Barbara's Meanderings

I am tutoring five students who range from first grade through fourth grade in both reading and math. I work for an hour and a half a session and each student gets two sessions a week. So I have had to double up students every day. This means that if I leave my house to tutor for a four o' clock session I could come home at seven thirty. In a perfect world I would have had time during the day to do whatever I needed to do. But in two out of five days last week I had to be away from my house all day either helping one of my family or doing my own annoying errand. Just as is always the case in my life a simple experience has turned into a complicated and annoying one.

I needed to be fingerprinted for this job, even though they have my prints from other jobs both in the Federal government and in New York State. But of course, Connecticut requires its own fingerprints. Also there is this Adam Walsh's Act brought about by the sex abuser whose name is on this law. Anyone who works with children in any capacity has to have a background check by the FBI and the state. So I was fingerprinted along with everyone else who works for this company and my prints went into the FBI. But I was told even while the fingerprinting was happening that my prints might not be good enough to be accepted. The technician told me that they weren't sharp enough and that happens when you get older or if you use harsh chemicals. Sure enough they came back and even though I had paid over a hundred dollars for the first time and I was told I could have them done a second time by this same company for free, the company now told me that I had to have them done by the Department of Public Safety. But the fingerprinting company was unavailable on Monday when I decided to try to get in to get them done. I couldn't get this company on the phone either. On Wednesday when I met with someone from the tutoring company she suggested I go to the Department of Public Safety. So on Thursday I made the trip up there, which was four exits closer than the fingerprinting company. I had been told that it would only be fifteen dollars, but that didn't include the state and the FBI check which were over sixty-nine dollars extra. Also getting into the building I had to empty my pockets and the thing kept beeping. Finally we figured out it could be on my shoes. No they didn't make me take them off.:) Then we had to wear a Visitor Pass around our necks - my daughter came in with me to give me moral support.

I'm not sure that they will be accepted, but I was told that if they weren't the FBI would do a background check anyway. What gets me is that my fingerprints are on file in the government, but because of this craziness now associated with getting a job anywhere, I had to have them retaken. And this insanity cost me two full days and lots of gas driving so far. But I was employed for years as a teacher. It just gets to me how stupid some of this is. Aren't we going a little too far for security in everything? Do you have a story like this or a comment about the rising amount of security in our lives?

And now for the winner of the contest for the free book. The winner is:

She has been notified so I can send her the book.:) If Mayra doesn't contact me in 24 hours I will have to do another drawing.

That's all for now. I want to let everyone know that I was a guest on Roseanne Dowell's blog,

Barbara Ehrentreu's Favorite Christmas Memory . It's all about the first Christmas my husband and I spent together. Roseanne is a fellow MuseItUp Publishing author and she will be my guest here next week. Thank you to my new followers and thank you to all of the people who continue to read my meanderings.:) Until the next time Happy Hannukah to all who celebrate it!!!

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