Had to start with grins.
After five years of getting fired from jobs, getting a new one, and getting fired from that one, I got a job that seems like it’s right up my alley, so to speak.
The reason for getting fired from so many jobs was poor performance/attendance due to clinical depression and migraine. Finally, my doctor, counselor, and I got those under some kind of managability, and I, literally, feel like a new man (or like I did before my brain chemistry started pulling nasty little tricks on me).
Yes, yes; I can imagine some of you thinking (and posting), “This guy’s not claiming his responsibility for his own problems.”
Well, without going into excruciating detail, I do claim, and own every fuckup I had control over. Enough said, IMHO.
The last time I was fired was October of last year. It was from a pest control company, which I had about 4 years experience in before getting this job. The man who hired me (the owner of the company) has nothing but respect from me. He gave me a job when I had none. He was very fair about listening to my informed (although with about 30 years less experience) opinions on how to handle depredating critters. I learned a lot from him (he’s an entymologist), and I sincerely think he learned a few things from me.
All that being said: I fucked up. I got sick with migraine and depression, and flaked out on him and my colleagues in the company. They had to take up my load. I have no hard feelings, and would gladly refer anyone in Metro Puget Sound to this company for any pest control needs. In a word, I would describe the owner of this company as: Honorable.
Anyhow, in my roundabout way, I hope you, Patient Reader, have the understanding that I am not ranting against anyone or anything for my misfortunes. As the T-shirt says: Shit Happens. I would add to that: Sometimes we can control the Shit, but just don’t know how. Hi ho.
Anyway, back to the Job Thang:
I spent all my time from October of last year to June of this year applying for jobs, sending out resumes, seeing my doctor, seeing my counsellor, doing housework, swearing at the cats, simpering at the cats, mourning the death of Bill (our oldest, grumpiest cat, and my own personal Pigdog, and I was his personal human). Finally, I applied to (another) “help wanted” ad. It was to a “cabulance” company. Cabulances are those companies that transport severely disabled people to and from doctor appointments and such. Drive wheelchair lift (or ramp) equipped vans. We do “point to point” service rather than saying, “This is your stop,” because some of our passengers require a lot more help than that.
Anyway. Applied. Interviewed. The owners of the company loved that I have five years experience as a Certified Nursing Assistant and Physical Therapy Assistant. Hired me on the spot, for the highest-paying end of their scale. They say what they hired me to do is hard. Well, I worked in nursing homes for five years, and picking up, securing wheelchairs, tuning the radio, and making smalltalk with people with various handicaps is a breeze! I don’t have to deal with an unbearable work load. I don’t have to do “post-mortem care” (NOT fun). I can go on for pages about the negatives (IMHO) I don’t have to deal with. Well…there is Seattle traffic, but I’m used to it.
Yeah, yeah. Crap can happen. I did have to recertify in CPR and First Aid, but I also did that when I worked in a lumber mill.
The reason I waited so long to post this (I was hired on June 2, 2003) is that I was terrified of dropping the ball again. Not so.
For some reason, people with handicaps seem to take to me a lot (I’ve had several calls from passengers to my dispatcher singing my praises :o ). I joke with them. I let them choose the radio station (and make a production to our dispatcher if I hate their musical taste, the passengers grin, laugh, and otherwise enjoy giving me a huge ration of shit over my discomfort), a good time is had by all.
Mrs. Smegma and I have decided that monetary riches take a faaaar last place to peace of mind. We both work relatively low-paying jobs, but they are jobs that we enjoy and find satisfaction in.
To my fellow Dopers: Thank you.
Seriously.
Miller, iampunha, Scotticher, Lynn Bodoni, White Lightning, TheRyan, macabresoul and others have given me “what for” when I’ve earned it.
The exact same ones mentioned above, as well as Polycarp, gobear, Scylla, vanilla, Siege, Coldfire, Guin, Diogenes, elucidator, december and too many others to list by name (yeah, I don’t wanna search, but you humanists know who you are!) have lifted me up when I was down. I most humbly thank you.
Thank you all for your fight against ignorance. Thank you all for inspiring me to be true to myself in spite of “evidence” to the contrary.
Thank you so much, SDMB, for helping me keep my feet on the ground.
[disclaimer] I am not a psychotic. I do take a rational view of life while having a love for the “poetry” of life.[/disclaimer]
I still wanna meet some Dopers IRL. I would either be the “quiet dude in the corner” or “the klass klown” depending on my comfort level.
