Despite being unemployed, I have to send a hearty "thank you" to my ex-employer. They sponsored a seminar to get us accustomed to the "red-tape" of the unemployment system, and provided very useful information about the process. Today, I managed to make it to the unemployment office. Following the advice of the counsellors at the seminar, I decided to visit an unemployment office nearly 60 miles from where I had been working. The counsellors had warned that the typical wait at the urban unemployment centres was between 4 and 6 hours long; and indicated that by investing 90 minutes to drive to the further office, we could be processed within 30 minutes. The calculations were almost correct. It actually took just over an hour to reach the office, and nearly an hour to get to the head of the line. But, the total time (round trip drive, plus getting serviced) took about 4.5 hours. It would have taken less, but the official processing my claim forgot to give me the "blue card" for validating my claim.

If it hadn't been for the seminar, I would not have known to expect the blue card, and would have gotten all the way home before noticing. As it was, I had stopped for a quick bite before getting back on the road to go home, and it was then that I noticed the lack of said blue card. A quick trip back to the office rectified the situation.

Funny thing... while at the office, the person handling my claim asked why I had driven to a U.S. unemployment office over 80 miles from my Canadian home, when there was a local Canadian unemployment office in my own home town. I knew there were tax treaties between the U.S. and Canada, but hadn't realized that unemployed workers of U.S. corporations who lived in Canada could file their claims from inside Canada! Oh well, what's done is done. The officer told me I might want to transfer my claim to Canada, so if there is any trouble that requires a trip to the office, it would be more convenient for me. I'll think about it.

Tonight, I will get a chance to see my step-son. He'll be over to help my wife put the bedroom furniture back into the bedroom, now that the carpeting has been installed. I had helped empty the room before the carpeting, but hurt my back in the process. My wife wants to ensure I don't do that again.

Also tonight, the next episode of "24" is on. It is getting near the end, and it is getting harder for me to avoid reading the "rumours" that are circulating about the plot. I've already gotten into the habit of turning the channel immediately after an episode to avoid hearing "spoilers", but now the network has started broadcasting spoilers in randomly placed advertisements during other shows. It's quite annoying. My question is this: Who are they trying to lure to the show? The loyal fans who have already watched 18 of the 24 episodes are likely to come back whether or not the episodes are advertised or not. And there are few new viewers who are likely to jump on the bandwagon, having already missed 18 of the 24 episodes. I wish the Fox Network would spend their money more wisely and stop screwing with my mind.

I'm a very straight male, and I have strong feelings about the immorality of same-sex relationships. Still, when I see a guy who I think would be attractive to females, I am willing to give the guy his due. After quite a while away from the series, I started watching Ally McBeal again this season. And I happen to think the romantic interplay between Calista Flockhart and Jon Bonjovi is very adorable. I can't believe this guy is 40. He looks like he's still in his 20's, and I really like the way these two actors look together. Christina Ricci (the Addams Family movie) played a lawyer-temptress in last night's episode, and is set to join the cast. I guess they needed someone else to "out-bitch" Nell, now that Lucy Liu's character seems to have disappeared from the scene.

I should stop now, before I prove just how TV-addicted I really am :)