the school-year I returned to school work

I was working in the education industry from May 2005 to May 2020. That's 15 years.

The bulk of that time was as a substitute teacher (May 2005 to December 2018) for public, private, and charter schools. Within that time frame, I did some gigs as a summer program employee (2005 & 2006) and as a para-professional tutor working with students in Special Education programs. From January 2019 to May 2020, I was a Library Assistant at Kalākaua Middle School.   

2020 was the pandemic year. Schools were closed, then re-opened on a limited basis.

I did consider reapplying to be a sub teacher in Fall 2020. But classes were mostly online, and the subs I knew said there wasn't much for them available.

At the end of that school year, I wrote the following blog post titled "1st school year that I wasn't working in a school since 2005"

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2021/05/1st-school-year-that-i-wasnt-working-in.html

At the start of the 2021-2022 school year, schools were still open only on a limited basis. I didn't bother to reapply.

In the meantime, I was applying for mostly library or other clerical work within that time-frame. 

The 2022-2023 school year, the schools were open for full-time instruction. The mask-mandate was also ended.  It was back to "normal", or at least close to the old normal. 

I was considering a return to substitute teaching but didn't apply until after the school year started. 

I had questions like 

• am I putting myself at risk working where physical distancing isn't always possible, and people weren't required to mask?
• How am I going to adjust to the new way of doing things since I've been out of the education industry for 2 years?
• Because I was out of the education industry for 2 years, am I out of touch with the kids today?
• Should I just do this on a part-time basis and continue my job with Macy's?
• what if the other jobs I've applied for (ie library, other clerical) hire me while in the process of returning to sub teaching
• should I also continue to find other jobs, just in case?
• should I work with public schools, private schools or both?

In October 2022, I did reapply with Kelly Services (an organization that provides subs to private & charter schools).  At the same time, someone from Kama‘aina Kids saw my resume and encouraged me to apply for their afterschool program. Within a few days apart, both organizations hired me. But who to pick? 

I did one sub assignment with Kelly Services in early November 2022. It was at a private elementary school for a character ed class. Most of the staff wore masks, but most of the students didn't. I wore my mask and face shield.   The school day had me feeling both "yes, I'm back to what I'm familiar with doing" and " I got to relearn some things again" 

The following week, I did start the after-school job with Kama‘aina Kids. The good thing with the after-school job with Kama‘aina Kids is that it had a more consistent schedule. The problem was the worksite (Mary, Star of the Sea School aka MSOS)  is run by a covidiot who wants us to pretend covid never happened.  

I blogged about it at https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2022/12/covidiocy-at-star-of-sea.html

Also within that time frame, the Department of Health (DOH) finally told me that they were hiring me for an office position that I applied MONTHS earlier.

So in December, I left Kama‘aina Kids and started a temp office job with DOH. But I ended up leaving the DOH temp job in January.

Learn more at https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2023/02/when-working-at-department-of-health-is.html

So January, I was back with Kelly Services. I also reapplied with another private sub-agency Hi-Employment. I had a short history with Hi-Employment, for whom I worked with in late 2018. I had a longer history with Kelly Services. (2012-2018). I left both at the end of 2018, to take the library job with Kalākaua Middle School.

By February, I was working with both Kelly Services and Hi-Employment. Kelly Services works with private & charter K-12 schools.  Hi-Employment does that plus the private preschools as well as some Head Start sites. 

Though the bulk of my career is with the public schools, I haven't worked with them this year. The problem is that the DOE (like other state agencies) takes too long with job applications (the private agencies do background checks much faster) and even worse, take longer to pay employees. With the private agencies, I get paid next week Friday. With the DOE (or any state agency), I have to wait until the following month for my paycheck. I'd rather not wait.

If the Hawaii state government decides to start paying employees the following Friday, I'll reapply with the DOE  ASAP! But sadly, the state government is FILLED with people who just don't want to change anything. Meanwhile, they're losing out on people like me who would love to contribute but can't be waiting an eternity for their paycheck. 

======

In the past, I mostly worked with elementary but also worked with preschoolers and middle schoolers. I rarely worked with high schoolers. 

This time, I focus on working with elementary and preschool. For this school-year, the only time I worked with middle schoolers if it's on a K-8 campus (which some private & charter schools are), and the person I'm subbing for work with the entire student body. For example, at a K-8 charter school, I subbed for an art teacher and yard supervisor that deals with all age levels on the campus.  

Nothing personal against the older kids, I just work better with the younger ones.

=======

So how are the kids these days?

Is it true that their academics and mental health have been adversely affected by the covid shutdown, even years later?

As a sub, I don't have access to student records so I can't really tell you much. I don't know for sure if the students I worked with are academically behind compared to those who were the same age back in 2019.  I don't have access to mental health data to see how adversely affected they are. 

But what I observed from the students themselves isn't that much different from the past, just that this time around, they're more aware about public health. They're already accustomed to the new normal. 

I don't believe in this garbage that "masks are bad for the kids".

 Some private schools (including preschools) still require masks, and most of the students don't feel oppressed by the masks. The tiny minority that does "feel oppressed by masks" tend to be the same exact ones who feel "all rules are oppressive!"  

In other words, even most preschoolers are more adult than the allegedly "adult" covidiot nutcases throw hissy fits over mask mandates! 

The preschoolers can still interact as normal even with the mask on. It's just another day for them. They only take it off for mealtime and naptime. 

In other words, to them, masks are as normal as wearing shoes, pants, and shirts.

People in Asian countries have been wearing surgical masks for decades. This is definitely true for East Asian countries that have better academic statistics than the USA! So I don't believe this garbage that claims that masks hinder academic achievement. And there's no evidence that masks have hindered Asian human development in any way shape or form.

Plus, Hawaii has a large Asian population, so we were already accustomed to masks BEFORE the pandemic.  It's usually people from the continental US who tend to throw hissy fits over masks. They're mad over what was already normal for us before 2020. 

As for the effect of the shutdown on student behavior today, I just don't see it. The students still act the same way as those who were their age back in 2018. 

I don't know if the covid lockdown affected the private thoughts of the students. But then again, as a sub, I don't even know much of the private thoughts of the students even in the pre-pandemic era. My job isn't to deal with their private thoughts, my job is to deal with the observable behavior, which really isn't that much different from the pre-pandemic era. 

As for me wearing a mask and face shield, I don't think it affects my job performance that much. I already had speech impediments from childhood, I already was told that I "talk too fast" or "mumble too much" in the pre-pandemic era, and if the student ask me to repeat the instructions, I repeat the instructions as clearly as possible. 

When talking with little children, I remind myself to bend down to their level so that I can hear them and they can hear me. I was given this reminder LONG BEFORE the coronavirus crisis, and I remind myself to do so in the era of the face-mask. 

As for the nonsense of "teachers shouldn't wear masks because kids need to see facial expressions", earlier this year while supervising the playground, a 2nd grader told me "I know you're smiling" when I was wearing a mask. Even he knows that eyebrow movements can indicate happiness or sadness. Even he knew that tone of voice can indicate happiness or sadness. 

Plus, with my face shield, I can temporarily lower down my mask while still protected from the germs coming from the student's mouth. 

So I'm going to continue with my face mask and face shield if I come back to working at a school next year. 

========

PS: If I have any additional insights to add, I'll add more to this post.

 

so much for "the internet is forever"

 One of my hobbies is collecting articles.

When I started in the early 2000's, it was mostly newspaper clippings. Then I started printing articles off the internet.

Even if the article is something I don't agree with, if it's well-written, I print it.

People ask me "Why print it if it's on the internet? If it's online, it's always going to be there!"

No, it's not! 

Companies go out of business all the time, and if they can't afford to maintain the website, it's gone! 

In Hawaii, we used to have the Honolulu Weekly, which was like Hawaii's version of the Village Voice. 

It's been out of business for at least a decade.

Their website no longer works.

So if you didn't print the article, or you don't have a physical copy, good luck trying to find it.

The best bet might be to physically go to the Hawaii State Library, or the Hamilton Library (located on the University of Hawaii at Mānoa campus) to look at the microfiches.

===========

But, but, but....... isn't the internet forever?

Yeah, we keep hearing "The internet is forever".

But people usually say "the internet is forever" to scare people away from posting something on social media that they might later regret. 

Yes, people have digged up old tweets, even to the point of shaming those who are now in their 20's for something they tweeted in middle school. 

But even Twitter isn't forever.

Very recently, Twitter has announced they are deleting accounts that haven't been logged in for an x-amount of years.

Wyatte Grantham-Phillips, “Twitter Is Purging Inactive Accounts Including People Who Have Died, Angering Those Still Grieving,” ABC News,  May 17, 2023, https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/twitter-purging-inactive-accounts-including-people-died-angering-99398550.

Last week, owner Elon Musk announced Twitter would be purging accounts that have had no activity for several years. That decision has been met by an outcry from those who have lost, or who fear losing the thoughts and words of deceased loved ones linked to now-inactive accounts.

Reed immediately returned to Jessica’s page as she had done a day or two earlier after learning of the purge. In place of Jessica's page was an "account suspended” message that suggested it may be in violation Twitter rules.

Reed's tweet recounting her shock over the loss of the account has received tens of thousands of responses. Others shared similar experiences of pain upon learning that the account of a deceased loved one had vanished. 

“Having these digital footprints... is super important to me,” Reed, 43, told The Associated Press.

In other words, your Twitter account won't live forever.

So much for "the internet is forever"

==========

As for this blog, I would LOVE for it to be online for centuries to come.

But let's also be realistic that this blog's continued existence is at the mercy of Blogger (which is owned by Google).

There could be a possibility that in the future 

• Google may shut down Blogger, 
• Blogger might copy Twitter in shutting accounts that haven't logged in for like 10 years, meaning it's gone after I die
• some other internet company might outshine Google so much that Google would go out of business
• All the info Blogger has stored can get wiped out (this has happened to Myspace) 
• a hacker may infiltrate my blog, delete all my posts, or even edit them with stuff I don't believe in

I hope none of this happens.

But my whole point is that "the internet is NOT forever"!

==========

PS: Look at some of my old blog posts. Some of those posts have links to other webpages. Don't be surprised if many of those links no longer work. This is called "link rot", a term I learned a decade ago. 

So much for "The internet is forever"

The former co-worker that wanted me to violate workplace safety protocols

 

Last year, I was an employee at Macy's and my main role was to organize items in the store.

I love organizing items and I take workplace safety seriously,

However, I had a co-worker named Rollins Asato who demanded that I violate workplace safety practices. Little did he know that he was starting trouble with the worst person he could start trouble with! He thought I would submit to his demand and kiss his rear end. I don't operate that way!

The following is an email I sent to Macy's managers about Rollins Asato

======

Aloha everyone, 

The following is documentation on the discussion I had with Daniel Takemoto about Rollins Asato, unsafe workplace practices and his horrendous people skills.

On Friday, 06/03/2022, circa 6:40 pm, Daniel Takemoto asked me to take some carts upstairs. Some of the boxes on the carts were stacked too high so I decided to get a handtruck to stack some of the excess boxes that were on the original cart. Circa 6:50pm, Rollins Asato noticed what I was doing and talked to me in a confrontational tone that I should take the boxes on the original carts and he brushed off my concerns about the boxes being stacked too high. He told me that my preference to split the boxes on different boxes was "too slow" and then he demanded that I take all the carts and cages upstairs before I was done for the night. This was circa 6:50pm and I was supposed to be done at 7pm.  I mentioned that to Rollins and he told me I was too slow.  I told him that I will do what is safe and I refuse to do it the unsafe way, and that if he wants it done the unsafe way, that he do it.

I informed Daniel Takemoto about the situation, and he agreed with me that I should I feel comfortable with, and put the boxes on carts with the height I am comfortable.

I noticed during watching training videos that we should only put boxes on carts below our eye level. Rollins Asato demand that I ignore such safety protocols.

If Rollins Asato (or any staff member) ever again ask that I ignore such safety protocols, I will go public about this issue and will contact the OSHA office about this. I also request that Rollins Asato be reminded that he is not my supervisor and he should expect defiance when he ask me to commit unsafe workplace practices. He is unprofessional and lacks basic people skills. I will not tolerate any more of his nonsense.

Mahalo,

Pablo Wegesend

=========

After I sent that email, the managers did express agreement with what I wrote.

Afterward, Rollins Asato avoided interactions with me! Good! 

However, Rollins Asato has never apologized!   And for that, his name should go viral as someone who demands co-workers violate safety protocols! 

Rollins Asato, the person who DEMANDS co-workers violate basic safety protocols!

Rollins Asato
- is so stupid that he thought he could make Pablo Wegesend submit to his demands to violate workplace safety protocols
- is so stupid that he didn't know that Pablo Wegesend is notorious for exposing bullies online long before he ever met Rollins Asato
-Rollins Asato starts trouble with the wrong person to mess with

And also this, one of the mid-level managers Kerry Iha  thinks I should apologize for mentioning that I plan to contact OSHA! He thinks I'm "burning bridges"

No, fool, I "bomb bridges"

(note to Homeland Security: that's just a metaphor, not to be taken literally)

Kerry Iha isn't on social media and therefore doesn't even know I made TONS AND TONS AND TONS of blog posts and videos criticizing former employers, colleagues, ex-friends, and other bullies by their real names!

His supervisory tactics are also inefficient! 

Here's what I wrote to the store manager

And the thing with Kerry Iha is that when he is training me on procedures, he expected me to guess the next steps, but the problem is that tactics only breeds anxiety in me. I like Daniel's approach better because if I don't know the next step, he just tells me what the next step is. I like Daniel's approach, because I like it when people just get to the point. 

Kerry Iha ended up finding another job and therefore I didn't see him in the last few weeks I was working at Macy's. I don't miss him at all! 

Kerry Iha
- an extremely inefficient instructor
-thinks employees should apologize for going public about workplace violations
-doesn't use social media and therefore didn't realize that Pablo Wegesend is notorious for exposing bullies and corrupt people online

However, I really miss working with Daniel Takemoto! He was my mentor the last few months I was working at Macy's. He was friendly, patient and gets to the point. He knows how to calm whatever anxiety I may have about new tasks and new situations. 

 I hope every workplace mentor I have from now on will be more like Daniel, and I hope I never have to deal with someone like Rollins Asato ever again! 

========

PS: to anyone who doesn't like this post - understand that anything AND everything you say to me CAN and WILL BE MENTIONED in future blog posts (and maybe videos too).

And to Rollins Asato, be careful how you'll respond because if you want to respond with threats, police will be notified and you'll be arrested. You might even be given a taxpayer-funded room with a large roommate from hell! 

act as if you're always being recorded

 When I returned to substitute teaching earlier this year (with one of the private sub-teacher agencies),  we had an orientation where one of the supervisors told us "Act as if you're always being recorded", especially now that people can hide recording devices and things can go viral when you least expect it. 

Alt-Right podcast host Steven Crowder is under scrutiny because his ex-wife posted a private recording of him verbally abusing her when she was about 8 months pregnant! 

Crowder's defenders are complaining about his "private moment" going public without his consent and are asking his critics "How would you like it if you're judged by your worst moment?"

That's a stupid question!

People have ALWAYS BEEN JUDGED BY THEIR WORST MOMENTS!

ALWAYS!

It's just that now in the age of going viral, more of our worst moments get recorded and go viral!

But you know what?

It becomes less of a problem when you act as if you're always being recorded!

Days of "keeping it private" has been over a long time ago, and they're never coming back

Being mad at that fact is like being mad at "1+1=2", "water makes things wet" and"fire is hot" 

It is an indisputable fact of life that you're judged by your worst moment!

Don't like it? Too bad!

Think about it -  job interviewers will ask about how you have handled less-than-ideal situations.  They're less interested in your best moment and more interested in how you dealt with your worst moment. 

Is that unfair? No, they want to avoid hiring someone who'll go viral for handling tough situations the wrong way! 

Now someone might say "Pablo, you had moments when you handled things the wrong way, would you like it if went viral?"

It wouldn't matter if I like it!

If I did something wrong, and it went viral, the #1 person I'll be mad at is myself! 

And if you did something wrong and it went viral, the #1 person you should be mad at is yourself! 

Don't even bother being mad at whoever recorded it or whoever leaked it on social media! Don't get mad at the messenger, get mad at yourself .............. and figure out how to improve yourself! 

And the irony of it all is that the appeal of Steven Crowder is all about being extremely judgmental towards non-binary people, feminists, Black Lives Matter, antifa, and basically anyone who is anti-Trump! They have ZERO shame in judging those people at their worst moments. But Steven Crowder and his simps are so sensitive when their messiah Steven Crowder is judged by his worst moment? Really? 

Facebook still the most user-friendly

 A recent Associated Press article stated that Facebook's audience (2 billion daily users) is mostly older people and that the younger generation are so accustomed to using Instagram and Tik-Tok that they'll likely never make Facebook the center of their social media life.

Associated Press. “Facebook Has 3 Billion Users. Many of Them Are Old.” U.S. News & World Report. May 8, 2023.                                                                        https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2023-05-08/facebook-has-3-billion-users-many-of-them-are-old.

I may be "old" (I'm 42 years old) but even after 14 years on Facebook, I still say it's the most user-friendly social media site. 

Facebook is more user-friendly than Twitter (limited to 280 characters) and Instagram (requires an image to post, too humbug for me when I want to just type my opinions)!

With Facebook, you can type however much text you want or not put text at all. You can add images or you can post without any images. With these options, why would you not want to make Facebook the center of your social media universe?

I wish more of the younger folks can appreciate Facebook's advantages!

------

PS: Yes, Pablo the Mad Tiger Warrior has a Twitter account and Instagram account, mostly to give it another venue to promote my music, videos and blogs.

But even then, most of my Twitter use is reposting/responding to others' tweets, and I don't even post to Instagram often unless I have something to promote.

As far as I'm concerned, Facebook is where the action is!

(personal facebook account under my real name: https://www.facebook.com/pablo.wegesend/ )

(facebook account for Pablo the Mad Tiger Warrior : https://www.facebook.com/Pablo-The-Mad-Tiger-Warrior-1529869177315968/ )

The downfall of Ty Cullen

 In Hawaii, most people know Ty Cullen as the former state legislator who was convicted of taking bribes, along with another former state legislator Kalani English.

(learn more at https://www.staradvertiser.com/2023/04/07/hawaii-news/former-hawaii-legislator-ty-cullen-receives-2-years-in-federal-prison/)

Honolulu Star Advertiser

Ty Cullen

I knew Ty Cullen as a former classmate at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. This was back in the early 2000's. We were in the same class for Sociology of Pop Culture.  This was one of those cruise classes that many students took to ease the burden of taking the more difficult classes in the same semester.  The class was taught by Dr. David Swift, an elderly man whom many were surprised would be teaching that class. And he kept showing videos from the 80s, as if he couldn't find more recent videos to show us.

Sometimes, before and after class, or even in the days we're not taking that class, me and Ty Cullen would talk stories. We would talk about our background (though he didn't mention his father died while incarcerated, a fact that was publicly revealed recently) and compared stories of people we knew.

He was also someone who liked to joke with people. 

For example, in that pop culture class, when the subject was Valentine's Day, I said I'm not spending money on champagne, I'll just buy a bottle of water. The next day, Ty saw me with a bottle of water and joked about my comment the day before.

He also laughed when he saw me the same day the Ka Leo (UHM's student newspaper) published an angry letter responding to my opinion article that was published a few days earlier. 

That was the Ty Cullen I knew, the chill guy who was lots of fun to be around!

A few years later, I saw him at Stevenson Middle School.  I was a substitute teacher.  He was working with an outside contractor Hale Kipa as a youth counselor working with at-risk students.  First time I saw him on that campus, he introduced me to his students saying "this is Pablo, this guy has a different mindset" in a joking manner! The next time I saw him, I was having a rough day when I over-reacted to a student who was talking while the class was supposed watching an educational video. Talking with Ty Cullen after-school kinda eased the tension I was feeling that day.

After that year, I was on that campus less often, and I haven't seen Ty Cullen in person since. 

I tried to find him on Facebook, but he wasn't there, otherwise, I would've added him to my friend's list. 

A few years later, I noticed that Ty Cullen was running for the state legislature. I was surprised because back in the UHM days, he didn't present himself as a future politician. He wasn't an activist and he wasn't writing opinion articles like I did.  But hey, I give him credit for taking the initiative to run for office and convincing the people of his district to vote for him. 

When I found out about the federal investigation and arrest for the bribery case, I was heartbroken.  One of the coolest people I ever met in my college years will now forever be known by the general public as a stereotypical corrupt politician in it for the bribes. 

In the days leading to his sentencing, some community members pleaded for leniency in this case, noting Cullen's work in the community and his generous nature. When I read what his supporters said, I was like "that's the Ty Cullen I knew".

Ty Cullen was sentenced yesterday to 2 years in federal detention. He was given a relatively lenient sentence because he cooperated with the investigation and expressed remorse for his actions. He noted the issue embarrassed him and his family. 

He requested to be in a facility that has job training programs that he is interested in, now that he most likely will never work a government job ever again.  I hope it all works out for him, and I hope he can live an honorable life when he completes his sentence. 

Probably the best thing he can do is be a motivational speaker encouraging the next generation of wannabe politicians to not make the same mistakes he made. 

=========

Learn more about the case at

Peter Boylan, “Former Hawaii Sen. J. Kalani English, State Rep. Ty Cullen Took Thousands in Bribes, Federal Prosecutors Say,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, February 9, 2022                   https://www.staradvertiser.com/2022/02/08/breaking-news/former-hawaii-senate-majority-leader-kalani-english-took-thousands-in-bribes-federal-prosecutors-say/

Peter Boylan, “Ex-Hawaii Lawmaker in Bribery Case Seeks 15-Month Sentence,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, April 4, 2023,                                                 https://www.staradvertiser.com/2023/04/04/hawaii-news/ex-hawaii-lawmaker-in-bribery-case-seeks-15-month-sentence/

Peter Boylan , “Former Hawaii Legislator Ty Cullen Receives 2 Years in Federal Prison,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, April 7, 2023,                     https://www.staradvertiser.com/2023/04/07/hawaii-news/former-hawaii-legislator-ty-cullen-receives-2-years-in-federal-prison/

My Mental Health & Career Development

 A part of why people will not speak publicly about their mental health issues is that they fear in the social media age, employers would find out and assume

• this guy might explode at the first sign of resistance
• this guy might feel overwhelmed and get an anxiety attack at even the slightest inconvenience

Obviously, those sound like exaggerations, but in the age where employers can look you up online, most job-seekers just won't take any chances. 

But then again, just as employers have to screen out applicants,  applicants should also screen out employers that just won't work out for them.

It's hard when one is desperate for an opportunity to pay the bills.

At the same time, one has to protect one's mental health as much as possible. 

=========

So here I am admitting that I am receiving mental health services on issues related to employment.

I'm in my 40s, I have been an adult for 2 decades, and I have 2 decades more until I can retire.  At the same time, my parents are in their 70s.  The clock is ticking. 

Most of my adult life, I worked as a substitute teacher. 

•   pros: flexible scheduling when school is in session. 
• cons: no work available during school breaks

Because of the cons, I have been looking for something more long-term. I did consider becoming a full-time teacher but I figured the workload will be too stressful for me.  I decided to go the library route, got a degree in Library & Information Science, and eventually landed a full-time library assistant job at a middle school. I left that job in 2020 due to problems with the head librarian. I wrote about it at https://pwegesen.wixsite.com/kalakaua-ms-library 

2020 was also the pandemic year. I did a few side jobs, then I worked at Macy's. I already had previous stints in fashion retail (both Macy's and Nordstrom Rack).  But fashion retail isn't something I want to do for the rest of my life.  

And Macy's does a bait & switch their employees. I applied to do recovery (organizing stuff on the sales floor) but I got switched to sanitizing hi-touch points (easy job, but seen as "low status" by the general public). Then when the mask mandate ended in the spring of  2022, Macy's decided to do away with hi-touch sanitizing.

The geniuses at Macy's thought it would be a good idea to switch me to "back of house support" which has plusses (organizing incoming materials, which I love doing) and minuses (working with machines, which I hate doing). After a few weeks, I had a discussion with them, telling them they are negligent about workplace safety, I told them I'll go to OSHA, and I told them they should've asked me if  I liked working with machines before switching me to a position involving machines. After that, they switched me to "front-of-house support duties" (folding towels and clothes, replenishing the shelves, etc) which was what I should've been doing the whole time because that's where I excel.  But now the new problem is the reduction of work hours.

So time to move on. I did apply to return to substitute teaching. I applied to work at an afterschool program.  I also applied for library and office positions. 

I landed a temp office position with the Department of Health. The easy part was organizing the items in the offices. I could do that in my sleep.  The problem is the direct supervisor is disorganized, only gives oral instructions, and doesn't believe in written guidelines. Even worse, on a day that had more work assignments than usual, the supervisor told me "don't write, just listen" as if I'm supposed to remember everything. At that point, I had a nervous breakdown.  I told her I work better with written guidelines, and she refused to accommodate me on that. I left and I sent an email telling her how inefficient she is as a supervisor. Learn more at https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2023/02/when-working-at-department-of-health-is.html

That was in January of this year.

I knew it was time. 

It was time to do 2 things

• find new work
• apply for mental health services 

 I wasn't unemployed for long because I had something to fall back on.  I did reapply the previous year to work as a substitute teacher under Kelly Services.  And in January, I also reapplied to work as a sub with another private agency Hi-Employment. With both agencies, I can work with private schools, charter schools, preschools, and even some Head Start sites.

As for the DOE, I didn't reapply this time around. They take too long with job applications (the private agencies do background checks much faster) and even worse, take longer to pay employees. With the private agencies, I get paid next week Friday. With the DOE (or any state agency), I have to wait until the following month for my paycheck. I'd rather not wait.

I am very grateful that Kelly Services and HiEmployment are willing to hire me. When there's an issue, I can email them, and they are very responsive to my concerns.  And I have been able to pick up many work assignments with them.

And I feel like I'm back in my element when I'm substitute teaching. Believe it or not, it's actually easier than working in retail.  But still, when working with kids, the job requires split-second decisions and any wrong move can have consequences.  But even with that pressure, it's still easier than retail. 

This time, I'll just stick with elementary and preschool when it comes to subbing. I used to do a lot of middle schools but rarely did high schools.  The problem with secondary schools is that even if (for example) 4/ 5 of the classes went smoothly, the other 1/5 is usually so bad that it ruins the day big time, and I rather not deal with that drama at this point in my life.  Plus, I connect better with the younger kids anyways.

I was a middle school library assistant which was much easier than subbing in middle school classrooms. So if I ever work in a middle/high school again, it would be a library job.  Other than that, no!

Mental health services

As mentioned earlier, in January I applied for mental health services when it comes to issues related to employment. 

My mom actually suggested it late last year. This year, no more waiting. 

The following is what I shared with the mental health professionals about my mental health and my career development

Career-Related Strengths

·       2 degrees (sociology, library & information science)

·       Likes to organize items (both physical and digital)

·       Loves to write (better than speaking)

·       Basic computer skills (documents, spreadsheets, information searching)

·       Works well when given lists, templates, flow-charts, other charts, other visuals

·       Can make visual displays

·       Can connect with children [if they're well-behaved 😉 ]

·       13 years sub teaching

·       Strong interest in social studies

·       Willing to share opinions

·       Willing to help others

·       Able to move boxes

·       Arrive early (at least half-hour), nearly always

Career Related Weaknesses

·       Don’t like being rushed

·       Get overwhelmed if being asked to do too much at once

·       Can only take a limited amount of disrespect, especially from other staff

·       Anger, irritable, easily agitated

·       Harder time learning skills (can learn facts faster) and need repetitions & gentle instructions before mastering

·       Don’t like heavy machinery

·       Don’t drive, don’t like long commutes

·       Can’t stand food service work

·       Speech impediments (mumbles, talk fast)

·       Hard to share concerns orally without writing it out first

·       Don’t like wearing earpieces (learn more at this link)

·       Can’t stand anti-maskers

·       Haven’t been able to establish seniority

·       Difficulty finding a long-term, year-round stable career that I’m willing to remain in.

 

Career History (cliff notes version) (not in chronological order because they overlap in many ways):

·       Temp office assistant (w/DOH) (left recently after only 4 weeks)

·       Just returned to substitute teaching, which I did for 13 years (2005-2018)  (pros: flexible scheduling when school is in session. cons: no work available during school breaks)

·        worked in libraries : mostly in student helper positions as an undergrad, plus internship and Library Assistant for a middle school

·       Brief stints as a tutor for students in Special Ed

·       Summer program (2005-2006)

·       Afterschool program (late 2022)

·       fashion retail employee (Macy’s, Nordstrom Rack)

·       Various temp jobs (inspect ballots, test mobile devices, sign waving, election day precinct official, traffic data collector, manual labor)

·       UH dorm front desk (2000-2002)

·       Friends of the Library volunteer

·       Side hustle: electronic music, visual art  (for sale online)

So I had appointments to speak with a mental health professional about these issues. In fact, earlier today, I had another counseling session to discuss these issues.

We're nowhere near done, but we did discuss the following today

• I did some have good temp jobs in the past, the problem is that they're temp
• Library jobs are a good fit, the problem is people don't want to leave those positions, and I have to wait for someone to retire before a position opens up
• When it comes to clerical work, organizing stuff is (usually) easy for me. The problem is having to do call-center duties, which would be too overwhelming for me
• substitute teaching is a very good fit for me, the problem is there's no paid vacation or sick leave
• I'm very selective in applying for positions so that I don't waste interviewing for positions that aren't a good match for me
• it would be a good idea to apply for teaching assistant positions when possible. Just know if it's a good fit before applying
• When applying for positions, the job listings usually list the generic criteria (especially true for state positions)  but when interviewing for the specific position, what the employer is looking for is usually more specific than the generic criteria listed in the initial job posting
• When it comes to those kinds of interviews, I sometimes aced certain questions (because they match my previous experience) but as soon as they ask about something I have no previous experience with, the vibe of the room changes
• When writing cover letters or doing the interview, I'm going to be more upfront about what works for me (ie. written guidelines, polite instructions, etc). This is to inform the employer ahead of time of how to best guide me, and also to weed out employers that don't want to make those accommodations.

For the last point, I forgot to mention in today's session that I'll be upfront in informing employers I'll be wearing a surgical mask and face shield. Employers that want to hire covidiots can hire someone else instead. 

If I have more time, I could come up with more issues that we discussed.

So I'm writing all this to help everyone understand the position I'm in. Also to help those who might have similar struggles that I'm dealing with. 

And if employers see this, what they do with this information is up to them.  I just want to be upfront about my strengths, my weakness, what works for me, and what doesn't work for me.