work
2003-04-30 | 5:51 p.m.

Well, I have a lot on my mind today. First, or last really, my brother visited my Mom today. He just showed up. You may recall that my bro is a coke addict. He's violent and unpredictable. So he stayed for about an hour. I happened to call just after he pulled up, and I spoke to him for a minute or two. He sounded angry with me, almost. Mom said he was angry at everyone when she called after he left. I was praying for her protection before then. I was pretty worried. But everything seems to be ok. For now. I don't get Kenneth. I guess he was too spoiled growing up. He got the air conditioner, you know.

When we were growing up, we lived in a rather large and very nice home but without central air. There were two window units...one in the formal dining room and one in - Kenneth's room. I didn't even have a fan. Kenneth a nice bedroom suit. I had a mattress on the floor. You get the idea. Ok, I'm done.

But that kind of goes a long with stuff that had been on my mind today. I was thinking about work. I've always worked. I forget this a lot and often think of myself as being spoiled for some reason. Spoiled, I am not.

When I was in elementery I went door to door selling stuff from this catalog. It was a way for kids to make money and earn prizes. So I did that for about three summers. I also mowed lawns. My friend Lane and I wanted to start our own little business called "The Lawn Rangers." Isn't that cute? Hey, I was 8 and living in Texas. It was perfect. It never happened. I had to mow yards without a black mask.

Then my parents got married. Starting in the sixth grade, I worked summers and often weekends. I worked during winter break. I made $30 a day. I didn't get a raise until the summer before my senior year. Some days we would work 14 hours. I was nothing more than a glorified slave, I felt. Anyway, I'm not bitter. I'm saying I had to work, and the money wasn't great. So when I was a senior, I started doing the books for my Dad. I gave myself raise. Hurrah for checkbook signing power! :)

Then I went to college. I got a job in the library. That didn't pay so well, so I got a job at a telecommunications firm. That paid fairly well, but the working environment sucked. So I moved on from there...ok, so and then I realized something really crucial.

I didn't have to work. My parents have money. They'd support me. I decided to take advanatage of that. Ok, so there was a two year stint in undergrad when I didn't work, but I was working on school. I was in school full time and involved in numerous organizations and church. So I was still very busy.

Then, in May of 99, I decided I needed to find a job. It took me six weeks, and I found a job at Hobby Lobby as a cashier. I worked 22 hours a week, and I hated it. So I went down to 17 hours. I wanted a night off, because I was going to go to my graduation in August. This was a problem for my manager, so I quit. On August 14, 1999, the day after I graduated with a BS in Biology, I started working as a...waiter! My parents were so proud. So that lasted six weeks.

Then I went to work for the city. Oh, I was in school taking leveling courses for grad school this whole time too. So I was purchasing tech for the city here. Then I got a second part time job with the city at city development. That was a nightmare. So I was working two part time jobs and going to school full time.

Then my mom got sick, and we thought she was going to have to quit her job and my dad was going to have make up for her income. No biggie. But mom had been giving me about $1000 a month to help me with the bills, so Dad was going to have to shell out a lot of money. He said not to worry about it, but I didn't feel good about that. So I got the job I have now.

It's really awesome how it all worked out though. Here's where the Lord comes in. I got the job at hobby lobby because my cousin worked there. I probably would have stayed at Hobby Lobby (even though I hated it) if it hadn't been for that manager. A friend of mine was going to apply at Chedders, so I just went with her. I applied and thankfully was hired. Then one day at work, I waited on this super cute guy (blonde hair, blue eyes, and the most curvacious lips you've ever seen). I was really hating my job at that time. Classes began a week later, and he was there in my stats class. Well, I recognized him, so I sat next to him. I wouldn't have sat next to him if I hadn't met him already and had a topic for opening conversation.

It turned out that he worked for the city. He told me they had an opening in his department, so I applied. I didn't get that job (which was a good thing) but I did get the job in purchasing. Then that wasn't working out because I needed to get another job that paid more. I just happened to be taking a course from a guy who was also working where I work now. He gave my resume to the HR department and pushed for my hire. So I was in (after a few interviews).

Praise God I am where I am! My benefits are awesome. The people are awesome. Everything about it has been sooo great. And recently, I realized that if I had been promoted, I probably wouldn't have tried to get into law school. But now I'm going to go to law school. It's just really cool to see how it all worked out.

I've always been a hard worker, and the Lord has always given me opportunities to work hard. I'm very grateful.

I wonder if this made sense.

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