Category Archives: Uncategorized

In this day and age, jobs come and jobs go. Mostly, they go. I’ve been downsized twice, which is about average for my age. Some call it right sizing, but when your colleagues left in the office go from working 40-50 hours per week to 50-60 hours per week, I’m not sure there’s anything right about it.

The first time I was unemployed due to a company-wide lay-off, it was for 10 full months. It felt like 10 years. I was too concerned about the lack of income to be productive at home. I could have washed all the windows and walls, canned veggies from the garden (after I’d planted one), and so much more. Ten months wasted. For 1/2 of that time, I was working with five temp agencies seeking employment. That part did work.

Then I was employed for five months as a temp. I was hired into a fantastic job with great colleagues, okay benefits, and amazing work. I enjoyed every minute of it. Until the company sold when I’d been there for just over a year. This time most of us were given three months of reprieve: We became 1099 employees and were guaranteed work for three months. No benefits, but at least three more months of a paycheck. This time, I went to the temp agency immediately. We were barely five minutes out of the meeting, and I renewed my resume with the temp agency that found the job. At the end of the three months, I had a new job.

Three months as a temp and now I’ve been here four and a half years. The company is going through changes. Soon, I will find out if I am calling the temp agencies again. I pray that I nor my colleagues will have the need to do so. If the axe does fall again, after my first two experiences, I have no hesitation calling the temp agencies once more.

I work at a local food pantry one-night a month and a free store two-nights a month. Most of the unemployed there that I talk to say they have great experience. Yet, the thought of working with a temp agency is not desirable to them. First, there is the misinterpretation that they are for factory work. The second is that they only find jobs here and there that are short-term. In reality, a temp agency is what you make of it. At one agency, I found only a few day jobs. At another, I’ve found two long-term jobs. (There’s NO such thing as permanent anymore.)

So, I hope to be updating soon with no worries about my current job – I do enjoy it. But if I am updating this with the “opportunity” to seek a new job, we’ll find out what those temp agencies are up to these days.

Morale of the Story: Keep your resume up-to-date, and try out the temp agencies – before they’re a last resort.

Opal & Sandy vs. Theda

Of all of the delightful people in the church I have attended most of my life, there are three women in particular whom I will remember all of my days.

Theda, who passed on years ago, was twice or thrice married. She loved her husbands, she loved being married, and she wanted everyone in her life to have the same love in their lives. Theda would tell of the love and affection, the companionship, and the joy a marriage can bring to your life. She was thoroughly fulfilled by this commitment.

Opal and Sandy were best friends, neighbors, and saw each other through their respective divorces while they had young children. These women had no intention of ever marrying again and were horrified at the thought of anyone else bothering to cross into such an institution without being thoroughly informed of all it’s aspects. Opal and Sandy would share how confining and cruel a marriage can be when you don’t have the definition of love. Life is better if you aren’t limited to living by someone else’s ideals. There was no love lost for their one and only marriage each.

My grandmother passed on when I was young. She had been my very best friend, and I treasured my time with her. The women at my church became my surrogate grandmothers. Opal, Sandy, and Theda were among these amazing women.

Unlike my grandmother whom I only had the pleasure of enjoying until I was 11 years old, these women I got to know for another twenty years. Just as my grandmother’s love never changed in her devotion and caring for me, these three women never changed in their advice to me. All of these women had valid points to make. If ever anyone asked about my dating life in the presence of Opal or Sandy, they would interrupt, “No need, she’s not getting married – ever!” But Theda was more up front and needed no prompting. If ever I saw her, she would open with “When are you getting married?”

So far, I’m falling in the camp with Opal and Sandy. However, I might be swayed into Theda’s way of thinking if I were to meet the right man. Only time will tell. I’m seeking not only loving, but a sense of humor, good cook, auto mechanic, plumber, accountant, gentle spirit, loves animals, lawn mower, masseuse, millionaire, and kind. Any suggestions?

Moral of the story: Advice, given with love, isn’t about the advice.

Do you know the difference between a green thumb and a black thumb? I do! My mom, a thirty-year plus member of her local Garden Club has a green thumb. Her daughter (me) on the other hand, has a black thumb. Mom can make pretty much any plant life stay alive and thrive if she so desires. I can basically kill anything that was intended to be naturally green, sprout flowers, or be pretty out of doors or in pots.

My beloved Aunt Gladys, my mom’s favorite/only sister, could not be bothered to waste time believing the worst in any living soul. When it came to having a positive attitude, her image was the only description necessary in the dictionary. In her eyes, I could certainly not be death to every plant in my possession.

We often went to visit my grandma, aunt Gladys, and Uncle Jim. My grandma lived with aunt Gladys and uncle Jim. Mom and I enjoyed their company endlessly so we would visit at least once a week or so while I was growing up. On one such visit, aunt Gladys said that she had something for me. This is a woman who has the cookie jar from Heaven – an endless supply. She also has a whole room filled with toys for any child who might stop by, from infant to toddler to teen, she had something for all of us. I could only imagine the delight she had in mind for me.

To my horror, it was a cactus. Not only did I not want another plant to kill, this one could fight back before the death bells toll! She reminded me of my tall tale about being able to kill any plant. She promised me that this one would survive no matter how I treated it. Just water it once every two months and keep it in a sunny window.

Yes, it said a sunny window. But I live in Michigan. Isn’t this one of the least sunny states in the nation? Sure enough, it did bite me before it took it’s last breath. My window was between my bed and my dresser. With the pointy little monster of a plant between the two, I kept bumping into it. It did manage to die in all of six weeks. She nor my mom could resuscitate it. I never even made it to the first watering.

Moral of the story: It’s important to think well of others, but that still doesn’t make it true.