Update XVII: I Ate The Strawberry (The REAL, AUTHENTIC Update)

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I expect people to act like adults.

Really?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I don't think encouraging Bushie into entering the world of subletting is a particularly brilliant idea.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Surprised that less people have clocked this and subsequent related posts:

I am excellent with dates.  I can remember exact dates from my childhood and even before I was born.  I can even name what day of the week the event happened.  I have a virtual calendar in my head so without looking at a real calendar, I know what day a particular date fell on or will fall on.

I'm no expert, but that's a really classic (to the point of cliché, even) sign of a certain something.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I tried early on in the history of the Update, I believe, but he doesn't seem to think he needs one and may be worried about the costs.

Which of course his (not poor) parents would end up paying for, and maybe they wouldn't approve.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Whatever happened to the idea of tying to get Update published? It is a compelling narrative. I believe Bacon King even offered to do some editing for a slice of the action. In all honesty, Update is the only skill Bushie has,  but it is a profound one. Why let it go to waste? And why deprive the world of its pleasures?

I know a thing or two about the publishing industry. For several quite distinct reasons they wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Pretty much everyone here is giving you terrible advice, because they're assuming that you're just an ordinary person who happens to be a bit thick and extremely lazy. As I think you know yourself, this isn't really the case, is it? All across the world, stupider people than you (Christ: lazier people than you) hold down - right now, as I type, as you read this - the sort of jobs you've been fired from. Your difficulties with the world of work are not primarily caused by character defects.

You have certain issues that need to be - if not dealt with because that would be impossible - managed. You have tourettes, you have (as you have acknowledged) learning difficulties and you almost certainly have something else (six letters, begins with an 'a' ends with an 'm'). None of this is your fault. You need help and you need to accept that there is no shame in seeking it.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

If he would just get on the dole all these things would be in reach, and by that I mean NOT reaching for mom's purse. 

What universe do you live in?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Less than half of applications for SSDI are approved.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Less than half of applications for SSDI are approved.

It would still be worth a shot with Jeff's health condition (as far as we know it).

This is the official eligibility checklist:

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[Filuwaúrdjan]

Bushie is correct.

Additionally, he has recently been employed and continues to actively seek work in similar fields to those that he has been dismissed from. He is also certainly fit for menial work (that he doesn't want to work such jobs would be quite irrelevant).

[Filuwaúrdjan]

If you consider that the criteria are probably not applied too harshly,

An initial rejection rate of around two thirds (bumped up only slightly by the appeals process) suggests otherwise. Eligibility for state benefits is a complicated area and inconsistencies are inevitable and unavoidable, but it's best not to assume that official guidelines are a joke, especially on the basis of 'well everyone knows that... etc'. It should also be noted that is no guarantee that any inconsistencies would work in favour of any given individual; there will also be people who are genuinely eligible who get rejected.

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That is not what 'severe' means in this sort of context (and frankly that's a list that would be laughed out of consideration). His probable main problem is an undiagnosed one and, anyway, if he has it he's high functioning.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It's not that unusual for people to suddenly break down like that, particularly if they have a lot of sh!t in their lives. It's just that normally they don't talk about it to complete strangers over the internet.

Would suggest that it would be better for everyone if this particular line of pestering (i.e. 'cat scratch episode') is dropped.