'S ONLY FEDERAL!!! 

California COULD'VE withheld 6.6%, but again, Goodwill used the 'aggregate' method utilizing my on board withholding from my most current W-4 and only took out 4.47%.

MORE TO COME...