Killing Two Birds With One Blog

- I DIDN'T AGREE TO THIS -

Little did I know that when I accepted the position at the VA, I also accepted to wear this lovely uniform. Hard to believe that they have the people handling all the boxes with the supplies wear white pants. You can see it in the eyes of all the nurses we deal with that they think lesser of us because we wear them or maybe they know that we really have the better job. Sure they make a few dollars more then us, but our job is so much easier. It doesn't bother me. I actually like it. I love the reactions I get when I talk to a nurse and they realise I'm not some dumb supply guy.

The job is actually going well. It is going to take time to learn everything, but that goes with any new job. I can tell you exactly who the other guys are that tried to get the job. It is very hard for them to tell me how to do something. I am sure it pisses them off that they are showing their supervisor how to do stuff. Besides my feet are killing me (they aren't use to me being on them all day) I think this will be a good job. It is really nice that I have five different insurance companies to choose from.

- SO MUCH FOR A BUDGET -

So the kitchen is actually almost done. It has been a lot of work but it is turning out really nice. Friday night as I was attempting to finish hooking up our new sink I had to shut off our water while I changed out a part. As I was turning the knob it snapped off.

It was 9:45 p.m. So I ran to Home Depot to get a a new part. I was hoping I could just change out the insides of the valve and be done with it. It didn't work. The valve was too old so it needed to be changed. As I sat there that night at midnight I was thinking it wouldn't be that hard. As I laid in bed that night tossing and turning I realised this was a little beyond my skill level. I woke up the next morning and called a plumbing company to come fix it.

One hour and $230 dollars later it was fixed.

Lost in Translation

Many of you have asked, "Why am I not Invited to see your blog?" The easy answer is to try and respect my former employer.

Last Thursday as I was about to post my blog about getting a new job, The Misses asked if my Boss had ever read my blog? I told her that he has never read it. His wife has read it a few times, but only when I had pulled it up for her to read. I thought it was a little weird that she asked. I really didn't think I had said anything in the blog that would make them upset. I tried to explain in the blog how much they meant to me and how hard it was for me to leave.

Friday morning I woke up and went to work early. I have been trying to collect money from homeowners, and they don't seem to want to answer the phone when I call. So I went to work an hour and a half early to see if maybe I could catch some people home before they went to work. After I made my phone calls I read through the blog again and posted it. Later that morning I had an inspection, as I was driving there I got a phone call from my Boss. What I understood from the phone call was that the corporate office had a lady that sat and monitored every offices Internet activity. She had called them and let them know about my blog. He wanted me to come back to the office so we could figure out how my job could be less dreadful. I told him that it was fine and not to read to much into the blog (really most of it is fluff).

Throughout the rest of the day I was pretty upset. Not that they had read the blog, but that they had some lady monitoring what I did on the Internet (this is what I understood). When I got back to the office my boss wasn't there so I wrote a quick blog about how they were watching over my shoulder. I expressed my dissatisfaction in it and posted it. A few minutes later my Boss came in and we finally had a talk.

He explained to me how this lady was hired by the corporate offices PR department and that any time someone post the name of the company on the Internet, they are notified. He was really upset that I had wrote how dreadful work was, and how hey were not talking to me. He also talked to me about when someone leaves a job. He used the analogy of someone dying, and that when that happens you go through seven stages of emotions. I understood what he was saying, and was glad he let me know finally how he was feeling. I was upset that when they had read my blog, what they took from it, or what stuck out in there mind was how work is dreadful. Not all the other things I said about how great of people they are.

He also said that he believed when they took out my colon they took out my integrity with it. This really got to me........ It is still to hard for me to go into more details.

All in all I think it was good we finally talked. My Boss is a great man and I have learned so much from him. As soon as I got home I went online and blocked my blog from anyone being able to see it. I wanted to take out the companies name and write a blog trying t explain what happened. I didn't want to write it then with all the emotions I had so I waited. I hope they understand that my blog had no malice in its intent. I will miss my time with them. I have grown up with them, and am glad I had my Boss as a great example to follow.

and now it's time to move on.

Time to move on

Big changes are happening at the Taylor household. Not only are we moving along on our kitchen remodel, but I have been offered a new job. For as long as I can remember I have been working at the restoration company. My boss and his wife have treated me more like a son then an employee. The big problem, is because it's such a small business they can't offer insurance or retirement benefits, the larger of the two is the lack of insurance. We all know how much I need medical insurance. When the reserves medically release me, the insurance I have right now will more then likely go with it. As you have probably figured out this is not a good situation.

A couple of months ago a head hunter called me and wanted me to interview for a general managers position at another restoration company. I told them at that time there was no way I would leave my company for another restoration company. I really did feel that way. I have had other offers while I have been out meeting other restoration companies. Most of them would have payed me more, but my boss has been too good for me to leave.

While I was deployed at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center I truly loved the work I was doing. I didn't necessarily love taking care of my kids (the Soldiers in my section), but supporting the hospital was one of those feel good jobs. As soon as I got back from my deployment I started looking for a logistics job within a hospital. Finally last month a job opened up at the VA Hospital here in Salt Lake. The job description was essentially the same as what I was doing at Landstuhl, a lead position in a logistics section. I didn't think I would get the job but applied anyway. I suspected that they would hire from within the VA due to experience. During the interview my suspicion was confirmed. The lady told me that they were looking at four applicants and I was the only one from the "outside" being considered. As I left the office I truly believed I wouldn't get the job.

Thinking I was not going to get the job made it easier for me to sleep at night. I was terrified to tell my boss I had a job interview. If you did not know my boss he seems to be the nicest guy on the planet and in many ways he is, but once you get to know him and all the nuances that he has when he is upset, you would know why I was concerned to tell him. Looking back I probably should have told him I was looking for another job. My concern was he and his wife don't take that kind of news very well. They have a way of letting you know they are displeased without even talking to you. I couldn't bare dealing with that for a large amount of time, so I choose to keep quite.

The Friday after the interview I received a phone call from the VA. They offered me the position! Feelings of joy and terror went through my body. I was happy they had chosen me. It was just the job I was looking for. A logistics job in a hospital and to top it off, it was a federal job, oh the benefits! The terror was right there with the happiness. I had no ideas how to tell my boss I had accepted the position. The next few nights I tossed and turned in bed. I thought that maybe I had made the wrong decision. My boss was going to be pissed! The next couple of days at work I tried mustering up the courage to tell him. Every time I went to do it I chickened out. I had lost my appetite and wasn't sleeping. My family and I had the same thought, I could not turn this opportunity down.

Finally at lunch on the second day I bit the bullet and sat down in my bosses office. He turned from his computer. I was sick to my stomach, but had to tell him. I explained that he and his wife were like a second family to me, but this position at the VA was to good to pass up. His face went red and that vein on his forehead popped out. He listen to me and finally asked "when do you start?" I told him two and a half weeks. He turned around and went back to work on the computer. It has been a week and that was the last thing he really said to me. He has asked a few things about the last of my jobs, but nothing else. His wife hasn't said a word. Nothing, not a good morning, a good night, not a peep. As I sit typing, the place is silent. You could cut the tension with a knife. Luckily only a few more days of this. I thought I had a hard time coming to work before, but now it is dreadful. I have enjoyed working for the restoration company, my boss and his wife are good people, some of the best I have ever met. They have taken good care of me, but it is time for a change. I am very excited for the new job. Of course there is a nervousness that comes with it. I am a little worried the three people that interviewed for the job will hold a grudge. I will have to rely on my leadership qualities to make this situation work. I've been in this situation before in the military, and have made it through.

I should probably get back to collecting money from my jobs. This is my only responsibility until I leave. I really don't know how collection agents can do this all day.