Working at Walmart

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

― Confucius

 

I’ve never really had a job where I felt like I was working. Don’t get me wrong—there were plenty of days I didn’t want to go to my job, but once there, I never felt like I was working.

When I was lifeguarding, I liked being there. I liked my job. I liked the people I worked with. I wasn’t crazy about jumping into freezing cold water (by Hawaii’s standards) to save the same kid all day after repeatedly telling him not to jump off the rocks, but even jumping in after that kid day after day was worth it because I was helping someone. I was saving someone’s life, someone’s child, someone’s future spouse, someone’s future grandparent. The freezing water was worth it.

As a tutor at the Reading/Writing Center, I never saved anyone’s life…but I saved plenty of grades (or at least, I like to think I did). I loved my job because it meant I got to work with English, one of my favorite subjects, and share my knowledge with others. I got to explain why we use “the” and when we use “a/an.” It was a mentally exhausting job, and I loved it. Even though that job got a little tedious sometimes (like when you felt like you’d tutored the same paper fifty times, or when the same student would come in everyday, ask for a walk-in and then sit there and expect you to do their homework), I still loved it. I felt like I was making a difference, even if it was only to one student, it was worth all the craziness because I was helping people.

I taught English 101, and boy was that a challenge, but it was a challenge I welcomed. I had some students that weren’t the easiest to teach, and others that broke my heart, but I was helping people. I tried to teach my students how to really think. I tried to introduce them to literature in a way that would make them love it

I now work at Walmart. I’ve worked there for about a week and I don’t really feel like I’m helping anybody by stocking mounds of frosting. Sure, I’m helping promote heart attacks and poor cholesterol, but somehow that feels contrary to my previous lifesaving experiences. I feel like everyday is work. It’s a chore to get there, it’s a chore to be there and my only reward is getting to go home. I was told that you don’t need a college education because you can get ahead in life with Walmart. That you’d have to be crazy to want to leave walmart with all the ‘wonderful’ opportunities it offers you. Fine. Call me crazy. I’ll take the student loans and an education over stocking boxes and ripping my hands up for eight hours any day. Yeah, initially, with student loans and fresh out of college, a manager at walmart might be making more money than someone who went to school, but I don’t know if you’ve ever played the game of Life, but going to college ensures you make more money than not.

But is money what it’s all about? Well for me, working at walmart? Yes. I’m only there to get a paycheck. I like the people I work with, but I don’t like my job. What it comes down to for me is making money so I can be Crazy and go to grad school. Is making money what I’m really concerned about in the long run? Nope. I’m concerned about Confucius. I want to love what I do so I’ll never work another day in my life. And if I happen to get paid more than a manager at walmart, well then that’s just a plus. 

Grad School, Grad School, Wherefore art thou, Grad School?

So we’ve been preparing for grad schools. We bought the GRE book, we emailed all of our professors for information about grad schools (and most of them emailed back with terrific information!). So here are our list of candidates (for now, we may or may not add, or delete certain candidates):

1. Oxford
2. St. Andrews
3. University of Connecticut
4. University of Oregon
5. Brown
6. BYU (Provo)

any other helpful hints for us? Anyone know how long it takes to get a student work visa for the UK?

Just a Jumble of Jedi

This morning Jake and I drove over to the circuit park (i’m sure it has an official name, but that’s what i call it), and we say this little kid that made Jake say, “He’s my hero.” The little boy had on a complete Jedi costume, and was in an intense light saber duel with an invisible opponent. We smiled and joked that we want kids just like that; well, we drove on our way, and completely forgot about the kid. We came back, showered, and i had to run to Walmart to pick up some burnable cds, so off we set again; the little boy was still out there, only he’d been joined by a smaller boy (assumedly his little brother) who was also clad in his very own Jedi uniform. As we drove by, the smaller of the two boys was selecting his light saber of choice from a pile of them on the ground. Then Jake got the biggest grin on his face, and he said, “I know what we’ll do for Halloween when we’ve got all the kids. We’ll all dress up like Jedi, and they will call me ‘Master’ and they will be our padawans.”

Yes. This is the man I married.

Want to know the best thing about it all?

 

I’m really excited to have those little munchkins; those poor kids have no idea what they’re in for with us as parents. hahaha

 

(p.s. i’m not pregnant.)

Guess who is Employed?!

Ladies and Gentlebugs,

I can now announce that I have a job! I’ve known about it for a little while, but I didn’t want to say anything about it in case it fell through—things (like Korea) like that happen to us.

So I’ll be teaching a Technical Writing class—which, from what i understand, is like remedial remedial English. On your left is the book I’ll be using. I just need to read it…Honesty, no big deal; the class doesn’t start until April. So I have the rest of February and all of March to read it (of course don’t let me know that or else it will NEVER get done…haha). Jake is still looking, and we’re both getting a little bored with not having jobs. Yeah, it was nice at first—all day doing whatever we want…but one day you wake up and realize that there is NOTHING on your to-do list, and getting out of bed just doesn’t seem worth it—that is how you know that you need a job…oh and the fact that the money in your checking account keeps dropping. Haha.

We’ve mostly been keeping busy with people’s birthday presents we needed to pick up, filing taxes (Yeah, that bored), reading, writing, drawing, coloring; you know, anything that a 10-year-old (like old school 10-year-old, not a modern 10-year-old) would do for fun (minus filing taxes of course). Anyway, the plan is to KEEP looking for jobs (I have a for sure job that is only a term long; the girl that usually teaches this class is out on maternity leave, and so she’ll be back in the summer), figure out which grad school we’re going to go to (we’re leaning towards U of Oregon—the green duck one) and figure out how much we need to save up to make sure we have some where to stay while we’re in London. (if you know anywhere cheap where couples can go, that’d be sweet—we don’t want roommates, been there done that…) :D

“Come, and dream with me.”

Hugo.

I believe this is one of those movies you either get or you don’t.

I went and saw Hugo with my husband and brother-in-law today. They complained of a lack of plot line, action, or anything remarkably interesting. I found the opposite to be true. This little boy with his dark hair and bright blue eyes living in a world of machines found his way into my heart. Hugo touched me. It was magical. It was about a little lost boy finding his place, his purpose. It was about innocence, hope, dreams, adventure; it was about heartache, loss, and being lost, about not knowing who you are, or where you fit, about losing all the dreams you worked so hard for. It’s about fixing what was broken, finding what was lost, and finding the key that unlocks the path home. I feel changed; maybe it will wear off, but i hope it doesn’t. It was about magic. It was about love.

like i said, you either get it,

or you don’t.

 

and that’s okay, too.

A story without a title is a child without a name…

Here’s my dilemma (well it’s not technically a dilemma because the literal definition of dilemma is having to make a decision between two [di!] or more choices…and well, just keep reading): I have a story that’s about a third of the way written, and it is still nameless. (see, not technically a dilemma because there are no options I have to choose between)—I digress.

The real reason I’m so worried about this is because I usually come up with names first and stories after. This is the first time I’ve ever had a story (plot, characters, the whole shabang) and no title.

I guess it’s really no big deal, but I’ve been writing this story for a while, and I just kept thinking (and still am thinking) “Well, eventually the title will just come to you.” …But here I am, 51 pages later and still up a story without a title. I’m not looking for suggestions (because that means I’d have to share my plotline—which still isn’t worked out completely—with you so you could help me find an appropriate title); I guess I’m on here to just vent about it. I guess…I guess…seems like the older you get the more life becomes guesswork. :)

I think I’m going to snuggle up in bed, and see if I can get a couple more pages out today.

There’s no place like home…

well there is—for me, at least. I pretty much grew up in Hawaii. Now, most people think white Christmas; I don’t—I think wet Christmas. Now, this is the part when there joins here. In Eastern Oregon we do not have an ocean, but i can tell you what we do have: rain. and i love it. I recognize rain. i remember rain. I think it’s because of the rain I feel like it’s still December—instead of practically February.

Don’t get me wrong; I like snow—it’s not my favorite (i mean after warm beaches who can say “nah, I prefer ice to this mess”?) but I still like it. I think I just prefer rain. It’s closer to familiar. Oregon is really starting to grow on me. It’s got its own kind of pretty. There have even been days when I’ve walked outside and said “It’s a really nice day today.” (And then my mom calls to complain about how hot Hawaii is…thanks, Mom) :P

The truth is, as much as I miss Hawaii, and as much as I miss the ocean,
I’m home wherever Jake is. :D

 

Here’s a shot of the pretty rain of Oregon that makes me feel so at home: