camarogrl86's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A New Year of Rambles Well, well, well Diaryland...another year is here. I can certainly say when I started this in 2001, I had NO idea (or really even wondered) where I would be in 2014. Hell, 2005 and graduation seemed far enough away at the time. And oh the things that have happened in that time. I never would have assumed I'd been married and divorced in the course of 5 years. Or that I would be the one to end the relationship, though from the outside I realize it was one of the smartest decisions of my life. Who knew I would make a leap to leave that relationship for someone I'd only known for about 3 months, and still be with them 2 years later, loving everyday with them, even in light of challenges that come our way - and there have been MANY! I certainly didn't expect to have graduated in North Carolina, and be living in Charleston, SC. I never thought I would miss New Jersey the way that I do - even though I dabbled with the thoughts of moving far away in younger days. I miss the snow, four true seasons, the topography of the area I grew up in, the food, and living close to Nanny. Who knew I'd have visited 37 states; 21 of them in a single road trip that spanned two weeks. I've seen beautiful scenery and different cultures. I've visited tourist traps and ate different styles of food and found places I enjoyed in each state. I've been to the Caribbean, SoCal, the coast of Maine, and the tip of Florida. The Rockies, the Smokeys, and the Appalachians. I adore eastern Tennessee. As for moving? The summers in SC make me crazy. The winters aren't much better, with it's back and forth weather (45�F today, 69�F for Sunday?!). But Edisto Beach lures me in and I believe I can deal with some more years here with a near-beach house and the sea breezes blowing. I've gone through such a variety of jobs since I began this. My first "real" job at ShopRite in 2003 that I had to quit in 2004 after 11� months due to moving to Kannapolis. Over a year of not working my senior year of HS - never held a job in North Carolina. After moving to SC, I spent 7 months without a job before landing one as a medical biller in 2006 at Per-Se Technologies. Six months later I was hired for my "dream job" at GEL, where I spent 5 years and 7 months and made amazing money. After being laid off in March 2012 due to downsizing, my heart was crushed and I felt like I wasn't good enough to have kept my job, which I excelled at for years and worked my way up so quickly in. The second family I created there, shared so much with, and even got frustrated with, was left behind. And right before a week's vacation to Vermont! I won't lie, sleeping in every morning was a beautiful thing ... for awhile. I've always been one who loves making money, and providing, and purchasing what I want when I want because I've earned it and can afford it. After awhile, I felt guilty not providing any money to our joint household, and feeling like I was stressing Colin because he was the sole provider and did not sign up for that when we got together - even though he reassured me there was no rush to find another job. I fell in love with being in the office at his job, and quite often I'd get up in the mornings with him and spend the day there billing, filing, mailing, writing up retreads, checking off incoming orders, and counting inventory. After a whiny tech complained, I wasn't allowed to spend the days helping anymore, but still brought lunches and took some stuff home. It even helped Colin while I was there, since he could focus more on his own job rather than the office work. They wanted to hire me, but excuses ran rampant on why they couldn't. I returned to school in August 2012 for Transportation & Logistics Management. Not having a job meant spending a whole $15 on 5-6 classes each semester. Most of my past electives went toward the degree as requisite courses and am scheduled to finish in April of this year (it could've been Dec 2013 but I didn't realize they wouldn't offer the class I dropped in the summer again until January!) In December, losing unemployment benefits was a risk and I found a part time job at Innovative Courier Solutions. Somewhat in the transportation and logistics field. I started on January 2, 2013 and worked a 2:30-7:30pm shift, which wasn't terrible - I still enjoyed lunches with Colin almost daily, and had time to do things earlier before work. The pay was less than what the government paid me, which was somewhat of a slap in the face, especially after making over $36,000 a year at GEL. At the end of January, Mason Dixon Intermodal called me and asked me if I was interested in a dispatcher position - they got my name from a friend who was hiring their dispatcher. I went to the interview and was given the job. For 3 days I worked 8-12 before going to ICS, where I'd given a weeks' notice. And then on the 3rd morning, the manager announced he couldn't keep me and the girl he asked to train me. I was again devastated. In less than a year, 2 jobs, 2 "failures". Colin told me that it was a giant douchebag move and that it did not reflect on me at all. The MDII manager promised me 3 days pay, but I never saw a dime. They're now closed, which I see as the bitch also known as Karma having made a stop there! I stayed at ICS on a tentative basis. We agreed to give each other notice at that point. In February, they gave me 2 weeks to find another job. I found out they had a full time position open, and offered it to someone else. That person turned it down and it was offered it to me a couple days before my last day. I took it, stupidly. But it meant more money and hours and my unemployment benefit year was up on March 1. I was hired for the FT job on March 4. It was nothing like they said it would be, and soon I was miserable. I'd applied online for many-a-jobs at trucking companies, sent my resumes out, and had Colin asking those he was close with if they had openings. At the end of March, a listing for a "Terminal Support Coordinator" popped up at Boasso America again. I'd seen it in early February and applied online and heard nothing. I took Colin's advice and made myself SEEN, applied in person, and got a phone call about 10 minutes later for an interview. The interview lasted 2� hours and I felt pretty confident. On April 1 I got the job offer and on April 8 started my new job as a dispatch load planner. I fell in love at first "order". They even sent me to New Orleans three weeks in, put me and Colin up in a hotel right next to Bourbon Street, and paid expenses because I was there to train for 4 days! I still love my job, but have days where I want to throw in the towel. Having to deal with a moron everyday, that gets defended by the manager and can never do any wrong, is extremely frustrating. I am trying to maintain my patience and hope this year will bring the changes the rest of us in this office desire. I can't believe in 3 months, I'll have been here for a year. We talked about packing up and disappearing around 6 months ago, but I wasn't ready to give up this job or the experience I'm gaining yet. They DO have a terminal in Newark though, hehe. This turned into some kind of chronological "auto-biographical" ramble-fest. But I'm bored out of mind and I think I ended up wayyyy off where I was going. Until next time, journal. Hopefully it won't be as long next time - time-wise or entry-length. 3:24 p.m. - 2014-01-03 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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