Nothing

Nothing much to say.

Today involved an early morning appointment for Karl at MRS, for which he had to brush his hair (and not in his usual "I-tried-but-it-just-won't-listen-to-me" fashion, but using water and mom persuasion) and dress less casually then the Karl norm.

Oh yeah, and I should mention that "early morning" means 10AM, since that is normally the hour he rises, give or take half an hour.

Try and remain upbeat and cheerful with the grumpiest person in your world fully loaded and shooting double rounds of mean and spite (covered with threats and sprinkles) at your head. Oh, heck, forget the cheerful attitude...just try to keep from drinking and barricading yourself behind closed doors and never answering your phone every day, and there you have it.

Had to mandate a change of clothes, even though the t-shirt he donned was clean and cat hair-free; that created friction on top of the mounting anger.

The MRS rep requires Karl to dress a little more as if he wants a job and is willing to "play the game" to prove the point. Dressing like you are going to a prospective employer is huge points with these program people. So then you couple the hair thing with the wardrobe bit and the very thought of having to go to the meeting to begin with, and you have lousy mood and attitude.

[Heavy, heavy sigh]

The meeting was short and sweet. She didn't take any of his guff and he was short tempered and sullen.

I can see both sides of the conflict...but how does one remain "Switzerland" when the answer to some of his needs (MRS rep) is trying to help and is pushing his buttons, and he is digging in his heels and being overly confrontational (which doesn't help his cause). It's been so long that this agency has done nothing but spin their wheels and send Karl to "test centers" (one after another) to "evaluate his job potential," but then never move on to next steps. He sees the BS they are shoveling, and he feels let down...and I know my opinion of their brand of crap has not helped the matter, but they are great at dangling that carrot further and further 'out there,' while heaping on more forms and hoops to jump through, and then never really fulfil anything they set in place once all the requirements are met.

Promises, promises.

Meanwhile, they all have jobs and pencils to push while the poor clients follow directions and bend over backwards to meet deadlines and qualifications and whatever else is shoved at them.

Karl has even experienced three of his reps moving on to other jobs while pawning him off on yet another new rep, who starts back at square one, handicapping his efforts to move ahead.

See, lots of nothing.