Wisdom from working

My work life in a nutshell:

1) Shut up and listen: I love to say what I think. I usually have pretty strong opinions and sometimes I just talk before I think about it...and sometimes this tends to get me in trouble. So I have learned that sometimes even though I don't agree with something an employer asks me to do, I just have to do it. Just do what they ask, no ifs ands or buts about it. It doesn't matter if I think there is a better way or a way that makes more sense. They sign my check and thus I must do as they say.

2) Time off: It seems that I have always had jobs where it was easy and accepted to ask for as much time off as I needed as long as it was in advance. Those were part time jobs, where there were a good amount of employees who wanted more hours if I didn't want them. Well...my job now is not like that. I do all of the scheduling for our technicians and so it is important for me to be here. Others can do my job but it makes things a little more comlicated. So, I can't just request days off whenever I like. In fact, sometimes it seems like pulling teeth would be easier than getting time off. I feel guilty for asking for one day off every couple months. So...I don't...unless I absolutely have to. Sometimes, I wish I could go back to my part time jobs where it wasn't a big deal and I wouldn't really miss the money that much, but I can't. This is what I have and I have to learn to live with it. So I treasure my weekends and try to fit as much as possible into a Saturday.

3) Office Politics: This part of a job is frustrating. It seems that I am the low man on the totem pole. I was last to get hired and so it seems that I get everything last or sometimes get stuck with the sucky jobs.

For instance: we all got a week off during Christmas time. The only thing was we each come in for a day to man the office. There were 4 of us chosing days and of course...I got stuck with the day no one wanted. I'm certainly not complaining...I loved my week off. Just saying that there is a food chain in the workplace and I am at the bottom of that chain.
I also usually get blamed...maybe not the right word...more like asked if I made a mistake first ...because I am the youngest and don't know what I'm doing (sarcasm).

It seems.... at least in my mind... I have to try harder to earn respect and acceptance than say the other two women who are in their 40's-50's. No one does this intentionally but it happens and I have to deal with it. But I adjusting and realizing that I have to work that much harder to get ahead.

4) Sometimes life isn't fair: I am an adult now. I am out of college and working a full time 40 hours a week, 8-5 job. And sometimes it sucks. But that's life. Sometimes I really don't want to get up early and go to a pretty boring job, but it pays the bills. I make pretty good money and when I get the paycheck it's worth it. Sometimes it's really hard to make it to friday without going crazy but then I get the weekend to refresh and by the time Monday rolls around again, I'm ready to start a new week. It's a viscious cycle but it's life. I really do look foreward to the day when I can stay at home with my kids and not have to work. But for now I do and I am coming to accept that, hard as it may be. But I have a husband that works really hard (he has already recieved a dollar raise at a job that he has been at for less than 3 months) and tells me all the time that he wishes I didn't have to work full time. He doesn't want me to have to work forever and that is comforting. So someday I can quit and he a homemaker (honestly never thought I would long for that day) but for now I am a working woman.

Moral of the story:

Why I am writing this? Who cares? This will probably be boring for most to read...so I will say it is more of a journal post for me. I had a really hard time at first adjsuting to no school and full time work. It was a slap in the face to say the least.
So I wanted to post about the lessons I have learned so far. Life is tough and sometimes little things that seem unimportant to life tend to make or break our happiness. Jobs are one of those things. I used to dwell on the negative and have a wo-is-me attitude but now I am trying harder. Trying harder to learn from the bad times. Trying harder to be more mature and be more of an adult. Trying harder to be more positive. But what I am always trying to do is live my life to the fullest.
We were sent to this earth to learn. What we learn is up to us. But I honestly belive that every experience in life is meant to teach us somthing. I think I forgot that the last 6 months. I just thought that I hated my job and I needed to find a new one.
But then I realized that it was my attitude that was the problem. I just had to realize that life doesn't always happen the way we want but we have to live with it and try to learn from it. So sorry if the first part of this post seemed to be one big complaint. It really wasn't. It was more of a...what have I learned so far. I will leave you with this thought. It helps me get through each day:

Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around, shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise.
Life is like an old time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." -Gordon B Hinckley

Ollie, Bubbers, Sullivan, Kwalski, Little Man, *#%$ DOG! aka Oliver

Oh Oliver...We just love him...and hate him sometimes...

more specifically when he goes to the bathroom in our apartment...

or tears a large piece of toilet paper to shreds when we are in the shower...

or puts his paws on the coffee table and proceeds to steal the snack I just carefully prepared for myself off o fmy plate.

Ok so maybe we don't ever hate him but there are times when we certainly want to strangle him. He is hyper, mysterious, mischievious, naughty oh and did I mention hyper and naughty? Oliver is now 8 months old and has definitely become a part of the family. He has his favorite places to lay in the house...

like by the slider in the sunshine.

He has his favorite places to go to the bathroom...

like in the spare room when we aren't watching.

He likes to bark every time we take him out to the bathroom and everytime we go on a walk and every time someone knocks on the door...and... shall i go on? I think you get the picture.

Man, why do people get dogs? They are so much work?? Well after thinking about this question...for a while...I remembered why we love him...This is why:

Because he likes to curl up in the warm just-out-of-the-dryer clothes and fall asleep...

Because when we take him in the car he likes to sit in the very back and look out the window and then fall asleep...
Because he will cuddle with me and let me give him a paw massage...no kidding...he really did let me do this for like 20 minutes while he napped.

And he is just the cutest dog ever! Look at that face...how can you resist?

And last but not least...he is just plain funny...

So even though he is a pain in our butt sometimes...he is also a fun little dog. He loves to play and go on walks. And sometimes the simplicity of a dog's life can help you remember that we should not take anything for granted.

If only my life was as simple as Oliver's...

(OH and the title...in case you didn't figure it out are his nicknames. I have no idea how half of them came to be but they are all used on a regular basis...I promise)

Nightmares of Used car shopping

For the last almost year we've been using my dad's Jeep as a second car. We have so appreciated using it but decided it was time to get another car to call our own. So a few weeks ago we started looking. Nightmares...I have nightmares all day long. My brain is tired from crunching numbers and looking at pictures of cars on craigslist. But those I can handle. What i can't handle? Used car salesman...well actually ALL car salesman. We went out yesterday looking at car lots when our efforts on Craigslist, yahoo and ebay failed us. We drove along McHenry (if you don't live in Modesto, McHenry is one of the largest roads in Modesto and has oh about a million car lots, used and new alike) looking for cars. We decided to stop at a Nissan/Jeep dealer. We were looking for a Jeep Grand Cherokee and figure we would stop at the Jeep dealer. Duh!
I didn't want to get out of the car, I just wanted to drive around and look. We figured they wouldn't have anything but we wanted to look anyways. Well Chad insisted we park and get out and walk. So I relented. I got out of the car and noticed a salesman perched on the steps of the dealer getting ready to pounce. I wanted to yell to Chad to run back to the car, but of course I am civilized and didn't. About 30 seconds after getting out of the car, before we had even come close to any of the cars, the salesman found us. He was hispanic with a very thick accent, which I don't mind, but it was very very hard to understand him. He proceeded with his intro, half of which I didn't understand. This is what I got out of it: he had only worked there a month: Great! He kept saying he wanted to give us a quote for trading our existing car in: of course we had to tell him about 3 times that we were not selling that car, we needed a second car. Finally I subtly but sternly told him we would come and get him if we needed help. When he realized he was failing, badly, he started saying anything that came to mind in a desperate attempt to keep us interested. One of the things he said was, "so sorry, I am not trying to scare you off, I promise." Well dude you are so leave us the heck alone!! That's what I was saying in my mind.
He left, finally! After about 1 minute of looking through the cars, we knew we couldn't afford anything and started heading back to the car. All the sudden I spot annoying-hard-to understand salesman standing on the steps of the dealership with yet another salesman. Both are scanning their lot trying to find us. I was tempted to drop to the ground and crawl back to the car and then speed away. But again, I am civilized and didn't.
So car salesman #2 we shall call him practically runs up to us before we reach our car. He then proceeds to smoozsh us. He charmingly tells us that the other salesman told him we just weren't clicking with each other and wanted him to come help us. I was mad at this point. I just wanted to leave. There was nothing there we wanted and they were just wasting our time. So we talked for another minute, he showed us a Jeep Wrangler even though I had already told him we needed a car that you could take a baby carrier in and out of. He seemed to ignore this which pissed me off. Then finally finally he understood. We couldn't afford anything they had and wanted to leave. IT WAS A NIGHTMARE!! AHHH!!!! I am still shuddering at the thought.
We got back in the car and I looked at Chad and said, " We are NOT getting out of the car again. We will drive around the lot, I don't care how stupid we look." His look said it all. Yes. You're right. You were right. We will NEVER get out of this car again.
So that was just one of the many horrifying experiences we have had while looking for cars. I think we have found the car for us, but there are still some details to work out so I will post about it when it is ours. Pray for us....we desperately need any and all help we can get.

Novel idea?

I always have a million things running through my mind that I want to write about. I lay in bed at night writing my posts in my head...and then I fall asleep. Then when I wake up the witty comments and good ideas are no longer there like they were the night before. And thus my blog gets forgotten until I actually sit down at a computer and type what I am thinking when I am thinking it. This is one of those times...
I finished City of Glass the third book in the Mortal Instruments series. It was good. Really good. I am a sucker for a good fantasy book I have found out. Why? I was thinking about that in one of my pre-bed thought sessions. I had just finished the book and was really happy and somewhat sad. I loved the ending but was thinking...'where will I now get my entertainment?' I love just getting lost in a book. It's like you are by yourself somewhere but all you can see are the pages of the book. Your surrounding are a little fuzzy. You might see a tree or a person but you aren't really paying attention. You know they are there but you don't really care.
When I am involved with a book I have a really hard time not finishing it as soon as I can. I just want to know what happens. I don't want the story to be mixed up with anything else. I am putting myself in the story. The characters are my friends for a few days and I am right along side them acting out their story.
That's how it is when I read a book I am really into. So sorry to my friends, family, husband, dog, kitchen, and work. Because when I have a book I like, everything else is on the back burner. (Ok so I obviously don't neglect my husband and completely ignore him, but you get what i mean right?) I sneak in a few minutes of reading whenever I can. And I mean whenever and wherever I can. I read all 3 450-500 page books in this series in a week. Thats how much I LOVE to read. I would say its my favorite past time. My love for reading is probably one of the major reasons I have such terrible eye sight. But I don't care. So where was i going with this.... oh yeah.
After saying all this, I will now say, I am realll really really jealous of novelists. I want to be able to do what they do. I want to have this fantastic idea and sit down and write a 500 page novel that completely sucks its readers in for days at a time and finally releases them when they have finished. I want to imprison people with a book I write. Is that crazy? I don't think so...but I don't know if that's my purpose in life. I love to write and I am good at it, but I don't know that I will ever call myself a novelist. But I can dream can't I?
Wow...I never know where I will go when I write. That was something way off topic than I was originally going to write. So thank you to Cassandra Clare for being a very imaginative person and having the ability and perseverance to write the Mortal Instruments series. I for one am grateful for my little vacation from life while reading them.

Oh now I remember the fantastic news I was going to post about....drum roll please... My sister Nichole and niece Brielle who I haven't seen in 6 months are coming to Modesto on Thursday for 11 days!!!!! Yay!!!!! I am so excited I can barely contain myself. I miss them so much! I am the lucky one that gets to pick them up from the airport. So next week will be great!

And i should mention why my sister gets to visit for that long. My awesome brother-in-law Chase left yesterday morning for Haiti. He was asked to go and help with the relief efforts. He is a EMT/firefighter so he has a good medical background that will allow him to help a lot in Haiti. So he will be there for 3 weeks so my sis decided to visit us to fill some of her time without him. We are so proud of Chase. He is an awesome guy and we couldn't be happier to have him in our family!

Polar opposites and Good Reads

While Chad and I are very compatible...obviously...we definitely are very different in some aspects of life. For example: I am the kind of person that likes my time. I don't like going somewhere super early because then I just have to wait. So maybe besides begin to work a few minutes early and to job interviews and things of that importance, I DON'T like being early. And I really never am. I will give myself just enough time to be somewhere on time... and sometimes I am even late. I will admit. I just don't like waiting...I am impatient. It's something I am working on.
Chad on the other hand....my better half in this instance...is an early kind of person. He HATES being late. And almost never is. He always is wanting to leave earlier than me to get somewhere early. He is really really good about this.
I want to be early, I just don't know if it is in me to wait... unless I have a good book to pass the time while I am waiting. That is the one exception I will make. Which brings me to my next topic: Books. I finished Breaking Dawn (4th book in the Twilight series) on Sunday. It Always makes me sad to finish that series. You get to know the characters so well during the four books and the fourth one is my favorite. It is so different from the other 3. More mature and defenitely so much new happening. So i was sad to finish like I always am...no more Edward and Bella to fill the time.
BUT... I started another book Sunday. It's a series I have been wanting to start for a while called The Moral Instruments. I started the first book City of Bones on Sunday and finished it yesterday. It was great! I hate saying I read fantasy but that is what it is. But I also would classify Harry Potter and Twilight as fantasy so they are along the same lines as both of those series. I don't know why, but those kind of books just suck me in. Maybe it's because they are so unlike our real world and let's face it: Sometimes we need a break from the real world.
So the books are about Shadowhunters, or demon hunters. It sounds weird but it really isn't that much weirder than Harry Potter. The writing is really good and so it the story line. Very entertaining. There really aren't very many slow moments at all. It's a 500 page book but it really didn't seem that long at all.
I would highly recommend the first book. It didn't have quite the ending I thought it would but I can't say that I didn't like the ending. So I am dying to go and buy the 2nd and 3rd books tonight so I can start on those!

Lately

I am finally getting over being sick. I was actually relieved that my Wisdom tooth appointment was cancelled because I would have been miserable with a head cold and a throbbing mouth. So my congestion is starting to go away but I still sound like a 60 year old man. Hopefully that will go away extra fast. I pretty much did absoltely nothing this weekend....it was nice. Not gonna lie. I watched a lot of movies...to be honest I can't really remember a lot of them...maybe that was from the cold medicine. Oh wait...just remembered one. We rented 17 again from Redbox. I am now a fan of Zach Efron after that movie. And I was already a fan of Chandler Bing... is that his name? Yes, that's the name I will always know him as. I miss friends... So that was a really good movie, funny, light. Took me to a happy place in the midst of all the tissues and snot.
Sunday was a good day. I teach the 5 year olds in our ward. They are really fun. I like being in the primary. This is the second time now I have been called as a teacher. The last time I taught sun beams and there were usually 3 on a good day, 1 on a bad day. That was hard. But now I have moved on up to the 5 year olds and there have been about 5 or the last couple of weeks. A couple are a handful *cough cough* the two boys. But I honestly love them already. They all have their own personalities and it's really fun being able to teach them about Christ and his church.
And yesterday Chad had his first night of his new EMT class. We are really hoping everything goes smoothly with financial aid so he can stay in the class. We're keeping our fingers crossed. I just puttered around the house last night and did some dishes and laundry. And I watched a little bit of Romeo and Juliet. Chad and I started watching it Sunday night and it just was too weird so we turned it off. All of the people who play the Capulets and Mantagues are weird! Not to mention the original dialogue of Romeo and Juliet mixed with the modern scenery, clothes and people. It was odd and annoying. So Chad and I were both looking at each other not sure if the other one liked it but we finally agreed to turn it off and laughted about it for a while. But then I got curious last night again. Because I really love Claire Danes. I love her not just because we share a name. I also like her because she is a really great actress. She has one of those alluring qualities, I just love watching her in movies. She is in Brokedown Palace. If you have not seen that movie you need to! So anywyas..back to Romeo and Juliet. Yes the movie is weird with the modern take but the parts with just Romeo (played by the wonderful Leonardo Dicaprio) and Juliet are wonderful. I actually like the old language in those parts. Shakespear really was a genious. I liked the balcony part with them so much it really made me want to go back and read the play. I think I just might.
And lastly I watched the Bachelor, and yes it is possible to have more drama than the first week. I will say this much, the Bachelor really knows how to entertain. One of the more skanky, fake blonde girls had an "innapropriate relationship" as Chris Harrison puts is, with one of the crew. Ha! How have they not thought of that before? It was sooooo funny! Don't get me wrong, i actually really like the Bachelor, Jake this season and want him to find his soul mate (slightly sarcastic emphasis on the last part of that sentence) but this was almost too much to handle. He looked like he was going to faint when he heard the girl was being sent home. The girl in question acted like it was ok and actually said to Chris when he confronted her that "her personal life was no one's business." Really? Really? And then all the other girls are all crying? I don't get it. Shouldn't they be happy because there is now one less girl and Jake is all vulnerable now and will make out with them? That's what I would think.
I was staring at the screen in awe, suprise and disgust the whole time. But lets be real...I will definitely be enjoying and watching every episode of the Bachelor this season. I am not ashamed.

That's all.

Calm, relaxed, happy

So this is what it feels like to NOT start a new semester tomorrow. It's nice. Really nice. My husband on the other hand, hopefully starts a new semester tomorrow. Hopefully he gets into his classes. *fingers crossed* But I am done. It still feels weird but more than anything it feels....calm, relaxed and happy. To those who do still have school. Good luck and remember, one day soon you too will be done. It can't last forever!