After such a long spell of unemployment I now find myself with three jobs. I'm so grateful!

Substitute teaching has finally come to pass.  I've already worked as a sub two days in a row.  I've even gotten to teach at Leilehua - it's close enough to walk to school! There's a good possibility of working every day substitute teaching.

I have a part-time job at the new McDonalds in Mililani.  It's still being built so I get to train at other local McDonalds.  I've been thoroughly amazed at how friendly the management and crews have been.  Although I never imagined I'd find myself working at a fast-food restaurant, I'm grateful for the ability to obtain medical/dental/vision benefits for my daughter and myself. I'm also grateful for the flexibility of work hours that they've been willing to provide so that I can accommodate three jobs.

My third, and newest job is working as a cashier for Williams-Sonoma at Ala Moana.  This job is like working in a candy store - I thoroughly lust after all the fabulous kitchen things.  I'm going to have to use extreme discipline so I can go home with paycheck intact.

So how will I juggle all three jobs? Only through the gracious flexibility of my employers.  I'll work M-F until 3:30 as a substitute teacher; evenings after 5 at McDonalds; and weekends, school holidays, and the-weekdays-that-I-don't-have-substitute-teaching-assignments at Williams-Sonoma.  I'll be very busy, but the funny thing is that I seem to get more accomplished when I'm super busy.

I'm so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to earn a living to support Butterfly and myself.  Hopefully, I will soon be out of debt and be able to start saving for a home of our own.

Thank you, thank you!!!

Job Hunting (again)

Today I simply couldn't face going in to work at the survey shop only to (almost assuredly) be sent home early; so I quit. I felt soooo relieved afterward that I THINK it was the right decision.

I spent the day job-hunting; dropping off an application here in town, driving to Waikele (Waipahu) to apply at several places there, and then driving to Ala Moana.

So here's where I've applied today:

McDonald's in Wahiawa
Lowe's, Borders, and Chili's in Waikele
Maui Divers, Macy's, Brighton Collectibles, William-Sonoma, and Barnes and Noble at Ala Moana.

That makes nine applications today.

I also stopped in at Martin & MacArthur to admire the beautiful koa wood furniture, accessories and art. A lovely sales clerk named Kanoe answered my questions about lamps. One thing led to another and soon she was giving me advice and phone numbers to call to ask about employment. Her funniest comment: "Tell her, her mother sent you."

Kanoe also suggested calling the Women's Correctional Center to offer to do volunteer work with my hypnotherapy. The idea is that the prison population really needs therapeutic help and I could get my foot in the door for future pay. I just looked up the location - Kailua. That's about a two hour drive from Wahiawa! Oh my, how could I swing that? Maybe one day a week? I'll call on Monday to inquire.

I'm grateful to everyone who's been so willing to help me. Thank you, guys!

Please cross your fingers for me!

A Change of Plans

Apparently a good night's sleep allowed me to make a decision: I'm giving up on living in Hawaii for the time being. We'll move back to Utah at the end of the month. I feel worn down and defeated by my inability to find a job that will allow us to live comfortably.

My experience today at the survey shop was the kicker. I'd known from the beginning of my employment two and a half weeks ago that there would be a quota to fill. No one gave a time frame for when that quota would be implemented. Apparently it began for me today. I only completed one survey during a three hour period this morning. I was told to log out and go home because I hadn't met my quota. I asked how I was supposed to make someone complete a survey and was told that I couldn't MAKE anyone complete a survey, I had to get them to WANT to complete one.

Funny how that's supposed to work when I'm the 9th (or higher) interviewer to call that person. Somehow it seems logical to me that by the 9th call and with several prior refusals, that MY call is only going to make the recipient more irritated. I also find it peculiar that I'm supposed to know, without any kind of training at all, how to get folks to want to complete surveys they've already refused to do. Apparently, I'm supposed to go home and repent of my transgressions and go back to work on Friday with the pulled-out-of-thin-air ability to get folks to want to complete surveys. Yep, that's going to work.

You'd think I'm not getting anyone to cooperate because of my unpleasant attitude on the phone. Au contraire, the one survey that did get completed was with an 85 year old woman on Molokai.  She was a hoot.  At one point I had to ask her if she was pregnant (I swear I'm not kidding!).  We both laughed  hysterically as she said that she needed a man for that to happen (ignoring her age, of course!)  At the end of the survey, she thanked me multiple times (can you imagine that?) and said that I was extremely pleasant. We wished each other a good day.

I'm wondering if some of my fellow employees are forging surveys because I don't hear many voices making it through to completion. I think it might be easy to be rejected and then go ahead and fill out the survey after the person hangs up. It would only take a few minutes to complete a survey if all you do is click answers and change screens as rapidly as possible. Or, for that matter, you could ask the questions out loud and fill in the survey however you want. If you think about it, that would kill three birds with one stone: the person refusing to fill out the survey gets taken off the list because the survey is completed, the customer gets his/her surveys completed, and the employee fills his/her quota. Seems like a win/win/win situation if you don't count forged data.

If you're thinking I've developed a bad attitude, you're right. My being sent home on Monday for being a half hour late because I helped a fellow employee get her keys out of her locked but still running car started the descent. Today's seemingly arbitrary implementation of a quota without any training at all, has begun the rapidly tightening downward spiral.

The real problem is that I can't forge data. It's just unethical. So even though I can't think of an easy solution to my quota problem, I can't create phantom surveys because it would be wrong. I was asked by (an anonymous person), why I cared, since it would help me. I care because I have to live with me and I view myself as an honorable woman.

Damn!

I have no work tomorrow. I'll use the free day to apply for holiday work at Ala Moana Mall. I need income so I can move our stuff and buy our airline tickets.

I'll have to take Odin to the Humane Society a few days before leaving to have him put to sleep. My poor boy is falling down an awful lot these days since he's losing use of his hind legs. I don't know if he has cancer or if he has slipped discs since I haven't been able to afford vet visits (for that matter, I can't afford doctor, dentist, or optometrist visits either). Whatever the cause, I can't take an ailing dog to Utah with us. This is too sad. I don't have many options available to me for this matter, or for anything else right now.

I've stopped saying "it can't get any worse" because it does. Worser and worser and far worser...

Work's Ups and Downs

I got to work as an election official today. 13 1/2 hours worth of work at the polling place. It was a satisfying feeling as I helped people vote. AND I got paid a bit. It works out to $6.95/hr but that's so much more than I earn at the stocking job.

Speaking of the stocking job, I am no longer a stocker. I was told that I HAVE to work EVERY day without exception. I told my boss that I CAN'T AFFORD to drive in to work seven days a week. It costs $25 per week for gas to drive in. I got paid $174 for the last two weeks of work (that's about 40 hours of work). That equals $4.35/hr (I made more this past week!) Let's subtract the gas money: $174 - $50 = $124. $124/40hrs = $3.10 per hr. $124 for two weeks of work is NOT enough to pay bills like rent or electricity or water or ISP or phone or food. Well, I take it back; I could pay my phone bill and a bit of food, OR my ISP and a bit of food, but NOT ISP AND phone OR any of the other bills.

SO. I am being replaced at Hickham.

Well. Now I have more time to look for other work. Thursday I'll apply for welfare and food stamps. I've tried so very hard to avoid doing that, but I really have no other options available to me right now. Perhaps the extra help will allow me to keep us living indoors.

Perhaps sleeping will allow me to rest my brain enough that I can come up with some idea that will result in gainful employment.

Must rest brain. Must have light bulb go off in brain. Must make enough money to live on...

Some Days Are Just Like That

Never go to bed the same person that you were when you woke up
(learn something, do something, be something)

This morning was just one of those days.

I took my certified copy of my college transcripts over to the school district office, thinking I'd finally completed all the hoop-jumping and would get put into the substitute teaching database. Lo and behold, my transcripts list my unmarried name ('cause I was single when I graduated) and my substitute teaching application has my legal name on it (hyphenated with old name and married name). THEREFORE I have to provide a copy of my marriage license showing the name change. I DON'T HAVE my marriage certificate here with me in Hawaii. In fact, I'm not certain where in Arizona it is. My Ex said he would look for it. If the certificate can't be located I'll have to order another copy from Utah (that's where we got married). It's just another delay in a long line of delays when it comes to substitute teaching here.

So off to the survey farm I go. I make it into the paid parking lot with ten minutes to spare for the walk over to the job. I just pull into my parking space when Lola (you DO realize I don't use real names on this blog, right?) runs up to my window in a panic exclaiming, "I locked my keys in my car and the engine's still running, and what should I do now?" I knew I was going to be late for work but it was for a good cause. I called AAA - they arrived within ten minutes. During the time I was waiting for the AAA guys to arrive, Lola ran over to the survey shop to tell them what happened and that we would be at work as soon as possible.

What?????

While she was gone, the AAA guy arrived, unlocked the door and left. Unlocking the door took a total of two minutes. Yea for quick, efficient work! Lola made it back saying that she'd told our supervisor that I'd had a minor accident and that we'd be there soon!!! What?????

Lola had gotten the phone number for work (silly me, I didn't have it in my cellphone) so I called to talk with the supervisor to explain what REALLY happened and said we'd be there as soon as we'd paid for parking and walked over. We were a half hour late. No problem.

No problem until we got to work, that is. We were taken into a back room and told that since we were late we were going to have to go home. I said that it would have been nice to know that BEFORE we paid for parking.

So. I lost $48 in wages, $10 in parking, about $5 in gas while being a good Samaritan. I sat in my car and cried.

After my cry I called my hanai Big Sister. We met for lunch (her treat - she's such a doll!) and just talked. I cheered up immensely.

So now I'm back home working on a new plan for bettering my situation. Big Sister is going to give me feedback each day so I'll keep on track.

I've got to get myself into a better financial situation. It could entail moving back to Arizona to be closer to my clinical hypnotherapy partner or possibly to the Bay Area to work from there.

I HAVE to do SOMETHING that will help me. I'm about as close to being homeless as is possible and still live indoors. This situation is downright scary.

Wish me luck.

Feels Like Being a Kid Again

Today, work at the survey shop was tough.  I think they put me on the "everyone hates me" list.  I had a LARGE number of irate people swearing at me and hanging up. I haven't been sworn at so much since I was a young teenager living at home. It was hard to stay unfazed by it even though I know it wasn't personal.  I just don't like being sworn at - it's not what I consider a good time.

There WERE moments where I considered saying, "Sir, if you can be this abusive to a complete stranger, your family must suffer a hundred times more."  Or "I'm sorry sir, you seem to have a speech impediment - I'm having difficulty understanding what you are saying." Or even, "Gee, are you related to my father?".  Toward the end of my shift, after I felt worn down by the abuse I DID think, "F you and the horse you rode in on!" but I certainly never said any such thing!

I realize that these people are frustrated by all the calls generated by our company.  I also realize that we are intruding on them.  I wish there was a way to make the process pleasant for both of us. I am simply doing my job. In spite of all the reasons we give them to be irritated, it doesn't give them license to abuse us. It's along the lines of a former boyfriend who said, "I wouldn't get angry if people didn't make me angry" as justification for his explosive rages.

No one MAKES us anything; not angry, not frustrated, not irritated, not anything.  We do that to ourselves.

I realize that I allowed myself to become worn down by the swearing and abusive words. In the past I protected myself from that type of abuse by avoiding contact with my parents.  It allowed me to distance myself from the people that felt abuse was their right to dish out. Now, at work, I can't simply hang up or leave the situation. So, I have to just buck up and get through this time.

I'm REALLY looking forward to working elsewhere.

Management Does NOT Like Change

Today was my first full day of work doing surveys. It wasn't as bad as I feared. I had more than my minimum quota for the day. Yea for me, since I'm still considered a newbie.

I was evaluated on one of my calls and was told to not be so nice because it might cause people to chat. ?????Not be so nice????? That's a first!

I discovered how to get through all the screens without having to use the mouse. I was so proud of me. I timed myself; I could get through all the screens after a typical call (an answering machine) in ten seconds when I used my new method. Regular time using the mouse was thirty seconds. I thought this was a great way to be more efficient. My neighbor watched me zip through the screens and asked how to do it, so I showed her.

I tried to show my method to the floor manager. Wrong! She was horrified and insisted I use the mouse. I asked to talk with the hiring manager since he told me there was no way to be able to get through the screens using only the keyboard. Deep breath. All managers are horrified that anyone would use a method other than the one they used.

NOT!

WTF? Isn't it a GOOD thing to be able to get through more calls? Apparently not if the method is not in their training manual. And for the record, I was never TRAINED how to do anything. I was simply set in front of a computer and told to go through the screens on one survey and just start taking live calls when I thought I was ready. My "training" lasted 13 minutes.

Sooooo, did I go back to using the mouse? NO. My scores are up. My speed is up. My success rate is up. I'm completing more surveys. They seem to be 'not noticing' my aberrant behavior. That works for me.

I'll continue 'training' anyone that asks how I do what I do, as long as it's not anyone in management.

I KNOW I have authority issues, but why in the world is something new considered so bad especially if it improves productivity? And why the heck is using the mouse so danged important? What in the world is wrong with management?

End of the First Week of Work

Well, it's technically only been a half week, but you know what I meant...

Doing phone surveys is a test of self control.
You control your feelings: rejection is not personal.
You control your impulses: you only THINK, "No sir, I'm not calling to torment and bedevil you, that's your wife's job."
You control your body: "This chair is SOOOO uncomfortable that I'm killing the nerve endings in my rear!"
You control your thoughts: "My brain is turning to jelly with each nanosecond I spend listening to answering machine messages and fax tones."
You channel your imagination: "Where can I find another job that will pay me at least this amount AND allow me to enjoy what I'm doing?"
You control your desires: "I'm staying in this chair and doing my job no matter how much I want to run screaming out of the room."

One of the best rejections I got today was growled along these lines: "Eh, you call dis numbah again, I going..." then he hung up. For your edification: If you want to be removed from a survey company's database you have to SAY, "Remove my number from your list." Otherwise, the company will just call you back another day. So that "gentleman" will continue to receive phone calls from our company no matter how much it irritates him.

Yesterday I got a call from the school district and I now have an appointment to get fingerprinted on Thursday, the 28th at 2:30. This glacier is moving.  One day I'll be able to substitute teach.

I am now going to be doing stocking at Hickham commissary. I'll have more lines to do. That will hopefully translate into more money.

So things are looking up.

This weekend Butterfly is off at YMCA camp. Yea! Hurray! I get the bed all to myself. I dearly love this kid but she kicks me every night and totally destroys the bed. She is such a tumultuous sleeper. This weekend she can destroy a bed somewhere else and I can stretch out knowing I won't get kicked. Life is good!

So, I have a free weekend (no main job on weekends and I decided to allow things to pile up a little at the commissary) and have no money to go do something fun. I guess I'll cook all weekend and stick everything in the freezer to tide us over during the coming week. That'll work.

I'm going to sleep in tomorrow morning. What a glorious idea!

I've Got a Job!!!

Craigslist came through for me - I've gotten employed! I'll be doing phone surveys for a marketing company on Fort Street Mall. The remainder of this week I'll just be working from 8 a.m. to noon but I'll begin full-time starting Monday. The pay is a little above minimum but that's way more than I'm earning as a stocker. If I do well during these first few weeks I can be put on the more exacting health surveys that pay $10 per hour.

There's no affordable parking on Fort Street Mall so I'll be taking the bus into town and back. When I find another part-time evening job I'll need to have my car available, but for now I'll just cope with public transportation.

Funny how the mind works: I don't start work until tomorrow morning, but I'm already figuring out how I can manage finances so I can begin to pay people back. It's going to be a while before I become debt-free again but I'm determined to get there as fast as possible.

The real question is this: Now that I have employment, should I stay in Hawaii and pay off my debts or do I earn enough to move everything back to the mainland and get another job there to pay off my debts? Both have merits. I'd love to be close to my grown children and grandchildren AND I want to stay here.

Hmmm, I've gotta think about this.

In the meantime; thank you to all of you who have prayed for our well-being and have wished decent employment for me. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I wish all of you good fortune, prosperity, health and love!

I Didn't Get the Job

I received the call late this afternoon thanking me for my application but they'd received several highly qualified applicants for the job and they'd decided on one of the other applicants.  This was for the position of Receptionist at the YMCA.

I guess it's a sign of the economic downturn that so many over-qualified people applied for a job that pays $7.95 per hour. I KNOW I am way over-qualified for a receptionist position so that just tells me that someone even MORE over-qualified than I got this job.

SO...tomorrow I start packing to leave for Utah.  I don't know how in the world I'll come up with the money for the move but it will come about.

Let's see, sell my car, sell my books, sell everything I can. Perhaps I'll come up with enough to get us back.

I'll either have to put Odin down or find a home for an ailing dog.    This is so much sadder than I thought possible.

Well, I tried...

The Second Interview

This morning witnessed my second interview for the Honolulu job.  Driving in, I was surprised that there was so little traffic, but I suppose most of the rush hour commuters were already at work by 8:30, so I cruised in early by 35 minutes.  It was nice to have plenty of time to compose myself and make sure my hair was brushed and my skirt straight before I walked up for presentation.

The interview committee was made up of 4 dynamic women.  They were obviously enthused about their jobs and wanted to know how well I'd fit into the company.  They talked about the lack of politics and the team spirit there.  I was thrilled to hear about a workplace where people actually worked together rather than competed with each other.

The interview lasted about 20 minutes.  I THINK I did well.  I was told that they'd make their decision and I'd hear the results tomorrow morning.

This is it.  If I get the job we get to stay in Hawaii.  I'll have to get another part-time job in the evenings to make up the rest of the income I need to pay all my bills each month AND pay back the money I owe, but I should be able to cross-train for other, better-paying positions within the company and eventually not have to have two jobs to make ends meet.

If I DON'T get this job we'll have to move back to Utah to live with Second Daughter and Son-in-Law.

I REALLY want to stay in Hawaii.  This job is important.  Cross your fingers for me. Please.

Job Interviews

Today's interview went well.  Well enough that I've been asked to return for a second interview on Wednesday.  This job was described as an entry level job that will give me the opportunity to move up in the organization.  If I get this job, I'll be able to cross-train with the IT department.  I'll be able to update my skills at the same time I receive hands on experience (something I haven't had for several years now.) That training will allow me to eventually get a full-time IT job that will pay me MUCH more than the receptionist position for which I'm interviewing.

So many "ifs".

Let's just hope that my charming personality plus my solid qualifications will be enough to land this job.

Please cross your fingers for me.

Livable Wage

I have a job interview in the morning. The wage scale for this particular job is $7.95 to $9.95 per hour. I just calculated how much I need to earn per hour in order to pay my bills. If I don't have a roommate I need to earn $15/hr. If I DO have a roommate, I need to earn $11/hr. Not good.

Most jobs advertised pay less than $8/hr.

So my dilemma is, do I take a job for less than I need to earn and then find another part-time job to make up the difference, or do I call it quits and move to Utah to live with my daughter and son-in-law?

This is harder than I thought.

The Trials of Job Hunting

If life is a bowl of cherries, poverty is the pits!

I just got back from a job interview. I had filled out the application, printed out a copy of my resume, gussied myself up, and hied over to the business office. This position was supposed to pay $15.50 per hour so I was excited by the thought of a job that pays more than the $2 - $3 per hour that I'm currently making at the commissary.

They, of course, forgot to mention that they wanted me to bring a copy of my birth certificate to verify my social security information. My birth certificate is in JAPANESE, so, unless the good folks in the Maryland home office can translate kanji, there's not much chance of verifying squat. But that's not all; they changed the job description on me.

I thought I was applying for a Homemaker position to help with homemaking chores for folks that have had back surgery, or multiple sclerosis, or car accidents, or other things that prevent them from doing their vacuuming, scrubbing, laundry, cooking and shopping. At least that was what I was told the job entailed when I first inquired. I can do homemaking chores with my eyes closed. Nope, now I'm told that it's mainly doing respite work for parents that have special needs kids. AND I have to pay $60 to take a CPR/first aid class so I can receive a CPR certificate. WTF? They don't pay for the class, I have to pay for the class in order to maybe get work with them.

I politely told them that I don't have $60 to pay for this class. I was told to let them know when I've taken the class and then they'll let me know if they have any work for me.

So I drove home and sat in my car and cried. I'm so frustrated.

BUT, I have another interview on Monday with the YMCA for the position of receptionist. This job pays $7.95 to $9.95, depending on experience (or some subjective thing or another). I was asked if I could use computers. I replied that I have an IT degree and was told that they cross-train their receptionists to work with other departments, such as their IT department. So, I'll make the hour trip to headquarters on Monday morning to try again.

Other positions that I've applied for this week: part time contract specialist, system admin/help desk, admin/bookkeeper, personal assistant (I was told that I was "frankly over-qualified" for this one), call center customer service rep, business manager, and variations on these. I've only heard back from one.

OH! The window laminate guy called to ask for my email address so he could give it to the employment agency that he works with. He promised that I'd be hearing from them today. If I fill out the application that they will send and email it back to them, I can make an interview for early next week and start working, perhaps by Wednesday. Crossing my fingers!

I just want a job. One that will pay the rent, utilities, gas for the car, and food. I'd really like one that will pay those PLUS give me enough to begin to pay back my loans with some to save each paycheck. Surely that isn't too much to ask, is it?

Well, it's off to slave wages at the commissary. Have a good night, folks.

Things Are Looking Up

This is a day for celebration; I've been put on Leilehua High School's priority substitute teaching list. That means that as soon as the district calls me to schedule fingerprinting and then enters me into the DOE database, I can start working as a substitute teacher! If I do a good job subbing I can work every day. That means I'll make enough money to afford to live indoors! I can cover my bills, pay back all the wonderful folks that have helped me in the past many months and actually get ahead!

I'm so very happy!

Of course, I'll need to continue the night-time stocking job for a few more months until I get a handle on my bills, but there's an end in sight. I'm so very happy!

To add to the happiness, a good friend sent a box of books for Butterfly and me to enjoy.  Best part? the books filled with Modesty Blaise comics!  Modesty is my favorite heroine (along with Emma Peal, of course!)

This weekend I'm scheduled to do another cooking demo. This time I'll dress up in 50's housedress, apron, and blond wig ala June Cleaver to demo a marinade. I'm not sure what the tie-in is, but that's okay. It will be silly and fun. I'll post the photos on this blog either on Sunday or Monday.

Update: My boss has informed me that the costumed cooking demo has been postponed to a to be determined date.  Oh well, that means I have tomorrow morning free.

I hope you have a wonderful day, too!

Lessons Learned While Working at Slave Labor

Being unemployed was awful. Being underemployed is not much better but at least we get to live indoors and some bills get paid.

I've been working as a night stocker at Hickham and Pearl Harbor commissaries for the last several months. Good things about the job: I've lost weight because of the physical labor; I'm getting stronger; I now understand what it takes to get a store ready for customers; I've met some really terrific people. Bad things about the job: It's sweaty, physical labor that I was certainly not used to; I get paid 35¢ per carton unpacked -- that translates to about $3 per hour. I'd make more if I was stocking large items such as cartons of juice, but I'm unpacking health and beauty aids like aspirin and vitamins. Those dang things are wrapped in enough plastic to gift wrap a car. It takes so much time to wrestle the items out of their protective coatings of plastic and then line them up on the shelves that the idea of making a decent wage is nigh impossible. Gotta get a real job...

I've learned some important ideas on this job:
1. It's important to recognize the things that are done well rather than only point out the things that need improving.
2. As important as praise is, a decent, livable wage is even more so.
3. Clear, written instructions save everyone wasted time and lessen miscommunication.
4. Job training cuts down on wasted effort.
5. Sharing time-saving shortcuts with the employee lessens frustration and improves performance.
6. A manager's job SHOULD include mentoring the employee
7. Employees are valuable assets that make money for the employer. They are NOT slaves to be taken advantage of.
8. Making money at the expense of the employee is unethical.
9. Poor people aren't lazy; most of the poor people I know work their a***s off. (This is in regards to stupid quotes from stupid public personalities:

"You know, people are poor in America ... not because they lack money; they're poor because they lack values, morals and ethics. And if government can't teach and instill that, we're wasting our time simply giving poor people money." — Radio personality Bill Cunningham

"[Y]ou gotta look people in the eye and tell 'em they're irresponsible and lazy .... Because that's what poverty is, ladies and gentlemen. In this country, you can succeed if you get educated and work hard. Period. Period." — FOX News host Bill O’Reilly

)

One of my goals is to become an employer. I swear I'll do a better job than any of the employers that I've worked for. Maybe THAT'S the take-away lesson from this experience.

Bad employers are another really good reason to be an entrepreneur.

Work Ethics and My Children

I've been working the Korean Cooking Demo for the last couple of days. Crazy hours and hard work. A teenager was hired on the recommendation of her grandmother.

Oh dear.

Said teenager was assigned to start work at 8 a.m. and showed up at 10:30. She showed up for work wearing very brief shorts and then refused to wear the uniform because "it was too claustrophobic" and would make her legs sweat and cause her to become dizzy. She talked on her cellphone a majority of the time she was there. She spent more time talking with the guys that flocked around her (yes, she was very pretty) than she did doing any sort of meaningful work. She took several long breaks. I overheard her tell someone on the phone that she would be ready to leave by 12:30 or 1. She left on break (again) at 12:30, called at 1 to say that a family "incident" had come up and she wouldn't be able to return to work. That was the last time we saw her. She was there a total of 2 hours.

I would be embarrassed for recommending her if I were her grandmother.

I am so grateful that all of my children have been hard workers. I am grateful that I don't have to be ashamed of my children's work ethics. I am grateful to all the people that have gambled on my children and have been pleasantly surprised at the good jobs the kids have done at whatever jobs they've been given to do. The oldest kids are now grown up and employed. One is in graduate school. One is an entrepreneur developing her new company. All are over-achievers.

Recently, Butterfly worked for several people as she earned money to go to the Big Island with her church group. She did yard work, painting, and house cleaning. All of the people that employed her told me how hard she worked. I was so very proud of my youngest daughter.

I am also grateful I am not that teenager's grandmother.