We're Sorry. All Circuits Are Busy. We're Sorry....

Never in my life have I been more angry at an institution than I am right now. And I worked with major medical insurance for 2 and half years! The unemployment office, in their oh so "infinite wisdom" decided that once you've filed an initial claim the ONLY way (and yes, it is the only way, I've called the workforce office in Colorado Springs and talked to an actual homosapien who concurred with my own research on the website that indeed this is the only way) to reopen an existing claim is to call this ONE stinking phone number that, by the way, has been so busy literally ALL week long (Nathan was laid off again on Tuesday morning... and it's now Friday morning) that we're not even getting a standard busy signal, we're getting "We're sorry, all circuits are busy, please try your call again later."

Now, Nathan did get through a couple times, and here's how those lovely occasions transpired. The first one, he got all the way through the automated "give the computer your information so we can waste your time and make you THINK you're going to get helped until we can get you to an actual person who will only ask you for all of this information again" business, only to get to the end of that rigamarole, to hear "You need to speak with a representative. We are currently experiencing an unusually high volume of calls right now. Please try back later." CLICK!!!!!! No, go ahead and stay on the line for an hour or two, or four or five, just a nice friendly CLICK! The second time Nathan got through, it was right at 7:30 in the morning (when the mysterious and seemingly unmanned office supposedly opens) so we're thinking, "alright, we can get this thing reopened and move on with our lives,".... oh, no...no, nnnno, no, NO! He gets all the way through the automated ridiculousness (see description above) only to hear, "Please call back during regular business hours to reach a representative. Office hours are Monday through Friday 7:30am to 4:30pm Mountain time." CLICK! IT WAS FREAKING 7:40AM WHEN HE GOT THROUGH! We proceeded to call back again, and from that point on haven't gotten anything but "we're sorry, all circuits are busy... we're sorry, all circuits are busy..... we're sorry, all circuits are busy........................."

Somehow, at this point.... the whole, saying "We're sorry" to try to soften peoples nerves who have heard that a gagillion times is just patronizing and I wish the happy little recording would just keep it to itself. The least it could do is to cycle through some different recordings, like "Ha! Guess what?? All circuits are busy. Talk to you in a few seconds." Or, "You're STILL trying? Good luck getting through. All circuits are busy." Or just ANYTHING other than the insincere "We're sorry."

Oh, and there's not even an office that we can walk into in person (refer back to the conversation with the homosapien in the Colorado Springs office) to resolve this that way. Isn't that "convenient." I don't know if they're "smart," to try to protect themselves from people like me who also FEEL like me right now, or if it's just plain cowardice. Ask me later and I may feel differently, but right now, I'm voting for just plain cowardice.... IF there's even anyone working in that office at all.

So here we are, me trying to get my frustrations out in a supposedly healthy way and my husband sitting on the phone hitting redial repeatedly. We'd really appreciate your prayers if you're a praying person. I sure am thankful in times like this for what Jesus said in the tail end of the book of John, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world it would love you as it's own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." Now, granted I understand fully that this is not the main focus and interpretation of this passage, or perhaps a better phrase is that its not the intended application of this verse. I'm not being persecuted specifically for my faith by any means, but I certainly do feel "hated" by the world and the way that it functions. I know my personality is wired to look at things and see how they could be better, but my faith also wires me to know that the way things are is not how it was meant to be, nor will it remain this way forever. I do take some solace in that during times like this. But it sure doesn't help the frustration I experience in the moment at stupidly organized programs and plans. Not that anything I would come up with would make all parties involved happy... someone always gets the shaft in any sort of plan, you can't please everyone. But, gee... one would think that there has GOT to be a better way of planning something like unemployment, especially in times like this.

But anyway.... God has faithfully taken care of His people through many droughts, famines, and desserts. And to that I will cling as we try to navigate this messed up world right now. I guess I'll go out back and look for some manna while I'm hitting redial over and over again. :-)

So what's my point with all of this..... while I suppose there's many, I guess my heart's cry right now is just.... on many levels, for many things in this world, poverty, starvation, forgotten people right in our own neighborhoods, war torn nations, and the list goes on.... this stupid and petty unemployment thing aside....

I just think things could be better.