Work is going pretty good. Despite me getting kind of ticked off at a parent. I wish I could go into details, but that would probably breach some confidentiality laws and such - and I signed an oath of loyalty. Muah ha ha! A girl at work invited me to go out to the lake with her and her friends this weekend. I'm not sure whether I want to go because although I'm pretty eager to make some new friends, they are probably just going to go get smashed. Maybe I'll stick to hanging out with my relatives. Lame.

I go to the second counselor in our bishopric's house tonight to go get acquainted with him and his wife. And I'm guessing to probably get a new calling too. Who knows? Maybe I should brush my teeth and put on some extra deodorant before hand.

Time to go cut my mom's toenails.

New job, new horizons

Today I accepted a job as an instructional paraeducator for the local intermediate school here in Dodge. A slight pay decrease from the job I was working before, but a much better environment and looks good on my resume. I am also looking around for a part time evening job since I don't think 35 hours a week is going to really cut it. My favorite that I have applied for so far is Blockbuster, which is only two blocks away from where I am living. However, I don't know if they even have space to hire someone else, I merely walked in hoping they would hire me anyway. I suppose Wendy's would do, which is one block away from where I live, but they took down their Now Hiring sign a few days ago. We shall see.

The assistant prinicipal at Comanche (the school I will be working at) gave me the choice between two jobs he is trying to fill. One is working with children with learning disabilities, and the other is the high needs class which just so happens to have only autistic children in it this year. I chose the high needs class, which I think made him really happy, after explaining that I have a brother with autism and also the more one-on-one work with students was more appealing to me than working with a large group. The assistant principal (Mr. Pyle was his name . . . Anne of Green Gables anyone?) seemed to like me a whole lot. He thought it was great that I was in college for two years as an education major etc etc. Plus they were really desperate for help. Good times. I'm fairly excited for this job. I can't start until later next week because I have to attend an orientation class next week in a neighboring city (the one in Dodge is already over) plus I need to get a TB test. It's all good.

Next step . . . as soon as I can get a second job secured, I will look with more earnest for an apartment of my own.

The coolest part about my new job - I had to take an oath of loyalty! How freaking awesome is that? It was notarized and everything.

Woes of Working

Today was my first day actually cutting meat at Cargill. It really sucked.

I can now appreaciate how much effort people who work in factories put into their work. People who look down on the real working class now disgust me. Not just because I actually work there, but because the amount of dedication it takes to do work like this astounds me. It is just so physically painful, I have thoughts of quitting despite the amount of money I will be getting. It seriously hurts alot. Mostly in my feet from standing in one position for 9 hours wearing boots that I haven't broken in yet, also my back from said standing, and my hands for getting so incredibly cold and stiff inside a chainmail glove in a 40 degree room. Plus cutting meat for 9 hours is strenuous. It hurt so badly that as soon as I sat down at the steering wheel to go home, I put my face down and cried for a couple of minutes. Then I sucked it up, drove home, changed into some pajamas, laid on the couch, and cried for about 5 more minutes.

I really thought that it wouldn't be that bad. I thought maybe my hands might ache a little bit, but nothing like having your entire body ache so badly you want curl up in some hole in the ground. The worst part of it, was the higher ups forgot to send me on my last break. I had no idea what time it was since there are no clocks and you aren't allowed to wear watches, so I figured I was just having a really tough time making it to my next break. I actually thought that they were sending me to my last break when they were actually sending me home. I hung up my 15 pounds of protective gear, walked all the way down to the cafeteria, and sat down until I saw the clock and realized it was 11:55. I was like, what the crap? Why did they send me to break at the end of the shift? Then my confusion quickly turned to anger. The kind of anger you get when you have been treated unjustly. Tomorrow I shall be sure to tell my supervisor just how pissed of I was and how much I missed having that break. I honestly thought I was going to start crying from the pain while I was on the line. Plus they still havent given me my own locker, at least another girl who started with me is sharing with me. It's really difficult to fit all that protective gear crap into a locker already filled half way.

I think I'm going to start looking around at what other kinds of jobs are available here just in case. I really want to stick this one out for a while though. Because of the money of course. And because I don't want to succumb to quitting after hardly any time at all. But if after a couple of weeks it doesn't get any better, I think another job, even if much lower wages, is the way to go.