50/50

Yikes. These past two days, oy.

Sunday night I realized that I'd misplaced a letter from the DOL about a mandatory appointment I had to show up for on Monday. I remembered it was at 2:30 and after doing some investigation I figured it was probably at the Harlem office. So- Monday after not getting anyone on the phone (no surprise there) I made my way up to 125th St. via the Bus.

Now this was only the 2nd time I'd taken the bus to get somewhere in Manhattan that I couldn't get to by train. The first time was so easy and the ride went very smoothly. This time was a little different. The way there was fine, very friendly drivers who said hello and goodbye when changing shifts. I got to the DOL and found out I had gone to the wrong office (50-50 chance, I should have none then my luck was turning). So I had to turn around and come back in the morning.
The way back on the bus was a bit different. I sat down towards the front again and we were soon stopped by a young man who didn't have change for his dollar. One woman was quickly annoyed by this. She went on, and on, and on about how "you don't get on the bus if you don't have change." She added, "You can NOT get on the bus and ask for change, that is not allowed." And finished off with a long tirade about how the young man had walked all the way to the bus and didn't stop to get change. My fellow front of the bus passengers and I exchanged knowing smiles and hidden laughs.
Then we ran in to trouble. We stopped at 99th and Lexington and the driver complained to a dispatcher that he hadn't been relieved. And then we sat. And sat. And sat. Finally another 101 pulled up and we all climbed on. Yikes.
So today I headed out to catch another bus uptown. When we stopped this time for the driver switch the man got on with two basketballs. He slowly clamored around at the front of the bus and then held up a basketball and asked who wanted it. After a lot of confusion and several minutes a woman pushed her way up and grabbed the ball claiming, "You all were too slow it is mine" just as a young kid reached for it. The driver then told another woman who had shown interest that he would wait for her if she wanted to go out and get one at the park by the bus stop. I was flabbergasted. Seriously?
Luckily I made it on time and got to sit through my riveting introduction to Workforce 1. After about 20 minutes of waiting I was called and got to sit and watch a woman input my information into a database. Thrilling. Thankfully I'll have no hold up in my benefits. Very thankfully since I got a call tonight letting me know that the position I was surely getting and had put everything else on hold for 3 weeks for wouldn't work out. This is the second time in this job hunt that a department wanted me and couldn't bring me on. This sucks. I should have known when I picked the wrong DOL location that my 50/50 luck wasn't working this week.
Now on to Thanksgiving where I get to smile and shrug as relatives offer me condolences and advice.
Remember that Friends where Joey has the turkey stuck on his head? I wouldn't mind if that were me this year. At least it would give people something other than our job hunts to talk about.