A National Statistic - Topsham, ME

I've been meaning to update this blog all week - but I was crazy busy at w*rk and afterall - just how exciting can dealing with radioactive waste be?

We sure did have fun last week with our RV buddies at the Maine Event! Those of you who were following their blogs already got to hear about their trips to see more lighthouses, their Boothbay Harbor Cruise, and their attempts to eat all the seafood remaining in southern Maine. For those who didn't - I'll post some pictures that Peggy took while I was off in NY slaving away for gas money.

I made the 5 plus hour drive back to Maine today and then starting working on my home chore list. Just the standard stuff - mow the lawn, trip to the recycling center/transfer station to get rid of several weeks of trash, clean the BBQ Grill - normal homeowner stuff. Peggy and I will be driving back to NY tomorrow so she has been pretty busy also getting ready to travel. I think we both know that Mikee can survive as a bachelor for a few weeks - but it's not necessarily a pretty or healthy sight! I know I'll be glad to have her with me!! We'll see how she survives alone during the days in a RV Park without a car to escape. She'll probably gets lots of rest and reading done.

I became a statistic of the great recession last week. Before I explain - let's review.

There I was - hanging out in Redding, California happily retired - no job - no income - truly Fat, Dumb, and Happy. Then I get a phone call from a past work buddy recruiting me to go back to w*rk for a few months. I say no - he says how about for this much $$ - I think about the travel budget - I say OK.

That pretty much brings us to last week when I was asked to fill out a HIRE Act form for the consulting services company that I actually work for and who provides my twice monthly pay check. For those not familiar with the HIRE Act - it is a federal program put in place as part of the "stimulus" bill - to encourage employers to hire unemployed folks by offering rebates on employer paid payroll fees. So this form asks me to certify, under penalty of perjury, that I was not paid wages by any employer during the 60 day period prior to me being hired.

That's it! No questions about whether or not I was actually looking for a job, or whether I was really independently wealthy and only working for the fun of it , or whether I intended to terminate my employment in only a few months. It seems the feds don't care about the facts - they're just looking for an easy way to give away some stimulus dollars. So - since the project I'm working on is partially paid for by federal stimulus money and since I was "unemployed" for greater than 60 days prior to my recent hiring - I am now counted as one of the jobs either created or saved by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (Stimulus Bill) using money borrowed from Red China and also as a job created by the "HIRE Act" using even more borrowed $$. 

How did that happen to guy who opposes both of those bills and wasn't looking for a job in the first place?