This time around, since I actually have stuff to say this time, I'm gonna touch on a number of things. So grab a snack, maybe an alcoholic beverage. Hell, even do a dramatic reading for comedic effect. I don't give a shit. But at the end of this thing.......ohhhh boy.
- And so, with the wife's family reunion over and done with, as of last weekend, I can gladly say that I had a great time. The food was great, the people were great, and good times were had all around. At the campsite where we stayed, we were even able to rent out a cabin that I could practically bring forth the Polar Ice Caps. I mean, sure, the wife was complaining that it was too cold in our room in the cabin, but for someone like me, it was juuuust right. My only gripe about the whole thing was that with it being in the state of Georgia, it was way too hot out for my tastes, with 100+ degree temperatures and climbing. I'd say I wished we had an indoor venue for the reunion, but the place that we all checked out was just too small to accommodate everyone. All things considered, it was a blast. Just keep throwing food at me, which is exactly what happened. There goes the weight I lost. Now I lament.
- Since 2010 with the release of their The Final Frontier album, I have been a huge fan of Iron Maiden. Earlier this year I got word that lead singer Bruce Dickinson may have throat cancer. While the prognosis looked good, I was still concerned, not only as a fan of the band, but as a man who knows the effects of cancer all too well, with my grandfather passing away from the disease five years ago. Taking me as the fan out of the situation and speaking in terms of me as the person, cancer is a bitch, and whether best friend, family member, or sworn enemy, cancer is definitely not the way to go. It would have saddened me to see someone like Bruce Dickinson die in that matter, whether I was a Maiden fan or not. So you can imagine my excitement and elation when I found out in the past couple of weeks that he has a full, clean bill of health, a new album is on the way in September (a DOUBLE ALBUM nonetheless), and a world tour starts next year. I'm excited for Bruce Dickinson as a human being, as a singer, and as a member of one of my favorite bands. Up the Irons, indeed.
- April of last year, my wife and I moved to Rock Hill, South Carolina, and as I've predicted from the beginning, things are coming together for the both of us, not only as a married couple but as individuals as well. She's working full-time at one of the schools in the area as the attendance clerk, and I've been slugging away at Harris Teeter, one of the major grocery chains in the area. I knew from the beginning that I picked the right place to work, and that notion could not have been any more evident than the week I've had so far. After a little over a year of working up here, hitting the ground running, and just busting tail in general, it all paid off. What happened? Simple.
I was given full-time status and a raise.
When I was interviewed by one of the managers a year ago, he had asked me what I wanted to get from the company. I told him that serving in the Navy taught me about respect, Publix taught me about having a strong work ethic, and maybe Harris Teeter could teach me something completely different, and I was looking forward to it.
What was I taught? That hard work really DOES pay off.
...
...Now this is where my tirade begins. There will be a lot of foul language, so if you're a pansy ass, you might wanna close this thing out now....
AHEM...
- I was really gonna just let this go but I can't anymore because of how things have been going up here. So here goes...They say that you should never burn bridges, but what you're about to read is me blowing this bridge straight to Hell...
Seven years. SEVEN. FUCKING. YEARS. At my (P)revious employer, I saw a LOT of moronic decision making. I've seen good managers demoted after coming back from vacation. I've seen good people fucking FIRED WHILE ON VACATION. I've seen a guy with TWO COLLEGE DEGREES working as a bagger, because no one else wanted to hire him. I've seen someone being told by a store manager that they were never getting full time no matter how hard they worked. I've heard that same manager tell my department that she didn't care how short-handed we constantly were, we just needed to suck it up. For seven years, I did everything I could to move up, to be promoted, and help make positive changes in the workplace everywhere I could, and I finally realize, now more than ever, that I was hitting a glass ceiling, and I was being held down, no matter how hard I worked. It got to the damn point that I was outworking the full timers at my fucking store, as a lowly part timer. We were under a Division Manager that I legitimately wanted to beat the hell out of because he made it clear to everyone that he didn't give the slightest fuck about us. I worked, I toiled, and I busted my ass, really, for no reason. What do I have to show for it? The wasting of my late 20s-early 30s? A body that's in constant pain? That's about it. And why? Because I refuse to be the kind of person to kiss ass. I've never been the person to play any kind of political games in the work place. At Harris Teeter, it was simple. Store manager asked me if I wanted full-time, I said yes, end of story. I accomplished, in ONE FUCKING YEAR, something that my (P)revious employer refused to even let me so much as sniff in seven. Last Spring, I did technically retire from that company. I sold my shares and ran with it, sure. But let's face it, and call it what it really is. I FUCKING QUIT that place because no matter how hard I worked, no matter how often I had to carry my department on my goddamned back, that I was never gonna get the recognition or respect I knew I deserved. At that place, hard work sure as hell didn't pay off. But here? Where I am now? It sure has so far, and this is only the beginning. Would I ever go back to my (P)revious job? I would rather be either living in a cardboard box in downtown Charlotte than go back to that place. I will never forgive that place for not only wasting seven years of my life, but breaking my body in the process. It's common knowledge that I wasn't too happy working in the Navy either. But at least, with the Navy, the redeeming quality is that I had the opportunity to serve my country and do it proudly. With this place in question, however, although I made some many great friends along the way, there was no redeeming factor. I'm happy where I'm at, and my position in this company, and like I said. This is only the beginning.
Miller
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