Yup, I finished what reading I had left, took the tests, and got myself the rest of my licensing CEUs. Never mind that I have to pay three times the amount a Doctor or a Nurse pays for their license. Never mind that I have to acquire three times the amount of CEUs as a Nurse or Social Worker. Never mind that I am in the lowest paying career in contrast to the other three previously mentioned careers.
It seriously sucks to be a Substance Dependence Counselor in the State of Minnesota. $400.00 to renew my license. That is ridiculous. 40 hours of CEUs. That is ridiculous. And to make matters worse, with the slow, steady strangulation of my field, the employers are no longer supplying free in services. Roughly speaking, it is about $13.00 per CEU. I spend over $900.00 to remain in my field.
And people wonder why I am fucking mad all the time.
I really should be working on getting my CEUs for my license as a Chemical Dependency Counselor, but I am in stall mode. Usually, I am in stall mode over posting to this blog. But today, my focus is else where, and in stall mode I tend to do all those things other than what my focus is. So with that said, the long, vile, foul post I was going to write about those calling for Clinton to bow out will have to wait.
Just for the record, I am not committed to any one candidate, just to the Democratic nominee in general. Either will be more than sufficient at running our government. It is just that I have a hard time with the idea that anyone in our party should quit just because the going gets tough. So, fight on Hillary, fight on. But could you do a better job of campaigning? Seriously, you suck lately.
I am off to a job interview this morning. Oh, don't worry, I still have my current job. And, to be honest, things are going well. The deal here is that I am interviewing for a job with the Department of Corrections. Or, as most in our field say-Department of Cash.
Now, there are a whole bushel of reasons not to take this job, should it be offered; ridged inflexibility that comes with working for any government job, a philosophical approach to counseling in which I have little training and even less experience, and a 5 day work week.
My current job is very flexible; if I get a case of cabin fever while working on my paper work, I can go for an hour walk to calm myself, I have 4 day work weeks (though the 10 hours cuts into family time), I work with wonderful people, and I actually have a fair amount of experience, and self-education, with their philosophical approach to counseling.
However, the biggest draw back to my current job; lack of secure financial viability. The company is small, it relies on the insurance industry for most of it's revenue, and it is intimately affected by the economy.
So, the question is: Do I take an economically secure job that offers little in the way of joy and relaxation, or do I take an economically insecure job that offers quite a bit of enjoyment and flexibility?
Of course, most of this is an exercise in futility, since I am just going for an interview, and have not even been offered a job. Still, it does not hurt to weigh the pros and cons.
Yes, I know. It's been 6 days since I posted. Funny thing, my stats didn't go down any. There was a delayed reaction to the post about Tucker being canceled. In fact, Friday, I hit 60 plus, which is good for me. Again, especially after not posting since last weekend.
To be honest, I just do not have the heart to post lately. It seems to be rather pointless at the moment. Especially with an impending depression about to darken our national mood.
Anyway, I figure I ought to post something before all hell breaks loose and the new economy goes the way of the old economy of lore; down the tubes. Maybe it will join the ranks of my lost emails......
I am having one of those days where I am unhappy with the direction of my life. I am working in a field that is swamped with unnecessary regulations and oversight, filled with dysfunctional people, and poorly funded. That means I am paid squat for the work I do in trying to help others overcome their addictions.
I want to write. Not just blog, but write. I have this novel I've been slowly-hell glacially-working on, but I let the other aspects of life interfere. I am struggling in a low paying job, living in a country that currently despises the lower class of it's citizens, which means I feel alienated and hated.
Yeah, I am fed up. I am angry at my country. I am angry at my country's leadership. I am sick and tired of living in a mockracy, not a democracy. We are currently in the early stages of fascism. Our rights have been eroded away bit by bit, each time with a claim of protecting our freedom. My rights are my freedom. Taking away my freedom to ensure my freedom is insanity. Yet time and again I am faced with another claim of taking my freedom to ensure my freedom.
It's like the drunk who keep drinking with the hope that this time it will result in normal drinking; only to wake up in the morning once again having no memory of the activities of the night before.
The country is falling apart, and I feel powerless to stop its slow, inevitable decent into tyranny.
Seems that there's a problem, so I did this test post to see if it would clear up the problem.
Update: Yup, that worked.
