Some assembly required

Have you ever bought a piece of furniture that is fully intact? The box screams, “no assembly required.” You tear open the box, pull out the bookshelf, unfold it and TADA! You can put books on the shelf because it is ready. I love that feeling. I don’t need a screwdriver, hammer, or friend to help me. I pull it out of the box and feel as if I have accomplished some big feat. This feeling of accomplishment is a farce. I deserve no credit for the shelf. Someone else did all the grunt work.

The realization came to me yesterday as I put together small parts of dental chairs. I am working in a factory, you see. I got a summer job to help me pay the bills my “real” job at the school didn’t cover. It’s not my dream job by any means, but it’s going to help me and for that, I am grateful.

So yesterday, I put hundreds of small half rings onto a metal roller. And I made chair backs and put together motors. It was a long, tiring day and at the end of it, I thought, do they really make enough money to cover all the work we’re putting into these chairs. I mean, really, do they? One of my friends used to be a server at a restaurant. She once complained to me that people weren’t tipping her the full 20%. She still gets her regular OREGON minimum wage and yet she’s worried about not getting the HIGH tip? When did tipping go up to 20%? It used to be 15%. So if a crappy waitress/server gets 20% for her lame attempt at serving food, why doesn’t Mary Lou get 20% of the cost of the chair for all the grease she got on her hands, hair, and clothes? I mean, really…

FYI: the factory I’m working at is pretty awesome. They take care of their employees and even their temps (like me). This post has nothing to do with the company, but at the thought… why don’t we tip those hard workers who hurt their hands when fixing the sewing machine that makes our jeans or the craftsman who makes our kitchen table? And if we can’t afford that, can’t we at least give them a shout out?

Note: I would like to thank worker 12 for making my Levi’s jeans so fabulous and…

Forty Days of Good Thoughts: Starting Now

Being a good person takes a lot of work. It means we have to stay positive, be friendly, and let people we love know how much we care about them. It also means there’s a lot of grinning, letting things go, and taking the higher road. Sometimes, I don’t feel like being a good person. I want to scream, yell, eat too much chocolate, and sleep all day. But that’s not me. I care way too much about doing my best and making a difference to settle into an apathetic lifestyle.

Today was probably one of the roughest days I’ve had in a while. I cried at least three times at work. And when I watched Glory Road this evening, I cried a little again. It was just one of those emotionally charged, completely draining days. And then I decided to finish this blog entry. That’s when I saw a word doc named ASD fascination. I checked the properties. It was from April 18 of 2010 and was about wanting to work more with children with autism. It was strange. Back then I had no idea I would be working at the school I do, working with kids with autism.

I started to think more positively. Perhaps what I do matters. Perhaps it’s good that I work where I do. Maybe I’m exactly where I need to be for the time being.

I’m sure today isn’t going to be my only rough day and I’m sure that in a few days, I’ll feel emotionally and physically drained once again, but at least I can end today on a positive note. My job matters, if for no other reason than that I care about doing my best and making a difference in the lives of the kids I work with.

Oh, and if you want, check out my old blog entry here. It’s kinda cool how things turned out.

Summer Catch-Up!

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog. It’s actually been a bit since I’ve done things I truly loved to do. There haven’t been many early bird movie specials, puzzles in the kitchen or days of nothing but writing. Instead, I’ve been having a crazy summer.

The end of school started out with a bang. Me and my gals from DHS went on a road-trip to Spokane to catch up with one of our other girls. It was amazing. We hadn’t all hung out for quite a while. I’ve been fortunate enough and persistent enough to see all of them several times in the past nine years (plus one of them is the Ethel to my Lucy or the Lucy to my Ethel – I’m not sure which). While there, three of the five of us got tattoos. It was great. Now I have three, a good number.



After that, I headed back to Eugene to continue work as a barista and book repairperson at the University library. That’s what I did for the second half of June. I worked… a lot. Ask my friends. I wasn’t around for much playtime.

Now that it’s July, my volunteer hours at OPB have started. I’m pretty stoked. Let’s just say, I love volunteering somewhere and I’m uber-excited for new adventures at a radio station.

In TV news, I’ve discovered the show, Samantha Who? I love it! Christina Applegate is so funny. And Barry Watson is so cute. I totally forgot he was from 7th Heaven until I wikipediaed him. Also, he looks a lot like Timothy Olyphant, Mr. Funk from The Boss episode. It’s crazy. I feel as if the two of them could be brothers or something. And Andrea is a new character to add to my list of favorite television characters. ☺

So besides filling random parts of my days by watching television, I have spent some time with the fam. That’s always a thrill. ☺

I suppose that is all for now. More later.

All the best.
XOXO

job skills

When I was in high school, I took a skills test. It asked about my interests, where I wanted to live, and how much money I wanted to make a year. I wasn’t sure how much money was normal, so I shot high. I was a smart girl, I thought. Why NOT make a bunch of money?

Well, that skills test hasn’t gotten me anywhere. I know the same things I did back then. I love to write and I love photography. But neither of those has made me any money yet.

Tonight, my cousin called me about a possible move to Portland. She’s going to need a new roommate and wants to know if I can move up north. I would love to, but I’m not quite sure what the heck is going on these days. I need a job. I need to finish school. And I need a vacation. That’s all I know.

I started to browse online for jobs in Portland. I had no luck so I moved on to Seattle, the place I really want to move to. I stumbled upon the job title, “funeral director.” That’s what the skills test told me. I was going to be a funeral director. There was no other way to use my smart skills and make that amount of money. Hmm… is this my calling?

all work, no play

Every once in a while, I use a drill at work. It's kind of fun. I prefer the actual sewing of the booklets, but the drill comes in handy when people congregate around the sink and chat about the placement of the recycle bins. The loud drill sends them back to work.

Life as a grad student is getting more and more complicated. Thus, this is short. I must read for class.