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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Rockets on May 15, 2000, at 20:01:21
Hi everyone,
I'm going back to work next Monday. The psych doctor said I shouldn't file for disability for the 5 weeks I've been on medical leave because insurance companies may decline my short term mental illness application. It would take me months of legal combat with them to get the $1,000.00 (which totals 66% of lost income for that period).
Furthermore, if I do file the disability application then it is on my permanent record that I was a basket case for the periods of ___ to ____. You get the idea. So I've decided not to file. Now that all my savings are gone, I'm going to go back to good old work.. to the job that helped put me in this condition in the first place! Yee haw.
I'll just have to see how it goes. Either I will be able to hang on and work there as I get better or I'll just end up in the emergency room again and then a month after that be putting my application into Starbucks Coffee. I'll be a coffee boy. Heh.. seriously I will be if that happens.
So.. what a trip. I'm so impaired I can't drive on the freeway anymore but I'm going back to work a poorer person. Live and learn. Let me know your thoughts.
Posted by Mark H. on May 15, 2000, at 20:29:38
In reply to I'm koo koo for coca puffs, posted by Rockets on May 15, 2000, at 20:01:21
Hey, Rocket-man,
Not wanting the medical information "on your record" might just be a symptom of your depression. I was so paranoid at first that I would get cash to pay my shrink, for fear the ladies at Bank of America would notice I was seeing a psychiatrist. I'll tell you this, once I found meds that actually worked, I told anyone who'd listen! And I sure as heck let my employer know that I have a disability, and therefore, rights under ADA. Let me go if I'm not doing my job, but discriminate against me for being crazy and it'll cost you plenty. That's the message employers need to hear loud and clear (every rule has an exception -- you may be the exception -- your employer may kick you out on the street and laugh in your face -- the usual blah blah blah).
Just my two cents...
Mark
P. S. It's the "bob" in me that makes me talk this way. Right, bob?
Posted by bob on May 15, 2000, at 20:53:51
In reply to Re: BTDT, posted by Mark H. on May 15, 2000, at 20:29:38
> P. S. It's the "bob" in me that makes me talk this way. Right, bob?
Whatever it is, it sure bit the two of us but good, Mark!
Well, Rockets, maybe going back to work at the place that drove you nuts is your depression talking. If you need the money, you need the money, but why not do something proactive and start planning for a different job now? Fix-up the resume. Start looking in the classifieds. Heck, even get with one of these on-line head-hunters they have nowadays.
One of the few things that allowed me to survive my last job was the realization that I was better than what they expected of me, and I wasn't going to live down to their expectations and insults. The way the job market is in many sectors is that good help is hard to find. Start seeing yourself for your strengths as an employee and how you can market yourself. Hopefully you'll wind up as I did, in a job that pays more, has better hours, and includes colleagues and supervisors who appreciate the talents and skills I have.
good luck,
bob
Posted by boBB on May 16, 2000, at 3:04:27
In reply to Re: BTDT, posted by bob on May 15, 2000, at 20:53:51
And bob, with a little "b", could you suggest an on-line headhunter (sic) that can find a >$20K market for my obviously adept literary and advocacy skills?
Posted by JohnB on May 16, 2000, at 3:10:47
In reply to I'm koo koo for coca puffs, posted by Rockets on May 15, 2000, at 20:01:21
Hey Rockets- I want some o' them "coca puffs". Sure beats plain old cocoa puffs.
BTW, I think ya made the right decision. No man whose gone thru what you've just gone thru should then tangle with some bureacratic b.s. for a measely 1K.Also, doing some figurin', I noticed that yer not in the top income bracket. So I don't know if advice about head-hunters and resumes works for ya. You might even be in one o' those jobs that have a few knuckle-draggin' Neanderthals in residence. Like just about all jobs that aren't in the plush-carpet hallways of corporation-land. So play it by ear, my friend, one day at a time. If it's a bad job situation, do make long term plans to get out. We're all rootin for ya.
Posted by Rockets on May 16, 2000, at 5:22:11
In reply to Re: I'm koo koo, too, posted by JohnB on May 16, 2000, at 3:10:47
Thank you for the encouragement everyone. I'm up at like 3 am in the morning with insomnia over going back to work on Monday. I just hope I don't end up in the emergency room with another anxiety attack or do something I'll regret. I've enjoyed lying around the fam's house this past month but now I have to go back to my bleak apartment in the city and work on Monday. Peace. I'm just trusting God and praying.
Posted by ChrisK on May 16, 2000, at 6:06:59
In reply to I'm koo koo for coca puffs, posted by Rockets on May 15, 2000, at 20:01:21
Don't be afraid of anything that your current employer may tell a future employer. These days they are so afraid of lawsuits that all they will discuss are salary and employment dates.
If it comes down to changing jobs, no-one will know about your time off. It's just one of those politically correct things that happens today.
Posted by bob on May 16, 2000, at 15:12:34
In reply to BTDTBTDT, posted by boBB on May 16, 2000, at 3:04:27
> And bob, with a little "b", could you suggest an on-line headhunter (sic) that can find a >$20K market for my obviously adept literary and advocacy skills?
Depends on how much you're willing to sell out to Corporate America, boBB ... ;^)
If you can, pick up some HTML experience -- either on your own or through a class in a continuing ed program. You've already got experience as a writer. "Advocacy" can be massaged into anything connoting "promotion" (or "hype" or "cheerleading" or "advertizing"). The thing about "New Media" firms is that demand for workers is far outstripping the supply ... and people who are qualified to generate well-written content for a web site, cd-rom, or other product are as rare as server-side programmers who actually know what they're doing.
Like I said, there are any number of places from ones where you post your resume and get minimal service to high-skill temp agencies that also work to place people in permanent positions. The one I'd recommend for web/new media positions is Aquent (www.aquent.com).
... and JohnB, even though I clear a nice net salary, between student loans and credit cards and paying for therapy and other medical expenses (shitty health plans aCk!) -- and then, of course, living in NYC -- I *might* be able to miss one paycheck without getting thrown out on the streets. I certainly can't afford a month off without pay (and here I am, a teacher, looking at two months without pay ahead of me ... yikes!). Living paycheck to paycheck doesn't necessarily mean you're a manual laborer.
All the same, positions at just about any income level or skill level in many sectors of the economy just aren't getting filled. Looking for something better is still, I think, a reasonable course of action.
cheers,
bob
Posted by Noa on May 16, 2000, at 15:46:40
In reply to Re: BTDTBTDT, posted by bob on May 16, 2000, at 15:12:34
What do all those Bs and Ts and Ds signify anyhow?
Rockets, Good luck. I can relate to the feeling of not being in the best place in terms of needing to return to your old job, and not feeling so confident about finding a better one. Just take it one day at a time, but think about what you want to do next. And I don't think being a Starbucks slinger is such a bad idea, necessarily. The fact that you are entertaining that idea means you are open to thinking creatively about other options than feeling stuck at a job that makes you feel "crazy".Keep us posted.
Posted by bob on May 16, 2000, at 17:10:03
In reply to Re: BTDTBTDT, posted by Noa on May 16, 2000, at 15:46:40
> What do all those Bs and Ts and Ds signify anyhow?
been there done that
(which also happens to be a very cool tune by Brian Eno and JJ Cale)
bob
This is the end of the thread.
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