What an exciting week I've had ...

... my employer has now stopped paying me any wages/sick pay at all, and has sent me a form that I have to take to the benefit office for Incapacity Benefit.

First time in side a job centre!



So, I catch the bus, take my form along - and am told that I have to phone a number, and fill in a form on the phone, they will send it to me and then bring it back to the job centre.

Go home. Do that.

Form arrives a couple of days later, fill in LOADS of pages of it, bring it back to the job centre.

It's not the day for processing those forms. They take the form anyway, and my phone number and will phone me when they want me to come in.

Sheesh.

Also - went to our local 'Council Link' centre, which is a 'one stop shop' for anything pertaining to the council.

I wanted to apply for some of hte 'sure start' baby safety equipment.

Queued up in a winding, snakey queue, got to the front, they checked the computer - 4 of the six items I wanted were out of stock, and they didn't know when they'd be getting them. I said I'd take the two items they DID have. They gave me a ticket, and told me to wait in the next queue until my number was called.

Did that - get to an advisor, who tells me that they have NO safety equipment at all. She should know because she's the 'Safety Equipment Coordinator'. I explained about the woman at the reception area, checking the computer, blah blah. She trundled off to reception - came back and confirmed that the original woman was wrong - she'd been looking in the wrong column (?). They have ONE item in stock - a video lock. I tell her I'll take it.

I get given another ticket, and told to go over to ANOTHER counter, pay for the lock, and then return to the advisor and she'll give me the lock.

FOR BOB'S SAKE!

Do that - return, am given a receipt, leave to meet my mother in law. And then realise an hour later that I've left the lock.

Go back, queue at reception is HUGE - think I'm not standing in that again, and I walk through to the desk where the advisor is... she tells me that the lock is in an envelope in reception with my name on, I tell her I'm not waiting in the queue again with a grizzly, hungry baby, she walks back to reception with me, so that she can get it for me - all the while complaining about how I shouldn't have jumped the queue, and she could have called security!

Woah - I'm obviously not used to this whole 'bread line system'. I crapped m'self.