Hi, again, Dear Readers! Lots on my mind tonight... I tell you, it never ceases to amaze me at just how ignorant and judgemental people can be. One of the worst things people can do when you're asking for help is to be patronizing and to the extreme. It's so freaking annoying to witness people waxing lyrical on a subject of which they know nothing about and patronize you with it! IT IS FREAKING ANNOYING & FRUSTRATING!!!! FREAKOUT It is also frightening to actually see a perverse interpretation of a very translucent text. Last week I witnessed someone who should have clear understanding turn a text practically inside out. And, if that wasn't enough, made a snap judgment as to who I am. Totally off the mark! WAY OFF!!! I wouldn't like to see that person interpret passages from the Bible or any other Holy Scripture! Talk about dangerous! I often replay that interpretation over and over in my mind to see if I am able to understand as to how this person came to that rather bizarre conclusion. The text I am referring to comes from a House of Commons website regarding the "work coach". Here is a link to that text: https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmselect/cmworpen/549/54907.htm What's your interpretation? Well, from my understanding - the right understanding - is that the work coach should be tailoring work search activity towards the individual. This person was of the opinion that I must do exactly as told by my (former) work coax. And that I should apply for any job that my work coax tells me to. This person was and, probably still is, deluded. This is the United Kingdom, we as human citizens have the right to determine our vocations. This person sounded very much like my former work coax. To be frank, this attitude shocked the shit out of me! Where does that special brand of thinking come from? It's totally alien. It is totally wrong! Could it be that this person figured that she got the measure of me based on my skin colour? This person may have it in her head that I am "black" and that I am not able to express contrary opinions to my superiors. I really do not know. But I do know that in this modern day that people do harbor the strangest of ideas pertaining to dumb things like class, race, gender, etc. THE RACE CARD Look, as far as I am concerned, I am a man. Not a "black" man. Not a "black British", nor "African black" or "Afro-Caribean" nor "black mixed" or "black other". NO! I am just a man. The only thing "black" about my day is coffee! I can't stand it when people patronize me based upon my skin tone. Sadly, there are some people who think that it is necessary to talk down to adult non-white people as though they are children. Trust me, I don't like to bring up the subject of race... In my humble opinion, bringing race into certain issues just complicates matters. But, from my recent experiences, it does appear that some people think that they should talk down to me. Worst of all, the things that they are saying have no weight in truth or logic. That said, the subject of race can be a fascinating one as, again, we may have viewpoints based upon mythology. The trouble is when talking about race, is that most people approach the subject as though they are superior to the other. People really think that we are so different. We are not that different. As a result, I have opted out of perceiving myself as a "race" that is separate from others. In other words, what I see is just the Human Race. The way we live comes from where we are in the world. The idea of different "races" is just a perception. This perception can and has turned into a culture for some of us. It really pisses me off when some people feel that they have to talk to me in a "black" vernacular without me even uttering a word. "Why are you talking to me like that?" That's some people trying to talk to me on a "street level" and stop short of adopting the "blackface" make-up. If I'm in a good mood I can see the funny side... However... It is a completely different ball game when people feel that I must be spoken down to like a child; that they don't have a clue about what they are doing and the implications. Such people are dangerous simply because they just do not get it. It's rather like the man who doesn't refer to his wife by her name, "The missus," "The wife," "Her indoors," as though she is his property. That way of talking is quite peculiar, to say the least. Thankfully, I do not hear it often. Such talk drives me up the wall! INFURIATING I have been hearing a lot of infuriating ideas that people dare to express without feeling incredibly stupid... They come from work coaxes and other people who do not have a clue. Here they are... "You should take any job going..." Believe it or not, but some people can't just take any job going. It's just not that easy. I have applied to a good number of jobs this week and nothing positive has come back. Some people are content to assume that I, and others in a similar situation, do not regularly apply to vacancies. As I have stated in other updates/blogs, once you become over the age of 35 it is as though you become invisible to employers. Employers want to take on cheap labour. Fact! It can take the mature individual a longer period of time to find employment. At my JCP, based in Enfield, the work coaxes have a tendency to funnel over 35-year-olds into Customer Services because there is usually no skills required. And because Customer Services can involve serving people, it is seen as the place for people like me, "Welcome to hotel Hell, Sir. Enjoy your stay." That's pure and utter nastiness! My former work coax just wouldn't take me seriously as a Graphic & Multimedia Designer and Social Media Marketing Expert. She wouldn't let me create an online portfolio so that prospective employers could see what I am capable of. She just figured that wasting my time for the most part of a year would be the best way to find work. NO! "It's good that you have a dream job, but..." This is a roundabout way of saying that you do not stand a hope in hell of getting a particular job that you looking for. Some industries are very competitive and therefore it can take a longer period of time to get in certain positions. However, it is as equally difficult to get into an unskilled job because of the sheer numbers of people applying. Also, the assumption is that you do not have the skills and/or qualifications, nor do you have the good sense to realize that your job goal is unobtainable. You are treated as though you've declared that you want a job as a formula one driver knowing full well that you can't drive! The work coax and other ignorant people are content to assume and not find out who you are and what you can do; it doesn't take much to ask. However, the work coax is lazy and is encouraged by his or her superiors to take shortcuts to get the clientele into work as quickly as possible. In addition, a lot of people who are working are of the opinion that the unemployed shouldn't seek a career but take any job to unburden the state. Life doesn't work like that. This is why the Welfare System was introduced. "It is easier to find the job of your dreams whilst you are in work..." No. This is not really true. It might be easier to go from one job to another in the same industry. But when you are trying to crossover into another industry it could be difficult - extremely so! It is dependent on what you are currently doing. Let's say you are an out of work Graphics Designer and you take a job in Customer Services, taking inbound calls and you want to get back into Graphic Designs, you are going to find that it is pretty much impossible. Most Graphic Design employers want to see nothing but a list of recent work in the same field. The longer you are out of a particular industry that you previously worked in, the longer it can take to get back in. Yes, I do get that getting back out there in the workforce is important. However, taking a bit of time and care could see the job seeker re-entering a particular career. Or the job seeker could change career direction. Frustratingly, the work coax - at least in my experience - is getting the job seeker to throw a handful of darts at a target in the hope that one dart sticks. It doesn't have to be like that. It is not a sensible way to look for work. Me? I want a career in Vegan Cooking. I already cook Vegan meals for myself. I have worked in the Food Industry before and even though I haven't got a great amount of working experience in Vegan Cooking I know that my enthusiasm will make up for it. I have decided to change from IT into (Vegan) Cooking. I think I am stuffing up my reputation as a Graphics & Multimedia Designer and Social Media Marketing Genius because I have joined too many online agencies at the behest of my former work coax, I am quite sure that I have applied to the same job more than twice because the idiots at JCP Enfield want to see quantity over quality. Instead of joining, at the most, three online agencies, I belong to at least ten! That's how dumb these work coaxes are! QUALITY CONTROL I am glad that I have taken control and replaced my former work coax with someone who can truly call herself a "work coach". My approach to the Vegan Cooking industry has some real thought put into it. I am taking control in how I approach prospective employers. I don't doubt for a second that I will find an employer soon. I just need to recover from these consecutive sanctions. If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times: SANCTIONS DO NOT WORK! I was making great progress and was on target to become a Vegan Chef/Cook by the beginning of March this year. At this rate, it is looking like the end of March beginning of April. UNDERSTAND ME I want you to understand that the reason why a 28-day sanction was engineered against me was because I wanted to uphold my "Claimant Commitment" in applying for work in Graphics & Multimedia Design. I had no online portfolio, prospective employers kept asking to see my portfolio and I set about creating one. If I hadn't felt the honour to meet my "Claimant Commitment" I could have easily just applied for work knowing that I wasn't going to be taken seriously i.e. no employer would give me a job without seeing what I can do. That would have been dishonest of me. Forget about pleasing my idiot former work coax, I would have been cheating myself. Like I have said, living on a Universal Credit personal allowance does not afford me the lifestyle that I want to lead. It is imperative that I transition into a new career as opposed to a dead end job whereby the pay is so low that I'd be still claiming a Welfare Assistance top up! You'd have thought that I'd get support for changing my career for the purpose of longevity. Oh no! Instead I get a couple of sanctions; one after the other and in time for Christmas. A "Christian country," eh? My freaking ass! Thank you for reading!