I Work With a Cop

So we hired this guy at work a couple of months ago and I thought he was pretty cool until I found out he's a cop. Don't get me wrong, I like cops. I call them when something goes wrong. I use their services, is what I am saying. What I don't like are cops that are off duty... I believe they call them "off-duty police officers"; yeah, that's right.

It seems to me like a cop can never turn off his "cop mode". They are always scanning the room, enforcing laws, and instructing you on what's leagal and what's not. Well, I have to say that this particular cop has showed me that I am not always right... Yup, it hurt me a little to say it.

It isn't that I ever looked at cops as being inhuman. Like in Reservoir Dogs when they are recapping who was killed, they count the cops and then someone says, "No real people?" I know cops are real people, I just also think they are real sticks in the mud!

So, anyway I am giving this cop a chance and he seems really cool. We left work at the same time a few nights ago and he didn't imediately pull me over for having a head light out. He is also good for helpful information when I need to know how much the ticket for talking on your cell phone and driving is ($140.oo by the way).

Too Much Retail

I work part time on a retail sales floor. At the beginning of every week I remind myself that there are only 4 work days in a week for me. I try to amp myself up that 4 days is so little, and then I have a 3 day weekend waiting for me every Friday.

Unfortunately, it only takes about 5 or 6 hours before I start longing for Saturday morning. It usually has something to do with the customer who is waiting in line saying that they want to break their foot off in someone's tushie before I even get to talk to them. I just wish people could be kind and courteous to strangers.

So if you ever go into a business establishment, remember, the person you are dealing with is at work. That means their day already sucks enough. The last thing that anyone needs is to be made into some stranger's punching bag. Can't we all just follow the golden rule and treat others how we would want to be treated? Can't we all just get along?

Work and the Amazing Email

Hi, Internet.

I just wanted to stop by to let you know that work is going great! I am just being my normal, helpful self, and customers are loving it! Our customers get telephone surveys periodically, asking about the service that was proved to them when they came in. So far, all of my customers have given me top ratings. Most recently, a nice woman left some wonderful voice comments about how much she loves me and would refer her friends and family to me. This apparently caught the eye of some important manager of something, who emailed me to say good job.

At first I didn't think much of it. I just thought that people were trying to congratulate and motivate a new employee. Turns out its a pretty big deal to catch his eye. Guess I'm on the radar now; so much for flying low. So far my customers seem pretty happy with me. I'm on lunch right now and I spilled some curry on my shirt. Hopefully that doesn't make anyone change their mind. You know how fickle the public can be.

Lunch Break

I'm on my lunch break at work. What's on the menu today? Left over pizza. It doesn't sound very exciting, but I am trying to save money by bringing my lunch everyday. So far, I calculate my savings at around 50 bucks. I am trying to look on the bright side of things because I was really not very excited about bringing left over pizza today. Especially since there is an increadible deli around the corner that makes wonderful sandwiches on amazing bread. Gene's Deli on Barbur Blvd in Portland - check it out.

Very Quickly

I don't have a lot of time, so please excuse any typos or run on sentences and the like. I wanted to write a quick blog and say that last weekend, Shawn and i took Caleb to the newport aquarium. It was so much fun! caleb saw the ocean for the first time and he absolutely loved watching the animals in the aquarium. he ran from tank to tank saying, "fish, fish fish" and he even got to pet a shark and a sting ray.

Today at work i got my business cards, name badge and photo ID badge
I'll post a picture of the photo because its funny.

Gotta go!

Taking Care of Business

So far, I have had a pretty productive day. I am still in training for my new job, and on my break I made a doctor appointment, and a dentist appointment for Caleb. He is NOT going to be very happy about the dentist appointment. It doesn't have anything to do with the actual dentist visit itself, but the time of the visit. We are going to miss the garbage truck (or garbage car, as he calls it)! Oh well, he will just have to wait until the next week to see the garbage car.

I am so happy to have a schedule with set days off. It was so easy to make those appointments because I knew that I would be available all day on every Monday. So far this company has really treated me right, and I haven't even done anything to desrve it yet!

Nerves

Hi Internet,
Today I started my last week of training for my new job. That means that next week I will start out on the sales floor. The training has been nice, but for some reason I still feel like I am going to be thrown out of a plane without a parachute. It's just scary to think that next week I will have to interact with customers who are going to assume that I know a lot more than what I really do. I wonder how many times I will have to say, "this is my first day / week / month", or "I'm still kinda new here".

I just hate not knowing stuff. I like to know all of the ends and outs of things so that I can answer any question that is thrown at me. Plus, there are always those 'one-uppers' that come into the store wanting to show off all of their techy lingo and ability to back you into a corner. Arg. Those people drive me crazy. They just want to try and stump you and make you feel dumb. It happened a lot at Gamestop, but I knew all of the product inside and out. It happened a little bit at WAMU, but I knew all of the federal banking laws that pertained to my job. This is a whole new industry, and things are going to be really difficult for me just starting out.

I'm pretty nervous about it, if you can't tell.

Weekend!

Hello, Internet!

i just finished up my first week at my awesome new job. They gave me a sweet new phone with a web browser and all sorts of other stuff. I thought Shawn's job was cooler because he got a laptop today, but the screen is busted and they didn't give him the password to log on, so I guess my job wins!

I'm Back, Baby!

No, I didn't get a computer, but I got something just as good. I got a smart phone! Not just any smart phone, but the new Nokia E71x.

Work has been alright. I miss Caleb a lot while I am there and I don't get to see him for very long after I get home. I am pretty excited to get into the store and start selling stuff.

I have to go to bed earlier these days, which includes right now. G'night!

Day 2

Hi Internet.
Sorry I didn't update last night after work. Once I got home, all I wanted to do was relax. I'm back in class today and have a little down time while people are finishing up some training.

I car pooled to work today - how environmentally friendly of me!

OOH! Also, today I get to go to the mall with my brother and pick out a sparkly anniversary gift for my sister in law! They are celebrating their first wedding anniversary this week. How EXCITING!

Almost Done

Almost done for the day. I just took the picture for my employee badge. YUCK. Oh well. I wonder if I lose more weight if they will let me retake it?

New Job

Hey, Internet.
I can't really talk right now. I am at orientation for my new job. I will try to do a mobile update later to let you all know about it. I have been in s super great mood lately with the new house and the new job. I was anxious last night, but now that I am here, I am pretty relaxed. I'm in training with another person who will be in the store that I am in, so it will be cool to already know someone when I get there. Well we are just about ready to move on to the next part of the course. I will check back in later.

Quick update

Hi, Internet. I can't talk long but I wanted to update you on a few things. I got a new job working in a mobile phone retail store. I haven't started yet, but they said they want me to come work for them and I am really excited. I will probably be working there in a week or two, after all of the new hire paperwork / background check goes through.

We signed the lease on the rental house last night. It's very thrilling. We have been moving stuff in for the last couple of days. It took me all day to move the kitchen over, but it is now over there almost 100%. Actually, the last carload of kitchen stuff is in my car as we speak. I am just about ready to bring it over there. It is taking a little longer than you might think because I am unpacking as I go. I don't know if we will make the entire move by Friday, but I think we will probably at least be living in the new house by then. Things will go a lot faster when we have a truck, I'm sure. It's slow going now because our car can only hold 3 or 4 small sized boxes at a time.

Today has been really hectic. Caleb flushed a spoon and a fork down the toilet, the dog stepped in poop and tracked it into the house. I discovered this upon stepping in the poop myself. Finally, things are cleaned up, Caleb is fed, and I am leaving him at Nana's house while I move some stuff. The fork and the spoon are still in the toilet. I'll have to take care of that later.

The Good, The Bad, and The Tearful

What a rollercoaster I have been on in the last 24 hours!

Good News: We got the rental house and we move in 2 weeks!

Bad News: We don't know what we are going to do with our condo and it will probably foreclose.

Tearful: I cried at work today in front of both my bosses and 2 of my coworkers.

Work was so hard today. It was hard to be away from my son all day. It was hard to leave him before he even woke up and then not see him again until dinner time. I knocked on 188 doors today, talked to 33 people, got ZERO leads. The thing that upset me the most was the 155 people that didn't answer the door. I really saw that as 155 opportunities to talk to people that I didn't get. I know it's not a controllable thing, but it was really, REALLY upsetting. I don't think I can stress to you enough how overwhelming and stressful this job is. I am determined to NOT be overcome by this job! I am way to strong willed and hard headed for that!

As I mentioned before, we were approved on the rental house. Yay! We are so excited! There is a lot of nervousness and uneasiness as well because we haven't sold the condo yet. We can't afford to make both the payments, so we are just going to not pay and try to sell it as fast as possible. I am just praying constantly that everything will work out. I don't know what else to say about that.

Shawn and I asked our friend Zac to move into the house with us. He really wanted to, but he is too kind-hearted to leave his current roommate / childhood friend high and dry without someone to help with the bills. I am going to continue to persuade him with my cooking abilities in case he finds himself in a position to move. If we had a roommate I could quit this abusive and ridiculous job. An abusive and ridiculous job that I am deeply and truly grateful to have, that is.

New Beginnings

I don't want to brag, Internet, but I am pretty awesome at my new job. Well, at least that is what they tell me. Apparently I am the best they have seen in a long time. The trainer kept telling me that I am going to be phenomenal at selling windows; more specifically, window appointments. My job is to schedule appointments for the salespeople to go to on the following day. The trainer said he thinks I will make a lot of money. He said he would even bet money on it. No one was willing to take him up on the bet, so I think that is a good sign as well.

I got a call back on the rental house today. Things are looking alright. Amy said that as far as the application looks, they can move ahead in the rental process. If the rest of the screenings go well, we could be moving in by the weekend. Good News: The potential landlords are not going to make us pay $50 bucks for a background check, (because they recognize no man according to the flesh) and they aren't going to make us pay $60 for the credit score. Bad News: They do however want to look at the credit report. I pulled up our credit report on www.annualcreditreport.com which is the government website where you can get your free annual credit report. Thinks are looking grim my Internet friend. This thing is littered with closed accounts and overdue balances. I can only pray that God and the landlords will have mercy on us.

"Times are hard, getting harder. I'm born to lose and destined to fail." -- Mike Ness

Blue

Hi, Internet.

Nothing is new. I just wanted to say that I am feeling rather blue about having to go to work tomorrow. It's so strange to think that tomorrow I will feed Caleb breakfast and then I won't see him again until dinner time. I'm not complaining because I know that is life. I know there are hundreds of thousands of moms who would rather stay home, but they have to work. I know I am just one among the ranks of many. Still, it saddens me. Knowing that I am in the same boat as countless others doesn't make me feel any better about leaving my son to work. I just pray this is temporary and that it all works out for the best.

Knock, Knock

Who's there? It's me - your friendly door-to-door window salesman?

Yup, that's right, Internet. I got a job. I am a door-to-door window salesman. They send me to 150 houses a day trying to get leads for the people who make the real money. It's not a bad deal though. I just hand out a flier, say a speech, call in the referral and that's it.

Some other good news; Shawn's work is hiring. I sent in my resume and cover letter today. He told them that I was interested and they said they would take a look at my stuff. I think that I would really rather work there. It's mostly office work; filing, customer follow up, invoices, and other stuff I would totally rock doing. I start the door-to-door job tomorrow, but I would leave it in a heart beat for this other place.

Here is some more news; I'm not sure if it's good or bad yet. Since I got the job we (technically on some small level)are qualified to rent the house we really want. The good news is that the landlords are friends of ours. Hopefully that means they are willing to overlook the massive blows our credit score has taken over the last few months. I told them not to feel obligated; no pressure. If they deny us, I would totally understand. Although it does appear that we have a good chance at getting the place because no one else has applied for it.

Keep your phalanges crossed, and send prayers this way.

Sky Net Human Resources?

Hey, Internet,

I'm trying to get an interview at Macy's today. I filled out an application online 2 days ago. Yesterday they emailed me saying they wanted me to schedule an interview online, but there were no times available. Today, they sent me another email saying that they still want to interview me. The website for scheduling the interviews is still saying there are no times available. I have been trying to call the HR Dept for over 20 minutes, but no one is answering. Perhaps they are out to lunch, or perhaps the HR Department is just run by robots altogether. I think that this may be the beginning of Sky Net taking over the world.

Maybe Sky Net is hiring?

Light Purse, Heavy Heart

Good evening, internet. I'm feeling pretty blue today. It doesn't look like we are going to be able to find a roommate and so my job search continues.

In the meantime I have been trying to do some spring cleaning. If we do end up moving, it will be a lot easier to pack if I go through all of our stuff and get organized.

I'm just trying to stay hopeful. Thanks to everyone who has sent us kind words. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel?

I think there might be a tiny little pin prick light at the end of my foreclosure tunnel. I talked to my dear friend Amy Brown about my little problem and she invited us to come take a look at their rental home. I gave her the full laundry list of reasons why she wouldn't want me to be her tenant, but she seems unfazed. So now we have a place to go if we could only get rid of our current home. Well, there is another catch.

We wouldn't be able to afford the payments on our own. They are just a little bit higher that our condo, but we would still be struggling. So one of two things needs to happen.

1. I need a job
---- or ----
2. We need a roommate


After devoting a year and a half to being a stay-at-home-mom; it would greatly pain me to leave Caleb with someone else, even if it was just part time. I'll do it if I have to, but I'd really like it to be a last resort. (I guess that means I should have made it second on my list, eh?) That leaves us with the alternative... find a roommate.

Who could we possibly trust to live with us now that we have a son? Certainly not our hoodlum friends of yesteryear. Well, who better than family? We are trying to talk my sister into renting the house with us. I really hope that she goes for it, but there are so many variables. She is wanting to change her work to part time and then go to school full time. I am praying that it works out without changing her plans. I told her that I don't want her to feel any pressure or obligation and of course I really mean that. I just hope that it works out for her and for us. That would be ideal.

Only time will tell.