Work was strange on Tuesday. First I had an application who was using benefit income. When I called his home number it was busy. Nowadays that's acceptable but I'm anal retentive and decided I'd call the home number when the guy sends over his benefit documents.
Next stop, calling his contacts. Well a woman answered at the first contact's telephone number and I announced myself and explained I was calling to see if this is a good reference number. She was shocked and kept asking what this is about and I danced around the subject as much as possible to protect the applicant's privacy.
I learn that they haven't spoken to or heard from the applicant in sixteen years and they were concerned about him. Oh dear. So I checked with a manager, relayed the story and she affirmed that I couldn't give out any information.
Oh well. The lady was really sad when I told her I couldn't give out any information at all. She ended the call saying that she was happy to know that at least he was still alive.
Next person called in, they had applied for a loan and all we had to do was verify the pay cycle. She was calling to withdraw the application because she needed the money for surgery for her dog and now she doesn't need the surgery anymore.
Oh dear. Oh dear. I felt so bad.
Finally today upper management said they were going to start the Secret Santa like they do every year. I was given a notice and put on the Secret Santa list which means that I'm pretty certain, short of any fuckups, that I'll be around until the end of 2006. Beyond that is anyone's guess. Here's hoping that next Tuesday's interview goes well and goes to the third step in the interview process.
For those of you playing along at home, there are four steps to the interview process.
A huge pile of coal was set far back from the center of the coal pit where everyone congregated throughout the day for work. This pile was covered with rags, skulls and ribcages. As I was running back to tell everyone, my lot was called. I obediently marched towards the train station, stepped through an engine and boarded a passenger car. Others who weren't so lucky ended up in cattle cars.
The passenger car wasn't that bad. In fact there were tiny plastic Christnas trees at the front of the rows. Nameless people meandered in, sat down and waited quietly for the last journey to begin. Our car was manned by two guards and an angry, elderly Chinese woman with a high pitched and evil voice. Even though she was shouting in her native tongue, I could still get the gist of her words. Every other word was calling us scum and how we deserve our fates.
When the train lurched forward, she fell and banged her head against one of the railings. Now she was seriously pissed and started beating on random passengers. Since she was so old, no one was really hurt by her blows. I avoided eye contact and stared out the window watching the vast, desolate coal pit fall behind the train revealing a green and foggy countryside. Once we entered a forest I looked up and found that the guards had cold cocked the old shrew with the butt of their rifles leaving her bloody on the floor. They smiled and shrugged at us. One of them went to the engine and something changed that I couldn't put my finger on.
Whatever was the nature of the change, it was for the better. We were no longer doomed to some anonymous death but we were being shipped out. Some people got up and started wandering around the car while I shouldered my way forward to see if I could spot our new destination. Between cars, I climbed up on the roof. The train had stopped at a railway junction and all around us were other trains which were pulling black, cylindrical tank cars which were smeared with thick tar that came up in stiff peaks like a birthday cake.
So I climbed down and started walking ahead between the trains. It wasn't long before I left the trains behind and only had the train track before me. I laughed to myself saying it's just like Stand By Me.
I don't remember much else from the dream.
