Sunday, March 30, 2008

It's official...

Saturday morning was a good day to wake up to. After rolling out of bed at 8 am, getting dressed, putting on the make-up, getting in the car, grabbing a Triple non-fat white mocha, Nate and I headed to North Gate. I had to stop by Labor Ready and fill out my "new hire" paper work. 15 pages of nothingness... boring!!! However... it's now official I'm with the company! And I recieved some good information!

Michelle: (speaking to Branch manager Andrea) So, my first day is the 7th in the Ballard branch. Kelley (the district manager) said I will be training there for the first couple weeks. Where do you think I will be located after the training?

Andrea: Well, you might want to talk to Kelley but, I believe he is going to have to go between the 3 North Seattle branches. That's what he said a few days ago anyways. Branch managers work between branches, and he wants you to get a feel for what the managers do.

Michelle: Well, I know that my shift starts at 6am, so is that when I will start all the time?

Andrea: Yes... Branch managers always work the morning shift. So he's getting you prepared for that. I'm not sure how fast you will pick up on things but if you work hard and you look at the bright side you will get there a lot faster. The way Kelley was talking it sounds like you will be training for the branch manager position and he wants you to prepare for what's to come.

Michelle: Well, that's good. I'm going into this with a positive attitude and I'm going to push myself.

Andrea: That's great. It my be that you get the position you want a lot sooner then you expected. I know you'll pick it up quick.

So hopefully this is all positive and truthful! I just felt like sharing the good news...

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Labor Ready

Thank you all so much for your support~ I really couldn't be as upbeat about the change with out you all. I think I got a little carried away about everything that I forgot to tell you what Labor Ready really is... Let me try to explain what I know already...

What we do at Labor Ready is simple: We put people to work. Each year, Labor Ready’s branch locations dispatch approximately 600,000 temporary workers to our more than 300,000 customers in a diverse range of industries, including construction, transportation, warehousing, hospitality, landscaping, light manufacturing, distribution and sanitation. Labor Ready is spread across the United States, Costa Rica, United Kingdom, and Canada. This will be good if I ever decide to move to a different state, I can transfer!!!
Basically what it comes down to is if you are working for a company that may be slow for a season we find you work. Or if a person is no longer with a full time company and need work they come to Labor Ready.
Example:
We'll use Nate for a small scenario. Right now things are working great for him, the company has a HUGE line of work. But we'll say for some odd reason the season slows down, and his boss tells him to take the day off. That's when he calls us... That's when we get a hold of our "electric companies" and find work for him that day. He comes in puts in a minimum of 4 hours work and he gets paid for that day of work, at the end of his shift.
That is one example however... the role is reversed. If we have a company that needs a couple workers for a job site because all his crew didn't show up, we would call temporary people like Nate.
And the last example is when a company needs a HUGE group of people to work. During football season Qwest field calls Labor ready to work the vendors, pick up trash, prep the seats, etc. So more then likely I will be managing this years football season.

I hope this is all making sense. I will be able to explain more about it when I start... 7 more days!!! Feel free to ask as many questions you want!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The Best things come to those who wait...

So for those of you who may not know... I GOT THE JOB!!
So here are the details as to what I'm going to be doing.

Title: Customer Service Representative
Location: North Seattle
Company: Labor Ready

Customer service rep. is something that I have never done before. After speaking with the District manager Kelley he informed me off all the perks to the job. :) I'm so excited!!
After 90 days:
I will have a review
I'm eligible for 401K, health, dental, and vision.
I start accumulating sick leave.
I start accumulation vacation-within 1 year I will accumulate 2 weeks.
*Something I found out from an "insider":
In about a month they are going to put in affect monthly bonuses
If I us my phone for company policy-they reimburse me a percentage
If I have to drive to a job site-they reimburse me for gas
After 6 months:
I will have another review-this one is a pay review
After 12 months:
I will have another review-also a pay review

This is all things that come with the position. However*** I am starting out in this position to learn about the company and start my "homework". I am in training to become a branch manager. ~This is the position I originally applied for. It's going to be hard work and it's something new.

I can't wait to get started!!!

Thank you for all of your support! I will tell you more about the job as it happens! :)

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Inspiration

I have come across a few words that have inspired me, in one way or another. I hope some of these can do the same for you. Let me know of your favorites, or if any have touched you like they have me.

~What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.

~Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.

~Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.

~Patriotism is easy to understand in America; it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.

~The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

~Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.

~Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.

~What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.

~You see things; and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?'

~Within each of us lies the power of our consent to health and sickness, to riches and poverty, to freedom and to slavery. It is we who control these, and not another.

~To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Happiness

Positive thinking, acting goofy, and throwing a few smiles into the equation makes for a healthy soul.

Today was one of those days for me. It's March 17th, and it seems like it's starting to be spring. I woke up on a good note with the sun shinning. Once again, my chatting buddy and I found another way to pass the time by at the life we like to call Bickford Motors. Oh the joys of memories and stories.

It all started when Tamera told me her and her husband may be purchasing a boat. *The hamster started sprinting* We started reenacting our last couples summers. (This is when I realized boats and I don't get along) Let me take you down memory lane.

July 2007: Nathan and I went on a family trip to Chelan. To our surprise, our friend Andy joined in on the get away. One Saturday we decided to all hang out, ON A BOAT! We had been out on the water for a couple hours, the sun was beating on us. Someone made a suggestion to take a dip in the Lake. Of course I turned out to be the test dumby for the temp of the water. I maneuvered my way to the front of the boat and positioned my self on an edge. After close to 10 minutes of debating weather to jump in, I made the choice to hold my breath and jump. *The waves were not working in my favor* I moved my weight to my feet and began to push. A water cap pulled the boat downward and I had no *PUSH*. Instead of making a graceful leap, I just flopped in. If you can picture what it's like to see a fish flopping it's way from a dry dock to the water, I WAS THE FISH! My foot stayed flat on the edge, it was like my head had all the weight and I just bent over. I hit my knee on the lip and basically bounced down the side. Again... FLOPPING FISH!

May 2007: A group of us once again went to Chelan. We all decided to put our money together and rent a party boat for a couple hours. The wind was blowing and we were having a terrible time. After a group vote we decided to return it early. The way back to the rental place my friend and I were talking about how she was afraid of falling stepping off the boat to the dock. She was 7 months pregnant and we knew that couldn't happen. We reached the dock and decided to let the men get off first to help her off. I told her I would get off before her so she could be the last one off. I made the transfer... however... I step and *WHACK* fell flat on my face! I scrapped my knee and couldn't get my balance. *WOW, ONCE AGAIN, FLOPPING FISH*

Summer 2000: It was my first time ever inner-tubbing. I was doing great, I kept telling my uncle to go "Faster, Faster!" I couldn't breath or speak. I tried to signal to slow down. The second my hand left handle I went flying. We were going so fast I didn't just fly off and enter the water *Of course not, that would have been to easy* Instead I SKIPPED! That's right I said it... I skipped across the water. I was one of those flat round rocks that when you throw them the right way into the water they jump. I skipped across the water 4 times. Strained my back and was out for a few days.

So like I was saying... Being positive, thinking positive, and acting positive makes for good happiness. I hope that this brings a smile to your face at least once!

Remember:
It takes more muscles in your face to frown, then it does to smile. So let's start smiling people!!!

Monday, March 17, 2008

Every one's a critic...

You should wear your hair like this...
Those pants look to tight...
Lose weight...
Be tanner...
You shouldn't try for something you don't know...
Lower your standards a little...

Are comments like these proof that you need to change or is it proof of jealousy? After much needed catch-up, with a gal pal, I think we have come to an answer. Girls are MEAN!!! Why can't a person (girl) be just generally happy for you. You've worked hard, what ever happened to that pat on the back? We have proven, that women are stronger emotionally, and physically then what meets the eye. Birth, a child falling and breaking a bone and the mother being strong by there side. There is also written proof that a women once picked up and vehicle that was over 7X her weight, to save her child and a sweat didn't even fall from her brow. But some women still are not strong enough to accept that fact that there may be a women whos more knowledgeable, thinner boned, or just purely kind. It reminds me of a jungle... always one female that every male wants, the female has a nice walk, ditsy talk, and thinks she's the queen of the pack. With every "female" that is like this I would like to say...

Try working for a living!! Work for the things you want to have, and don't be a spoiled BRAT!

I would like to let everyone know that I will not give up! I'm not just a "pretty face" that thinks I will get whatever I want. I get so much more pleasure from working for, and earning what I want then have being handed to me on a silver platter.

So with that said... us women, and men, need to stand up and fight for what we want and don't settle for anything less!!! I know I will!!!!

God please grant me the serenity to accept
the things I can not change,
change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Cherish


Do you ever get those days where you just feel like BLAH!? You all have read the latest Blog and can kind of understand why I might be feeling a particular way. I have been under so much stress lately, that my body feels like JELLO (with by the way sounds really yummy at the moment)... My mind feels like mush and I can not focus on anything but what is going on in my life at the moment. Some can say that after yesterday things might be turning around for me, and I really hope they do. I have noticed when I sit doing nothing it is all I think about. I was looking forward to getting away from the "routine" they call life. Taking a step out of the "norm" and just feel like I could get lost in the moment. *It's going to be put on hold for a little longer* I think I need a vacation from everything... VEGAS BABY! Then there is NORTH CAROLINA. That will be really good for me. I haven't seen my brother in over a year and it's really starting to take a toll on me. (Another thing that has been on my mind) With all the "family" events that are going to be taking place this spring and summer, it really hits a deep hole in my heart. It is so nice to be around family and friends and loved ones but at the same time it causes so much pain for me. I love the fact that I am so close to family. *Just a phone call and a drive away* Dropping everything to be there for someone, it really makes you appreciate what you have. Mike is my Best Friend, and always will be!! It hurts some times to see other families and my own interact with each other. Sibling rivalry amongst my cousins. Aunts and Mothers sitting with children and welcoming a new life. I go in with so much love for everyone and put on my pretty smile, but I can't help but hurt. I really miss the being able to roll over and see him in the same room as me. (For the longest time it was rolling over and wondering if he's even in a bed) I miss the fighting over the remote for what to watch. (Now it's, we like to watch the same things but can enjoy them together) I miss the seeing him with every corner I turned, fighting over who got the bathroom first, the "he's/she's touching me". (Now it's the praying if I'm going to even hear his voice every couple of weeks, even a text would do.) If I could leave everyone with one thing to say I would say... "Cherish the time you have. Don't get up set if your "touching". And remember what is important in life, because you can't turn back time for someone."


I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see.

I sought my god, but god eluded me.

I sought my brother, and found all three.

Friday, March 14, 2008

My life wrapped up in one week...

Congratulations to me!!
After a long grewling process, things seem to be looking in a positive direction for me.

This all started about 6 months ago. I started to fill out resumes, applications basicly anything I could get my pretty little hands on to apply for a new job. I had a few things in order as to what I was looking for:

1) I wanted to broadin my horizons
2) I wanted a challenge
3) I wanted a career where when I started my day I didn't know what was to come of it

With these things in mind it opened a lot for me to apply for. However I wasn't going to settle for anything less then I already had. A few opportunities came up, that I actually had interviews for...

1) Working with criminal records in a police station (this was in the direction of the field I wanted to persue). I did not meet the requirements :(
2) Working for a company that makes parts for boeing and space crafts. I was really only applying for this position because the pay and benifits were good. Once again I didn't meet the requirements either.

After the last one I put my pencils down and prayed a lot!! I understood that God had a plan for me and that whatever that may be I was willing to walk down his path. My best friend (and assitant manager) came to me one day telling me her husband had a job opening.
The company is called Labor Ready. They have branches all over the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, and (as of a few months ago) the middle east. The company is consisted of full time workers who help put part time workers into jobs. (Go figure, I'm looking for a job and one comes up where I would help put people to work ha ha..) The employees we put to hire are Construction workers, Electritions, and even Air Plane line men. It is a work and pay same day employer. (No that is not for me) 90% of the people to come into Labor Ready are people who don't have jobs. Men and women who don't have homes, who need to pay for the motel their staying in that night, a person who just needs to put food on the table for his family. All employees are screened prior to working. So, we hope, that we are not supporting any sort of drug habbit.

Well, last thursday at about 8:30pm I e-mailed a manager for Labor Ready telling them I was interested in applying for a manager position. 5 minutes later he e-mailed me asking me to come in the following day for an interview. WOW... that was fast! I had so much energy running through me I could barely stand myself!
11:00am Friday: I get to the White Center branch 20 min early. Sitting in the waiting room, my leg is bouncing up and down. I hear 2 of the (full time) employees talking and making fun bets about there sales numbers that day. "Who ever pulls the lowest numbers at the end of the day get's a water balloon thrown at them and has to drive home wet!" Oh boy this seems like a fun company to work for. Out comes the District Manager, Kelley Hutchinson. Mr. Hutchinson and I shake hands and walk back to a office. *I hope he couldn't tell I was so nervous* To my surprise he didn't ask me any questions relating to the job. We joked around, he asked how I knew one of the managers, I was shocked. After an hour he told me I was qualified for the position. The only thing that I didn't have working for me is that I didn't have experience in sales. He told me of another position he had available, I could get a feel for the facility, the job, and have a HUGE chance of moving up QUICKLY! He wanted me to go in for a second interview with a girl named Andrea at another location, Monday or Tuesday... "Oh man this is a long process!"

Monday and Tuesday go by and still no now phone call. By Tuesday night I wrote Kelley an e-mail I was still interested in having a second interview for the position. (In hopes that he may put a fire under someones tail to push for an interview) Yesterday I get a phone call from Andrea asking me to come in today for my second interview.

1:00pm Friday: I go into the building this time much less nervous. She was so nice, again we joked around, laughed, and she actually asked me interview questions. She loved most of my answers. She said that the next step was to talk to Kelley tonight and ask him where he wants to place me and for what position. The last question she asked me was... "Do you have to give your job two weeks notice?" I told her I didn't like to burn my bridges, so yes I do. *So does this mean that I have the job?*

I have been going over both postions in my head, weighing options, calculating miles and gas for locations, etc. I know this is a great oppertunity I can not pass over. There are so many options for growth, pay increase, everything. Things may be a little tight for a while but like I said... God has a plan for me and whatever he chooses I will go down his path. I have but my life and faith into him. I really hope this is a start for greatness!

~My life wrapped up in one week...