That last post was really self-absorbed and, actually, really mean. I got better. Mostly. I got friends with new people and summer wasn't too bad. I didn't do anything exciting besides go to Dillon's wedding, but I made up for it by getting new friends. I will definitely remember this summer for the people I met, not the things I did. Also, maybe Vampire Weekend. Also, MESA girl #1 (see far below).
I looked for work at the beginning of the summer. That was, after all, the reason I came home. I came home to work and save money for teh futures and stuff. Because home is really easier than rent. Also, secret purposes and motivations. Which are mostly I had a big crush on MESA girl #1 and wanted to see if anything would happen when she came home from her mish. I really didn't expect a dang thing. The contingency plan I never really believed would work.
So I was viewing around the town looking for work. And by that I mean I would get up and look at Cragslist every day hoping something good would catch my eye and give me money. It happened once. I asked for an interview at a new Jimmy John's Sandwhiches place in Portland and John said it was okay. So, I went to the Safeway Grocers I thought we were having the interview at and parked and called John. He said he couldn't see me and I said similar. Finally he communicated to me that I was at the wrong Safeway and should really try and find the real one before he was done for the day and left. I finally did in the pouring rain. Lucky for me, the store had some covered parking, so I parked there and stayed dry the whole time. Lucky for me.
I walked in half and hour late and sat and waited for him to be done with the guy he was talking to concurrently. I knew it was him because he had a Jimmy John's Sandwhiches hat and shirt on. I walked over and introduced myself. He gave me paper work and said some words about doing work. I said it sounded nice. He gave me a list of the sandwhiches and told me to memorize them and that we would have a test and training the next week.
I spent all weekend/the hour before preparing for the test. I made charts and graphs that finally made it clear. I shown up and he gave us all the test, so I sat down and wrote all the things exactly as I studied. I forgot one thing, though, on one sandwhich, but, certainly, that wouldn't hurt my chances of getting the job, right? Me neither. The lady I was sharing a table with was not prepared. She kept sneaking glances at the cheat sheet she had in her handbag. I felt that was professional dishonesty, but thought I'd let Karma teach her some lessons before I interventioned. I was the first done, like most tests, and gave it to John. He congratulated me on my hiring as a minimum wage (8.20/hr) sandwich technician. I told him thanks. He told me to come to training next week at noon on some day. I said okay. It think the next training was a Wednesday for you Chrono Trigger buffs out there.
While this was all going on my mom was saying words at me. Like, But it's farr away and we don't have carrs for all the three kids, even though only two drive, also its minimum wage and they khan't guarantee full-time hours, and such things. So I had kept looking for more work. Again, through the wonders of teh internets, I got a guy to call me for a phone interview about a gaming tech support call center job. I thought that'd be fun. I'm smart enough, after all, to talk about networks and legitimate things. He called and we talked, but when he found out that I was only home and in the area for the next couple months, he went all Nixon on me and pulled out the troops. I hung up the phone with the taste of Colored-Only Drinking Fountain water in my mouth, to use the parlance of our times. So my mom was really pressuring me not to get this job. So, I decided not to do it. I went early to my next training and was all like, thanks for life, John, but I already got a better paying and closer to home job than this one. But good luck with the store, hokay? He actually looked surprised and sad. I think he's too young to be cold enough to take it all in stride. Also, after the last training I talked to this one girl that went to sunset because I had worn my Southridge track shirt. She was a year older than me, but she seemed nice. Then I never saw her again. Also, I boldfacedly lied to John about the better job.
But then, I didn't. The very next day I was pounding the pavement building some employment opportunities when I got a call from a temp agency telling me they had a position if I wanted it. I said I did and they said they had two I could choose from. I told them I wanted the boy's toy with my happy meal. She ignored that and said I could be a data entryist or a claims operationer. The second one paid more, so I said sign me up, but she asked me if I felt I was a detail-oriented, honest person with good judgement. I, using some professional honesty, said yes, I feel exactly how you described this job must be perfect for me. So I had to go in and fill out some paperwork and she turned out to be Mormon, so that was funny, but she was moving away, so we would never see each other again. Summers are full of never agains. The place I was going to work at was called Epiq and I would be made to do things, so I said okay.
The first day was supposed to be Tuesday, but they called and said one of the training ladies was sick and that we would start on Wednesday. I went in my best suit to give a good impression, but it turned out that their dress code was really casual: jeans okay. I felt a little overdressed even though it was raining outside. They said the job would last 6-8 weeks if we were good at it. I thought that was perfect because that would end right before Dillon's wedding, so I just needed to make sure I was good enough to make it two months, though I never thought I'd actually be kept on that long. Seeing as how they let go half the people in the first week. The work was easy enough, though I had a lot of questions because I wanted to know exactly what to do. It was just looking at claim forms and deciding whether they were complete or not and if not complete, how so. I asked my supervisor a lot of questions and I thought I was being really annoying, but I did it anyways. Better to build a skyscraper than blow up the grand canyon. About a month into the job, most of the people were gone. It was down to six of us from the original group. Then they got a new group that they let go after a week or two. Then it was the six of us again. Then five. Then four. Then I went on vacation to Dillon's wedding and I asked if they wanted me to come back or whether they would just let me go. They said they'd call me if I was let go. They didn't. I went back to work for three weeks after Dillon's wedding. As things worked out, I was actually the one that terminated my employment. They all said I should come back during the holidays for a week or two. I said thanks. I don't really plan on it. I guess I was good at it, but I want to do a job that I don't turn my mind off for. Stupor. Also, my right eye started to twitch. And my wrists hurt. Hopefully this job didn't ruin computers for me. Although, I did type this all out on a computer. I guess I'm fine, then.
There were funny people at work. The girl that read a new fantasy/star trek book everyday in the break room. The lady in her 50s that muttered to herself as she put-putted away on the computer. The short asian guy that always wore a dress shirt and suit vest. The huge upright bass player who was majoring in graphic design. The U of O graduate. The HR lady that looked and dressed exactly like Catherine Zeta Jones. The large 22-year-old Indian girl that owned the warehouse. Yes, sir. It truly was Epiq. Now I'm done with work for a couple weeks until I start custodianing at the HVAC. I'm a little more excited for that job than this one. I'll at least get to stand up and move.
This summer was good. A fun break from school. I won't remember anything I did, I'm sure, but I'll remember the people I met. Because we're either new facebook friends, or because I put them in the paragraph above. That's pretty much it.
