more on jobs

I still like my primary job. I think the number of stupid mistakes I am making is decreasing, that is good.
The other day the head boss walked in, it was the first time I'd seen him in the office this course of employment
He said: I heard you were were working here again.
I said: Yeah, and I heard you were in charge.
He made no further comment and walked away.
I know almost everyone's names now, except for Carol, I don't know who she is. Well, I guess she is the one I see whose name I never know.
Today I was thinking about the people I work with, as Bob Grieco would say, some of them have high IQ and not so high of EQ, I don't know about SQ.
A lady asked me if I am a "plant person" I didn't know what she was talking about but I guess it was just her transition into asking me if I like sprouts. I do. The next day she brought me in a zip-lock of mixed sprouts. I have been enjoying them.
This week my secondary job is dog-sitting Dani Girl and Buddy Boy. Before bed I am supposed to say, "Poo poos for night night" and supposedly, "They know exactly what that means." I personally do not think they know what that means.

wedding and work

Last weekend I went to San Diego to participate in the wedding festivities that correspond with the the previous post's faux wedding. It was super wonderful to spend so much concentrated time with my college roommates.

Here we are: The groom is in the suit and the bride in the white dress and veil

I drove down (with the two girls on the right) in my little Honda and discovered I can get 400mi/tank with freeway driving, that is very exciting since I won't be getting a hybrid anytime soon.

I've hit a dead end at the restaurant job for now. I've turned in all of my initial reports and am waiting for him to assign me something else to do.

I haven't gone to my office job all that many times yet but so far I really like it. 9 to 1 is a really great schedule, someone asked me if I have kids because I guess if I did that would be the perfect hours to work. The HR lady told me to not just have kids because of the schedule, I agree. So what do I actually do...
1) I drive to work, it takes me exactly 30 minutes.
2) I answer the phone and transfer calls.
3) I listen to people tell me about their lives.
4) I file papers.
5) I run reports (I don't really know what that means but it encompasses a variety of things and takes a lot of time)
6) I mail things.
7) I book reservations.
8) On Mondays I open Saturday's mail.
9) I do anything that THT tells me.

Right now I am at a coffee shop drinking iced tea, waiting for my college roommate Katie (on the right) we are going to motivate one another to do projects. My project it putting together a photo album from the last 3 years of my life.

Time slipping away

I'm not very good at remembering to write here but I am into turning over new leafs so I'm going to try to be more faithful.

Dowd and Guild has been going well. I've now learned how to say "Good morning, Dowd and Guild, this is Joy." Hopefully after I say that they introduce themselves and then I know who to transfer them to. When people call and ask like they are my best friend and don't tell me their name I get really frustrated but today I decided that no matter how embarrassing it may be I am always going to ask who it is, because that is my job.
On Thursday something very dramatic happened. It was Rachel's birthday so someone brought this caramel dip thing and apples, some people didn't realize it was the equivalent of a birthday cake and started eating it. When we went to get it to surprise Rachel, there was a big wedge missing. Gale used the apple slices to fill in the gap. Crises averted.
Friday, yesterday and today I was supposed to work from 8-5 to get a feel for a full day. I went in at 9 instead of 8 because the girl I am working with, Christie, said that nothing happens before 8. I wasn't disappointed that I got to sleep an hour later. Today I started this excel project around 3:30 for Guild, of Dowd and Guild. It was nowhere near finished at 5 so he asked if I could stay and finish it. I think on your 4th day of work when you're about to take a week's vacation and the head guy asks you to stay and finish, you stay and finish. I was there until 6:30. On the way home I found out my sister and cousins were eating fro yo so I met them.

I haven't had a lot of time to work on the restaurant job but last night I stayed up late and finished the sandwich part. Now onto soups, 5 vegetarian and 5 non. I don't like soup.

This weekend I went to Davis, (and to Evan's show in San Francisco). I like Davis. On Sunday I went to Elk Grove (or as I like to call it, Fair Oaks) for my college roommate's faux wedding. I didn't really know what to expect of a faux wedding but was pleasantly surprised.

Being given away by her faux dad

The Faux Bridesmaids

Some Delicious Fauxcakes

Tomorrow I am leaving to go to San Diego for the real wedding, I'll be back on Monday. I need to pack now. I'm not unpacked from this weekend yet. I can't imagine how crazy my life would be if my mom didn't do my laundry for me.

jobs

I now have not one but TWO jobs (three if you count watching "Oprah" with Mrs. Johnson). Both of them are paid and one of them is not a joke, neither of them are full time. You may wonder where this step into stable adulthood came from, good question. They were previously closed doors and then within the week they opened. I clearly believe that these opportunities (with virtually no effort on my part) are God's way of telling me that it's time for me to be here for a while, so I will.

Job 1: Hello again Dowd and Guild. Last Jan/Feb I found my self as assistant to a personal assistant at the lovely chemical sales firm, Dowd and Guild. I went in twice a week for four or five hours, probably a total of 9 times, to run errands and order pictures at costco.com. All that effort paid off (and the aptitude test I took last week) because starting tomorrow I will be working there Monday to Friday 9-1. There is the opportunity to go full-time but I let them know that I am not sure if I'm really ready to do the full-time thing. We'll see. Oh yes, I'll be an office manager aka receptionist. I'm really excited, the job seems to offer adequate diversity of tasks and I really like the company. I'll have to come up with five business casual outfits every week, except the week of the 12th -18th because I'm taking those as vacation days.

Job 2: S3Technologies, Inc commonly known as "Little Caesar's Guy" For some reason I really hit it off with Indian men, first thousands of free books in Nicaragua and now a job. In March I got this job interviewing Little Caesar's customers. This venture capitalist owns a few Little Caesar's and was interested in opening another one so I had to find out where people we coming from so they could decide on a good future location. Now he has hired me again but for something completely different. He wants to open a new salad restaurant, I guess they are all the rage right now. From what I understand I am in charge of the menu. So I've gone to eat at our future competitors to discover all their secrets and have been making lists and charts of crucial salad toppings and popular recipes. We'll also be offering some sandwiches so now I need to do the same research but for those. When we nail down what is on the menu I get to decide how to display it and then work on marketing (I guess at the women's gyms in the area). I don't really know what I'm doing but I'm taking things one step at a time.

So there you go folks, I hope that clears up some miscommunication about me becoming a Mexican citizen (at least for now). Now it's time to find something to wear.

Love, Joy

A farewell of pictures

I’m not in Mexico anymore; actually I’ve been back since last Tuesday. Some of you I have seen since then, mostly if you are of the Southern California persuasion because that is where I am. I flew into LA on the 7th, did some laundry in Huntington Beach, went to a church conference, and now I am back in Huntington for a wedding on Saturday and then I’ll fly home on Sunday.

Yesterday I rode my bike to the post office and it was quite the dramatic experience. Just trying to pump the bike tire wore me out then when I got to the post office my water bottle had condensated on my mail so I couldn’t send it. Tragic.

Basically my real life has little entertainment value so I was planning on retreating back to Mexican life even though it is now a little out dated. However, this afternoon I can’t think of any witty anecdotes to share so instead I’m going to attach three pictures.

A man riding through the town on a donkey. No that is not a usual occurrence.

Seven girls that go to Luz’s house on Saturdays for breakfast and Bible class. I could write pages on their family stories but instead I’ll just try to remember all their names. The two on the left are sisters, Lola in the back and Meme in the front. The three in the middle are sisters too, Melissa, Dariana and I’m totally drawing a blank. The last two are Denise and Daniela.

This is of my two best Mascotan friends, Dahlia and Deisey. This picture was taken at the walk around the square thing. Dahlia actually met her husband at one of them so she was giving Deisey and me pointers. When I saw her again the next day she was quite disappointed that I was still single. I was very blessed to get to know these girls during my trips to Mexico and I pray for them frequently that they don’t get caught up in the crazy immorality of those around them.

Well that is all I have to say. Thank you.

Good-bye first half of 2009

At first I was thinking thinking that I really don't have that much to say, but then I made an outline and realized I have plenty to share. Keep in mind that my outline is like my Spanish, a little hard to follow but if you really try you can figure it out, and every once in a while it is worth the effort.

• We're still going to these nightly prayer meeting things. I pretty sure the guy can see now but they are to embarrassed to tell us to stop coming so we keep coming. There is this relative there with her 3-year-old that is still nursing. Julie, thinks it is "progressive." Last night the mom opened a bag and handed the girl something that looked to me like chocolate chips. Someone asked what it was, it was cat food, dry at least. The mom said that she eats fish food too.
• Mascota is not a quiet place. For the past week they have been celebrating all sorts of sacred things: hearts, blood, people, etc. They celebrate with fire crackers, today they started before 5am. Along with this there are church bells, not on the hour or evenly spaced out. I'm pretty sure that anyone can ring the bells at any time for any length of time. Elections are July 5th, that is loud too. This morning a truck was driving around announcing that for the 4th and 5th it is illegal to drink. A few days a witch doctor was in town announcing all of the things mental and physical that you could get healed from. There is also a circus in town. The houses here all have propane tanks and 5 gallon purified drinking water. All day every day trucks drive around playing their water or gas jingles ("Zeta, zeta, zeta gas!" and "agua purificada! running water sounds") then you go out side and wave them down if you need anything. It is very convenient, but once again, noisy.
• On Thursdays Luz and I go to the town jail for a Bible study. They really have nothing better to do and are a very respectful bunch. One guy has been in there for close to a year for stealing a chicken. Last week while we were there some one new got locked up, he seemed quite familiar with all of the procedures and I'm thinking it wasn't his first time. The week before last we took a break because someone was coming to deliver cigarettes.
• I really like Fridays, there are three Bible studies so I don't get bored. Last friday I decided to do my laundry, by hand. I'm sure I used more water than necessary but city water is a standard $80/year. In spite of all that water it is very easy to tell which of my clothes I washed because they smell like soap. Any tips?
  Last week I mentioned that the water heater wasn't working. Now it is. Some old man came on his bike and fixed two water heaters for $5, one of them had been broken for over two years.
• Sundays are very boring. On Sunday we went out to breakfast, there was a dead fly in my sandwich. Every Sunday night there is a big party/mating ritual in the town square. I wasn't planning on going because it isn't something you go to by yourself. However, it was 9:30 and I was bored and they sell fresh churros. So I put a few pesos in my pocket and headed downtown in my overly casual attire, smiling to myself about the patheticness of my situation (however, not as pathetic as that Friday night in Concord when I took my dog to get her nails cut). And when I got there, what did I find? No churros! So I left where the churros are supposed to be and went to see if they were are in another place, and what did I find? Still no churros, BUT "Joy, why are you here by yourself? come to dinner with us." It was one of the girls that I've been getting to know on Friday mornings and her husband and their son. So no churros but a friend.
• I finished my first art project last night and for some reason I started a second one even though I only have one more session. The class has been a huge blessing because it gives me something to do with my excess of free time. If you want to purchase on of my works of art, I think I'll start auctioning them at $500

• Yesterday we were hanging out with my favorite 90-year-old lady so I took my picture with her and will attach it. She still cooks all the food for her and her husband and is appalled that people buy canned food. Her husband is like 94 and still rides his horse.
  

• There are some rumors going around about me moving down here more permanently. I don't want to completely refute them because I want to be open to where God wants me. However, He hasn't told me yet if/when I'm supposed to come back and for how long so I personally am not making any plans.
  

Pictures!

Here are some lovely pictures that you have been much anticipating.

a bug, i don´t know what kind

family making good use of their lack of front porch

my bff old lady feeding chickens

my mad poster making skills

self portrait in front of a house when luz and i were on a field trip to find things to draw in art class