Christmas

christmas has come again. this year the family is doing something different. we've managed to go to church on our own times this year. danny and i, attended midnight mass at Good Shepherd in Mira Mesa. Its been a long while since the last time that i've been to mass. every year prior to this, i was always one of the members of church sitting in a pew listening to the priest say wow, we have a full house tonite....if only every sunday was like this, but unfortunately the only time we have huge crowds like these are during christmas and easter. as much as i dont want to admit it, i was one of those people this year. i cant promise that next year it'll be different cause i dont like to make promises that i cannot keep. this year was a busy year for me and i never seemed to want to make time for church. not a good thing at all. i grew up going to church, and here i am on my own and have been out of my parents house now for the past 7 and a half years...and i cant seem to get myself together and attend church. its a small sacrifice. an hour once a week, and i failed to do it this year. tis tis on me.

the game plan for today is to head over to moms house and bbq some of my famous ribs. i take pride in them, cause they are scrumptious. my brother ralph is cooking a 12 pound prime rib and dad is cooking some kind of potato dish. last i head it was hash browns, but that cant be right. the pie just finished cooking in my oven and is ready to go over to moms. i'm preparing my ribs for bbqing here before i bring em over. paul will probably bring something over also, not sure what. jim, well, he's lazy and probably wont contribute jack shit but complaints. there's always a scrooge in every family. some where in the mix, we'll exchange gifts so the kids will have some kind of christmas this year. we arent the traditional family when it comes to the holidays. we never have been. my parents dont even have a tree up...its been maybe 10 years now that they dont put up a tree, but at least they have lights up outside.

sometimes i wish we were more traditional with celebrating christmas. i guess i'll have to live that out when i have kids. the whole christmas carols around the fireplace drinking hot cocoa and doctored egg nog. i definitely want to make a big deal about decorating the tree and putting up lights. its hard to now cause its just me and danny. maybe when we get a bigger place we can have a christmas eve party of even just a christmas party so we can have friends over and just enjoy the holidays. i've always wanted to host a christmas party of some sort cause they're always fun. one year it'll happen....

stay tuned for tonites post....maybe it'll happen tomorrow...

27

gaining another year under my belt, i have turned 27 years old. as i think back about reminisce about the past 26 years of my life, i can honestly say that i have been through hell and back again in the past 6 years of my life. but nows not the time to dwell on those things because i have learned and moved on. i live a beautiful life with many opportunities. often times i take for granted what i have. i can honestly say that i do....cause i know there are many people out there that would like to walk in my shoes.

in the past 2 years alone...i have really made a difference in my life. i graduated from college. having been rejected by so many employers because of lack of job experience, i decided to start my work experience at home depot. they were actually the only company that wanted to hire me at the time and i took advantage of it. i stayed there for 1 year and 3 and a half months. it definitely is not the best job out there. BUT, i did gain some valuable work experience, and gosh darn it, i think customer service is a great experience to have...especially in our society. last month i was presented with an opportunity that seemed, at the time, too good to be true. but what the hell, i thought, i may as well see where it takes me...i didnt have anything to lose. i really didnt want to start a new job until after the wedding just so that i have my vacation time in place for the honeymoon.

low and behold, 1 week after submitting my resume i was called back. i couldnt even begin to tell you how excited i was when the person on the other line said they were from kaiser. my heart nearly skipped a beat. it took nearly 3-4 weeks before i was actually hired. a process, from what i was told, that would nearly take 2-3 months. i really got lucky with this one. i have to admit, the work is boring but i got to tell you, i love my job...right now at least. i dont know of a job that is more laid back than this. this company really takes care of its employees and has awesome benefits. this is probably one of the best things that has happened to me this year.

anyway, the holiday season is definitely here. i almost almost done with my christmas shopping. i always tend to be one of those last minute shoppers. but i am happy to admit that i did not have to go to the mall this year for christmas gifts. i did a lot of christmas shopping online and i have resorted to just giving gift cards away, and those are always convenient to buy now at the local grocery stores. conveniences, gotta love it.

having chosen to quit home depot, i finally went back into the store today to buy something. it was nice to see everyone i worked with. to know that many of those people were happy to see me - made me feel good. i have definitely made some friends there. note to buddy...when am i gonna get a copy of those photos that we took when we dressed up???? send em my way buddy! oh and by the way, i miss you. but hey word to the wise, you'll be outta there soon and onto bigger and better things. take it this way...you invested time into home depot and that time will pay off sooner or later. customer service is a good thing to have under your belt. trust...it'll pay off.

quota

every day at work i have a quota to meet....which typically amounts to this...nearly 10-15 calls per day and 85-90 cases worked. thats a lot. i for the first two days was able to meet my quota. however, today, i wasnt able to meet that quota. i only got 56 cases done, in an 8 hour period. the worse part is that i didnt even have to answer phones today or for the next few weeks for that matter. how pathetic. a lot, i feel, has to do with how i was trained today. my trainer, did not understand that i am a hands-on learner. you can preach to me and educate me verbally till i am blue in the face, but i can guarantee you that i wont learn jack shit from it. i've always been that way since day one. my preschool teach mrs howard will tell you that. i've tried to change my learning style, but nothing has changed.

at any rate, the people in my bay are slowly opening up to me...so to speak. granted i sit at the end of the bay, thank god, cause i hate when people watch me work. but anyway, a few of them have talked to me on a regular basis now. the others...eh...not so sure about. the gay guy hasnt said a word to me since day one, the lady with the manly voice hasnt even acknowledged that i am alive. the runner chick, she's easing up. the fat lady, she's alright, she the only one thats jolly and talks to me. the filipina lady, not sure what to think of her, she's a loaner for sure, and she's retiring at the end of the month, so i dont give a shit about her, and she probably doesnt give a shit about me.

i have made any new friends at my new work, and i kinda like that. i am treating it strictly as work. i feel that this place is one in which, you are on your own. and such i treat as so. but i definitely dont want to get into the cubicle drama as most people are sucked into it. i dont care much about other people garbage when it come down to the nitty gritty. its bad enough that we have mandatory potlucks to tend to. people at my work love food. they see food and they have no problem eating it. come on now, they have potlucks every 2 weeks it seems like. kinda funny i think. it gives everyone a reason to have a 2 hour paid lunch. cant beat that. means i have time to run miscellaneous errands in and around my work, while people eat up and play scrabble or mad gabs.

i must say this...i definitely dont miss the customers at home depot. i miss my peeps tho. buddy i miss you too, you're like the little bro i never had. lindsay, i miss my lunch buddy. jasmin, i miss the talks about life with you. vicki...i miss the shit talking and horse play. anna, i've missed you since you left me and went to the vault...youre like a big sis to me...you, jasmin and lindsay. i definitely dont miss victor tho...ta hell with ya dude. mikey in appliances, i miss being your go to lady...you always knew how to cheer me up when the going got tough. buddy, jules and jasmin...when we gonna grub up on some sushi...yo? don in garden, eh man, i took your advice, i havent looked back since i left. sad part is, i have to go there tomorrow to buy some shit for the closet and some gift cards for my bros. oh well, at least i'm a customer now, and not donovan's bitch! i definitely miss you peeps!

the beginning

today was my very first meeting at work. the girls in the bay next to me warned me about how boring it would be...and it was. i seriously felt like i was in grade school. right when i walked in my manager asked me to sit way in the front right next to her. no big deal...i just dont like being singled out like that. then of course, as expected, she introduced me to everyone in the room. most people i knew or met because of shadowing. when asked where i came from, the manager mentioned home depot...so now my nickname there is ms home depot...or just home depot. whatever. who cares. cant let it get to me. but then there was the ooohhh and not so ahhh in the air becuase my co-workers love the transfers from the call center because they already know some of the system...whereas, i dont know jack shit about the system and i cant get into the next training until january 3rd...so for the next 2 weeks i am the mercy of my coworkers. my co workers dont seem to have a lot of faith in me just cause i got hired off the street. but i aint gonna let it bother me, i just got to show them that i can handle my own ground.

after the meeting, i was finally given my computer log in...and thank god it worked cause i was actually working today. i did member changes for the remainder of the day and boy oh boy i loved it. i have my own computer, my own place to sit, my own work....ahh,....is finally coming together. i had a lot of questions, but i only pended 17 cases and finished 97....i met the daily quota...and for a newbee i think thats fucking fantastic. it sure impressed my trainer and manager.

i also got my own emial address....its almost official. i just cant wait until they get me into their chronos system via the phone...and it would help if i had a working phone. i hope things really come together soon. all i need to do is receive my benefits package via the email and get my direct deposit going. i'd hate to have to go to the bank and deposit my checks every saturday.

so far the week has gone by pretty calmly. according to the manager, i will be fitted next week for my ergonomic comfort at my desk...i hope to god they give me a regular key board cause that ergonomic keyboard is cramping my style and slowing me down. so that'll be something to look forward to. i guess. tomorrow we have a mandatory pot luck, we'll have a 2 hour lunch to attend and shoot the shit with co-workers. hopefully i'll get to mingle with everyone....and try and become part of the family there. for whatever reason, i still feel like the outsider and i hate that feeling. kinda makes me sad. time will tell...only time.

so far the beginning has been tolerable....and its just the beginning....

a new start

the color orange....is now part of my past. i have served my time and learned many things at the hell depot. finally on saturday december 8, 2007 i was able to put it all behind me. i threw in the towel and called it quits 2 weeks prior to saturday and patiently waited for saturday to arrive. and boy oh boy when it did, my grin was ear to ear. i was probably the happiest person in that store that day. i counted my time, hour by hour then minute by minute. i said my good bye's...hugged those that i care about and shook hands with those i couldnt wait to leave.

having been at home depot for over a year i was able to meet new people and create bonds with those that i care for. i have met quite a crowd there, and only a handful i have promised myself to keep in touch with...just a handful. i have an almost new best friend and definitely a confidant. these people have really got me through the worse at home depot and have definitely laughed with me and cheered me on when i succeeded in something. i walked away from home depot with an air of confidence.

jenn had definitely made it a memorable last day by shrink wrapping my truck...never thought they'd do it to me, but they definitely found my truck and wrapped it. then in my last hour, tony and jenn tapped me to a chair and shrink wrapped me and rolled me all over the front end....a departing gesture meaning they will me miss....i think. i will definitely miss some people there, but i no doubt am very happy that i am no longer in customer service dealing with customers one-on-one. no more retail for me. btw, you can check out those shrink wrap pictures on my flickr account. they are all posted there. having the home depot now behind me....

i started monday with a brand new start at kaiser. my first day....was....hectic. there was a lot of information that was presented to me. i hope to have retained a lot of it. i hope! i trained with a pretty cool lady...jeannie...she's a lot older, but she was a cool cat. unfortunately i wont be with her tomorrow....i'll have to rotate onto someone new. the system they work with is pretty complex, but with the right training i plan to master it.

kaiser is definitely something different that home depot. i am not able to have my cell phone on or i'll be written up. i have little access to the outside world..right now at least. i hope to have my own extension by sometime next week. i do, however, have my own cubicle. i must say, i have a pretty damn cool cubicle. i need to decorate in and around it. i definitely need to put up a photo of me and daniel so all them damn dudes hitting on me today know I GOT A MAN! i'm spoken for fools! and if you aint leave me alone you'll be answering to my honey.

anyway, kaiser is a real cool place. the people are extremely friendly and helpful. they have all kinds of incentives to work hard. they have competitions and reward you with amex gift cards, they seem to always have pot lucks, managers always provide cookies and brownies, and management walks around and actually shows you they give a shit about you. which i think is really nice. i feel like i'm part of the company and not just the bitch doing the grunt work to get things done. i look forward to working at kaiser and taking full advantage of any benefits they have to offer me. .... wish me luck in my endeavors.

holidays

can you believe that it is already december? the last month of 2007. the holiday season that manages to bring out the worse in most people and the best in the rest. the holiday season is definitely in full swing. everywhere you look there's a little bit of the christmas spirit everywhere. lights are slowly going up on people's houses, trees are being transported home, christmas music is being played in almost everywhere retail store and people are even starting to say happy holidays. i tell you, the holiday season seems to kick off earlier and earlier each year. soon we'll be in the christmas spirit by halloween, then the following year it will be labor day then the following year it'll be by the 4th of july. okay okay....thats an exaggeration...but the point is, people are getting into it earlier and earlier each year....i guess its not so much people, but retail stores.

so the verdict of the colorado trip finally came back this past week. danny finally shared 'the' email with me from the parental units. i tell you, i was nervous reading that thing. i wasnt sure if i even wanted to open the email. but i did. i got their approval. they stated that they liked me a lot and were very impressed with me. thats a good sign. i was finally able to sleep well that night...the anticipation of what they thought of me was really building up after the trip and i am glad that i sailed away in flying colors. the thought of getting along with my future in laws is almost the greatest feeling. it just means that there wont be hostility between us in the future. and thats good. it'll make looking forward to the holidays or the yearly trip out to colorado more exciting for me and danny. he was right, i should have never worried about it. i took his advice from the get go...he said to be myself...and darn it i was...and it paid off.

so this christmas will be me and danny's first christmas together. last year he went home for the holidays and i was not able to go with him. but from here on out, we are to spend all our holidays together. so this particular christmas is a special one for me...just because he'll be home for it. i'll get to wake up to him on christmas day and run over to the tree with excitement, ready to open my presents and watch him open his. it'll be great. i'm so excited. hopefully next week we'll be picking out our christmas tree and decorating around the house...more so this year than last...just cause he's gonna be home for it. i'm even gonna try and make some of them famous donna sugar cookies. i did most my christmas shopping for him already...just a couple more things to get and some stocking stuffers and i am pau...oh ya baby...started early this year!