August 31st Can't Come Fast Enough!!! LOL

Okay, let me whine first.........

I am OVERDRAWN!!!!!  WAAHAAHAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

 

Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!  I HATE that!!!!!  And I thought that I was being SO CAREFUL, but, the again, most of my shopping was for school.  Worse, the bank charges $29.00 for EACH overdrawn charge!!!!!  Can you imagine how much my little check has been eaten up ALREADY?!?  There goes my overtime!!!!!!  Now I have no money until Thursday.  I have GOT to be more careful in the future.  Don't want to make this a habit, especially now, since I have a NEW JOB!!!!!!

   

Yes, ladies and gentlemen!  September 5th, 2006, will be my first day employed with the City Of Houston as an Airport Communications Operator at the Bush Intercontinental Airport!!!!!  They are as excited to have me on board as I am excited to be on board!!!  My last day at Wal-Mart will be August 31, 2006, and it cannot come fast enough!!!!  I already have my two-weeks' resignation letter typed and ready to submit to them Monday morning.  I have already been issued my orders as to where to go and what needs to be done on my first day.  From August 31 to September 5th, I plan to "get my house in order" before starting my new job.  Motherhood and wifedom doesn't end just because you have to work! LOL 

This opportunity is definitely a second-chance from God.  I had a well-paying job before, but I was so ungrateful when I was younger.  I complained ALL THE TIME, and took what I had for granted.  For a girl who only has a high school diploma and typing skills, I was making more money than most certified professionals.  But I always managed to find something wrong with where I was, and why I was there, and desiring to want to "do better" than what I was doing.  God had to allow me to lose my job to make me see that where I was and what I had was a PRIVILEGED position.  Yes, there are other jobs available to me, but He provided a GOOD one, and I wasn't satisfied with it.  But after working two years in mass-retail hell, I have THOROUGHLY learned my lesson!  No matter HOW HARD, or how "STRESSFUL" it gets, I will not complain, and instead will ALWAYS thank Him for being there, because I know full well where I CAN be.  And I don't want to go back there ever again!!!!!!

The other awesome thing about this opportunity is that my monthly salary is over 50% more than what I am making at Wal-Mart right now!  I am GOING IN making very close to what I was earning at the police department when I left!  Think about it......I was working at the police department for seven years, and what I was making at the end of my tenure is what I will be starting with here!  HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!  I thought that they would start me at the lowest end of the pay scale, which is still more than what I am making at Wal-Mart, but I guess with my experience, they gave me the highest possible starting salary!!!!  Oh, what a blessing, what a BLESSING!!!!!!!   

It is indeed true that when God redeems us, He RESTORES all that we lost, plus more!!!!  We go on!  We continue where we left off!  That doesn't come without some hard lessons learned, but as a trusted friend told me recently, the lessons help us to appreciate what He has and is doing for us even more!  It would be a shame and a tragedy to go through what I have gone through again, knowing how much I have struggled in the past years.  Oh, Lord, keep me HUMBLE before you!!!!!!  NEVER allow me to become puffed up with PRIDE ever again!!!!! 

I am just so grateful, so blessed, so....PRIVILEGED! LOL  As I always say, there is a difference between life in Christ, and life outside of Him.  I prefer my life in Christ.  Without Him, I am just ordinary, a nobody.  With Him, I am somebody.  I trust Him so much.  He is so good!!!!

I hope to have pictures of the girls posted soon.  I am teaching myself how to braid hair.  I found this wonderful how-to site on the Internet that gives practical, easy to understand instructions, as well as how-to pictures!  I hope to be able to master "the corn row" in a few months!

I wanted to share this blessing with all my friends, on and off line.  God is SO GOOD to me; He is so good to us all, and I tell as many people as I can, every chance that I get!  Well, I gotta go now, and get ready for work.  I love y'all!

            

Adrian

The Sixth Time IS The Charm!!!!!!!!

After applying for the Airport Communications Operator Position SIX TIMES:

 

I FINALLY GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!

  

I will give more information later....Thank You, Jesus, and for ALL OF YOU who have been rooting for me!!!  I love you ALL!

 

Adrian

THE SIXTH TIME'S THE CHARM..............?

What's up, everyone!!!!  Thank you all for the birthday wishes!!!  You guys are great!!!!

So, I took AOL's little survey for the worst Internet acronym, and LOL tops the list......

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL!!!

  

Anyway...........

I did work on my birthday, because my off days were coming up soon, but my hubby did it up nice for me!  He bought me a dozen roses, in pink, red and yellow, dinner (barbecue and a baked potato, my FAVORITE), a vase to put the flowers in, a cartoon DVD (Looney Tunes, my FAVORITE), 2 birthday cakes, and.....you know what ELSE (wink, wink)!!!  Boy, did I PIG OUT!!! LOL  I cannot eat ice cream, because I am lactose intolerant.  I thought Breyer's made a lactose-free ice cream?  I haven't been able to find it anywhere................... 

  

Well, I went on the interview today, and I feel that it went very well.  Of course, I REALLY have been praying for this job, because I really want it.  Folks, I can do whatever is placed before me to do, but telecommunications is my field.  It is what I have been doing the longest, and have the most experience in.  It is what I like to do.  When I left the interview today, one of the men who interviewed me said that he would "see me soon".  God, I hope that means I'm in!!!!!!!!

  

The girls will be home Thursday, and I cannot WAIT for them to come home!!!  The break has been nice, but I miss my "sugar-doodles"!!!!!  And they miss me, too!  Last night while I was talking to them on the phone, they missed me so much, that they didn't want to hang up!!!!  Plus, they are becoming restless from having nothing to do out there (no one has any transportation to take them to the park and what-not), and they are starting to cut up.  Matthew is going to hit the highway and pick them up after his upcoming doctor's appointment.

  

Yes, he is still having knee problems.  He is doing everything that they have told him to do, but his knee is still swelling.  So they are supposed to do an MRI on it to see if he has torn a ligament or something.  My husband is PAYING for these doctor's appointments; I feel that they should be giving him better help than he is getting.  I am thinking about taking off Thursday to go with him to the clinic, to make sure that he gets what he needs.  I also have to schedule doctor and dental appointments for the girls once they return home. 

I finished all of their clothes shopping for school (thanks to the tax-free weekend!!!  It was WONDERFUL!!!!!!).  I am waiting for them to return home to pick out their own book bags, school shoes and tennis shoes.  They can't wait to do that!!!!  My girls LOVE to shop!!!!! LOL  I managed to purchase some things that I wanted, too, like some elastic-free underwear......LOL LOL LOL  They cost more, but are well worth the money, because they are so comfortable!   

  

Well, that young-un I was talking about called in from work the last two days........that job ain't for the faint of heart.......I hope she's okay, and that she will return..........maybe they can put her back on the sales floor LOL...........

  

TTYL; Bye ladies and gents!!!!!!!

Love,

  

Adrian

P.S.  SEVEN POUNDS AND COUNTING.....................

THANK GOD FOR VIRTUE!

It's days like these that I am SO GLAD I am saved, sanctified and filled with the Holy Spirit!  One of my co-workers, a youngster at that, wants to sit on her butt and bark orders at me, telling me how to do my job.  Mind you; 1) She ain't no supervisor, she does the same thing I do; 2) There was NOTHING wrong with what I was doing; the method I used was easier for me (after all, I WAS the one who did it); 3) She is sitting on her butt (while I am moving a pallet from HER section of the line) and didn't even think of lifting a finger to HELP me; and 4) She's one of those types that prances around the store (she thinks she's CUTE ), and would rather talk to her friends than WORK, but can't do both at the same time!  Then, she wonders why I don't talk to her!!!  This happens every time the girl is there.  We are constantly bringing packages from the end of the line (where I am) to her section, which is in the front of the line!!!  I didn't entertain her; I just continued on doing what I had to do.  If I were the person I was five years ago, she would have been soundly cussed out!!!  Oh, I am SO GLAD, because my body and my mouth wanted to MOVE, but the Holy Ghost was saying "Peace, be STILL!!!!!"  And my body subjected itself to the will of the Holy Spirit.  

  

I thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, because before I received it, I felt that I had to fight ALL THE TIME.  I was a very angry woman, who was always on the defensive, and always worried about what people said or thought about me.  It was a miserable existence.  But now, not only have I been delivered form that constant anxiety, I no longer feel the need to be in a battle constantly.  And I pick my battles wisely.  Getting into it with that girl wouldn't have been worth the consequences thereafter, especially since I am trying to find another job and need a positive reference from these people, and/or waiting for another position at Wal-Mart to open that will allow me the opportunity to earn more money.  She ain't worth it!!!  Besides, behaving the way that I did teaches HER something; it teaches her the difference between being young and "cute", being RESPECTED as a lady, and being a member of a team.  The guys that work back there go out of their way to help me and treat me with respect; I don't have to ask for it, or beg them to do anything.  I do the same for them.  I practice teamwork, because if we are all working together, the job gets done faster.  I am tired of leaving there late!  We managed to leave at a decent time, because we (with the exception of this young-un) were all working together.  No matter HOW this physical body decays in the course of life, you cannot place a value on VIRTUE; it is true beauty, it is priceless, and it is what I have.  And when God gives it to you, it is AUTOMATIC; even if I wanted to, I couldn't have behaved myself any differently, because the Holy Spirit wouldn't have allowed it.  Conviction is an AGGRAVATING feeling!!! LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL  Thank God for virtue!  Hopefully, she learned something today.  The co-manager who hired me says that he placed me back there because of my experience, and hoped that my presence would "build the others up".  I am doing my very best, but I feel that if someone doesn't want to grow, no amount of influence is going to rush the process along.  I hope I ain't letting him down!!!

  

Well, tonight (12AM) begins the tax-free weekend here in Texas (August 4, 5 and 6), and my hubby and I are going to Wal-Mart (not the one where I work; probably one of the other SIX OR SEVEN in this area) to shop for the girls' school clothes! 

  

Adrian    

P.S.  Saturday is my birthday!!!!!!!!    

  

I Lost 5 Pounds and NOW.......I'M SEXY!!!! (LOL)

What's up, everyone?  Haven't posted her in awhile....these past few weeks have been busy.  I am school shopping for the girls, taking care of FEMA business, caring for my mom in Southwest Houston, cleaning and doing laundry, and looking for another job.  I had taken the dispatcher test for Manvel PD last Thursday.  They aren't hiring that new dispatcher until October, but the airport has called me in for another interview August 8th.  Let's see....this will be the SIXTH time?!?  Well, let's hope that the sixth times' the charm for me!!!

  

I read an article in the New York Times about the rise in men not working and refusing to accept low-paying jobs (click HERE for the full article).  I couldn't help but think about my husband when reading this.  He worked for UPS for eight years, and was making $27.00 an hour before the hurricane hit.  Afterward, they gave him the screw-around (and trust me, it was a screw-around, because I was helping him make calls, and sent in the paperwork they requested from him).  After receiving a disaster relief check from his union to our CURRENT address, UPS sent him a letter of termination two months later, stating that they didn't have "any current information on his whereabouts". 

  

Since then, he has been struggling to find work.  The job that he did get wanted him to start immediately, but then he remembered that if he would have taken it, no one would have been home with the girls until they return to school August 16th (they offered him the day shift).  So, he is waiting until a graveyard spot opens up.  We are hoping that things will improve for him once he finishes school.  I always remind him that he can always work for Wal-Mart until something more lucrative comes along, but he refuses.  I am concerned that, as with these men in the article, the longer Matt stays out of work, the more his skills will decrease.  That's why I remain adamant about continuing to work.  I don't want to become lax in my skills.  And something as simple as dependability or how well I work with others can make the difference between an employer giving me the nod and passing me over.  And trust me, I have been on my BEST behavior at Wal-Mart; I am surprising myself! LOL LOL LOL  But we cannot tell men what to do, we can only make suggestions and hope they consider.  I am sort of relieved in reading this aticle, as well as frustrated a bit sympathetic at the same time.  I didn't realize HOW MANY men and women are in the predicament Matt and I are in.  Many times, we think that we are alone, until we read something like this.  But I also feel that if I am willing to do whatever is necessary to care for my family, then the men should, too.  They should be on the FRONT LINE of the battle, instead of throwing the brick, hiding their hand, then sending the women out to win the war.  Men's pride gets bruised SO EASILY.  Oh,  well.......................................................this ain't a perfect world.  Thank God for Jesus! 

  

Getting back to the title of this entry............................

Those five pounds I lost have me looking GOOD, I ain't gonna lie......and hubby has been kinda frisky lately.  I have been slowing his roll, though.........I have to save my energy!!!!! 

  

TTYL, Love you guys!!!!!!

  

Adrian  

Blue Monday (LONG entry; Sorry!)

What goes ON during the weekend?!?  The back room was CHAOS!!! LOL LOL LOL LOL  Some idiot made a bale from the compactor with only three straps; the bale broke as they were bringing it outside, and flattened cardboard was strewn from the back door of receiving to the Tire & Lube area of the store....and GUESS which receiving crew was lucky enough to be assigned the task of cleaning it up?!?  We had FOUR trucks to unload today.......dry grocery, frozen food, and 2 general merchandise trucks.  Needless to say, we didn't get much done in the stocking department, and we had gotten off late again tonight!  For some reason, though, this day seemed to fly by REALLY fast.........

We didn't go visit the girls this weekend.  Hubby went to the doctor, and they advised him to treat his injury as a sprain.  They told him to wrap it with an ace bandage, elevate it, and put a hot compress on it.  You know; the same stuff we were doing already!  I wasted an ENTIRE weekend for that?!?  We wound up laying around the house the entire time.  You can guess that I am feeling pretty disgusted.  My husband is aggravated with me, and I am with him.  He'll come around.  You know the feeling, ladies.  The one where you feel like you are more woman than your man can handle.  I try not to get disgusted with him, folks, but I mean.....a pallet fell on my BIG TOE, and I went to work in a matter of days!!!  He was limping on that sucker for THREE WEEKS............

Let me stop here.  I don't like talking about my hubby badly, especially to y'all.  So, that ends the TMI session! LOL LOL LOL LOL  Well, at least I am well rested, and I did go to church.......

For some strange reason, I recently became fascinated with the stories of Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley, the troubled, heroin-addicted front men for grunge-rock's main pioneer groups, Nirvana and Alice In Chains.  I remember them; I was young enough to enjoy their music when they first arrived on the scene.  I was reading their personal histories on the internet.  Both guys were heroin-addicted, yes, but both also had A LOT of free time on their hands as kids, suffered hyperactivity and bipolar disorders (I guess their energy was too much for the mothers to handle alone) and troubled relationships with their fathers.  Layne's dad even encouraged his heroin use by taking advantage of his son, and using drugs with him!  Of the two, I feel particularly bad for Layne, because from what I researched on him, he was just a geeky, sweet, child-like little dude in real life, with an AWESOME voice that seemed too big, too powerful, too painful for his 130-pound frame, who had a nasty habit he couldn't control or break free from.  What I loved most about the songs that Layne sang was that he used words that were able to paint us a picture of what a heroin addict actually experiences, without having to go through it ourselves.  He wanted people to see the ugly side of addiction, in the hopes of helping others kick the habit, or never start it. 

Layne desperately wanted a relationship with his father, and searched for him non-stop for years (His father left him and his mother when he was eight, and this devastated him).  When he became famous, his dad found HIM, and Layne, desperate to have his father a part of his life, let him in.  The man brought his drug habit and troubles along with him, and that combination played a major role in Layne's self-destruction. 

The heroin, which he once used to have "fun" made Layne very sick, causing his liver to fail, constant nausea, lost control of bodily functions, and abscesses in the areas where he used the needle all over his body.   He died, at age 34, of an overdose (speedball; cocaine and heroin mix), all alone, weighing 80 pounds.  No one knew he was dead for two weeks.

My dad didn't raise me.  My mother raised my brother and I alone.  My dad didn't raise ANY of his nine children; the mothers did.  My mom hated him for years, because he didn't help her with me.  But today, I can give that man credit for this; He knew he was no good for me, and he STAYED THE HECK OUTTA MY LIFE.  I am glad that he did, because I am sure that if my dad had been a part of my life, I would have been pretty screwed up.  There are many parents out there who I am sure mean well, but just have too many problems to be fit parents.  Their children suffer greatly at their hands.  I thank God for my mom, and for ALL the single mothers (and fathers) out there who are wise enough and responsible enough to take child-rearing so seriously that they'd rather raise the kids alone, or with a spouse who loves their children as if they were their own.  I also thank God for the grandparents out there who are raising grandchildren.  God, I can only imagine how hard it is for y'all!  But you are dedicated to giving those little ones a stable life, whatever the cost.  I wish that these two young men could have had parents who cared enough about them to offer them stable lives.  And what frustrates me is how judgemental and critical the music world is of these two.  The business is guilty of making money off these kids; BOTH guys were crying out for help at every turn, but the producers and executives (Layne called it a "corporate prison") used, abused and neglected them rather than offered them any real help. 

I am grateful to God for a mother who raised me in a stable home.  Those kids, and many like them, have lives that are full of grief, pain, and unrest.  My heart goes out to them, past, present, and future.                                   

R.I.P. Layne and Kurt

Adrian

P.S.  Mike Tyson and Tupac Shakur also come to mind.  I guess these stories are interesting to me because I suffered with bipolar disorder, too.  Our high energy levels are attractive to employers, but they are lost as to what to do with us when we become unbalanced. 

ONE MORE DAY..........

I have been working so hard, that I forgot that today is Wednesday.  I have 1 MORE DAY 2 GO, and I will be off the weekend!!! 

  

The assistant manager told me to come in for 12 noon tomorrow instead of 11 AM, so that I won't go over my hours.  The ICS team has been staying late all week helping to unload the trucks.  My butt has been WORKING today!  First, I had binned THREE sky-high pallets of back-to-school merchandise in the back room.  Then, I stocked a full cart of school supplies to the shelves.  Then, we unloaded two merchandise trucks!!!  I am SO TIRED!  We are short handed, because one of the unloaders injured himself last night, and will be out for awhile.  Last night, I had gotten off at 8:21 P.M.  Tonight, it was 8:45.  One of the ICS team members, a youngster, told us that they had scheduled her to work TEN DAYS straight.  Now, they weren't supposed to do that!  I told her to tell management about that, she did, and they sent her home for the rest of the week.

  

This is an awful lot of work for ANYONE to do, young or old.  Well, at least I am losing weight.....I have lost five pounds already!  My pants are fitting baggy! LOL  "I'm melting.......melting.........." LOL LOL LOL

  

I received an e-mail from the Manvel Police Department (about 34 minutes from where I live) stating that they have downloaded my resume from the Texas Workforce Commission, and are interested in interviewing me for an available Communications Operator position.  I downloaded the application and addendums, filled them out, and sent it off along with an updated copy of my resume and references today.  The test is Thursday, July 27th, at 2PM.  I want to be sure that I am able to make it that day.  If I get this job, I know that it will be because He allows it.  You know me; I NEVER give up hope!!!!

   

I spoke to the girls on the phone last night, and they ALL want to come home!  LOL  And Nicolette's monthly started!!!!  Her grandmother told me.  She said that she noticed that Nicolette knew what pads were, and how to use them.  That's because I talked to Nicolette beforehand, after the doctor checked her and said, "Any day now, Mom!!!"  I think my little eleven-year old was traumatized when I had taken her to the store to buy pads, and explained to her how to use them.  I am sure that her grandma made her feel more comfortable! LOL  Wow.  My little girl is growing up.  I already know that I have some very interesting days ahead........

  

My hubby injured his knee while playing basketball a few weeks ago, and it is still swollen and hurting him.  His mother, a nurse, inspected the knee (this week, when he had to go to New Orleans to take care of some FEMA biz) and said that he has to see a doctor to have the fluid drained.  Great.  We have to go Friday; I am not sure what shape Matthew will be in once the docs are finished with him.  I was really looking forward to going to Natchez this weekend, but now, as far as I know, that trip may not happen.

  

Good Night, folks.  TTYL........

  

Adrian